Gingerbread House Decorating Party

I'll admit that I have done zero holiday decorating thus far (Bad Blogger Award™ 5 years straight, thank you very much!), but I do have some fun holiday inspiration to share from last year. We threw a Gingerbread Decorating Party for our daughter's 6th birthday and it was a total blast. An insane kid sugar fueled rave kinda blast, but a blast none the less.






We purchased gingerbread kits from Ikea ($4 each) and loads of extra candy.  I made the gingerbread houses the night before so they would be set up firmly by the times the kids arrived. I was fully prepared to hot glue them together if my royal icing didn't solidify but thankfully that wasn't necessary.





Because I'm extra, there were a few little DIY elements to amp up the style. First were the kid sized "OH SNAP" aprons which I whipped up a few days before the party.  Second was this fabulous cake made by my sister who clearly gets me.  And finally I found a Buddy the Elf costume for Oscar to wear while he ran around and terrorized the guests. I regret nothing!





It was a crazy party but it was a major hit with my kids so mission accomplished. Perfect for a December birthday girl. Now it's a year later so it's time to get started on this year's birthday bash.

Flower Decorating Birthday Party

This post is quite late in the sharing but better late than never right?  (It's my party and I'll post when I want to...post when I want to... post when I want to.)



Being the ripe old age of 41 years old, I have startling little wisdom to share but I do have a few tidbits. One of those is celebrating a birthday with gusto.  I celebrated all month long doing a variety of things but last year I decided to do something a little different with a flower arranging class party.  I threw it together a bit last minute but it was perfectly laid back and fun.

When I stumbled into Rebecca Shepard's floral studio, I was so smitten with the gorgeous wall mural (painted by Gaia Street art), I knew it would be the perfect spot.  Of course I had no idea how talented and just down right cool Rebecca Shepard herself would be until that day but I can assure you she is all that and more.




When I stumbled into Rebecca Shepar

When I stumbled in

When we arrived, the room was chock full of buckets full of fresh flowers.  Each of us had a work station with an inspirational photo and pair of shears and we got to work.  Rebecca explained step by step how to create a beautifully arrangement while still letting each of us go in our own directions. The result were startlingly different final results despite having the exact same starting vase, flower options and direction.

Naturally we needed some refreshments! I brought some bellini bar fixings, champagne, snacks.  Rounding out the nibbles were these beautiful flower cupcakes made by Nikki Berry.

A couple hours and a couple of bottles of champagne later, we all went home with some gorgeous arrangements and a head full of tips to create new ones in the future. Happy Birthday to me!

Halloween Wine Labels | Free Printable

It's the most wonderful time of the year!  Time to get ready for the most fun, obligation free holiday - Halloween.

I'm kicking off the holiday prep by participating in the Ella Claire party with a new free printable that could not be easier to use in your Halloween soirees big and small.  Halloween Wine Labels that can be printed on label paper and stuck right onto a store bought wine label.


You can scrub off the existing label like I did (word to the wise: the back label is oddly easier to pull off than the front) or just plop this label over the existing.

I've just started on working this year's Halloween projects and this was the perfect warm up.  I hope you can put these labels to good use and have a good scare with friends.  Don't forget to share your party pictures with me!

DOWNLOAD THE HALLOWEEN LABELS HERE

Thanks so much to Kristen Blog for inviting me to be a part of the fun. The deadline really got my creative side in gear just at the right time.  Check out all the amazing free downloads beings shared today by some of my favorite bloggers.



Flying Bat Cake Topper by Ella Claire | Halloween Labels with Faux Rust by Finding Silver Pennies | Haunted House by My Someday in May | Trick or Treat Tag by Boxwood Avenue | Vintage Inspired Halloween Greetings Postcard by Live Laugh Rowe



Trick or Treat by anderson + grant | Bats- 2 Sizes by So Much Better with Age | Black & White Halloween Cupcake Toppers by Cherished Bliss | Trick or Treat Stickers by Zevy Joy | Soul Taker Drink by My Sweet Savannah



Vintage Crows by Paint Me Pink | Hocus Pocus by Lolly Jane | Halloween Wine Labels by Brooklyn Limestone | Black and White Halloween Gallery Wall by Taryn Whiteaker | Vintage Halloween Treat Bags by Town and Country Living




Halloween Paper Rosettes by Happy Happy Nester | Wizard School Acceptance Letters by Nina Hendrick Design Company | Monster Mash by Clean and Scentsible | Trick or Treat Halloween Banner by The Happy Housie | Happy Halloween Treat Bags by On Sutton Place



Vintage Style Animal Skulls by Twelve on Main | Skeleton Paper Cones by My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

Slumber Birthday Party

Completely without my permission, Agatha turned five last month.  I wasn't really in the mood to do a giant party like we had for some of her other birthdays so I decided to do a small slumber party instead.  (Cue Stefan saying 'New York's hottest club is Slumber. It's got everything - tents, cake and twinkle lights')


Fabulous cake by Nikki Berry


Of course I wanted to make it extra special so I did add a few touches to warrant the occasion.  Furry sleeping mask invites, DIY lip balm making, a killer cake and tents with twinkle lights.



