Little Boy Quotes :)

Personalized Mom Ring

Just wanted to share a FANTASTIC gift idea for any mom or grandma! I have had people ask me wear I got the ring on my blog home page, so I wanted to share!:) I found a store on Etsy that makes personalized jewelry and they have the cutest stuff! The Esty store is called Cinnamon*sticks… http://www.etsy.com/shop/cinnamonsticks?ref=pr_shop_more. You can get multiple names on one ring or order multiple rings and stack them.  I absolutely LOVE the ring I ordered. It is simple, but so sentimental. They are sterling silver and run pretty true to size and so affordable! I think mine was about $25, including shipping…talk about a steal!! I will warn you that production and shipping took about 5 weeks. So if you’re getting it as a gift for someone, be sure to order early!!:)

Kason’s First Birthday… A Mustache Bash!!

I am one of those lucky moms who get to plan a birthday party around the holidays;). Kason’s birthday is on Dec. 20th, so I had a hard time deciding when to have his party due to all of the Christmas festivities going on. I had picked the theme months ago, so I needed to pick a date for this Mustache Bash:). I decided to have the party on Dec. 30th, the wknd after Christmas. I was hoping this would give me a little more planning time since I am a BIG DIY-er and I had so many cute ideas in mind.  I didn’t find the time or energy to bring all of the projects to life, but what I did get finished turned out super cute!

 For any mama looking for a fun birthday party idea for your son… the Mustache Bash was a hit! The parents enjoyed it, as well as the kids! It seems to be a popular trend right now, making it easier to find ideas and supplies. It’s a fun theme to work with bc you can incorporate any colors or patterns you want to. We went with Red, aqua & teal and it was a lot of fun  to mix different patterns. I was able to find polka dots, stripes, chevron, mustaches and bow ties in at least one of the colors in our color scheme. I found a lot of the DIY supplies I needed at Hobby Lobby and also went to Etsy.com for a few things too. For the party supplies I visited Wal-Mart and Party City to find what I needed, then turned to Ebay for some specialized things. If you want to know more about the DIY projects or where you can purchase certain things, I have mad a list of supplies and projects below…just scroll down:)

 

MUSTACHE PARTY PROJECTS

Mustache Confetti- I made my own mustache confetti by buying a mustache paper punch at Hobby lobby. I also made round confetti by coordinating colors of the party (I used scrapbook paper) and using a standard whole punch. It did take some time but if you are all about coordinating and detail like me, its worth it.

Mustache Straws- I ordered the mustaches (3 inches) from http://www.etsy.com/people/itrhymeswithorange  bc the paper punch were too small. I found the popular heavy striped straws at Target in the party section. Took the two, added a dot of hot glue and stuck them in a mason jar with paper confetti shreds at the bottom. I added mustache stickers to the drinks cups as well.

Mustache Pops- These were a BIG hit! I ordered a mustache pop mold off of eBay (they have them at Hobby Lobby online too). The mold has four pop spots, so you can make 4 pops at a time. I used Ghiradelli milk chocolate and Wilton’s white chocolate melting chocolates in blue. To display them I bought a square piece of styrofoam in the craft section at Wal-Mart and covered it with coordinating wrapping paper. All you have to do is push the pop sticks down and they go into the styrofoam quite easily.

Candy Buffet- I waited till all the glassware was on sale at Hobby Lobby and picked up mismatched jars and bowls. I already had some laying around the house as well. I purchased mis-matched ribbon at different craft stores and affixed them to the jars. I made sure to pull the ribbon tight around the jar and then I put a dot of hot glue b/t the two pieces of ribbon…that way you can just slide the ribbon off when you’re done and you still have your jars and vases in perfect condition. ** I found the mustache ribbon at Hobby Lobby for $3/10 yards (vs the $2.50 +shipping for one yard on Etsy.) I purchased most of the candy at Party City. They actually have a CANDY BUFFETT section with solid colored candy and you can mix and match! Thats where I got the rock candy sticks, pixi stix, gumballs, m&ms sour ropes and sixlets. I picked up the twizzlers & candy canes at Wal-Mart. I used little popcorn bags/boxes from Party City for the kids to put their candy in. I bought mustache envelope seals at Hobby Lobby and stuck those on the front to make them mustache popcorn boxes:). I also ordered little paper chevron treat bags from http://www.etsy.com/shop/LetsPartyCreations?ref=seller_info for the candy as well. (They also have the striped straws available too).

The Cake- Pinterest is a great place to find ideas for cakes! I wanted to stay with simple when it came to the cake for 2 reasons. #1 If they have to use fondant frosting its a waste bc you can’t eat that part of the frosting (ok, you technically can, but its gross). #2 I didnt want the icing to be all colored bc I found out during Kason’s smash cake photo shoot we had, that blue and red icing stayed under his fingernails and toes nails for almost a week, lol. I wanted color, but stuck with white for the base. Donna Kay’s custom cakes did a wonderful job and it tasted awesome!! http://www.facebook.com/#!/DonnaKaysCustomCakes?fref=ts

The Signs and Banner- I actually found the templates for the two signs  online through a google search. (STACHE some candy for later & Grab a stache and join the bash) I print them out and then glues them to colored or patterned scrapbook paper. It was VERY hard to find paper to really match my party stuff, color wise and pattern wise. I ended up ordering digital scrapbook paper from http://www.etsy.com/listing/116083409/little-man-mustache-themed-digital? and it was EXACTLY what I was looking for. You just pay the $7 and she will send you the digital files and you can print out as many pages of all of the designs as you want. I di mine on my own printer, but you can print at Kinkos or Staples to save your ink cartridge.

