Instagram Mini Album Using Amy Tangerine's Plus One Collection

This project post is a part of a paid marketing campaign with Snap. Although this post is sponsored the project idea and all opinions expressed are my own. 

One thing you might not know about me is that I love to collect (and possibly even hoard) fabulous patterned paper. I am a sucker for anything with Amy Tangerine's name on it, so I could barely wipe the huge grin off my face when I got  a big box of goodies from Amy's amazing Plus One collection…. yes, the collection that is sold out in most stores and online!  

I knew instantly that I wanted to make a cute mini album with some of my favorite Instagram photos of my family from the last few months, and this collection was just perfect!

First I went through my Instagram photos from the last few months, and picked out some of my favorites.  After some trial and error, I figured out a cool way to print Instagram pictures in square sizes from Costco (hellllloooo, 13 cent prints) that I'll be sharing with you soon.  Once the photos were printed, it was time to get started choosing paper for each page of my book!

Every single piece in the collection is just amazing.  I love the bold colors and fun patterns.  I cut out long strips of paper in different patterns, making each strip 4" x 12."  

I folded each strip in half like a book, with the patterned side on the inside.  One of my favorite things about the Plus One paper pad are the pages that have cards that you can cut out to use as journaling or fun accents for a page.  Many of these were 4" high, and perfect for my book, so I just cut along the edges, folded them like the regular patterned paper, and used them as pages for my book, too! 

Once I had all my pages cut and folded, I got to work creating each page.  First I cut my photos down to the size I wanted them, then figured out which embellishments I wanted to include.  I used lots of rub-ons, thin washi tape, pins, and flair to make each page unique and fun.

For the cover, I added some see through letters for the title of my book, "Instalove."  Here's a fun trick for applying letter stickers to a project so that they're nice and straight every time-  use the outside wrapper of some of the plastic packaging, and line up your letters along the top of the plastic, so that each letter has just a tiny bit of the bottom sticking to the plastic.  This helps you line up the letters evenly so that they can be easily adjusted until you get them just right.  Once they're nice and neat, just push down to stick them on, and pull off the plastic from the bottom bit of the letters… perfect placement every time!

I used the embroidery stencil kit to add some detail and color to my first page.  This was so easy!  Just place the stencil over where you want the letters on the page, use the included tool to poke holes through the paper, and then stitch through those holes to get perfectly straight letters every time.

For my daughter's page, I cut out some of the accents from the paper pad.  I used a pop dot behind the yellow heart I cut out to give it some dimension and make it pop from the page.

Notice how the "Today" paper sticks out from the rest of the book?  I like to have elements of my minis poke out of the pages to make it more interesting!  When you close the book, that piece is centered above the camera on the cover.

This is my all time favorite Instagram photo I've ever taken.  I wanted to keep the pattern simple on this page so that my beach photo of my son gets all the attention.

For this page I added the ice cream and sun rub-ons to the page that went perfectly with the story I was telling about my optimistic daughter.

I used the washi tape to add some lines for journaling. I cut out black and white hearts from the patterned paper, and then cut off the rounded ends to use as accents on the page.  I thought the plus sign was perfect for my daughter, because she is always so happy and positive!

I added some of the adorable thin washi tape over the journaling lines on the left hand side of the page, and included a photo of my darling little guy on the opposite side.

And the back cover…. that one word sums it all up!

To put the whole book together, I just applied adhesive to the blank backside of each page and adhered the pages.  I cut a small piece of paper for the binding of the book, to make sure everything was held together.

Now that you're drooling over the adorable paper and embellishments, I've got some great news for you!  The Amy Tangerine Plus One Collection will be available for sale on HSN on March 24th.  The collection will be available in five discounted bundles starting at just under $20!  

You can choose from these bundles: a basic kit, an embroidery kit, an embellishment kit, and a stamping kit.  If you do Project Life, you'll be excited to know that the sold out Plus One Project Life Mini Kit will also be available at a discounted rate!

