Category: parties

Party Animals: Ardyn turns 6
Party Animals & Animal Parties!

Here we go…

We try to do birthday parties every other year so Mama doesn’t go crazy (or broke!) and this year Ardyn was adamant about having an ANIMAL party…at the house…with live animals. I’m pretty sure we narrowly escaped having a Zombies 2 party by like a week. Whew! Good timing on that release, Disney!

Anyways, I started with a quick pinterest search for “animal party” which, of course, led me to 98363416387430 ideas. But the two that stuck were a beautiful animal cake, which I later realized was my own friend Samatha’s! (@hellotinylove) and the idea of an “(stuffed) animal adoption station”. I took those two ideas and promptly left pinterest before getting too overwhelmed!

I booked a small petting zoo and animal face painter through the same company (which was convenient) and then started thinking about some simple activities for the 25 little 5-6 year old girls that would be attending!! I just started thinking about my girls and how they play, what their favorite activities are: crafting, playing pretend, grooming their dolls/stuffed animals, etc. So I came up with four super simple “activity stations” that would be cheap and allow me to use some things we already had around the house. Here were our animal stations:

1. Adopt an animal/Fill out adoption certificate (supplies: some mini stuffed animals, a small fence I crafted from Hobby Lobby supplies, a few mini bales of hay from Hobby Lobby for effect, and some printable adoption certificates)

2. Decorate your animals “house” (supplies: large cupcake holder boxes with window, crinkle cut paper and some foam stickers)

3. Make your animal a collar (supplies: pipe cleaner & beads. I went “extra” and found tiny gold license tags and small gold bells at Hobby Lobby)

4. Give your pet a check-up at the vet (supplies: all of our pretend doctor stuff from the play room! I bought a few funny nurse hats for the girls to put on, too)

The girls LOVED these activity tables and hardly played with the real animals! (note to future self). The girls played non-stop, got their faces painted and had some lunch and cake. It was the perfect little party- and best of all- Ardyn asked to do it all again, exactly the same, for her next birthday! She also asked to keep a real bunny from the petting zoo, but that’s not happening. Better luck next year, Cub! 😉

Food: Lots of you asked about what food we served & said you get hung up on the food aspect of hosting. I do too-every dang time! Here’s what we did: Aside from cake we had chick-fil-a nuggets for the kids, “fruit cones”, a bowl of peeled clementines, and a bunch of “grab & take” snacks like applesauce pouches, animal crackers, pirates booty, etc. We served some tacos & chips from a local taco shop for the adults!

Links & more pictures below!

LINKS:

Petting Zoo & Face Painter

Cake: Society Bakery (inspo: @hellotinylove)

Balloons: Float Balloon Bar

Party Animals Vinyl (I bought 23×21″ & attached to a giant poster board & set on an easel)

Plastic Animals: Target or Amazon (we had a bunch already, but here are a few sets I found: 1 | 2 | 3| 4)

Mini Animal Party hats

Party Animal Headbands

Stuffed Animals: Amazon (here are a few I bought: horse | cat | tiger | owl | flamingo | pig) These were pricey but we used them as the main party activity AND favors. Plus, I supplemented with some cheapies I found at Target.

Animal “Houses” |crinkle paper | foam sticker shapes & letters

Simple “Thank You for Coming” stickers for the houses

Plates| Napkins | forks | confetti

Customizable Printables | Don’t Feed the Animals| Adoption Certificate

Plastic Paper Displays for Signs

Fake leaves

Giant giraffe

Doctor Kit | Doctor Kit that comes with some “paperwork pads” |mini clipboards | golf pencils | nurse hats | This grooming station would’ve also been adorable!

Ice Cream Cone Holder (saw this idea to fill ice cream cones with fruit on my friend @Sa_anderson ‘s page and loved it so much! They were a HIT!)

Disco Balls: giant | medium |tiny

Stands for Animals: acrylic| colored plastic

Paw Print Clings for floor
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March 10, 2020
Nutcracker Dresses
Ok, you’ve been asking- so here it is. A round-up of some of my favorite looks for your little ones to wear to the Nutcracker! (Although these can pretty much be worn to any holiday event/party!)

