Oh how time flies!!

Disclaimer- Pretty much all of the decorations I made for Max's birthday were ideas found from Pinterest that I straight up copied or altered slightly to my own taste. With that being said, I am not including the links to all of the blogs/websites were I found these ideas, because I had a file with clipped pictures that I used. If you type any of these ideas into Pinterest I am sure the original sites/blogs will appear. I hope it is okay and not offensive that I am doing this.

Max's 1st birthday party was a labour of love. I will be honest, I spent the last few months working on the decorations. I just kept seeing ideas on Pinterest that were too cute not to add :) I would chip away at them during nap time, but mostly after he had gone to bed. I think my husband was pretty sick of seeing my scissors and glue gun by the end of it all ;) 

I have often said during Max's first year that I cannot believe how quickly time passes when you have a little one, so when I saw this theme it was perfect for us :) I chose red and blue as the colour scheme.

The invitation I chose was a downloadable file from the Etsy shop, Posh Paper Parties. Here is the link to the shop.
https://www.etsy.com/shop/PoshPaperPartiesCo

When people entered the building where the party was held I had an easel outside the door so everyone would know what room we were in. On the easel was Max's one year 'stats' board outlining some personal details about him. I used various sized stencils and metallic markers for this project. There are so many different ways to create these boards.

The main table housed the thank you treats, the dessert and Max's birthday book. I had a friend of my mom's make special airplane cookies for our guests to take home. They were the yummiest short breads you've ever  tasted.. I think I am up to a six count of how many I have gobbled (there were some leftovers).

Using scrapbooking paper, stamps and card stock I made tags for the tops. I also had mum mums for the baby/toddler guests to take home. These were tied with ribbon and set in a vase on a bed of cotton balls aka clouds :) 

The theme of one of my baby showers when I was expecting Max was Build Baby M's library. So I thought it would be fitting to have a book everyone could sign as a way of remembering years from now, everyone who was with us on the day. As with most of my ideas, I found this on Pinterest.

 

I then purchased downloadable files for the cupcake toppers and wings from the super cute website http://ihearttoparty.com. They have lots of other themes as well! I used scrapbooking paper to make the cupcake liners that the cupcakes sat in. Here is the website I bought the files from. Very good deal! I printed them off on regular paper and them cut and pasted them to cardstock. Yes this took forever, but it was cheaper then taking the file to a printer. 

 

The backdrop I used was taken straight from Pinterest. I didn't change it at all because I loved it so much. I used the leftover canvas from the teepee I made Max to serve as a rustic table cloth for the main table. Don't you love when you can use materials you already have lying around?!!

For photos, I have taken monthly pictures of Max in the same chair, wearing a different "month tie" each month. You can find these sorts of stickers all over Etsy. Like any parent I have taken a gazillion pictures of my first born in his first year, so it was important for me to share with our friends and family some of my favourites. I saw the idea of collaging pictures into the shape of the number your child is turning and knew immediately that this would be part of the decor.

I rented a set of airplane to use as centerpieces for the table, as well as for the top of the cupcake display. I also found two antique suitcases and used these for the Flight School and for Max's thank you cookies. The idea for the other table centerpieces were also found on Pinterest. All materials for these four center pieces except for the straws were purchased from the dollar store; styrofoam balls, cotton balls, a pack of twelve jets, brown grass and four small planters. It was difficult to get the straw to stand up straight due to the heaviness of the ball, but it was stuck in a piece of styrofoam that was covered by the grass, and I just had to be really gentle when placing them on the table so they would stand up straight.

For Max's highchair area I found some really cute ideas on Pinterest. A sign that read "Max's Cockpit," and an airplane bunting for the front of his highchair tray. I used scrapbooking paper, felt and leftover string from my Christmas tags for these decorations. I used red streamers to make the space behind his chair a little more pleasing to the eye for the purpose of pictures, and I had a balloon bouquet beside him that consisted of a giant blue number one balloon paired with three red balloons. 

