Hello? Are you still there?

I have been MIA the last two weeks darlings and I apologize.  My posts are not as fabulous as they should be. My excuses:
It was Thanksgiving. K' thats a given.  Ours was small and lovely.  I cooked, cheated a bit, but ultimately rocked it out.  And...I didn't forget to make stuffing, like I might have done last year.

But then it was my birthday this past weekend.  Look at the pretty party in a box Sharon sent me!  My pictures are terrible because it was already dark when I put them up. Ok, so this is two posts in a row I claim bad lighting. I live in NV and the sun sets here faster than on the coast, people, Tahoe and the Sierras...nuff said. ***Sharon, my pictures all turned out really bad and didn't showcase how cute everything was in real life...and the candy/snack bar didn't last long, yes, the main person eating it when I was taking pictures was me, I should have excersized restraint, but it was my birthday and "I do what I waunt..." I loved it.  Thank you so much!!!***

I have also been working on a baby shower that my lovely sis-n-law is throwing this weekend.

 

I am pretty pleased and had so much fun doing it I am figuring on adding printies to the lineup over at the shop. I am debating...do I do a whole separate shop called "Hank + Hunt Printables" or just a new section? I am leaning towards the new section.  That way if anyone felt like buying a garland, they could with one final checkout.  Easy peasy. 

So, I am sorry for the delay.  I have lots of goodies lined up, a DIY (of the pretty garland she sent me above) and a inspiration board from Sharon, a DIY I'm working on for over on Valley & Co., a bunch of little goodies and my GIFT GUIDE tomorrow.  Ok, its a regular post, but its got great stuff in it. As in I deliberately checked every magazine I own, which is a stack a mile high this month, to make sure I couldn't find them on other gift guides.  PS. I still have a few online ones to check...which I will list tomorrow too.

PS I also made these instead of a birthday cake.  Seven layer cookies via Smitten Kitchen

So, yes, for the first time in 33 years, I didn't eat chemical frosting for my birthday.  And I am okay with that. It's going to be a fantastic year. These were perfect and pretty easy to make, really.  The assembly is the only hard part, if you are slightly OCD like I might be. But,  I want to remake these without the colors and white chocolate coating.  YUM.  That is coming soon, too.

Hank + Hunt Etsy shop s O-P-E-N! Yay!

After running around yesterday afternoon, and after the already late dinner (to the dismay of the hubs), I finally got a few of my garlands listed.  Please visit my shop here. I am super excited and can't wait to make more.  I was so anxious getting the store open, and now I feel as if a weight has been lifted.  The little darlings are there, in all their glory, ready for the world.

Since, you may have noticed, I love garland and bunting, like a crazy person. I also love muslin for its pretty color and simplicity, why not use both?  Throw in a twist of ruffles for the perfect little garland that you can use again and again.  Bridal shower, check.  Wedding, check.  Mother's Day brunch for the new MIL, check.  Baby shower...what?  Going to fast for you? You could use this garland for years.  I am even going to test washability (I have two boys, you learn that you will have to wash EVERYTHING eventually), although the listed garland edges are pinked,  I am also working on a finished edge version.

Other goodies on the way for the shop?

1. hemmed edge version

2. gradual & bold colors

3. vintage fabric editions

4. pleated, crisp edition (in white, of course)

5. pom pom garland

6. magnets (see earlier posts)

7. handmade, small batch fabric ribbon

I am even working on a DIY to show you how to make these garlands.  Of course, I would love you to buy them, but I know some of you love to make your own, and I will share with you how!

So don't forget to visit me!

Auntie A's Baby Shower

It was a crazy whirlwind of a weekend. I flew into Seattle Friday night, unpacked and sorted until 1230am (okay - Ms. A did steal me for a spa pedi treat - THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU), packed up the suv, picked up the cupcakes with Grandma Bub, and we were off to Gramma Sue's.

Handmade garlands. Poms are cut muslin circles hot glued to large wood beads on linen twill tape. Banner is precut Martha Stewart Crafts note cards with light grey buttons and precut letters from Michaels.

Gramma Sue and Ms. Julie were fabulous! Gorgeous plated food. Super pretty.

Foods: fruit, veggies and cheese trays (thank you Gramma Sue and Ms. Julie). Homemade cinnamon rolls and Egg Casserole (yum, yum, yum Gramma Sue and Ms. Julie). I baked some sugar button cookies and most survived the plane trip (those that didn't, got eaten before 10 am, a girl gotta eat, right?)

Scalloped bowl from Marshalls (I luv Carson City, just can't find this stuff in Seattle) and scalloped enamel cake stand from Farmhouse Wares (see prev. post). Cute as a button made from old scrabble tiles and hot glue.

Mini cupcakes were from Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle. Yum! Vintage jars and vintage pressed glass cake stands. Lidded apothacary candy dishes are from Williams Sonoma. Wire pedestal from Sur La Table.