I broke down my picks into three different styles…

Classic: One of my favorite looks! I love how innocent and youthful little girls look when wearing this style…they’re only little once, you know? For this style you’ll want to add some knee socks and patent leather shoes to your cart along with a classic peacoat to complete the look. Bows are always a plus! 😉

one |two|three|four|five (use code: chirpingmoms20%) |six |seven|eight|nine |ten|eleven|twelve |thirteen |fourteen (use code: chirping20)|fifteen(use code: chirping20)| sixteen(use code: chirping20)|seventeen (use code: chirping20)|eighteen(use code: chirping20)

Whimsical:What little girls doesn’t want to feel just as elegant as the ballerinas on stage when going to see the Nutcracker? My girls LOVE these “fancy dresses” as they call them…bonus points if it includes twirl factor! Add some tights (or bare legs, weather permitting), some ballet flats, a precious faux fur coat and sparkly headband to complete this look!

one|two|three |four|five|six|seven|eight|nine|ten|eleven|twelve

Fun & Festive: If you want something a bit more playful and casual, these dresses are perfect. Most of them have a Nutcracker or Holiday themed print on them and I know my girls always go nuts about anything with a Nutcracker on it this time of year! The best part of these dresses is that you can dress them up with tights and mary janes, or play them down with some cute booties!

one|two|three|four|five|six|seven|eight|nine|ten

And after some digging by my sweet friend (and favorite prior boutique owner!), she was able to track down THE Nutcracker Dress from my two-year-old IG post for you!! Yay!

Happy Shopping!
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November 19, 2019
Halloween S’mores with Boden
As soon as I saw these cute little ghost-shaped peeps at the store I KNEW we had to make some ghost s’mores to celebrate it (finally!) being October.

And, want to know the best part about making s’mores in Texas in early October?

You don’t even need a heat source…the sun will provide that for you! 😉

jk…kind of.

If you don’t have a fire pit (or it’s just too dang hot to use it) but you’re still craving a sweet Halloween Treat, try making these spooky s’mores in the oven (or under the TX sun!)! I promise they’re just as yummy!

And to get further into the Halloween spirit, check out Boden’s new Halloween and Fall lines below. I’m in love with all of Boden’s stylish play clothes! They are a household favorite for sure! ***And just for YOU, use code HLWN for 15% off plus free shipping and returns over $49! (valid 10/2-10/25)***

Links for our outfits:

Girls Outfits

Max’s Outfit

Looking for even more festive Halloween clothes to get in the spirit? Check out my fav picks from Boden’s Halloween Shop!

Halloween Girl Shop | Halloween Boy Shop

Don’t forget to use code HLWN for 15% off plus free shippings and returns over $49! (valid 10/2-10/25)
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October 3, 2019
Valentine Gift Ideas
- Ok, better late than never, right? The good news is, lots of these Valentine’s Gift Giving ideas are super affordable and can be purchased & here in time for the big day!
FOR YOUR KIDDOS

My mom always says, “Don’t set expectations you don’t intend to keep.”

Translation:
- Do I want to spoil my kiddos with overflowing baskets on Valentine’s Day because I love them and because gift-giving is my love language? Yes.
- If I do this one year, will they they expect this every single year and be disappointed the year that I don’t/can’t do it. Also yes.
So- we keep it small and simple on V-day. Just a little surprise for them to open. And hey, if you do it up BIG…good for you! If you don’t- that’s awesome, too! To each their own, right? We like to do it up a bit at Easter (see my Easter basket post HERE) – so there’s no judgement here if your house looks like Christmas morning on Valentine’s Day or if you just give your kiddos a big hug and tell them how much you love them an extra amount of times! This is just what we do. 🙂

I found these super cute tin pails at Hobby Lobby. I got white for the girls and red for Max! I can use them year after year and they are small enough to prevent me from trying to fill them with TOO much junk! 😉

What the girls are getting: a candy necklace, JoJo Siwa bath bomb, heart cookie, enamel pins, a few surprise packs (ALL from Target) and a cute little sequins mermaid tail key ring for their backpacks (from Hobby Lobby). I might throw a new book in each girl’s pail from my recent Usborne haul.

What Max is getting: “Feelings” felt activity book, some Annie’s gummies, (both from Target) a Paw Patrol surprise pack, and Mickey Mouse lollipop spinner (both from Hobby Lobby)

CLASS VALENTINES
- For Max- We went easy. I didn’t want to do candy for toddlers and lots of the cheap toys I found were borderline chokeables. So back to my old applesauce pouch it is! My sweet and crazy talented friend Steph from Joy Creative Shop (our kiddos go to school together and she is literally one of the sweetest humans ever!) created these (and ALL of my) tags this year! How CUUUTE are these Awesome Sauce tags?! Add some cute ribbon and boom- easiest, cheapest valentine’s ever!
- For Ardyn- I always love to think of non-candy ideas, especially while they are still little and before you become “the lame mom who gives crayons” in elementary school…ahem, Q!! I think these “I heart U” crayon sets from the sweet mama @kelseypaigefrazier on IG are just SO precious and the kiddos will love them. They were the most expensive of all the class valentines I did this year, but Ardyn’s preschool class is super small so it worked out! These would be great to give out to just close friends or if you have a small class, too! Of, course the Joy Creative Shop “Color My World” tags were the PERFECT addition!!
- For Quinlin- For Q’s fairly large class, I wanted something on the cheaper/easier side. I found this big containers of individually wrapped cookies at Target! They were called “DecoCookies” and came 8 to a box. I slapped on some simple, yet precious sticker tags from Joy Creative Shop and boom- cheap & easy!
FOR TEACHERS/ASSISTANTS, ETC.

