Costume Party Madness

Prepare to die of cute.

I'm not joking.  You've been warned.

My now four year old daughter, Maddie, came up with the genius idea of having a costume party for her birthday.  She was incredibly committed to this scheme and it ended up being ah-mah-zing.  This kid has more style and savvy in her little finger than I do in my whole body.

We had a blast.  We made princess wreaths out of pipe cleaner, ribbons, and fabric flowers.  We had ring pops and made linky necklaces.  There was a Rapunzel cake.  Her brother took a huge spoonful out of it before the party but she told him it was okay.

We had little girls in adorable costumes and poor Jamie the lone knight among the ladies.

It rocked.

Happy Birthday, Maddie!

Yesterday my sweet baby turned four! 

Tomorrow we are having a super fabulous costume party! 

Happy Birthday, Maddie!

Getting Ready for Another Round...

...of Birthday parties!

I can't believe it, but next month Maddie is going to turn 4! She is going to have a costume party with rainbow accents. Let me tell you, there are not a lot of kid's costume birthday invites (that aren't Halloween related) out there, but I lucked out and found the perfect invitations of Etsy.




Aren't these so cute? They are from Gracie Girl Designs and I am super happy with her customer service and designs. I think we will probably be getting Jamie's 3rd Birthday invites from her as well. He is going with a pirate theme (subject to change).

We are planning quite the costume party spectacular. Have any suggestions for what to do with a group of 3-6 year olds?

Two for the Show

Happy Second Birthday to my Sweet Baby James!

Words cannot express the joy you have brought into our lives. You are an absolute miracle, a gift from God. Your sweet, snuggly, loving, happy-go-lucky personality brightens our hearts every day.

We love you!

Mickey Mouse Bounce House!!

James loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

Love might be too weak a word.

He adores it.

He thinks Mickey is the best thing on planet earth. He can say all the characters names, and responds when they ask questions. I realize that a lot of it is memorization because he watches episodes over and over, but the other day Mickey asked what some number was and James answered "twelve." I spun around, shocked, because I've never heard him use that number - and yup, he was right, it was a twelve. My kid's a genius. Twelve - also the number of times he's seen that episode, but please, let's not spoil my proud mommy moment ;)

Little Mr. James has a big birthday coming up - he is going to be 2!

That is insane on so many levels. What happened to my little baby? Sob.

We are having his party at Big Time Bouncers, an indoor bounce house facility here in Helena, Montana. If there is anything James likes more than Mickey it's bounce houses. Big Time Bouncers has several up at the Farmer's Market every week and Maddie and James spent a good hour in them on Saturday.

So here are the invites for Jamie's Mickey Mouse Bounce House (See what I did there? Clever!) birthday party, compliments of Daddy and Walmart 1 hour photo.

(Gotta love my quick blur job on that phone number, thanks iPhoto!)

Are they not adorable? Yay Mickey! Yay Jamie! Yay bounce houses!

Cupcakes and Carousels Party

Maddie's birthday party was a rousing success. She had a fabulous time, and so did (I am hoping) the eight other little girls in attendance.

I ran out of time to finish the purse goody bags, so I now have fourteen almost completed toddler purses and no idea what to do with them. Luckily, I was able to snag some plastic princess ones at Walmart on the way to the party and no one was the wiser.

I didn't end up with a lot of photos but here are some good ones via Instagram.

The party was at The Great Northern Carousel and they provided balloons . . .

Vintage Carousel Circus Horse Cupcake Toppers, you can buy the printable pdf from the gypsy factory on etsy . . . cupcakes by yours truly . . .

The birthday girl rides the carousel with Mommy . . .

James on the carousel, please excuse his bangs, there was an incident involving scissors . . .

I am calling this birthday party a success - Maddie won't remember all the little details that I wanted to get right and didn't find the time for, she will remember that we had a rockin' good time, rode us some carousel animals, and ate cupcakes that stained our teeth pink and purple.

1-2-3 Ready, Set, Go!

Happy Birthday (a day late! We were having too much fun yesterday and I forgot to post) to my sweet, crazy, adventurous, loving, tough, silly, stubborn, perfect three year old girl.

We love you Maddie-Pants!

Maddie's Birthday Invitations

There's still time to enter to win some fabric from me! Just scroll down or click here!

Don't you just love it when the stars align and everything comes up roses?

Ok, everything is a stretch, but this is pretty awesome!

I recently won a gift card to Snapfish on Savings and Stewardship and the timing couldn't be more perfect because I was able to use it to get Maddie's birthday invitations!

