tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42632139267630004232024-03-18T02:47:52.516-07:00the family lifeA blog following the crafts, diy projects, and parties that I do for the littlest loves of my life.angelagriffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13126541047572034126noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263213926763000423.post-24489212080041777902014-04-03T16:41:00.000-07:002014-04-03T16:41:34.037-07:00Ella's Frozen Birthday PartyObviously I just post whenever I throw my kids a birthday party. Frozen is hot right now (for good reason) and my daughter is into big time. Her birthday fell THE DAY BEFORE movers came to our house to move us out of state. It was a stressful and bittersweet time. Here's her party:<br />
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I separated the party into two sections, Arendelle (the dining table) and The North Mountain. </div>
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I made an Olaf after seeing the very popular <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/265571709250722453/">pin </a>on Pinterest. Since there was no tutorial on how to make him, I kind of winged it. Ella's party was in January, so I was able to take advantage of after Christmas sales. I used the snow blankets to make him but I think cotton batting would work as well.</div>
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Olaf's feet</div>
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I just balled up pieces of the snow blanket and gathered it in one spot. I used lots and lots of hot glue to hold it together (I was burnt a few times!) For his body's balls, I wrapped the snow blanket around some cotton stuffing and put the seam in the back, securing with hot glue. Same thing for his head, only less at the top where his eyes are and shaped it to be Olaf-y. I made his buttons by using black yarn to make pom poms and securing with hot glue. Arms, eyebrows, and hair are all pipe cleaners. His face, if you look at the original pin, is actually just a printing of his eyes/nose combo and mouth. So I did the same using <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/pin/265571709250721506/">this Olaf</a>'s face. I adjusted his head to about the size I needed and cut out the eyes/nose together and his mouth.</div>
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Mine did not support himself very well, so I rolled up more snow blanket to sit his butt on so he wouldn't topple over. The kids loved him, but unfortunately, he ended up in the trash soon after the party since we were about to move :/</div>
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I used a tree branch with blue rock candy hanging from it, I had clear cutlery in white snowflake pails that I got on clearance at Target, blue table skirt with white top. I served (but didn't photograph) white cheddar popcorn, snowcaps, and pizza.</div>
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The backdrop is two iridescent doorways curtains to add to the frosty theme. I was inspired by multiple pins, but I'm unsure which!</div>
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I used Ella's mini dolls to decorate her cake. I intended for the "ice" behind them to be taller, but I didn't plan out how much I was going to have to shove them into the cake to stand. To make the ice, I used a recipe for candy glass and added food coloring. The little flakes on top are these little edible flakes I bought at Hobby Lobby in the cake decorating section. The white pearls are gumballs from Party City. </div>
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We lucked out that Frozen party decorations where just starting to come out right before her party. I didn't get a lot of theme-y stuff. Just the napkins, cups, table cloth, and goody bags. Ella loves having flowers, so I had to buy her some roses for her birthday!</div>
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I didn't photograph her goody bags, but inside I put in snowflakes crayons that I got on clearance at Target, blue mini flashlights, reindeer chocolate crackers (that I put a sticker of Sven on and called Sven Snacks), and a Frozen pencil. I think there was something else, but oh my gosh, it was such an insane time in our lives!</div>
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<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/angelagriff/ellas-barbie-or-rapunzel-or-mlp-or-frozen-birthday/">Here is my Pinterest board</a> that I had all of my inspirations for her party. Hopefully this helps someone planning a Frozen party of their own!</div>
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angelagriffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13126541047572034126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263213926763000423.post-26623836115707634452012-12-27T10:50:00.001-08:002012-12-27T10:50:24.818-08:00Pokemon Party revisitedSo long overdue, but here is how the Pokèmon party went down.<br />
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The simple cake for his actual birthday</div>
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I recycled some of my husband's golf balls to make pokèballs for putt-putt </div>
