Summer Fun Movie Night

One thing that I remember as a child was going to drive-in movies with my brother and parents. It was always so much fun. The night air, popcorn, candy, and watching a great movie outside with the family I love so much!!!

I decided to attempt my own movie night! What actually got me on the outdoor movie kick was seeing all the fun movie nights that I've found on Pinterest, I am officially addicted and you can follow me HERE.  

First, I used several of the left over decorations from my daughter's Carnival Birthday Party.  Next, I made our very own "Now Showing Sign".  This was super easy... 

I purchased a frame from Hobby Lobby (used a 40% coupon) so it cost me just a tad over $5.00, used a piece of scrapbook paper I had in my stash for the inside of the frame, cut out "Now Showing" (in black vinyl) with my Silhouette placed it on the glass and used a dry erase marker to write the name of the movie we watched...  The Sandlot (one of my favorites from my childhood!).  I love that we can use it over and over.

While on my hunt to recreate the perfect summer movie night I ran across a new product... The 3M Pocket Projector at Target and had to have it.  Let me just say this projector is awesome!  It hooks up to the iPhone or iPad (we used the iPad) and projects the movies.   All I could imagine was the fun my daughter, neices, and nephews would have (while creating great memories for them).

So, I decided to show you today how to set up everything for your very own backyard movie night!  I don't know about you but I am not very tech savvy and thankfully with this, I didn't need to be.

Let me introduce you to the 3M Pocket Projector!!!

For the mount, we used a camera tripod and it worked perfectly. 

Once it is mounted, you will plug in the small side to the projector and the large side into the iPod or iPad.

This point is where the sound comes in and believe me you definitely need good sound outside.  On our 1st attempt we used some small speakers. (The machine has a built in speaker but for outside it wasn't enough)....  We could barely hear anything, so we decided to try something else - an amplifier.  It worked PERFECT!

However, we had to find an adapter to fit as the input was larger than the standard 3.5mm.  This is what the adapter looks like.

I did have to buy another 3.5mm Stereo Audio Cable but it was very inexpensive $6.00.

The 3.5mm Sterio Audo Cable goes into the adapter on one end and into the projector on the other end.

That's it!  Now everything is set up.... and ready to go!

My mom is a Photographer so we used one of her backdrops.  We actually just flipped it to the back white side and used that.  But there are a ton of tutorials out there of how to make your own movie screen...  Actually, one of the "Summer Camp Couselors" from last year gives a great Tutorial

The kids LOVED it and had the best time!!  I loved seeing them so excited!

See?  Perfect!!!  The whole night was exactly what I wanted for them.  I predict many more movie nights in the near future!!

Sneak Peek

I am posting over at Design Dazzle and will be showing you how to have your own Backyard Movie Night! I was asked to be a "Camp Counselor" by Design Dazzle for their "Summer Camp" Series.  So far, all the ideas have been awesome!!

Stop over and check out all the great, super fun ideas!!!

Initial Wall Decor

This is another present for my best friend's baby.  She chose pink, black and white for Brynn's nursery.  I found an unfinished wood plaque at Hobby Lobby for $2.99 so I painted the sides pink...  Then mod podged some white scrapbook paper on to the top.  At that point I used my glue gun to glue the black and white houndstooth ribbon on.  I also used the glue gun for the B (which was also unfinished but I painted the same pink as the sides). 

I love the upholstery nail head trim so I nailed 4 of those in the corners as well.  I love it!!  And am sure that she will too.  This project was SO quick and easy...  It took maybe 25 minutes.

Personalized Washcloths

My best friend just recently had a baby...  and of course she wanted something with her sweet baby's name on it.  My initial intention was to embroider her name on several washcloths but when my embroidery machine barely made it thru the first one, I decided to move on to plan B. (I haven't completely gotten the whole embroidery machine thing down to a science yet..lol) 

As I mentioned in another of my posts my friend Andrea also has a blog Buttons Bowties and Bubbles and she made some Cute Towels.  So, I decided I needed to use the same method on these since I was having issues.  I think they turned out adorable. 

Basically, I used my Silhouette and cut out two coordinating fabrics.  I also used Silhouette's Fabric Interfacing which I would say is a definite must for this project and ironed on the fabric to the washcloths.  Then used my sewing machine and did a zigzag stitch around all of the edges. 



I LOVE the way they turned out!!!  

12 months of Onsies

We recently had a baby shower for one of my co-workers.  She is an adorable and sweet person, so I wanted to do something extra special for her.  I saw an idea from Martha Stewart and decided to make my own version. 

First, I purchased the onsies sizes.... 3 - 0 to 3 months 3 - 3to 6 months, 3 -6 to 9 months, and 3 - 12 months.  Next, I used my Silhouette.  I ironed on their fabric interfacing and letting my silhouette cut out the circles (I used 3 1/2 inch circles).  Once they were cut out, I ironed them on to the onsies.  (For this project I only used 2 different fabrics). 

Then, I cut out all the months of the year with Silouette's Smooth Heat Transfer.  I used two different colors for this as well.  Ironed them on and rolled them up.  That was it!  Honestly, the part that always takes the longest for me is choosing the font!  I have to look at each one to see what looks the best and also if it is appropriate for the occasion. 