When I was at the CHA Winter Show in January, I was able to get a sneak peek at the Plus One collection in American Crafts' booth (AND meet Amy herself, eek!), so it's no surprise to me that this was THE top selling signature line released in Winter 2014.  I was going to include the photo of Amy and I, but I look absolutely horrible in it ;)  She was very sweet and her baby was just adorable, and it's so nice to meet someone you look up to and have them be just as great in real life as you hoped they were!

xo, Laura

Creative Indoor Kids Crafts with Crayola

These creative kids crafts are part of a sponsored post for Collective Bias and Crayola at Walmart. #ColorfulCreations #Collective Bias

This weekend we had a couple very rare rainstorms here in Southern California, which was a nice change, but meant that we were stuck inside for a few days.  Luckily for me, I had just purchased some Crayola crayons, washable kids paint, and sidewalk chalk at Walmart, so we were all set for some fun craft time!  You know I'll find any excuse to get creative and make something, and luckily my kids love creating just as much as I do!

There was a large area devoted to Crayola products at Walmart and a huge selection, which was great, because they had tons to choose from.



We decided to create three different crafts with our new Crayola supplies- painted animal rocks, leaf and flower rubbings, and fingerprint animals.

Painted Animal Rocks

Supplies:

• Small to medium sized rocks
• Crayola Washable Kids Paint
• Paintbrushes

These painted animal rocks were the kids' favorite craft of the day.  When there was a break in the rain, we went outside and collected rocks that we could paint to look like different animals.  We went back inside and the kids brainstormed what animals they thought their rocks looked like, and then got to work painting!

My kindergartner decided to paint her rock blue, with a cheerful pink and purple butterfly in the center.

My son found the perfect broken rock to make the shell of a turtle!  

He decided to paint an oval rock brown for the head, and then we glued them together with a strong glue to make them stick.

My oldest made a blue dragon, complete with small, detailed scales.  She used smaller sharp rocks painted white for the ears, and added a few colored scales to the dragon's back.  

I loved her creativity!

You know I had to get in on the fun, too!  I chose to make two insects, a ladybug and a bumblebee!

Even my two year old had fun creating!  The best thing about this paint is that it's washable!  I didn't worry when my son had paint all over his shirt and hands because it all washed right out, which is perfect for my four kids and their messes!  

Fingerprint Animals:

Supplies:

• Ink pads (or paint would work as well)
• Crayola crayons
• Paper, blank cards, to tags

This fingerprint animal craft was SO easy, and kept my kids occupied for a long time, which is always a good thing!  

All they had to do was press their finger or thumb into one of my ink pads, press their finger down onto paper or a tag to leave a round print, and then use their crayons to add the details to their fingerprint animals with their crayons. 

My five year old made two cute little tags, one for her grandma and one for her grandpa who were taking her to a play later that day.

My son decided to create a jungle scene with his thumbprints, complete with a swinging monkey and bird up in her nest!

I love that there are so many possibilities with this craft!  You can create any animal you want with just the tips of your fingers, ink, and some crayons, which makes this craft easy and so fun!  Plus, who doesn't love a fresh new big pack of crayons?  My kids were practically drooling when they saw the new big box I bought them, and all of the great color choices they had!

Leaf Rubbings:

Supplies:

• Leaves, flowers, and other mostly flat items from nature
• Crayola sidewalk chalk
• paper

Now when you think sidewalk chalk, you think about big pictures drawn by your kids out in the yard, right?  But when it's raining or snowing outside, that's not an option.  We decided to get creative with the sidewalk chalk indoors, and make nature rubbings with the chalk and some leaves, flowers, etc. that we found out in the yard when there was a small break in the rain.

Here's what we gathered…

The directions are simple.  Place a leaf or other somewhat flat item from nature underneath a piece of paper (the thinner the better- we used copy paper which worked great), and carefully rub over the paper and leaf with the sidewalk chalk.

You'll find that some leaves and items work better than others, so it's an experiment to see what worked and what doesn't.  This is a great opportunity for discussion with your kids, too, as to why one leaf made a great rubbing (maybe it was thicker and had deeper veins), and flower didn't work as well (maybe the petals were too thin to leave a mark).  

You could also use this as a way to discuss different types of plants and their characteristics, what plants need to grow, etc.  As a former elementary school teacher, I know that the best way to teach is to tie learning into fun activities, and sometimes your kids won't even realize you're teaching them science because they're having so much fun!