Invitations- It took me forever to choose one bc many on Esty arent custom when it comes to colors. I found the one above on Etsy at http://www.etsy.com/listing/103068293/little-man-photo-invitation-printable? She was great to work with! She made all the changes that I wanted and was so quick with the communication. They also come as a digital file to print. I took them to Staple printing center and had them printed there. I paired them with envelopes with the mustache sticker seals and threw in some of my mustache confetti for a little surprise for the receivers;)

Birthday Outfit- I was so happy with Kason’s outfit, for both the party and his birthday pictures! I ordered the chevron mustache shirt from http://www.etsy.com/listing/121256622/personalized-mustache-1st-birthday? She can do the shirt with any number for the age, and pattern for the number and any thread color for the name and outline. The party hat and diaper cover set I ordered from http://www.etsy.com/people/PeanutsBoutique . She has the cutest sets to choose from…hats, ties, diaper covers, bow ties, you name it! I loved his little party hat, def. a 1st bday keep-sake for sure!

Birthday Pictures- I was so excited about Kase’s birthday shoot. We always go to Danielle at http://www.facebook.com/#!/photosbydanielle?fref=ts bc she is so good with Kason. I knew I wanted to do the smash cake, but I wanted to balloons too. I told her exactly what I wanted and she delivered, as always:) I will have a separate Birthday shoot post sometime soon.

DIY Christmas Pictures

I have always loved taking pictures. My poor child sees more of the flash than Kim Kardashian!;) I had his Christmas pictures taken back in October but I came up with a picture setting idea after that. So I decided to have out own little mini shoot. I stripped him down to his diaper, put a santa night cap on him and gave him some old-fashioned Christmas lights and started clicking away! I am so excited about some of the shots I managed to get…and he was excited about get to run around in his diaper;)

Do a Good Deed- Everyday Kings, Do Something!!:)

Hey there to anyone who might stumble upon my blog and to my 4 followers;) I just heard about the blog “Every Day Kings” from a friend and went to check it out bc there was a great cause involved. I went there bc the author is donating all proceeds from her blog this month to a woman who recently lost her husband. All you had to do was click on her blog and you were helping out. Simple enough, so I did. I must say that it is the most inspiring blog I have ever read! I read about the story of the woman the author of Everyday King was helping. After reading that particular post, I wanted to know more about the author. After reading her “About Me” and “Family” posts, I was hooked. Honestly, I spent the next few hours reading various articles and posts on her blog. This woman is truly an inspiration, a special person with a unique soul. I found myself relating to her without being in the same situations that she has faced, overcame and blogged about. Her words are so powerful and have touched me in way that I am able to use them to find hope and positivity in the personal battles and situations in my own life. It’s funny how some things are just meant to happen. I had no idea who this person was or that her blog even existed, I just stumbled upon it trying to do a good deed. It goes to show you that a simple good deed can go far. In this case, me trying to help another ended up benefitting me in ways that I never expected… and will continue to benefit me- as long as Vee, author of Everyday Kings, shares her words.

Click the link below to visit her blog. She says that her blog brings in very little money each month, but what it does bring in during the month of December will be donated to her friend that lost her husband, to help with the costs of the funeral, etc. There more clicks, the more money…so click multiple times a day and just let the page load!! It’s an easy way of helping someone w/o doing anything at all. Maybe you’ll get something more from it, as I did!!:)

Everyday Kings: DO SOMETHING

http://veronking2003.blogspot.com/2012/12/do-something.html

Shadowbox for Baby Hospital Hats:)

Ok, so a year later I am finally getting around to finding a way to display my baby boy’s precious newborn hospital hat:). I actually went a step farther a decided to use all 3 newborn hats… the hat from when he was born, the hat he wore home from the hospital and the hat he wore for his newborn pictures.

The project cost less than $20!:) I bought a shadow box for $15, on sale at Hobby Lobby, and added some cute extras…flower embellishments (found in the scrapbook section), ribbon, scrapbook paper and a wooden “K” that I bought in the unfinished wooden craft section (I added paint to it). I afixed the hats to the back with pins that i pinned on the inside of each hat. After playing around with, and then deciding on, the placement of the extras I hot glued them to ensure they stay in place. Such a cute and quick way to display precious keepsakes that would otherwise just be boxed away!:)

DIY Christmas Card Holder

I know a lot of people forego sending the traditional holiday cards out these days. I, for one, was super excited to send out Christmas cards this year! Its Kason’s first Christmas and I used Shutterfly.com to create a picture collage card with Kason’s Christmas pictures. Those are typically the cards we received during the holidays too… cards with pictures of the children of our friend’s and family. I wanted to put Kason’s card on display and decided to make a Christmas card holder so that we could display the other cards that we will shortly be receiving as well.

This is an inexpensive, easy & quick project with a super cute final product! All you need is…
- Large picture frame (just the frame, no glass)
-Assorted Christmas ribbon
-Scissors & tape
-Any extra embellishments (I used letters to spell “JOY” at the bottom

I used an open frame that is on my wall year round. I just removed what is normally there and will put it back after the holidays. Bigger the better so that you can fir more than a couple cards on it. Place the frame face down and just tape the ribbon, hoizontally, to the back of the fame. I added a little cheer boy taping glitter letters, hanging from ribbon, to the bottom. After the holidays, all I have to do is remove the tape and, presto… I have my original frame back!:)
FYI… I have clothes pins to hang the cards that that are flat stationary and not folded**