Ok, the KEY to my Teacher Valentines this year was THIS precious printable Joy Creative Shop made for me. Have your kiddo fill it out and it instantly makes ANY little treat you give more personal and meaningful!!

Best news EVER? Steph created these as FREEEEEEE printables for YOU! All you need to do is sign up for her newletter- hurry, run!!! I plan on filling them out for each of my kiddos and sticking them in their Valentines buckets, too!

A few ideas to pair with your printables:
- Pair your printable with some beautiful heart stationary or initial notepad from Joy Creative Shop and a cute pen!
- Found this sweet heart clip board at Hobby Lobby. I used some transfer letters (also from HL) to personalize the clipboard with the teacher’s name!
- Literally ANY little treat! The tiny mason jars were in the $ spot at Target and I filled them with these sour hearts from Target and the XO gummies from Trader Joes. Another cute idea- paper heart boxes (craft section at Target) filled with some heart shaped candies. Orrrr…my favorite idea: A perfectly sweet cupcake from your local bakery, wrapped up with some cute twine! (white cupcake boxes from Hobby Lobby!)
Seriously, these Joy Creative Shop printables work with ANYTHING! I’m obsessed! Go get yours—> HERE!

FOR GRANDPARENTS/RELATIVES

Create a mini Chatbook photo book with pics from a recent trip or a fun memory and pair with your Joy Creative Shop printable! Seriously, how cute is that!?! New to Chatbooks? Click HERE for $10 off your first book order!

GALENTINES (Or, hey- TEACHERS too!)

Pretty much obsessed with the idea of a funny mug (SimplyMade Greetings are my FAVORITE!) filled with some candy and paired with a cute O-Ring key chain from O-Venture ( My favorite gift to give!) Fill with some candies, maybe a can of prosecco and don’t forget to add a sweet printable to tell your gal pal why you adore her so much…even if it is because she loves wines as much as you! 😉

Have you ever received a Galentine? I received my first EVER Galentine from none other than Steph from Joy Creative last year and, I mean…it MADE. MY. DAY!

SIGNIFICANT OTHERS

Ryan and I don’t really do Valentine’s Day, but if we did- I’d give him a “Date Night” coupon- line up a sitter & make reservations to a fun new restaurant we’ve never been to before!

FOR IDEAS OF VALENTINE’S WE’VE GIVEN IN THE PAST, CHECK OUT THIS POST!

Happy Heart Day, friends!

Don’t Want to Forget these ideas? Or would you like to share them with friends?
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February 3, 2019
Max’s First Birthday
“Wild ONE”

Some HOW, Some WAY this tiny newborn of mine turned a full year old. I’m just over here trying to wrap my head around the fact that I’ve known this sweet boy {on the outside} for 365 days. It’s pretty unbelievable- in the fact that I can’t believe how fast it went, but also in the fact that I can hardly remember life without him.

Anyways, all sentimental mommy emotions aside…here is what we did to celebrate our little MAX!

We went with the “Wild ONE” theme because, first of all his name is MAX and this costume from last Halloween kind of set the whole thing in motion. And secondly- because this kid is pretty much the definition of WILD!

We decided against a big party this year and just celebrated low-key with family. Of course I went over-the-top with decorations, but that’s just to be expected… 😉

Max’s birthday started the same way we start all the kids’ birthdays since Q was born: their “Annual Birthday Balloon Wake-up”! We all piled into the Birthday Boy’s room with a ton of balloons and sang him “Happy Birthday!”

He hated it.

No literally, he cried.

It’s always been a tradition to decorate the mantle for holidays & birthdays. So, of course, Max’s birthday was no exception! I’ll link that cute green “ride-on” bike below with everything else!

We had a normal day and then had all of our family members come over for a casual dinner that night. We ate, drank, open presents, and had cake– simple…like in the olden days. (But with a dining room decorated like the jungle, and goodie bags for the girls, and a million balloons. Ok. So- NOT simple. But, simpler than a big old party!) 😉

One fun idea I (and by “I”, I mean Pinterest) had was for everyone to write a little note to Max in a copy of “Where the Wild Things Are”. I’ll save it along with the birthday cards he received from anyone who couldn’t be here.