Maddie is a having a Cupcakes and Carousels birthday party (see my inspiration board here) at our local carousel, and while Snapfish didn't have anything overtly carousel related, I was able to get these adorable cupcake and bunting invites:

Isn't it cute? I think it communicates the cuteness and cupcakeness rather well. Can't wait for them to get here!

Have you ever used Snapfish or a similar service for invitations or cards? We usually print our own, so excited to be getting these!

Inspiration Board : Cupcakes and Carousels

This is my first inspiration board . . . just some fun ideas I am considering for Maddie's 3rd birthday party which will be held at the Great Northern Carousel.

I am calling this board Cupcakes and Carousels.

photo credits:

center image: Ticket to Ride Fine Art Photograph by Irene Suchocki

top (left to right): Carousel Dreams Necklace by theleidy, Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane Dream Dot in Celery at Lola Pink Fabrics, Vintage White Headband by Nest Pretty Things, Jolly Holiday Party Straw Tags by Bellezaeluce

second row: Alice's Vintage Inspired Cupcake Gift Tags by Berry Sweet Treats, Pink Raspberry Baby Pom Pom Fringe/Trim from Sugar Pink Boutique

third row: Pink Cupcakes by Barbara Beery Kids Cooking, Cotton Candy Fabric Bunting by Jaime Mancilla

bottom row: Cupcake Flat Back Buttons by Buttons and Badges, Sugar Sweet Valentine Heart Punches by Sugar Pink Boutique, Printable Vintage Carousel Cupcake Toppers by The Gypsy Factory, Madeline Apron Knot Dress Pattern by Romeo & Mae

Jamie's Birthday - recap

Just thought I'd share some of these pictures from Jamie's party because he is the total cuteness and deserves to be bragged about. . . . I promise this is the last post about his party . . . I have to move on because tomorrow is my turn in the big ol' giveaway Kaye is organizing on her blog Miss Print . . . I suppose if you must you can go over there now to enter the last three days worth of giveaways . . . you, know, like if awesome prizes really mean that much to you.

My son wants to be a cook, he loves everything domestic, he especially loves these Melissa and Doug wooden pot and pan set from Grandma, Pop Pop and Uncle Andy. Yes, those are his real eyelashes, it is so not fair.

He is apparently also a fan of monetary gifts.

A family picture, sort of kind of. Look ma, Maddie has no face! (And Daddy got wet supervising Maddie's pool time.)

James loves to snuggle up on Grammy (his great-Grammy), he lays his head on her lap so she can play with his hair.

Maddie spent pretty much the entire party in the pool, a big thanks to Rebecca for all of her Maddie monitoring time!

The party was a rousing success, and just think in a year we get to do it all over again!

Jamie's Birthday - Field of Dreams . . . er, Cake

I am not a cake decorator. I never will be a cake decorator. I'd like things I spend so much time on to last more than a few minutes. However, I want my kids to have cute birthday cakes and (here's the rub) I don't want to spend large amounts of cash to get said cute cakes.

Earlier in the year I perfected my "grass" frosting technique with Maddie's Winne the Pooh birthday cake, and I was able to whip it out once again for Jamie's "Field of Dreams / Angel's Stadium Without Any Walls Or Other Identifiable Features" birthday cake.

The color is a bit off on these pictures because I took them with my iPhone mid-decorating at 2:30 am the morning of the party . . . cause, um, yeah . . .

I am pretty sure there are a few daylight pictures of this cake on the cd Grammy gave me, I so hope so because pretty much all I have of the cake from the party is this:

I love how the candle is standing amidst the wreckage . . . like a noble warrior among the destruction of his homeland . . .

Or something.

James seems to have enjoyed his cake and ice cream at least.

Jamie's Birthday - Angels Bunting

My one big crafting project for Jamie's first birthday party was his Angels baseball bunting. I've been wanting to do bunting for awhile, and oh my goodness it is so easy! This is definitely one of those projects where the reward is greater than the work put in! I followed this super easy tutorial from Deb of Works in Progress. The nice thing is she doesn't give you a ton of measurements so you are free to go with your own size for your triangles. I did a sort of mediumish triangle, and I freehanded my template, so it was a bit wonky on one side, probably if I was going for a cleaner look I'd print a triangle template.

I used both white and red fabric I got in the bargain section at M&L fabrics for under $2 a yard, and I think I had a yard of each (I did have some left over). The Angels fabric I got from my Mom - I looked everywhere for fabric with the current logo on it and was totally stymied at every turn! I am sorry, but it is just plain wrong that fabric stores within spitting distance of the Big A are carrying Red Sox fabric of all things, but no Angels fabric (in their defense both did have Angels fleece, but somehow fleece just does not say summer pool party to me). But of course, my super Mom had Angels fabric on hand! And yes, purists may complain that it is the least loved of all the Angel's logos, the wing logo from when they were owned by Disney, just a little too Angels in the Outfield for all of us die hard fans, but the point is, it's Angels MLB fabric, so there.

