Hotel Gift Bag for our Weekend Company!

This past weekend we had some friends come to town!

I met Mandy (of House of Rose) at Blissdom this past year..

and we quickly became really good friends. We are similar in so many ways.. and I feel beyond blessed to have discovered our friendship through the blogging land!

I was so excited about their last minute decision to make the 10 hour drive to come see us...

More details on the weekend soon!

I wanted to share something that I

had so much fun doing for our company!

I have seen the idea of 'Hotel Gift Bags for your wedding guests' all over pinterest.

I don't plan on getting married again anytime soon....so I jumped at the chance to leave our weekend company a little surprise goodie bag for when they checked into their hotel!

We have a tiny house. and although we offered them the basement...I think they appreciated having their space at a hotel. It was good for the kids to have a break from each other too I think. Lots of fun giggling shenanigans were going on all weekend. ;)

It was so fun being super sneaky and leaving it at the front desk for them!

Sienna tagged a long on our "mission."

I made up a little tag the night before to look like a hotel privacy sign.

Just welcoming them and I even put one of their blog's logos on the car.

(Dollars and Roses) I can't help but brand things.

Then I loaded up a gift bag (from target) with everything a family

in a hotel room with 3 boy toddlers could possibly need! snacks. juice boxes.

fruit. super hero stickers. car stickers. and sticky lizzards.

Pretty sure the hotel management was THRILLED with the

sticky lizzard stuck to the ceiling.....

My husband also threw a beer in the bag as I ran

out the door to the hotel.. For Jeff. I heard it was appreciated ;) 

It was fun seeing the photo of the bag pop up on our instagram

feed while we waited for them to come from the hotel to our house!

I thought it was a good way to start off the weekend. ;)

Even if you don't have photoshop to create a tag.. a hand written

tag on a bag full of goodies would mean so much to your visitors!

You could even leave it in the guest room of your house...

or for when they are about to leave.. to take for the drive home!

FREE PRINTABLE- Movie Themed Teacher Gift Tag

Most of my popular printables this time of year... are ones for teachers!

I sell a variety in my shop. But I thought it might be fun to offer a FREE one that I just created for a client. She planned a whole week to celebrate the teachers at their

school. It was a Hollywood Theme based off of one of the printables she saw in my shop already. LOVEDD IT! We need to celebrate our teachers more often.

I hope that this post inspires you to do the same at your school.

Even if it's just one of the days!

Here's the flyer we made up to put in all the teachers' boxes:

 Here's my free teacher printable for you!

Please Go make your teachers feel special!

FREE MOVIE THEME TEACHER TAG PRINTABLE-

Winner of a PICTURE PEFECT YEAR

(Ten tags on your printable PDF)

Click the above link to download the full page pdf. Print, cut and attach to a gift.

You could do a movie theatre gift card or a bag of popcorn/candy!

I also offer a customized one...

"Thanks for a PICTURE PERFECT Year! Love, _____"

One of my top teacher themed sellers. I add your text.

I also have a (write in your own name) immediate download version of that one too.

Here are some more of the tags my

client is gifting to her teachers each day!

Pair these tags with STARBURSTS for a cute gift!

Immediate Download - $5

(Ten tags on your printable PDF)

I think a single soda or a cute 6 pack of mini sodas

would be perfect with this tag!

IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD- $5

(Ten tags on your printable PDF)

These would be cute attached to a container or bag of popcorn!

You could make it fancy with white chocolate or

go real crazy by gifting a variety of flavors! ;)

IMMEDIATE DOWNLOAD - $5

(Ten tags on your printable PDF)

I did a fun post on yummy popcorn recipes while

I was doing party prep for my girls' Vintage Circus Birthday Party

I originally created all of these for teacher gifts...

but they would be perfect for a Movie themed party,

movie night with friends or an Oscars Party!

DIY Faux Birch Cement Tube Dessert Stands (My Dessert Table DIY)

This has to be one of my favorite DIY Projects I've done!

From start to finish it was so fun creating these Faux Birch Stands!

I made them out of Cement Tubes... and used them as stands for my dessert table!

I had seen similar items to purchase...but I wanted a grouping and my budget was slim to none..so it was the perfect opportunity to do it myself!

Here's how I MADE them..and at the end of the post see how I USED them!

FAUX BIRCH STANDS SUPPLIES:

Cement Tube (Home Improvement Store)

Wood Glue (Home Improvement Store)

Liquitex Acrylic Gesso Paint (Craft Store)

Brown Acrylic Paint (Craft Store)

Toilet Paper

3 Paper Plates

Cardboard box (I always have some somewhere...

but you can get free ones from your dollar tree!

ask and you shall receive.. most of the time. ;)

Tools:

Little Paint Brush

2 Little Foam Brushs

Box Cutter

Pencil. OR crayon if you have kids and hide all sharp things like me.

STEPS:

--First things first...gather supplies. set up a work space.

--Take your cement tube roll that you awkwardly carried through the home improvement store while pushing a stroller and directing children.

and Figure out the heights of stands you want..I knew I wanted 5 different stands...

so I marked the tube accordingly.