I decided last minute to give the girls tiny goodie bags. I filled them with fun trinkets like stickers, slime bath bomb (to use in the OUTDOOR water table- NOT in our bathtub), some surprise packs, and a few treats.) I figured it would make the “boring grown up dinner” a little more festive for them….AND keep them occupied for a bit, so that us “boring grown ups” could talk!

Another great idea that just kind of fell into place was the idea of this mini “photo booth”. I still had the piano room set up from Max’s cake smash shoot, so I just took out the high chair, replaced it with a bench and had my family take turns taking pictures there with Max. Turned into a cute idea! I think I’ll print the pics and put them in his “Wild Things” memento book!

(Sidebar: For the animal party hats. I bought plain party hats and the animal ear headbands separately. I then just glued the animal ears to the party hats!! 🙂 )

In lieu of a party, (and also because I like to celebrate my kids’ birthdays for more than one day) we spent the next day at the zoo together. We had so much fun!

And we can’t forget Max’s “cake smash”! I had this sweet little “Wild Thing” cake made by a local bakery called Fancy Cakes by Lauren and it was perfect…and delicious! (See ya, later snobby old Society Bakery! See HERE for why!) 😉

Honestly, despite the smiles- Max HATED the cake smash. He was angry when his fingers got dirty and he didn’t get even a little bit happy until we gave him a spoon. He “tasted” the frosting once or twice but mostly just enjoyed hammering the cake with the spoon.

And just because before and afters are fun….

Good work, Bud!

And then lastly, I took his final #ayeartotheMax picture. I delayed for a few days because I was NOT ready for these monthly pictures to be over. They were so fun to do and I KNEW how quickly it would all fly by. I may or may not have cried when I took this last one.

Fastest year of my LIFE!!!

But, also…the very BEST year with my little family of five!!!

Happy {WILD} O-N-E, sweet Max-a-roo!! We love you, Moose Man!

Links

“One Wild Year”, “Wild One” and Animal Print Pendant Banners are all from my favorite, FAVORITE go-to spot for all my party banner & felt ball garland needs –Pearl & Jane!!

Max’s “Wild One” Tee | Max’s “Wild Thing” Tee | Max’s adorable “1” crown | Max’s adorable Monthly onesies | Girls’ Zoo Dresses

Animal Face Plates | Leaf Plates | Striped Plates | Snake Cups| Party Hats | Animal Ear Headbands | Green Fringe Garland |Small Animal Balloons: Lion , Panda Bear, Monkey, Tiger , Crocodile , Hippo|Flamingo Balloon- Target Dollar spot, similar one HERE | Large Zebra Balloon | Large Crocodile Balloon | Wild One Balloons | Fake Palm & Banana Leaves- Target Dollar spot | Snake Party Blowers | Max’s green “bike” present
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May 3, 2018
Ballerina Birthday
Ok guys, you’ve been SO patient with me while I edited the 24,000,000 pictures I took at Ardyn’s 4th “Ballet” Birthday Party (…and I may have gotten a little lazy on the last 1,000,000 photos) BUT-they’re done. So without further ado, here are the deets and links!

And if you love what you see, help a girl out and go right ahead and pin that little bad boy down alllllllll the way down at the bottom! 😉

For starters I had NO idea what kind of party to throw Ardyn this year. Usually we are in California over her birthday and we skip “a party” and celebrate by doing something fun with her cousins. But this year, she actually asked for a party with her friends, for the first time. And although this may seem a bit extravagant for a four year old’s birthday, let me just say that this is actually the first real birthday party she’s ever had. (We celebrated her first birthday with a few close family friends at a play center- but I’m counting THIS as her first “real birthday party”! )

Anyways, I was calling around to local dance centers because I wanted to switch the girls’ dance studio where they take ballet. I found this local one and knew how gorgeous and bright the rooms were- so, before I hung up with the receptionist I asked if they ever host birthday parties. She said no…BUT that the studios were available to rent hourly. So…the planning began! Tip: Always ask if a place you love “rents out their space”. Just because they don’t officially “host” parties doesn’t mean you can’t make it work!

The lady told me I could hire an instructor to help run the party and we basically went from there! Our instructor ran an hour long dance class for the girls and then we followed with 30 minutes for lunch & cake! The timing was perfect & the girls were occupied the entire time! I included links to all the vendors below as well as some party planning and decor tips!

We had these gorgeous tutus from Trevi Ave Co. available for girls to put on for the party and then take home as favors! They were a hit. AND Trevi Ave Co. is offering YOU GUYS an exclusive discount: 10% off orders $26.99+, ends 4/1/18. Use code: JORDANANDCO! My girls wear these around the house for dress up and to dance class all the time! They are so adorable!

