Safari Themed Birthday

  

                  
              This crafty girl has been busy busy. We just celebrated our daughter's 8th birthday and she loves her some big cats or any kind of cats for that matter :) So in honor of her love for big cats. I threw  her a big cat/safari themed birthday. This year , as with most years, I was on a budget. So the goal was to make what decorations I could with things I already had. As well as some great party activities to keep the kiddos entertained.


                                                            

 

      As some of you might know I love making banners! So first on on my list was to create a safari themed banner. I created this banner with fabric I had on hand, buttons, felt and ribbon from a previous project.

                          

 Again with fabric I already had, I sewed and painted a table runner with "big cat" paws. The candle lamp I already had and I was able to purchase a few party favors from Oriental Trading Company for really inexpensive.

 

These signs greeted our guest at the front door. They are just boxes covers in paper and then hand painted.

And this one was inside....

 

 

Cupcakes were just a box mix. The trees are made from pretzels and melted white chocolate. The animal were purchased at Party city.

 

 

These are the little party animals! They created animal masks made from construction paper,  paper plates and felt. They also made binoculars from toilet paper rolls, duct tape and yarn. After they were finished the kids went on a "safari" to search for these little guys....

There were 12 safari animal babies and once they were finish with the safari the kids got to keep one of the baby animals. I purchased these from Oriental Trading as well.

 

Please make sure to check me out on my facebook page https://www.facebook for more updates and inspriations.

 

 

Hugs......Naomi

Time spent in the Garden

         

            This girl has spent this wonderful three day weekend enjoying time with my family doing all of our favorite things, hiking, laughing and working in our garden. I love being in our garden for me it is so relaxing to feel the sun on my face and to watch the jays buzz the cats as they hurriedly collect peanuts and to see and hear the bees while they collect nectar and pollen.
                
                                                                    

                                                        Hiking at Rockville

      We don't have much space but we are doing our best to use the space we have.  So far we have a peach tree, orange tree, avocado tree and an apple tree. We are getting ready to put table grapes in the ground and this Spring we are going to plant blueberries. I love the idea of being self sustaining being able to teach our children what it takes to grow the food that we eat and the reward of harvesting and eating what we grow. Last night we were able to eat collard greens that we harvested from our garden, for dinner.  I like the idea that the yard can be beautifully landscaped but with plants that not only look nice but also have a purpose.
                                                                 

Our collard greens after they were harvested.

                                                                      
     I was inspired by the gorgeous weather we have had in California, despite the fact we NEED RAIN,  to  spend the day out in the yard digging. Taking advantage of the weather to prepare for Spring. While my husband put together some of our planter boxes the kids and  I filled the boxes with dirt turned our compost into the soil. We also started some of our seeds. Now is the time to get them started so they will be ready to be put in the ground when Spring arrives! We planted tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, kiwi, cantaloupe and watermelon. This year we will  have a bed for just potatoes, onions and garlic and bed for herbs. As we all know with gardening there is much preparation so at this point I don't have much to show for all our work but as we make progress I will post pictures on my FB page.
 
                                                                    

one of our garden beds, almost filled.

 
           What are some of you gardening plans? Share with me here or on my FB page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Inspirations-From-A-Crafty-Girl/540223316016643
              

                                                   Happy Gardening!
  
                                                                     Hugs....Naomi

      

           1 Corinthians 3:6-9 "I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. 9 For we are God's fellow worker, you are God's field, God's building.

Valentines Banner

              I know that I am not the only one who likes to decorate for the holidays but for me it all starts the first week of September. I start by putting up all of my fall decor ie. leaves, scarecrows, pumpkins and fall colored banners. Fall is my favorite season so I have to get in as much of the season as I can.
  
            In October I add to all the fall decor by adding all my Halloween decor. I don't  do scary, I go a little more whimsical, it suits my style and my kids don't like scary. Once Halloween is over I take down the Halloween decor and add all my Thanksgiving decorations.  And then the day after Thanksgiving, not a day later, down comes all the fall decor and up goes Christmas! I know I have a few friends who can relate :)
 
                I enjoy every minute of December with all the green garland and white twinkling lights but then sometime during the week after Christmas, if it even last that long, it all comes down! Why? I don't know, but it does. Then for a couple a days following I do what I call "my after Christmas clean-up" a little like Spring cleaning. At that moment I really enjoy how clean and tidy the house looks and after having all the extra decorations up for the last four months, I really enjoy how much less cluttered the house looks. And just like that it is over :(

                   I say all of that because now it almost the third week and January and I find myself with Christmas blues. I miss all the decorations and the festive air. The decor adds such a warmth to home it evokes such nostalgia for Christmases past and the time spent with family. So next year I am going to be prepared with decorations to celebrate Christmases coming and going the ringing in of the New Year.  
 
                 But for now with Valentines so close I'll just decorate for  Valentines instead.  Here is a cute and simple banner I've created to celebrate. 

                                                                       

            

  Sorry it isn't the best picture.

    All you need to create this banner is fabric, buttons, yarn or ribbon in this case I used both, felt, batting and hot glue.

 

 

The triangle flags are just square fabric cut and folded over the yarn and then glued. The buttons on both the flag and the hearts is just glued on. They can of course be sewn on if you prefer.

 

 

The hearts are created out of white and red felt. I have sewn two pieces together and then stuffed them with a little bit of batting. The hearts can be glued together as well. The hearts are hanging with a piece of red ribbon.

 

Please make sure to follow up with me on my facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Inspirations-From-A-Crafty-Girl/540223316016643. The plan for this following week is to create a banner for my fireplace mantle.

 

Hugs.....Naomi

Friends

                

                I was having a conversation with my mom this last week about people who had come in and out of our lives. Some who were huge parts years ago and maybe now not so much. We wondered to each other what our roles were now. How has our place in their life changed? All this caused me to reflect on my friendships....
 
                 My husband, kids and I moved away for almost a year. We moved away from everything and everyone. We moved away from all the relationships we spent the last 11 years developing and some a lifetime. When we moved back I came back with a new appreciation for the friends I have and my family, for all the relationships I have. Even the new relations I had made while I was away. I realized how even, what seemed like the small relationships, like the staff at my kids' school and what I lovingly call my mom friends, were important to me. Each relationship even if we only smile and wave hi to each other every weekday morning, contributed to who I am as person and friend to others. And in some way each person meant something to me. Each person shares a part of my life with me. Some have small roles and some much larger but each has a part.
 
          We all need friends to confide in, laugh with, shop with or walk with. I know there are many other things we do with our friends but the point is we need them and more than likely we don't find this in one person. We find that we have a that one friend who just always says the right thing when we are down, she is encouraging. Then there is friend who is just down right funny and make you laugh and smile. When you leave that friends presence you can't help but feel good. We also have friends that we have had since we were children, the one that know everything about us not because we have to tell them but because we lived it with it them.
              
         All of the relationships in our life serve a purpose. We need to embrace what it is that friend is to us nothing more, nothing less and no expectations. I don't mean this negatively I just know that when we put expectation on people we will get let down. I have always believed that God does that so we don't fully lean on another human for our needs and our strength because only God is 100% dependable.
         
          Number 23:19-20 says,"God is not man, that he should lie, nor son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? I have received a command to bless; he has blessed, and I cannot change it.

          So no matter who that person is in your life be a blessing to them and I am sure you will be blessed.