I know, I know… Baby Shark mania here.

So I wanted to make some fun caution signs to put outside of our house for the guests coming into our little man’s baby shark party because how fun is that? I decided to make these fun signs and it really did not take that long. Longest part was waiting for the paint to dry! (Sorry about the madness going on in that photo… Nemo didn’t want to help me clean up the creative mess! And toys… so many toys.

All I did for caution sign inspiration was do an image search of “shark caution signs” but you could also use this for anything caution sign related… construction being a big one that comes to mind. I printed out my design to have it as a reference. One of the signs I picked out was one with a big shark and although I am decent at free-handing things at times, a shark may not be one of them. I did a second image search of “shark shadow clip art” and found one I liked, printed it and then I copied it at 150% magnification. If you don’t have this option, you could attempt to copy and paste the image in a Word/ Pages document and enlarge it.

I’ve learned something in this process… cheap foam poster board curls when painted, haha. I will have to flip these over and weigh them down with something to help encourage them to flatten but I am not too concerned. You could always use cardboard, which I had originally planned to do but there were not any big empty boxes at work and I needed to get them finished.

Here is what I used!

I went to my favorite place.. the dollar store. I purchased two pieces of foam poster board, one jar of yellow tempera paint, one thick black sharpie marker… AND THAT’S IT. I spent $4 total on these two signs. I plan to use some metal stakes we have to attach them to when putting them outside but the Dollar Tree also sells reflective stakes you use to mark around your driveway for plowing, in our snowy region of the world, there are garage sale signs you could attach it to or look around and get creative! There are a bunch of things you could use. I used a paint brush I had on hand, but they sell brushes there as well if you need one. You could also spray paint if you have it. If you’re using cardboard, you may need to put a few coats on it to cover up designs that were on the box.

Next, I measured out a square and cut! You could be precise and use a ruler or yard stick. Here’s what I did:

Since the foam board is rectangle, the short end of one can be used to measure a square on the other. Lay one down horizontal and the second on top vertical. Line up the edges and draw your cutting line.

Cut the foam board with a utility knife, exacto knife or open the scissors and score it. I don’t recommend using the scissors to cut it normally because it can leave jagged edges or swerve unintentionally. Once you score the foam board on one side, flip it over and bend it along your line. It’ll give you a second line to score on.

The next step is to paint it. I used my yellow tempera paint and painted a light coat. Let it dry completely before moving on.

Once it is dry, begin creating! I used a thick permanent marker but you could also use black paint with a small brush. I started with the outside line around the sign. I know my lines aren’t perfect, I figured it’ll be outside and people won’t be staring at it, haha.

Next, I took my enlarged shark, cut the edges of the paper to give me space to see where I am placing it, and then this is the best part.. you don’t need fancy equipment to do this. Just a pencil or pen. Foam board is very pliable and if you trace something with just a little force, it leaves an indentation on your board, giving you the template to fill in with paint or marker. Place the image you want to put on your board down and gently trace the image. It might be hard to see on my next photo but there is an indentation of the shark that I had traced. I also just free- handed the wave part above the shark image.

Then I filled in the shark with my marker and drew the waves above. I have horrible handwriting so for the words on this sign I typed them on my computer, enlarged them, printed them and then used the same technique as the shark where I traced the letters then filled them in. If you’re blessed with great handwriting, you could always just free hand it!

Then ta-da! That one is complete!

The second one I chose to do was easier. Same step of drawing in the outline on the edge. Then I honestly just looked at my printed picture and free- handed it because it was a simple design. I drew it lightly with pencil first, then filled it in with the marker.

I also decided to round the edges of the foam board a little bit to make it look more similar to the real signs. But that’s it! Super cheap, super quick and SUPER fun! A great way to add a little bit more crazy to your party 😉

NEW. I am brand new in the world of blogging (can’t you tell?). Ah! However, I assure you I will do my best to make this worth while! Let’s do this.

