If you don’t fancy yourself much of a paper folding artist but still want to give it a shot, you’re in luck because boxes are one of the easiest items to fold and I’ve even created a template for you to print right on out.

To make your own, you’ll need:
- Box template
- 2 Sheets of Card Stock (any color, I used grey)
- A printer
- Bone folder or something to score
- Scissors or Blade
- Glue Stick

Step one: Score fold lines on top of box, using arrows as guidelines. Then cut around dotted line. Put aside.

Step two: Cut bottom of box template out. Score all of the dotted lines. Still on bottom of box, make four cuts along dotted lines where it says “cut” (note, cut instructions not pictures, but it is in the pdf).

Step three: Fold and glue long side of box up first. Fold and glue shorter sides of box to fold over flap ends of long sides.

Step four: Using your eye, fold top of box pattern to shape, so it will fit when you slide it on the the bottom box. Glue just the top box closed.

Step five: Slide top of box onto the bottom. Should fit snugly. Fill it with whatever goodies you want. I made dark chocolate peanut butter cups!

See more from Alana on her blog or shop (elephant onesie!)

I had fun making these name tag buttons so I decided some summer ones were in order. And of course I made them available for download for anyone who appreciates this season like I do . You can grab these icons of summer right here to turn into pieces of flare for your denim vest. They’d also work as stickers, confetti or fake tattoos. I’m planning on using them as party favors.

PS If you don’t have access to a button maker, call around to businesses that customize items like t-shirts and awards – they might just have one you can go in and use. You can also try out a toy button maker.

buttons designed by Kirsten

Babies! They make the world go round! Who can resist a funny little baby face. I just love a modern, simple party and thought this idea would be really cute for an easy times baby shower, gender reveal party or baby’s 1st birthday. All you need is a teensy bit of drawing skills (hardly) and a cake or two – store bought or handmade, up to you!

You will need:

1. Craft paper in a few different colors for the baby faces (the world is multicultural!) I used pale pink, yellow and grey brown.
2. A craft circle punch (I used two sizes but one size works, too!). Or, you can hand cut circles with scissors, too – just takes a bit longer.
3. Wooden BBQ skewers, scotch tape, a black Sharpie and a package of felts or pencil crayons.
4. A cake and some cupcakes to plunk your baby faced cake toppers into. Or, a pie would work too of course! Bring on the dessert!

Ready to make this party happen? Well allllright.

Punch out some colored circles. Optional idea: set some aside to use as table confetti for the party table setup.

Get your Sharpie ready! Drawing time!

I used my fine tip black Sharpie to draw the faces. Do you hate drawing? No worries. I’m also a kid’s art teacher! Focus on simple shapes: circles for eyes, lines for lips and a little curved line for the nose. I added eyelashes, tears, curly hair and colored in parts with felts for variance.

Adhere your baby faces to wooden BBQ skewers and toothpicks using scotch tape.

Plunk your baby face cake toppers into your cake and cupcakes and get ready for the cutest party ever!!!

Cake, photos and styling by Lyndsay Sung. Check out this whale cake she made for a lucky three-year-old.

For Father’s Day I’m giving Ryan the gift of grilling his own steak. When you know how to cook it just so and hide the amount of butter you use from your wife, you’re just asking to be put on barbecue duty on your day off. I’ll provide the root beer.

Looking for more Father’s Day ideas?
- 25 diy gifts
- Free downloads for the jolly good fellow
- Printable cards for pops

sources: IBC Root Beer; plates, hamburger cartons, meat thermometer and napkins from Target Dollar Spot; skewers; steak and hamburger rub; bamboo meat markers; hamburger slider press (similar); McClure’s Pickles

First off, I apologize if you read the title of this post and thought I was going to share instructions on how to make a tote that stores popsicles. That’s called a cooler. This tote will not keep your icy snacks chilled, but it is a good transporter of essentials for the pool.

To make your own you’ll need:
- cotton tote bag (I used Susan’s tutorial to get the dip dyed look)
- heat transfer material
- popsicle stencil (I used a Silhouette Cameo to cut out the exact design)
- x-acto knife

Step one: Trace your popsicle design onto the back of the heat transfer material (the non-shiny side) and carefully cut out with an x-acto knife making sure to peel away the negative space. Or let the Silhouette Cameo do the work for you (razor blade cutting is not my forte).

Step two: Position the design onto the tote bag face down.

Step three: Cover with thin cloth and iron firmly over the design for about one minute.

