Monday, January 6, 2025

2025: Day 6....."Detroit Lions vs. Hopcat"

 

Okay. I get it.
Hooray for the Lions.

But I wouldn't pay the high price for those stadium tickets.


Before the game we had some Sunday Funday at Hopcat.
Our bartender said he contemplated buying a $600 ticket but his 
girlfriend wouldn't go so he decided to work instead. (Good call.)

Because $1200 for a football game for 2?
Uh....no.

Where I ended up watching the game was is in my cozy bed.

But I feel the excitement and happiness for all the
goodness it brings Detroit.

Hopcat before the game was more my jam.


Had a great beer and it wasn't $18 for
a can of Bud Lite like it is at the stadium I hear.



But hey...that restroom 
at HopCat is CRAZY and just
my jam too. You'll never walk out the door 
without feeling like you need to tell 
someone else about it.

Kinda like talking about football to some.




Sunday, January 5, 2025

2025: Day 5....."Over achievers Christmas lights"


 Not my house.

So glad it's not because it's 20 degrees here and
I wouldn't want that job to dismantle and 
store away these lights.

I'd turn them off and hide or fly to Florida
or Arizona until spring.

But they sure were pretty and fun to look at.

Thank you to those industrious over achievers
whoever you are over there in White Lake.

Saturday, January 4, 2025

2025: Day 4....."Favorite Photo Apps"


I love photo apps to change up a standard photo.
(I used multiple ones on this photo but mostly the 
free app Brushstroke.)


I always like to see what other folks use and give them a try.


So here's some of my favorites.

I mostly go for free ones.

But I do pay for Photo Lab, Peachy and Live Collage.

Juxtaposer is free and one of my most favorites 
because I love changing backgrounds to something fake.
So don't ever believe I'm really in the tropics if you see that.

Snapseed is my favorite for adding highlights 
that can really make things pop.

Creative Fabrica (online) has a great background remover but
I also use Retouch with a free once a day feature.
Juxtaposer has one also that allows you to touch up
what they miss on the first go around.

iColorama is loaded with so many features 
I couldn't begin to describe them all.  
I understand it's made and maintained by a lady
in the Ukraine who's made other quality apps.
A favorite feature is the 'coherence' tab that
smooths a picture brilliantly and also has a huge amount 
of paper and canvas overlays that makes things more artistic.
I'm still on the learning curve on this big app.

I probably use Live Collage the most and I pay about $5 bucks
monthly for the pleasure of it's robust & user friendly variety of 
both photo and video options that work great on my iPad.
I decided to cancel it once because I can be very frugal
that way but I had to re-up because I found 
nothing comparable and I missed it.
(This isn't a sponsored ad by the way. They don't
even know me.)






Friday, January 3, 2025

2025: Day 3....."Bathroom Plants"

 

bathroom plants

I have 31 plants in my bathroom.

It has one great south facing window that 
floods the room with great lighting.

I follow many plant sites on Facebook,
Instagram and I love watching
You Tube videos because plants are 
like people....they each have their own
personalities and likes and dislikes and
I love the process of figuring them out.

My bathroom was designed as much for plants
as it was for me to move around in it.

The shower works beautifully to keep the water in
yet give the plants a misty tropical feel every time
I take a shower.


I feel like I'm showering naked in a forest 
and I like it that way.

I can look outside and see the garden too.
(Nope...no one can see me naked in shower...too
many plants camouflaging me.)

I feel blissful every time I go in there.

My towel rack is a man & women 
in wrought iron I purchased at the 
Milford Memories Art Show.
 
It's my happy place and the only
room in my house that is constantly neat
and orderly 98% of the time.
The rest of my house leans towards
comfortable chaos and things in progress. 







Thursday, January 2, 2025

2025: Day 2....."Brother Scott"



My brother. Another Scott.

I love him bunches even though he always
describes me as "his MUCH OLDER sister".

I am older....darn it.

3 years.

This photo was taken recently at Christmas.

Brother Scott has lots of grandkids and one is a 'mini'. 
It's his grandson Sam.

Here's a picture of Scott as a boyscout in the late 50's or 60's sometime.
Next to it is his grandson Sam this Christmas.

Meeting Sam in person this Christmas brought out an 
unexpected muscle memory I can't explain that was tucked inside 
my brain of the days in the past with my little "much younger" brother.

Aren't they both so cute!







 

Wednesday, January 1, 2025

2025: Day 1....."Marlyss"


 This is me and Scott. 
He has no part in this blog but he has a big part in my life.

I'm going to make a 2025 New Years Goal. 

A picture a day.

Sometimes me.
Sometimes family.
Sometimes work related.
Sometimes fun things I like.

Whatever I want. One day at time.

I've heard this:

Will I do it or forgive myself for not doing it?





Friday, October 25, 2024

TOP 5 supplies you need for DIY party decorations and where to find them fast!

Here's what you need. No messing around. 

Fast and easy resources for what you need to

make your own party decorations.


FOAMCORE

This is a good size and an easy thickness to cut
with the tool coming up next.




#11 scalpel blades and holder to get those 
sharp clean cuts and easy to get into points and corners.


Rustoleum 2X comes in lots of colors and is highly
pigmented to get one coat coverage. 
Glossy or satin.
It dries fast yet slow enough to allow for
some glitter sprinkles if that's your jam.




Martha makes glitter and sometimes you need a special color.
Sometimes you just need alot and basic colors.
We love glitter around here and...yeah...I know it's messy...
but it's so cool!



We've tried lots of brands but 
3M Super 77 is
really our favorite. 
Spraying one side is usually enough.
If you spray both sides that you are
putting together don't expect to be
able to remove it easily.



