A Mermaid Party!

My girlfriends and I were supposed to have a Girls' Weekend at the beach.  My Hubbers is still recovering from a stroke and Rheumatoid Arthritis issues and we've had family drama that has emotionally drained us.  I thought it best I stay home with him so I cancelled on going with the girls (we are trying to reschedule something!) My daughter asked if my granddaughter's birthday party could be held here, she wanted a Mermaid-themed swimming party.  Being that I was now staying home, I said yes.

Well, if you know me, you know I can't have a party here and not get creatively involved! Off to Pinterest I went, looking for inspiration.  First up was a banner.  Using my Silhouette Cameo machine I cut some mermaid tails.  I then punched umpteen-million circles.  Ugh, that was a drag! With the assistance of my granddaughter, we glued all those circles to make the tails look like they had fins. I glittered the fins.  I should've known better than to do this in my craft room as I had glitter everywhere!  Eventually, I wisened up and finished the task on the back patio! The banner served as the backdrop to the candy/snacks table that my daughter set up (and I neglected to get a picture of the finished table, only one while it was in process!)

Next up was sugar cookies.  It's become my trademark to make sugar cookies for family parties.  I already had a mermaid cookie cutter from another granddaughter's birthday a few years ago.  It took me all day to decorate the cookies as each design element had to be done in steps. I'm slow and not the best decorator but they looked like mermaids! The birthday girl loved them and each of her guests got to take one home.

Finally, I made cupcakes. They turned out just how I envisioned them! I used a fondant mold to form the melted chocolate into the mermaid tails, then dusted them with edible glitter.  A buttercream frosting and lots of sprinkles completed them. They were a hit!

My daughter found this clamshell pool float on Amazon.  She set up a photo booth area with a lot of little props.  The kids did that for a while but eventually the float ended up in the pool where it was used by all. We also set up an inflatable pool slide, which got a lot of action, too.  There was so much laughter and yelling in that pool, I'm sure my neighbors were glad when the party was over!  But, what fun to hear the laughter of children!

Before the party, while she was waiting for the guests to arrive, my granddaughter looked around and said "I'm going to have the most awesome party!" I think she did!

Birthday Pool Party!

Summer birthdays in my family traditionally revolve around our pool.  The kids don't get bored, the older generations have time to chat, and clean-up is a breeze; we just throw away the garbage and get out the hose! Our youngest granddaughter is turning 5 in a few days. Nana & Papa's backyard was, once again, called in to service.  No complaints from me, I love hosting a party!

My daughter found cute invitations and other printables on Etsy.  These are so convenient and inexpensive, you pay a small fee (usually $7-10) and get an electronic file modified with your details.  The paper products can be printed at home or at a local office supply/printing store.

We filled the pool with beach balls, had a stock of foam squirt guns at the ready. We have an inflatable water slide for such occasions so Papa got out the air compressor and filled it up.  We made "goody bags" out of sand buckets, filling them with fruit roll-ups, Goldfish crackers, sunglasses, flip flop shaped bubble decanters, and candy. Beach ball sugar cookies were our thank you gift to our guests.

 

 

One of my favorite things was a photo booth we set up.  Again, we turned to Etsy and got printable photo props such as sunglasses, snorkel gear, watermelon, etc. My daughter glued them to chopsticks for easy handling. So fun!

 

Instead of birthday cake we made ice cream cone cupcakes. They were decorated to look as if the little graham cracker bears were enjoying time in the pool.

The best part of the party was watching the kids enjoy themselves. Nothing fills my heart more with joy than the sound of children laughing and playing. All four of my grandchildren were in attendance, as well as some of the birthday girl's friends. I jumped in and joined the squirt gun battle!

 

 All the activity wore the birthday girl out! I can't believe she's turning 5!

Dr. Seuss Birthday Party

My niece is very crafty, she makes the most beautiful hair bows and headbands. She's also very creative and crafty when it comes to her children's birthday parties. Her youngest just turned one and she gave him a Dr. Seuss-themed party.  She spent the last two to three months designing, cutting, and pasting all things Seuss.  The party was adorable as was the birthday boy!


The cake, made by a local decorator, was phenomenal.  Lorax Nutter Butters.

The Cat in the Hat aka the birthday boy!

Trufula tree.

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue dish!

 



Photo booth with various Seuss props.

