thurs-DIY: "life's s'more fun w/ friends" party favors!

just when you thought i was finished sharing about our birthday camping trip ... here i am sharing another party favor idea. :) 

supplies:

- clear cellophane bags (i got mine at target).

- twine cord (something similar to this)

- brown kraft cardstock

- 1.8" hole punch

- cedar clippings (we might have borrowed a few from a local park!) 

- s'more stuff: marshmallows, hershey's chocolate bars, graham crackers

... and this printable pdf:

{click image to download}

1 // print your labels on the kraft cardstock. be sure to add your own initials following "with ❤" either in illustrator or by hand!

2 // cut carefully along the little outlines (thankfully the brown paper is forgiving!).

3 // hole punch in the upper left corner.

4 // in each cellophane bag place 2 graham crackers, a marshmallow (or 2) and a generous amount of chocolate

5 // string your little cardstock label and tie each bag closed. then with a second knot, attach your tiny cedar clippings.

easy peasy! 

 

thurs-DIY: merit badge stationery

i try to make at least 1 gift for wade each year on his birthday. so this year along w/ his usual "old soul" birthday gifts: renewed membership to cheekwood botanical gardens, a copy of annie dillard's pilgrim at tinker creek & this amazing 8-cup coffee maker ... i decided to make him a new set of stationery.

first - you must know - i mentioned my snobbery over sewing vs no sew glue the other day ... well wade is a bit of a snob when it comes to stationery. we all have our quirks. HE ONLY USES CRANE & CO! for this set of stationery, i used crane & co's pearl white folded note - a box of 20 clean kid finish® note cards with matching envelopes.

i also used speedball's stamp making kit! this was my first adventure in stamp making - thanks to the encouragement of pottery friend amy - and i will admit i'm completely hooked!

1 // make your stamps!

a) i designed basic merit badge shapes in illustrator.
b) i traced them w/ a piece of tracing paper and pencil.
c) i used the side of my fingernail to transfer the traced illustration to the rubber carving block.
d) the kit includes a wooden handle and 2 tips: a cutter and a gouge tip. i also used my exacto to carefully cut out my shapes.

CUSTOM STAMPS, y'all!

2 // roll out a teeny tiny dot of block print ink w/ your speedball rubber brayer. the ol "just a dot, not a lot" totally applies here. then roll your brayer carefully over your stamp! and go to town!

i absolutely love how they turned out! and wade was pretty stoked too. he favors the little trees and the tents - while i absolutely love the other 2. we might just have to share! 

happy stamping! :)

a merit badge in cake decorating ...

today i want to introduce you to cara bella creations. my friend joanna had shauna from cara bella creations make these totally fresh 80s themed cupcakes for her 30th birthday last month. adorable, right? that got my wheels to turning. 1 less task for moi (praise the Lord) and guaranteed cupcake crème de la crème!

camp themed cupcakes? tents? maybe leaves? no ... merit badges!

i created a few simplified merit badges based on vintage boyscout finds on etsy. and then sent them to shauna to work her sweet sugary magic. thankfully i thought to snap a few pictures of them BEFORE arriving at the campsite! they disappeared almost on arrival! :)

are you craving a cupcake as much as i am right now!?!

tues-diy: camp pennant party favors

camp isn't official w/o a camp pennant, right!?! so i decided to make each individual camp their own vintage-inspired camp pennant to mark their territory!

 

here's how i did it:

1 // i cheated and used illustrator to layout each name. a) i set up a file for a 17.5" by 5.5" pennant. b) i created the tents and a "name box" to determine the fit of the name. c) i hid the "name box" and typed out the name in my preferred font. d) i placed the typed name under the "name box" and un-hid it. then using envelope distort, illustrator automatically made each name fit the pennant.

i simplified the printing/cutting process by expanding the object & fill on each word and creating a separate illustrator file with the letters tightly packed together. each name was a different color to avoid confusion. 

that's a lot of illustrator-speak. want a copy of the pdf? email me here.

2 // i pinned and cut each name out. thankfully the olympics were the perfect distraction from this task! i also cut my pennants out of a heavy green felt. and my little tents out of gold and tan felt.

 
3 // i've never used liquid stitch before (i've always considered it cheating. yes i'm a sewing snob at times), but it was essential for this project. there was no way i was going to stitch each letter and tent on 30-something pennants!

4 // another quick fix! i used my cutting board to cut 1" x 6" strips of fabric. for each pennant i needed 1 strip for the front and 4 strips for the ties (2 sets of 2). i pinned and sewed these in place.

yes - i was a bit too ambitious. but aren't they cute?

a few instagram captures from our campers:

{credit: a. newell, j. wagner, k, pardue & r. willard via instagram}

into the woods ...

over the weekend, we went camping in celebration of wade & my 30th birthdays w/ 42 of our friends. yes - 42!!! i'm so excited to share all about our adventure! i mean - i probably have a good 7 blog posts to share with every little detail! but of course, i should first "invite" you along on our little journey ...

the invitations:



a mini field guide w/ all the necessary details for our trip:



merit badges to be earned:

• map reading - a map + directions.
• participation - a tentative schedule of events.
• camp cooking -  the menu. w+i purchased/prepped all the food ahead of time and each camper brought $10 to pay for their part. that's right $10 for a full weekend of yummy camp food! (next year i'll have to perfect my vegan and vegetarian cuisine as well!)
• camp making - a guide of what to pack.

 

everything was packaged neatly together w/ baker's twine and placed in a hand-made craft paper envelope:



think you've seen this before? that would be because i borrowed inspiration from christine & ian's amazing woodland wedding invites featured on oh so beautiful paper. ah-mazing w/ pop-up trees and embossed type, right? sadly my inkjet and exacto knife skills aren't quite up to par. yet still ...

i love how they turned out!

in even more important news ... though we celebrated over the weekend, today is wade's actually birthday. time to head home to celebrate.

{courtesy: reed hummell photography}

shop: three potato four

i'm really smitten w/ all things new england & outdoor fun lately as i scour the interweb for inspiration for our end of the month camping trip! and today i fell in love w/ this eclectic little shop. husband + wife graphic design team janet & stu launched three potato four in 2007 bc of their love of collections:

{bottom 3 images clockwise from upper left}

1 // boy scout pack w/ wooden frame

2 // rustic wire egg basket

3 // folk art wooden whale

 i'll take one of each, please.

weekend update: monterey, tn

it's amazing how much a quick weekend away can do for the soul! :)

wade's friend bob owns 800 acres of beautiful forest in monterey, tn. over time he has created trails and campsites throughout. we spent the weekend w/ friends camping in the "hemlock haven" next to "uncle tom's cabin".

we hiked // we saw the BIGGEST cat prints (yikes) // we sunbathed // we s'mored // we attempted to swing the highest // we hoola-hooped // we trampolined // we "back alley bridged" // we ate like kings and queens // we horse-shoed // we napped under the hemlocks // we s'mored s'more ... most of all - we LOVED the beautiful spring weather.

pretty excited for our next camping trip already!

the rest of the weekend was a whirlwind. we made it back just in time to unpack and straighten. then i had bible study w/ my high school girls at the park. and when i returned, we had our first meal swap! i'll let you know as soon as we start feasting on the swapped goods if the whole ordeal was a success.

how was your weekend?