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The wagon held the Pokèball cup favors from Birthday Express and had space for gifts to be dropped off at.</div>
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A little of the set up. I was in such a hurry so the photos aren't great in quality or quantity.</div>
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Some signs I made to make the activities relevant to the theme. </div>
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We tried to stick to a mainly Blue, Green and Yellow color scheme.</div>
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The balloon garland was very festive and fun!</div>
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Pokè Putt-Putt </div>
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Pokèmon in the wild </div>
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For the cupcakes, I ordered the ring toppers from amazon and the cupcakes in the colors I wanted from Sam's Club.</div>
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It was a whirlwind and he was a very happy boy!</div>
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angelagriffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13126541047572034126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263213926763000423.post-17761012574680536022012-08-31T10:48:00.000-07:002012-08-31T10:48:02.812-07:00Pokemon posters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The Pokemon that I made from poster boards, construction paper, glue, and sharpies (for the outlines)</div>
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L-R: Pikachu, Piplup, Tepig, Snivy, Charmander, and Oshawott.</div>
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I used construction paper vs painting or markers so that I wouldn't get the brush marks. I made a U out of wire hangers and taped them to the back to use as stakes. I wish I would've used the same manilla color that I used for Charmander's belly for Snivy, but it doesn't bother me enough to do it over.</div>
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Less than two weeks before my little man turns 6! I can't believe it!</div>
angelagriffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13126541047572034126noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263213926763000423.post-31658247365534187472012-08-24T11:09:00.000-07:002012-08-24T11:09:07.183-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Caleb's love for Mario has evolved into a love for Pokemon. He's all about the Nintendo stuff! This year I was hoping we could do Super Mario all over again (I still have most of the stuff, despite moving from FL to IN) but he's insisting on Pokemon. So now I'm trying to learn as much about his passion to throw an awesome party.</div>
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While not the most original idea for a Pokemon pinata, the pokeball is certainly easy and works. It sure beats paying $30 for a Pikachu pinata from Party City. All I did with this was paper mache a big bouncy ball, let dry, pop the ball, fill the hole, and covered with streamers. I took crepe paper streamers and "fringed" several pieces at a time. It covers the lumps and wonkiness of the pinata and gives it that definite pinata feel. I ordered mini pokemon figurines from an ebay seller in Japan to put in there with candy.</div>
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Pokemon Cornhole, "Feed the Munchlax" This is cabinet door I had in the garage that I drew out the Munchlax on. I cut out the mouth with a jigsaw, primed, painted, and spray protective coating on it. I stapled felt for the teeth. The berries are orange hacky sacks from Party City. They have a sun design in yellow. I glued the green felt on the sun design and voila! They are PERFECT!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pSh1N7Ka9a4/UDfAVgx5hSI/AAAAAAAAACw/Daj8t5irDPo/s1600/IMG_3882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pSh1N7Ka9a4/UDfAVgx5hSI/AAAAAAAAACw/Daj8t5irDPo/s640/IMG_3882.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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These things I am getting so sick of making but they are cute! I am using poster board, construction paper, glue, and sharpies to make these. I plan on making and Oshawott and Piplup as well. Our backyard has a natural/wild area around the perimeter and I will be placing these in it to look like the Pokemon are in the wild!</div>
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It seems like Pokemon Parties are few and far between in the blogging world, so I'll throw mine out there for folks that need some ideas.</div>
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angelagriffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13126541047572034126noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263213926763000423.post-84516872672771125152012-08-24T10:52:00.000-07:002012-08-24T10:52:02.161-07:00Neglected blog is neglected.Here's how Caleb's 5th birthday went down last year...<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7eWWRQaekXY/UDe7K3EhqqI/AAAAAAAAAA4/p5jqOgI9s7s/s1600/102_0173.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7eWWRQaekXY/UDe7K3EhqqI/AAAAAAAAAA4/p5jqOgI9s7s/s640/102_0173.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">The backdrop was part inspired, part copied from </span><a href="http://www.chicaandjo.com/2010/05/13/super-mario-brothers-characters/" style="text-align: center;">Chica and Jo</a></div>
