Addie's Unicorn Fest '16

Way back in January (yes, a whopping three months ago) we had a little Unicorn Fest for our Addie girl's 6th birthday. She started asking for unicorns in the fall, so we went with it. Apparently, she has no memory of her epic Pony Party to celebrate her 3rd birthday (?!) but I think she'll remember this one.

I know it's common to say, but this girl has grown so much in the last year. She's bigger on the outside, and the inside too. I am so proud of the choices she's making and the spicy little lady she's becoming! A strong-willed, independent thinking, gorgeous, curious, kind, day-dreaming artist you are my sweet (Lord, give me the patience to wield these beautiful qualities in the right direction!).

Marbled balloons tied with ribbon, unicorn figurines, castle blocks, a sprinkle cake made by Dad, paper crowns, candy skewers and a giant unicorn portrait came together to make a special day. At the last minute, we decided we needed a little something more, so we threw some sequins on the table and called it good :)

Thank you to those who came out to celebrate our girl! We love you Addie and are so thankful you are in our family!

Resources: balloons, unicorns, unicorn portrait, sparkler candles, castle blocks, gold foil treat bags

Ellie Jane, Age 8 (Colorful Karaoke Party Reveal)

It's that time of year.....my sweet Ellie rings in her birthday at the very start of the Christmas season, which always leaves me feeling nostalgic, a bit chaotic, and like time is moving entirely too fast. This girl never ceases to amaze me. So aware, so alive, and so determined. There is so much I could say, but mostly I am so very proud to call her mine and have the privilege of learning from her and watching her grow.

For the invitation I had the wild idea of hand stitching a design on to each one. I soon realized that was insane, but not before falling in love with it and so I soldiered on and completed 15 of these bad boys. It was totally worth it. I have been so in love with the Japanese stitching technique called sashiko (more on that later), and this design was very much inspired by that!

I offered to do her party at the gymnastics place like the rest of her class, but she told me she still wanted a party at home (high-five!). Not just any party though, a karaoke party with lots of balloons. If you know my family and how much most of us love to hear ourselves sing, you would know how great of an idea this was! I twisted by Dad's arm and convinced him to DJ (he also ended up throwing down a little Hall & Oates and Steely Dan on the mic).

The decor was simple-green garlands with pops of color in the form of balloons and honeycomb balls, and lots of confetti on the tables and lots of balloons on the floor. We made some fun tassel necklaces and covered our bodies in flash tattoos (not pictured!) while the girls took turns singing tunes at the TOP of their lungs. This party was not for the faint of heart (or for those who are easily-over stimulated)!

Dad came through once again with an awesome cake that was WAY better than what I would have made. The treat bags were made by adding a strip of copper tape to small brown bags and I used this tutorial to make a million tassels while Netflix binging the night before the party (I modified it to make the tiny tassels even tinier and added a ring to the top of each one to make it easy to string on a necklace).

I also painted hot pink stripes onto butcher paper for easy table runners for the table and dessert table. My Mom came through with an amazing array of kid food, straight from my childhood-biscuit pizzas, mini hot dogs, sandwiches in fun shapes and cups of veggies and fruits. Seriously, that woman is the best.

Happy Birthday Ellie-we could not love you more!

Three years of Jack.

This sweet, curly-haired boy turned three years old this last week. I can't imagine our home without him in it, yet I can hardly believe he's already lived three years! We often joke that he is the most rewarding, yet demanding child. Always by my side, and most likely attached to me in some way, this boy brings me so much joy. It's a lot of work, but I love our relationship. I've never met another child who will (gently) turn your face towards their own just to make sure they can "wook in your eyes" while you talk to each other.

Over the years, my birthday party philosophy has evolved from all out-shindig, to simple parties with a few fun elements, but a focus on people and simplicity. This time around we made a large and in charge golden whale piñata, and a few zigzag streamers and called it good.

We also ordered a few extra swimming friends to play with at the party and send home with guests. For the record, it took about 20 minutes for this water display to get out of hand (with Jack leading the way) and be removed, but it was fun while it lasted.

Watching Jack's face and reaction to everything from the cupcakes to the presents was so fun. I forgot how easy it is to knock the socks off of a three year old (it's a little harder with those older kids)!

We love you Jack and can't wait to see how you grow this next year!

Color By Number Valentine's Poster

Last year we made some giant coloring posters to bring to a class Valentine's party and had so much fun doing it that we decided to do it again this year!

I saw a kilim rug recently featuring a fantastic pixel-y floral design. I spent the last few nights making the image above, and then thought it would make for the perfect color by number page or poster for kids (and adults too!)

So I removed the color added numbers in and had it printed at my local Staples for only $1.99 (this is an 18x24 size-bigger sizes available too).

I colored one as an example and it reminded me of buying those velvet posters and coloring them as a kid back in the '90's, remember those? If I could find a way to add some fuzzy black velvet to this guy, I totally would.

We plan to give a letter-sized version away as valentine's with a little bundle of colored pencils and a color guide at school this week! I also made a folded card out of the original colored design to use for other friends and family.

If you would like to make one of you own, here you go (click on links below to download):

-Color by Number Valentine Coloring Sheet*
-Color Guide
-Pixel Flowers Valentine's Card

*This is in a standard letter size to be printed at home, or you can go to the Staples website and select "Engineer Prints" and upload this file to be printed in multiple large sizes starting at $1.99. I was able to order mine online and pick it up a few hours later.

Also, a note on coloring...the larger areas to be colored have a numbered border around them and everything within that border is meant to be that color. Color the border first and it will be clear what goes inside it :)

Ellie Jane, 7 Years Old.

My beautiful babe is seven today. She is sensitive, kind, sweet, thoughtful, anxious, helpful, loud, goofy, friendly, smart, talkative, and full of life. Her biggest question for me lately-when do we get to adopt an orphan Mama?

I love you my sweet girl!

Picture Book Project: The Bear's Song

Every now and then we run into a picture book that instantly becomes a favorite. We love The Bear's Song by Benjamin Chaud so much that we were inspired to make a project!

Along with gorgeous illustrations, we love the sweet story of a Papa Bear searching for his son. Each page is filled with detailed drawings, and we love to try to find all of the characters as we read.

We decided it would be fun to dress up as bears and play a little hide and seek. This sweet little bear mask is fun and easy to make!

To download the mask, hop on over to the Playful Learning blog today.

We love to read and are always searching for new favorites.....do you have a favorite picture book to share?

Raising Confident Girls + A Print

Today I'm over at Playful Learning discussing a few thoughts about raising confident girls. Head over there now to join in and to download this print!

Picture Book Projects: Extra Yarn

Reading has always been a passion of mine, and it looks as if it will be for my children as well. Despite being displaced this summer (thanks to our remodel), we made sure to keep out a BIG bin of our favorite titles.

One of our faves is called "Extra Yarn," by Mac Barnett. After reading it for the umpteenth time the other day, my oldest daughter told me she would like to make something with yarn. I remembered these delightful little decorations from many years ago, and we decided to try our hand at making some "God's Eyes" for ourselves.

They turned out to be super easy for two six-year-olds to make and quick too! If you'd like to make a few of your own, follow me over to Playful Learning to get started...

We even made a short video! I hope it entices you to get on the floor and have some fun with your kiddos this week.



Make Something Today from Randi Edwards on Vimeo.