Pretty as a Picture Frame

For a while I have wanted to make a picture frame to display my favorite photo of Mary Ashley and Emma -- a beautiful black and white shot captured by my friend Allison Hilyer last year when the girls were flower girls for our friends Neil and Haley Scott. I can't help but smile each time I look at this photo, so I am so glad to finally have it in a special frame. To make this one, I painted a wooden craft store frame white, then covered it with a favorite scrapbook paper. (Paper and frame, Hobby Lobby; ribbon, Elaine's in Montgomery, Ala.) Directions follow for making your own.

Decoupaged Frame

1. Paint a wooden frame, and allow it to dry.

2. Measure the frame, and cut a rectangle of scrapbook paper to fit. If the paper has a pattern repeat, as the one pictured above, keep this in mind when you decide where to cut. For a decorative edge to the paper, use shaped scissors or carefully tear the paper.

3. Make sure the paper fits the frame, then turn it face down on a cutting mat. Place your frame face down on top of the paper, and use a pencil to lightly trace the opening of the frame onto the paper. Use a sharp craft knife to cut out the opening. See if this fits the frame, and carefully make any more cuts as needed to ensure a perfect fit.

4. Coat the frame with a thin coat of Mod Podge with a sponge brush, and press the paper into place. Smooth out any bubbles that form by pushing the air out to the edges of the frame. Go over the top of the  scrapbook paper with another thin coat of Mod Podge, and allow it to dry.

5. Repeat with another thin coat of Mod Podge. When this coat dries, you can move on to the next step, or re-coat if necessary.

6. Hot glue a fluffy bow to the top of the frame. (Be sure to finish the edges of the ribbon with a no-fray solution or clear fingernail polish if you choose a ribbon that frays.) If desired, finish the knot with a pretty bauble pinned or glued to the center.

7. Place a pretty photo inside, and your frame will be picture perfect!

Speaking of picture perfect, congratulations to the winners of the giveaway for 25 photo cards from Shutterfly: Kim Lessig, Angela Maddux and Taryn Brodie!

Inspiration for Emma's Room

What is it about expecting company that inspires home renovation and redecorating projects?

Daughter Emma's room has been in need of a makeover since we removed the crib. We decorated the nursery before Mary Ashley was born, painting the walls a baby soft pink and filling the room with family heirlooms and feminine fabrics. But now that we are taking the room from baby to big girl, the space needs to reflect 5-year-old Emma's fun personality. Although Emma is a girlie-girl, she favors brighter colors and bolder patterns to the chintzes and toiles I chose for the nursery. Here's a peek at what I have planned so far. 

The walls in Emma's room are still soft pink, much like Pottery Barn's Pink Cadillac. I plan to leave  the walls pink, but bring in accents with colors like PB's Stem and Sweet Taffy. (Find the PB Kids Benjamin Moore paint palette here.) And I have a fun wall treatment planned to bring in Emma's favorite bright pink. Photos and monograms will help personalize the space.

The inspiration for Emma's new room design came from the Premier Prints fabric pictured above, Suzani Maggie in Candy Pink (find it on Fabric.com here). I plan to use this for curtains, along with polka dot sheers from PB Kids. I love the ornament hardware from PB Kids, too.

For the bedding, we plan to trade out Emma's twin bed for a full-size. I am partial to matelasse coverlets because they look nice and suit our mild Alabama weather year-round. I am hoping this rose-colored coverlet from LinenSource will be a good match for the Premier Prints fabrics I have chosen for the bed linens I plan to make. With the holidays upon us, I am not sure how quickly I can bring the room together. But I will be sure to fill you in on all the details when Emma'a big girl room is complete! If you have any go-to resources for design, please share them in the comments below.

Be sure to enter last week's giveaway here. Three readers will win 25 free photo cards from Shutterfly!

"Creativity represents a miraculous coming together of the uninhibited energy of the child with its apparent opposite and enemy, the sense of order imposed on the disciplined adult intelligence." ~ Norman Podhoretz

Shutterfly Christmas Card Preview & Giveaway

"Christmas! The very word brings joy to our hearts. No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given -- when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes." ~ Joan Winmill Brown

Can you believe that it is already time to order Christmas cards? It seems we were just walking to the mailbox, hoping to find holiday greetings from friends and family. And now it is nearly time to send out Christmas cards again.