The other two balloon bouquets I had consisted of a grouping of three white balloons to look like clouds. A paper airplane was taped halfway down the ribbon, and they were both placed in festive airplane boxes.

For the pre-school aged boys that were invited I wanted to have a few activities they could do with their parents, since the toy area I blocked off was mostly toddler and baby focused. I decided on Pin the Propeller on the airplane, Flight School and birthday and airplane themed colouring sheets. Each child also got to pick out the letter sticker for the first initial of their name and stick it on a party hat. This is a cheap and easy extra to add to the party. The party hats came in bulk from the dollar store and I had the letter stickers lying around the house from a menu board I made (see my post on meal time organizing). 

Other details included all red and blue cutlery, napkins and plates. A jar of cheerios (aka Birthday Boy Chow) with a plastic scoop and cups for the babies and toddlers to snack on, festive straws, a blue dollar store tablecloth and decorative themed chalkboard for the present table, a "refueling station" sign where the food was located and finally one of my favourite decorations, an airplane banner made out of scrap booking paper. I was able to find cloud and airplane paper! These were from Hobby Lobby. They have a way better selection of paper then Micheals does, and it is cheaper.

 I made a cake stand for his smash cake out of a plate and candle holder from the dollar store. I then made a little bunting for his cake as well. This was also one of my favourite decorations.

The Birthday Boy had two outfits. I layered his outfit with a ONE onesie (from Old Navy) as an undershirt, so when it was time to eat his cake I just had to take off his dress shirt and tie. Very slick and it gave him a cute second look for pictures :) Max's moccasins were made by my dear friend who owns a company out of her home in Whitby, Ontario. Her business is called My Little Moccs. Here is her website.
http://mylittlemoccs.bigcartel.com/
Each pair is $40, and every so often she offers discounts.

Keeping in theme with the birthday, the time completely "flew by." But, it was such a great time and all the kids had fun, especially Max who just had fun walking all over the room with a big smile on his face. It was as though he knew it was his party.. too cute :) :) I am happy with what I did for his party. While he did not get much out of the theme and decorations, I love detail and if I can bring a smile to my guests face as they enjoy my decor and presentation, I have met my goal :) .. and I hope Max looks back on these pictures when he is older and smiles/shakes his head at his mama :) This party was about celebrating the amazing first year of Max being in our lives. But oh, how time flies!!

~ K

Birthday boy traditions

Yesterday was Max's first birthday. My husband had a day off work so our little family was able to be together to celebrate. Since his birthday party was last weekend we decided to have a low-key day at home. The weather was bitter cold which was very fitting, considering Max was born in last year's polar vortex; one of the coldest day of the year. It was my hope that we would break out his new red sled he was given from his grandparents for Christmas, but it was way too cold to take him out. I still wanted to do something fun that I knew he would enjoy, so we took him swimming instead :)

 We started his birthday festivities after his morning nap. We look red and blue balloons, to match his birthday party decor of course ;) and filled his crib with them. I didn't know what his reaction would be, I thought he might be a little intimidated and just sit there, but boy did he surprise me. He was hitting those balloons all over the place. They were flying up in the air and flowing over the rails of his crib. I'm happy I got it on video to be able to relive that adorable moment for years to come.

I then made Pillsberry crescent rolls with chocolate chips inside. 

http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/08/28/20-minute-chocolate-croissants/

Max really hasn't had chocolate before, but there's no rules on your birthday ;) He loved it, and kept coming back for more bites. I made my husband and I hot chocolate with marshmallows; a favorite of mine. I decided that I will make this a tradition every year for Max since he is a winter baby. This year it was just my husband and I drinking hot chocolate but next year Max will be able to join us in the fun. 

After we had our midmorning treat Max opened his presents. Wow, this little boy is very loved and a little spoiled so say the least.  He has many new toys and books that he will have fun discovering over the next year. 