Everything looked better than I had hoped. I had just started taking pics right as guests arrived. Just in the nic of time. I should have taken more, but I am still learning photography.

Guess how many buttons is in that little jar in the middle. Not including the decorative one on the lid...guess...really...522. Go figure. Guests wrote their guesses on scalloped tags from Martha Stewart Crafts and plopped 'em in the mercury glass planter from Pottery Barn. Green pencils (see other post) were from Twig & Thistle and in votive holders from Martha Stewart's line at Macy's. Gorgeous vases for flowers are Waterford (borrowed from Grandma Bub). "ON DUTY/OFF DUTY" pillows were from Target with iron on transfers printed by me but inspired by Wry Baby, which I couldn't find at the time of the shower.

Few bunches of green and white flowers for ambiance (love flowers). Prizes for the shower games were packaged in square kraft paper boxes tied with muslin twill tape and a light grey button. Prizes were all around $5, 1. cupcake stand (as shown in prev. post), 2. galvanized plant stakes with marker, 3. set of 4 button magnets (2 large buttons, two frilly flower buttons), and 4. Starbucks GCard for $5 (always popular). Handmade felt booties (one shown) from Heather Bailey's blog. Tiered wire stand from Crate and Barrel. White vase from Martha Stewart at Macys. Cute as a button blanket found at Marshalls. Vintage reader cards found in Frenchie and Flea's store on Etsy.

Button coasters are from Parrot Designs (see prev. post)Homemade Blueberry and Peach Jam favors by Grandma Bub (resident jam maker and supplier of the B Family), I printed out labels on cardstock and cut with a circle cutter to screw in between the lids. Easy peazy.

Lovely Etsy

I was flitting around yesterday on Etsy, doesn't everyone? I am starting to think I should join EA (etsy anonymous), ha! I found this fablulous garland from Poppylarity's Shop. Gorgeous! I want one, so pretty! It is so unbelievably girly, perfect for valentine's day, mother's day, everyday in my office. Heck, I'd hang it over my closet door, in my kitchen...a little crazy but I must have this...someday. And also, since its made from vintage hankies...what a great use for something we love but end up saving in a dark box somewhere.
It comes in white (my fave, current obsession with the absence of color, above) or the florals (so pretty).

A few more goodies

For the grammies...mammas of the mama always get left out. They aren't allowed to really "throw" a shower, so they need some lovin' too! Not that everyone doesn't already know, but now they can wear their bragging rights.

So, those poor cheap tissue balls have gone to the wayside. Apparently, tissue paper from the dollar store is not as forgiving as the better quality, and can't make very large poms, because the size is more square than rectangular (which is needed for a good pom.) That's okay, I always have a back up plan. Martha - I have my coupon, will trade for poms. hee hee. I will make another strand of fabric poms, too.

Here are some cute tags for the table. I still have to print out the labels and iron them on to muslin before I attach them.

I finally finished the Bingo game! yay! It didn't take as long as I originally thought, I am such the procrastinator! I made a template in PowerPoint for the board, and instead of copying and pasting each one differently, I made the original with numbers 1-24. Then I copied that slide 20 times and changed a few numbers around. After all slides had different combos, I did "find and replace" for each number, which resulted in different combinations of the words. It was easier to check for doubles or if you forgot a number in each slide visually with actual numbers, just count 1-24 on each and boom, done.



For the pieces I used a Martha Stewart Crafts button embossing punch on green copy paper. You would be surprised how hard it was to find colored copy paper. I finally had to go to Walmart (bad girl) because all my craft shops didn't have plain, lightweight paper. Only cardstock and funky patterns. Ed laughed at me when I punched them out because I had to "remove the hanging chads" hee hee hee.

Almost there! Two weeks to go!

I have to get everything packed up and shipped on Monday. I still have little fabric bags to finish and a few surprises for Ms. Claire and Ms. August (the littlest of guests.)
I also have an incredible amount of tissue paper to fluff. I takes forever to fluff, do I ship prefluffed or ready-to-fluff...dilemma.

Here are some of the finished goodies and decor.

signs of lovely...

I love quotes. Love...them...So of course, I love signs. I like that Keep Calm, Carry On but I have seen it way too much to put it up in my own house. There are alot of new renditions of that age old poster, cupcakes perhaps? This one from Jennysbakeshop. It would be perfect in my kitchen, Jenny...cupcakes...do I have a twin???

Now, I would feel cluttered if I had every sign I loved up. Ed even gets worried if I mention putting up one or two. Here are some of my current faves...hmmmm. Maybe I will start a whole series...

These two are from Loveshop, HAVE to HAVE this...its perfect.

And "think happy, be happy" so true and so darn happy...

The next two are from America Retold, via Elizabeth's Embellishments .

I wish I had this one, so obvious, but more polite than reminding everyone when they come over...perfect for over an entryway bench. Oh, and by the way, did I mention these are enamel coated metal? You know me and metal.

