A Sweet Baby Girl's Shower

Well... its been baby season in my family! We just threw the most adorable shower for my cousin who is expecting a little baby ANY DAY NOW... I know there are so many super CUTE shower ideas out there, but I love when a shower helps the Momma decorate her nursery. Plus it means that the décor you purchase for the shower doubles as a gift and can make the baby's room adorable instead of your crawl space where you would store all the party stuff after... WIN... WIN... :)

Sooooo... my cousin is decorating her little one's nursery in giraffe print and purples... but we couldn't resist throwing in a little pink annnnnnndddddd a little orange for good measure. :) Hope you like what we came up with.. :)

As guests arrived they were greeted by this sweet chalkboard sign. :) This chalkboard actually was used at her wedding last year.. buy and reuse people.. buy and reuse...

 

Okay... so you may have read my post about the transportation first birthday and using fabric as a runner over a plastic tablecloth... but my Mom found something even BETTER for the shower. See all these paper runners on these tables? Wrapping Paper from the dollar bins at Michaels! :) They worked our perfect, we covered all the tables in the usual plastic tablecloths and ran a runner of the paper down the middle! She found them in purple and pink and all sorts of designs! Worked great and saved us major $$$$$$ We made these tissue paper balls, which I will post a tutorial on shortly... super easy... super cheap. :)

The W I picked up at Hobby Lobby with a 40% off coupon and spray painted White... I think that this will be so cute over the crib or a dresser in the future Miss's room. :)

P.S. the white dress? My flower girl dress from ohhh just a few years ago.. hehe

Here is where we placed the drinks on these perfect little wet bar... my sister made these cute little punch bowl tu-tus... which I just love... We make these punches for EVERYTHING because they are so easily made into EVERY color and can be spiked or not... oh and they are delicious... cup number 5? Don't mind if I do...

Just a few more handmade tissue balls.. and an adorable little outfit we strung on tulle that matched the colors.. Mantle... Complete...

Again... my ever so talented sister made this unbelievable canvas... We hung it up at the shower and now it can adorn the nursery... like I said... win win :)

UNFORTUNATELY the weather did not cooperate and we ended up bringing in this cute little clothesline of girlie onsies... grrrrr mother nature..

SORRY... this picture stinks... no sunlight... no great photos... Here is where we set out the food.. we did little fruit kabobs.. filled the orange bags with chips and there are my three cake stands.. living to see another PAR-TAY where we placed these little sammies in pink polka-dotted cardboard boxes... wish I would have snapped a shot of those but you know...

And last but not least... my cousin made this remarkable cake.. I mean she's super talented... as if that needed saying... find your self an AMAZING baker... why? because a cake instantly makes a great TALL centerpiece to a table and eliminates buying an additional piece of décor or giving you another area of the party to stress about... get yourself a baker and consider the dessert table DONE... she also bagged up some animal crackers tied up with orange, pink and purple ribbon that we sent home with guests as favors.. again sorry lack of photos.. maybe the five cups of punch had something to do with that?

 

 

Now we're all just twiddling our thumbs... waiting on sweet baby W to arrive... tick tock tick tock..

Transportation First Birthday Party

This past weekend we had a blast celebrating our little guy's first birthday! How fast a year goes! I thought I would share some of the photos. :)

My Mom found this great shirt on ETSYfor the birthday boy to wear at the party! And it matched his party colors perfectly. :)

I snuck a couple of cardboard boxes from my Mother in Laws school to help make this little photo prop! :) We had so much fun taking pictures in it. :) I liked that I didn't have to make it PERFECT, you can see the package taping and all! But I like the look it gave it when I changed the finish to Sepia... I slipped one of these into each of the thank you notes and printed a few in 8X10 to frame for tables. :)

I found this great little idea for greeting guests and had to replicate it! I wanted it to go with the travel/transportation theme, so I placed the letters on suitcases and attached balloons to the handle. :)

