How Ya Like Them Apples?

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 3-7 and fast approaching. Today I thought I'd share some fabulous handmade gifts on Etsy.com that bring a whole new meaning to the saying "An Apple a Day. . ."

a.b.c.

d. e.f.

g.h. i.

j.k.l.


a. Mosaic Apple from halvorsons
b. Apples Turquoise Stone Fruit on Leverback from polishedtwo
c. Apple love x Brooch from PolishedFish
d. An Apple A Day Keeps Teacher's Away Keychain from ButterflyGem
e. Apple A Day Fabric Stationary Set from Lockette
f. BooBoo Red & Blue Apples For You Large Market Tote Bag from BadkittyHawaii
g. 10 Plantable Note Card Set w/Parsley Herb Seed Paper from GreetingsthatGrow
h. I is for INSPIRE - Scrabble Tile Pendant from designsbyappletree
i. Apple Jacket in Berrylicious with Lime Green & Dark Pink Button from Handamade
j. Red Apple Dot Tissue Cozy from bagsbymelanie
k. Happy Apple 1 Inch Pinback Button from Buttonhead
l. Denim Coffee Cozy - Apple from TiffanyMagee

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Party Favor Friday: Flip Flop Invitations & Gift Bags

On Monday I introduced the Rock-A-Hula-Luau FavorCake for those outdoor Summer parties. So to continue in the luau spirit check out these colorful flip flop invitations from TopPartyIdeas.com

Here are the supplies you'll need:

Colorful grosgrain ribbon
Flower embellishments
Colored card stock in orange, hot pink, and turquoise
Lime colored envelopes
Scissors
Glue (white or glue gun)
Ruler
Hole puncher (single standard)
Magnetic strip tape (optional)

Step 1. Measure your envelope first then cut the turquoise card stock about 1/2″ smaller in length and width than the envelope. After that cut the orange card stock about 1/2″ smaller in length and width than the turquoise.

Step 2. Trace an outline of a flip flop on a piece of card stock. Cut out the shape using the hot pink paper. Punch a hole on the top of the flip flop. String two 2-3" pieces of ribbon through the hole and secure with glue. Secure the ends of the ribbon to each side of the flip flop at the bottom. Decorate the flip flop with your flower embellishment.

Step 3. Layer the hot pink flip flop, orange card stock, and turquoise card stock according the photo and secure each layer with glue.

Step 4. Once your design is complete you can print up the party details onto another sheet of paper or card stock and glue it to the back of your invitation.

I loved this idea so much that I used it to create a custom gift bag and a small gift sac. Both bags are a great personalized option for holding presents, treats, and party favors.

Mahalo and please join me next Friday for a new party favor craft. Have a great weekend.

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Everyone Deserves a Medal

Each week I'll share some ideas and cool finds for party favors and this week is all about medals. If you think they're just for sporting events, think again.

We just celebrated my daughter's 4th birthday this past weekend and I included these Olympic style medals from our local Wal-Mart in the guests' favor boxes. They were a big hit! The kids loved wearing them and showing them off to each other and their parents.






If you're planning a party with lots of activities for the kids this 24 pack of Little Champs Award Medals from PartyCity.com could double as both prizes and favors for all of the participants. What child wouldn't love getting one of these colorful medallions that says "You're a Star".







For the slightly older and "cooler" guest list, check out the Rock Star ribbons from OrientalTrading.com. Be sure to add these to the "celebrity" gift bags for your teen's Hannah Montana, Guitar Hero, or Rock Band party.









Also from OrientalTrading.com are Design Your Own! Medals and very affordable I might add at $9.99 for a set that includes 2 dozen medals with 36" ribbons and 4 dozen paper inserts. With a little creativity and possibly the help of your computer you can create custom medals to fit any party theme.


Hope these ideas have sparked a little medal inspiration. Join me next week for more party favor ideas and cool finds.

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Rock-A-Hula-Luau!

Being a child of the 80's I found myself humming the song ♫ Rock-A-Hula-Luau ♫ from the movie Grease 2 while working on this latest FavorCake. The song title means "Summer is Coming" as the kids celebrated the end of the school year with a luau.

I had fun with this creation. I love bright colors and made sure this FavorCake would make a vibrant centerpiece for an outdoor celebration in the sun.

This design offers twelve tropical party favor boxes tied together with raffia and a tiny summer flip flop. The cake topper features a refreshing coconut drink, a must have for any luau.

Be sure to check out our upcoming Party Favor Friday post as we show you how make luau theme invitations and gift bags.

ALOHA!

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Party Favor Friday: Pretty Paper Teapots

Tea parties have to be one of the greatest past times for a child. You can get dressed up, sit down all your friends (even if it's the stuffed kind) and serve them the best imaginary tea ever made.

My oldest girl loves playing tea party and also loves doing crafts so I was delighted to find this paper teapot project on the DisneyFamily.com website. With a few basic supplies and decorative scrapbook paper, you and your little hostess can create your own pretty teapots.

This is a fun activity to include during a princess or tea theme party. Set up a crafting station where each guest can decorate their own teapot and take them home as party favors.


Here's the finish product from me and my little crafter.

On a scale from one to five I would rate this craft a 4 1/2. It's super easy to put together and the color/pattern possibilities are endless. I will admit it's a little hard to get the teapots to stand on their own but you could easily lean them against some type of base.

