Baby Shower Themes - Sweet Pea

As you all probably know by now, I love a good party.  I especially love a party when the effort of organizing, decorating, and hosting is shared with other amazingly talented and creative people.  

I have been blessed to meet and befriend some brilliant and beautiful women during our sabbatical here in Newport, Rhode Island.  They are Navy wives, nurses, teachers, moms, crafters, shoppers, entrepreneurs.  Many have put their careers on hold to follow and support their Naval officer husbands.  In short, they are just like me.  And I adore them to no end.

With two pregnant wives in our little group, it provided the perfect excuse to join forces and throw a Sweet Pea themed baby shower.  Here are the details...

Invitation.  Since one of the expecting moms is holding out to find out the baby's gender, we decided to go with a gender neutral theme.  Yellows and greens provided the perfect color scheme and this invitation I designed set the tone nicely.

Decorations.  I designed this "Two Peas, Two Pods" banner to mimic the same patterns and colors in the invitation.  It hung across the fireplace alongside some adorable ruffled streamers made by my super crafty friend, Autumn (owner of Beauty by the Sea).

Another crafty friend, Jessica (owner of Addie B Designs), made these super cut tissue paper pom poms that hung over the dining room and a ridiculously delicious spread of food...

Food.  Looking through these photos just make me hungry.  There were turkey sliders, cucumber sandwiches, dips, salads, palmiers, cake, cake pops...nom nom nom...

 

And here are the food labels I made to match the theme...hand stamped and hand colored.

And here are some photos of all the ladies filling our plates before sitting down for some wholesome gabbing, eating and drinking.  :)

Photography Note.  Please note that all the photos were taken by the amazingly talented Teresa Gunderson.  You can visit her blog here.  She is also a freelance photographer so if you're located in either Rhode Island or Norfolk, Virginia and want some awesome family, maternity, baby, or whatever photos, Teresa is definitely your person!

Project 100 Update:  95 down , 5 to go.

As always, thanks for stopping by!   

{Hoppy} Birthday Party Themes - Easter/ Bunny

I am constantly amazed by the creativity and hard work that parents (moms, especially) are able and willing to put into throwing their kids the most amazing, fun, and beautiful birthday party celebrations.  It's even better when I get asked to help make some of the amazing paper products that tie the party together. 

Yesterday, my dear friend Laura hosted this super cute Hoppy Birthday Party for her two kids.  I don't think I've ever seen Charlotte so excited at a birthday party before!  There were bunny tails, bubbles, Easter eggs...everything was beyond adorable and kid friendly.  Here are all the details...

Banner.  Laura hung this bright and spring-y "Hoppy Birthday" banner right at the entrance of the community center to welcome the guests.  I cut the banner pennants to look like eggs to echo the Easter theme. 

Supplies:  Patterned Paper (We R Memory Keepers - Hippity Hop); Ribbon (American Crafts); Cricut (Create a Critter); Font (Elephants in Cherry Trees).

Laura also made this adorable photo banner that strung across the counter with the "adult" favors. 

Table Decorations.  Laura put together these vases filled with jelly beans, peeps and marshmallows to decorate the tables throughout the community center. 

She also printed and framed this Easter subway art print from eighteen25.

Food.  Sugar galore!  There was bunny themed food everywhere and it was delicious!  Charlotte especially loved the bunny bait (which kept her so quiet I got a bit worried for just a second).  I also made the food labels by hand stamping and coloring these adorable bunny stamps on white cardstock and mounting them on patterned paper.

Supplies for Food Labels:  Patterned Paper (We R Memory Keepers - Hippity Hop); Cardstock (American Crafts); Stamps (a muse, Lawn Fawn); Other (We R Memory Keepers Corner Chomper, Copic Markers).

This cake was delicious - a classic chocolate and vanilla cake from Katrina's Bakery in downtown Newport, RI.

Laura made these cute utensil rolls.  Just brilliant!!

Favors.  There were favors for both the adults and children.  Adults got bottles of local Delaware beer adorned with some favor tags I made using Photoshop and my trusty Silhouette Cameo.  The kids got bags filled with pinwheels, sunglasses and other goodies that they also used to fill with Easter eggs later during the party.  

Supplies for Favor Tags:  Patterned Paper (We R Memory Keepers - Hippity Hop); Digital Files (Bunny Silhouette - Lettering Delights, Font - Bosshole).

I also made these bunny ear props that the kids played with while running around outside.  SO CUTE!!!