In the afternoon we went swimming at a nearby community center. The pool was warm and there were only a few other people there, who Max of course waved at. We had so much fun. There were lots of laughs and smiles shared as we played with balls, he went down the kiddie slide and he floated on a flutter board. I thought he would sleep on the way home for his afternoon nap, but no luck. He was still ready to party. Our final birthday celebration was after dinner. We lit a candle and gave Max one of the cupcakes from his birthday party. He then opened our gift which was a set of Melissa and Doug cardboard blocks. 

The wrap job on the gift was looking pretty horrendous by the end. He had been walking by the present and tearing pieces of the paper off for the last couple days and I had to keep re-taping it back together. We both wrote special birthday messages to Max in his card. I wrote mine after I put him to bed the night before his birthday, so you can imagine it's pretty sappy and filled with emotion. But that's okay because I want him to know when he is older how I was feeling in my life at that moment.

And so begins our two new birthday traditions with Max. Filling his bedroom with balloons and having a special hot chocolate drink. There are so many fabulous and fun ideas out there nowadays, it is so simple to add a couple of little unique moments that will make your child feel special on their birthday.

With Max's birthday being over, I now move on to my next event. I am scheming up a poker night for my husband's 30th birthday. Of course it won't be as Pinterest inspired as Max's birthday party, since the party will consist of men only, but I'll manage to find a few ways to make it look man-approved fabulous ;) 

A post about Max's birthday party will be posted in the next few days. I hope everyone is having a good week, and for my fellow Ontarians, stay warm!!! Brrr!

~ K

DIY teepee!!

 Before I was even expecting Max I fell in love with the canvas teepees that you can see floating around Pinterest. I had visions of reading books with my little ones and playing imaginatively while being enclosed in our own special space. So needless to say, I could not wait to make one for Max, and our future kiddio(s). Since Max absolutely loves books (they are probably his most favourite thing) I thought he would enjoy having a special space in our living room to look through them. I also did this because our main floor is not entirely baby proof, so this way he has a safe spot to have fun.

This is the teepee I made for Max. I must say, I'm pretty darn proud of myself for taking this on.  Our living room does not always look like this. This was Christmas morning for Max. You see, the teepee was actually from Santa. Along with a popper, a new table and chair set and a Melissa and Doug construction puzzle.

There are so many different ways to make one. You can use different materials for the frame, you can sew your cover, or in my case if you are not a sewer, you can hot glue gun the hell out of it :) For mine, I used six, 1x2x8 pieces of spruce from home depot. Many people use pine, but spruce was cheaper and the sweet older man helping me told me it would not make a difference if I used the cheaper wood. I then had him cut a foot off each piece. You can leave the wood the full eight feet, but I choose to cut some height off because I did not want the teepee to be super tall. I then bought a 9x12 tarp, also from home depot and a spool of twine. 

Now comes time for the most challenging part. Which wasn't really crazy challenging at all. You drill a hole in each piece of wood about a foot down. You then feed the twine through each piece of wood. I had my dad who was down visiting help me shape how I wanted the frame to look. It is best to have an extra set of hands for this part. I pretty much put even spacing between all six pieces, except for the space I would be using as the door. I left the space between those two pieces larger.

side note- You have to build the teepee on carpet. When I brought the frame to a space that had hardwood flooring, prior to securing the tarp, the frame slid outwards. Carpet holds the frame in the shape you want, while you secure the tarp. After it is secure you can transfer it to a space that has hardwood flooring.

I then draped the tarp around the teepee. With the ends being at the opening of the teepee, I used two finishing nails to secure the tarp in place at the top of the teepee. The first cut I made was around the bottom, cutting off all of the access. The twelve feet was not enough to cover the last two sections of the frame beside the openings, so I used some extra fabric I had from Max's nursery curtains, to secure two side panels on either side of the doorway. I hope you can see what I mean by looking at the picture of the finished product. This worked out for the best, because it gave the teepee a pop of colour.

