mini cactus placecard holders

well it all started when i got a clear glass vase from the dollar tree.

it was tall and lean with kinda like a bulb end.

i was gonna transform it into a cactus.

somehow.

should i glue beads to it? paper mache it? 

add some kind of extension for its branch thingies?

ugh. i've had the vase for weeks now and i just couldn't figure out how to do it without making it labor extensive.

it was driving me crazy.

until i was at one of my fave stores and found this on sale: 

it was $8.99 and you get 8 of them.

worth it to me cuz i surrendered to that dollar tree vase idea and went with these instead.

and guess what?

i coulda made a hundred of these in the time it took me to write this post!

oh well, here goes:

these were in my craft stash but i know i got them at michael's at one point.

and look mini cactuses are born.

all ready when you have that cinco de mayo get together and use your little mexican blankets you got from party city.

place 'em right smack dab in that hole.

but where's the card you say?

well, i didn't have time to make one yet as it took forever to make up this post but i can always edit one in for you:

aren't they cute?

i only made 6 of them for each table setting but like i said you can make 8 total.

or put them on the food table for food labels too. 

you can also use different green spray paints for variation.

you can stick the card on top of the flower like so:

just don't put senor taco's label next to all the churros or he may take the whole plate.

and i know i know i keep saying i don't celebrate cinco de mayo but keep making mexican stuff anyway.

i can't help it i have a crafting disease with no cure.

anyway, make 'em cuz they're super duper easy.

oh and here's that pinterest pic for you since i keep seeing all these kinda vertical pics floating around and have pinned a number of these myself. 

ole ole!

cactus cookies in a mini mason jar

ole ole!

i don't even celebrate cinco de mayo but for some reason i like making mexican fun food.

like these sleepy sombrero hat men cookies 
or these cactus churros (that are a second cousin to these funnies).

today is nothing different to allude that fact because today i made some more cactuses (cacti?). 

i have the worst green thumb ever but i think these guys came out ok.

what do you think?

i think they're funny.

cuz i like funny food.

anyway, this is how to make 'em if you like funny food too.

you'll need this:

then do this:

and congrats you have just created a smiley cactus 

and you didn't even have to water him.

(do they need water anyway?)

:)

ok their wish is our command.

i used a cookie stamp to smoosh the brownie then used a candy thermometer end to make the hole that you can't see too well.

it's easier to make the hole so when you do this,

you won't kill your cactus plant end 

and still have a green thumb.

now time to decorate the "pot".

and now you have your cute little cactus plants complete.

dang, did someone mention hot flash?

ai yi yi yi!

decorated boxes (gift ideas for mom's day)

so did you guys participate in the hunger games at target this past sunday?

holy moly what a cr-aaaaaaa-zy way to start a sunday morning!

it was quite the experience and 

quite interesting to say the least.

i got just a few things cuz hello i love lilly prints 

but holy heck people were 

INSANE.

it was definitely the epitome of the good, the bad and the ugly, seeing a bunch of crazed women running around grabbing literally 

everything they could into their cart.

i never experienced that before in my life.

after reading an article about what to expect 

and some survival tips,

i got there at 7:20am, was about the 100th person in line, 

and then there were about 200 or so more behind me.

i thought maybe i was in line to get free disney tickets or a free ice cream coupon for life but no, 

it was just lilly.

the store opened at 8am and by 8:08am (i looked at my watch), 

everything and i mean EVERYTHING lilly was gone.

it was a lilly tsunami of fever crazed women with greedy wide-eyes, sweaty foreheads, and thirst for that palm beach decor.

i went home and thought about what just happened that morning and contemplated about human life and its materialism and got depressed so i made my own lilly thing cuz dang it, 

if i can't get it, i'm gonna make it.

and so in my greedy desperation of all things lilly, i forgot about this wrapping paper i had stashed away years and years ago hoping to have a preppy party for my "no-way-in-heck-are-you-even-gonna-go-there" daughter.

so i made this craft after i saw these boxes in the dollar section of target while i watched women holding up their shift dresses and clutches saying, 

"i don't want this! i don't even know why i got this!...

oh well, i'll just sell it."

sigh.

anyway, let's get on to these boxes i made already. 

as you can see, i made 3 of them, 

with only one lilly inspired cuz lord knows there is much more to life than lilly even though her prints make a lot of women extra happy, including myself.

so here's the low down of how to make 'em:

i was gonna give you measurements and such but you can do this with any box.

i used the box to draw out the pattern on the paper first, folded it and laid it on the box to be sure it fit exactly.

basically you just mod podge it with any kinda wrapping paper you want (oh i cannot even remember where i got the lilly wrapping paper for the life of me cuz it's literally about 5 or so years old!)and then add some embellishments.

here are a hundred pics give or take a few showing you the process: 

and yes, you read that right.

i bought a $6 headband cuz i fell in love with the pineapple. 

i pulled it off as an embellishment and was left with a plain pink headband that can still be used.

then i added some little stationary supplies in it.

and then it was done.

well, not exactly done cuz, 

when i found the lilly paper in my wrapping paper stash, i saw this paper i got from the paper source store here in town.

that store rocks and i could spend hours in that little store.

cuz look at this paper:

and this is what i did with it.

that pic up there in the upper left corner is how i glued the paper on the corners of the lid.

it's a recipe box!

i had those little recipe books for years too and they fit just right in the box.

that'll do until i get some new recipe cards. 

 2 boxes down.

1 to go.

should i wrap it in paper too?

naw i thought, so i got this:

it's a 3-D card i got just because, so i put it to good use.

(i know that glue is hard to see in the pic).

then i did this:

hey i found mod podge that was dishwasher safe?! 

did you know about that kind cuz i sure didn't.

uh oh, i see more crafting ahead...

anyway that's that.

 3 boxes that would make a cute personal gift 

for mother's day.

you can fill it with anything you want.

just not lilly products or you may get a line out your front door of crazed wide-eyed women with lilly fever!