7/30/2010

Friday Freebie - How I Roll Template

Based on my this is how I roll layout, here's a free 12x12 template. It features 12 layers including the photo and paper masks, journaling strips, embellishment with shadow, and title.

Click here to download the 12x12 How I Roll template

Enjoy!

Have you missed one of my previous digital freebies? Click HERE to find them. And, don't forget to subscribe to my feeds so you won't miss future freebies!

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7/28/2010

Wordless Wednesday: Relaxing



Wordless Wednesday

7/26/2010

Airplane Party

As I mentioned in a post last week, Dylan had a special party with his playgroup friends.  I had a lot of fun planning and putting together the airplane themed fun.

The invites were a hybrid design.  I put together the text, cloud paper and airplane in Photoshop.  Printed it out on photo paper and adhered it to the red flat card.
Supplies: photo paper; Kitty Designs's Cherish kit; photo of airplane party favor; Arial, Marker SD and Nancy fonts.

I chose simple brown bags to hold the party favors:

I folded the top over and sealed them with a personalized sticker I created in Photoshop:

Inside each bag was a small wooden plane:

Aren't they just adorable?  I found a sweet woman on Etsy (WomanWoodworker) that makes these by hand.  I ordered an extra one for Dylan because, of course, the party boy needed one too. 

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7/22/2010

Party Inspiration

Dylan and I celebrated his birthday with our playgroup friends on Tuesday. I knew early on that I wanted to do an airplane themed party for my little guy. While I'm still pulling together photos from his party for a post, I though I would share a bit of fun inspiration I found on Etsy:

What birthday boy (or girl) wouldn't love a crown to wear on their special day?
Airplane Theme Felt Birthday Party Crown by betterthannormal

Super cute party invite:
Custom Printable Birthday Invitation for Boy - Airplanes & Helicopters by scrappyllama

These would make fun party favors:
Airplane Up Up and Away Glycerin Soap Party Favors by brownbagbathbars

And how about this cool favor box idea:
Large Airplane Single Favor Box by favormakers

This looks like a great idea for future parties when Dylan and his friends are older. I love coloring. :)
Printable Coloring Page - Vintage Airplanes by hjrdDesign

And I also love cupcakes which is what attracted me to these fun toppers:
My Little Co-Pilot Airplane Customized Party Cupcake Toppers - TeaPartyDesigns

When the party is over, the cake is eaten and the presents have been opened - there is one important thing left to do. The thank you notes. Love this idea for kids that are learning to write:
Airplane Fill in Thank You Notes by bugabooannouncements

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7/21/2010

Vinyl Wall Decals - the ugly

Vinyl wall decals have become an "in" thing.  They are relatively inexpensive.  Easy to install.  Come in as many designs and colors as you can imagine.  I fell for an adorable giraffe growth chart one for Dylan's nursery when I was pregnant.  I finally decided to order it and a word/image combo "It's a Jungle In Here" for over his crib.  I liked the cuteness and fun to both of the designs.

I was thrilled when the package arrived.  Trent and I carefully placed them (I wanted to be sure the "60" on the growth chart was actually at 60 inches and not 59).  I admired them.  They looked so cute and got rave reviews from everyone who saw them.

Then I decided to move Dylan into another room.  The giraffe I was planning to leave as is.  The Jungle decal unfortunately was in the way of shelving I would be hanging over our computer desk so it needed to come down. 


The company I bought the vinyl decals from is Single Stone Studios.  It had a wonderful reputation on Etsy and was featured in several magazines.  The Etsy shop where I placed my order and the company website both proclaim how the decals won't damage your walls:
Q: How do I get the decals off when I'm ready to redecorate? Will they damage my walls? A: To remove the decals, start at a corner and simply peel them away. They will come off easily and will not damage your walls or leave any residue. Landlords love us!
This is one of the reasons I was excited about the decals in the first place.  I knew they wouldn't be permanent.  Whether we changed furniture layout, changed rooms or even when we moved someday - they would come down.  Little did I realize they would not remove cleanly.  Perhaps they do in some situations.  But, no, not for me.  As I slowly peeled back the letters, up came paint and even the top layer of gypsum wallboard in some spots.  The walls aren't ruined, but they will need patching and repainting.  So much for the promise to "not damage your walls."