The incredibly gorgeous “Let’s Twirl” banner (along with all the food cards & wand tags) were done by the talented Alexandra over at Lady Bird Paper Co. Seriously, go click on that link…her work is amazing!!!

The leaf garland was an old find in the Target dollar section last year. The cute little rack was an Amazon find! I loved that it had two heights. I put it on the lower one so that it was right at the kiddos level!

Ardyn’s outfit and crown are by Plum NYC. (She is wearing a size 4)

To put the main cake table together, I contacted my girl Amy from Pearl and Jane. She is my GO-TO for all garlands and all things pretty. I gave her my theme and a few inspiration pics and she put together the most gorgeous package of goodies! The pink tutu puff garland, the “Tutu cute” banner, the gold star garland, and the “Tiny Dancer” chair garland were all by Pearl & Jane!. She is SO incredibly talented and you might recognize her work from all of my monthly “Book Nook” posts!

To put the backdrop together, I use large command hooks on the studio walls (got permission first) and then hung this cheap white ruffle shower curtain up, and then this cute iridescent fringe curtain from Shop Sweet Lulu over it. Then I layered with my Pearl and Jane garlands and added some balloon arrangements from Balloons Everyday to either side!

The adorable wands pictured above were by a new little shop I discovered browsing Etsy one day. It’s called Spartan54 and they were so great to work with! I loved how these little wands came out and the girls were SO excited to take one home with their Trevi Ave Co tutus! AND, more good news…Spartan54 is offering you guys 15% off your order of $40.00 or more!! Use code: JORDANANDCO15

The perfectly dainty food name cards, and the wand favor tags, again, were by the talented Lady Bird Paper Co!

The pink letter board was a find at my local Hobby Lobby!

The tables and chairs I unfortunately had to rent. I got them from Big D Party Rentals. They were great but got stuck in traffic and arrived with all of my tables, chairs and table clothes (that needed to be decorated) TEN minutes before the party started! Thank GOD I had my whole family there to help set up!

Fake flowers, feathers, pink gauze runner – Hobby Lobby | Swan Plates | Crown Party Hats | Placemats | Pink Stripe Napkins | Confetti | Leaf Twine – old from Target | Glass milk jugs | pink paper straws | Cookie on top of milk jar for an extra little treat! 😉 | Swan centerpiece | Giant Balloons | Tiny Dancer Chair Banner | Pink Dipped Wooden Forks|

The cake was custom from Society Bakery. HOWEVER, I’m not linking them, nor am I recommending them…I need a new cake shop. Anyone local got one for me?! The customer service was awful, the cake was not cheap, and the frosting literally started falling off the cake halfway through the party. We had to rush the girls to sing “Happy Birthday” before the cake was completely ruined. It was the craziest thing…just as if the frosting was full-on melting off of the cake. I’ve never seen anything like it- and the room was NOT hot!!!

The GORGEOUS fondant ballet slippers I ordered from Wonder Cake Deco and they literally MADE the cake!!! Society Bakery doesn’t do fondant either…another reason I need to go elsewhere!

The signed ballet slipper was from our first trip to see the Nutcracker, we bought this slipper worn & signed by the Sugar Plum Fairy. It’s one of the girls most prized possessions!Q’s outfit: Trevi Ave Co & Cute Bird Accessories Bow!

These wands from Spartan54 were totally a hit!! The tag from Lady Bird Paper Co says “you are tutu sweet for coming!”

Food Ideas:

(we did a play on words with some ballet terms)

“demi” donuts: white powdered donuts

“ballet school of fish” : pink goldfish

“pink puffs”: cotton candy on ice cream cones

“tutti frutti”: fruit platter

“tea sandwiches”: mini sandwiches from Corner Bakery

“perfectly pink popcorn”: popcorn, yogurt dipped pretzels & pink marshmallow mix,

Do you not die over the little girlies picking out their tutus?! I cannot!

A few fun images from the dance class. Our instructor was incredible!

And then it was time for lunch & cake!

(Bonus points if you can spot the “melting cake” in the pictures!!)

And then I took a million pictures with these gorgeous balloons (that were too big to come home with us) before we left. Balloons Everyday really does a superb job! We use them for all our parties! As we were leaving the girls asked if they could send one up to PopPop since he couldn’t be there to celebrate. Gah- that gets me everytime.

And there you have it! I think it’s safe to say that Cub enjoyed herself…seeing as how she fell asleep about 0.05 seconds after hitting the car!

