Staying Home Sawyer

Real Life Living on a Real Life Budget

DIY, Lifestyle

Snapple!

I’ve decided that since Thursdays are “Throwback Thursdays” (or #tbt for those of you born before 1980) that I would post every Thursday with a #tbt craft I’ve done in the past. You may notice that it’s Friday today, but give me a break, I just wanted to blog something! 🙂

When I first started dating my husband (we will call him “B”) I liked to make little crafts to make him smile. I was also really into ‘crazy couponing’ at the time, so anytime I could find a good deal on stuff he enjoyed, I’d pick it up. He loves Snapple, and I figured this would be a really easy craft to make for him. Anyone that loves Snapple seems to get a good kick out of the “Real Facts” underneath the lids, so I decided to create my own. I used this photo to add my own real facts:Snapple ProjectIf you upload this photo into PicMonkey you can easily add text to the photo. Another way would be to upload it into Microsoft Word, add a text box, and just type into the text box over this photo. Of course, the easiest way would be to just handwrite your “Real Facts” into the photo. If you choose to do that, you can print this PDF and just write them in yourself. Don’t forget to add a number, for example, “Real Fact #432.” Here is the PDF: Snapple Lids.

Then I cut out each cap, tied it with curling ribbon to each bottle, and put them all back into the box. I used my handy dandy glue gun to seal the box back up, so B didn’t even know they were hand-crafted. He really got a good laugh each day that week!DIY Snapple Lid Project // Gift for Husband/Boyfriend

DIY, Holidays!, Party Planning

Happy Masters Week!

Golf Party Ideas // Decorations // Rae of SparklesIn our house, the week of the Masters is a holiday in itself (as are the playoffs for hockey, football, and pretty much every other sporting event). I love to surprise my husband anyway, so I took the Masters as an opportunity to add a little holiday fun into our lives. While he was at work, I turned our “mantle” into a Masters masterpiece! Okay so that may be a little overzealous of me, but give me a break, I’m excited! I was so happy with the way it turned out, I have to post photos.Golf Party Ideas // Decorations // Rae of Sparkles

Golf Party Ideas // Decorations // Rae of SparklesI did this all in a bit of a hurry, of course I wasn’t prepared for a Masters Mantle Masterpiece! I mean, who is?! So I ran to Party City, where I knew they sold the hanging lanterns. Because they’re a little pricey there (only $6.99 but still more than I wanted to spend), I suggest checking out other stores first. I then ran into Target and picked up the golf tees (around $5) and I opted for the plastic “golf balls” because they were cheaper for the bigger quantity ($5 for 24). It would look better if you had your own practice golf balls at home you could use, but the cheap option is still a good option. Lastly, I went into the Dollar Tree – I wonder if there will ever be a week without a quick stop at the DT – grabbed the Easter grass, and picked up two extra vases that I needed. I had the green tape at home, but you could use ribbon or any sort of green accent. I also picked up green licorice just to add a little flavor to the piece. Every other item I found around my house, and just added it to the mantle to give it substance. Anything green or white looked great!  For the lanterns, I just printed out the “Titleist” logo (easy to Google) and taped it to the side.

Decorations are never enough fun for me, so I wanted to do something a little extra. I took about 20 golf tees, tied little Masters trivia notes to each, and hid around the house. I left him a note that said he would find them for the rest of the week hidden among his things. Because I wasn’t as well prepared last night, I hand wrote all my trivia questions. I’m better prepared today, so I created a PDF you can easily print, cut out, and tie to golf tees yourself. You can find it here: Golf Trivia. I just put the answers on the back of the cards. If you’d like to see the questions separately, you can find them here.

Golf Trivia Game // Free Printable // Rae of Sparkles
masters

Lifestyle

Find Your Beach

I think I speak for us all when I say that I dread Monday mornings. Not to mention that I didn’t get a good night’s sleep last night, making today even worse for the wear. But I’m looking at the bright side of things. Only 4.5 more days until the weekend!! Today I’m reminiscing about the weekend we spent in Half Moon Bay a few weekends ago. I wish I had a Corona in my hand right now, while staring out at the waves crashing against the shore. Okay so I’d take the Corona even without the waves…4.5 more days!Find Your Beach // Corona Bottles // Half Moon Bay, CAI wanted to post these photos to put a little sunshine into your Monday, but also wanted to tell you how I created them. The photos are my own, but I edited each with a free photo app, Snapseed. I’ve actually had it for a while, just never really used it until now. I’m more than obsessed with it lately, if you can’t tell….Find Your Beach // Half Moon Bay, CA

 

DIY, Party Planning

Easy DIY Wedding Favors!

A few years ago I had a friend planning her wedding on a tight budget. Because they were having a backyard wedding, they had to rent everything from tables and chairs to silverware and drinking glasses. When we were discussing the prices I started thinking….if she had to give a wedding favor, why not give a wine glass? I could make a cute little tag for them, and then everyone could take them home. The Dollar Tree has nice wine glasses for $1, which is what she wanted to spend on each favor anyway (Seriously, check out the wine glasses there, even if it’s not for a favor!).

She had to stop at a few Dollar Tree’s to get the number she needed, in the same glass. I got to work on the tags.

I enlisted the help of my brilliant cousin Michelle, who comes up with poems and cute sayings off the top of her head. She wrote the little poem out and designed it for me. I cut them out in circles, and glued each circle to turquoise cardstock (her colors were yellow & turquoise). Because the original tag had yellow in it, I remade them without the yellow so anyone could use them for their wedding. You can find the tags without room for a date here: No-Date. If you’d like to add your own date and names, you can use this PDF and just add your own information: Room-for-Date.Easy DIY Wedding Favors - Cheap/Dollar Store Favor // Free PrintableI used a scalloped scissors to cut each one, and then used yellow ribbon ($.50 a roll at Michael’s) to tie each one to the wine glass. As painfully tedious as the cutting was, they turned out so cute. My friend got so many compliments on the favors, and people seemed to be happy to finally get something other than Hershey kisses!Easy DIY Wedding Favors - Cheap/Dollar Store Favor // Free Printable