California Pinterest Party 2.0

** This post may contain affiliate links **

Couldn't resist having a second Christmas themed Pinterest party and there was interest even though not many people actually ended up coming. But! We had a few people including one new person which is always awesome! 
Keep reading to see what we ate and made.

New EZ Twist Paint Stick from HomeRight


**This post contains affiliate links**

Our house was pretty much move in ready, which I am super grateful for. There were not a lot of projects that needed to be done or things we felt like we wanted to change. About a year of living in the house and the time had come to tweak a few things so we redid the shelves and rods in our bedroom closet to have 2 levels for clothes instead of just one. The walls inside the closet definitely needed to be painted but I figured the clothes would hide most everything and just didn't want to deal with it.

California Christmas Pinterest Party

** This post may contain affiliate links **

Christmas Theme Pinterest party time! Woohoo! Only a few people were able to come but we had such a fun time making some really cool crafts!

Canning That Hamburger!


I know this is not a crafty blog post but it's food crafting in the kitchen, maybe? Keep reading if you want to see how my husband canned an awesome deal on hamburger meat at our local grocery store.

California Fall Theme Pinterest Party 2018


I've been excited about this fall theme for a bit now so it was nice to finally get it all planned and finalized. This is the table set up before any food was put on it. I got the tablecloth from Joann's for 60% off or something crazy like that. Great deal!

California Halloween Pinterest Party 2018


We had a fantastic time at the Halloween Pinterest party in California a few nights ago! Keep reading to see what we ate and made.

Utah Halloween Pinterest Party 2018

This post may contain affiliate links

Halloween theme Pinterest party! We had food, we had crafts, we had some fun Utah peeps! 

Announcing September's Pinterest Party [Utah]




If you live in Utah and would like to come, we have a few spots left!
Just leave me a comment with your email address so I can get you the exact address of the party.

August Pinterest Party - Cactus & Succulents

**This post contains affiliate links**

Hello and welcome to another Pinterest party post! This Pinterest party I'd been anticipating and was feeling excited for all month because of the theme and it's also been a bit since I last hosted a Pinterest party in California. It's still a struggle to get people to attend and I wish I knew how to solve that problem. I mean, it's free to come! You get to make cute stuff! All I ask is that people bring a food and I provide some as well, + crafts. I don't think it really gets easier than that. I'm still thinking about changing my strategy in the future. Anyways..keep reading to see what we made and ate!

New Pinterest Party Idea!

So! Here's what is going on and what's been on my mind lately. Something in addition to or instead of a regular Pinterest party month. You've heard of beer crawls, club crawls, taco crawls, pajama crawls, etc. Right? Or maybe you haven't. That's okay. Basically its like a progressive event. I've never really done any of those I mentioned because I don't drink or they have not been in a location I have access to easily. That being said..what do you guys (who are interested in my Pinterest parties) think about doing a CRAFT CRAWL ?!

Oh my goodness. I think it would be super fun.


Back to School with HP & Giveaway!

Center
HP Pavilion x360 Convertible Laptop - 14t touch

[AD] Affiliate links are throughout this blog post.

Are you, your child or spouse headed back to school right now or very soon? Chances are you might still need a new laptop for doing homework on and typing papers! Check out HP, they have a great selection of laptops you can check out for your back to school needs. 

Wood Flooring Scrap Craft


I love re-purposing items when I can and there are some cute crafty ideas for these flooring samples from Home Depot and Lowe's.  Keep reading to see how we made these decorations with some vinyl and felt cut on my Cricut Maker.

**This post contains affiliate links.**


Mixed Media Expo - Day 2


Mixed Media Expo Day 2! Got word this is the last time this expo will be in SLC so that is a bummer! So we thoroughly enjoyed our last day and tried to do and see a lot which wasn't hard because there was not a ton of vendors there to talk to.

July Utah Pinterest Party!


July was a cactus and succulents themed Pinterest party and my friend Melissa hosted it at her place. So grateful! People really pulled through with some great food and I provided the crafts except one that Jessica so kindly brought for us to do. Check it out!

