A Mermaid Party

I recently decorated and catered a special 3 yr old's Mermaid themed birthday party. Check out the details below:

Tissue paper tassle garlands are my new favorite go-to for cheap, DIY party decor!

 This isn't the first time Ive used gold fish in party decor, and the Mermaid theme was the perfect opportunity to incorporate it again.

 Clam shell cookies! Made by your's truly!

 These mermaid tail cupcake toppers are edible and handmade!

 Cake by yours truly! It's been a while since Ive had the chance to to a cake, and this one was SO fun to create. The cake itself is a 3-layer blue ombre.

 Favor table: there are hand-made sea shell shaped crayons in each burlap pouch for the kiddos to take home with them!

No party is complete without a custom chalkboard :)

and last but not least: a hand drawn, two-sided photo board for the kiddos:

Thanksgiving decor and other random fun

Well, this thanksgiving was certainly a memorable one. It's thanksgiving eve and there I am in my kitchen putting fancy chalkboard label vinyls on new Rubbermaid containers that will be used as leftover holders for the fam the next day. I finish and decide to get out my big glass beverage dispenser to make some apple spa water, all fancy like, and bam---a four hour emergency room stay and 9 stitches later, Mr. A and I return home to clean up my murder scene of a kitchen where said beverage holder shattered in my hand. Sister-in-law to the rescue! Mom and dad to the rescue! Mom and dad inlaws to the rescue! Husband to the rescue!

Thanksgiving was a hit despite the fact that I was high on Vicodin and couldn't do I thing. And my 22 year old sister in law made her first turkey, and we sat around WELL into the night talking and laughing!

Here are a few pics I managed to snap to capture the 

A Fun Felted Banner!

If you are looking for a cheap and quick embellishment to holiday or party decorations, PLEASE consider this fun felt banner. It took no time at all to make, and cost next to nothing.

Supplies: You will need felt (.25 cents at Joann), a small spool of yarn (1.29), a yarn needle (.99 cents for the plastic ones), and a Sharpie.

Simply make a template to cut out your "flags" from your felt. I used scissors to cut my felt, but a rotary cutter also works great and speeds things up quite a bit. 

After cutting out your flags, simply string them together with your yarn and yarn needle. I am NO sewer (sorry Mom, still trying), but this was crazy easy. I didn't measure anything, and didn't always sew in a straight line, but Im from the thinking that eye-balling it makes it look more playful/natural. swear.

Last, get to work with that Sharpie marker, writing out a message if you wish. You could also leave these bare to just use as decorative garland. 

Happy Bday Banner'ing!

Wreath {Love}

Well, it all started with a fall wreath for my front door. I decided to tackle the tedious process of cutting out a million little burlap squares and hoping they made something that resembled a wreath when I was done.

Behold: Our fall wreath!

I loved the wreath but was left with the crazy urge to make more wreaths! I had so much fun cutting and pinning, cutting and pinning, choosing cute embellishments, etc, I just needed to do more. So, I posted on my Facebook wall to see if anyone was interested in me making a wreath for them. What did I have to lose? I was blown away by how many people reached out to me. Over the next 3 weeks, I wreath-made my little heart out, and what fun it was. Check out some of the wreaths I was able to snap photos of, below:

Bonus: The friend I made this for sent me a picture of the wreath on HER door. It looks great!

bonus 2.0: another wreath at it's new home!

 Now that we're into November, and winter is fast approaching, I made my first Christmas wreath. Husbands take note, this one is going to be a gift for a friend's wife. What a great idea!!