I hope I inspired you to get creative with your kids indoors!  Crayola has so many great products, perfect for keeping your kids thinking and creating when the weather isn't cooperating and your kids are stuck indoors.  

Happy creating!

xo, Laura

Sharing here: Show + Tell

Under the Sea Ocean Birthday Party Details

I'm very excited to share this Under the Sea party with you that I put together for my daughter's birthday.  Her party was at the very end of summer, and for the first half of the party we ate and chatted, and the last half we swam.  There are so many fun details that I'd love to share with you!

I chose to use turquoise and white for the colors of the whole party to give it a nice soft natural look.  I wanted the tables to have an ocean feel to them, so I covered them in layers of tulle and net. 

I scattered sea shells, starfish, and those little round glass marbles (they reminded me of bubbles) all over the tables to add to the under the sea theme.  

I also had some tiny little metal crab name card holders that I bought a few years ago from Pottery Barn that I used to hold the names of the food that fit perfectly.  I created the printable signs and all of the food signs with waves on them so they all coordinated and matched.  

There are so many sweet treats that you can serve at an ocean party!  

One of my very favorite things that I made was this edible ocean sea glass.  It is a hard candy that you can suck on (I made them mint flavored), but looks EXACTLY like pieces of sea glass that have been battered around by the ocean waves.  For the directions and recipe, just click here!

I even made them look frosty, like real sea glass!  I'll include a tutorial for those soon, because they're very easy to make, but are very impressive to serve.  Everyone loved them!

They looked great with the chocolate sea shells that I made.  These too were very easy, but looked great on the table.  I also used graham cracker crumbs mixed with brown sugar underneath some of the food to make it look like sand, to add the the ocean feel.

I made these fun oyster cookies with a "pearl" in the middle, and they were a hit!  I'll write a tutorial for these soon.  

I made some homemade salt water suckers in two different shapes (no salt water inside, I just like the name) using this tutorial I shared with you last year.

Seaweed popcorn was such a pretty color, and was easy to make using this recipe.

You'll never guess what the secret ingredient is that gives the popcorn its' color!  

I made this sign, and placed it in front of the candy and treats, along with these cute little cups from Wholeport that matched perfectly.  The kiddos all loved filling up their cups with candy themselves!

 The kids all devoured these gummy sharks!

What under the sea party would be complete without salt water taffy?  I bought the turquoise, blue, and white colored taffy to go with my party colors.

Now for the dinner… yes, I did start with the treats first! ;) I served a build your own taco bar, with tons of different options and toppings for everyone.

The tacos were absolutely delicious, and it was easy to put together since I did all of the prep work ahead of time.  Plus, everyone could make their own the way that they like it!

Then came the cake.  I just love how it turned out!  I made a lovely four layer hombre cake, with each layer a different color of turquoise and blue.  

I added more graham cracker and brown sugar "sand" to the top, along with some chocolate shells.  Please excuse the darkness of this picture.  I had to get all the kids out of the pool to sing happy birthday and cut the cake, and it was dark outside by then.

I also whipped up a handful of these hanging jellyfish that really added to the party theme.  I love the way the long tendrils would slightly flutter in the breeze.  I could watch real jellyfish for hours at the aquarium, and these were the closest I was going to get to having jellyfish at the party! ;)  I'll write up a tutorial for these, too, because I really had a lot of fun making them.

And now for my sweet birthday girl.  I made her a starfish barrette with just a starfish, some tulle, a clip, and some hot glue.  I also made her a freezer paper stenciled shirt with a dolphin and her name on it using the tutorial I shared with you here.  She wore a blue tutu as well that her sister wore for her Minnie Mouse party.  I always try to make some kind of shirt or outfit for the birthday boy or girl to make them feel extra special!  

I didn't plan any games for the party since all the kids swam for hours after we ate.  The party was a huge success, and I honestly had so much time planning it!  Thanks for letting me share with you!  If you have any questions or comments, feel free to ask below!

For more creative party ideas, check out my son's Jungle Safari party!  From free printable safari passes to a homemade base camp where the kids get outfitted, this party is tons of fun!

Throwing a party doesn't have to cost an arm and a let!  See how I decorated inexpensively with Duck tape for my daughter's Minnie Mouse zebra print birthday party.

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

xo, Laura

Sharing here:  Show and Tell