lauralooloo: Favorite Posts of 2014: By The Sea party ensemble {featuring Graphic 45 and Sizzix}

Hello friends! Welcome to day 2 of my favorite posts of 2014. We'll be looking back at some of my favorite projects, tutorials, and posts of the year as we prepare for a new year of crafty goodness in 2015! Thanks for joining me!

Original blog post on July 2, 2014:

Hello friends! The Fourth of July weekend is just about here! We'll be spending the weekend out at the beach, enjoying a view of the ocean and the sand in our toes. It's only a 20 minute trip from our house, so we go there fairly often, but there's still something about the July 4th weekend that makes the summer beach scene extra magical!

Today I'm sharing this summer party ensemble on the Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking blog. I used Graphic 45's By the Sea collection, and YOU have the chance to win it over on the PC&S blog (so if you haven't been there yet, click on over for a chance! There are more pictures of these projects too!)

As I promised over there, I have more details, and supply lists here in case you'd like to try this yourself. First up, the banner. I LOVE using my Sizzix Framelits pennant dies to create party decor. It is so easy to create pennants using any paper you choose (or even felt or foam!) There's a scalloped die, and a straight edge die, so I die-cut one of each and layered them. You can see I alternated sizes between small and large. I used a small hole punch on each corner and then I threaded twine through each pennant. (Yes, it's my favorite May Arts burlap string. . . seriously, it matches EVERYTHING. I'm obsessed, which you might already know!) Then I just added some chipboard embellishments, and pinwheels (also a die, which is from The Cat's Pajamas.)

Next up, the drink bottle. This is just a recycled Starbucks Frappaccino bottle. Sometimes I save things, even though I'm not sure why. . . .and this was one of those saves that worked perfectly. A mason jar would have been fabulous too. I jazzed it up with burlap, twine, and chipboard. This would be fun to personalize for each guest, maybe with names or initials too. (You could even let them take it home with them!)

Next we have the cute little place setting bag. Wouldn't this be fun (and handy) when serving up a BBQ or buffet? Guests can grab a bag and have their napkin and utensils contained in this cute little bag (this one is from Fancy Pants.) Again, I just decorated it up with goodies from the By the Sea collection, a pinwheel die, and twine.

(And would you like to know a funny secret? The napkin I used for this photo, is a Star Wars napkin with Darth Vader on the other side. It was the only red napkin I had in the house!)

And last but not least, a quick card. . . .because really, how could I NOT make a card? It could be an invitation, or maybe a thank-you card after a fabulous summer soiree. Below, I've linked up the products I've used. If you have any questions, ask away! I'd love to chat with you! And be sure to stop over at the Paper Crafts blog, for a chance to win this paper collection, plus lots of coordinating goodies! Have a fabulous, safe, and FUN Fourth of July weekend!