Hey there Hello Kirsti readers! It's been a while since I put together a guest post for y'all, but that doesn't mean I haven't been busy crafting. I'm a teacher, so I've been home all summer getting my craft on. I've made 2 different types of burp cloths (more on those and the advice I have for you later), minky baby blankets, gift baskets, monograms, and so much more.
Today's project was a bit of art work for our Baby Girl's room. Her furniture arrived on Wednesday and now it's time to focus on the finishing touches before she arrives.
It started with a trip to Michael's to find the right sized canvas to go over the crib. Decided on a 12 inch x 36 inch, which just so happened to be on sale for $5.99!!! And I had a coupon for 10% off everything...SCORE!!!!
Then I needed to decide what to put on the canvas. I wanted something simple and sweet, and decided to go with “LOVE”...something that would be timeless, and could be hung somewhere else down the road.
The most difficult part of this project was finding the “right” font. It was the part that took the longest --- endlessly searching dafont.com. But eventually I found the perfect one, Shardee. I've put together a pdf of the file I used to make my template, so you won't have to search endlessly! (YAY for time saving)
Download the template here!
First I printed the letters and cut them out. I used Tombow monoadhesive to hold them in place while I traced. It's hard to see here, but there are pencil lines on in this picture.

Next I started the scary part...pushing the pins in! This part takes the longest.

I found the best way was to outline first and then fill in. This project took roughly 400 push pins. It's really dependent on how you push them together.
Here's the project once it was all finished!

Can't wait to hang it in her room!
**P.S. I've tried shaking the canvas to try and get the pins to fall out but they are pretty secure. Barring any earthquakes I think they'll be just fine.**
Download the template here!
Kirsti:: Is this not the cutest!! Can’t wait to share all the things I’ve made for Bestie’s beautiful daughter!
Here’s a whole room shot =)

Hey there Hello Kirsti readers.

Well, it’s officially been 6 months since my husband and I said I do!

Here’s a look at the fabulous banner Kirsti made us to use in our wedding pics!

I’m a romantic sap…total over the top celebrator of all things lovey-dovey. Yup, I’m that girl who celebrates her dating anniversary, her engagement anniversary, her first time we kissed anniversary (okay…I’m not that bad but you get the idea)!

So, since it was our ½ a year wedding anniversary I thought it was necessary to get a head start on a wedding anniversary tradition…the eating of the cake topper!

Since we didn’t save our wedding cake topper (that whole tradition of eating a cake that is a year old just seems gross) I had a half a cake made. Luckily for me there is a wonderful cake baker I know named LeAne.  Check out her creations at http://www.sweettraditionsbyleane.com (if you’re near Raleigh, NC you must try her cakes!)

We brainstormed a little and this is what we came up with.

I surprised my husband with it at 5:30 pm…when we’d officially been married for 6 months.

He was really surprised! Hope this gets you inspired for the next celebration in your life.

Happy new year! Remember to celebrate everything this year.

Happy Halloween Hello Kirsti Readers!!!!

I’ve got a special Halloween treat and recipe for you today.

As you know, I’m a teacher, and from time to time I like to surprise my co-workers with a sweet little treat to help them get through the week.

The recipe I used is a Christmas candy recipe. There are a million different ways to doctor this recipe. I’ve added sprinkles to make it more festive for different holidays and it’s all about the packaging (isn’t it!?!?!).

I’ve got to warn you---this candy is addictive, hence why I call it Candy Crack. I cannot confirm nor deny that I’ve eaten an entire batch on my own! (You won’t tell, will you?)