I purchased the suitcase thru Shop Sweet Lulu.  I really wanted the Pink Polka Dot set but they only had the tiny size in stock at the time of my purchase.  (I found the suitcases on Pinterest , I am addicted!!)  The one I purchased comes in a set of 3 but they go down in size...  I plan on using the other two for another friend that just had a sweet baby girl :)  Let me tell you also, I didn't know what I was going to make until the Monday before the shower.  I purchased on that Monday, with priority shipping and received the set on that Thursday!  Needless to say, they have super fast shipping!

I love personalized gifts so I decided to put the baby's name on the suitcase as well. 

My co-worker loved the gift!!

I'm linking up to these great parties

Naptime Crafters - friday-favs-party

Guitar Frames

One day while browsing at Michael's Craft Store, I ran across these unfinished wooden guitar frames!!  When I saw them I knew exactly who I needed to make them for...  my daughter's cousins...  Chamber and Chilton.  Their mom and dad have several guitars hanging in their house and both of the boys also had their newborn pics taken with some of their dad's guitars. 

So, first thing was to get Andrea to send me pics of their play room so I could get the right colors. (I should mention that Andrea also has a blog...  Buttons Bowties and Bubbles with some super cute ideas, so stop over and check it out :)

This is what they looked like before I painted them.

I decided that I wanted to go with orange as the base color so I painted the entire  frame

Then taped it off with painters tape and used the same instructions for the perfectly straight lines as I used in my Picture Frame Tutorial.  I chose white for the outsides, then blue, then green...  I will mention this wasn't a "quick" project.  Since I had to let each color completely dry before I put the painters tape on for the stripes.

This is what it looked like after the outside stripes were complete.

At this point I did another white stripe down the middle, but didnt paint the sides (so they are still orange).

I still thought it needed something so I pulled out some of my nail head upholstery trim and nailed those into the top for a much needed "real guitar look".

I think that part turned out super cute!  Then I used my Silhouette to cut a stencil out of vinyl for the names and painted them blue.  I love the finished product and think they will too!!

I'm linking up to these great parties...

I Heart Naptime - Sundae Scoop

Sisters of the Wildwest - Sister Sunday Link

Serenity Now - weekend-bloggy link up

Two Sasters - TGIF

House of Hepworths

Bubbly Nature Creations - project-party-weekend-link-up

Naptime Crafters - friday favs party

Tatertots and Jello - weekend wrap up party

Featured

The Carnival Party that I planned for my daughter's birthday was featured on I Heart Naptime today!!  So exciting!! 

Stop by and check out her blog........  AWESOME!

Featured!

I was so excited to find out that my Gallery Wall Grouping was featured at 5 AWESOME blogs this week!!!
 
Two Sasters , Lolly Jane ,  Randee's Organized Chaos  , The Winthrop Chronicles , and House of Hepworths

Stop by and check them out!!  They always have the cutest things :)

Carnival Birthday Party

Last year for my daughter's birthday, I decided I wanted to do the "Carnival Theme"..  So, after lots of planning it was finally time to put all of the ideas together.  And let me tell you, it was such a fun time!!  At the same time, after it was over I was exhausted.  So much so that, this year I decided I would just take her somewhere super fun and have a small "family" party. 

I will say though that everyone had a blast!  There are lots of pictures so be prepared.

For the tables I purchased table clothes, runners, and chair ties from Table Cloths Factory.  They have a wonderful selection and have most any color you would want.  Their prices can't be beat....  and believe me I looked!  So, I highly recommend them!

I also purchased bubble gum machines from the Dollar Tree.  There is one very close to me so I stopped by there often as I was preparing, since everything in the store is a dollar.  I felt like I hit the jackpot when I found these!!  And bought all that they had since we were having about 20 kids.  I also lucked up on the big clown bow ties and huge sunglasses there too!

I found the hotdog steamer at a vintage store and found the hamburger baskets at Target in the dollar bin section!

My daughter LOVES animals so I thought getting a petting zoo would be a great birthday surprise for her.  She loved it as much as I knew she would.  Honestly, that was the only thing most of the kids there were concerned with....  They all loved the animals and the pony rides.  This petting zoo was awesome.  The came with all the animals, had little fences that they set up and provided the food so the kids could feed the animals!  Looking back I could have easily omitted the games. 

My dad had the best time with the cotton candy machine!  When I was planning, I was thinking of cutting it out and he insisted that I have it....  Actually, his words were, "What is a carnival without a cotton candy machine and popcorn machine?".  He was right :) 

We also had a photo booth that was so much fun!! 

Even though the wind almost blew away the tent......um 3 or 4 times, this was a lot of fun to plan. Plus, seeing the smiles on all the kids faces was priceless!  I hope that it helped make some great memories for my sweet little girl.

I'm Linking up to the great Parties:

Serenity Now - Weekend Bloggy Party

TaterTots and jello - Weekend Wrap up Party

I Heart Naptime - Sundae Scoop Link Party

Sisters of the Wild West - Link Party

Craftionary - Friday Fun party

Lolly Jane - Link Up Party

Kojo Designs - Friday Fun Finds

Two Sasters - TGIF

Heatherly Loves - Sunday Round Up

Bubbly Nature Creations - Weekend Link up

Naptime Crafters - Friday Favs Party

Serendipity and Spice - Manic Monday

Say Not Sweet Anne - Sweet Sharing Monday

Tiaras and Bowties - Tuesday Link Party

The Winthrop Chronicles - Share It Link Party

The NY Melrose Family - Whimsy-Wednesdays

Grateful Belly - Whats New Wednesday

The DIY Dreamer - From Dream To Reality Lnky Party