DIY Painted Drawstring Valentine Bags

I have always had a thing for cute little muslin drawstring bags.  I have them in all different sizes, and love coming up with creative ways to use them!  They are perfect for party favors or for tucking small gifts inside.

Recently I was able to attend CHA for the first time (my dream come true!), and I was given a sample of muslin and burlap bags from SRM, a company that sells fabric bags, clear containers, and stickers.  I wanted to create some little valentine bags, and decided to get creative with some of the fun supplies that I was given from the awesome companies that I met with during the blogger networking party at CHA… more on that later this week!  I decided to stick with black, white, gold, and a little bit of red for my bags, but you can use any color and create any designs that you like!

DIY Painted Drawstring Valentine Gift Bags:

You'll Need:

• Muslin and/or burlap bags
• Paint (I used Plaid Folk Art Chalkboard Paint and gold paint- not pictured)
• Paintbrush
• Glitter (I used Tulip Fashion Glitter)
• Painter's tape
• Piece of cardboard (not pictured)

1.  Place a piece of cardboard inside the bag that you will be painting, so that the paint won't bleed through to the other side.  

Place the painter's tape on one side of your bag to create stripes.  Paint the area in between the painter's tape to create stripes on the bag.  I used chalkboard paint because I had originally wanted to write names on the outside of the bags on the chalkboard stripes, but then I changed my mind.  Let the paint dry completely.

2.  Once dry, slowly remove the painter's tape to reveal the painted stripes.  I love this part! ;)  For the next part, you can choose to draw a heart in the middle of your bag lightly with a pencil freehand (like I did), or trace around a heart shape if you're not quite sure of your drawing skills.  

3.  Carefully paint in your heart.  You have a few options here- you can paint with a metallic gold paint (or any other color) like I did on my first bag.  

You can also use an adhesive and glitter, like I did on my second bag with the red heart.  Tulip Fashion Glitter worked well, because it is meant to adhere to fabric and the glitter is supposed to stay on after multiple washing.  Just follow the directions on the box.

For my third bag I painted the whole thing black, and then painted in the word "love" with gold paint.  I LOVE the way this one turned out!  Next time if I were to paint the whole thing I would do it on the muslin, not the burlap, because it makes the burlap a little trickier to close at the top, but I just adore this look.  It's easier to close the other bags, too, if you leave the top drawstring section unpainted.

Now that I have my cute little bags, I just have to figure out what I'm going to be putting inside them!

For more Valentine's Day projects, check out my free printable pirate Valentines… just add gold chocolate coins!

Or for the man in your life, I share how to open up store bought fortune cookies, take out the old fortunes, print out new romantic fortunes, and put them back inside the cookie and seal it all back up without him having a CLUE!  Easy tutorial can be found here.

Spruce up your couch with this easy DIY heart pillow!  So easy to make, even for a beginning sewer!

What's your favorite Valentine's Day project or craft?  I'd love to hear, just leave me a comment below! Happy crafting!

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

Orange Slice Pumpkins + Halloween Treat Bags

This is not a sponsored post, but I was given amazing craft products to share with you!

It's almost time for the big day!  Are you ready for Halloween?  Today I want to share with you a quick and easy little edible pumpkin that's made out of orange slices and watermelon sliced (the candy), and show how I put together some adorable Halloween treat bags for my kids' friends.

First of all, have you seen the Martha Stewart Crafts Halloween Collection this year? Nobody does Halloween better than Martha, and this year is no exception!  I am absolutely in love with the Animal Masquerade Burlap Treat Bags (as well as anything Martha!), and I decided to use these to make a treat bag for my kids to give to their friends on Halloween.

There are six bags in a package, there are three different designs in each pack.  Time to fill up my treat bags!

To do this, I turned to one of my favorite Martha Stewart Crafts products- the Test Tube Favor Kit!  I have to admit that I bought a package of these a few Halloweens ago, but have been hoarding them ever since, loving them so much that I didn't want to give them away!  Now that I have more, I can share :)  The kit comes with eight plastic test tubes, cork stoppers, and labels, perfect for giving away treats to friends or at a party!

I decided to put candy corns in mine, and attach my free printable Halloween cupcake toppers (printed at 80% size) to the top by punching a small hole in the topper, and then attaching to the test tube with black and white baker's twine.  I like the way the test tubes poke out a bit from the treat bag, so that you can see the tag and get a little sneak peek of what's inside!

I also included gummy worms, chocolate Halloween coins, little skeletons, and some orange slice pumpkins that we made.  These orange slice pumpkins are sooo cute, and take less than a minute to make!

