Pumpkin Spice It Up

A yard or two of fabric and two spools of ribbon from Hobby Lobby can certainly go a long way! Here are a few photos of how we got into the fall spirit at our house. I hand painted the college craft pumpkins last year, so this year, all I had to do was set everyone out. Some chevron fabric, a sign I made on my Silhouette Cameo and some ribbon completed everything. Super simple.

For the entry way, all I did was cut a runner from the fabric- didn't even sew a hem and laid the ribbon on top.

I made this sign by using leftover fabric to cover a canvas. Cut the letter using my Silhouette Cameo and heat transfer material, ironed it on.

Entry Hall- fabric runner and ribbon, candy corn m&m's

I hand painted these in 2011. They would have been way easier to cut vinyl for this year, but they still turned out cute.

Canvas Birth Announcement

I have been working to raise money for the nonprofit I volunteer for- Pink Door Nonprofit. I also serve on their board. I'll admit, I am not so good at asking donations, but I really wanted to find a way to support Pink Door. SO, I have put my crafting skills to use to make infant onsies and kid's shirts in exchange for a donation. The response by friends and family has been great (the shirts are $20 for one or $30 for two plus $5 shipping). ALL of the proceeds benefit Pink Door, which supports women cancer survivors and patients who are struggling to make ends meet.

A friend of mine asked me to branch out and make a birth announcement canvas for her son. While I would use a lighter fabric next time, I think it turned out adorable! So, I am sharing the end result. In the spirit of fundraising, I will also make one in return for a donation to Pink Door Nonprofit. The suggest donation is $30 for a 14x14 sign, but if you have another figure in mind, just email me. I can customize the fabric, colors, graphics, etc. Here was the trial run for Hunter's sign. I used the leftover fabric from my Halloween decor, so I would definitely use something a little less bold for the background, but I have to admit, it turned out very cute!

Birth Announcement Keepsake for Hunter (14x14 canvas). $30

What do you think?

If you'd like to order one, please email me at shawnelindsey@gmail.com. I am taking donations through my Pink Door fundraising site. My goal is to raise $2,500, this will assist one cancer survivor in 2013. I am 60 percent to my goal!

Thanks for stopping by and God bless!

Here's a sneak peak at the onesies... if you want to learn more you can find that post here.

Infant tee-shirt (L) and onesie (R) benefitting Pink Door Nonprofit.

Onesies & Tees for Charity

I volunteer and am on the board of directors for Pink Door Nonprofit. Currently, I am trying to raise money for the My Pink Wish Assistance Program which provides financial aid to women cancer survivors-- most of whom are single, divorced or widowed. Some are raising kids, others simply don't have family near them. The money provide by Pink Door helps pays for essentials- mortgage, rent, medications, co-pays, transportation to appointment, utility bills and the like.

To help raise money, I started making custom onesies that I am giving away, in exchange for a donation to Pink Door Nonprofit.

Just in time for the 2012 election we have the weepublican (with elephant) and babycrat (with donkey) onesies and toddler tees!

I am not in the retail business and work full-time, so it's a pilot project for sure! I will only take as many orders as I can handle. I am asking those that want a onesie to email me at shawnelindsey@gmail.com. I am asking for donations of $20 for a onesie or T-shirt or $30 for two. Please add $5 for shipping. Or, if you prefer, make me an offer on what you'd like to donate via email.

Please keep in mind this is a fundraiser. I am not making any money off of making these-- in fact, I am incurring the cost of the materials as a part of my own contribution to Pink Door. Below are some of the designs I've made so far. If you are interested, EMAIL ME FIRST TO CONFIRM and get a list of color options, and once confirmed I will ask that you make the donation to my fundraising site or to the Pink Door site (further instructions will be needed). (If you'd like to just make a donation to Pink Door and forego the garment-- many thanks, you can do that at any time!)

These preppy striped circle monogram shirts are perfect for boys or girls, they would also make an adorable gift for twins!

Colored Onsies, like shown above are $5 extra, depending on availability.

Circle Monogram, Navy Lettering

4T kids shirt, Vine Monogram with Name

Youth T-shirts: Vine monogram, circle monogram, deer with name, vine letter with name

Newborn Baseball with Name

12 mo infant camoflage dress

Long sleeve, Script monogram for twins

Football Onesies look adorable on Girls too!

I am sure you can appreciate that this is all in the spirit of fundraising for a great charity. I will do everything I can to make sure you are 100% pleased, and so far everyone has been very pleased! I have received no complaints, but please understand that I cannot be processing refunds and returns. I am not a business, just a crafter trying to help a great cause :)

Washing instructions: Machine wash inside out, dry on low-regular heat.