I then used many many large glue sticks, to hot glue the canvas onto the wood frame. I started at the back and glued from the top down, pushing hard on the fabric and holding my hand over top of the each freshly glued section to ensure the canvas would stick. Since the canvas has some weight to it, it would slide down a bit if it was not held in place. I made sure while gluing that the fabric between sections was pulled tight, so I would not have loose fabric closing in on the inside of the teepee.  I wanted the teepee to be taut, not billowy. When I glued the fabric to the canvas I folded a seam over  so the seam showing would not be frayed. I was unsure how this would look with using hot glue, if the glue would show, but it didn't and the transition from canvas to fabric is really nice and clean looking.

Since the canvas was long enough to wrap around the top section, but not the bottom section, the canvas comes up on an angle. You can see by the picture that this worked out to my advantage as when I fold it back it gives the appearance of door flaps!!

The top of the teepee was not very pleasing to the eye, so I found a scrap of fabric in the shape of a bandana and I tied this around the top. Some people glue a ribbon with a feather attached to it, hanging down from the opening. I opted out of this, since my cat thinks that every cave-like space in the home is his, and I did not want to give him any more reason to own this space ;)

With the leftover fabric I cut out out individual shapes and glued them on the back of the teepee just for added effect.

And there you have it!!! A teepee built for a Max :) :) I was cliche and bought the $16 faux sheepskin rug that everybody buys from Ikea for their teepee. I couldn't help it though, it makes the space soooo cozy :) I then grabbed one of the million baskets we have in the house and loaded it up with some of Max's favourite books, and a sock puppet for some extra teepee giggles.

This project looks challenging, but I promise it isn't. From start to end it only took about 1.5 hours, and the beauty of it is there is not one specific way to make it. So have fun with it and make it your own! 

As an extra, these are Max's favourite books.

He loves to empty the box and then flip through each one. I had to crease all of of the books since they are small for his hands. This way he can flip the pages easier. His favourite is the 'S' book because it has a snowman on the last page, and for some reason snowmen make this kid grin from ear to ear. It's pretty adorable. He is also in love with 'Pajama Time' by Sandra Boynton, and 'Tickle' by Leslie Patricelli . She also has the Christmas book 'Fa la la' which he loved flipping through during the holidays. I think it is because he relates to the main character in those books ;)

Happy teepee building! If you use this tutorial I would love to see your finished product!!

~ K

Girl's Christmas

Every year a friend of mine hosts the most fabulous get together for a group of  girls that includes friends and her sister-in-laws. I have been lucky enough to be included in this festive party for the past three years, and over the years we have all become friends. It is a lovely group of women. Not only does everyone bring a yummy snack, but we have an gift exchange that is the mother of all exchanges. Seriously. We look forward to this night all year. Well, I know I do :) The theme is "my favourite things," and each girl gifts nine of their favourite thing... one for each girl. It is so fun and you really get a mix of different gifts because we all have different tastes and hobbies. 

So, if you have a group of girlfriends, no matter the size, you should really consider adding this to your holiday get together. And if I haven't sold this idea enough, here are the nine gifts I received at this year's party.

From the tea lover- her favourite blend and an adorable mesh ball infuser.

From the health foodie gal and the wine lover friend- a cliff bar and a wine cork with a pump to keep that unused wine fresh!

From the girl whose mother is an amazing crocheter... the most adorable headband, with a gloss to match.

From the frequent traveller- an adorable bag of mini toiletries.

From the girl who loves baths- a relaxation kit including bath salts, body wash, a luffa, and of course chocolate.

From the mountain lover- a special ornament for our Christmas tree

From the latte lover- a $5 gift card to a local coffee shop and a gloss to re-apply after drinking the latte.

From the girl with a sweet tooth- a chocolate snack.

