Easy-Access Paint Storage for Touch-ups

I saw this great idea on Pinterest for storing small amounts of paint in baby food jars to use for touch-ups. I finally did it, but re-used my kids' empty milk cartons from "free lunch at the park". I simply peeled off the milk label, washed out the carton, and labeled them with a sharpie- all important info, including which rooms they match. Then I swiped a little dab of the paint on my finger to put on the lid. SO simple!

I am hoping this works out and keeps the paint fresh. The nice thing about this is that they are small enough to store inside the house in a cupboard or on a shelf for quick, easy access whenever you need them. Also, inside they are in controled temperatures so the paint doesn't freeze or bake. Yay! Thank you Pinterest, for a great idea!

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DIVA Birthday Party on a Budget

My daughter turned 8 last month, and she wanted a "Diva" themed party. You can go different ways with that theme, like "Rock-Star Diva", "Barbie" or "Fashionista". We called ours a "Diva Dance Party".
I found lots of ideas on Pinterest, of course; then added a few of my own...

Diva Invitations
I made the invitations myself with inspiration from one I saw on Pinterest. 
I have a wonderful, easy, and inexpensive program called Scrapbook Boutique that I use to make invitations and scrapbook pages. I love to google free and inexpensive digi kits online, to use for my projects. I found this zebra one while doing the Diva invitations.

Diva Cake
My good friend, Joanne H. did the cake. (I can do simple cakes, but Joanne does the beautiful, fancy, professional kind.) It's a chocolate cake, iced with white buttercream, and black fondant for the zebra stripes. Mmmm... It was diva-lishous!!

Diva Decor and Party Supps
I got the table covering, plates, napkins, cups, and pink serving bowls at Wal-mart. The rest came from Hobby Lobby. I made the chair-back cover years ago, and the "Birthday Diva" sash is from Hobby Lobby. I made the "Happy Birthday" banner myself with 12x12" scrapbook paper, black ribbon, and letters printed off the computer.

  

Diva Party Food

Easy store-bought kettle corn, homemade pink Rice Krispie treats, homemade chocolate-dipped strawberries, and strawberry lemonade Crystal Light to drink.

 

Diva Party Favors

I found these darling little paper "purses" at Hobby Lobby, so I dressed them up, each with a personalized "thank you" tag and a handmade flower clip attached. (I made the tags with Scrapbook Boutique; and the clips from dollar store flowers, double-pronged alligator clips from Sally's, and black feathers & jewels from Hobby Lobby.) Inside each "purse" I put a candy bracelet & a few other small candies (all from the bulk section of Winco). *Girls will add more to their purses during one of the games... 

Diva Games!!

Upon arrival the party guests got to choose a "purse", and I wrote their name on it with a black sharpie. (We then left them on the counter for later.) With my tween daughter & niece and 2 teenage nieces helping, we split the girls up to do their nails, a little makeup, and glitter spray in their hair. 

Then we did some Taylor Swift karaoke singing.

*I had arranged for a couple of my teenage neighbor girls on the high school dance team, to come teach the little girls some dance moves. But they had forgotten they had an backpacking overnighter for "girls camp" and had to back out. Karaoke took the place of the dancing, and was just as fun.

I had found a few games through Pinterest that I thought we might play, but the timing was perfect for just one of them. "Pass the Purse"... A BIG HIT with these little girls! 

In this game, all girls sit in a circle on the floor with their little "purse" favors in front of them. They pass the purse while music is playing, (like "hot potato"). When the music stops, the one holding the purse gets to choose one thing out of it to put in her own "purse". I had enough for one each of 4 small favors: a nail polish, a lip gloss, a colored fake-hair attachment, and a little note pad.

 

Where to Find Stuff for a Diva Party?

I shopped around for the best prices on stuff including our only party store in my town, and ended up finding most of what I needed from Hobby Lobby, Walmart, and Ross.

Hobby Lobby- purses, hair attachments, note pads.  Ross- nail polish & lipgloss. *I should've gone to Burlington Coat Factory instead for the nail polish & lipgloss. Was just there and saw more for less $! Oh well. These ones were cuter anyway! 

 

This party was super fun to do, and very memorable! Good luck if you decide to do a DIVA PARTY!

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Hello from Angela

Hello friends! I'm ANGELA, and it's been a long time since I've posted on this blog. 

After 12 years of my comfy life as a stay-at-home-mom, the economy left us in dire circumstances; and I had to jump back into the working world. Only this time, as a working MOM. It has pretty much "rocked my world" these last couple years, and I had to put blogging [and myself] on the back-burner. :(

Life is crazy as a working mom, and the "juggling act" sends my anxiety level sky-high for 9 months. But I have no room to complain... My husband has a good job, our 4 children are all school-aged now, and I work for the school district doing something I love. (I'm a sign-language interpreter.) It's one of the BEST outside-the-home jobs a mom could ever have (working the school schedule). I feel SO very blessed! 

I'm loving my summer break, and working my tail off to get caught up on all the things I've neglected for the 9 months I work. (Last summer I was recovering from hysterectomy surgery, so maybe I'm really catching up on 1 year + 9 months of neglect.) Needless to say, I have tons of organizing to get done this summer, and I've been working on it every chance I get (between birthdays, baptisms, family reunion, camping, errands, playdates, and keeping my kids on top of their daily responsibilities). I've got lots of things to post on this blog, but my family and home will always take precedence. Hence the reason I've not posted for a long time. 

Stay tuned... I have a few things to share in the coming days and weeks, and I'm hoping to have a chance to do so! 

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End of School Gifts {2013}

My friend Keva had this cute sign on her door to usher in

 Summer Break-so CUTE!

The Busdriver Gift

Smore's Kit: King size chocolate bar, 

package of marshmallows & package of graham crackers

Teacher Gift

A rainbow of Hairclips

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