Candy Crack Recipe

2 bags of White Chocolate Melts (or 2 bags of white chocolate chips)
1 cup of peanut butter
4 cups of Rice Krispies
2 cups of marshmallows
2 cups roasted peanuts

Before you begin, you’ll need to get out a large (read: GIANT) bowl. Place the peanuts, rice krispies, and marshmallows inside and mix them together with a spatula. At this point you’ll want to lay out some sheets of wax paper. Enough to cover about 2 cookie sheets.
In a separate, microwave safe, bowl combine the chocolate and peanut butter. Microwave for 1 minute. Remove and stir. Continue microwaving at 20 second intervals until chocolate is melted. Be careful not to overheat the chocolate. It will still look like chips, you’ll need to stir it to make it smooth.
Immediately pour chocolate mixture over cereal mix. Stir until coated.
Drop mixture by the spoonful onto the wax paper. Do this quickly as it will harden within about 10 minutes.

Once cool you can place it in a plastic zip up bag and it will keep for up to a week (if you can resist it for that long!).

I packaged mine in cute little orange craft boxes I purchased at Target. I placed a wax paper liner in each before putting in the treat. Figured I should put some cute labels on them to get people in the spirit.

You can get those labels here: LABELS

Hope you’re Halloween is filled with tricks and treats!

-Bestie

Hey there Hello Kirsti readers! It’s me again…bestie! I’ve got a fun teacher-techie gift for you today: a keyboard initial wall hanging. I found this cute idea on Pinterest and thought it would be great for my new classroom. I wasn’t able to find any good tutorials, so I set off to make one just for you!
First gather all your supplies.


You will need:
1. Old computer keys. One keyboard is enough to make 1 ½ initials, depending on your size.
2. Hot glue gun and sticks (It took me 4 mini sticks to make this R)
3. Background paper (I used a glitter paper, because, well, don’t we all need a bit more glitter in our lives?)
4. Shadow Box (I got this one at Michaels for $14.99 but I had a 40% off coupon…bringing it down to $8.99)
5. Printed Paper with initial
Next you’ll want to do a trial run on constructing your letter. Use your printed paper with initial to help you. An R was a bit difficult because of the curves, so it may take a few tries to get it just right.


Now that you’ve mapped it out, take a picture! No, seriously! That way you can refer to it later if you get stuck.
Then you’ll want to cut out your letter. Because I chose a glitter background, I couldn’t print on the background. I wanted to put the outline behind my letter so that you wouldn’t see any “pink cracks” in the finished design.

Now that you’ve cut your letter out, you’ll want to glue it down to your background paper. I used hot glue for this. I tested it first on a piece of scrap and you’re going to cover it anyways, so no worries if it isn’t perfect.
 
Alright, now you’re ready to start gluing on those keys! If you want to spell out something cute (**hint hint**) now is the time to pull out the right letters. Put the hot glue on the back of the key, on the part that sticks up. It’s best to use the inside of the key to wipe off the tip of the glue gun…this prevents all those annoying strings!

Now here’s the part where you just keep gluing. Yes….keep going. You can do it!!!
 
Once you’ve finished gluing all those keys on there, you’ll need to let it cool for a few minutes.
Then glue the inside of the shadow box onto the back of the background.
Add you’re name to the bottom if you’d like by printing on paper and cutting and adhering to glitter paper.



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Hey there Hello Kirsti readers. I’m “bestie”---Kirsti’s much less tech-savvy, crafty-recently married-teacher, best friend.

Recently my husband and I moved from a large 3 bedroom townhouse to a tiny 1 bedroom apartment while we search for the perfect place to call home. Due to the tight quarters, my craftiness and supplies have been pretty limited. But as all true crafters know, when the craft-bug hits you, you cannot control it. So I’ve now ventured into the techie-craft of typography.

Typography is basically fancy arrangements of fonts and lettering to create something. I used Inkscape, which is FREE!!! And it’s pretty easy to use too! You can get a copy of Inkscape for your computer from Inkscape.org. (Kirsti note: Inkscape is prefect for prepping files for cutting with your Silhouette or Cricut as well!)

Since I recently got married, I wanted to make a little something with the vows my husband and I wrote for each other. This way we could display them in frames in our new house.
(Becca & Kirstin at Becca’s Lilly Bridal Shower)





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