 

 

Supplies for Bunny Ears:  Cardstock (American Crafts, Core'd'nations, Martha Stewart); Digital Files (Lettering Delights).

Laura also created these adorable carrot party hats and bunny tails.  I nearly died watching all the kids run around while wagging those cotton tails!

Activities.  The kids were busy the entire party blowing bubbles, searching for Easter eggs, beating up all the dads...

Birthday Boy and Girl.  And to end this post, here's a photo of the perfect birthday girl and boy. 

Laura, thank you so much for letting me be a part of this special celebration!!!  And to everyone else, as always, thanks for stopping by!

Project 100 Update:  92 down (I'm counting all the projects I made for the party as 12), 8 to go.

Birthday Party Themes - Blueberries for Sal

I love parties.  I love birthday parties.  And I especially love birthday parties that are centered around a book.  I've shared these creations on the blog before but wanted to show you how my super creative and talented friend, Jenni, put it all together for her daughter's "Blueberries for Sal" themed birthday party.

Invitations.  I created this invite that Jenni was able to just print at any online photo store (i.e. shutterfly, snapfish, costco) on matte photo paper.  There are also online companies that can print these digital files on cardstock for a pretty reasonable price (i.e. overnight prints, shutterfly). 

Banner.  Blue gingham, tin pails and yellow "2"s became recurring themes throughout the party and this banner set the tone nicely.

 

Food.  I think that everything and anything with blueberries was served at this adorable birthday party.  I'm talking homemade blueberry pie, muffins, scones, cake, blueberry lemonade spiked with vodka...YUM!!  Jenni made the food labels using blue gingham patterned paper, white cardstock, and little bucket images that I made to match the other party decor.

The bakery was able to match the bucket image.  How adorable is this?!  And may I say that the cake was also delicious!

Jenni's created this sweet food labels.  And the table spread was so gorgeous - especially with accents like this galvanized metal tiered stand.

Blueberries galore!

Charlotte certainly had her fill of blueberries.  :)

Games.  There were games and activities planned throughout the party just perfect for all the little toddlers - a stamping/ art station, story time, a present unwrapping game, and this super cute activity where each child got to "pick" their own special blueberry.  Cuteness overload.

Birthday Favors.  Each guest left with a jar of local Maine blueberry jam (!!!) and the kids got a tin pail filled with some of the birthday girl's favorite goodies - stamps, bubbles, stickers.  I just love how the favors looked with the tags I made.

Birthday Girl.  Jenni ordered the birthday girl this adorable shirt.  Makes me wish I had an embroidering machine and could actually sew.  Charlotte was clearly envious.  :)

If you want to read more about this Blueberry Birthday Party, please visit Jenni's blog.  

As always, thanks for stopping by!

The Mommy Diaries - Terrible Twos

The terrible twos.  Well let me tell you, they're pretty terrible.  

This past weekend, we attempted to take Charlotte down to New York City to visit Auntie Mel and some of my other college friends.  On the agenda - visiting the 9/11 memorial, wandering through the American Natural History Museum, shopping at FAO Schwartz, eating at some of New York's finest child friendly restaurants.  And what did we actually check off our list?  One item - the 9/11 memorial.  And I think that only happened because we had timed tickets and Charlotte slept through most of the visit.

Charlotte spent most of the time screaming any one of the following words/ phrases:

"No."

"I don't want it."

"Stop."

"Go, go, go."

"House now"  (which means home).

"Mommy.  Daddy.  Mommy.  Daddy"  (as Justin and I passed her back and forth).

And mind you, those screams were intermingled with tears, snot, hitting, biting, shrilling, shrieking - you name it, we had it.

I mean, I've read the articles.  These toddlers are terrible because they can't quite express themselves.  They can't communicate what they're feeling.  They're inherently bipolar at this age.  They're testing boundaries.  They're overwhelmed.  Etc, etc, etc.  

Suggestions on how to deal with the terrible twos?  The articles suggest using short time outs, staying calm, explaining why such actions are inappropriate, ignoring the behavior completely...the list goes on and on. 

We have tried it all.  I'm not quite sure how many time outs it takes to calm a two year old.  Maybe the same number of licks it takes to get to the center of tootsie roll pop.  But what I do know is that it's exhausting - especially when we are outside of our home.   

