December 8, 2015

Gingerbread Christmas Decor

It's the most wonderful time of the year...I L-O-V-E Christmas, decorating for Christmas and I'm also obsessed about everything gingerbread!


I've been collecting gingerbread stuff for about 10+ years now.  This year, I created a new painted sign to hang next to my christmas tree.


Gingerbread Themed Mantle

Gingerbread Ribbon 
Gingerbread Stocking 
Gingerbread Garland
Gingerbread Themed Tree and Painted Sign
I Love Gingerbread Sign - by Artistic Anya Designs 
My cute little gingerbread boy

Gingerbread Recipe Ornament
Rudolph Gumdrop Ornament
Peppermint Tree Topper - Gingerbread Themed Tree
My CUTE Yorkie Chloe with her Christmas Bow
Giant Candy Pillows (bought from Hobby Lobby a few years ago)
Candy Cane Heart - I Love Gingerbread Sign


I also painted a new reversible sign for my front porch decor.  For my fall decor it says Harvest and I flipped it over and painted Peace for my Christmas decor. 


Reversible Reclaim Wood Sign - Peace - By Artistic Anya Designs


Want to see my latest creations? Follow me on Instagram and Facebook (click on the icons on right sidebar)

Hope you enjoyed my holiday home decor and hope you enjoy this holiday season! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from my family to yours!

Love~Anya

December 5, 2015

DIY Minecraft Party



For my son's 10th birthday we decided last minute to throw him a birthday party.  He was over the moon that it was a Minecraft theme party! I literally threw it altogether in one day (which was a day before the party). From the decor to the favors and a semi-homemade Minecraft brownie cake, I think it came together quite nicely for being last minute. 


DIY Creeper Favors

Supplies:
-Green Cellophane Favor Bags
-Black Electrical Tape
-Scissors
-Twist Ties
-Candy/Favors to fill bags

I already had some plain green cellophane favor bags in my supplies from a previous party. First, take the black electrical tape and cut 2 squares for the eyes with scissors. Next, cut 2 rectangles (each about 1" long). Take 1 of the rectangles and cut in half lengthwise. Place the large rectangle in the middle of the bag for the creeper nose. Then place the thin strips along each side halfway down the nose. Lastly, place the square eyes on each side above the nose.  Repeat the steps for each favor bag. 


Helpful Tip: I put a finished bag underneath as a guide for placement of the creeper face. This really helped keep the bags looking uniform.


Fill favor bags with small toys/favors and candy. Close the bags with twist ties.




Pixelated Woven Streamers
I wanted to create a unique backdrop. I already had brown, green and white streamers in my craft/party stash. At first I hung alternating colors vertically from a curtain rod in a striped fashion. I used scotch tape to hang the streamers on the rod and taped the bottoms against the wall. 


 I wasn't really happy with just the striped pattern, so I wove the streamers horizontally.






Minecraft Grass Block Brownie Cake

Supplies:
-3 square trays of pre-made brownies
-2 containers of Green Candy Shred by ChocoMaker
-1 tub of green frosting
-butter knife to spread frosting
-candles
-black platter

Since my oven is currently broken, I wasn't able to bake my own cupcakes or brownies. Normally I prefer to bake my own desserts.  In this case, it helped me save time by buying everything already made. I bought 3 square trays of pre-made brownies from Walmart in the bakery section. 


I found this grass-like sprinkles in the cake decorating aisle at Walmart. It's called Green Candy Shred by ChocoMaker.


The brownies were presliced, but I sliced them again into squares. I bought a tub of green frosting and spread it over all the brownies. 



Once I covered the entire top of the brownies, my daughter helped me sprinkle the Green Candy Shred all over the top of the brownies.





On the day of the party, I stacked the grass block brownies to form a Minecraft style cake on a black platter. 




This semi-homemade brownie cake was super easy to put together that anyone can do it! 


If I had more time, I would have made some Minecraft cupcake toppers to finish them off.



I used the kids' Halloween costumes that I had handmade for them for the party decorations. The Minecraft Steve head, Diamond Pickaxe and Minecraft Cow were part of the kids costumes this past Halloween. 


According to my son, this was the BEST birthday! Although I felt a little guilty for the last minute planning, he still loved the little details that I put into his party. As a mom, that smile on his face means the world to me. 


If your kid loves Minecraft, I hope some of these easy party ideas will help you throw a totally awesome Minecraft-themed party!  


Need more Minecraft party ideas? Check out and follow my Minecraft Party Pinterest board. (<--CLICK LINK)

June 28, 2015

How Scrapbooking Apps Changed My Life

I'm a wife and a busy mother of three kids and I just don't have time anymore to scrapbook like I used to. Scrapbook paper, stickers, printing photos, embellishments...the whole nine yards...I don't have the time or the craft space to scrapbook the traditional way.  After discovering the Project Life App and Rhonna Designs App I am able to be creative again and scrapbook without all the clutter.  




Earlier this year we moved and all my scrapbook supplies are still in boxes. I don't have a dedicated scrapbook room like I did before so the supplies will likely be in boxes for awhile until I make a craft space.  So without my supplies easily accessible, I needed a way to still document and scrapbook my photos.  When I first purchased the Project Life app I instantly fell in love. Here is how my first pages using only the Project Llife app turned out.



Scrapbooking had never been this easy  and fast for me until now.  Before I would spend hours creating the "perfect" layout with traditional scrapbooking.  Now in the palm of my hands I can create a page in minutes on my iPhone. 

One day as I was admiring other Project Life pages on Instagram searching hashtags #ProjectLife and #ProjectLifeApp.  There were some other crafter's pages that had more details added to their PL scrapbook layouts.  I noticed the hashtag #RhonnaDesigns and found the Rhonna Designs app they used to add extra details.  I quickly purchased the app and started adding words, overlays and embellishments to my previously completed Project Life pages. You can watch video tutorials on how to use the Rhonna App on RhonnaDesigns.com.  Below are the before/after pages using Project Life and Rhonna Designs App.  

Project Life App

Project Life App + Rhonna Designs App

Both pages are beautiful in my opinion, but I prefer adding more embellishments and words to my pages. 

Here are more before and afters.

Project Life App

Project Life App + Rhonna Designs App

Project Life App

Project Life App + Rhonna Designs App

After I complete several pages, I order prints in 12 x 12 pages from PersnicketyPrints.com (you can also download Persnickety Prints app).  Basically you upload the finished pages, select the print size you want, and they will mail the prints to you. 

Project Life App

Project Life App + Rhonna Designs App

All these apps have changed the way I scrapbook and I'm thankful to be able to scrapbook again.  Try out these apps and you will be surprised how fast and easy you can get those pages completed! 


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