You know me, when somebody says party my brain goes into overdrive!!   When planning a party I always think about a theme first.  Whether that theme is a color palette or a style doesn’t matter….just something that makes bringing everything else together easier.  I immediately thought of a vintage baby boy theme since I have some cool vintage glass plates and cups that I have been DYING to have an excuse to use, so this was perfect!   You can find them pretty easily at most antique stores.

I found this cute little shop online, Pretty Little Studio, that makes the most adorable vintage baby flashcards and all kinds of fun stuff.  I had her custom make some invitations for me and I think they turned out SO cute!!

We served simple breakfast foods that were yummy…a parfait bar with yogurt, fresh berries and granola, bite sized cinnamon rolls and other pastries, and a yummy drink.  To go along with the theme I made a little label for each food item

I just made them in photoshop and printed them out on cute scrapbook paper.  I also made one for the gift table:

Now my favorite part…the favors!!   John thinks I’m crazy because I spend hours making things like this, but this is honestly the most fun part for me.   These are very easy and inexpensive to make, but they are time consuming.  If you have the time and love to be crafty then these are perfect for you!

to make the giant cookies find the recipe here

for the bags you will need:

a roll of parchment paper

thread

a sewing machine

ribbon

a hole punch

pinking shears

any deocrations you want for the bags

Cut parchment paper into 6.5×14″ strips.  fold in half and stitch the sides up using a colorful thread and a zig-zag stitch.   trim off the excess on the sides with the pinking shears.  slip a cookie into the pouch.  fold the top of the bag over and punch two holes at the top about an inch apart.  feed the ribbon through the holes and tie into a bow on the front sideof your bag.  decorate as you like.

like I said, pretty easy, just time consuming but I think the result is WELL worth it!

It’s easy to do this for any shower boy or girl, or even if you don’t know what it is just make a mix of boy and girl vintage tags!   It would also be cute for a little girl’s birthday party if you played some vintage games and added a few more decorations and changed the food a bit!

Hopefully that gets your creative juices flowing for your next party!

Have a great day!
-t

Yesterday I received a package I had been waiting for…some super cute new hats for Pink Peppermint.  I ran Ash outside to snap a few pics for the store on the driveway.  Within a few minutes I had a crowd all asking me to take their pictures too…it was too cute!  Here are a few of these cuties…more to come.  

this little one is such  HAM!  she was totally working it for the camera…LOVE her!

this little one has the most piercing eyes…i could shoot him all day.

I am LOVING these new newsboy caps with the cute little brim!

those freckles…those blue eyes…the teeth!!  i am dying over here!!!

i love how kids are just so comfortable in front of the camera and actually ASK you to take their pictures.  I wish we could get more comfortable as adults in front of the lens!!

more to come…

(oh, and there’s a mother’s day sale running now through Sunday…more details here: Mother’s Day Sale )

have a great day!
-t

I think these last several years of attending and shooting elaborate parties have taught me that kids are really very happy with the simple pleasures.   Sure, they love bounce houses and ponies and magicians, (and I love to plan paties like that!!!) but put a table full of goodies in front of them and let them decorate a homemade cupcake and they are JUST as happy.  Just something to keep in mind for those of you planning birthday’s in the near future…that would be me.

Enjoy this gorgeous party!

Mom attended to every gorgeous detail…LOVE the white hydrangeas in a lime green ribbon wrapped box!

the butterflies on the straws…Stunning!

cute little bowls to hold the goodies courtesey of Anthropologie

the darling birthday princess

a finished masterpiece

i LOVE the lighting in these shots…YUM!!!  after decorating cupcakes the kids gathered to make bead necklaces on PIPE CLEANERS.  Genius!!  For little kids they stay stiff enough for them to feed the beads onto…great tip to remember!!  You can then twist multiple strands together to make a necklace that’s long enough.

Hope you’re feeling inspired to plan your next event!

Have a great day!
-t

Pictures and tutorial courtesey of Skip to My Lou one VERY crafty girl and blog.  You will LOVE it.  She has all kinds of wonderful tutorials for you, especially if you’re not a lazy seamstress like me!!!

Problem is, I’m too lazy to make all the ones I have seen until now.  I found the perfect, cute, easy to make with little sewing tutorial.  Since I am a fake seamstress this works out well for me.

You need three pieces of wool felt 6″ X 16 1/2 (pocket), 5″ X 16 1/2″ (outside), 5″ x 16 1/2″ (inside). Another plus about the felt from Prairie Point Junction is that the sheets are 12″ X 18″.  Not only are the felt sheets at the craft store not as durable they are too small for this project.  I thought about using the felt on the bolt, but again I was wanting something that would hold up to little hands and it seemed too thick.

Take the 6 X 16 1/2 piece (pocket) and fold it in half length ways. Lay it on top of the 5″ X 16 1/2 (inside) piece. Starting over 1 1/4″ from the edge stitch from top to the bottom on the pocket piece. Then continuing stitching every 1″.  Back stitch at the top of each stitching line to reinforce.  You will end with 1 1/4″ on the other side.

If you want the outside of your roll to have any embellishments make them now on your outside piece. It would be beautiful to use some of the felt scraps for applique or do some embroidery.

