Taylor, Author at TaylorMade

a Vintage Superhero Birthday

August 29, 2013 By Taylor 2 Comments

A few weeks ago my oldest baby turned 4. I do NOT know how this happened and I didn’t authorize it, but it happened. It’s weird to think I am the Mom to a 4 year old. Sounds pretty official though :)

We decided to keep his party low key this year. But when Minted contacted me about trying out some of their new Party Decor, how could I say no?! If you don’t know Minted, you need to! They are an online paper store that carries products from Independent designers from all over. They have invitations, art prints, journals, calendars, stationary… I could go on and on. I am a long time Minted lover but have never tried their decor section. I was super surprised with the amount they had to choose from. I even had a hard time narrowing it down, But then my husband reminded me that my son is a boy. They have so many really cute themes that aren’t over done!

I went with the Super Hero Theme, an instant winner for my boys! The cool thing is they customize your order and you can get everything you need right there in the box! All the decor, stickers, banner etc. even the plates and serving wear!

I ordered the scalloped stickers for the cups and the flag stickers for our Ice Cream Sundae Bar :) I picked up some paper straws too.

The custom bunting was HUGE! And I loved it because we have a long spot to fill over our bar.

We served hot hogs and chips so I used the “eats” signs for the food table. And I used the “sweets” sign for our Ice Cream Bar after dinner. These were custom, you could enter any word to match your party.

I put this smaller banner and the chalkboard behind the food table.

I used kabob sticks and marshmallows to hold up the flags for the ice cream toppings. I love these little flags, it’s just one long sticker that folds in half to make a flag.

Everyone loved all the decor and for a busy family it is so convenient to have everything delivered all in one box! Everyone also loved the ice cream :)

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy XOXO.

*party decor was supplied by Minted but all opinions are 100% my own*

a DIY Chalkboard

August 26, 2013 By Taylor 7 Comments

I made another chalkboard, I just cant get enough. You can check out my 1st one HERE. This time I used a frame from Goodwill that my mom had lying around.

My husband cut a piece of plywood to fit right in the lip of the frame.

Then I painted the chalkboard paint right on. I used the liquid quart paint and roller method this time as opposed to the spray paint. I actually liked this way better. It only took 2 coats and went on way smoother and easier.

Then, last week I saw Jess from Craftiness is Not Optional post this on Instagram. It’s a really cool and easy chalkboard lettering technique that she got from Hello Beautiful Blog. Its my new go to way to write on chalkboards! Once the paint dried, I used this technique for writing a little heading on my chalkboard.

I used wood glue to hold the plywood into the frame and let it dry over night. Don’t forget to season it by rubbing chalk on its side all over and erasing. Voila… a new chalkboard using only scraps!

Here it is in its new home. And a little sneak peek of my craft room :) My husband and I have been working hard to make this place the “worlds best craft room”. And it is.

The Frozen Fox

August 14, 2013 By Taylor 24 Comments

Meet The Frozen Fox. My boys love band aids, what kid doesn’t? I’ve seen these little mommy-made ice packs around blogland and thought it would be a great little surprise. Now, when someone gets hit (by their brother) they have a little something to take their mind off of it.

All you need is the Frozen Fox Template, fabric, felt and a button. Click on this picture to enlarge,save and then print it off.

Cut everything out.

Place everything on the front of the fox face. Pin it and sew.

For the ears: pin the inner white part on top of the larger fabric ear and sew. Then get the other large fabric ear and put right sides together. Sew around the two longest sides leaving the bottom open and flip.

Sew a button to the face right where the white cheeks meet.

With the white sides of the ears facing down, place the ears on the face lining up the edges.

Then place the other side of the face right side down on top of the fox. Pin all the way around and leave the bottom open.

Sew around the fox. On the bottom, leave a 2″-3″ opening. Clip the corners and flip right side out.

Pour rice in to the opening at the bottom. I tried both beans and rice… I like the rice better but the beans are a little heavier, and both will work. (husband’s man hands not mine haha)

Hand sew the bottom up to close the fox :)

TaDa! Now you have a very easy mom tool right in your freezer :)

5th and Frolic Project Life Core Kit

August 12, 2013 By Taylor 15 Comments

This post is part of a paid campaign with American Crafts, but all opinions are 100% my own. This is a product I have used and loved for years.

If you have been reading TaylorMade a while, you know that it’s no secret how much I love Project Life. I don’t just talk about it here on my blog, I also talk about it in person too :) I have even converted some friends because I am just that happy about it. I started memory keeping before I was 10 years old, before I even knew what memory keeping was. In High School I started a traditional scrapbook. But after college, life got busy and I stopped. Which is a similar story that a lot of people have and now that I have kids, preserving our memories are more important than ever to me! Enter Project Life.

Project Life is a super-simple approach to scrapbooking created to simplify the process. It requires no scissors, no glue, no tools and no skills of any kind. If I want to I can whip out 10 pages in an hour. If I am feeling especially creative, it also can be customized and “fancied up”. I even bought my non-scrapbooking sister a kit last year :) I love that it appeals to the person who’s never made a scrapbook in their life as, as well as those with lots of traditional scrapbooking experience. I have posted some of my tips and tricks HERE, HERE and HERE.

Project Life used to be sold exclusively online but is now available at Micheals! YAY! For all our immediate crafting needs, Michaels carries one of the largest selections of Project Life, including two exclusive core kits and several exclusive albums.

The two exclusive kits are both awesome. The Dear Lizzy 5th and Frolic Core Kit is my personal favorite and it features an array of light blues, pinks, greens, yellows and airy neutrals. The fun icons include birds, trees, foxes, houses, keys and clipboards. The edition has a distressed feel. They also carry the The Vintage Travel Core Kit which features deep blues, reds and browns, along with a variety of darker neutrals. The icons in this Edition include trains, airplanes and maps.

I usually have a good mix of DSLR photos and iPhone photos so I love the smaller pockets for those! Here is a spread I did with the Dear Lizzy 5th and Frolic Kit with some pictures from March, I tend to skip around a little (click on the picture to see them larger)…

(Left Side)