Youll need two orange slices and one watermelon slice for each pumpkin.  Simply cut the tops off of the orangle slices so they are flat and cut the curved green top off of the watermelon slice.  Stick the two orange slices together, and add the green top to the middle.  Couldn't be easier (or cuter!).  This is a great activity for kids, too, because a butter or plastic knife works just fine for slicing the pumkins, and they are so easy and quick to make- and delicious to eat!

We made some to put inside the Halloween treat bags as well, and now they're ready for giving!

I wish I were throwing a big Halloween party this year just so I can pass out these amazing invitations!

Martha Stewart's Animal Masquesrade Invitation Kits are so well made, they paid attention to every little detail.  There are a set of pretty masks that come with each invitation, beautifully printed words on the front and back of the envelope, and the black and white striped envelope lining.... love!

Martha Stewart Crafts has so many great products in their Halloween line this year, you really need to check them out!  Here are some more of my favorites...

How cute are these Gothic Manor Skeleton Treat Bags?  Perfect for filling up with yummy treats.

These Martha Stewart Gothic Manor Beverage Labels are sure to add some spookiness to your Halloween drinks!

Decorating your home for Halloween is easy with these Haunted House Wall Clings... just stick onto your walls and mirrors, and simply peel off after Halloween.

I hope you enjoyed my treat bags and orange slice pumpkins, as well as some of my favorite Halloween picks this year. 

If you're looking for a great Halloween meal to serve your family, why not try my Spooky Spaghetti with Eyeballs?

My free printable Halloween cupcake toppers would be a great addition to your Halloween treats (or test tube labels)!

Have you printed out your own  fall activities bucket list punch card?  Punch a hole in the pumpkins each time you complete a fall activity with your family!

This make at home Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice drink tastes just like fall, and is a great treat to have after making a craft or doing a fun fall activity ;)

Have a happy and safe Halloween!!

If you liked this, I'd love for you to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

Freezer Paper Stencil Tutorial

Have you ever used freezer paper as a stencil?  If not, it is a VERY easy way to create a unique, one of a kind shirt, bag, or whatever else you would like to make!

The process is easy: create, cut, and paint.  I'll walk you through each step, and you'll be on your way to your own custom shirts in no time!  This method I am going to show you how I made the elephant t-shirt for my son's Jungle Safari Birthday Party, the shirt for my daughter's Under the Sea Party (coming soon to the blog!), and many more fun shirts.  

Freezer paper stencils shirts are a great way to have a custom look for birthday shirts, holidays, or just for fun!  Freezer paper looks almost like wax paper, but it is not the same thing.  You can't do this with wax paper!  You can find freezer paper at Walmart, and maybe Target?  It comes in a big roll in a blue box, like wax paper, but the box is a bit bigger.

Supplies:

• Freezer Paper 
• Craft knife
• T-shirt (or other fabric to paint on)
• Iron
• Piece of cardboard (from box, cereal box, etc.)
• All surface craft paint or fabric paint
• Paintbrush (I used a stencil brush)

Directions:

1.  Create the design that you would like on the shirt.  You can do this on the computer, or by drawing. I like to find free clip art online, and then add words to it on my computer.  Make sure the design is the size that you would like the final product to be, and then print directly onto the freezer paper.  You can do this by cutting a piece of freezer paper to 8 1/2 x 11", and inserting into your ink jet printer shiny side  up (you will be printing on the paper side).  Print as usual.

2.  Using a craft knife on a safe surface (I use a self healing mat), carefully cut out the design.  The printed part that you are cutting out is the part that will be painted.  If you have letters or any part of the design that isn't just a silhouette, save those pieces!  You will need them soon.

3.  Place the stencil where you would like it on your t-shirt shiny side DOWN, and iron on the highest setting on your iron with no steam.  Leave the iron on each area for about 10-15 seconds, moving slowly.  Make sure to iron on any small pieces that were left out from cutting- for example, the middle circle in the lower case "a," etc.  If you don't iron on the little pieces, the whole thing will be painted (like the whole inside of an "a."  Make sense?

4.  Once the design is all ironed on, make sure that all of the pieces are secured to the shirt.  Place the piece of cardboard inside the shirt, so that the paint doesn't bleed through to the other side.  Paint the shirt any colors that you like, and let dry.  

5.  Now for the fun part!  Once the paint is completely dry, peel up the freezer paper by lifting carefully on a corner.  Slowly peel up all of the freezer paper, and be amazed at your beautiful shirt!

Freezer paper stenciling is SO easy, and is a great way to get a custom look without the custom price!  Once you buy a roll of freezer paper, it will last you forever.  The roll is huge!

Have fun with this technique- the possibilities are endless!  You can see my son wearing this shirt and all the details of his Jungle Safari Birthday Party here and here.  

For a great way to make your mornings much smoother, you can check out these free printable daily outfit closet organizers.  They've helped me out a TON!

Happy crafting!