The one major alteration I did add was letters, my bunting is so long (too long in my opinion) that you can't really see all in one picture that it says Happy 1st Birthday James.

I am actually quite proud of my lettering because I freehanded it as well, and I have never been good at drawing bubble letters.

For those of you that have never appliques, it is so easy . . . especially raw-edge applique like this. You just iron some wonder-under on to your fabric, pin on your template (backwards so it ends up front facing on your finished item):

Cut it out, peel off the backing on the wonder-under, iron it (right side up this time) onto your project and then sew it on. Ta-da! I was kind of hoping I could skip the sewing part as it was getting closer and closer to my deadline, but it was not to be. I think it ended up looking cute anyway - especially the red stitching on the white letters.

Jamie's Birthday - Just Another Halo Victory!

I am going to be doing some catch up posts . . . the end of June was so insanely busy, and it feels like it has just ramped up since then! So I am going to do a series of posts on Jamie's first birthday party. His theme was Angels baseball (whoo hoo!) and we had the party at my friend Liz's pool.

His invites were to die for cute, and designed by my great friend Tori. Jamie has his own baseball card!

Front:

Back:

The decorations were pretty minimal as it was poolside, but I did manage to score an awesome Angels mylar at the party decor story by Grammy's house (which meant I made her pick up the balloons on the way to the party . . . she stuffed them in a plastic garbage bag but apparently the garbage bag kept floating around in her car so she had to pull over and stuff it in the trunk.

Our good friends the Samuelsons got Jamie this awesome hat - doesn't he look ready for the majors?

And here is the aforementioned Angel's bunting, I will put up a separate post about it tomorrow with the link to the tutorial I used to make it. It ended up a little bit long, but I think it added a certain summer feel to the party decor.

Birthday Giveaway! . . . only one day late!

I apologize for posting this a day late! Yesterday was my birthday and I started out the day at 3 am getting my 2 year old's cookies tossed all over me and running her a cool bath to reduce her fever.

Fun times.

We did manage to make it out of the house for a few hours, at 8 pm, to do some celebrating, yay!

So without further ado, here is the final birthday month giveaway. Remember, this weeks earlier giveaway is still open until Sunday night, so make sure to enter here.

First I have this awesome book called Your Space by Shannon Mullen, it has awesome projects for your home with gorgeous photos and step by step instructions.

I had to take some pictures of the inside too, the fabric choices are so yummy!

Also, yet another of my handmade zippy ruffled pouches in the small makeup bag size, it has a tone on tone ruffle and then a contrasting inside.

Last but not least, a little handmade lovely by me, what is it you ask? It's a secret! And therefore there is no picture of it ;)

So what must you do to win?

Simply leave me a comment telling me if you've done any sewing for your home, or what you'd like to make in the future!

For extra entries (and you know I love those extra entries), leave me a separate comment for each that you do:

1) Follow my blog

2) Leave a comment on any other non-giveaway post on my blog

3) Follow me on Twitter

4) Tweet about this giveaway and include a link to this post and @narniamum

Here is a sample tweet:

#giveaway Spice up your space with fabric - win the book Your Space on @narniamum http://bit.ly/cHwPJF

I will close the giveaway on Wednesday, July 7th at 11:59 pm, and post a winner on Thursday, July 8th).

Good luck!

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you for entering!

Birthday Month Giveaway #5

Our final weekly Birthday Month Giveaway! Whoo hoo! But remember, because tomorrow is my actual birthday I will be hosting yet another giveaway. Giveaways two days in a row? Insane, right?

Today we have two patterns and a little handmade lovely for one lucky winner.

First up we have this Spring Fling Apron pattern by The Apron Lady. The pattern includes small, medium, and large sizes as well as a reversible half apron!

Next up we have this pattern called Nishka's Purse, it is a pattern to make a pretty cool looking apron using some fabric for the lining and straps but the main body of the purse is made using a placemat.

I also have one of my ruffled zip pouches, in the small makeup bag size. It has a really lovely green with sprays of flowers for the main fabric, and a gorgeous Moda cream and beige print for the lining and ruffle.

The side looks a little crinkly in these picture because I stuck my computer mouse in it so it would stand up for the photo, but I promise it's not crinkly :)

So what must you do to win all of these lovelies?