 

I know, I know... guest books who needs them right? But I couldn't resist... I found an ancient copy of 'Happy Birthday to You!' by my favorite Dr. Seuss, that had a note written in it to my Dad for his birthday and then to me... I had to have it our for little man's first! With the sign... "First it was your Grandpa's and then Mommy's too, and on your first birthday we share it with you!.... Find a bank spot to write a birthday with or just say hi, to our favorite ONE year old guy!'
Did I mention I love rhymes? Well I do.. I love when things rhyme.. :) glad that's out there.. :)

Scored this AH-MAZ-ING trunk from my Mother in Law... her Mom used it to come to America from Ireland.. crazy right? It was the perfect spot for gifts to be dropped at the 'Baggage Check'. That Railroad Crossing sign? A thrift store find... talk about being in the right place a the right time. :) ANNNDDDD you know how stores think its okay to charge like 29.00 for a frame? I found all these frames thrifting for two dollars or less and spray painted them! Spray painting is quickly becoming a new favorite.. right up there with my hot glue gun...

Refreshments are clearly a must.. for the little and BIG kids.. :) So for the little kiddies I stocked a little wagon with Capri Suns. It fit perfectly on the table.. I covered the table with a plastic tablecloth and ran a runner of fabric down the middle that I got on clearance at the fabric store. Sometimes covered tables in fabric can be OUTRAGEOUS $$$$. I found that using some as a runner helps you use less and stttrrreeettcchhh out your dollar bills...
For adults I set a couple glass drink dispensers on small suitcases and this completed the 'Inflight Beverages'. :)

In our kitchen I replaced our usually dishes with brown lunch bags I picked up at the dollar store, cut down with some funky scissors and a travel sticker attached, these I filled with different types of potato chips as the 'Inflight Snacks'. On the lowest shelf of the hutch I covered little cardboard boxes with red wrapping paper and attached some black circles to make train cards carrying plates and silverware.. :) An idea I just had to borrow from here: Choo Choo!

 Here is one of the tables where I set out one of the plane pictures I took earlier in the week and another one of the airplane topiaries. I borrowed the idea from here.. Airplane Topes

 

Here is where the little peanut ate his smash cake. I wanted the map background for pictures and made the little highchair banner from scrap burlap and old road maps. My wonderful Grandma painted this antique find high chair. :)

Here is the dessert table and cakes! I loved the three different cake stands at different heights, but COULD NOT find them anywhere... So I made them! Ill post more about that soon. :) The wood train up front with little guys name is what started this whole party theme.. he was given it as a gift from his god father at his baptism... and I just couldn't let it sit in his room.. :)

I cut numbers 1 through 12 from old maps also and attached them to 1.00 frames from Target and placed monthly pictures and milestones in each. :) It was crazy putting these together and seeing how much he has changed over ONE year!

 

Lastly... on the way out the peanuts each picked up a favor from the 'Baggage Claim', which was a wooden train whistle wrapped in a red bandana... I thought I had a better close up of the favor tags.. so sorry this one is from when I was making them... at night.. in my bed.. soooo sorry...

"Were so glad you came! By car, boat or plane, we had so much fun, celebrating Finlee turning one!"...more rhymes :)

A great first birthday for our FAVORITE little guy... <3






















 

 



..A New Home = New Fun..