Vintage Pinup Wedding Shower

Heather is a busy, traveling career woman, project manager and consultant. Finding a time to throw her a shower in the months before her Las Vegas wedding proved to be impossible. So, we decided to throw her a shower after the wedding. I know, a little unconventional, but it was still in advance of their honeymoon, and she didn't have a bachelorette party. The honeymoon won't take place for a few more months, so the guest were happy to have a post-bachelorette party for the bride. The ladies pool party was a pinup theme, with favor bags that included large flower hair clips and a shatterproof monogram wine glass (we wanted to keep glass away from the pool). The light menu included cool soups, salads and a light desert. Here are the highlight's from Mrs. Smith's pinup party.

Favors:

We took these vintage pinup images right off of a Google image search and used them to spruce up these otherwise regular brown gift bags. 

Each guest also got a hair flower that the hostesses made to get folks into the pinup theme.

Because it was poolside, we gave each guest their favor bag when they walked in so they could use their customized acrylic glasses and take them home. Myself and another hostess made these using vinyl and my Silhouette Cameo machine. We bought the glasses at Crate and Barrel for about $2.50 each. So we made lovely favors for about $4/ea

Menu:

Healthy Chopped Chicken Taco Salad

Chilled Asparagus with Lump Crab Shooter

Chilled Chile Lime Avocado with Chili Dusted Pumpkin Seeds

Chicken Salad and Avocado Crostini

Mini Fruit Pizzas (We added a touch of vanilla to the filling, which was an improvement. They were great!)

We decided to go with a light menu of salads and cold soups, since it's still can be pretty warm this time of year in Houston. 

Chicken Salad and Avocado Crostini

Chilled Asparagus Soup with Lump Crab

Sugar cookie pizzas with cream cheese/whipped filling and fresh fruit

This healthy chicken salad was a hit!

Assorted lanterns added to the fun outdoor decor.

Wine, Champagne and a signature "Panty Dropper" cocktail were on the bar menu.

Mini Pavlova Love

Mini Pavlova Love

Mini Raspberry Mousse Pavlovas 

My mother firsts introduced me to this recipe. I first had a pavlova when my New Zealand friends made it for a dinner party. It was excellent. As you may already know, a pavlova is a  meringue-based dessert. Wiki tells me it's named after a Russian ballet dancer. Well, this recipe will have you and your guests doing a dance of your own. They are light but still melt-in-your-mouth and insanely delicious! The mini pavlova is the way to go! 

Mini Raspberry Pavlovas

The recipe I used for these two parties was found at Team Time Magazine. Get the recipe here. They are fairly simple to do. You just have to watch the meringue very carefully to make sure it's cooked and cooled just right.

You'll notice that the filling got a little warmer than desired from the photo below because they were sitting out in a kitchen that heated up more than expected, so you will want to keep them chilled until just before serving. 

The first time I served these was at a wedding the shower, the second was at a baby shower. The recipe makes 30 individual pavlovas. 

Mini Raspberry Pavlovas

Ready to Pop Popcorn Favors

For my sister's baby shower in Texas, she wanted to give out Garrett's popcorn from her current home in Chicago as treats. Garrett's has been featured on Oprah's favorite things on several occasions. With the popcorn already done, all it took was a cute (Ready to Pop/Thank You for Popping By) label to bring these favors together. We also sent guests home with Extra and Doublemint gum, as a nod to the upcoming twins.

Garrett's popcorn, one of Oprah's favorite things, also happens to be one of the favorite things of the mom-to-be. So the popcorn was ordered to make for these favors, along with some gum favors.

Garrett's is based in the mom's current city of Chicago, so she wanted to share it with all of her friends in Texas. 

This is what I printed on card stock to make for the labels on the favors.

Extra and Doublemint come also went home with guests.

Kara is Ready To Pop (Baby Shower)

For my sister's baby shower, it was time to get creative. I wanted her shower to stand apart from any others I had done. From unique modpodged tiles, to a library of vintage baby books, to cute favors featuring her favorite Chicago popcorn that we brought in for the event, it was a lovely brunch and baby shower!  Here are few of the highlights:

Decor:

Blocks were made in the nursery colors for the mom-to-be to take home with her.

Vintage childhood books from a family friend's collection and other checked out from the library helped to inexpensively take the dining room into baby shower mode.

Vintage photos of the mom-to-be

lanterns and fresh flowers added to the decor

Dollar Store items such as flips flops, kids sunglasses and colored vases were used on the tables, along with homemade blocks and inexpensive 12x12 floor tiles covered in scrapbook paper. 

Food & Drink

The food had a twin theme- such as the Mini Cinnamon Buns-in-the-oven with pink frosting.

A local baker made these beautiful and intricate shortbread cookies to pass and send home with guests.

Brunch consisted of quiches, crepes, asparagus, as well as fresh fruits and pastries.

Special mom-to-be Kara deserved a special shower for her twin girls, Lindsey and Hope!

This printed sign with details of the shower on the bottom now hangs in the twins' nursery.