Place the pocket piece that you just sewed on top of your outside piece (wrong sides together). The pocket piece might be slightly smaller from all of the stitching of the pockets —-I just gave mine a little stretch (gently) to match everything up. Pin to keep it all in place.

On the right edge at the middle insert a 30″ piece of ribbon folded in half. Insert the folded end about 1/2 an inch.

Sew all the way around the outside 1/4″ in from the edge.

A nice blanket stitch would dress up the edge or you can use pinking shears (make sure they are for fabric and they are sharp). Be careful when you come to the ribbon you will have to do each side separately.

Note:
I doubled the pocket to make it sturdier and give the crayons extra padding to make them stay in.  This seems to work well, however you could always use a 3″ X 16 1/2″ piece for the pocket.  I would sew a ribbon across the top edge for extra stability before I make the pockets.

These would be cute valentines for your little ones!!
I’ll post pictures of mine when I get around to actually making it. 

Have fun!!
-t

Materials:

1. Paper punch I used a heart for valentines, but with the number of punches on the market, the possibilites are endless!!
2. You can use any papers ou have on hand for this craft. Vintage sheet music looks really cool for a more elegant versin. You can find it at flea markets, thrift stores, yard sales or etsy.com.
3. Ribbon
4. Glitter
5. Scissors (if you have pinking shears those would add a fun look too)
6. Clothespin or binder clip
7. White Glue (I use aleene’s tacky glue, elmer’s would work fine too I’m sure)
8. Hole Punch
9. any fun embellishments to hang from the ribbon

Directions:

1. Roll one sheet of paper into a cone shape, gradually working with it to get it to taper off to a point. Glue with a thin layer of tacky glue, using a clothespin, binder clip or paperclip to hold in place until dry.
2. Punch or cut heart shapes from coordinating paper and glue around rim or down the front seam of the paper cone. To create three dimensional look, I folded my hearts slightly in the middle so that they stuck out from the cone,   Apply a thin line of glue along edge and hold in place for a few seconds until the glue begins to dry.
3. When completely dry, apply white glue to desired areas and dust with glitter.    4.   Punch a hole on each side of the cone and thread ribbon through holes to hang.    5.   Fill with goodies and enjoy!

Obviously you can make many different variations of this.  Just think of the posibilities.  How cute would these be made in the theme of your choice, hanging from the backs of chairs as place card holders.  So fun!!

enjoy!!

-t

Aren’t those papers so cute???  If you head on over to her blog you can see the full lines. 

Have a great day!

-t

The napkins are are cute too!!  find some old school cupid fabric and make some for your homemade valentines dinner.  Michael Miller makes some cute vintage fabric!

feeling inspired???  have a great day!

-t

I originally did it as a twist on an orange bowl party, and since the Orange Bowl is tomorrow…if you’re a football fan and having a little get together (or if you just want to have a party to get rid of the post Christmas winter blues) here’s an idea for you it’s certain to brighten your day…it doesn’t have to be ALL about the football.

You can find all of these goodies pretty cheaply around town.  Orange take out boxes are from Michaels, fill them with clementines that are in season right ow for a fun favor, the orange chargers are from Party City…I believe they were under $2 a piece, white napkins in a 12 count package from Homegoods for under $10, I mixed in some of my silver mercury glass Christmas ornaments and candle holders for fun, white pillar candles from IKEA for like $1 each, you can find the paper lanterns at most party stores for a reasonable price, Izze at Costco, World Market or BevMo, and you’re all set for some last minute fun tomorrow!

Have a great day!

-t

Hope that brings a

and extra Merry Christmas to:

Winner of Pink Peppermint Design Giveaway: Melissa

Winner of the Red Possum Capelet Giveaway: Sandi

Winner of the Flora Bond Giveaway: Cindy Barriga

and….

the winner of the big kahuna $200 worth of free tuition to {Picture Perfect}……………………………

The Monkey’s Mama!!!!!

Congrats to all!!!  Contact me with your info so I can get these things out to you!

With the illness that hit me hard for the first two weeks of the year, I ended up throwing cards out the window this year.  So, if you didn’t get one from me, don’t feel bad…no one did!  

I wanted to share what I had designed here…sort of an e-card for all of you, my online family.     I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  Thank you for your love and support.  Your comments and emails truly bring a smile to my face.  Thank you for spending a little piece of your day with me each day.    I’m signing off for a little bit to spend some time with my family, but I’ll pop in every now and then just cause I’ll miss you all!   I’ll be back soon with lots of great things in store for the new year. 

until then….

Merry Christmas

-t

I’ve been loving working with felt lately!

Leave a comment here letting me know your favorite….I know some of the names are obnoxiously long…so you don’t have to use the entire name    If you FB or blog about it let me know so I can give you som extra entries. 

Again, winner will be announced on Monday.  Winner must contact me within 48 hours of post to collect your prize or a new winner will be chosen.  Good luck!

**Just realized I forgot to announce the winner of Mia Regazza last week!! YIKES!!!  Congrats to Kim “I love that holiday peasant dress.” Send me your contact info and I’ll get that skirt out to you!

Have a great day!

-t