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SUMMER ENTERTAINING: DIY PAINTERLY CHARGERS

2013-05-20T13:31:51Z

Summer is here, well almost. Memorial Day is coming up fast and what better way to accent your summer party than with something bright and colorful like hand painted chargers. You don't have to be an artist to achieve this modern abstract painting look for your table. All it takes is a little craft paint and those cheap plastic chargers. You can find the chargers at Michaels or your local craft shop. Don't forget to grab a few off season colors and you can paint them to match your party colors. A step even easier? Just paint them a solid color to match the decor. These chargers have a smooth surface and once you cover them with a quick pop of plastic primer (Rustoleum is my favorite) you have a blank canvas to work with. You can score the chargers full price at $1.99, so even going all out makes a table of four settings incredibly affordable. Just one more way you can add a splash of color without breaking the bank.

Check out my full DIY over on Julep today! These take a few minutes plus dry time. You can certainly make these in time for the big weekend ahead.

HAND DRAWN HIPSTER FONT: TREND HANDMADE

2013-05-10T14:25:20Z

Earlier this year I shared a fabulous font called Trend. Well, the folks over at Latinotype have brought a new version to life, Trend Handmade. All the awesomeness of the original with a bit of scratchyness built in, as if you sketched this bad boy by hand. I love that kind of stuff. You know, the kind of distressed look that I don't have to do myself. I love design and fonts and know just enough about Illustrator to be dangerous, but I am not a designer. Even if I was, when typographers save me steps modifiying fonts, well, that is my kind of heaven. It's a hipster style font, perfect for labels, logos and t-shirts.This baby is on sale for $19, that is such a super deal!

I hope everyone has a fabulous Mother's Day weekend! How cool would this font be on a card? Don't forget to win two tickets to Alt for Everyone - there is less than 2 hours to enter to win!! GO!

Check out more font inspiration (or just some fun fonts to have in your arsenal here:

ALEXANDRA {THE AERIALIST PRESS}

ALISON {ALISON OWEN DESIGN}

JEN {BLUSH PRINTABLES}

STEPH {BUBBLEROCK}

SOFIA {BRANCOPRATA}

CATHERINE {DESIGN EDITOR}

CHELSEY {CHELSEYEMERY}

ALLIE {HONEY BEE INVITES}

LAUREN {LAUREN ELISE CRAFTED}

JENNA + ELIZABETH {LITTLE BIT HEART}

LAUREN {PALM PAPERS}

KERRY {SUPER SWOON}

VICKI {VICKI.DESIGNER}

WENDY{WESWEN DESIGN}

FOLLOW #FONTFRIDAY on Twitter!

DIY PAINTED LETTER CUPCAKE TOPPERS

2013-05-08T21:12:11Z

How do you make cool letter cupcake toppers? You could use the limited selection they sell at the craft store, paint them and pop 'em on a stick. Or you could use a Silhouette and make them out of any old font you like! Well, you know how I hate having limited options, especially when it comes to fonts. I used the new chipboard sheets and whipped up my own set of cool cupcake toppers. The chipboard is great because it is thin enough for the machine to cut, but thick enough to be painted and stand on it's own as a letter. Since the Silhouette Portrait can use any font that is loaded on your computer, I chose one of my favorites, AmarilloUSAF (a freebie from dafont.com), a great modern font with cool notched corners. Love it!

WIN TWO TICKETS TO ALT FOR EVERYONE!

2013-05-07T16:44:20Z

That's right, two tickets. One for you and one for a friend! I've been busy working with the Alt team to bring you the first ever online conference from Alt Summit. No plane ticket? No problem. We've gathered some of the biggest and brightest bloggers around to share their secrets for creating great content, beautiful web design and turning your blog into a business. The best part? Joy Cho, of Oh Joy!, is the keynote speaker! I can't wait to hear what she has to say, it's bound to be awesome and inspirational.

If you didn't know, I am the Alt Channel Director for Alt Summit. What is the Alt Channel? It is an online classroom where social media experts and professional bloggers come to share their expertise in a community environment. Learn the tips and tricks from the pros to grow and enhance your blog. I personally love meeting everyone there and learning about fabulous new blogs; it's a great way to connect with the Alt community. So, if you have taken a class before, you know a little about how Alt for Everyone will run. If not, that's ok, either way you are in for a treat! Alt for Everyone is a little bit Alt Channel and a little bit of the Alt Summit conferences you are used to. All online, all awesome.

How can you win? All you need to do is check out the schedule and tell me what you would love to learn the most! You have until Friday morning at 9am PST. So hop to it and enter to win! I want to see you there! Can't wait - sign up today, classes are filling up fast. Be sure to check back often, people have been changing their classes, so if one was filled, check to see if it has opened.

HOW TO DECORATE A TEA BAG WITH TINY POMS

2013-05-06T17:24:33Z

Plain old tea bags are so yesterday. As a gal that decorates pretty much everything she can with a pop of color, I was bound to revamp our simple breakfast beverage. Tea is classic, refined and oh so good. Why can't it be fun too? Make mini pom flowers with a little tissue paper, some pinking shears, a glue dot and a tea bag. Simply replacing that boring old tea tag with something fun and floral in a bright hue? That's my cup of tea!

Be sure to check out the full DIY here on Julep, Minted's blog. Be sure to try this quick addition for brunch on Mother's Day!