I hope you found this party guide helpful! I know a lot of you mentioned that you were also throwing Ballerina parties and wanted all the links and inspiration you could get. Honestly, I worked with some of the most incredible vendors and I HIGHLY recommend all of them for any of your party needs…ballerina or otherwise!
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March 11, 2018
Class Valentines
*Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom for a fun giveaway!*

Don’t have Valentine’s yet? Don’t panic! Here’s what we did this year, along with links for everything to make this as painless as possible! 😉

For the girls:

OB-sessed with these clips in general…but giving them out as Galentines? Genius! You can still order in time for V-day, so hurry over!

Ryan and Wren Clips

Gender Neutral:

ZDOUGH: We gave this Zdough as favors at Q’s birthday party this summer and it was a hit! Each batch is handmade and is scented. We got strawberry flavored, custom stamped with a heart & I found these perfect “berry much” cards to go with them over at Minted. I linked them both below! Ardyn is giving these to her whole class.

ZDough | Berry Much Cards

COLOR MY WORLD: Since I did the clips for the girls in Q’s class, I needed something for the boys. I loved these cards I found on Minted and taped some crayons on the back to complete the gift. I added the “tic-tac-toe” option to the back of the cards to give the kiddos a little something extra to color! Linked below!

Also, how cute is it that I was able to find two completely different companies/cards for the boys and the girls with the SAME sayings? Love it!

Color My World Cards | Crayons

Teachers:

I opted for some personalized Initial stationary from Paper Source for our teachers this year. I went with their FIRST name initial so that they could use the set outside of the classroom! I bought the cards and envelopes and then bought a bunch of fun trimmings to wrap them up all cute. I then had the girls write a quick note to their teachers on the little red heart cards, stuck them in the pink envelopes they came with, stuck an xoxo stamp on the envelope and then slid that into the back of the stationary bundle. I linked everything below. 🙂

Letter Stationary | Colored Envelopes

(You can go as crazy or as simple with this as you want with decorating the stationary bundle. I linked everything we used below!)

Colored Twine |Paper (similar) I bought one sheet and cut it in thin strips to wrap around the stationary bundle for a pretty pop of color |Gold Foil Trim (Similar) | Valentine’s Day Stickers |Gold Heart Doillies |Red Heart Cards |XOXO stamp

And here are a few other ideas that we’ve done in years past:

“I heART you”

(I love this one! Completely handmade cards- we used index cards, I wrote out the words in sharpie and let Q go to town with her paints. Then I tied on some cheap water color paints, you can buy them HERE. This was one of my favorites for sure!)

“Main Squeeze”

Super easy: bought the applesauce pouches at target and had the cards made at Love Lucy Design

“Thanks a Latte”

Last year I ordered these cute cards, you can get a free printable HERE, glued on a cardboard coffee sleeve and stuck a Starbs GC inside each. A Teacher hit, for sure!

“Anything Goes”

Looking for super sweet & simple Valentine cards or stickers that could go with ANYTHING? Check out Joy Creative Shop I adore her stuff!!

“In My Heart”

Two years ago I actually gifted Q’s teacher one of our favorite books, In My Heart. She wrote a message to her teacher inside and we wrapped it up all cute with supplies we found in the Target Dollar Section! This is a great (and sentimental) Valentine idea.

Thanks all I’ve got for now…so many cute ideas out there! I’d love to know what YOU are doing! Let me know in the comments below.

AND if you are interested in winning a shop credit to ZDough and RyanandWren (why wouldn’t you be?!) head on back to my IG page to enter!

Good luck, friends!!
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February 1, 2018
Thank You: say it, write it, make it pretty
So, let me start off by saying- I’m not an etiquette expert (…by any means!) but I do bring hostess gifts to parties and I am a stickler for a hand-written thank you cards. In a world where EVERYTHING is done and accomplished through a screen and a keyboard, I’m a firm believe that a good old-fashioned hand-written thank you card will NEVER go out of style!

I mentioned on my Instagram stories the other day that I always keep thank you cards and stationary on hand at the house. You never know when you may need to send a little “thanks” to someone. Listen, I know what you’re going to say- you can always drive to Target and pick some generic thank you cards up in a pinch, BUT there is something so nice about receiving a note on pretty personalized stationary, don’t you think?

Here are a few of my favorite picks for Thank You cards in kids, baby, women’s, men’s and family categories:

KIDS THANK YOU CARDS

I want my kids to learn the art of sending a thank you note, however- when my children are just learning to write, I like to keep it as simple (and tear free) as possible. Of course, I write thank you cards for my children until they are old enough to write themselves, but even in Ardyn’s case- even though she can’t write yet, I still make her “sign” her own name on the card. That being said, for younger children, I think the “fill-in” cards are adorable. I love the ones that also allow the child to color them in. I think it adds so much personality and really shows that an extra effort was made.