Step four: Let cool and slowly peel away the plastic backing to reveal your now transferred design.

Good news! If you want to try out a similar project for yourself, use the code FAVE right here for a bogo deal on any Silhouette heat transfer material now until eod Saturday. Woohoo!

Alright, now time to sit down and eat a real popsicle.

I was not paid for this post, I just genuinely like the Silhouette products.

Right now I’m singing the jingle, “it’s the best day of the year!” (see: Parks and Recreation; season 4, episode 4, Pawnee Rangers) because the official first day of summer is next Friday, June 21st! That means the Blodgett’s sometimes annual ice cream party is in the works and a carafe for hot fudge has been purchased. If you want to throw a party to welcome the best season of the year too, Kirsten has designed these invitations available to download and print for your own celebratory needs. Yay, summer!

Downloads:
Invitation Front
Invitation Back

One of the points I make in every one of the online classes I teach for Alt (psst, I’m teaching 2 this month!) is that when it comes to working or selling online, your blog/site/shop has become your resume. I even heard from the marketing director at MSN that when she receives a pitch, the first thing she does is visit the site of the sender. So that means the first version of you are my fave with my makeshift (in Word, no less) banner and miniscule images isn’t going to cut it anymore. Or at least not give the impression that you would want to give.

When I mention this, at least one student in the class always seems to panic and ultimately comes back to me with the question, “What if you have no design/coding experience and don’t have money to hire someone to do it?” My one word answer? Virb.

Virb is an easy-to-use website builder (seriously, you don’t need to know a line of code) with the best looking customizable themes I’ve seen. Plus, once you build your lovely site, you have unlimited storage and cloud hosting for an affordable $10 a month. So I’m giving Virb the yamf stamp of approval.

The images are from a few sites that have been created by Virb users:
Mike Rogers (I love the colors and icons he designed)
Cotton & Flax (Dang, this shop is good. I want this pillow)
Nan Lawson (Remember this custom portrait she drew of Ryan and me?)

Nothing seemed to go right for me concerning this shower. Now as I write this I can’t remember what all the stress was about because it clearly was forgotten once the chef showed up and delivered me the most delicious crepe I have ever eaten. And I’m pretty sure that’s all the guests will remember too. Not the cake that was too tall to fit into the cute favor boxes so it was lopsided and smashed (that last photo is what I had pictured, but it did not look like that going home). Moral of the story: focus on good food and any party flaws will be overlooked.

I created a tutorial for the message board that can be found right here on Julep.

sources: floral fans, floral pennant garland, lidded wedge shaped boxes from A La Modo

With budget in mind, we still tried to make it a memorable occasion for all who were involved. And I think we accomplished just that. The prints were only $2 a pop printed at Staples, the cakes and toppers were all homemade, the marquee 1 sign was recycled from Beck’s party, and we were lucky to try out products (the plates, favors, cupcake liners, candy and balloons) from the new MarthaCelebrations line at JcPenney. Guests sat out on blankets and enjoyed the warm weather and played lawn games. It was a happy  day for a happy boy. I think it shows that a cute party set-up and successful get together really only require one or two memorable elements and the rest can remain simple (I kind of mention this point a lot, but it’s true).

Like what you see from MarthaCelebrations? Check out the #LetsCelebrate pin party board and repin your favorite images with the #letscelebrate hashtag to be entered to win your very own celebration-in-a-box!

All the MarthaCelebrations at jcpenney products featured in this post were provided by the Editors at Martha Stewart Living, a team that loves a good party and deeply admires the bloggers who throw them.

I’ve recently been on the hunt for a little nightlight for my son’s nursery. When my search for a cute and inexpensive option became fruitless, I, like any thrifty crafter would do, searched my house for supplies to make my own. Inspired by Design Sponge’s twine-wrapped bulb lights, I grabbed some leftover Christmas tree lights and some yarn, and got to work. The results are cute and twinkly, perfect for a baby’s room.

Here’s what you’ll need to make your own:

- One set of twinkle lights
- Yarn, in assorted colors
- Scissors

Starting at one end of your string of lights, knot a piece of yarn around the cords to secure. Begin wrapping the yarn around the cords. Once you reach the end of one piece of yarn, knot another piece to it, and continue wrapping. I used various lengths of yarn for variety, but found that short pieces (around 15 inches) were easiest to work with. Continue wrapping and knotting until you reach the end of the twinkle lights.

That’s it! Now you can have Christmas lights up all year round without your neighbors complaining.

See more from Amelia on The Homebook