--Get your handy man husband to use his muscled and cut the cement tube (it's a sturdy cardboard?) using the box cutter. make sure no fingers are lost. because a trip to the ER will only delay the fun painting part that is coming up...

and the losing a finger thing. that would be painful too.

--Next you need to create the tops of your stands.

Place your cut cement tube piece onto a piece of cardboard (I used part of a cardboard box I had) and trace with a crayon/pencil whatever

(wow just noticed how nasty that crayon looks below...

nice smoosh of play dough on it. lovely. only the best props for my blog photos. ;)

ANYWAYS.... trace it... then I'm pretty sure I just used the wood glue to attach the lid to the tube. I can't remember! But if that doesn't stick enough use regular glue...hot glue...

just GLUE it.

REPEAT. create all your little stands and if arrange how you think you might use them.. you can always trim them down a bit with the box cutters to get the right heights!

This is one of my favorite parts...

Now you need to get a paper plate..and squirt a little bit of the Acrylic Gesso Paint...

tear up a few shreds of toilet paper.. mix together with your foam brush.

keep adding and mixing till you get the right consistency.

Pretty gross looking and feeling... smoosh it against the sides of the tubing...

You are trying to create knots and texture for your faux birch!

The sloppier the better usually. don't do each knot the same.

Your kids watching you might think you are crazy AND awesome.

Next take another paper plate and squirt some of the Acrylic Gesso.

Paint your stands..and know your brush strokes add to the texture of your faux birch...

so play with that a little when you brush! have fun and cover completely.

**If you want, you could use caulk to fill in the edges around the lid...

or push in more of the paint. I didn't mind the texture!**

Let the white dry.

Next squirt a little of the brown acrylic paint onto a paper plate.

Use the tip of your foam brush to swipe on little brown lines...

At first I was nervous I was going to wreck it completely....but then I started getting the hang of it and it came together! Just take a step back, occasionally, and see what you think! add more or stop and let dry.

I wasn't patient enough to wait for it to dry...

I just was very careful didn't touch the sides while I painted the top.

I used my paper plate with the brown paint on it..and squirted a little of the white acrylic gesso paint and mixed to get the right color.

Then painted the tops of my faux birch stands. Done!

I first created these to add levels to my Dessert Table at my Girls' Storybook Princess Party.

On the map of Once Upon A Time Land, which we sent out in the POP-UP INVITE, I showed a Cookie Forest..so of course We HAD to have the stands be trees!! My girls loved it.

and we all devoured the cookies. (which they loved seeing mounded up at easy access ;)

Then I pulled them out again to add some levels to

my dessert table at our Monster Bash!

It was the perfect touch to our spooky kid friendly Halloween Party.

Would love to see how you use your DIY Faux Birch Stands!

Share withe me on Facebook or

Tag me if you post photos on Instagram @thebusybudgetingmama

Four Favorites Series: My DIY Posts

While I am away at BLISSDOM I wanted to

share a fun series of favorite posts from these fun years of blogging!

Maybe some of these posts are your favorites too...

or maybe you'll discover a new post to check out!

Thanks for stopping by. ;)

The first post is on all things DIY.

DIY Projects  are my hobby. they help me relax.

I love being creative!

Even when it means juggling giant cement tubes from home depot to take home and make faux birch tree cake stands for a dessert table.

Some people would think that would be a pain... I love it!

So hard to choose just 4.. but here ya go. ;)

1. Felt Board

2. Cardboard Castle

3. Tulle Tutus

4. Animal Lid Jars

Stop by all week/weekend long to see more of my favorites.

(PERSONAL POSTS, AND RECIPES to come! woohoo.)

While I'm away, follow my Blissdom fun via

twitter, instagram and facebook!

Can't wait to share all the fun I'm having with

blog friends and the wisdom from amazing blog mentors!

Baby Shower for my Sister-In-Law

While I was in Atlanta, I teamed up with my Sister, Valerie(of BLANQI), and My Sister-In-Law, Mary, to throw a Baby Shower Brunch for my little brother's wife Shanna!

I was so thankful to be able to come into town to help throw the shower for her!

It is Shanna's first baby and we wanted to make it extra special for her.

Mary and I had so much fun shopping at target and the grocery store to pull

everything together the day before! Valerie hosted the party at her

house and had made an Aldi's run the day before.

We all worked to make it come together!

left photo: Mary and I in Target.:)

right photo: Micah in his pj's the morning of the shower...

wake up sleepy head..time to celebrate a mama!

We had the Baby Shower Brunch at 10:30 am on a Saturday.

We might have "taste tested" some a lot of the donuts the day before the shower...

(my mom made those cute baby booties below!! eek. adorable.)

Mary used a pack of tissue paper of each color (from target) to make the pom poms!

I found flowers at the grocery store and the colors were too pretty to pass up.

On the table we used linens my mom brought with her from Charlotte.

Some of them were family heirlooms that we were so excited to actually use!