Kid’s Color-in TY

Fun Face Fill-in TY

Kids Rainbow Font Fill-in Thank You

Rainbow Dot Fill-in TY with pic

Simple Thank You

Fun Summer TY

BABY THANK YOU CARDS

Here’s my general rule for baby cards (and this is totally just a “me” thing)…I WANNA SEE A PICTURE OF THAT CUTE BABY’S FACE! Hah! But really, though. I always try to opt for a baby thank you card that has a place for a picture on it. For Max, I used a cute & simple picture from his newborn session, put it on a very simple, personalized thank you card, and I used that card all the way up until, well- last week, when I received a baptism gift from an Aunt. Of course, the trouble with those cards is that you obviously can only use them for about 6months to a year before the child way outgrows the photo. For Q&A, when they outgrow their personalized picture thank you cards, I give them the extras for their art center to play “mail” with. Great letter-writing practice! 😉

Needless to say- simple, beautiful, non-photo thank you cards are always a great option as well!

Cloud Baby TY

Elephant Baby TY

Baby Photo TY

WOMEN’S THANK YOU CARDS

I’m just a sucker for pretty stationary and I like having cards that are personalized and “thank you” specific, on hand at all times. I only order them once a year (about 20 of them) and I love that when something comes up…ie an Instagram BFF sends me a fun surprise in the mail 😉 I have a card ready to send. Here are a few of my favorites:

Personalized Watercolor TY

Personalized Flowers TY

Personalized Gold Foil Dots TY

MEN’S THANK YOU CARDS

So, I don’t have anything for this category mainly because of two things (And I’m just going from personal experience here): 1. Ahem, I’M the one writing alllllll thank you cards for any gifts that come through the house around here and 2. On the rare occasion Ryan needs to send a thank you note of his own- it is usually business-related and he will send it on company letterhead, OR if it’s personal- I still think he’d chose a simple masculine card with his name and or monogram embossed on it. I just can’t see him reaching for any sort of “thank you” card with polka dots and gold foil borders! Haha. I DO get him his own stationary (see below) just not “thank you” specific cards.

FAMILY THANK YOU CARDS

Going on what I said above, I feel like having a family thank you card on hand is a good idea because it covers all bases and yet, still feels personal. I like to keep our family card super simple. Again, I buy about 10-15 of my favorite design once a year and I rarely go through them all. These are great to give to party hosts, to give as thank yous for gifts after Christmas, for family/friends that hosted you on a trip, or for anytime you feel the need to say thank you to someone on behalf of your whole family! Again, simple stationary would do the trick here, but I do like having just a few “thank you” specific cards on hand!

Gold Foil Family TY

STATIONARY FOR ALL

Ok, so now that Thank You cards are out of the way, I also LOVE to have really pretty, really simple letterhead stationary for each member of the family. Not a ton, just a small handful for the rare occasion when a written note is in order. I’m in love with Joy Creative Shop’s stuff. She also makes notebooks (you all know how much I love a notebook!), stickers, meal planners, gift tags, etc. And I just really like how clean, simple, and fun all of her stuff is! You have to go check her out for all of your family’s paper good needs!

EXTRAS

So I keep a few bins of “letter writing essentials” in my office. Here’s what I keep in them:

1. Pretty stamps. I know it’s dumb…like spending money on cute checks…but I can’t help it. A pretty stamp makes the whole package come together, you know what I mean? No? Ok, maybe I’m going a bit overboard here. Anyways, I buy cute stamps on amazon whenever I see ones that I love. THESE fern ones are my favorite!

2. Address stamper, I got one from Ink Me This on Etsy. Love their designs!

3. Cute washi tape to seal my envelopes with. HERE are some cute neutral ones that I love but I also really like supporting small Etsy shops like Pretty Tape (bonus points for her being local…anything to speed up shipping to my impatient online-shopping self!)

I find that writing a note or a thank you card isn’t such a huge ordeal when all of my supplies are in one place!

I also keep an address book file on my computer as well as a print-out in the top drawer of my office desk so that it’s always on hand. I use excel for my address book so that it can be easily uploaded onto sites like Minted or Tiny Prints during Christmas time or any other time I’m sending out a bunch of cards.

The last thing I do sometimes, is I keep THIS Polaroid camera on hand in a bin in my office. Sometimes when I’m writing a fun/personal note or thank you to someone we haven’t seen in a while (or just for fun) I’ll take a quick Polaroid of the kids and slip it in with the card. People really love it…because, let’s be honest, although they’re appropriate and necessary (in my opinion), thank you cards aren’t typically very fun to open. But, whether it’s with some super cute stationary, a prettily addressed envelope, or a fun picture inside, I figure, if I’m sending snail mail…better make it worth the hand cramp! 😉
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January 17, 2018
Q Turns Six!
So Q wanted two things for her birthday party this year:
1. A big “rainbow unicorn party” at the house
2. Mermaids in the pool-doing tricks
Soooo, instead I offered her option #3: A rainbow party at a local kids gym. Free of mermaids AND messy post-party house. Winning all around.

