My First Decore Elements!

With the arrival of my new addition close at hand, I wanted to make some things for his/her room. When I got my copy of Stampin' Up's new Decore Elements brochure in July, I loved the ideas, and couldn't wait to try them out! I decided to start small, so I ordered the small Lollipop Flower. I thought it would look great in a child's room! Off I went to Michael's to get a frame, and came back with one measuing 12x18. I haven't used much chipboard before either, so I decided to try that out too, with some inspiration from the "Home" project on the cover of the DE brochure.

To make the "lollipop's" different colors, I simply punched out 1 1/4" circles and placed them behind the glass, after applying the DE to the front of the glass. The "SWEET" letters are also in front of the glass, while papers and ribbon are behind it.

This is a picture of it hung up in the nursery. A few more things need to be added to the walls, but overall I think this project made a great addition to the baby's room!

Baby Shower Fun

I threw a shower for my sister-in-law the day after her due date (I took a chance, I know!). She had 9 family members coming in from Ontario that weekend including her mom, so I wanted to make sure to include them. I figured if she had the baby early, then baby would be there for the fun, and if not, the shower would be a good distraction while she waits for his/her arrival. I wanted a surprise shower, so asked my brother for all the emails and phone numbers, and planned with him very carefully. It was a huge success! She had no idea, and was very happy. She didn't think anyone would throw a shower for her, and was kind of sad - but there was NO way I was letting her get away without a shower! I had so much fun planning; our little ones will be about 6 weeks apart (mine has yet to arrive - due date: today!), so it's not like I didn't have a lot of other things to do. I think I was avoiding those things though, so made myself busy planning her gift, the games we'd play, the prizes they'd win, party favors and food. Whew!

In this picture you can see the party favors I made: little Kit Kat's wrapped with designer paper, with a little rattle attached to a pink elephant (my sister-in-law knew she was having a baby girl). Also in the picture is my gift to her: a fuzzy bin filled with homemade blankets, clothes, breastfeeding supplies, etc. I had intended to wrap it very simply in some cello wrap, but discovered (about an hour before I needed to leave!) that I didn't have enough! So, I stuffed it with pink tissue paper, and made a chipboard flower to peek out of it!

How can you help but have a tonne of fun planning one of these parties; you don't need to spend a lot to be successful, and having the internet to browse for ideas is a life-saver! Thanks to everyone who has posted their baby shower ideas to the internet - there were so many great ideas; it made my task so much easier!