Honestly, I feel like I should have known better.  It seemed too good to be true.  I emailed Single Stone Studios in late June.  As of the beginning of this week, I still didn't have a response.  I forwarded the original email and tried again.  This time I received a brief apology saying this had never happened before and offering suggestion to try a hair dryer when I remove the rest.  I'll definitely try and see what happens because, while the "Jungle" text was small, I'm honestly quite concerned about the damage the giraffe decal will do as it covers far more wall space.

My final two cents isn't to avoid vinyl wall decals altogether, but buyer beware.  As for me, there will be no more applied directly to my walls.  One was headache enough.


Update
I tried using a hair dryer to warm the palm tree portion of the "Jungle" vinyl decal and it only made the situation worse:

Honestly, the entire area is a mess.  Where the vinyl did remove cleanly, it left behind the adhesive residue.  Trent & I have agreed to leave the giraffe as is for now.  I'm leaning toward hiring someone to remove it and repair the wall when the time comes.  The "Jungle" decal damaged approximately 2 square feet of wall ... the giraffe one covers about 10 square feet ... aye yi yi. 

7/20/2010

12 Months

Another month and many more adventures & milestones ...

* Attended the Hillsborough Hog Day festival:

* Has 3 teeth and is working hard on the 4th (right lateral incisor).

* Got soaked at a sprayground (a first for both him and me!).

* Visited City Park in Burlington, NC, where he rode a train and carousel:

* Began clapping hands together (palms together - no longer patty cake style) and blowing kisses.

* Celebrated his first 4th of July and last "first" holiday.

* Had a number of new food experiences including pickles, a few bites of a Krispy Kreme donut and trying frozen custard (all winners):

* Learning to indicate his wants with gestures and signs.

* Showed frustration for the first time when he struggled with the levers and buttons on a toy.

* Toddling. He officially began walking just a couple of steps on his own. 6-8 tops before going down and giving himself a round of applause. So stinkin' cute.

* Celebrated his birthday with family and had his first taste of cake which he loved.

* Finally, (yes, I'm a mean mommy) Dylan had his 12 month check-up (including shots - ouch!) yesterday morning - his birthday. He now weighs 19 pounds 6 ounces and is 30-3/4 inches long.

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7/19/2010

One Year

Our world changed forever one year ago today as we welcomed Dylan into our family.


It has been the most amazing adventure watching him grow from a sweet baby to an inquisitive toddler. 


Trent and I feel blessed to call him our son.  A very happy first birthday to our precious little boy!


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7/17/2010

Cupcake!

Dylan's first birthday is on Monday. We had a small family celebration today. The highlight for Dylan (besides all the attention and opening gifts, of course) was the cake. I baked cupcakes last night and then my sister helped me ice them.

Time for the big event and I put the cupcake tree on the table in front of his highchair. That in and of itself was exciting for him. Then I lit the candle. His expression (which unfortunately I don't have a photo of ... I'm not too talented at lighting a candle and snapping photos) was one of Oooh! What is that?

Excited about his cupcakes!

Please, Mom. Enough with the photos - I want cake!
Trent & I helped him blow out the candle. Then I plucked it out, removed the wrapper and handed him his cupcake:
Hmm. What is this stuff?

Feels interesting. Tastes good.

Ok, so now that Mom has cut it into pieces I have LOTS of cake!

This stuff is pretty good!
After finishing off his cupcake, he looked at the tree and noticed there were still cupcakes on it. We all had a good laugh as he stretched his hand out trying to grab it and began making noises - basically his way of saying, "I want another piece!"