This would be perfect for the shower. Unfortunately, Auntie A...I just gathered all the booty for your shower, and you are done darling. But oh man, so cute!!!

lovely cream

Got a sale email from a fab online store called Farmhouse Wares (farmhousewares.com)
Super excited to (finally) have these on the way! Yippee. They will be perfect for the shower - double yay. I got the set of cupcake pedestals (cutest I have found) and the smallest 8" enamel cake stand (yes, metal - yippee!)

I luv Reno

Its a big change from the big city, and we are a far ways from our family. But Reno has its advantages, besides the gorgeous mountains, the spectacular colors of sagebrush, the hop skip and a jump to Lake Tahoe, a mill end fabric discount store (got Denyse Schmidt Katie Jump Rope for $3.60 a yard, hence all the green and white fabric...)
We get GREAT FABULOUS AMAZING discounts on clearance. Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, JCrew... prove it you say!?!
Ha HA! I will.
Flitting around Williams Sonoma...for the message cookie cutters in the previous post. Saw clearance table. Browsed books on sale. Rachael Ray's Book of 10, $4.99. Her Big Orange Book, $4.99.
Continued browsing...gadgets table...huge fancy pizza cutter, $6.99.
Next table, glasses, plates, apothecary jar - $9.99 (put it back, I have so many most are empty) Oooohhh...khaki plaid tablecloth, machine washable, 100% linen...cute, flip over...$13.97. Oh did I mention it was originally $140? I picked the largest size they had (yardage, lots of yardage, baby) Got it for the shower, make something cool later. Awesome. I love Reno.

it works!!!

So after being terribly disappointed in my brownie molds, I got these cookie cutters from Williams Sonoma. You can make them say anything you want, are cute shapes even without words, and I figured they would have a firm cookie dough recipe - if it works for words...it's gotta work for button holes, right?
So, I tried and MINE WORKED TOO!!! Just like the box, albeit not as pretty but I didn't decorate, the lighting was bad...this was a test, just a test. I also tested my button shapes, and THEY WORKED TOO! (but I burnt the edges so no pictures, will try again later.)

thank you, darling...

Thank you cards...check.
Yay, printed these, trimmed them to size and voila! Auntie A is set for post shower wrap-ups. Just have to label the kraft paper envelopes I got for them. One down, so much more to go!

Button Flowers

While flitting around, well okay...chasing the boys around, my favorite fabric store, I found button making kits. Yeah, make your own fabric covered buttons. Such a good idea, perfect for Auntie A's shower.

I can make all kinds of things with these guys... magnets... necklaces... earrings...yay! Out of any fabric I choose! Double YAY!

I gathered some strips of fabric and hotglued them to the back of the buttons - ta-da, instant flowers. I got so excited about it, I forgot to take pictures to show you how easy it is. So easy, so cute. Will do a tutorial this weekend.

pretty food

I have never had a white chocolate pretzel. Maybe the yogurt kind, but I don't remember. Divine. A perfect food, sweet and salty, smooth and crunchy. Satisfying. Did I mention pretty? How lovely will these look on the buffet in a pretty glass?


Here is my first attempt at Martha's button cookies. I used Pillsbury Sugar Cookie dough in a tube, and cut out the cookie with a round cutter, imprinted the inner ring with the next size down, and made the button holes with a sippy cup straw (they are fatter than the average bendy straw.) When I baked them, they puffed up alot and closed the holes. I mended this by cooling for two minutes and then recutting the holes with the sippy straw. I need to find a firmer cookie dough, I think. Or maybe chilling the dough right before putting in the oven will work.
Oh - did you notice my giant green button? Woo Hoo - was at a different fabric shop from my usual, a quarter each - I got eight. It is huge- those are regular sized cookies!

I have made two attempts at pretty brownie pops. My new mold (thank heavens I just paid $5 for it) doesn't like me. Or actually doesn't like my brownies, or liked them so much it didn't want to let them go. Messy, messy, messy. No photo of that catastrophe, its depressing...

its all in the details...

Every beautiful photo spread of a luscious party by Martha Stewart or on Style Me Pretty has a cohesiveness about the decor. The large things always match, yes, that's a given. But the little things, the napkins, strings tying favors and others have to blend also. No avocado green in a sea of blue and white. If there is a contrast color, it is on purpose, not mishmash just because you couldn't find anything or forgot. Like birthday plates in a floral pink and yellow for a two year old's primary colored balloon wonderland, right? My point - I just got more glee at finding GREEN mini pencils so I don't have to paint the regular yellow kind. Yippee. Auntie A is one lucky girl, I have NEVER had so much luck finding "perfect" things. Yes, "perfect" is my current fave word, so what? ;P so is fave...and love...oh well...

I found these from the Etsy shop of one of my favorite blogs, Twig & Thistle, (twigandthistlestore.etsy.com) LOVE!