Biggest Girl Birthday

We had our biggest girls birthday a few weeks ago. We decided on a flamingo theme. Happy party, happy hearts. 

It was a chocolate cake that was amozing, yes, amozing. I have made it since. It was a 4 layer chocolate cake with our own pink icing.  We found the flamingo little sticks somewhere but my daughter helped decorate the cake. I like how a flock of flamingos set themselves up right there on our cake. 

I used green fabric on super sale, thank you Chrysalis, for our table cloths. My daughters and I cut out scrap fabrics of pinks and corals and created the garland overhead. I love making those, not only for my sake but little hands and hearts can help too. 

My aunt was here and her birthday is a couple days from my daughters so we celebrated them together. This was a peach crystal. We named it that. Its a twist on my strawberry crumble.  Its an embarrassment as to how many times I have made this dessert. Ahh, delightful. The candles also melted into the peach crystal because it was so hot. We were eager!

The flowers were just.... there are no words. I am so thankful for this house and this yard the Lord has given us to cultivate. My husband has a knack for the yard and gardening. A hobby that came later in life for him but I am grateful to reap the rewards. These flowers were from some of our harvest.

Happy birthday biggest girl! 

Baby Girl Birthday: stars and hearts

We had the season of baby girl birthdays here in June and July. It was fun for them and for me!

For little girl turning 2, she loves stars and hearts. She wants you to draw them, she wants to color them, and she wants to say them. 

All the flowers came from our yard. I was so impressed! My husband has worked very hard in the yard the last few years and it shows. 

I bought small wooden hearts and stars at the craft store and my girls and I used watercolors to paint them. After they dried, we glued sequins on. I used these on the table and the cakes. Plus, it was a fun activity a 2 and 5 year old could do together. 

I finally broke down and bought lots of clear glass jelly jars. It was time. I used them here for flowers but have already used them for straws, forks and more flowers. Good decision. 

We had hotdogs for lunch and I ( or rather I put my mom and dad to work on it) cut out stars from the watermelon. They were cute and festive. 

Our cake was coconut cake and it was something special. Divine. 

I had a new cake plate to bust out. Love the color. I found stars and hearts glow sticks and put them in a jar near the cake. The party hats were decorated with stars and hearts. 

My older daughter made the fabric weaving a few days before and wanted to use it for sisters cake. Sweet. I also made chocolate cake in tin cans. I had seen it on pinterest and wanted to try it. It was fun to experiment and my cake was good. They were a tad tall and wanted to tip over. Either way, my daughters got a kick out of so many candles to blow out.

Happy 2 year old birthday!

Party Shelf

A couple of weeks ago, I was ready to clean everything out. 

And then, I did one room, and haven't done another since. 

I sold a few things on ebay, gave others away and still I have too much stuff. Perhaps its the artist in me?

Either way, I did clean out one of my kitchen shelves. I now call it my party shelf. 

I love that I have a party shelf now.  I keep the upcoming party supplies in there or leftover ones. Its just a happy spot. Even my husband refers to the party shelf. Thats a real win. 

One day, instead of having a wrapping paper room or whatever specialty room that seems ostentatious, I would like to have a party supply room. It would hold all things like this but also the handmade, homemade decor I have made over the years. And when I get too many of them, I would send them out to orphanages or homeless shelters for their own happy days. 

10th birthday party

Last week, we had a 10th birthday party at mi casa. I used the colors out of the napkins for the decor and tried to keep it simple. I had to clean AND decorate. 

This garland took longer than I had hoped so I made him a tad short. I used felt and cut out of the tens and squares and sewed them all together. Our theme was 10. 

I made little signs for each type of food we had. We had a mexican supper so there were lots of toppings. I like that the numbered signs weren't perfect. I like the homemade look for some things. 

And here is our food. The vase of flowers was a glass bottle I painted for a quick pop of color. Easy and I liked. 

For the dining room, I didn't do much but used the same felt from the above garland and made tens to hang from the ceiling. I also used fabric I already had in my stash to cover the table and bought tulips for the center. Tulips are a nice change ( they don't really grow around here in the muggy heat) and they are happy. 

Happy 10th birthday!

valentine's day

I know this is after the fact but one of the reasons I have this blog is to remind myself of things I have made and created to celebrate special days around my house. And we had a special valentine's day here. We had our cousins and another family over to decorate cupcakes. It was easy and delightful. 

My daughter and I pieced together this heart garland. I simply cut hearts from felt and she handed them to me as I sewed them together. It stood out so well against the white, and was a nice pop of happy pink and red.

Have I talked about this runner? I can't remember. The top was finished for the soiree but I still haven't finished the back. That's the boring part so therefore, I haven't sewn it yet. I already have plans for my next runner. It was nice because cupcakes and icing didn't get on it from the kids but it provides some pizazz. Plus, I can still sew something for the table. I could have used boring old brown paper but that is certainly not as fun for me.

I must admit, I made the cupcakes from a box. Gasp. I can't believe I was okay with it but they were good. Plus, one of my nephews is gluten free and I found the box to be easier. I will say, and I was shocked, the gluten free chocolate cupcake was better then the red velvet normal ones. 

Hope your valentines was stress free and enjoyable!

Thanksgiving Table

I am hosting Thanksgiving this year. No pressure. Actually, I could care less about the food but more about how the table is set. Its really all about the fabric, right? This will be the first Thanksgiving at our house.

I did Christmas one year and a certain, dear loved one was not a fan of my standing rib roast. I will admit the apple something dressing was a tad strange. 

I just got my new plates in the mail today. I was down some from my original set of plates I got when I got married. So, I introduce my new plates. 