So one of my very very best friends just moved back into town and I could... NOT..BE..MORE..EXCITED... obviously by the words in caps and bold so my husband and I got to work right away thinking of something fun for their new digs.. :) Here's what we came up with... boards and bags!!! :) So easy to put together... well that's me speaking and really the hubby did all that work sooo.... I will try and explain this as simply as I can IN CASE you want to make them for around your house or as a gift... I mean Christmas is coming... Also makes a great college gift for someone who is moving out of the dorms and into a house.. that's when I got my first set... :)

Materials:

1 Sheet of Plywood (this will make you tops of four boards so you could technically make two sets)
4 2 X 4's (8 if you want to make four boards :) Don't know why I just wrote that... sorry to make you
                 feel like a dumbass....
Wood Glue
Screws
Spackle
Sandpaper
3 1/2 in. carriage bolts
paint
polycrylic

Tools:

Drill
jigsaw
Table Saw
Circular Saw
Sander
tape measure
Coffee Can

Before I get started.. I am just banking on the Hubby reading this and telling me I don't know the real names of the tools we used.. and he would be right...so I MAY be updating this shortly.. :)

First, we used the circular saw to cut the plywood into the right size to be the tops of the boards, so along the width of the board measure every 3ft on both sides... connect the lines across from each other and cut... you will end up with four large rectangles, these are your tops...

Now we are NO carpenters, so next when we framed out the boxes I measured each side individually and then cut a 2 X 4 to that length. So now, I have the rectangular piece of plywood and 2 X 4's cut to go around the very outside of the box, outlining the shape.

While I was doing this, the hubby was cutting the circles out of the plywood to make the hole. Rather then trying the hole compass deal.. I mean who has those laying around anymore? We used a large coffee can, its the perfect size and centered it on the board, 6 inches from the top. Then the hubby used a jigsaw to cut the circle out..

We glued these pieces to the board with wood glue and then flipped them over and drilled screws threw the top of the plywood to securely attach the top to the sides. Now there will be holes on your board if you do not spackle them in! So take a second to do that now. :)

We were fortunate enough to have a sander so the boards got a complete sand down and then two coats of primer before the real painting began. :)

As for the legs.. they were a pain in the ass to start.. again.. I say this but I really didn't have any part of them :) (There's a lot of thinking involved here.. I'll post this part later:)


Painting Party:

THIS is the fun part! You get to make your boards your own! We were making a set for my friend and who doesn't love chevron so here is what hers looked like:

Disregard that I took this picture in the garage on a painted tarp.. I'll have to sneak over to her place and take a better one. :)

I'll tell you how to paint the chevron pattern as well in a different post. Oh and how to make the bags. ;) You'll be needing those...
















My Hubby made a set for a Bears fan as well.. (do I not need a course in taking pictures? It's terrible!!!!)


So these were super fun to make and not too difficult actually.. if you have all the tools.. we lucked out and did.. but without them some of the parts of this project could get tricky.. but ask around.. we always have a family member or friend who happens to have just what were missing.. :) Unless your planning on getting lots of use out of them.. then by all means.. go crazy buy yourself some tools..

..Giving the Gift of Work..

Well sort of...

One of my lovely girlfriends had her baby shower this weekend and it was ADORABLE! I mean there was too much to take pictures of! Ill have to ask her if I can share some of the photos here.. her Mom is a serious party planner.....

But ANYWAY... I have been keeping track of the Small Fry's Monthly birthdays (hehe) ...They count ok! on a chalkboard I had hanging in my kitchen. So yes, I am one of those Mom's, you walk into my house and you know EXACTLY what my four month old can do.. you can judge.. :) Its going to be a great way to remember his first year and I knew this friend who is just as crafty as her mother would be all...over...it! So I gave her a huge chalkboard and chalk at her shower.. oh and work for every month of her baby's first year.. hehe...

Here's what it looked like:

Baby R's Monthly Birthday Board :)

I couldn't resist getting her started! I hope she has as much fun with it as I do... And doesn't hate me for avoiding the five hundred things on her baby registry that I know she actually NEEDS.. :)

::Monthly Chalkboard Updates::

