Paint a Tree In Your Kid’s Bedroom-Free Download
I’ve been a busy girl. I’ve been working on my little girl’s bedroom since moving into our new house last month. It has been so satisfying to finally be able to paint! While I don’t feel like it is fully finished, I still thought I’d share what I’ve done with you. And, if you are interested in making your own tree, I’ve provided the stencils I made for myself here for you.
The pdf shown here includes simple instructions and patterns for the flowers and leaves. Making your own tree won’t be hard as long as you have a little time. The process for making the tree takes about 3 days, not because it really takes that long, but because the parts of the tree have to dry before you can start a new color.
Here’s a helpful hint to create stencils: I used my Silhouette to cut these out. You could also cut them out by hand using an x-acto knife and still get the same effect.
Want to see the rest of the room? First, I have to show you the BEFORE photo. The budget was tight so we decided to have the floors refinished a dark color, repainted everything, and replace the splinter-inducing pine trim as our “big budget” fixes. 
And here’s the after. My favorite thing is probably the floors. Having them this dark really makes the light pink pop.
Paint a Tree In Your Kid’s Bedroom-Free Download Read More »
Halloween is just a week away and I finally have finished my 
Oh, and I haven’t forgotten about Halloween. In fact, I already finished my batty wreath using 
…getting settled in my new house.
I’m taking a quick second to drop a line. Hello! I do still exist! And I’m back from my business trip in Monterey (it was lovely), and should be finished up with a lot of wonderful things this weekend.
Just because Project Mania ends today doesn’t really mean
Finally! After a crazy two days I have a chance to write about DSE! Thursday afternoon I taught an Illustrator class at the Digital Scrapbooking Experience in Provo, Utah. Jen Allyson flew in from San Francisco to help me out.
photos of Jen and Gen sporting the barrette version you could make. We also had laundry clips and pipe cleaner for attaching to badges or making wristlets. The papers we used for the table all came from my 
You’ll notice a little update on the blog and studio site. Specifically, check out the background pattern which will be printed in fabric (
When walking in, I might have felt like it was the state fair (Here’s my annual reference to the 
A review on Australian Pink Floyd, you say? I would say they were a very good cover band. But then again, I probably wouldn’t know the difference. But Josh confirmed that they are indeed good, so I’ll give it a two thumbs up and the popcorn and cotton candy a thumbs down (simply because I had too much junk by that time). My favorite song is 
Once and a while, an excursion out of my regular routine reminds me of design that I haven’t paid attention to for a while. I’ve been head deep in fabric and paper for so long now, I forgot how amazing the graphics were at Roger Waters’ Concert and the artistry of Rock Band Albums. If you have a chance, you should check out the work of 
This hybrid project uses 
These are some pictures from the brunch afterwards. I wanted to highlight the little cards I made for the table with Grace’s name. They are so simple and I used the
We had dinner with Liz and Tim (my sister-in-law and brother-in-law) tonight. I love when we plan a last minute Sunday dinner at their house because it is whatever the two families can throw together from their combined pantries. Sometimes it is pancakes and sausage while other nights, we are able to put on a serious Sunday feast. Tonight, Liz supplied the chicken and grilling team (go Tim!) and I provided the marinade. It’s a just a simple citrus and herb combo that I’d recommend letting the meat sit in, but as this was a quick get together, Tim just dropped it on the chicken and grilled away!
Carina’s Citrus Marinade
We’re getting started a bit early here (Project Mania officially starts on September 1st!), but I wanted to make sure that everyone has a chance to participate! I’m giving everyone a head start here so that if you have any big projects that need starting or need to clear out your schedule to make way for some great projects in September, you have the time to!
I don’t care what anybody says, Disney knows how to do it right! My kids had a magical experience which translates into magical for mommy. Yes, I have COMPLETELY BOUGHT INTO THE DISNEY MARKETING MACHINE! I acknowledge it! It’s know I’m being sucked in, but I just can’t help myself! The packaging is too cute (see there are pitfalls to being a designer!)
And, well, what more can say about this vacation? Disneyland is definitely a place to be experienced. We didn’t have a problem with long lines (but then, we used the
on the airplane. I also was inspired by 
It’s just another Monday and my family is still recovering from a weekend at Bear Lake. We’re also recovering from a lingering virus that managed to take captive the last two members of our family this weekend (Felicity and myself). I managed to get over my fever and aches after a day, but Felicity has had a raging fever for several days. I just took her to the doctor today and the virus has managed to give her a double ear infection. Great. And just 3 days away from our vacation to Disneyland.
Be sure and join Jen and me for our Chat tomorrow at 2peas. 8pm CST in the 
Just as Siri, Felicity, and I had finished whipping up the vanilla pudding for our Puddin’Pie, our next door neighbor left this lovely green thing on our porch. I just looked at it and said, “Well, I guess I’m making zucchini bread.”
This recipe was taken from 
Put together vanilla pudding as instructed on the package. Pour into crust and let sit in the fridge for an hour. Top with Cool Whip and cut Strawberries/Berries on top.
What gives this soup all it’s flavor is roasted cauliflower. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. On a baking pan hand toss the cauliflower head (roughly chopped), olive oil (drizzled over it), salt, pepper, and 2 springs of rosemary. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Be sure and move around the cauliflower half way. You’ll get a nice brown color. on the edges. While the cauliflower is in the oven, saute 2 tbs of olive oil, garlic, and onion in a large pot for about 5 minutes. Add the thyme (chopped). Pull the cauliflower out of the oven and add to the pot. Saute all together for another 5 minutes.
Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. I sometimes like to let it sit and simmer at this point for about 20-30 minutes so the cauliflower gets soft. Sometimes I’ll let it sit longer or short though depending on when I started the pot. Add the half and half (or for a creamier soup use cream). Take portions of the soup and blend in a blender or a hand mixer until you get a smooth consistancy.
Josh and I spent the weekend in Park City. I was doing a site check of a property (The Canyons). Talk about a wonderful (and very full) weekend. We had dinner at Lookout Cabin on the mountain. The weather was delightful and the seven course dinner wasn’t bad either (they certainly take care of you!). The view was a feast in and of itself!
There is something really fun about sitting with 45 people that you have never met before for a dinner like this. We got to know about 10 of the people surrounding us pretty well after 4 hours. The ambience and the company made the pink sunset even more beautiful and the food that much tastier!
I also have to show of few more photos of the table setting and view. Very beautifully done!
Are you drooling yet?
Also check out this amazing cheese tasting held by 
These yummy little sausage sandwichs were being made by Tillamook and had a thin slice of yellow squash on them. Clever, huh? And OH so yummy!
We got home to our kids completely exhausted (so much for a relaxing weekend away!) but very happy (happy to see our darlings and happy to have had a weekend to ourselves).
4th of July is one of my favorite holidays. In Minnesota, we always went to Bunker Beach during the day and landed in Stillwater for the spectacular firework show over the Croix River. Since we moved to Utah over a year ago, we are still trying to “find” our 4th of July tradition. This year, we went to Toole to be with my in laws for a BBQ. The kids had a blast and Uncle Nate did a fantastic job of lighting off the fireworks. They also liked the baby preying mantises we found on the porch.
My Friday is feeling a lot like a Saturday:). Working on some designs today—specifically finishing a mega kit I’m working on called Sproutlets…It’s like 6 kits or more wrapped into one big kit! After I’m finsihed submitting this to 2peas today, I’ll be all set for a fun-filled, laid back 4th of July weekend! I have dinner with my bestfriend Jen tonight who is in town from San Fransico (always a treat!). Our favorite hang out is the Cheesecake Factory (the avacado rolls have some kind of addicting drug in them). Tomorrow, we’ll be heading to Toole for a BBQ with my in-laws. But most of the time, well, I’ll just be chilling with my little girls and having a slow weekend—just the way I like it! Hoep you have a Happy 4th of July!