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Fill Your Own Treat Bag!</div>
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Chocolate Mustaches (I bough the candy mold from Amazon)</div>
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Super Mario Hats (red hats from Oriental Trading Co) I used fabric glue to attach the felt</div>
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Some "Princess Peach" tiaras for the princesses (from Oriental Trading)</div>
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Bubbles</div>
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? Block with candy can be bought at either Party City or online (I went through Amazon)</div>
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"Princess Peach Pops" (Oriental Trading)</div>
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In the buckets I had Tootsie Pops, M&Ms and Super Mario fruit snacks</div>
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My labor of love, the paper mache piranha plant in action with a lot of atomic fireballs!</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cb3aDqO7vp0/UDe7mQ-SsXI/AAAAAAAAABQ/RV4QbMVu48s/s1600/102_0181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cb3aDqO7vp0/UDe7mQ-SsXI/AAAAAAAAABQ/RV4QbMVu48s/s640/102_0181.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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That's the pinata doubling as a centerpiece. Its a giant ? block. The five I made from construction paper coins.</div>
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The banner I just added Mario Characters to a banner that we had. There were originally Backyardigans on it. </div>
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Balloons, Cardboard Stand-up and the placemats are from Birthday Express.</div>
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The dangly things from the chandelier are also Mario characters I printed off and attached to a former Backyardigans decoration.</div>
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It was a super fun party! Very successful and memorable! Now that this it out of the way I can start blogging about his 6th birthday party, Pokèmon!</div>
<br />angelagriffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13126541047572034126noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4263213926763000423.post-29445568905983639212011-08-12T08:03:00.000-07:002011-08-15T08:44:53.204-07:00First Post and Super Mario Birthday PartyMy first public blog! I've kept a personal blog for many years now, but lately I've been so inspired and busy by craft blogs that I thought I'd throw one out there to keep track of all the little things I work on here at home.<br />
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A little about me is that I'm a mother of two beautiful kids and married to my husband for over five years now. Our baby girl, Ella, will be turning two in January and our son, Caleb, is turning five next month. Which brings us to this post.<br />
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We're throwing a Super Mario Birthday Party! There are so many wonderful ideas floating around the blogosphere that while we'll still probably order some stuff from <a href="http://birthdayexpress.com/">birthdayexpress.com</a>, I am trying to do a lot of the decorations in DIY fashion.<br />
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The first project that I want to show you is something I'm pretty proud of.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWM-gdL6ysE/TkU1UwRTWOI/AAAAAAAAAAY/vAgzAvNCC54/s1600/100_1276.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" naa="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWM-gdL6ysE/TkU1UwRTWOI/AAAAAAAAAAY/vAgzAvNCC54/s400/100_1276.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<a name='more'></a>I was inspired by to make this piranha plant by a birthday party I saw somewhere across the blogosphere that I can't find anymore and credit. There was never a tutorial on how to make it so I just jumped in with some paper mache. <br />
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Things I used to complete this project:<br />
<ul><li>Sunday edition of the Orlando Sentinel cut into strips</li>
<li>An edition of the El Sentinel, also cut into strips</li>
<li>tissue paper</li>
<li>beach ball</li>
<li>1x2" board</li>
<li>wrapping paper roll</li>
<li>2 screws and washers</li>
<li>flower pot</li>
<li>spray primer</li>
<li>acrylic paints</li>
<li>spray gloss sealer</li>
<li>spray paint (for the pot)</li>
<li>all-purpose flour</li>
<li>water</li>
</ul>This is pretty much my first attempt at doing paper mache. I've tried it as a kid with a balloon but never had the patience to let it dry completely befor I popped the balloon. It might look daunting, but its pretty simple as long as you practice patience and don't mind getting your hands (and maybe your kids' hands) dirty.<br />
