How To: Paper Pinwheel (Tutorial)

In my quest for cute, handmade party decorations, I recently tried my hand at making paper pinwheels. It's so easy! I followed the tutorial I found on children's author and illustrator Leslie Tryon's website. This is just a mock up, but with my final pinwheels I will use double-sided (color/pattern on both sides) square 12"x12" scrapbooking paper. I still need to get dowel rods or some kind of "stick" and maybe cute brads or pushpins.

This big pinwheel took less than 5 minutes to make (minus the rod). Pardon the bad photo, it was taken with my phone since I was so excited with the results! Plus, this is perfect for Spring!

Happy Creating!
Bekki

Have a Great Day!

How To: Paper Peeps Bunny Bunting (Tutorial)

Inspired by this Peeps Bunny Bunting over at Dana Made It, I made this super simple paper Peeps Bunting last week and had to share. (I made it exactly how I made the Shamrock Bunting for St. Patty's Day).  I began with brightly colored cardstock. I created a Peep Bunny stencil; then folded the cardstock and traced the bunny onto it and cut it out, making sure not to cut the top so that it  would have a front and back/open (see photo below). Then, I ran a piece of ribbon between the folded Peeps. I slid a piece of double-sided tape between the two sides so they wouldn't slip off the ribbon. Now, it hangs festively on the door. Cute!

5 Things Friday: Sunglasses

I collect sunglasses. Lately, these 5 pairs (yes, 5!) are in heavy rotation. Yay for Spring and sunshine!

Today...

By Please Be Still on Etsy.

Sneak Peek....

I'm working on revamping the PinkBird site and this blog by redoing just about everything--starting with the PinkBird Creations logo. This is a pretty huge project that will most likely take me a few months to get it all done and in place...there is sooooo much to change in so many places (think: logo merch, banners on various sites/blogs, logo buttons, etc). So, in anticipation of that exciting-ness, here are some sneak peeks of what I'm working on!

Create a great day,
XO, Bekki

Give me Liberty...

A week ago I was waking up early (on a SUNDAY! *gasp*) to head to Target to see what goodies Liberty of London had in store for me. I was really excited about this lovely Target + Liberty collaboration. I was fully prepared to fight some of the ladies of Annapolis for a floral teapot or bed set (an aspect of my personality that rarely comes out). Luckily, the store was empty (and so where some of the shelves reserved for the Liberty stock).

This is where I met Liz. She and I were both there to stock up on LOL lovely-ness and met while waiting for one amazing Target employee as she searched the stock room for Liberty accessories for us. Liz and I have a ridiculous amount of stuff in common; so, add making a friend in Target to the list of things I never thought would happen. She takes beautiful photos which you can see on her site lizsaucier.com (and even setup your own photo shoot if you're in the area) or her blog.

You can see more Liberty of London for Target at Target's site, though most is sold out; I did see some here as well.

XO,
Bekki

5 Things Friday: Green Things

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, this week I'll tell ya about 5 of my favorite "green" items...in no particular order:

Burt's Bees Replenishing Lip Balm with Pomegranate Oil

Treehugger.com
Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Colored Water Bottles


Upcycling, recycling, up-crafting--whatever you wanna call it
Craftzine has a recycled crafts archives that's fun!

Bead for Life beads--recycled paper beads for an excellent cause.

Until next time,
Have a magical weekend,
XO, Bekki

4 Leaf Clovers & Springtime! Yay!

Happy St. Patrick's Day (one day early!)

I'm celebrating the luck of the Irish by baking/eating some homemade Irish Soda Bread. On Sunday, I made 2 loaves of bread from an old recipe from Martha Stewart Living. It's so easy to make too! I like to pop a few slices in the toaster oven with a little bit of butter. Yum! (photo from marthastewart.com, since we sliced up our bread right out of the oven! I couldn't get a photo of it...we ate it with some delicious vegetarian soup with a recipe from this cookbook).

How To: Shamrock Garland (Tutorial)

I made this super simple St. Patrick's Day shamrock garland last week and had to share. I began with cute patterned cardstock. I found a shamrock stencil online; then folded the cardstock and traced the shamrock onto it and cut it out, making sure not to cut the top so that the shamrock would have a front and back/open (see photo below). Then I ran a piece of ribbon between the folded shamrocks. I slid a piece of double-sided tape between the two sides of the shamrocks so they wouldn't slip off the ribbon. Now, it hangs festively on our front door.

5 Things Friday: Party in Pink

So Pretty in Pink! A pink party must be where it's at! Love, love love! (Can you tell I'm doing some party planning?)

Pretty tissue paper poms (by Your Home Based Mom)
made using a tutorial from Martha Stewart.

Pink Elephant Drink Buddies at Archie McPhee

Dessert Table by Amy Atlas Events

Monkey Earrings to wear or for favors by (ME!) PinkBird Creations

Paper decorations from Martha Stewart Weddings Pop-Up Party

Horsin' Around...

This drawing looked fairly decent until I had to shade it. But, here's what I've been doing nonetheless.

Create a wonderful day,
-b.

Delicious Recipe Binder:

Recently, with the help of this lovely template over at Prudent Baby, I revamped our recipe binder (which I've had for years and find to be the best way for me to sort favorite recipes and magazine clippings) by adding this cute cover/sleeve. (My old ones were pretty bad--with clip-art and everything!) Originally, the template only came in yellow, but I did a bit of "Photoshopping" to it and changed the color to match our kitchen (though now the template in available in many colors) and added our names! Why not check it out and enjoy your own "magical kitchen organization fun!?"

PinkBird's Picture: Cheap Art

from the City Museum in St. Louis, Missouri.

5 Things Friday: 5 Things I Do Everyday...

As much as I like spontaneity, I'm also a creature of habit with a few routines. Here are five things that I do everyday (in addition to brushing my teeth).

-I drink at least 2 cups of Yogi Tea (usually Green Tea with Kombucha--but it can vary) every morning. (Yes, that's my adorable Martha Stewart tea kettle from Macy's).

-I listen to WTMD (89.7--Radio for Music People) whenever I'm in my car--if it starts to get fuzzy I plug in my phone and listen to the station via their iPhone app.

-While waiting for my morning tea water to boil, I check Facebook from my phone. I admit it.

-Repeat a special Mantra during "down times" (like brushing my teeth, driving, crafting, etc). I'm not telling what that mantra is--you can get your own. ;)

-Read the New York Times--primarily the "most emailed" stories though I'm not sure why I choose to always browse those articles.

What are your routines?
Take it light, Bekki

It's a Party in Here...

Similar to this post from last week about bunting, I made this cute banner recently. It hangs over our bed and adds such a festive feel to our room. (These pictures do not do it justice as the lighting in our room isn't very good). I found some cute scrapbooking paper/cardstock at my local craft store and used letter stencils that I have to trace the letters in our names. You could make your own letter stencils by printing large fonts onto cardstock and cutting them out. Then, I punched two holes per letter (I found it worked better this way) and threaded simple ribbon through them and ta-da! All done and so easy!