 

Enter online photo processor Shutterfly, and the most difficult part of this holiday task is choosing which Christmas card to send. With oodles of designs to choose from, you are sure to find one that suits your family perfectly. Here are a few of my favorites.

I love the freshness of a square card, and this one is adorable. Of course, those giggling little girls are cute as they can be.

Early on, I had my eye on the card above. What a great option for showcasing pictures of four children. And I am always drawn to holiday items that bear my middle name, Noel. Ultimately I decided on another card, but I will definitely bookmark this design for next year.

Again, Noel. This design looks so nice with an artsy black and white photo. (Find a great selection of folded, flat stationery and flat photo cards here.)

And, of course, the southern girl in me always falls for a monogram. So this blue design, aptly named Sweet Monogram, was also a contender for this year's card.

Another adorable monogrammed option in red, white and lime green -- one of my favorite holiday color schemes.

Another red and white design, perfect to showcase a single photo.

Sweet & simple is key in this design.

I like that Shutterfly offers a wide selection of colors in their Christmas cards. Having used a red and white card last year, this year I found myself drawn to several blue designs.

Wouldn't this elegant card be great for an engaged or newly married couple?

And who could resist getting warm wishes and sandy kisses in this beach-themed option.

Which card did I choose for this year's card? Well, that is still a secret, but thanks to quick turnaround and a generous offer from Shutterfly, I already have them in hand. Now my biggest challenge is trying to figure out the address list stored on my computer.

Now it's your turn to pick a favorite holiday card! But before you make your final selection, please take a moment to enter my giveaway for holiday cards. Shutterfly is giving away 25 holiday cards to three readers of A Little Loveliness.

Simply leave a comment below to enter, and I will announce the winners next week!

Cupcake Fancy

This cupcake was a birthday surprise last week for our little friend Ann Welch.

Earlier this year AW's talented mommy, Montgomery area photographer Allison Hilyer, beautifully captured the fun of Mary Ashley's cupcake baking birthday party. So I wanted to return the favor by making a cake or cupcakes for Ann Welch.

These strawberry cupcakes were topped with swirls of buttercream icing piped on with a large star tip. Then with a smaller star tip, I added swirls of turquoise icing. To make the rose toppers, I rolled pink Wilton fondant out thin, cut it into strips and rolled it. For the final icing details, I used a v-shaped tip to pipe three leaves around each rose and used a small round tip to add the zigzag of icing around the rim. Green Wilton candy pearls tucked into the turquoise icing add the final touch.

Happy Birthday, Ann Welch!

Still to come this week, a holiday giveaway.

Friday Roses

These vibrant roses have graced my kitchen table for a week now. With fiery hues of yellow and orange, this bouquet has added a lovely touch of fall color to our home. I am getting ready to head out to Buford, Ga., for my last ladies day of the fall, but wanted to take a moment to congratulate the winner of last week's giveaway of a signed copy of TeaTime Magazine's latest book, Scones and Tea. The winner, chosen at random, is:

Donna S.

Congratulations, Donna! I know you will treasure this beautiful book. Please e-mail me your address, and I will get your book in the mail.

I will be back next week with sweet treats and another giveaway. Have a great weekend!

I will be speaking tomorrow at the Buford Church of Christ's ladies day. Please join us if you can!

Welcome November

November is here, which means Thanksgiving is only weeks away. Soon sweet treats like these turkey cupcakes will be waddling off the platter into grateful little tummies.

We will be lighting candles to welcome loved ones who gather around our holiday table ...

And dishing up delicious Turkey-Day fare, like this rich, velvety pumpkin soup.

We'll make pilgrim hat cookies for the children ...

And they will make us proud in Thanksgiving programs. And throughout it all, we will strive to be thankful.



Today is the last day to enter my giveaway for a signed copy of the beautiful new TeaTime Magazine book Scones and Tea. Visit this post to enter. I will announce the winner tomorrow!





"Thanksgiving is the holiday of peace, the celebration of work and the simple life ... a true folk-festival that speaks the poetry of the turn of the seasons, the beauty of seed time and harvest, the ripe product of the year -- and the deep, deep connection of all these things with God." ~ Ray Stannard Baker

Wizard of Oz Party

As much fun as it was to visit the merry land of Oz last week, I wanted to remind the children that there is no place like home. So I surprised them yesterday after school with a little Wizard of Oz party.

