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July 4th Ideas for Kids

American Flag - Living Room

Wow. July 4th is just days away. If  you’ve been caught you off guard too, here’s a few last minute ideas for your Independence Day block party, family picnic or annual gathering at the lake house to watch the fireworks. Many are craft and food ideas with kids in mind, but I’m sure there are a few adults who would appreciate the deliciousness and patriotic details too!

July 4th ideas for kids - www.simplifiedbee.com

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For more July 4th ideas, visit the Simplified Bee pinterest board. It’s loaded with tons of red, white and blue inspiration!

Happy, safe July 4th!

Cristin

* first image – Wick Design via

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Read full story By on July 1, 2013 in baby and children, DIY, Entertaining, Fourth of July, Holiday

Book Review & Giveaway :: The Little Book of Big Decorating Ideas

Recently I received a copy of Country Living’s The Little Book of Big Decorating Ideas. Indeed it’s a little square book measuring only 7 x 7 inches, but don’t let the size fool you. This pint sized edition is loaded with big inspiration. It features a hand-picked collection of the magazine’s best advice (and how to instruction) on ways to organize, decorate or add a personal touch to your space. There’s even a chapter for gardeners giving smart secrets for growing lush, abundant landscapes. This book would make a fabulous house warming gift!

Little Book of Big Decorating Ideas REVIEW

With over 280 ideas presented, it wasn’t easy narrowing down my faves …  but here’s a few that caught my eye!

driftwood cabinet pull for fridgeblack painted china cabinetart wall from book illustrationsDIY toy barnyard animal candleholdersdiy wallpaper dressershadow box ribbon collectionDo you remember seeing this fun idea at work in the decorator show house equestrian bedroom?

Little Book of Big Decorating Ideas GIVEAWAY

I enjoyed reading this new DIY decor book and think you will too. The publishers have agreed to give one lucky Simplified Bee reader their own copy of The Little Book of Big Decorating Ideas!

Here’s how to enter to win:

  • Simply leave a comment on this post (provide your email if I don’t have a way to contact you).
  • Extra Entry – become a new follower of Simplified Bee’s BlogTwitterPinterest or Facebook Page.
  • Extra Entry – mention this giveaway in a blog post, Facebook link, tweet or pin an image from this post, then leave a comment letting me know.
  • Please post a separate comment for each extra entry.

Entry period closes at midnight PST on Wednesday, June 26, 2013. The winner will be chosen by Random.org and will be announced on the Simplified Bee Facebook page on Thursday, June 27, 2013.

Best of luck and happy decorating!

Cristin

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Read full story By on June 19, 2013 in book, book review, decorating small spaces, Design Tips, DIY, Features, Giveaways, interior design, Tips/Tricks

Simple Kids’ Craft :: Glitter Butterfly Garland

glitter butterfly garland - kids craft

My kids made some darling glittery butterflies to help us decorate the house for spring and Easter. Butterflies symbolize new life, which is perfect for the season.

The card stock butterflies were pre-cut and purchased at Michael’s. We used cookie sheets to catch all the glitter, but I’ll be honest… this is a messy project! I’d recommend glitter glue pens if you are concerned about getting glitter everywhere.

glittered butterfly craft for kidsdiy butterfly garland craftbutterfly garland diydiy glittered butterfly garland

To create the butterfly garland, we simply used everyday clothes pins to attached the butterflies to streamers.

Happy spring!

Cristin

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Read full story By on March 25, 2013 in baby and children, craft, DIY, Easter, Holiday

Shades of Green Bridal Shower Ideas

Recently I hosted a casual bridal shower luncheon for my future sister-in-law who’s a real sweetie with the kindest heart. She loves the color green and that was enough to get my creative juices flowing!  Here are a few images from the event…

bridal+shower+invitation

The invitation sets the mood for a party. I always recommend doing it the old fashion way too… sending a printed invite in the mail. In this digital day and age, receiving an invite in the mail is just more special.  The sweet invitations with the brides’s monogram framed in a leafy wreath were from Minted.

ribbon+tablerunner+green+white

Because the event was casual, we served lunch buffet style. The table was covered in a crisp white table cloth and shades of green ribbon in varying widths ran down the middle to create the table-runner  .

Ranunculus and green Hypericum berry flowersFresh flowers are always a must for an bridal shower event. Providing contrast and a burst of vivid color, I selected fuchsia ranunculus for the centerpieces. The ranunuculus were paired with green hypericum berry flowers and place in a trio of grass green ceramic vases.

boxwood+urn table centerpiece

For more visual interest,  a pair of forest green boxwood balls on top of mini silver urns were placed between the floral arrangements.

green+white bridal shower ideasorchid floral arrangement for bridal showerglittered initials and streamer garlandglitter+letter+initial+garlandFor a personal touch, the engaged couples’ initials hung in the window. I actually made these myself. I downloaded the italic monograms here, cut them out on heavy card stock and added glitter. Well, so much glitter I ran out on the third letter and my hubby was nice enough to run to Michael’s the morning of the party for more glitter. Isn’t that sweet? I have the best hubby.

dessert+table+bridal+showerxoxo dessert

I was too busy being a hostess to snap a shot of the yummy salads we shared, but did manage to capture an image of the beautiful desserts. I think having a variety of mini cakes like this is so fun! We all loved the XOXO detail on the side of the mini cheesecake pictured above.

bee+bridal+shower+favors

No guest should go away without a little gift.  To celebrate my sister-in-law joining the Bisbee family soon, we selected these beautifully packaged organic worker bee balms to remember the afternoon.  It’s a good think my further sister-in-law like bees… it would be hard to become a Bisbee if not!

Happy day!

Cristin

* photo credit: Cristin Priest, Simplified Bee

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Read full story By on March 18, 2013 in DIY, Entertaining, flowers, food, invite, monograms, Parties, Tips/Tricks, Uncategorized