Samantha

My friend Stacey's daughter Sam turned 1 recently. When I asked Stacey what Sam wanted, instead of an outfit or a new toy, she wanted something for a bare shelf in her room. Sam's room is chocolate brown, pink, and white. Stacey left it up to me with what I wanted to do, so here is what I came up with!

Happy 1st birthday, Samantha!

Christmas Presents

Merry Christmas everyone! I may be a rare breed because I love wrapping presents!! This year was no exception! Check out some of my favorites...




Happy Holidays everyone!

Micah's 2nd birthday - Surfs Up!

We've had a lot going on in the Jones' household these last few months! A new baby, a new job, travel, a crazy toddler...the list goes on and on. I obviously didn't have as much time to plan an elaborate party for Micah, like I did with his Camp Out 1st birthday, seen here. I started planning his party last year about 2 months in advance...with a newborn, that was not possible this year! I was so excited to have Micah's 1st birthday party featured on The Creative Hostess blog, that I wanted to try to do something special again, but a bit toned down.

This year, I was on a strict budget from the hubby and I was up for the challenge! I will say, having a baby so close to Christmas has some challenges when planning a party. You run out of time with the craziness of Thanksgiving, Christmas and just having enough time to find what you need. Not to mention most of your friends and family having a lot of other social obligations this time of year.

I was inspired by the Retro Surf Party seen here on the HWTM blog and it gave me a lot of great ideas. In my planning process, I began to search the web for some more ideas. For me, I always start with the invitation. I searched iStockPhoto and found some images, and my friend Alice, who designed Micah's 1st birthday invites, designed these for me this year.


I always like to make a great first impression, or to set the stage for the party right off the bat. My very creative dad likes a theme just as much as I do, and made all the great signs, as well as the surfboards that you'll see throughout the party!




After guests pass through our dining room, the entrance to the kitchen is where they enter party-zone. Below is another sign that my dad made, as well as a surfboard with Micah's name on it. I took Micah's easel down from his room, bought some chalk, and copied the "surf report" from I Love Parties that was posted on the HWTM blog (mentioned above)....it was just too cute with all the "2's"!


The streamers were the biggest time commitment. I actually wanted to have a ton more streamers on the ceiling, but time (and my neck) didn't allow. But what a fun, inexpensive way to add some color and visual interest to your room. I tried to make them look like waves. The streamer "curtain" was a great way to not have our gigantic Christmas tree to be a focal point when you walked in....plus, it was a huge hit with the kiddos! I'm not usually a big fan of balloons for birthday decor, but Micah loooovvvveeessss balloons. We barely can make it out of a grocery store without getting him one.

One way to cut down on the cost (and stress) was to not serve lunch. I decided to have the party in the early afternoon and serve light snacks, drinks and sweets.

Perhaps my favorite detail of the entire party was the "surf wax". Again, my friend Alice who designed the invitations, made these adorable labels for me. I made Rice Krispie treats, cut them out with a 3 inch round cookie cutter, wrapped them in saran wrap, then stuck the label on (label paper bought from Paper Source).


What can I say, I love cupcakes! I enjoy coming up with fun ways to decorate them too. Budget didn't allow to get my favorite banana truffle cake from CAKE this year, as we did for Micah's 1st birthday and my baby showers. I used the cupcake stand that I made for Micah's party last year, except I swapped out some of the material with some fabric I had on hand. The "sand" is graham crackers and those surfboards are sugar!


I love incorporating fabric into party decor. I made this boardshorts banner out of fabrics I had from Micah's room and some thread. I found the mini clothespins on amazon.com for $1.99. I was really happy the way it turned out!


For the kids (and some of the adults), we had temporary tattoos for them to wear if they wanted. I got them from Oriental Trading. The kids had fun putting them on. Micah couldn't quite figure out what was on his arm and kept trying to scratch it off. For San Diego and a surfer party, I was a little disappointed that we had rain. I knew it was in the forecast, so I brought down Micah's Ikea table and chairs from his room for a craft table. I bought some color-on frames and got some extra kid's menus from Islands!



For the food, we had a good mix of sweet and salty. For the sweets, I made mini jello cups, with a gummy shark floating at the bottom. We also had bubblegum balls, "2" sugar cookies, the above mentioned Surf Snacks and the cupcakes. For salty, I did blue corn tortilla chips, with a white queso dip as well as a pineapple salsa. We also had rainbow goldfish. For the drinks, I made lemonade, got some blue Mt. Dew, blue Gatorade, and was thrilled to find Surfer Cooler Capri Suns for the kids! The hula girl straws are from Oriental Trading.





For the favors, the adults got gummy sharks. For the kiddos, they also got some gummy sharks, surfer stickers, and plenty of temporary tattoos for home.




All in all, I was able to do his party for just under $200. I was really happy with the way it turned out and I know Micah had fun, which is the most important detail of all!