I don’t golf. Not even a little bit. I stepped onto my first golf course (as the planner) a year ago, and ironically enough, have been planning golf tournaments ever since. I hardly ever post about my “day job” as an Event Director, but it would be hard not to mention it today because my camera is jammed pack of golf tournament photos and my head is still buzzing from the long day in the sun yesterday.
Since I don’t golf. Sarah (my co worker) and myself spent the day in our little golf cart driving around taking pictures of the foursomes. We had a good time (Sarah was a bit snap happy with the camera—I believe there was even a moment she was pretending to be the paparazzi) and even putted a couple of holes with some of the guys.
I’m also suffering from a sugar-hangover from yesterday. Sarah and I loaded up the cart before we left the clubhouse. Somehow, all those starbursts were gone by the end of the day. How did that happen?
I got two gorgeous old frames at Emily Jane a week ago and decided they needed to be “funkied” up. So I painted them pink and love them! Siri drew me two sketches so I can display her artwork. The sketches are sweet and just right 
for these frames. Right now they are in the living room, but they could also move the girl’s room because of the color.
Well, it was a rainy weekend for us in Salt Lake. Once again, we had to postpone going camping, which really turned out to be okay as I had a big design submission to deal with, a work pool party, errands, errands, and more errands, and a Father’s Day dinner to boot (my in-laws included). So it was a full (but as always) a fabulous weekend (because it was a weekend:)).
And, I probably wouldn’t have even blogged today, but I felt like it would have been an incredible injustice to my team to not post these FABULOUS layouts they made last week of the new Garden Vignettes collection. You’ll be able to buy it at 
outs. The first one is by Jenny, second, by Lori, third, by Yam, fourth, by Susan, and fifth by Katherine. These ladies really know how to make a layout! I am completely inspired by these and will probably be getting together my own mini album with the Garden Vignettes collection of my family’s last vaca or outing.
I just thought I would post these photos of my daughters and one of our friends’ daughter’s. We took take out to their property and I snapped these photos of the girls. We also went to the Movies in the Park, but managed to get rained out from Mama Mia.
Siri and I made a caterpillar from our button jar yesterday and I thought I’d share it. It’s a fairly easy project although it tends to break in little hands (we had a “re-glue” situation a couple of times). Basically, you just need to make 5 sections of 7 buttons each. THe 5 buttons need to be 1 big, 2 semi-big, 2 medium, and 2 small. We used hot glue to put the buttons together. We also alternated colors (3 pink sections and 2 blue sections). We added a pearl button for the nose and 2 pink pins for antenna. All and all an easy project! Siri loved putting it together. Warning: you WILL have buttons all over the floor once you are done!
My new AC Moore paper pads have arrived! They are exclusively at ACMoore (I don’t think they have hit the stores yet). There are two pads: Bella Bella (which includes many of the original Bella Bella line papers) and Paris and Co. (also found digitally at 2peas). Here’s a card I made this afternoon using the papers (alpha rubons from the Laundry Line and Crochet flower from Bohemia).
You’ll also notice Siri’s little bird that we decorated. We were at the craft store and I found a couple of little birds for 69 cents. The girls each got one and with the glue gun out, Siri HAD to decorate hers. I love the glue gun!
The entire white table was painted red, blue, and green. Not on purpose, of course. She’s just, ummm, able to make that paint go far. (Honestly, this picture does NOT do it justice!) My favorite part was that she had taken several of her paintings and made them into this ball of paper (think PeeWee Herman tin foil ball). It was actually very inventive, and I see sculpture in her future:).
We had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. The highlight for the kids was the Memorial Day breakfast we attend in the neighborhood at the church. There’s a 5K (we didn’t participate), pancake breakfast, and one of the neighbors drove the kids around in this…
lives in our neighborhood, and he told me about it. If you have little kids, you should seriously think about entering this giveaway! Wait, did I already mention I love this bike? lol