GREAT CINCO DE MAYO FONT: CARMEN FIESTA

2013-05-03T18:31:27Z

I just finished painting so I'm glad this weekend is Cinco de Mayo. It's time to celebrate! I have been painting the main living area of the house, it was dark and dismal. Now with a fresh coat of creamy white paint, it's bright and airy and finally done. I've been painting bits and pieces as it is sunny but I finally had to break down and focus to get the last bits of the hallway done. So if you have been wondering where my posts have been...there is only so much time in the day. I've been dying to redecorate and now I finally get to do the fun part. That being said, I'm scooting out early. Before I go, just in case you were looking for a great font for those papel picado banners, check out Carmen Fiesta by Andreu Balius. Want to make an easy banner? A Silhouette Portrait takes any font you have and will cut it out, you could use this font to make a fun papel picado.

These fun terminals on the capital letters would make a great place card. It doesn't have to be a fiesta, these letters just scream summer to me.

Check out my font loving pals:

ALEXANDRA {THE AERIALIST PRESS}

ALISON {ALISON OWEN DESIGN}

JEN {BLUSH PRINTABLES}

STEPH {BUBBLEROCK}

SOFIA {BRANCOPRATA}

CATHERINE {DESIGN EDITOR}

CHELSEY {CHELSEYEMERY}

ALLIE {HONEY BEE INVITES}

LAUREN {LAUREN ELISE CRAFTED}

JENNA + ELIZABETH {LITTLE BIT HEART}

LAUREN {PALM PAPERS}

KERRY {SUPER SWOON}

VICKI {VICKI.DESIGNER}

WENDY{WESWEN DESIGN}

FOLLOW #FONTFRIDAY on Twitter!

On another note, don't paint ceilings. I know it seems easy but trust me. That is one DIY I will NEVER do again. Ever.

A HORSE CAKE STAND TAKES THE CAKE

2013-04-30T18:39:32Z

I am always looking for new and fabulous cake stands. I have to restrain myself from buying them all. I have more stands than the average party blogger should even own. This does not keep me from trying to find the latest and greatest. I give you the coolest cake stand ever. Yep, I'm calling this one. You could use this for epic desserts or for a catchall tray in your foyer. Either way, this handsome stallion of a cake plate is rarin' to go. Sorry for the horse puns, but do you blame me? This is amazing. I'm always telling you the importance of having basic white serveware and this is the reason why. Your standard collection will blend in while this amazing stand shines in all it's glory. That one diamond, in a fun and quirky manner, quietly shouts 'I am awesome, check out what I put my cupcakes on'. Guests will oooh and ahhh. I guarantee it. IMM Living is a beautiful and fun brand of ceramic goodies, this horse head Takes the Cake Plate is one of my favorites. I encourage you to check them out and find some fun little finds for yourself! I tracked down the cake plate and you can buy it here.

I like to share my secret sources, so I will always let you know where I find goodies. Looking for something for your next party? Ask me. Got something quirky that you need to track down? Let's make a post of it and submit your query. I'm on the hunt and I bet I can find it. If I can't, we might just have to make it. Win win.

HOW TO MAKE EASY GEOMETRIC CAKE TOPPERS

2013-04-29T18:04:08Z

Quick, easy and fun, these geometric cake toppers are number one on my current favorite DIY list. How simple to just find some great shapes and hot glue them to decorate a cake, no baking skills required. Check out the full DIY for this geometric cake topper over on Julep, Minted's blog. I dare you do use these for a BBQ, a shower or a birthday. Want more? What if you took these wood shapes and made a garland? All you would need to do is hot glue it to a strand of twine. Easy.

HOW TO MAKE PARTY TOPIARIES

2013-04-25T15:00:00Z

What is a party topiary? Just a fun take on traditional hanging decorations. Pop a few honeycomb balls on a stick and call it awesome. These couldn't be easier to make and just bring a ball of fun to the party. Think of all the different combinations you could make. Don't forget that you have a variety of sizes to choose from and can even make shapes - a geometric topiary would be so fun!! Pop on over to Minted's blog Julep and check out the full tutorial HERE.

A little hint, unless you have these sticks stuck in the ground for your perfect garden party, you are going to need a base. Check out the quick and easy DIY to put the dowels in a base and make these cuties over on Minted's blog Julep HERE.

BLOGGING TIPS: EASY IMAGE PINNING WITH BING

2013-04-24T13:57:50Z

When I am searching for inspiration or new products to use in my DIYs, I like to do image searches. Rounding up the products and pinning them helps me organize my ideas visually to plan a project or just to save things I like that I can use for inspiration later. Have you noticed that you pin alot of the same things? I sure do, I usually end up pinning similar things and start to see a trend. Unfortunately, I just can't pin everything I really like. I have to admit that I have missed pinning some great stuff simply because of the time it takes to track down the source, go to the website and then walk through the pinning process. This not only means I miss inspiration because I am in a hurry, but many times I miss the links to products I need to source for a DIY. I have been almost to tears trying to find the perfect cake plate I just saw, where was it at again? I swore I would remember.

Enter awesome new tool. Last fall, I particpated in a focus group of lifestyle and design bloggers at Bing here in Seattle. We talked with Bing about our needs as bloggers and how we use search engines. What happened? The Bing image search has a great new feature, 'Pin to Pinterest'. Get this, you can pin right from the image search. Gone are the days of clicking through, just pin it and be done with it. The pin credits the original, high resolution source, hello blogger heaven. Paired with the already amazing search engine tool (did you know you can filter by site and picture orientation?) my image hunts are going to be so much easier and faster.

In theory, this is going to help me be much more productive. The less I click over to a site when I am searching for something, the less I will be distracted by the content. Honestly, who hasn't wasted a few hours reading and browsing around looking at things you weren't looking for. Not that I don't get inspiration from that, but it will save me a ton of time and keep me from doing it every time. I'll be able to whip out Cinco de Mayo inspiration and products in a blink of the eye, adding more original pins to my boards, which is always a good thing. In short, I am loving the 'Pin to Pinterest' feature on Bing, both personally and for the blog.

This post is sponsored by BING. All opinions are my own.