Now get busy.

If you get stuck and need some advice or
additional things, shoot us an email.
We'll try to help.

If not, carry on.
Have fun. 
These items will make it easier.

(marlyss@mac.com)


Oh....one last thing I forgot.
Bonus Tip #6:

Get yourself a 24" 
It doesn't slip on the foamcore 
and it's so much better than a 
wood one that gets all chewed up.

NOW I've just made your life even easier!

















Thursday, October 17, 2024

Back to the 90's

We started with a cute logo for a 

gift card box design

but it had items floating in the air. 

Mmmmm...let me think about that. 

I keep everything. I must have something.


Yup. Curly foam wire....and 
THE COLORS MATCHED!

Things like that make me happy so I took a 
picture of Stacey digging into the pile.

Here's the finished look below.

Since it's been a few months since I made
a blog post (because I mostly do Facebook, 
Pinterest or Instagram), I thought I'd show a quick
little look into our work room and give myself a
pat on the back for never throwing anything out.

Isn't this just the most fun looking party 
GIFT CARD BOX!
Thanks Lauren Loomis for giving us such a 
FUN LOGO to work with!

(Notice the card slot on top and letting you 
know there is a trap door on the bottom also.)

Life can be so fun and colorful.





























Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Visit our Pinterest page

 We have over 4,000 followers and 

over 2,000 photos in various themed categories on Pinterest.

This is what our profile picture looks like so you can know

you're on the right page.


Visit us and see our latest designs.

Here's a link to make it easy.





See 'ya over there.  :)


Monday, February 14, 2022

Sweet Candy Shoppe Signs for parties

Call it what you will:

Sweet Shoppe
Sweet Shop
Candy Bar
Candy Land
Sugar Buzz
Candy Corner
Seaside Sweets
Sweet Escape
Sweet Factory
Hollywood Sweets
Candy Express
or
Easy Breezy 
or just add a name!
Hang on a wall.
Display on a decorated pole.
Set the sign on an easel.
Have an easel back on the back.

Candy signs can be so versatile and 
add pizzazz to any mitzvah, sweet 16 or
birthday party.








Sign In Boards with a holder for pens
on the lollipop stick or near it.







Maybe not a Sign In....but something to sit on
your Candy Table.
Sweet Shop Candy Sign with lights in the candy dots.


We can make signs in any shape.


We can make striped awnings.
We can make funky Willy Wonka letters.

See a trend here with the Willy Wonka font????
But different is good also.

We can make them for Welcome Signs.
We can make signs in any colors.

We can also make 
Sweet Shoppe Gift Card Boxes.

 Such a Yummy Theme!





Send us an email if you'd like us to make a candy sign for you.

www.marlyssandstacey.com
or
email: marlyss@mac.com

Saturday, June 19, 2021

Drips & Designs in Party Themes


Everything around here starts with an idea

that needs to be put to 

a virtual piece of paper.


Everyone wants to see what it looks like 

BEFORE it's even made.

So we make a computer mock up page of ideas 

that can be changed and tweaked in fun ways 

to fit someone's vision of 

perfection and fit their party event.


Here's some examples of a starting point.


Take an ice cream theme for example.

One of the things I've used frequently are DRIPS.

I love them.

I search for them and save them.

I compare them.

I love multiple layers of drips 

in different colors.


Ice cream often means soft pastels but sometimes 

things go in a different direction in life. 

Sometimes that direction colors your teeth 

with bold colors with each lick.

Funny looking in my opinion but most likely 

a Superman ice cream cone is 

beyond delicious to the receiver. 


I think I outgrew that at around 5 years old and 

now my favorite is chocolate mint. 

But I digress. Back to drips.

That's why we're here.


When I found Creative Fabrica online 

one of the first things I searched for was drips 

and I was instantly rewarded with 30

drips of frosting and ice cream. 

Here's a delicious looking one

I found on their site. 

Ice cream often does require sprinkles.

I currently only had a 
very boring white frosting drip and
also one that was too busy and big.
The white one was very uninspiring or 
"vanilla" as
the dictionary describes it:
"having no special or extra features;
ordinary or standard".


This other one looked like several people 
threw their ice cream cone on a wall 
and they all started to melt together and 
drip down the wall.
Not a good choice either for most projects
...or even any so far...
but I still keep it because 
I love it and someday 
it will be just the right thing.
I am an equal opportunity lover of 
any type of drip.
I even have a file of water drips for 
beach and tropical theme parties. 
Here's a favorite bold water drip that 
sometimes looks good on the tip of a 
water ski or incorporated with other 
water splashes and drips.

Take it. Borrow it. 
Use it if you need it.


Then there are paint drips.

Not edible for sure but delicious to look at for

an entirely different theme like art.


So I collect them.

Categorize them.

Label them: ice cream, frosting, water and paint.


I need to be able to find them quickly 

when I'm working

on a project design mockup.

Time is of the essence because

someone is waiting to see what

I come up with and I can't just stay 

in the shower (where I get

my best ideas) thinking about it.

I need to get on it fast and creatively 

so I can keep the price for

the finished design in a budget friendly zone.

That can be a deciding factor on 

whether someone orders something or not. 

No one cares about my time factor at

this point. It's all about finding something that 

fits and sparkles and 

looks unique and personalized.


I'm constantly in need of inspiration that I often 

get from my own brain but definitely from sites like

Creative Fabrica where the creativity of others

fuels my brain and makes it run like a faucet

instead of in little drips.


Example:
This party sign was enhanced
with 2 ice creams 
and one with drips, of course, from 
You too can get your own ice cream drips 
anytime you need some to flavor your world.