I made up favors and we were lucky enough to have the easter candy

at target match our colors perfectly!

It was fun seeing everything come together. :)

We served some yummy sweet and savory options at the party.

We had donuts, cinnamon rolls, blueberry muffins, prosciutto wrapped cantaloupe, nutella croissants and a few other yummy treats. I love the little toppers my sister had found at marshalls..little animals! they ended up matching the colors of the party perfectly.

If you want to make the most amazing Sausage and Egg Strata of your life this is it!

It disappears every time I make it. (We have it every year for Christmas Morning.)

We offered juice, coffee, milk and ice water.

One of my favorite touches on the table-----the parfaits!

(all from aldi's.. yogurt, granola cereal and strawberries)

We used cute mason jars leftover from Mary's Wedding.

everything tastes yummier in a mason jar ;)

I couldn't resist making up some treat bag tags as favors!

If you would like to use these at your Baby Shower I added a listing to my shop. I can customize them with your mama(or couples) name and date of the baby shower.

"Thanks for Popping By!" Treat Bag Tag - Printable PDF

A Baby Shower can't be complete without some cut throat baby shower games!

I created a printable with a fun 'Baby Animal' Game...

and also a 'Prayers for Baby' Card.

If you would like to buy my baby shower printable you can get them in my shop!

The listing includes both of the above printables. Print as many as you need!

Baby Shower Game & Activity - Printable PDF

We played a game during the present time as well...

We had everyone write on the back of their 'baby animal' game

card 5 baby things shanna might get!

We had a handful of prizes to give..most of them candles. (everyone loves candles.)

I love babies and baby showers. :)

St. Patrick's Day Party - DIY Details

The wee bit of Irish in me loves this post!!

I made up a fun DIY backdrop idea and

printables for a St. Patrick's Day Celebration!

We took these photos in their play room one morning after they woke up.

My girls of course loved the idea of a taking pictures

and eating cupcakes and skittles for breakfast.

I'm excited to share some easy DIY touches for a St. Patrick's Day party..

(or a rainbow themed party!)

All the fun Details and links to printables are below!

I wanted to make up a new St. Patrick's Day Treat Bag Tag this

year to gift to our friends and family!

Rainbow Seeds! Fill snack size bags with skittles, staple tag to top

and you have a fun themed goodie bag.

Rainbow Seeds Printable PDF - $10

DIY CLOUD AND RAINBOW BACKDROP

I wanted to do a rainbow backdrop for our little St. Patrick's Day party table...

I used the batting material clouds I made for their Storybook princess party.

I picked out my rainbow colored fabrics at Joanns.

I bought 6 inches of each and then cut and ripped each in half.

I then tied them to a leftover curtain rod I had. (and hung it on the wall by resting it on two nails.)

I made up a batch of cookie bars...

used a little store bought bag of frosting to pipe a design

and added some sprinkles!

Easy homemade treat. I enjoyed eating this photo prop...

I used a handful of little shamrock foam stickers to sprinkle around the table!

I made up a St. Patrick's Day Print to frame in one of my IKEA Frames.

I'll probably move it to the girls shelf in their play area.

I love the idea of switching out prints for each Holiday.

Right now they have the Valentine's Day ones I made up on their shelf!

Happy St. Patrick's Day Print - Printable PDF $8

I love garlands and banners!
So I of course I had to make up a St. Patrick's Day one!
I like to string them up across our piano..or our mantel.
Happy St. Patrick's Day Banner - Printable PDF $8

Cupcakes!
Bake or pick up a batch from your bakery and top with these cute Toppers!
My girls always love cupcake toppers... We made up some cute glittery shamrock toppers by using a handful of foam shamrock stickers from Joanns.
(the kind with the paper you peel off on the back) 
St. Patrick's Day Cupcake Toppers - Printable PDF $10

pretty, festive and fun!

Sienna was being so patient as I took photos of the cupcakes.

torture for a toddler. ;)

Sienna loves skittles.
Like her mama.
I teach her to eat them slow and one at a time.
We count them. :)
(The little yellow bowls are from Marshalls! It was a 4 pack for $7 or so.)

Yum.

Love cookie bars....

LOVE my girls and their silly poses. ;)

Hope you got some ideas for your own St. Patrick's Day!

My sophie's new year resolution was "to celebrate more"....

so we are going all out on each holiday in our house. ;)

Sneak Peek of our St. Patrick's Day Gifting

With St. Patrick's Day around the corner...

I wanted to make up a design to use for gifting this year!

This is such an Easy DIY Gift Idea.

We are going to print these on card stock..cut..

fold and staple onto a (snack size) ziploc bag full of SKITTLES!

(A favorite candy of mine since I was a kid!!)

Click here to see the design I made last year!

I am going to take some photos of how we make them up..

but was so excited about this little DIY that I wanted to share!

You can buy in my shop. I can personalize them with our child's name.

I am thinking of offering a free Banner like I did for Valentine's Day.

Stop by later next week for that download! :)