My friend, Kellie, has been smitten with these Pottery Barn wine glass charms. She loves to entertain and has been on the search for this particular set for quite some time.

She shared the photo with me this weekend and I immediately suggested that we try to create something similar, but more personal.

That's how this happened...

We loaded up on goodies at the craft store... dimensional alphabet stickers, glittery scrapbook paper, jump rings, and jewelry wire. I found a bag of florist marbles at the Dollar Tree.

After laying down our stickers on the scrapbook paper, we adhered a florist marble on top of each letter with Mod Podge Dimensional Magic and let it dry overnight.

We couldn't find the right hangers for our charms so I crafted them from heavier gauge jewelry wire. I cut 2" of wire, shaped it in a circle, and bent the ends with a set of jewelry pliers.

After cutting marbles from the paper, we glued a silver pendant bail to the back of each. 

Bonus!! If you're using these for a party, you can send your guests home with the charm they choose. The addition of the bail means these will make great pendants for a necklace.

We think the results are amazing! These are glamorous, personal, and a great addition to anyone's bar ware.

We were on a roll so we kept the theme by crafting another set of wine glass charms. That post is next. Stay tuned!!

Y'all.

It was -12 degrees, with a wind chill of -34, when I woke up this morning. It is so cold it physically hurts! Have you felt the effects of the "Polar Vortex of 2014?"

Meh. Everyone is talking about the cold... so, let's talk about crafting.

It was really no surprise when my nearly-four-year-old began asking for a "shark cake" for his upcoming birthday.

Not a superhero theme... not cars... not dinosaurs... sharks.

He doesn't make anything easy on us.

{wink-wink}

So, I set to work this weekend, crafting shark accessories for the cupcakes that he was taking to share with his classmates.

I found the perfect scrapbook papers at a local craft store - a shimmery gray for the shark toppers and a watery iridescent for the cupcake wrappers.

This is one of those times that I said a prayer of thanks for my Silhouette. I downloaded patterns for the sharks and the cupcake wrappers from the Silhouette store and set to work.

My Silhouette is an older generation, but I still love it! Here it is in action.

And, the end result...

To make the toppers, I "sandwiched" a toothpick between two sharks. Time consuming, but so simple.

I think it looks as though they are leaping from the surf with the fluffy white icing.

He was happy as can be to share the cupcakes and shark water squirter favors with his classmates today!

Score one for mommy.

Wherever you are, stay warm and dream of cupcakes. Even better, bake some and take advantage of that warm oven.

I'm a long time customer of Keurig. I absolutely love, love, love my machine! So, I jumped at the chance to host a House Party for Keurig's newest brewing system, Vue.

But, honestly... how could they really improve on perfection?

Well, they did.

The Vue system is astounding! You can select the strength of your coffee, create café beverages with fancy froth, and brew over ice! Like your coffee "extra hot?" Vue's got you covered!

As a House Party hostess, I received a Keurig Vue system, six boxes of coffee, delicious cookies, an apron, after-coffee mints, and all of the necessities for hosting an amazing coffee break for my friends.

But what's a party without a fun activity?

I've been dying to experiment with decorating mugs with Sharpies, as seen on A Beautiful Mess. So, I incorporated a little crafting session into my party.

We each picked our favorite coffee quote... well, except for Patrick, who chose to rebel... and set to work!

We had such a great time!

Get in on the House Party action! Head on over to their site and apply to host a party today!

Happy brewing!

I cannot tell you how blessed I was last night to spend time with my oldest son... crafting!

He purchased a "super cool" bracelet while we were out and about yesterday. He was so inspired by it that he came home and wanted to learn how to make it himself!

So, he went straight to "ha yoo"... "ya woo"... "yoo hoo"...

"What's it called, mommy?"

"Um... Google."

He found a great tutorial on YouTube for weaving "Survival Bracelets," which is a military-inspired technique, and that's what we did last night!

I started him out with craft lace because that's what we had available. I used some cotton cording that I had left over from a sewing project.

{As always... YAY for making something new out of something old!!!}

We had such a good time with it once we finally got going!

Check out how intently he's working on his project.

Totally precious.

Here are the results!

Of course, I had to get fancy-schmancy with mine and added a humongous button closure. I have to say - I would actually wear this out. Pinterest tells me that rope is fashion-current these days.

**smile**

So, here's the best part of our crafting adventure...

He wants to incorporate this activity into his birthday camp-out! What a fantastic creative project for little boys!

It's appropriate that they are called "Survival Bracelets" because I have been stressing over how to survive a house full of little boys!

I found this awesome pack of paracords for the boys to use.

Very masculine, n'est pas?

I love it when so many things come together in the perfect way!

I'll be honest.

I'm just not creative enough to be a scrap-booker. I humbly bow in the presence of those who are.

I gave it a good effort several years ago, but I just have no vision for how a page should be put together. I just sit there and stare at it.

I have a Silhouette that I've primarily used for fabric and vinyl cutting. But today, I used it to make creative birthday party invitations for my son.

And it was... So. Much. Fun!

I won't give you a play-by-play because the pics tell the story, but if you'd like some resources:

Fonts: Pinewood, Reprise Stamp
Art: Silhouette Online Store
Silhouette Print and Cut Tutorial

Dylan added the final touches by decorating the envelopes for his friends.

These didn't require the talent it takes to be a scrap-booker, but I'm proud of the way my paper crafting project came together.

Now, I'm off to plan the party!