40th Birthday Toilet Cake

September is our busy month for birthdays. We have seven in our family. My dear husband Keith's birthday was last week (Sept. 9th). He turned 40 (total old man)! Anyway, the kids and I threw him a surprise party. It stayed a surprise till that morning, when sweet Sophia thought that because daddy opened his gift, it was okay to talk about what time everyone was coming over. I just looked at him and he gave me a big grin. "Surprise!" You're getting a surprise party.

It was a great time and he loved his cake! Which he had no clue I was making. Yes, total gross factor, but so my husbands humor. All the kids could not stop talking about the potty cake.  I on the other hand, am waiting for Sophia's pre-k teachers to pull me a side due to her telling everyone about her daddy's crap you're old cake.

My birthday is next. September 24th.  The big "30!" I'm not freaking too much....yet. :)

Hello Kitty Birthday Centerpieces

Sophia is turning 5! Her birthday is coming up this Saturday. I have been busy with lots of planning and preparation for her special day. She has had her theme picked out for the last year, Hello Kitty.

Every trip to Target consists of having to walk by the bakery, were she proceeds to tell me each time "Mommy that's the cake I want!" Then we head to the sticker section and then to the makeup, were they have a whole section of just Hello Kitty stuff. She could spend hours just combing over Target for Hello Kitty stuff. I have no clue were she gets it? :)

Her party will be at our local gymnastics center. After the kids run and tumble for an hour they come back to the party area, which is really a blank room with tables and chairs. So it's needs of some real warming up.

Here are the centerpieces that I created for each table. I was dead set on not spending any more money (my husband thanks me for that). So I challenged myself to use items and supplies that I already on hand.

I knew I wanted to make something with Hello Kitty's face. So I did a search for coloring pages and found this one. I printed off eight (one for each side of the centerpiece). I then colored the bows and nose in the colors used on the invitations.

I sprayed each face with spray glue and then dusted them with clear rainbow glitter. After they dried I cut out each one. I used scrapbook paper folded in half and glued together for. This made for a nice stiff  background. Then I just spray glued each face onto the paper.

For the base of the centerpiece, I used a party cup turned upside down with a slit cut in the middle.

Done! Cost: NOTHING!

July 4th Countdown

Do you have one going in you house too?  The kids (and adults) are so excited this year.  Everyone in our house is finally old enough to celebrate and head to the fireworks.

We have been reading up on our Olivia. This time of year Olivia Forms a Band  by Ian Falconer is Sophia and Maxon's top pick. Olivia's family is celebrating July 4th also. We always enjoy Olivia's spunky personality and wild imagination.

Staying in true fashion, I made Sophia a 4th of July skirt. I found this great vintage looking  navy, red, and white fabric on ebay. I love that it is not your traditional stars and stripes and can be worn more than once.  I did not use a pattern, as skirts are pretty basic. I am however planning on creating a tutorial for it. So stay tuned!

I wish all of you a safe and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Simple Summer Time Dress

It's getting hot, hot, hot outside! With warm weather come sun dresses. I just love little girls in pretty dresses. Don't you?

After weeding through Sophia's closet, she only has two other dresses for summer that fit. So not enough. Everything in her world is about dresses, tights, and leggings right now.  Let's hope she gets over tights fast with how hot it is now.

I've had this fabric by Amy Butler for over a year now. I feel in love with it the first time I saw it.  Problem is, it just does not go with anything but white. Hence why it has not been used yet. Lucky for Sophia it made a gorgeous dress!

I did three rows of sheering at the top and one row about 4 inches lower.  This created the empire waist. In the back I made one large box pleat. This gives the dress more detail and flow. The straps are simple ties, made from the same fabric.

Always being silly.

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Memorial Day/ USA Door Hanging Tutorial Re-post

Hope you are enjoying your Memorial Day and time with family today.

In honor of this holiday, I'm re-posting my tutorial for the USA door hanging. I made this for July 4th last year. Enjoy!

 

What you need:

Cardboard Box

Print out of U S A at 500 font size

Patriotic Ribbon

Moss

Glue Gun

Cardboard Star

String or Floss

Start by cutting out the printed U S A and use them as a template

Trace the letters on to the cardboard and cut out.

Glue and cover the letters with the moss.

Grab the string and cut a piece about 4 in.

Stretch and glue to both side like so. This will keep the letter upright and prevent it from falling forward while hanging.

Paint your star and set aside to dry.

Grab your ribbon and cut a 24 inch strip. Glue and fold 4inchs over creating a loop on both ends.

Make a large bow and glue under loop. Then adhere the star.

Add the U and glue in to place. Then take a 8 inch piece of ribbon and create one more loop.

Slip the S through the bottom loop. Then add the A.

Your done! Hang it and enjoy!