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The formula for flour paper mache seems to be 1 part flour to 2 parts water. That's what I started with but kept whisking in flour until I got to a consistency that was basically slightly thinned school glue.<br />
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I started with the beach ball and went to town with the strips of paper and the glue mixture. I didn't photograph the ball inside of the head of the plant, but I left two strips of the beach ball free of paper mache to create the opening of the mouth. I put on maybe 4-5 layers of paper mache to make it super strong.<br />
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When that was completely dried, I took the ball out and added folded up tissue paper to create the base of the piranha plant's "lips."<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fuxfqDXAfeo/TkU4x-BqbtI/AAAAAAAAAAc/9qQPnQCXAIY/s1600/100_1261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" naa="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fuxfqDXAfeo/TkU4x-BqbtI/AAAAAAAAAAc/9qQPnQCXAIY/s320/100_1261.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Never mind my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clubbed_thumb">clubbed thumb</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I then added 2-3 more layers of paper mache over the tissue, trying to keep it as smooth as possible by using little strips.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When that was all dry I drilled two holes in the bottom middle of the plant and into my approximately sized 1x2" board that I've had around the house. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bWos2Vty6B4/TkU5-t1Ig3I/AAAAAAAAAAg/mGyhyoHIcH4/s1600/100_1263.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" naa="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bWos2Vty6B4/TkU5-t1Ig3I/AAAAAAAAAAg/mGyhyoHIcH4/s320/100_1263.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Attached the head to the board using two screws and washers.<br />
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I slide the wrapping paper tube over the 1x2. I made a leaf template by folding a piece of construction paper in half and cutting it out. I trace it onto some cardboard and cut two out. I attached the leaves on the broad sides of the stem using a little bit of masking tape.<br />
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I wrapped a couple of layers of the paper mache around the stem, attaching it to the head, over the screws and washers, and around the leaves. I stood it up to dry in my fancy dancy modified diaper box. (Whatever works, right?)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--JLVGxicjtk/TkU6yQRC4YI/AAAAAAAAAAs/bGMcliTB5Mg/s1600/100_1268.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" naa="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--JLVGxicjtk/TkU6yQRC4YI/AAAAAAAAAAs/bGMcliTB5Mg/s320/100_1268.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And I let it dry, and dry, and dry while I desperately wanted to attack it with some paint.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I sprayed it with white primer*, painted it using just the craft acrylic paint you can get anywhere, and gave it a glossy sheen with the final coat spray.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I made the white spots using a homemade stencil out of two sizes of cups and cardstock. I just cleaned up the lines afterwards.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The pot wasn't the right hue of green that I needed (sorry, no before pics) so I got some of Valspar's plastic spray paint in a better green. I weighted the pot down with some red lava rocks. Alternately, you could probably use a <a href="http://www.lowes.com/pd_10149-286-692201_0__?productId=3005463&Ntt=concrete+tube&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dconcrete%2Btube&facetInfo=">concrete form tube</a>, cut to size and paper mached to resemble the green pipes of Super Mario Bros.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I plan on putting atomic fireballs in the head of the plant which is why I didn't add teeth. Those can easily be added by cutting out cardboard triangles, attaching with a little masking tape, and a couple of layers of paper mache.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My little guy LOVES it, so much so that its currently housed up on the shelf in my closet. Trying to keep little hands from it for another month! I had much of the materials on hand, so I spent less than $20 on this 3ft tall decoration.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">*If I was doing this again I would use a gray spray primer instead of white. It took many many coats of red paint to cover the white primer. The white paint covered the red paint easily, so I imagine it would do the same with gray primer. You don't even <em>need</em> primer when painting paper mache, but I imagine it makes it a lot easier to cover the newspring.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><em>I'm not sponsored by Lowe's, Valspar, or BirthdayExpress. Just things I use in real life.</em></div>angelagriffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13126541047572034126noreply@blogger.com3