I have a  thing for cupcakes and muffins, and so this year I gave everyone a cupcake/muffin holder to make travelling with your treat easier. I also made personalized jewellery trays for each girl. For those of you who want to try this, I used a box of clay from Hobby Lobby. I rolled small amounts of clay into a ball and then rolled it out with a rolling pin. I then used a circle cookie cutter to get my shape. I used letter stamps to personalize each tray, and before baking them in the oven I turned up the edges to give each one a unique shape. Super easy :)

Christmas is right around the corner! I hope everyone is having a healthy and relaxing holiday season with your loved ones. From our family to yours, 

Merry Christmas!!

~ K

Christmas mash up

I haven't made a post for a couple of weeks .. Life has gotten in the way as usual and I have had so many little things going on and a lot on my mind. I have been busy preparing for Christmas, baking, making decorations for Max's first birthday, starting the transition from Max into daycare (and trying to mentally and emotionally deal with that), putting together Max's first year photo book (which is taking forever because of the slower than molasses download speed on my computer for the shutter fly website), helping put together games for one of my best friend's baby shower, working, and trying to do as many fun things as I can with Max before I return to work in six weeks. There just aren't enough hours in the day. Life is good though and I can't complain we are happy, healthy and fortunate in many ways. My husband and I can't believe how big Max is getting and the new "tricks" as I like to call them ;) that he is learning, but at the same time.. how in the world is he almost one year old!! (insert bawling).

So this post very much mimics my mind right now.. A complete mash up! 

As promised I'm sharing with you series of holiday gift tags that I made this year. They were super easy and fun to make. The buttons, felt and scrapbooking paper are all from the dollar store and the gift tags and red/white striped string are from Hobby lobby. I know you can buy a sheet of gift tags from the dollar store but to me nothing beats something handmade with love... and if you complete a project like this while watching a show that you PVR'd from two weeks ago you can kill two birds with one stone.. multitasking is definitely a best friend of mine. I have also been playing around with brown paper wrapping paper and greenery.

 Need a cute idea for a personalized present for your loved ones? A few years ago I made a set of these for a friend of mine. You can buy a package of tiles from home depot to make two sets of four. I used a stencil and black paint. I would use a black sharpie if I make these again in the future. I did the first initial of their four family members. I then slapped a piece of sticky felt on the bottom to protect the surface they placed them on.

I LOVE these wreaths. They were not the most fun to make but the end result was totally worth it. All you need is a wire hanger and a ton of balls. Choose a friend's favourite colour, or choose a colour that matches the recipient's Christmas tree decor (like the blue one I made). All you do is thread the balls on and shake them down. They will fall into place for you. It also wasn't the cheapest to make.. the red wreath was $20... because you need a ton of balls. 

I'm also including pictures from past season's projects, my popsicle snowflake and my and Christmas bulb door decoration.. Oldies but still goodies!

 

 My final share is two pieces of art work made by a very cute baby. Have you ever tried tape resist art work? It was fun to do with him. And of course, what would the art work be without a button and hand made yarn pom pom as accents  :)

 Next week a friend of mine are getting together for a craft date to make wreaths and trees out of coffee filters. These ideas have been floating around on Pinterest lately and so I thought I'd try to make a couple for next year's mantle which I'm hoping to make more elaborate, since hopefully by then Max understands the words "don't touch" :)

Okay. Get ready for this simple sharpie coil doormat project... I giggle inside every time I see it on my phone. Again it's the little things that you add to your day to keep you sane. Or is it insane that I'm obsessed with a doormat!? I'll let you be the judge. I am still on the hunt for a plain mat to make this. Most of them already have print or design on them. But I will preserve. It may have to be added to next year's decorations. I plan on putting Merry Christmas instead of the keep the change line.

I am still hopeful that I will have a teepee made for Max by Christmas. If I do I will post the process. I will also be posting my paint job on Max's new ikea LATT table and chairs; his present from Santa. 

I hope you all are enjoying the holiday season and not feeling stressed or overwhelmed with everything on your to do list. At least tomorrow is Friday... TGIF!

Oh and Saturday Max meets Santa. I'll let you know how it goes. My husband and I have a $5 bet going.. my odds are on him losing his bananas. We will see. 

~ K