Alice on Etsy {party inspiration collage}

1 peach pom pom here, 2 glass bottle here, 3 lace fingerless gloves here,
4 hair bow here, 5 bunnies print here, 6 pocket watch here,
7 tea cup here, 8 antique key here, 9 eat me tags here,

Independence Day Luau

Every year my family gets together for the 4th of July. Our mother chooses a theme and creates a party to remember! Last year we had a tea party theme and the year before that was a cowboy theme, and the list goes on. The photo above shows a plate full of what we call Hawaiian Haystacks. It is made by topping pineapple, green onions, tomatoes, coconut, chow mien noodles, cheese, chicken, and creme of chicken gravy on white rice. YUM! We are always impressed at how well our mother can throw a good party. There are always fun activity's and great food. Now you know where my sisters and I get our passion for party planing! Here, here, here, here, and here are just a few party's my sisters have planed.

My mother handmade the surf boards and attached grass skirts onto handmade tables to create this beautiful scene. We took photos in front of the surf boards and when we were done she put them on top of straw bales for extra seating. Genius!

Another fun thing my mom did was make solar ovens to cook s'mores! The tinfoil reflects the suns heat into the box lined with black paper. Apparently she has cooked cookies this way as well! Below is a tutorial for how to make a solar oven from a pizza box. I found it on Youtube for you.:)

What a fun party! Can't wait till next year! (I hear it is a pirate theme! ARR!)

felt flower brooch

I just made this felt flower brooch and I'm in love.

I am already planning on making a yellow one. I'll be sure and take step by step pictures so I can post a tutorial for you. :)

Lace and pearls collar necklace

Last week I decided I needed to try making something new...so I made this lace and pearls collar necklace. I hand sewed the pearls and beads on, added a rosette, and then crocheted the edge. The clasp is made using a bead as a button and the button hole is chain stitch looped around and reattached to the necklace. I Tried taking a photo of the necklace on me...

...it proved to be pretty difficult.

I did finally get a usable image. :)

chocolate cupcakes

Dusting powdered sugar over rich dark chocolate frosting adds a beautiful and tasty touch!

My Pet Bluebird {Little Lolas paper mache doll} SOLD

I finished this paper mache sculpture just today. Here she is , isn't she cute?! I Like her a lot! Check her out in my Etsy shop. SOLD. please visit my shop, Little Lolas, for more sculptures in the future!

a gift for my little sis

I have been on a beading kick lately and my little sister is turning fourteen in a few weeks, so I decided I needed to celebrate by making her some jewelry. I think I had as much fun packaging them as I did making them. (I can get away with posting the photos this soon because she is going to be on the road for a while and then romping around Disneyland! NOT FAIR!) :)

Chalkboard paint on the dining room table

Our table was black before this, but not nearly so exciting. I foresee a lot of fun homeschooling going on at this table.

origami boxes with wallpaper?

No really, I folded these boxes out of old wallpaper I got at the thrift store! Want to make these too? Check out my tutorial video here.

Since I used the entire width of the roll these boxes ended up pretty big.
I think they're about 8in x 8in.

I originally bought the wallpaper to be wrapping paper. I was staring at the roll wishing I had boxes to wrap and that's when I realized that the wallpaper was thick enough to make origami boxes! {Bonus! These wallpaper rolls come with way more paper than wrapping paper rolls do!}

I put little dividers inside to separate the chocolate nest treats I made for Easter. Maybe I'll put home made peeps in another box. You could use these boxes for cupcakes as well since they're tall enough. The possibilities are endless really.

As you can see from all the photos, I had a lot of fun decorating them too. I think I am in love with packaging and wrapping! (And, I'm more than a little obsessed with origami boxes!)

Happy Easter everyone!

DIY recycled rosette: girls hooded jacket

To make the rosettes on this hoodie I used the same technique as I did on my cardigan. The sweater was a hand-me-down from cousins an it came with a matching skirt. I cut up the skirt to make the rosettes. I also used the sewing machine to sew leaves on before attaching the roses.

crepes

If your hens start laying 8 new eggs a day, and you can't think what to do with them, make crepes!
Lots and lots of crepes!


Then stuff them full of scrambled eggs, sausage, and maple syrup. Yummmm!
What a great week to have too many eggs. Our Easter baskets will be full of eggs!