However...yes, thank goodness there is a however...all it takes to make the frustration and anger disappear (from my end) is, get this, one smile from Charlotte.  With one small giggle, she immediately mutates from an evil, loud and scary monster into this perfect little angel.  The transformation is eerily instantaneous.  And when the tears finally do stop, I feel a huge weight just lifted from my shoulders.

We ended up leaving New York City a day early and the second Charlotte saw the suitcases packed, she immediately calmed down.  She started smiling and talking again.  It took her three days of crying, but she finally got what she wanted.  Maybe we should not have given in and let this tiny little person control our lives.  But, on the other hand, she is our life.  And each scream and tear breaks my heart a little more.  

So to Auntie Mel who endured all of that terrible two-ness, thank you.  And as my sister said, I still can't believe you invited us back.  :)  And to my darling, sweet Charlotte.  I love you.  But you really need to get it together.  And for my sanity, I hope it happens a lot sooner than later.

Take Twelve Project - March 12

March 12 was just one of those days.  Things seemed to start against me and wouldn't let up as the day went on.  From disappointing doctor visits to breaking cameras, it was the last type of day that I would want scrapbooked and shared with the masses.  However, I think that is the beauty of Ella Publishing Co.'s Take Twelve Challenge - it encourages us to document our lives as they are - the good and the bad, the bright and the dismal.

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The design inspiration for the layout was actually a JCrew store window in Cambridge, Massachusetts filled with accordion rosettes of various shapes and sizes swirling against a black backdrop.  There is additional meaning behind this design, however.  For the most part, March 12 felt like a really dark and dreary day filled with black and gray clouds hanging over me.  However, despite my own self-pity, there were the bright moments of sunshine that made me remember that my life isn't that bad and that I too can overcome this day.

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The array of yellow accordion flowers in my layout represents these moments of sunshine on my gloomy March 12th day - lunch with dear friends, Charlotte's silliness, watching her play with Justin.  And so, even though it wasn't the perfectly balanced day that I wish every day was, March 12 was a reflection of my life and I think is definitely worth remembering.

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Supplies:  Patterned Paper (Echo Park, My Mind's Eye, Crate Paper, Sassafras); Letter Stickers (American Crafts); Buttons (Basic Grey); Other (Fiskars Punches; We R Memory Keepers Floss).

You can find my other Take Twelves layouts here and here.

Remember, you have until midnight EST Sunday, March 18 to upload your project here to win the awesome prize given away at Ella Publishing worth $50!!  Hope you get to play along!!

Project 100 Update:  80 down, 20 to go.

And the Giveaway Goes to...

MommyManderz:  I am officially inspired!!! I love your talent and craftsmanship! You always have the best ideas!

Please email me at vanlikethecar at gmail dot com with your mailing address and I'll send along your prize!

To everyone else, thank you so much for joining me along the Scrapbook Steals blog hop.  I read each and every comment and they truly mean so much to me.

Have a lovely weekend!

Project Life - Week 5 & 6

It's amazing how quickly life (and Project Life) just sneaks up on you.  I'm still playing catch up but just ordered a ton of photos for Weeks 7, 8 and 9.  But I'm still loving how this simple format really allows me to keep current on journaling about our lives.  Here are the pages for Weeks 5 and 6.

Project Life - Week 5.  I continue to use the 8.5 x 11 page protectors when I want to add additional memorabilia to the page.  This time, it include two art projects that Charlotte and I did.  I find that if I don't include them in some sort of album, these types of things just pile up in a dark box in the back of the closet.  For the papers, I relied primarily on my Simple Stories Year.O.Graphy kit.  That company seriously makes it super simple to create fun yet simple albums and layouts.  Still loving them a lot.

 

Week 5 Highlights:  Home Depot Workshop, Road Trip to Asian Market and Costco, Superbowl Party with the Welsch Family.

Project Life - Week 6.   Again, I used Simple Stories Year.O.Graphy for this layout.  Sadly, what I realized is that if I don't write down what we do on a daily basis, I easily forget.  So there isn't too much journaling on these pages.  Hopefully that will change.

Week 6 Highlights:  Mel's visit over the weekend.  It's always a blast when she comes!

Some other announcements.  Remember, today is MARCH 12th which means that it's time for another TAKE 12 CHALLENGE!!  For more details, visit Ella Publishing Co. here.

Also, there is still time to enter my GIVEAWAY for some Basic Grey Buttons and Brads.  Just make sure to comment on this post here.

Project 100 Update:  79 down, 21 to go.

As always, thanks for stopping by!