DECORATE TO CELEBRATE BIRTHDAY HOP AND CHALLENGE!

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the birthday blog hop for  Rhonda and Amy!   Thank you for joining me and my wonderful friends who are ready to thrill you with their handmade creations in celebration of the birthday girls!!!

The birthday girls, Rhonda and Amy, are super-talented and gifted friends who met on-line and "clicked".  The lovely Rhonda had this incredible idea for a new twist on a challenge blog, so she contacted dear Amy and asked her to share in her idea.  For months now, they have enjoyed being able to Celebrate and share by involving others to participate together by presenting an on-going showcase of handmade goodies to use to Decorate for parties, special occassions, and all fun times!  Their union is how the Decorate to Celebrate Challenge Blog (aka DTC) all began!

To begin the party, we have a great group of crafty designers waiting to inspire you with the projects they've made in honor of Rhonda and Amy's birthday.  By clicking on their blog links you will be directed to their specific blog site.  To start from the beginning, you'll start with the first participant on the list who just happens to be one of our very own birthday girls, Rhonda:

Rhonda http://scraphappenswithrhonda.blogspot.com/ (Our November Birthday Girl!!)

Audrey http://cuteandsome.blogspot.com/
Kacee http://youhadmeatscrap.blogspot.com/
Norma http://pinkblingcrafter.blogspot.com/
Jean http://jeanscraftycorner.blogspot.com/
Liz http://www.mywhichcraft.blogspot.com/
Sherrie http://sherriescraps.blogspot.com/
Cally Ann http://callyanncraftycreations.blogspot.com/
Tracie http://trace-elementz.blogspot.com/
Brenda http://createbyburffrau.blogspot.com/
Amy http://amyscraftingspace.blogspot.com/
Lisa http://indymermaid.blogspot.com/
Sheena http://lilflowerslynne1.blogspot.com/
Peggy Sue http://icrea8cards.blogspot.com/
Carri http://doubleclickconnections.blogspot.com/
Amy http://www.lovetocrop.com (Our December Birthday Girl!!)
Decorate To Celebrate http://decoratetocelebrate.blogspot.com/

Immediately following the hop, you're invited to link your own "Birthday Party" themed project over at the DTC blog site.  Your project can be anything you choose/desire that's birthday related.  DTC will be awarding birthday prizes all month long and there will be a grand prize!  To be eligible to win you must enter at DTC.  Click on the DTC link at the bottom of the participant list get there for details and to enter your project(s)!!!  There may be additional "goodies" along the hop trail; if so, details will be available on each participant's blog.

The project I'll be sharing for this birthday celebration I'm calling "Friendship Is A Key That Opens A Heart To Sweet Things".   I think this is what Rhonda and Amy have did for each other!  The featured project is the plastic heart box filled with bath salts, which I'll have an easy recipe for you at the end of this post.  The holder box for the heart box is shown as an accessory and to bring to life the name I've given this project because that's where the "key" is:

Here are close-ups of the top of both boxes:

To do this project, I started with pieces clay to form the flowers and leaves:

This is what I ended up with:

Next I took the plastic heart box and covered the lid with glass glitter:

I finished it all off by painting the flowers and attaching them to the boxes; for the key on the container box, I simply took an old key and added glass glitter.  Finally, filled the container with bath powder, and I think it came out pretty good!!!  Here is the recipe:

• Sculpey Oven Bake Clay
• Glass Glitter by Marisa Frances
• Martha Steward Decoupage Glue and Sealer
• Mica Pigment Water Color Paint
• Plastic Heart Container (wedding section at a craft or Dollar store)
• Seam Binding
• White Colorbloc Cardstock (for box)

Now, my first giveaway (I have another one -- yeaaa!) is the easy bath powder recipe:

• 1 cup - equal amounts of Epsom Salt and Sea Salt (both can be found at your local grocery)
• 20 drops - Essential or fragrance oil (or favorite perfume to sense/taste)
• 1 to 2 drops - Food coloring (not too much -- a drop or so goes a long way)
• 1/2 tsp. - glycerin (found at your local drugstore)

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until you have a fine powder; let dry for 24 hours.  Now it's ready to add to a decorative container!  Easy!

My second giveaway is a pack of ten (10) all occasion pop-up cards by Paper Flair.  The lucky winner does not have to be a follower.  The requirement is that you leave me a wonderful comment.  Unfortunately, if you win and reside outside the U.S., you will have to be responsible for any additional shipping charges:

Now Kacee's waiting on you with another terrific project!  Hurry along and hop on over!

I hope you enjoyed my project; I certainly enjoyed sharing it with you!  And, I hope you're all having fun celebrating with Rhonda and Amy!!!

Oh, and don't forget to enter and link your own projects for the challenge!

Thanks for stopping by and I love you all!!!  And, of course, I'll be seeing you!