Join us again next Friday as we feature a new party favor idea. Have a great weekend.

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One Crafter's Trash is Another Crafter's Treat Boxes

It's great to have friends in my life who are also talented crafters from scrapbooking, card making, diaper cakes, you name it. I enjoy checking out another friend's craft room seeing their past and current projects and the tools they use to construct them. It's also fun getting a phone call or email saying "Hey, I'm cleaning out my craft room and found some things I think you might like". To me, it's like a crafter's Christmas.

Recently, a good friend brought me a box full of scrapbook paper and embellishments she figured she'd never use again. Going through the box, I was immediately hit with inspiration when I came across some light green paper with white polka dots. If anyone knows me, they know I love polka dots and the green color is perfect for Spring. I'd also found some adorable pink and white paper flowers in the embellishments.

With my inspiration and my polka dotted paper it was time to sit down and create, or rather wait until both of my girls were asleep in bed so I could sit down and create :-) This is my finished project.

Six Spring theme gift boxes great for filling with small treats. These would also make cute favor boxes for a baby shower or Mother's Day luncheon. Now the question is, when am I going to clean out my craft room?

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Be a Good Little Monkey!

At 8am sharp every weekday morning, my four year old tunes into Curious George on PBS to see what new discoveries he'll find that day. Now my eight month old is starting to enjoy the wonderment of that curious little monkey. So with two fans of Curious George, or rather three counting myself, I thought it would be a fun theme for my next FavorCake.


What an irresistible centerpiece for a birthday party or baby shower. Our furry little friend sits on top of bright red and yellow boxes adorned with tiny blue, green, and yellow pom poms. The entire cake is tied together with blue ribbon featuring that well known yellow hat. This colorful design offers 12 handmade favor boxes great for filling with candy and party favors.

I must add that my oldest daughter is my number one critic. After finishing a cake, I always ask her opinion since you'll never get a more honest one than from that of a toddler. This time when the baby saw the Curious George FavorCake, her face lit up with delight as she immediately began reaching for it. I think it's safe to say this one received two thumbs up :-)

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Holy Party Favor Boxes Batman!

With a four year old daughter who loves pink, princesses, and everything girlie I don't particularly have superheroes on the brain a lot but after designing three princess theme FavorCakes I thought it was high time to switch gears for a new design. I think it's safe to say the end result is the complete opposite of pink, princess, and girlie.

Our Batman theme FavorCake makes a cool centerpiece for a superhero's party. The mysterious masked hero stands on top of the Gotham City skyline at night watching out for villains.

This three tier design offers 14 handmade favor boxes in black, great for filling with candy and small party favors.

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FavorCakes by Erica specializes in making unique creations for baby showers, birthday parties, holiday celebrations and more. Every FavorCake is handmade with quality cardstock and craftmanship.

I love a challenge! If you have a cake idea for your special event contact me and let's make it happen.

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Strength. Hope. Courage. Love

About a month ago, I was visiting a local scrapbooking store not feeling very inspired that day by what I was seeing. I kept looking around and spotted some pink and white card stock with the messages of strength, hope, courage, and love written all over it for breast cancer awareness.

I grabbed the paper not sure at the time how I was going to use it. It actually stayed in my craft room for weeks before I even touched it again. Going along with my normal activities during the month, I was saddened to learn about two lives lost to cancer. One of the inspiring little angel Layla Grace who battled neuroblastoma and the other life of a beautiful young mother in my small town lost to cervical cancer.

This past Easter weekend after winding down from visiting with family and enjoying seeing my girls open their Easter baskets I came across my pink paper for breast cancer awareness. I sat down and just started creating.

I'm very pleased with the finished product adding it to my "Thinking of You" category. The boxes can be filled with small treats or little notes of encouragement and given to someone special or even to a team participating in a walk or race to raise money for a cure.

I'm also happy to announce that $3 from the sale of every Pink Ribbon Cancer Awareness MiniCake will be donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure®

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2-4-6-8! Who do we appreciate?

They teach us, help shape and mold us, and make a major impact in our lives. We love our teachers and our school themed mini favor cake is a great way to show appreciation for a favorite teacher, no special holiday required.

This colorful design offers 6 small handmade cake slices great for filling with a few treats or little hand written notes expressing your thanks. Each slice measures about 3 inches long x 3 inches wide. Our mini cakes are 6 inches in diameter, a great little gift for someone special.

If you'd like to customize the apple shaped cake topper with your teacher's name, we'll be happy to oblige.

FavorCakes by Erica specializes in making unique creations for baby showers, birthday parties, holiday celebrations and more. Every FavorCake is handmade with quality cardstock and craftmanship.

I love a challenge! If you have a cake idea for your special event contact me and let's make it happen.

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Happy Easter Weekend

FavorCakes by Erica wishes everyone a Happy Easter Weekend. This is truly a refreshing time of the year. Spring is well underway and there is a great sense of renewal and rebirth.

With the days being longer and warmer we become inspired to add new activities to our day whether it's tending to the garden, taking the kids to the park, or even braving certain areas of our home for Spring cleaning.

I've definitely been hit by the inspiration bug and will not only spend this weekend enjoying time with my family but also working on new FavorCake designs.

So here's to Easter, Spring, inspiration, and rebirth!

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