The place was perfectly “rainbow” themed as is, so all we had to do was add some fun decor, and of course, we can’t forget themed birthday attire!

Q’s adorable rainbow leotard was custom made from The Leotard Shop and the gorgeous rainbow layered cake (which was pretty much the hit of the party) was from Society Bakery. I mean, it was either the cake or the mountain of candy I had laid out on the kids’ tables…not sure which one was the clear winner. You’re welcome, parents. 😉 Since Society Bakery doesn’t do fondant, I ordered this custom cake topper from Sugar Decor by Letty. It was the perfect addition to the cake! I think my favorite details of the day were the adorable sunshine paper plates and cloud napkins from Meri Meri. I just love all of their stuff so much! (They also made the party hats and goodie bags!)

For the main table, I made gumball filled “6” centerpieces and then decorated the tables with jars filled with all sorts of rainbow colored treats and candies. Each kid got a takeaway carton with little tags that said either “fill me up, buttercup” or “taste the rainbow”. They filled these up with the treats on the table and brought them home as favors. Again, parents- you’re welcome!

I also scattered rainbow colored glass jars from Hobby Lobby all over the tables and filled them with crayons. I then had coloring sheets and stickers scattered about. Once the kids hit the table, they had plenty to occupy their time and attention while they ate lunch.

For goodie bags, I stuffed each bag with a rainbow lollipop, a slinky, a rainbow crayon, bubbles, and my favorite favor: these adorable tins of scented play dough from ZDough. Working with Kira to create custom doughs was so much fun! We went with rainbow colors and she stamped them all with different sayings like, “Happy Birthday!”, “Thank You!”, “Q”, and “6”. Each dough came with a packet of glitter to be mixed into the dough for extra fun play and they came packed in a super cute paper sack. These favors were a HIT at the party…some of the kids even tore into them at the table before they left the party! I highly recommend these as a fun & different favor idea!!

Next, I worked with the talented A Dancing Baker to create these absolutely adorable rainbow cookies. Quin just about flipped her lid when she saw that the clouds had edible glitter on them!! They were so pretty, I almost didn’t want to eat them. Almost. But good thing I caved, because holy cow…they were DELICIOUS!!

The party room was pretty “colorful” as is, but I ordered this awesome rainbow balloon arch and some other filler balloons from Balloons Everyday! They are in the DFW area and were so amazing to work with…they’ll be my party balloon go-to for all future party needs for sure!!

The kids had a blast running around the gym and Q was on cloud nine, so I think it’s safe to say that the party was a sucess…and Q didn’t even miss the performing mermaids in the end! 😉

Q’s Rainbow Outfit Shop Links: Dress (last summer), Boots, Socks, Headband

Cubby’s Yellow Leotard: Alice & Ames

Rainbow Canvas: Home Goods

Paper Umbrella, Letter Q, Glass conatiners, fun letterboard letters, and random decor: Hobby Lobby

White Letterboard: Letterfolk

Pink “Party” Balloon: Pretty Little Social

Happy 6, my sweet Rainbow girl! Let’s take this next year nice & slow!
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August 28, 2017
Happy Heart Day
It’s February, folks! And we are determined not to let Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of six more weeks of winter get us down. Here’s some happiness to get you in the “Love Day” spirit!

(All shops and vendors tagged below!)

We took it upon ourselves to throw a fun little Valentine’s Day party, just to, you know- get in the spirit. But mostly because- cute stuff and donuts.

Hilariously enough, Cubby was obsessed with the sprinkled-mallow pops, Q thought they were “ah-scusting”. There was a copious amount of baby wipes used…in case you were wondering.

And, hello! Can we all just say: Cutest Valentine Idea EVER for the little ladies in your life? We are pretty much obsessed with these hair clips on the daily, but creating Valentine’s with them? Genius!

Cub legit thought it was Christmas morning…

And, I mean…a tshirt with your child’s life motto on it can be passed by. My little Sour Patch kid…. 😉

Garlands and Banners: Pearl & Jane

Valentine’s Hair Bows: Ellia May Designs

Q’s Dress: Handmade Consignment Score!

A’s Outfit: All older/out of stock items from Gap, Zara & Kickee Pants

Valentine Clips: Ryan & Wren

Heart pjs: Gap

Letter Board: Letterfolk Co

Hilarious Tshirt: Chatterboxx Threads

Yellow Bow Headband: Cute Bird Accessories
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February 3, 2017