Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Hide & Seek!

A big Hello to everyone stopping by from Pinterest!  I have realized that all of my pins are directed right to my blog home page, and not the specific post that the picture is from.  I have tried countless times to fix this, but no luck.  SO.... I have added a "Search this Blog" field located on the top right hand side of the blog and so use that anytime you are looking for a specific post!  I have listed links to my most popular pins below!

IT'S A BOY NAIL POLISH

GLAM BANNERS - GLITTER BANNERS

ENGAGEMENT GIFT BASKET

CARNIVAL FIRST BIRTHDAY

PINK OMBRE + GOLD GLITTER BUTTON BIRTHDAY PARTY

FAVORITE THINGS PARTY

BIG SISTER / PREGNANCY ANNOUNCEMENT

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

July Etsy Shoutout: Favorite Shops

Now that I am a proud Etsy shop owner (shameless plug - https://www.facebook.com/GlamBanners), I decided that once a month I wanted to give a shout out to a few of my favorite Etsy shops - ones that I am a repeat customer with ... and some that I have been shopping at for years!  I love one of a kind products, products that can be made custom & above all, supporting all of the creative small business owners of the world, so if you are looking to buy what these guys are selling, check em' out!  Every month I will highlight four new Etsy shops - let's go shopping!!

Silhouette Blue
I absolutely love Silhouette Blue's custom stationary.  Her prints are adorable and her color choices, even better!  She was the first shop I ever ordered from on Etsy, just over 5 years ago.  I've gotten wedding thank you notes, bridal shower hostess gifts, bridal shower gifts & Christmas presents from her!  Here are some of my favorites that I have used or gifted:
 
 
 
 Buttercup Forrest
When we found out we were having another girl, I began the search for the perfect baby bedding.  Since we are working with Avery's nursery's black and white furniture, I decided I wanted to find a bright floral + black + white crib sheet.  Sounds easy right?  Apparently nothing I like can ever be bought at a store (does that mean I have amazing taste or the most horrible taste - verdict is still out!), so I decided to jump on Etsy and see what I could find.  Low and behold, I found the PERFECT fabric and although it cost me a pretty penny ($84 for 2 crib sheets with shipping & a 10% off code), they are arrived today and I am *swooning* over them!  Buttercup Forrest has the largest and best selection of fabrics to choose from and the sheets are made with great craftsmanship!  She also sells throw pillows and changing pad covers too!

LilKingdom
LilKingdom has some of the cutest kids' stuff out there!  You've probably seen her chevron elephant pillows floating all over Pinterest - that's how I found her in the first place!  Although I have only made 1 purchase - an adorable oven mitt for Avery's play kitchen - I plan to shop more in the future!
 
Lillyan Lou
This shop happens to be owned by my friend/photographer extraordinaire Kelsey's sister Karmen.  She sells jewelry, adorable headbands and hair bows for all ages and even bow ties for the little guys!  Avery has had multiple opportunities to model Lillyan Lou headpieces as her sister has taken Avery's pictures ... a lot!
 
 
 
 

Well there you have it - my July shoutouts - I promise you will NOT be disappointed purchasing from any of these talented ladies!  Have any of you purchased from them before? What are your favorite Etsy shops?

Monday, July 22, 2013

GlamBanners

Hey all!  I'm so excited to announce that my Etsy shop - GlamBanners - is FINALLY up & running!  Only took me 1 year to hit the "open" button!  On this site you can find lots of fun glitter banners for bridal showers, baby showers, birthdays, holidays, you name it!  As the shop goes, I will also be adding glittered cupcake/cake toppers, treat bags & tags and more!  I make glittered banners for my fireplace every single holiday - thought I might as well share them with the world!

Here is a link to my shop - GlamBanners

And here are some items you will find on there!  I love to make custom orders too, so contact me with all of your party & holiday neds!