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

Linking Up Here:  Whipperberry, Tidy Mom

Jungle Safari Birthday Party

Last month I put together a very fun jungle safari birthday party for my little guy who just turned two years old.  I LOVE the way that everything came together, and I wanted to share some of the details and photos of the party with you!

This is part one of the jungle safari party, which will mostly cover decoration and food. You can find part 2 here, where I share the games and activities, outfits, the cake, and more fun details about the party, including free printable safari passess for the kids!

The African jungle safari party was soooo much fun.  I tend to go overboard on my parties, and love to DIY everything, which worked out really well for this theme.  My son loves animals, so my inspiration for the party was the jungle cruise at Disneyland.  I wanted the look of an old vintage safari camp, complete with wood crates, old signs, lanterns, etc.

One of my favorite elements of the party was the Safari Expedition Base Camp, which was the first thing that guests saw as they came in through the back yard.  This is where the little explorers were able to spend their tickets that they were given on supplies for their safari expedition.

Does this structure look familiar?  You might recognize it as my DIY Lemonade Stand made from 3 wood pallets that I created.  I gave it a little makeover- a new coat of tan paint, a new burlap awning (instead of the pink and white striped one), and some jungle safari accessories (like lanterns, binoculars. signs, magnifying glass, butterflies, snakes, etc.) all helped add to the theme.  Fun, right?

Supplies included cute DIY binoculars (tutorial here) that I made out of toilet paper rolls and duck tape (you can check out other ways I decorate for parties with duck tape here), safari expedition passes to go around their necks that I created, and little frogs and lizards and snakes.

The mosquito bites were free (see on the sign above?), which some of the adventurers weren't excited about!  After a little reassurance from me that it was just a joke, they were ready to move on to the rest of the party ;)

To add to the whole jungle atmosphere, I stuck lots of tall bamboo plants right into the grass for the party, and it made areas of the lawn look nice and lush.  I painted some of the David Tutera butterflies I had left over from my DIY mason jar lanterns and DIY candles (made in toilet paper rolls).  They were originally white with little pearls on them, so I took off all of the pearls, and painted each butterfly with bright colors of paint.  The butterflies already had clips attached to them, so it was easy to clip them right onto the bamboo and other areas of the party.  I love the color that they added!

The food tables were a lot of fun to set up.  I used a lot of burlap, nets, crates, wood bowls, and woven Pottery Barn boxes (not sure what they are made out of)- all natural, and brown and green.  

I used some old distressed wood that I had and stenciled the "Tyler's Safari" sign, the "Base Camp" sign, and a "Beware of Tigers" sign.  I also stenciled the above crate with the word "Fragile" that the cake went on later in the party.

I served nachos, salad, a lot of fruit (regular and dried), and had a candy area with green candy all in apothecary jars.

We have a bird of paradise tree and a palm tree in our front yard, so I cut off tons of huge, green leaves, and laid those out over parts of the food tables.  I also wrapped some Pottery Barn wheat grass that I had (the little square of grass in the back) with some of the leftover David Tutera burlap from my DIY mason jar lanterns.  

I found this amazing elephant dish at World Market, and had to have it- the perfect dish to hold peanuts!  

I created these "Do not feed the animals" bags to hold peanuts or candy by printing directly on the paper bags... tutorials and template coming soon!

If you follow me on Instagram (@makelifelovely) you might have seen the amazing globe that I scored for only $5.99 at Goodwill!  I bought the crates at Michael's and Jo-Anns, and found the ball of jute rope (that is actually a doorstop) at World Market.

I was so busy with the party that I missed getting some pictures, so you're only getting a little peek of some of the candy and treats that I served in jars and wood bowls.... "worms" (gummy worms) "sticks" (pretzels), animal crackers, "alligator eyes" (sour apple rings), Eiffel Bon Bons (left over from my World Market Lemonade Stand), dried papaya, "fried ants" (raisins), etc...  The kids LOVED this area of the party the most!!  All of the amazing apothecary jars are from World Market as well.

I got some incredibly cute little kraft colored bags from Wholeport that have a sealable top, and put zebra and leopard (or is it cheetah?) duck tape around it for instant little candy bags.  The kids filled them up with their favorite treats, and carried them around with them throughout the party.

No jungle safari party would be complete without monkey food, right?!

My little birthday boy.... what a cutie :)

Thanks for letting me share my son's jungle safari party with you!

Be sure to check out part two of this jungle safari party that shows you the outfits, the games and activities, the cake I made, and free printable safari passes you can use if you plan a jungle safari party!  What's your favorite birthday party theme?

If you liked this project, please follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Bloglovin', and Instagram.

xo, Laura

Linking Up Here: Tidy Mom, 30 Handmade Days, Whipperberry, Tatertots and Jello, A to Zebra Celebrations