Simply leave me a comment telling me about your favorite birthday!

For extra entries (and you know I love those extra entries), leave me a separate comment for each that you do:

1) Follow my blog

2) Leave a comment on any other non-giveaway post on my blog

3) Follow me on Twitter

4) Tweet about this giveaway and include a link to this post and @narniamum

Here is a sample tweet:

#giveaway : Win an apron pattern, purse pattern and handmade zippered ruffle pouch on @narniamum http://bit.ly/bqP4D3

I will close the giveaway on Sunday, July 4th (Happy Independence Day! Yay!) at 11:59 pm, and post a winner on Monday, July 5th).

Good luck!

This giveaway is now closed. Thank you for entering!

Sweet Baby James

Goodnight you moonlight ladies

Rock-a-bye sweet baby James

Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose

Won't you let me go down in my dreams

And rock-a-bye sweet baby James

Happy first birthday to my Sweet Baby James

Getting ready for the James Par-tay

You still have a few days left to enter the Birthday Month Giveaway #4, click here!

My little man is going to be turning one this Sunday! I can't believe it has been a whole year since he made his speedy and rather dramatic entrance into the world! James has enriched our lives immeausrably throughout the last year, and to celebrate his first birthday we are going to be having a pool side party tomorrow . . .

The theme?

Angels baseball of course!

I am sure everyone is so, so, very surprised . . . ahem.

Here is the front of his super duper cute baseball card invites!

Who can resist that smile? What a cutie pop.

I am a busy little bee trying to get everything ready for his party . . . because, um, well, I can never make it easy for myself. Because I am working yesterday and today, I was up until 2:30 am sewing and baking a cake. Tonight it's more sewing, more baking, some decorating (I may or may not be using my previously perfected on the Winnie the Pooh cake grass frosting technique), a little more sewing, frantic searching for the birthday shirt which I seem to have misplaced, and general insane pre-party busy-ness.

A few minor side notes:

a) I looked everywhere for current logo Angels fabric to add to the fabric bunting I am making. I could absolutely not find any . . . the fabric warehouse that is one city over from Angel's stadium - nothing. Joanns, a mere five miles from the Big A? Again nothing. However, they did both have Red Sox fabric . . . what the heck?

b) My Mom is awesome. She had on hand several yards of Angels fabric and sent it out to me . . . it is the old Anaheim Angels "Disney" logo, the one with the wings, many purist fans will disparage this logo, but I personally think it was kind of cute. Not as crisp as the current one, of course, but at least we were still the Anaheim Angels . . . not the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (how does that work again?)

c) The US Postal Service was shockingly prompt this week. My Mom mailed the fabric Saturday afternoon from Peabody, MA, and it was delivered to Whittier, CA, Monday morning at 11 am. I have never been more flabbergasted. Thanks post office!

d) I have discovered about myself that I can never just settle for doing something cute, I have to ramp up the cuteness factor, create more work for myself, stress myself out totally, and usually give up in tears and desperation at some forsaken pre-dawn hour the day of the event. If I ever went into event planning I would proabably produce adorable events but most likely experience a mental break within the first year.

Wish me luck.

The weather report for tomorrow is 74 degrees and mostly sunny.

Pool par-tay here we come (ready or not)!

Birthday Month Giveaway! #4

A fourth giveaway! Wowsa! I call this week's theme:

Quilting II

How extremely original of me!

For one lucky winner I have:

This cute quitling pattern by American Jane Patterns!

This pattern is intended to be used with the Look and Learn fabric line by Moda, but I think it could be easily adapted to any large horizontal print.

A book of lap quilt patterns! Eleven patterns all made using fat quarters!

And to get you started some fabric! Who doesn't love fabric? No really, who? Name me one person! I dare you!

Here are two lovely fat quarters, one is Buttercup from Joel Dewberry (love) and the other is a gorgeous stripe print from the Feelings Collection for Art Gallery Quilts.

So what must you do to win?

Simply leave me a comment, it can be about whatever you want!

For extra entries (and you know I love those extra entries), leave me a separate comment for each that you do:

1) Follow my blog

2) Leave a comment on any other non-giveaway post on my blog

3) Follow me on Twitter

4) Tweet about this giveaway and include a link to this post and @narniamum

Here is a sample tweet:

Win a quilting pattern book and two #fabric fat quarters on @narniamum #giveaway http://bit.ly/aqwZmp

I will close the giveaway on Sunday, June 27th at 11:59 pm, and post a winner on Monday, June 28th, just in time for next Tuesday's giveaway to start!

Good luck!

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for entering!