A little about me, as an introduction of sorts. I am a momma to two wonderful, beautiful boys. My oldest is 4 and my youngest is almost 1. I am married to a very hard working man who provides for us day in and day out. I have a goofy black cat whom we all adore. He is quite literally my shadow however his name is Nemo. By trade, so to speak, I am a Radiologic Technologist but my passion is spread in many arenas. I have always leaned towards the crafty side of life despite the fact that I cannot draw anything to save my life.

I love to create things. Live for it, in a way. I dabble in all sorts of things such as furniture rehab to building new things, making decorations for my kid’s parties to designing awesome cakes with fondant. The funny part? I have no idea what I am doing. I wing it as I go, which is fun, right? I’ve been told creating a space where I explain what I am doing and how I do it might come of use to some people. I was also told some people may enjoy what I have to say… like I’m funny? 🙂 Supposedly. You be the judge of that one.

Recently, I have begun the process of putting the final touches on decorations for my little baby’s first birthday party, which I cannot even believe is almost here. I have been described as “extra” a few times in my life. Guess there could be worse things… Every birthday that my boys have had so far I kind of go all out. I do it for them, to see the smile on their face, and for them to have something awesome to look back on when they see photos of it. I also do it for me. I enjoy it! Why not do something you enjoy WHILE making your children smile? My husband once said something to me that made me laugh and I was quite impressed with my response. He said to me, “Why do you go to all the trouble to make all of that? Wouldn’t it be easier to just go out and buy it?” I thought for a second and said, “Ok hunny, you love to go hunting, right? Why do you go to all the trouble to sit in the woods for hours upon hours, getting eaten alive by bugs, to maybe see one deer that you probably can’t reach with your bow anyway? Wouldn’t it just be easier to go out and buy the meat?” He responded with a simple “good point” and left it at that. I guess putting it in a way that he could relate to helped me get my point across. I enjoy my crazy!

Back to the upcoming party. My oldest decided on the theme for his brother and it will be a Baby Shark party! Baby shark do do do do dodo (Insert Baby Shark song stuck in your head on repeat, sorry… and if you don’t know what I am talking about by all means do NOT google it.) My process with beginning to plan decorations to go with my theme is pretty simple. I browse sites like Pinterest and pin things that I like. It’ll be this snack idea from one image or this decoration from another, pieces to fit together later. Super simple, I am sure so many of us do the same. Then I create a list on actual paper… I am a visual person and physically crossing off a list is almost therapeutic. I figure out what supplies I will need for each thing I decide I am making and go from there. Typically, I find basic supplies from Dollar Tree and if you don’t already use your local dollar store as a resource you definitely should. Some basic supplies that I cannot find at the dollar store I will get at Party City. I do purchase some supplies off Amazon as well because let’s face it, bringing two kids in and out of stores is sometimes a battle you’d rather not take on.

Now the tricky part… getting it all ready. My pro tip? Start early. I’m not saying start a couple weeks in advance. I am talking about a couple MONTHS in advance. Then you remove the stress of needing to finish everything NOW and you can enjoy it more. This takes advance planning and thought. But what it can also do? Save you some money! You can then keep an eye out for things that you may use that go on sale or clearance or off season things like the fish net i bought on sale at the end of the year because who wants to buy a decorative fish net in December? This girl. I love a bargain. One- child me used to start making decorations like… 6 months in advance (yes, I introduced you to my crazy already, remember?) but two- child me is a little slower and I started about 3 months in advance this time. But things come up like sick children or I sometimes work all of my shifts in a row and I’m exhausted. Planning ahead gives me lots of breathing room. For the crazy.

I will start to explain some of the things that I am making for my little man’s party over the next few days. Some things I have already finished and some I am still working on because I am behind my crazy schedule. But I am super looking forward to making the cake! It should be some fun times so I hope you’ll stick around to see what you can make with a little inspiration, a little thought and a lot of luck… I mean hard work.

Until next time!

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton