Crafts | illi style

Booklovers Bridal Shower

May 15, 2013 By illi 2 Comments

So I have two best friends, you guys have met one, but I wanted to introduce my other BFF. She is getting married at the end of the month and I am SO EXCITED for her and her fiancé. They are both amazing. I am so honored to be her Co-Matron of Honor. The other matron and I had the privilege of throwing her a bridal shower. She is a HUGE reader, so we threw her a “Book Lover’s Bridal Shower.” So every aspect of this shower was centered around her favorite titles.

We decided on a book-page color scheme of white and beige.
That translated to burlap and doilies on the tables.

We greeted the guests with a book-page wreath with the happy couple’s photo.

We had all book themed food, including:

PG Tips Brand Tea with milk and sugar—The Importance of Being Earnest
“Peeta” chips with Hummus—The Hunger Games
“Elevenzies” Cheese tray with crackers, apples, grapes—Lord of the Rings
Orange scones with Devonshire cream –Little women
Crumpets & Jam—The Importance of Being Earnest
Turkish Delight—The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

We did not want any of the traditional games that might embarrass the bride, so we played a few games that were new to me.

The first was a game for the bride. We had requested on the invite that each guest bring their favorite book. When the guests arrived we had a basket outside the door where they left their book. Then it was the bride’s job to match the book to the guest.

The next was a mixer that I had played before, but with a twist. We took all the names of the brides favorite authors and created name tags. Each guest got an author’s name on their back and had to ask the other guests Yes or No questions to try to figure out which author they were.

Here’s a list of the bride’s favorite authors:

Charlotte Bronte-Jane Eyre
Madeleine L’Engle-A Wrinkle in Time
Louisa may Alcott-Little Women
Lucy Maud Montgomery-Anne of Green Gables
C.S. Lewis-The Chronicles of Narnia
J.R.R. Tolkien-The Lord of the Rings
J.K. Rowling-Harry Potter
Suzanne Collins-The Hunger Games
Alexandre Dumas-The Count of Monte Cristo
Emily Bronte-Wuthering Heights
Donald Miller-Searching for God knows what
Jane Austin-Emma
Thomas Hardy-Tess and the D’Urbervilles
Harper Lee-To Kill a Mocking Bird
Leo Tolstoy-War and Peace
Anne Lamont-Traveling Mercies
Lauren Winter-Girl meets God
John Eldridge–waking the dead
Victor Hugo-Les Mirserables

The guest’s gift were custom made bookmarks with quotes about love from the bride’s favorite authors (tutorial coming soon, promise!)

We had an excellent time and the bride was blessed, and that made it a successful shower.

Weekend Nail Polish Party

May 11, 2013 By illi 5 Comments

When Sally Hansen offered to sponsor a nail polish party for me and my girls I was like:
“So … you want to pay me to hang out with my friends? Um, YES!”
We created Color Block designs and had a blast.

I hit up Walgreens because they were having a huge sale on Sally Hansen
for Balance Reward card members (and we all know this mama loves a deal.)

There were also coupons – so each bottle was only $4/each!

I saved 30% off my supplies – now that’s a deal!

I set up a nail station at my dining room table (which is located in my living room)

I loved the rainbow of color!

Not only did I have a rainbow of nail polish, but I also had drinks and Gluten Free food.

The gift bags included a nail file, nail polish remover, and a bottle of nail polish.

Everyone had so much fun finding inspiration on Pinterest and Google from their phones.

And look at the amazing designs!

We simply taped our nails with regular Scotch Tape to create the designs.

My friend Kira was the most ambitious in her design, and it totally paid off, check this out:

We learned a few things:

1. You MUST let one coat be dry before you apply the tape for another coat or the tape will lift off the first coat.

2. To test if your nail polish is dry, gently tap two painted nails together – if they feel tacky, then wait longer.

3. If you have slight irregularities in the lines, simply use a nail pen to draw a line over it (outline) and it will appear straighter.

4. If you use the pens, use a top coat or the color will wear off completely within a few hours.

I had so much fun with my girls. I ate way too many sweets and tried new colors combos – coral and mustard (ha, my hubby saw it later and said, “You realize you made your nails look like Candy Corn, right?”). It was so much fun!

Need some more inspiration? Check this out:

What’s your go to polish color? What are you wanting to try?

I am a member of the Collective Bias Social Fabric Community. This shop has been compensated as a part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and COTY #cbias #SocialFabric All opinions are 100% my own.

Filed Under: Crafts Tagged With: #IHeartMyNailArt, I Heart Nail Art, nail polish, Sally Hansen, Walgreens

How to make your own Gift Bag

May 9, 2013 By illi 2 Comments

Have you ever needed a gift bag and found you did not have the right size?
No worries, DIY a gift bag with this simple how to:

1. Grab you supplies: Wrapping paper, scissors, tape, a hole punch, and ribbon.

2. Measure your item to determine bag size.

3. Create bottom by folding in sides and folding down/up the front and back, tape.

4. Place bag upright and place gift inside. Fold top of bag down twice.
Use a hole punch to make two holes near top of bag, place ribbon through holes and tie.

Presto change-o, your gift wrap is now a beautiful DIY gift bag.

Do you have a gift wrapping trick? Share it with us!

Filed Under: Crafts, How to Tagged With: crafts, how to

10 Excellent Earth Day Recycled Crafts

April 8, 2013 By illi 3 Comments

I am not gonna lie. I am a hippie at heart. Perhaps it is because of where I grew up. We recycled before it was cool. When I was in 3rd grade I starred in a play about recycling. I still remember some of my lines and the chorus to the main number “Recycle, reduce, reuse, and close the loop. We can close the loop.” Sing that while doing jazz hands… oh yeah, I was awesome way back then too.

So I am sure with that little image in your head it comes as no surprise to hear that I love Earth Day. So I thought I would bring you 10 of my new favorite recycled projects from around the interwebs. Crafts, home décor, and even some bling. I thought I would showcase a little something for everyone. DIY Mercury Glass Succulent Planters - A Night Owl Blog

Mercury Glass Succulent Planters – A Night Owl Blog

Check out these planter from my girl Kimberly! Aren’t they amazing? And don’t we all have cheapy glass vases or glasses lying around (or waiting to go to Goodwill) that can be given new life.

Eggshell Mosaic Bracelet – Happy Hour Projects

How amazing is this?! Adrianne is amazing. I love her. She knows how to reuse something fierce. Eggshells are not just for your garden friend, they can also be a fashion statement. I love how they look like crushed capiz shells here.

Garden Hose Spring Wreath via createcraftlove.com #spring #wreath #garden

Garden Hose Spring Wreath – Create.Craft.Love

I am a HUGE wreath fan. Huge. I have a whole pinterest board dedicated to their awesomeness. They are on pinterest all the time, but recently it has been the same ol same ol yarn wrapped wreath. Until Jill decided to be amazing and make this beauty. (FYI I never thought I would be calling a garden hose a beauty… well done Jill.)

DIY Map Shoes – Viva la Vida

Oh my goodness!!! When I saw these I almost hyperventilated. Why? Because other than wreaths, my quirky love is maps. I know it has recently become cool to like maps but I like to think I helped start that trend. There is no evidence to support that claim, but I like to think it anyway, it makes me feel better about my life. Then Chara decided to get all kinds of awesome and create the cutest flats on earth. California Map Flats. I wonder if they come in my size? Which is a huge 9.5… so probably not.

3D Lego Art – Boxy colonial

Nerdy adluts and parents everywhere are rejoicing. Not only is this awesome art, but for once the legos will be off the floor and our feet will be safe from the indescribable pain that is stepping on a lego in the middle of the night.

TV Tray to Activity Table – SevenAlive.com

How cute it this? I would like to think this would keep my daughter occupied for a LONG time. This is a quality recycle craft. And I love that more arts and crafts will be produced on it.

Window Frame to Vertical Succulent Planter – Secondchancetodream.com

This is so cool. As you guys know I come from 3 generations of succulent gardeners. So this recycled window frame is right up my black thumbed alley. I love the detailed tutorial (so easy and beautiful.)

Upcycled Coffee Table – Twelve O Eight

Holey Moley why have I never thought of this? I sold stool at a yard sale that could have been recycled into a sofa table. Oh the missed opportunity! This is genius and quite sunning!

Paint Chip Business Card Holder

Paint Chip Business Card Holder - Sarah Saturdiy

So, any of you who have been seeing my pinterest lately know that I have pinned about 30 business card holders in the last week. This one is awesome! Recycle those paint chips (you know you have 10 from the home store just laying around) for a new business card holder.

Scarf Organizer – The Crafty Scientist

I actually spent money on one of these at Ikea. Real hard-earned money. And I could have made it myself? Don’t make the same mistake! This simple recycle will be worth it. Promise.

Which is your favorite?

Filed Under: Crafts, DIY Tagged With: crafts, DIY, Holidays

Booklovers Bridal Shower

Weekend Nail Polish Party

How to make your own Gift Bag

10 Excellent Earth Day Recycled Crafts

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