Little ones change so much.. even in the short time of a month! I am learning this quickly with our Small Fry and I knew that I would begin to blur on when he could do certain tasks or at what point he enjoyed different things...enter the chalkboard... monthly stickers.. wardrobe changes.. and photo shoots.. :)  Now what I have been finding out is that chalk on a chalkboard really doesn't work.. I know that sounds funny... but I mean that you don't get vibrant colors and it really can be difficult to write nicely, illustrate, whatever.. For me anyways.. so this month I decided to head to Hobby Lobby and get some artists chalk... I cannot wait to make his board and see how different it looks.. I usually take some pictures of him with his board and some pictures of the little guy just with his monthly sticker. :) It is usually a day long activity because we take lots of breaks so he doesn't get too angry with the paparazzi (umm me) in his face. :) But we have a lot of fun! Here are the first few months and Ill keep adding as he gets older.. (tear :'( )

::Month 1::

OK.. OK.. don't judge me on this first board.. I know.. it is the worst.. but you know how it is.. baby #1 equals overwhelmed Mom.. equals no time for creativity.... I promise it gets better... :)










::Month 2::

 Month 2 was a lot of fun! Small Fry was beginning
to smile so it was fun to capture that in some of his
pictures! :) I told you the boards would get better..
I tried to incorporate an illustration with each
comment. :)

::Month 3::

 

 

Mr Personality now.. :) and a few furry friends wanted in on the camera action as well.. they are pretty consistent photo bombers.. I don't think this will be the last time they make an appearance... :)



 ::Month 4::

........ under construction....well sort of... I have the board done.. now I'm just trying to choose a time when get the peanut in there as well. :)

::Thank You Gift Dr Suess Style::

When I was preggo with Small Fry our families threw us a super cute Dr. Seuss themed baby shower. I am crazy for elephants and Horton in particular so it was just perfect. :) But I'll share the photos of that in another post.. there are just too many to show! :) But I always feel like saying thank you for a great party thrown in your honor is a MUST so this was really no exception.. but I wanted to do something along the Dr. Seuss theme as well and sometimes inspiration just hits you in the dollar bin aisles at Target! This spring and nearly EVERY spring, they have plant seeds in really adorable bright buckets, which got me thinking about the Lorax.. another great Seuss story. :) They also had mesh drawstring bags to hold produce in so it isn't rolling all over your crisper drawer of your fridge. Soooo... I picked out some plant seed buckets where you could grow different produce producing plants (try that ten times fast) like strawberries and tomatoes, put each bucket in a mesh bag, tied it with tulle and made little tags, using you named it, FREE FONTS, and there you have it! A super perfect thank you gift complete with a Dr Seuss saying and all..

Adorable! For you teachers out there, wouldn't this make a GREAT parent gift to those who help A LOT throughout the year? I would have done this for them if Small Fry didn't happen to show up three weeks before the last day of school.. things got a little hectic to say the least.. :)

Now I had about ten lovely ladies helping with my shower.. so you know that can get pricey quick when you are thinking of gifts for everyone! :) But since all of these supplies came from the dollar bins (caution: this doesn't mean everything is a dollar.. it may be a few of your dollars) each gift ended up costing me about $7.. and that I like, Sam I am. hehe

::Making your own invites... Fabulous::

So I mentioned I have been working on my Small Fry's baptism and PAR-TAY.. and what starts a party? invites... duh... and how great is the internet these days? You can download fonts for free ALL the TIME! I am obsessed with fonts.. just ask my family.. ANYWAY I decided I wanted to try and make the invites myself.. and here is what I came up with:

 

I just love the tie! :) The hubby got me a Cricut for Mother's Day but I couldn't find a tie cutout so I created a stencil and traced it on a blue and white chevron scrapbook paper and cut it out. I printed the invite on cardstock, I just created it in Word, come on now, I am Nooooo computer brain.. so I am sure there is another program that might work better.. but I tend to stick with what I know.. :)

 

But I am telling you fonts make all the difference! Sometimes the easiest place to get started is Pinterest. I find that free fonts get pinned there all the time and I can usually get some inspiration for my invites from there also. Isn't Pinterest great?  Get out there and DL some fonts... like now.. the ideas are endless...