Mixed Media Expo Utah - Day 1


My first day but second year attending the Mixed Media Expo in Salt Lake City. I go to CHA/Creativation in Phoenix in January and AFCI puts on this smaller event as well. Sadly, this is the last year they are doing it in Utah.

Patriotic Tassel Banner


I've had the fabric to make this tassel banner for quite awhile actually but have never gotten around to doing it. Then, a Pinterest party happened and this craft fit perfectly so I got to cutting the strips of each color. Keep reading to see how I did it all...

Craft, Snacks, Birthday Bash


I wanted to do something fun with friends for my birthday this month and what better way to celebrate than to do a paint night? It's not something I am very good at and I thought this one would be easy'ish but it's been tricky for me to get my waves looking right!

Patriotic Pinterest Party - CA


No better time to get this post up than on the 4th of July even though this party was a couple weeks ago now. Lots of traveling has made for quite the busy month but we still managed to find time for a Patriotic Pinterest party!

California FavoriteThings Pinterest Party


California Pinterest party, here we are! I did the Favorite Things theme for this party like I did for Utah. Kept one craft the same and then did a couple other different crafts. Of course, the food was all different so keep reading to find out what we made and ate!

Utah Favorite Things Pinterest Party


My friend Karina let me have this Pinterest party at her place and I think it worked out pretty nice. Any place we have a Pinterest party while I am in Utah seems to work out great. We had a good turnout at this party and a lot of great food & crafts!

Paint Afternoon with Plaid

 


I invited a couple friends over to participate in the live stream that Plaid Crafts has been doing monthly that is a paint along session! This month was to make these cool tote bags with flowers and grapes (if you wanted) on them. I did mine on a pillowcase, I thought I had more cloth bags but apparently I didn't. I love how ours all turned out so different, as is what usually happens during a paint night.

I am partnered with Plaid and they send me lots of cool products and for this project they sent me everything I needed, 2 bags, the watercolor paint, brushes...they are such a great company to work with and I love all their products. I'll continue to feature more on my blog posts here in the future!

Click here to shop all the cool crafty items on the Plaid website. Spend $50 to save 20% and receive FREE SHIPPING on your order! Offer valid through May 31, 2018. Use code MAY2018

Click here to get connected to their Facebook page so you can stay in the loop of future events!

Final Day of Snap Saturday


Last and final day of Snap Conference and man, it felt like the whole conference went by pretty quick! Let's check out the schedule of what happened Saturday...

Snap Conf 80's Party!



Even though we were all tired we got dressed up, some more than others..for an 80's theme prom night which was the second party at Snap that happened Friday night! Here are me, my roomie Amber, Hilary, non roomie Ashlee , non roomie Jennifer and roomie Amberly with our cute 80's themed headbands!

Snap Conference Friday!

 

One thing I love about Snap conference (among many things) is the food. I guess the menu has stayed roughly the same the past 3 years I've come but it is tasty and delicious so no complaints there. I do notice after my 3rd year attending that things have gone downhill a bit which I am so sad to say, but I see a turnaround happening for next year!

Eat Dessert First Party at Snap!


The best Snap opening party I've ever been to! This was my 3rd year attending Snap conference which is a blog conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. I got recruited by my friend Rhonda to help our friend Christie set up the party, work at it during and take everything down at the end. I'm so glad I said yes because it ended up being quite a fun experience. Keep reading for all the details!

May Pinterest Party Theme Announced!



I feel like this party might need a little explaining because it's slightly different than any I have attempted in the past. This theme will be the same for both California and Utah parties.

Thinking of themes for the monthly Pinterest parties can be fun and at times, a little challenging. I don't mind keeping most months the same theme (yes the cactus & succulents party as well as the camping and s'mores party are both likely happening again!) but when it's always fun to switch it up a bit too and I've been wanting to do a favorite things party for awhile and incorporate it with a Pinterest party.

There are various ways a favorite things party can happen but here's how I plan to do it.