I know, I know. A tad bland for me. However, I am excited about colorful glasses, which I have found are hard to find. And I am excited about colorful napkins and linens. Again, its all about the fabric. 

My vision for my table, included the napkin and plates above, involves a turquoise cake plate, 

a few small leftover pumpkins, and 

perhaps these if I can get them in time. I am trying to delay, that way I won't buy them.

We might be eating strange food for Thanksgiving but at least my table will be amazing:)

Butterfly Birthday Party

We had a butterfly themed birthday party for my mother in law and her twin sister last weekend. I bought the fabric seen below on the napkins and therefore, our colors were turquoisey green, pink, purple and green. 

I wrapped the utensils in the napkins and then tied with strips of our fabric. My 4 year old and I did it together. We also made Japanese lanterns out of construction paper and hung with raffia. It was a nice touch. 

Our cake was a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I decorated the cake with flowers from my yard and thyme( the green stuff.) The butterflies I bought at Joanns which I suppose they are used for wreaths. We also had butterfly wings everyone wore and of course, I don't have a picture. They were cute. 

For the table, I covered it with the pink, purple and green floral. I used vases and cake plates to hold cut flowers from my yard. I always enjoy the final touches of a party- walking outside when there is chaos inside and clipping flowers to put out for people to enjoy. And hopefully, when I come back inside, someone has finished cooking the food!

And supper is ready! The food was good and I especially liked the rolls on the divine cake plate. 

rainy day ice cream social

During the rainy season aka this whole summer, we were bored. We had ice cream leftover from the night before and we had some spare toppings in the pantry. Therefore, we created an ice cream social. It was a delightful pick me up for a long afternoon. We started with the fabric and then built a turquoisey/blue and orange theme. It was happy and a bright break from the gray outside.

Pony Party

We had a happy pony party for my daughters birthday. We surprised her with a real live pony who came to visit Saturday morning and we took a few rides near the pond across the street from our house. It was an event! It was a super special memorable soiree. 

The cake. I used flowers from our yard along with plastic ponies I bought online. The icing was a pale pink and the turquoise cake plate was a birthday present I hadn't used yet. I am thinking of when I can use it next.

Isn't the cake pretty? I also created a lei for my daughter. The flower necklace was made from 2 different colored carnations. I strung the carnations together with a needle and thread. She had been asking for one and it went along with our fresh flower theme. 

The inside of the cake was a surprise. And surprise! It was rainbow. It really was a beautiful cake. 

 My daughter and I worked on the decor together. We painted styrofoam cups and then I strung them together with thread. I hung them from the doorways, mantle and large mirror over the buffet where the cake lived. 

just now saw the plastic bin in the fireplace- we had a leak, might have been nice to move it.

I used 2 extra cups for small flower arrangements for the table. The fabric on the table was glorious and super happy. I got it from Hawthorne Threads. Love those people- quick and great selection. 

I dyed coffee filters and let them dry. I then sewed them together to create the runner seen below and on my kitchen island. Surprisingly, it went pretty quick. 

We were able to squeeze in our rides in between the rain. It certainly kept the heat away and the bugs. This was the view from our front porch although you can't see the horse in this shot. He was there though!

Here was the spread plus a dirty counter in the background. Whatevs.

We had fruit, donuts, egg casserole, bacon, cereal and breads. It was fun to have a breakfast party. We had just our family so the pressure was off to have it all ready when they arrived and have a clean house:)

For drinks, I had different types of juices in little sippers. And of course, pink chevron straws. 

 Happy Pony Party! We all had a really nice time and it was a special party. My precious little girl loved it and my husband commented on a job well done and he is usually happy with a Pepperidge Farm cake. So hooray! 

Kitty Baby Girl Birthday #1, or really 2, or maybe 1?

We are in high birthday mode around here. We are rounding the bend towards the last birthday. My youngest, who turned 1, is Baby Girl #2, but her birthday is first in the summer. 

I paint a painting for each girls birthday. For my oldest daughter, we had a mermaid party and therefore had a mermaid painting. I take her picture by it every birthday and I plan to do the same with the kitty and my 2nd daughter. 

The dining room had fabric garlands I made from felt and scraps. It was fun to make and went so quickly! It would also be cute to use the fabric garland as ribbon on wrapped presents. 

I bought honeycomb tissue balls which were a nice addition but I must say were expensive. I am going to have to use those puppies for Christmas and other birthday parties! I am using this weekend for our next baby girl birthday. 

I took a picture of my daughter every week ( well I took a lot more than that ) but I made sure I took her photo on the day she was born every week. It fell on a Thursday and honestly, was the highlight of that day. What will she wear? Where will we be? I hung all the pictures up on the window and they were so delightful to look at and see how she has grown and who she looks like. 

 For the table, I always like to buy fabric and that way its an excuse to buy fabric. I am thinking of making a bag out of this one. I cut flowers from my yard and put them in cans. Simple and really sweet. I bought plastic kitties that were on the table and little hands could and still do play with them. 

The garland swagged from my dining room into my kitchen and living room. It was so happy! And I see that picture is crooked on the wall and it still is:)

The cake was a kitty cake with coconut on top for the fur. That tail seemed to get me but I was impressed with my quick work. I dyed the frosting pink and dyed the coconut as well. It was a baking experiment!

For the food, I decided to have a salad bar. My one year old loves blueberries and she eats cut up food with no sauces or spices. It dawned on me ( and maybe my sister too!) to have a salad bar. It was a hit! I got the take out boxes from the Publix salad bar and they sold them to me for cheap! FYI for your next shindig.

Happy Birthday to my sweet pie!