Handmade Ryan Gosling

Over Christmas my brother-in-law introduced me to Feminist Ryan Gosling. We had a good laugh over topics which I did not always understand but were still humorous. For example...

 

Then I found Handmade Ryan Gosling and laughed because I actually understood the jokes. Here are just a few of my favorites...

 

And my personal favorite...

I am totally guilty of this. Rest assured if there are pictures of a clean house on my blog, it's only because I have moved a pile of mess into the corner directly behind me. :)

Have a happy weekend!

EASY DIY Valentine Sweetheart Cakes

Borderline genius. That's what this post is. I didn't come up with the idea so I can say that. Let's just say it is going to change your life. Forever.

Brandy over at Simply Creative Insanity came up with this idea…



Do you know what that is? I'll tell you what it isn't. It is NOT a homemade whoopie pie that she slaved hours over and destroyed her entire kitchen to make. That is a plain old boring (but super yummy) Oreo Cakester rolled in sprinkles. All of a sudden, it is the cutest little cookie you ever did see and when you take it to work or your kid's class everyone will think you are an amazing baker and they will ask "How DOES she do it?!"

Since Valentine's is just around the corner, have your kids dip the Cakesters in sprinkles, then wrap them individually in clear packaging, tie on a pretty ribbon and viola: Valentine's for your kid's class. Best. Mom. Ever. On Simply Creative Insanity she put a pink heart marshmallow to top it off.

The best part about this idea is that you can carry it over into any holiday that has coordinating festive sprinkles. Thanks for the idea Brandy!

Paint Chip Heart Garland

I saw this on Pinterest and had to share here too. This is an inexpensive and easy way to make your home festive for Valentine's day thanks to your local Walmart's paint chips and Grace and Light's simple photo tutorial.

And if you really want to get creative, use the negative space of the paint chips as Valentine cards. Hooray for recycling!

Valentine's S'mores Recipe

Well what do you know? I was checking my Google Reader today and my friends over at Bird's Party  have a recipe for Valentine's S'mores…homemade graham crackers, marshmallows and all. Coincidence or fate? Either way, I might have to take a stab at making these someday because they look DELISH! Like I said before, this would make a GREAT Valentine's gift. Hint hint.

XOXO S'mores

I found these X and O S'mores on Williams Sonoma and now my mouth is watering and I'm debating whether or not I should order them for myself. I'm sure you could make something like these with homemade graham cracker/marshmallow recipes, X and O cookie cutters and dipping chocolate but if you're looking for a gift to send a loved one who lives out of town or to be delivered to a significant other at the office, these would be so unique compared to the usual flowers/chocolate! I know my coworkers would be jealous.

 

You just let me know if you need my address. :)

GO!

Last year I had been looking for a way to volunteer with our church, The Branch, and the perfect opportunity came along when I was asked to decorate for a kick off event for the church's volunteers.

So yeah, I basically volunteered for an event for volunteers.

The theme centered around the Lord's Prayer and the vision was to create a sort of revolution type feel in order to encourage volunteers to jump in to a ministry that best suited their talents. The event was enormous and with around 700 guests expected and an entire church to decorate on a limited budget, it was certainly a challenge. The Branch's Creative Director had already designed a logo and brochure for the event, so we decided to carry over his red, blue and green color scheme into the entire event. Needless to say there were many obstacles to overcome (40 foot ceilings, streamers falling into the baptistry, etc.) but with the help of the staff we were able to pull off a beautiful event. Special thanks to Kendra for the following photos…

 

We used butcher paper to imitate the logo on the columns in the sanctuary and folded red, blue and green paper to make streamed to hang over the baptistery.  

 

In the gym we put the food buffet on the stage with the GO! logo lit up on the curtain behind. Each of the gym's walls were lit with red, blue and green spotlights. We also served red, blue and green slushies in front of the stage which were a huge hit.

 

 

 

This made me think "Go! Go! Go! Go!" which is I guess what we were going for...

 

 

A special thank you to The Branch staff and my husband who risked heights and electrocution to hang streamers, lights and strips of fabric and butcher paper all for the cause. :)