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7/16/2010

Snapware Giveaway: Winner!

The winner of the Snapware Snap 'N Stack Giveaway is ...


Comment 3 was posted by Pixie:



Congrats! And many thanks to all who entered!

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7/15/2010

jeans

Dylan and his friends modeling the Huggies Jeans diapers. They are just so ridiculous that we moms couldn't resist the urge to buy a package and have a chuckle.



Supplies: Jen Martakis Designs' Simple Starts No 15 template; Deena Rutter's Hotel California kit; Kitty Designs's Cherish kit; Queen of Quirk Give Freely Mini kit; Rhonna Farrer's Office Supply kit; Gennifer Bursett's Spring Fever Blog Hop alpha (recolored); Futura Lt and Another Typewriter fonts.

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7/12/2010

baby boy

Working on more of the early pages for Dylan's scrapbook album. Here are a couple of the ultrasound photos from the day we learned we were expecting a boy. (The blue at the top isn't quite so bold in person. I struggled to get a good photo of this and, as much as I've tried with Photoshop, it's still a bit off on the colors, but enough to get the idea.)


A detail shot:


Supplies: Recollections kraft paper; Stampin' Up cardstock; Chatterbox, October Afternoon, Paper Salon and Cosmo Cricket patterned papers; Little Yellow Bicycle rub-on; miscellaneous twill ribbon and staple. Designed based on Sketch #100 by Sketch This.

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7/07/2010

Wordless Wednesday: First Pickle


Wordless Wednesday

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Snapware Review and Giveaway

I'm always looking for new ways to better organize my home. It's small and now that we are accumulating more and more toys, it's feeling smaller and smaller! I recently blogged about relocating my computer and crafting space to the guest room. Doing so decreased my crafty storage space a bit. I was quite thrilled when Snapware gave me the opportunity to try one of their products. The Snap 'N Stack containers looked like they would make great craft storage and could easily be moved from my workspace to my closet.

I received a Snap 'N Stack Medium 2 Layer with Sectional Divider. It came with a lid, 2 layers, and (2) 3-piece divider sections with lids:


Seeing the product online, I thought the divider was one tray. Instead it is split down the center with 3 sections in each half so you could easily use a portion in each layer of the container. I choose to use them all on the bottom layer separating a variety of embellishments. The lids for the dividers (set to the side) are wonderful! They ensure any small items in the dividers stay in their specific cell.

While the container works great for storage in my craft room, I'm betting it would be wonderful for taking to crops. The lid and layers snap together snugly assuring nothing will fall out. Just grab the handle and go.


Now it's time for one lucky reader to win their own Snap 'N Stack Medium 2 Layer with Sectional Divider. To enter, you must visit the Snapware website and join the Snapware Family. After doing so, please leave a comment here stating you joined.
Want to gain additional entries? Here are a few ways:
  1. follow this blog
  2. follow me on Twitter - @2pawsdesigns
  3. tweet about this giveaway using "I want to #win the Snapware #giveaway from Snapware & @2pawsdesigns! #contest http://bit.ly/bZiwG2 Please RT" (valid for extra entry once per day)
  4. blog about this giveaway
  5. "like" 2paws Designs on Facebook
For each additional entry, please post a new comment. Ie, if you tweeted or blogged about the giveaway, come back and post a link. Thanks and good luck!!

Giveaway is open to only continental US residents. Must be 18 years or older. Ends Thursday, July 15th at 9:00pm Eastern time. Winner will be picked by random.org and announced on Friday, July 16th. Winner will be contacted by email. Be sure to either leave a valid email address along with your comment or check back on Friday, July 16th when the winner is announced to email it to me within 48 hours. If a valid email address is not left and the winner does not contact me by Sunday, July 18th, a new winner will be selected.

Note: giveaway is sponsored by Snapware. I was provided with an organizer to review, however, all opinions expressed are strictly my own.


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