 
 
 
 

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Carnival 1st Birthday Party

Wow - I'm only 16 months late on this post, but I just realized all of my photos from Avery's first birthday were pinned and linked to our family's Shutterfly page instead!  So to reminisce about when I still had a little baby who couldn't walk or talk, here we go!
 Always put extra seating in the garage!
 Label your beverage tubs so people know where to look to find what they are looking for!
 The only picture we managed to take that day!!
 A's carnival party would not have been complete without a caricature artist!
 Ruffle birthday cake w/ glittered cake topper (courtesy of GlamBanners)
 Our awesome caricature - which is now framed and hanging in our family room!
 Present time! 
 Pennant banner made out of Avery's 52 week picture fabrics!
 Jazz up a wooden side table with a roll of tickets & tulle!
 Ruffle streamed tented every room
 The 'kids room' - circus tent, table & chairs all from Ikea
 Directional carnival sign - used an old floor lamp for my base! 
 Lots of ruffle streamers + lots of pennants!
 
 Our dining room mirror couldn't have fit our 52 weekly photos more perfectly!
 VERY bright cupcakes ... no tricks here, I used boxed mix & canned frosting + food coloring!
 
 "Concessions stand" - cotton candy, animal crackers, suckers, nachos, soft pretzels popcorn, cupcakes!
 Lollipop tree - paint a Styrofoam cone, stab in suckers & you are done!
 
 Found yet another spot to use A's weekly fabrics - as water bottle wrappers!


Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Bump Watch: 22 Weeks

22 weeks down, 17 to go (assuming we go the scheduled c-section route!)  Bump is getting big - feeling good!




Saturday, July 13, 2013

Favorite Things Party

Happy Saturday!  My girlfriends and I celebrated Thursday night with a "Favorite Things" party ... I'm sure you have heard of them by now ... thanks Oprah for the idea! 

Since none of us are as rich as Oprah, we could not afford to give every person one of our favorite things ... but we could gift one person $10 worth of our favorite goodies!  Along with their favorite appetizer or drink to share, the ladies were instructed to bring a gift bag with $10 worth of their favorite items.  Could have been 1 - $10 item, or 20 - .50 items - completely up to them!  Think favorite lotion/lip gloss/beauty product, bottle of wine, snack/candy, craft or party supplies, accessory - the possibilities are endless! 

After we ate our faces off, we played a little game to decide who would get who's bag and it was a big hit!  Especially if you have a large group of ladies that do not all know each other very well.  Here's how to do it:

My bag was filled with the small things that make me the happiest in life:  a dozen Striped Paper Straws ($2 + shipping, Etsy), travel size Hempz Lotion ($5.28 + free shipping, Amazon Prime), Metallic Silver Sharpies ($2.50, Walmart), and a bar of Dove Dark Chocolate.
Banner: Kraft Scrapbook Paper + Cricut + Ribbon
Tags: Kraft Paper tags (Hobby Lobby) + Glitter card stock + super glue + twine
 
 
 15 goody bags with LOTS of favorite things!!

It was not only fun getting to know something silly or strange about each girl, I loved seeing what each girl interpreted what her favorite things were!

Some more pictures from the party.  It's me, so of course I had to throw up a few decorations.  But with picture frames, kraft wrapping paper and gift bags & mason jars laying around, I only had to cough up $4.99 for a bushel of baby's breath!  Not bad! :)
 Food/Drink Place Cards -HERE ... LOVE ontobaby.com - free customizable printables with 22 color options!
 
 SOME of our spread!  My friends really have great taste in food! ;)  My contributions:
S'mores Cookies (my little recipe tweak: just buy a chocolate chip cookie mix from the store - no need to make your own dough from scratch - they taste ah-mazing even when you cheat!!)

Frank's Buffalo Chicken Dip - my all-time favorite!  There was not a bite leftover, so I'm guessing the girls liked it too! :)  I prefer to make mine in a pie/lg quiche plate, but I'm sure it tastes just as good in this bowl above!!