Trevor's Space Themed 1st Birthday Party!!

Trevor had an amazing 1st birthday party, it was OUT OF THIS WORLD! ha. My little Astronaut had a great time with his family and closest friends and I had a great time creating his party! We hung "planets", also known as homemade pom poms and shooting stars (star cut outs on ribbon) and an assortment of homemade banners.

 

My favorite little project was making shirts for me, the hubby & big sister to wear that matched Trevor's NASA space suit purchased from Amazon. Just a little fabric paint and some stencils on a cheap white tee and we had a family of Astronaut trainees! 

Here is my spread of dips and chips and the wonderful cakes from Sweet Treats by CC. Don't you love my fabric pendant banner?? I have so much fun making these. This one is now hanging in Trevor's room as it is made of all different space prints. We had buckets of space themed goldfish & moon pies on a stick! And of course, no party is complete without it's own "Keep Calm.." sign.

 

 Look at these pretty girls and their space themed skirts from PrettyLittleHappy! 

 All the kids received name badges that said "Astronaut Trainee" to wear at the party & their favor bags included space themed treats like moon pies, milky ways & starbursts and foam space shuttles. They were "Preflight Snacks & Goodies" for all the little Astronauts.

 and who doesn't love a good photo opportunity banner for the guests??

T minus 1 month!

T minus 1 month until Trevor's first birthday party!! eeekk! One month sounds like a lot of time but when you throw in the in-laws visiting for 5 days and working on a friend's baby shower, one month doesn't sound like enough time! Trevor's theme has always been space, so of course his birthday party is going to be space themed also! Unlike Lily's party (and I know it common with 2nd children), I am keeping his 1st birthday party low key. Just family and our closest family friends. For Lily's 1st birthday, I had planned all these outdoor activities and it rained so I ended up with 40 people in my living room. I am still going all out with decorating and festivities, just with half the people. Here is a sneak peek of some of the stuff I've been working on.

Here are his invitations that I either printed or emailed to our guests.

 

...and the fabric pendant banner I just finished sewing to drape across the kitchen. I used some fabric from one of his crib sheets to make it extra special and something to use at future birthday parties!

Oh, and I know you wanted to see some more of Trevor in his cute astronaut outfit that he will be wearing at his party! :)

Chrystal gets married!

My good friend Chrystal and her new hubby are now home from their honeymoon and I thought by now they've had time to rummage through their gifts, and who knows their excitement from my easy homemade gift, but I am more than excited to show it off! So, going through a registry is less than exciting, we all

know it is stuff the bride & groom want and need but it is always so boring picking what kitchen utensil you are going to buy the newlyweds. With the holidays and everything going on, I waited a little too long to buy Chrystal & Kenny a wedding gift (shhh... don't tell) so I was trying to use my creativity and my amazon prime account to find something quick and useful. Well, I noticed on their registry that they hadn't received their cutting boards yet, well, it wasn't my style to just give cutting boards so I though how cute and creative it would be to decoupage the back of the wood board.

So, a little mod podge, scrapbook paper, the handy cricut and some varnish and I created a cutting board to put on display! :) I'm sorry Chrys that I gave you a gift that you can't return but I thought it turned out pretty darn cute! Congrats again Chrystal & Kenny!

Amanda's Twinkie Baby Shower

When Amanda's best friend Natalie asked if I would help her host Amanda's baby shower, I was so excited (and honored!). I've never had a friend have twins, and have never been to a twins shower so it was a whole new ball game to add to my portfolio of the 2 dozen showers I've thrown, ha. Amanda and I have lived across the street from each other for almost 4 years, and after it took her a year to actually talk to me, we've been great friends ever since. Amanda has 2 wonderful boys and our kids love to play with each other. Amanda took her one last shot for a girl when they decided to try for their 3rd baby and they were blessed with TWINS! God just thought they needed 4 kids instead of 3. It was definitely meant to be, twins don't run in her side of the family, no fertility drugs or anything and now in just a couple weeks Harper & Spencer will be here, and yes Amanda is finally getting her girl! :) Amanda is so creative and for the twins' room she is using bright yellows, turquoise, bright blues & bright pink. It all looks amazing, her Mom is making custom bedding for the twins and it is definitely going to look like a room that belongs in a magazine! Natalie & I decided we'd stick with her theme colors for the shower (as they incorporate a boy and a girl so well) and we created this "bohemian carnival" feel. At least that is the best term I could come up with to describe it. I was able to find some great contemporary fabrics and sew a fabric pendant banner, I just love how this turned out. It is such a great memento too, not only could Amanda use it in the nursery if she chooses, but she can save it and use it at the twins' future birthday parties. I think I'll be making one of these for Trevor's upcoming birthday! I also used my best friend (the cricut) to create some adorable banners & paper mobiles with cardstock & scrapbook paper. I had my first attempt at making pom poms too! There is definitely a learning curve with these things and I felt like I was improving as I made more of them, they are definitely a cheap and easy idea for add decor. Check out my decorations and congrats again to Amanda & her family! Oh, and just in case you didn't see their gender reveal, I included that video as well. Soo cute!

oh, and my cute frame I made for a door sign!

My Favorite Christmas Idea

My favorite Christmas idea was one that just included a little bit of ribbon & tape. I thought it turned out really cute and it is a great way to look at my Christmas cards every day. Maybe I'll keep it up for a couple extra weeks. Here are the details, if you feel you need directions. I used straight pens, not clothes pins. I felt they held the cards in place better so when you open and close the cabinet, you don't have to worry about showering your kitchen with cards. (Oh, and don't get offended if your card isn't on here, I ran out of room. Next year I'll do it on 2 cabinets.) :)

Christmas Favors!

I love that Lily is in preschool for at least a hundred reasons and one of them being that I get to be crafty & creative for a lot of special occasions, like Christmas! Today was Lily's Christmas party at school and she is so excited. They get a fancy Chick Fil-A feast and sing Christmas songs and have a book exchange, I'm excited that I get to take part in the festivities and get to see her celebrate with her friends.

First, I thought I'd show off my favor ideas for each little kid in her class. I thought they turned out really cute! Thanks to 2 Muses for the great idea on the Reindeer Dust!

Here is a picture of my chocolate dipped candy canes & the writing on the reindeer dust!

and now, here is my sweet girl at her first school Christmas party! She had a great time. 

Congratulations Chrystal!

This weekend one of my dearest friends, Chrystal had an amazing Harry Potter themed Bridal Shower, it was such a cute idea, you entered through a "brick wall" and the house was full of themed foods, drinks and decor. It was definitely a unique idea, it reminded me that I need to get caught up on my Harry Potter movies!

I was proud of a few of my creative touches for her shower gift so I thought I would show it off. When purchasing something from her registry, I took advantage of the free gift bag (of course!) but hated handing over a gift that would look like every other package on the table, so I added a little bling. From now on, I'll continue to take advantage of the free gift wrap but add my little touch of flare. The guests loved the diamond ring I added to the bag!

Inside her gift bag, amongst other things was a pot holder & wooden spoon bouquet. I thought it turned out really cute, using some artificial flowers mixed with wooden spoons and a few other goodies inside made the perfect gift for the Bride to Be. (Check out the floating candles in the background!)

It was an amazing shower and I ate WAY too much yummy food, Congrats Chrystal!