We set up four sleeping tents inside the house so the girls would get to all sleep together but have their own space.


The DIY lip balm kits were a big hit with the kids carefully selecting their scents and patiently waiting for it to harden.  Another huge hit was an Instax camera (kind of like an old Polaroid)  one of the girls gave Aggie as a gift - they all loved taking turns and photographing each other (and me, and the faucet and the chair, etc) After pizza and cake and lots of running around it was time to settle in for a movie before bedtime.



Much to my shock, they all hit the hay and actually slept like logs until the next morning. The kids had a blast and it was relatively easy to put together so a win on both counts.  I'll definitely be doing this again if she lets me.



Sources:
Instax Camera
Mermaid Pillows
DIY Lip Balm Kits
Beanie Boo Slippers
Battery String Lights
Kid's Inflatable Mattress
Foldable Play Tent
Furry Sleep Masks

Fun & Affordable Table Accents for your Thanksgiving Feast

I know, I know. You are expecting Christmas content right about now.  If you have been around for long you know I'm a bit of a naughty blogger.  I don't do holidays before I'm ready.  And while I'll have plenty of Christmas goodies when the time comes, I'm more in a Thanksgiving mood for now.

With that in mind, I thought I'd share some of my favorite table accents for your holiday feasts coming up.  These work well as hostess gifts too if you are lucky enough to have someone else doing the cooking.

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1. This would be great incorporated into a wreath or centerpiece or mantle.  I love the galvanized finish.  It would be even more fun if it had a hashtag in front of it but nothing is perfect :)
2. Aren't these paper placements darling?  They also have turkey ones but I'm loving the root vegetable variety.
3. I have this marble/wood cheeseboard in several sizes and use it ALL.THE.TIME.  Totally elevates even the cheapest costco cheese.
4. Copper flatware is just the perfect bling on an otherwise more rustic table without being too fancy.
5. These are actually dishtowels which i think work MUCH better than traditional napkins.  Buffalo check continues to be the hot holiday print and these are super affordable.
6. Ok, so you could DIY these little wood slice place card holders but for a little over a buck a piece, its hard to convince me to bring out the power tools.
7.  I have a similar set of candles and they are super versatile all year long.  The varied heights really make a statement and you can tuck just about anything green at the base it and looks well curated.

And if you want add something completely free, grab my free printable tags to use as placecards.

Hope that gets your creative fires going for Turkey Day.  What is your favorite piece to set the table with?

Eternal Rest Hotel Key Fobs | Halloween Invitations

With Halloween on a Tuesday (boo!) and all of us having school/work the following day, we are toning down this year's party quite a bit. Think candy crazed kids running around my living room and you'll have a good idea. But I couldn't resist sending a proper invitation just the same.




Since this year's theme was a haunted hotel, we sent out skeleton keys with a custom hotel style key fob and key folio. Party details are printed on the reverse side.





I had the key fobs printed online using my design and I made the folios on my home printer and stuffed the whole thing into a kraft paper button & string envelope with a little Spanish moss for effect. 


I'm not sure quite sure how it measures up to prior years but I'm happy they are in the mail.  Which ones were your favorites?



ICYMI check out prior year's Halloween invites: Poison Apple Slices | Butcher Aprons | Ghostbuster Patches | Sharknado Warning | Ruby Slipper | Medicated | Freakshow | Creature Survival Kit

Oscar Turns One | First Birthday Luau

Oscar is now a full fledged one year old boy.  On one hand that seems impossible, wasn't I just writing this post? Weren't we just decorating his nursery? Wasn't I just sending these birth announcements? On the other, this year has been soooo long in many respects.  Juggling two kids and a full time job (along with this blog I do in my "spare time") has been hard.  I knew it was going to be hard and I am so lucky in so many ways so I don't want this to read as a whine.  I'm just a tiny bit more tired than I used to be. (How do you moms with 6 kids do it?  Seriously HOW!?)  I'm trying to adjust to letting certain things go and just trying to enjoy all of the joys of this life right now but that is hard for me.  It's a battle of my inner nature versus my common sense. Which is stronger?



So when Oscar's birthday was approaching, we wanted to do something to celebrate but not make it too nuts.  His August birthday seemed to jive perfectly with a Luau themed celebration so that's what we did.  ( I know, I know. You are seeing pumpkins and sweaters on every other blog right now but come on - its still August!)






We made this tiki bar along with a giant vat of pineapple punch (which was a huge hit!), put up the tackiest decorations known to man, ordered an amazing tiki themed cake, and had someone play the ukulele.  I think the party was a hit and everyone had a lot of fun so I'm glad we did it - if nothing more than to mark the next phase of our lives as we transition out of baby things and into bigger adventures.  Who else needs a nap?