Happy 2nd Birthday to my sweet boy, Micah! Surfs Up, Dude!!!

Wreaths

Here are some wreaths that I have made.... they are really simple to make. I went to Michael's and got the foam wreath, some yarn and felt. The fabric and ribbon was extra scraps I had around the house. Here is a picture of the first wreath I did for our front door.



Below are some of the others I made...one for my mom and one for my friend Alice!



This last wreath is my wreath that is up right now. I'm going to be using it as a "template" going forward, probably just switching out the felt and fabric flowers as my tastes and the seasons change. I am currently working on a Christmas wreath...check back soon for the results!




xxx

Ohdeedoh

I am so thrilled to announce that Drew's room was featured on Ohdeedoh!

Thanksgiving table decor

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I am in the middle of redecorating my dining room. So, this was the last year that I was going to have that rustic look for Thanksgiving. The current furniture in my dining room lends itself perfectly to the holiday.

I was excited when the fabulous Hostess with the Mostess blogged free downloads of very cool, Celebration Mod printables. I used them to decorate candles & vases, as well as for place cards and napkin rings. For my table, I went to Joann Fabrics and just got a few fabric quarters to lay as a runner. I also used some leftover Anna Maria Horner fabric I had from re-doing my kitchen chairs. I also used the fabric to change my color scheme from my Halloween wreath on my front door to a more Fall-like wreath. I grabbed some greenery from our yard and made some paper napkin flowers and I was done!

For the dessert table, I made fun little "banners" for the pies and used some leftover trays, napkins, plastic forks (who really wants to do more dishes by dessert?) from Micah's 1st birthday.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Drew's Room

When I learned I was having a little girl back in April, I have to admit my mind began to go nuts with ideas of how I'd decorate her room. I knew what I didn't want...something overly "girly" or overly "baby". I had remembered a picture of a room that had caught my eye years ago from Domino magazine, then it was later published to their book.

After deciding this room would be my inspiration, I searched for many hours on the internet trying to find the actual article from Domino magazine (now out of print), so I could figure out where to buy a lot of the items used in the room. I finally (somehow) figured out which issue it was from, then found it on Ebay. I didn't win the auction, so on a whim I emailed the seller telling her I was just interested in 2 pages...she was nice enough to scan the two pages and email them to me! So, it all began....

My first purchase was the fabric for the windows from Mod Green Pod, called Butterfly Jubilee. It wasn't exactly the same, but I was so in love with it I didn't care. The original print in the magazine was a chocolate brown butterfly with cream damask background. Mine was black butterflies with a blue damask background. My dad and I made the cornices for about $10 in supplies...all it took was some glue, foam board, batting, and some pins.

I searched high and low for a good black & white ticking stripe fabric for my chair (chair was originally red, from Home Goods) that I had laying around in storage. The pillow is from Etsy, at BedBuggs Boutique.






One of my favorite parts of the room is the giraffe silhouette, made from vintage wallpaper. This came from Inke, all the way from Netherlands. The crib and dresser are from the Baby Mod line at Walmart. The desk lamp is from Target, and the lion art is from Avalisa. The chandelier lamp over the crib is from Ikea.


The table and chairs are from Target. The adorable felt tea set, inclusive of tea bags, was found on Etsy, at the Sew Cute shop.


On to the bookcase. This beauty is from Oeuf. I got mine from the adorable online shop, Fawn & Forest. I spent a lot of time searching for a less expensive look-alike all over the internet, but nothing compared to the design of this bookcase. I knew I had to have it. The "d" art is also from Avalisa. The fox/flower print is from Etsy, at the Yumi Yumi shop. I found the orange lamp at Marshall's for a steal...$19.95!


I had so much fun filling up this bookcase. I pulled things that I already had, along with some items from my childhood, including the piggy bank, many of the children's books, and a few coffee table/interior design books I had. I seem to get crafty when I'm pregnant. I'm not an artist, but I was shopping in Joann fabrics and walked by some doilies and had a revelation of sorts. I went to Aaron Brothers (hit the penny sale, thank you very much), bought some canvas' and paint and the result were some fun little pieces of "art". I used some felt and some scraps for the giraffe silhouette as well. My dad made me the adorable little doll bed out of wire and a dishtowel as the bedding! Below are a lot of detail pictures of items on the shelves...

A few finishing touches for Drew's room. The coat rack and pink rug are from Land of Nod. The adorable hanger is from Etsy, at the Lila Frances shop. The faux sheepskin rug is from Ikea. The porcelain kitty is from a local antique store and the mini vase I found on clearance from Anthropologie. The adorable squirrel lady print is from Etsy, at the Berkley Illustration shop.

I have had WAY too much fun decorating Drew's room. I am really pleased with how it's turned out...now we just need Drew to arrive!