Bring 1 wrapped gift. $10 spending limit. Can be various small items or one main item.

At the party you will be given a number and all gifts will be numbered as well.

Bring your favorite food from Pinterest (or a craft for everyone to make if you prefer).

We will eat and craft as usual and then towards the end of the night, or maybe the middle...we will swap gifts / you will take the gift whose number you were given when you arrived.

It'd be nice to open while we are all together and have each person share why they picked the gift they chose to bring.

How about that? Sound so fun? I dont want to overwhelm anyone so I hope everyone who wants to come will be okay with this theme and thought it would be a cool way to get to know people better. 

Let me know if you have any questions and as usual, if you'd like to bring a craft for everyone to make, let me know because I might just have the supplies you need and am totally willing to donate them towards the party.


April Utah Pinterest Party!


This post may contain affiliate links.

The April Pinterest party had the theme of spring and it was held in Utah since I was up there for a bit of time and my California peeps had a lot going on this month. Keep reading to see what we made and ate!

A Blog Conference Called Snap


I attended a blog conference called Snap that was this past Thursday-Saturday in Salt Lake City at the Little America Hotel. This was my 3rd (and I thought final) year going until Tauni (the organizer) announced some big changes and now I am thinking I will come back for it next year. New people will be running it and I am so excited to see what changes will be made. To be honest, my first year of Snap was amazing, last year was alright but not as good as the first year and this year...well, it depends on why you are going I guess. I love the swag and room drops and secret sister gifts like anybody else but some of that failed (to me) however the connections I was able to make and the classes I was able to take was quite good. Stay tuned as I blog more about this conference. 

New! Design Space Curved Text Tool




Have you heard? 
**This post contains affiliate links**


It was announced earlier today that in the Cricut Design Space they now have a tool to curve your words. It used to be if you wanted to curve your text before, it was a slow and painful process. But now! The button has been added and now you can do some pretty cool stuff! Keep reading to find out!

Paint Night with Plaid Crafts!

 

  I did a paint night one time in Utah - it was stressful and I thought - never again! But I see people post about paint nights and they paint the coolest stuff! Then I found out that Plaid hosts paints nights that you can participate in from your home. I thought, maybe I should give this a try again. So...

California Easter Pinterest Party!


Hip hop hooray for an Easter Pinterest Par-tay! The more I planned and thought about this party, the more excited I got. I found lots of fun crafts for everyone to make and really cute food ideas! Oh, and before I forget, here's the Easter board I made for inspiration for myself and anyone attending the party.

Small But Simple Craft Projects


I am FINALLY back in the swing of crafting again it feels like. February was soo much traveling, lots of cleaning and trying to downsize stuff (I am not very fast at this part so it takes me weeks and weeks...) that the way my days went it left very little time for crafting and I missed it so badly! But now that it's March, it's like flipping a switch.

It's only March but are you ready for winter to go away? Are you dreaming about warm summer days sunning yourself on the beach? Yeah, I think we all are about now. So don't jump into summer unprepared! Check out CGear's sand free tote's. They are stylish and my favorite part? They are sand repellent? How many times have you left the beach with sand sticking to your bag, and then you have a whole car full of sand. I've been there and done that and it can be so annoying to clean up! How about we keep the sand at the beach?

St Patrick's Theme Pinterest Party!


Beautiful but chilly evening for a Pinterest party. The time of the party was moved from 7pm to 6pm and I think we will keep it that way for the next bit. I had a heater going a majority of the day out in the she-shed to make sure we were not chilly when crafting, since it is cement floors and all. Keep reading to see what we made and ate!

A Washer Under Your Washer?!




Disclosure: I have been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.

Have you seen or heard of the LG Appliances Twin Wash machine and sidekick? The "Twin" in the name means you get double the washer in one unit. How cool is that!? It's something I'll seriously consider getting when its time to upgrade our washer and dryer because I love the fact you can do a small load in the pull out drawer instead of having to put things in the main washer and doing a small load on top. Yanno? How would you use this in your house? I love the efficiency! 