We had a blast dressing up as favorite characters from The Wizard of Oz for festivities at church last week. Left to right, Mary Ashley as Dorothy; Carson as the Tin Man; Emma as the Cowardly Lion; and Christian as the Scarecrow. (Costumes here.)

I even joined in the fun, dressing as Glinda the Good Witch of the North. It was worth it to dress up just to see 5-year-old Emma look up at me with such admiration. Several little girls approached me at trunk or treat wanting to have their picture made. As a nearly 40-year-old mom of four, getting the "princess treatment" was quite a surprise. But it was such fun, I might start wearing glitter all the time. (I wonder if sequins could get me out of doing laundry?) Costume purchased here (crown misplaced, but it didn't look like the picture anyway); wand made by hot gluing a snowflake ornament to a painted wooden dowel. Visit yesterday's post for more dress-up photos.

Time to Make Some Party Magic ...

I wanted to serve a party snack to represent each child's character, so these ruby red slipper cookies were an easy choice for Dorothy. To make these, melt red Wilton Candy Melts on the stovetop in a double boiler. Dip Nutter Butters in the melted candy, place the cookies on a freezer-safe plate covered with parchment paper, and sprinkle the wet cookies with red sparkling sugar. Put the cookies in the  freezer to harden the coating, then add white icing accents. (Find more shoe cookie ideas here.)

Scarecrow Crunch looks even more festive served in a scarecrow hat: a copper foil cupcake liner embellished with twine. A few dabs of hot glue will help the twine stay in place. For our party I used one cupcake liner, but later when I assembled treat bags for our adopted college students, I found that using two liners worked much better. Scarecrow crunch provides a tasty combination of salty and sweet; find the recipe here.

And for our Cowardly Lion, who's afraid of a cupcake? I made these simple cupcakes by piping a dome of icing into the center with a star tip. Then I piped the mane around the circumference with a V-shaped tip. Wilton candies added the facial details. I purchased a bottle of Wilton bronze icing paste for this project, but it added more of a peach tint to the icing than bronze, so I would recommend using orange instead.

And in honor of the Tin Man, I wrapped bottles of soda with sparkly scrapbook paper. Canned drinks would have been an appropriate choice, but I knew my children would be more excited to have bottled drinks.

Colorful gingham details like name tags, napkins and fabric pulled our afternoon snack table together. Years ago I covered the underside of the glass plates with red checked fabric, but I don't remember what product I used for that project. Mary Ashley's Dorothy basket and stuffed Toto made an easy centerpiece, and pictures from last week's event further personalized the look.

My blue and white tablecloth was too big for our childsize table, so I used ribbon to draw up the corners. This created pretty gathers and added another pop of color.

Here is a view of the table set for a surprise celebration.

Years ago I found miniature lidded baskets on clearance at a craft store. I bought four, knowing someday they would come in handy. With a fabric liner cut from scraps of blue gingham, they were perfect for giving each child a surprise related to his or her Wizard of Oz character.

The children were so enthusiastic about dressing up together -- even almost teenager, seventh-grader Carson -- so I wanted to reward their cooperative spirits with a celebratory treat. Clockwise from top left: Instead of a medal of courage, Cowardly Lion Emma was honored a bracelet and necklace. In lieu of a diploma, Scarecrow Christian earned a certificate entitling him to a book valued at $5 or less from Books-a-Million. Dorothy Mary Ashley discovered a pair of ruby slippers for her doll from Jo-Ann's Fabrics. And Tin Man Carson found something dear to his heart: a $5 gift card to Game Stop. Dress-up photos printed for each child also serve as mementos of our trip to Oz. 

Cowardly Lion Emma sees the snacks and says, "Let me at 'em!"

Visiting Oz with these four reminds me what fun it is to go down the yellow brick road, over the rainbow and back home again. As long as we're together, I know we're right where we belong.

I'm linking this post to "Get Your Craft On" at Today's Creative Blog.

"Family is the one thing we long for when trouble strikes. It is our true means of escape from life's restlessness ... the place where the Wizard of Oz syndrome ends and lasting peace and contentment begins ... where we finally learn, as did Dorothy, that life's greatest treasures are closer than we think." -- Michael O'Donnell, Home from Oz