Posts by Nat

A Birthday Party for My Sweet Boy

Posted by Nat on Mar 27, 2012 | 7 comments

My son, Jack, is 3.

Pardon me while I pause and soak that in…

What is it about 3?  I was just saying to my mom that it seems like 3 is a big birthday.  With both my oldest, and now Jack, they seem to flip a switch and all of a sudden they are their own person with their own quirks.  Jack is blooming into his own little self, and it’s fascinating to watch.  He is a super sweet little boy, and is also becoming more OF a boy each day.

So let me start this series by just saying (and perhaps emphasizing) this:

I am usually not a party person.

When I say that, I mean that I do not usually get into the perfection aspect of parties that you can easily get swept into.  I think it’s totally fine for people to throw a Pinterest-worthy party, as evidenced by the fact that this one *might* (or might not) qualify as semi-Pinterest worthy.  Up until now, though, I never thought I’d even want to venture forth and try one.  Now that I am not getting paid to do the work I love (being home with my kids), I thought it would be fun to put some effort into a party and see if it feels “worth it” in the end.  Today I’m just going to give you some highlights, and then in upcoming posts I’m going to give you all the deets on where I got my ideas (hellllo- Pinterest {okay maybe some were just my own}), what I liked/didn’t like in the end, etc.

I need to send a big thank you to my friend and fellow blogger, Tonya of Create-Celebrate-Explore.   Tonya is an amazing woman, and she takes amazing pictures.  She so nicely sent me many of the photos she took at the party.  If you see a picture that says, “Thank you, Tonya” on it, she took it and I cannot take credit.  I did just get a new camera, but at this party I had not received it yet, so PicMonkey (something I also found through Tonya) is helping me out, too.

Onto the photos.  These are just highlights- more to come!

Invitations were from Shutterfly.

Birthday Balloon Wreath

(this will be a family tradition for us now)

Streamers- these were really fun to make!  More on them soon…

We had a Scavenger Hunt for the kids- it was super cute.

Cupcakes are always easiest, and…

Candy pops, to boot!

Lastly, balloons.  Ah, how my little boy loves balloons!

See you tomorrow when I’ll start spilling sources, how-tos, and more!

New Camera!

Posted by Nat on Mar 26, 2012 | 2 comments

Hello CC Friends!

It’s Monday the 26th of March.  This happens to be the day after my birthday.  And what a birthday weekend it was!  I’m 36 now.  Officially heading towards 40, even though I still feel 29.  Maybe 28.

My sweet son, Jack, was born March 23rd, 2009.  We had his 3rd birthday party on Saturday, which I will be sharing with you soon.  I’m really pleased with how the party went, and hope I can share it with you in a little “mini-series” which would be a first.

The most wonderful thing about my own birthday is this pretty little lady:

My husband found it for me after hours of combing Craig’s List for several days.  I couldn’t be more pleased with it- it’s the perfect “step up” camera.  I have no idea how to use it and shall commence tutorial combing soon.  My Canon Powershot SD750 was just not giving me the photos I want for this blog and for our family.  Watch my Pinterest Boards– there’s going to be lots of photography stuff going up soon!

In this new year for me I want to do so much- I want to make a bucket list, center my goals up, and finish my Happiness Project with the ladies at Chronically Distracted.  Many, many goals.

I’ll be back tomorrow (hopefully) with a summary of Jack’s party.  Today I need to recover, organize, and regain my sanity.  Not to mention update the family blog and maybe do some dishes.  Oh, and work.  I should probably do some work.  🙂

Happy Monday (if there is such a thing)!

Pinterest Projects: Butterfly Window

Posted by Nat on Mar 23, 2012 | Comments Off on Pinterest Projects: Butterfly Window

Maybe I should call this “Butterfly Week”?

{For my fellow Pinterest Pals:  Please do NOT pin this post!  Please go the the original post, linked below, and pin her original content. I want to blog and pin with integrity, and I am not the original person who thought of this- she deserves the credit.  Thanks!}

I saw this post, pinned it on my Pinterest board, and wanted to tackle it immediately.  As in, “We-must-drink-all-the-milk-so-I-can-prep-this-project” immediately.  Alas, I had to gather a few of the supplies, so it was not that quick.  It was most excellent to have a valid excuse to buy a huge pack of Sharpies in lots of colors.  Who doesn’t love Sharpies, right?

I was so happy that I did this with Anna.  Truth be told, she only did the coloring, and she wore out much sooner than I did, but still- she did a few and it was fun.  And she loves them. Every once in a while she will say, “Mommy!  Look!  There are real, live butterflies in our window!”  I’ll say, “No way, really?!”  And she’ll say, “No, silly, they’re just pretend.”  I’m going to miss four.  Four really is fun.

The only thing I will add to the excellent directions on the original post, is that putting these in the window has caused most of the colors to fade. The yellow faded within a few days.  The magenta color hardly budged, though- must be something in the pigment.  It was easy to take them down and touch them up, though.  I love them for this time of year.  So fun.  Make some.  Make them right  now- you can thank me later.

Happy Weekend- my son turns three today, so there will be party posts forthcoming!

Operation Organization: Pouches for Toys

Posted by Nat on Mar 21, 2012 | 2 comments

I fit some sewing in a few weeks ago and am so happy with what I ended up with.  My kids had a few toys that needed to be contained.  Some blocks that needed a better/cuter home than a Ziploc bag, and Connectagons from my mom at Christmas time.

I knew just where to go for what I needed.  My friend Kari’s blog, Handmade Mommy, has a lovely tutorial on fishing reel drawstring bags.  I thought they’d be perfect for the kids because they are easy to open and shut, and you can make them whatever size you need.  Here’s my final product:

Aren’t they cute?  I lined the inside with white flannel just to keep them a bit thicker and sturdy.

These blocks look so much better in a cute bag, don’t you think?

Thanks so much for the tutorial, Kari!

Pinterest Projects: Butterfly Canvas

Posted by Nat on Mar 19, 2012 | Comments Off on Pinterest Projects: Butterfly Canvas

Ever since I saw this post on Whatever, I have wanted to do this project with my sweet little Anna.  The moment I saw it I added it to my “Things I’d Like to Make” board on Pinterest.  Anna loves butterflies, paint, and crafts.  I wanted something for our craft/office/guest room over the bed.  While I’m not totally pleased with the yellow I ended up with on the canvas, I do love the effect and the bright colors it brings to the room.

Here’s our paper pre-butterfly punching.  The act of painting the colors itself was therapeutic.  I’ll let you guess which one is Anna’s.

I bought three different butterfly punches (used a coupon for each one), and all of them were Martha Stewart brand.  They all worked so nicely.

I didn’t let Anna help with the hot glue- something about 4-year-olds and hot glue doesn’t go together for me.  But the end result is lovely.  I may move it to Anna’s room when I figure something else out for this wall- it doesn’t seem quite big enough, but we’ll let it sit for now.

I would advise a few things:

• Get yourself a nice set of watercolors with lots of color options.  I did a first round with just the Crayola watercolors and the effect wasn’t as nice.
• Use  nice watercolor paper.  It’s very thick and dries better.

Happy butterfly creating!