Sugar & Spice And Everything Nice

That's what little girls are made of. Here is a birthday banner I created for a sweet little girl. Each one represents a different girl's outfit, made from paper, crepe paper, buttons, ribbon, and lots of glitter! They have little paper tabs attached to the back so a ribbon could be strung through them to hang up and then removed for easy storage to be used again and again and gain.

This adorable little romper was used as the separator between the words happy and birthday. It has little birthday presents and balloons all over it.

S.W.A.K.

Sis Boom

I just found out that the very talented Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom is having a raffle. She is giving away 16 fat quarters of her fabric to each of three lucky winners. Check out Jennifer's website at Sis Boom and visit her blog to enter. Good Luck!

S.W.A.K.

Easter Greetings

Easter Parade

This is week two of the Gracious Hospital-i-Tea Blog-a-Thon. I like to make people smile by using tea cups in unexpected ways.


A Tisket, A Tasket
An Easter Tea Cup Basket

Or, how about a tea themed song?

Tea For Two

JIMMY:
Picture you upon my knee
Just tea for two
And two for tea
Just me for you
And you for me...alone-

JIMMY:
I'm discontented with homes that I've rented
So I have invented my own.
Darling, this place is lovely oasis
Where life's weary taste is unknown
Far from the crowded city
Where flowers pretty caress the stream
Cozy to hide in, to live side by side in,
Don't let it apart in my dream-

Picture you upon my knee
Just tea for two
And two for tea
Just me for you
And you for me alone

NANETTE:
Nobody near us to see us or hear us Mm, mm, mm,
No friends or relations Mm, mm, mm,
On weekend vacations Mm, mm, mm.
We won't have it known, dear,
That we own a telephone, dear...

NANETTE:
Day will break and I'll wake
And start to bake a sugar cake
For you to take for all the boys to see

BOTH:
We'll raise a family

JIMMY:
A boy for you
And a girl for me

BOTH:
Can't you see how happy we would be...

S.W.A.K.

Tea Cup

Gracious Hospital-i-Tea is having a Tea Party and we're all invited. My favorite tea cup may not be vintage or made from fine china, but I love the cheerful colors and, best of all, it has polka-dots! It is from the Mary Engelbreit collection.






Speaking of tea cups, this lazy susan is always set for a tea party. I decoupaged the top with images of tea cups, plates, spoons and napkins. The napkins are photocopies of vintage handkerchiefs from my collection.

S.W.A.K.

Happy Birthday Frannie

Yesterday was Frannie's birthday. We celebrated at the American Girl Place on Fifth Avenue in NYC. We celebrated again later at home. We will be celebrating again today at school. Finally, we'll be celebrating with a Tea Party for all her Brownie friends.

A ballet slipper birthday cake made by Me
(Instructions from Betty Crocker's New Cake Decorating book)

S.W.A.K.

Top O' The Morning To You

Here are photos of a Pot O' Gold made by Me for Frannie's class last year to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. It was created out of a new paint can with lid that I purchased at one of those big home centers. The outside of the can was covered with paper and then decorated with stickers, decoupage, and chipboard letters. The letters were covered with gold glitter and then adhered to the can with foam adhesive to make them dimensional.

This next photo shows the opposite side of the can. Here I decoupaged on a leprechaun and surrounded him with several St. Patrick's Day stickers. Tip - Never throw out your old calendars - they're great for decoupage. This image came from an old Mary Engelbreit calendar.

These next two shots show the two different sides. I wasn't able to remove the handle from the can, so I covered it up with green pipe cleaners - it worked out very well.

Finally, in this last photo, you can see the lid detail. I found pirate gold coins at the party store and hot glued them on the top of the lid to give the appearance that the can was full of gold. The lid is easily removed and I filled the can with little sacks of gold/foil wrapped chocolate coins. This was a big hit with the kids!

May the luck of the Irish be with you!

S.W.A.K.