Another Pinterest Party Update!





Sooo...you might be wondering what happened. While I think the 'wacky holidays' was a fun theme, I wasn't totally convinced / set / comfortable with it. After talking it over with a friend here we came up with doing this theme as the better idea. I'm excited to see how this turns out as I don't recall ever having done a St Patrick's day themed party before. Should be cool!

February 2018 California Pinterest Party Theme and Changes!




Every day of the year has some sort of 'wacky holiday' that various people celebrate. February is no exception - you can celebrate groundhogs, bubble gum, birds, ice cream, stuffed mushrooms, lame ducks, chopsticks, cards, kites, pizza, white t-shirts, friends, lost pennies, plum pudding, batteries and cherries just to name a few. You can see a complete list here


So, I thought with that being said, the February Pinterest party theme would be any of the wacky holidays in the month! Want to bring a food that you'd eat with chopsticks? Want to bring a pizza? Want to bring plum pudding or a cherry dessert? Go for it!

Since taking a poll in the West Coast Pinterest Parties group and a majority of voters were leaning towards only having to bring a food instead of a craft, I will give this a try. For the next few months I will provide 2-3 crafts and those attending can bring the food. I will try my hardest not to provide any food except drinks.  We'll see how this goes. After a few months we can evaluate. If you want to attend and are dying to bring a craft for up to 10 people, let me know and we can work that out - no problem.

Please email or leave a comment on this post if you have any questions. 

Date will be announced this week!

Creativation Pre-party!




Thursday evening before Creativation started, Cricut hosted a meetup event for bloggers and whoever wanted to come at a Mexican restaurant in downtown Phoenix. It was quite frustrating to find parking due to construction and the fact that they dont have any free parking so I had to pay a few dollars to park but I finally made it in to the restaurant which was very crowded in the back corner but I managed to sit next to my friend Rhonda who had flown to AZ from Michigan. 

Creativation - Day 1


Super excited to be able to come again for my 3rd year now! attending CHA / Creativation. It was a packed few days of friends, crafts, vendors, networking and did I say fun? FUN!

Valentine Pinterest Party - CA



Ahhh I've been anticipating this party for weeks and the day and time finally happened.Check out the cool stuff we made and ate!

Valentine Pinterest Party Announcement!


I am super excited to announce the first Pinterest party for 2018! 

I gotta say first, I am so sad I can't host one in Utah but I plan to do some when I am up there later this year, so don't worry if you live in Utah and are reading this.

Valentine's Day is the theme. Maybe you dont have a significant other but no worries! We are going to do crafts (at least the 2 I am planning on people making) that you can give to kids, friends, a neighbor...it doesnt have to be a spouse that you show your love to. Heck, I love the idea of celebrating 'galentines day' where you celebrate the love you have for your friends.

Here is the link to the board I created with ideas and inspiration that people can use if they'd like.

Here is the link to the event I created on Facebook. FYI to anyone reading this who is planning on coming... I have 7 people confirmed + 1 who is not on Facebook. 2 spots left!

If you are still reading and want to see the crafts I've picked for everyone to make, here's a link to one and here's a link to the other one. The second link, I will do a version of that that is a little bit different but similar. 

I am undecided on the food but am hoping to do one sweet and one more savory.

AND! I have a surprise, hoping that most people coming will have Snapchat so...we'll see how that works out. I know one friend coming has it for sure. Can you guess what the surprise I am doing might be?

Stay tuned for a post after the party to see how everything turned out!

Family History & the Cricut Machine


My mother in law wanted me to bring my Cricut to Idaho for the holidays. I always travel with my Cricut when I know I will have an opportunity to use it. These pocketwatches have been in the family a long time. Tony's dad has one as well but we did not do anything but cut the vinyl for that box since it had not been painted the night I did the 3 in the picture above.

I used my Cricut Explore machine and navy blue vinyl to cut the names and dates. I think they turned out pretty great looking despite some of the letters wanting to slide around during transfer.