My two great-nieces. If you knew them you know the outfits define them quite perfectly!

 



Garden-Themed Mother's Day Luncheon

For the past 7 years or so, I've been hosting a Mother's Day luncheon the Saturday before Mother's Day. I like using the Saturday date, it eliminates a lot of conflicts with scheduled celebrations with in-laws, outlaws and everybody in between. This year we had 11 in attendance; Mom, my sister, my daughter, step-daughter, three granddaughters, my niece and my nephew's significant other and her son. My daughter-in-law and 4-month old grandson couldn't make the 4 hour trip. Maybe next year!

I found these place mats and napkins at April Cornell last year and fell in love with them.  I've been saving them to be used for this event. My florist matched the colors in the linens to the flowers, they were beautiful.  Each of my guests got to take home a green mason jar with flowers, my Mother's Day gift to them.

The linens remind me of a summer garden so I went with a garden-type theme.  For the kids' table I found birdhouses and I filled them with candy.

Our dessert was chocolate cupcakes baked in terra cotta pots.  They were frosted with a yummy chocolate buttercream then topped with crushed Oreos to resemble dirt. The "carrots" are strawberries dipped in orange candy melts. The dessert table looked like a carrot patch!

My sister made a scrumptious Caesar pasta salad that we topped with grilled chicken.  We all enjoyed this salad and I will share the recipe soon.

After eating, we moved out to the backyard to watch the kids play with bubbles, squirt guns and other outdoor toys. We marveled at how big the children are getting, how fast time is flying, and told various Mom stories. I find Mother's Day to be a little too commercialized and much prefer hosting a gathering like this than buying expensive and, often unneeded, gifts. It was a nice day spent with the women and children I love! Happy Mother's Day!

Drag Racing Baby Buggies!

My son and daughter-in-law are expecting a son in December, our first grandson. The moment I knew it was a boy (I got to be in the room for the sonogram!) I knew my baby shower theme would revolve around drag racing. My Dad is a drag racer, I've driven for 20 years, my son is a third-generation driver.  It's a little too early to know if this baby will be a fourth-generation driver but it's safe to say he will grow up attending a lot of races. Drag racing runs in my family's blood!

I've been planning and crafting for a few months now.  All this week I've had tasks lined up, trying to keep to my schedule so all will be ready on Saturday. I enjoy the process of planning and implementing a party, it satisfies the creative side of me. 

The invitations went out a month ago.

The sugar cookie gifts are ready to go.  We'll be drag racing baby buggies at this shower!

I tried to make the back tires look like racing slicks, not sure I succeeded.  Oh, well!

First to the finish line wins!

"Papa, pop a wheelie" was one of the things my young son would tell my dad!

Waiting for the tree!

Rubber Ducky Shower

I recently attended a baby shower for a family member. My cousin and aunt were the hostesses.  My cousin is very crafty, a fantastic baker and candy maker, and she didn't disappoint us with this shower. Using a theme of "rubber ducky" she had cute decorations and homemade food items. She and I have a lot in common and I know she had a lot of fun planning this shower.

The ducks are made out of chocolate.



Sugar cookies.



S'mores made with duck-shaped homemade graham crackers.  They were so good!

They even found a duck bath towel.

I've attended my share of baby showers and one thing I've noted is the abundance of infant clothes received. In the case of my daughters I know that the babies outgrew the clothes before they could even wear all of them! I long ago decided to no longer gift clothes but to give practical items, things I know will get used, the basics.

As the shower had a rubber ducky theme I bought an inflatable duck bathtub and filled the bottom and sides with the contents from a box of size 2 diapers. I then covered the diapers with cotton balls (they look like bubbles!) and tucked in bathing products and toys. I think it turned out adorable! It's practical and cute! An added bonus is I didn't have to wrap it! How's that for multi-tasking!

Whenever Mom needs a baby gift she heads to her sewing room and makes a cuddle wrap and burp cloths. She began making them when her first great-grandchild was born 12 years ago. A cuddle wrap is basically a blanket with pockets for the baby's arms and legs, as well as a hood. You wrap them up like a little burrito! They are made out of flannel and are so soft. Babies love being wrapped in them.  My niece is expecting her fourth child in May and has requested Grandma to make her some more!

Mr. Teddy Bear modeling his Giants cuddle wrap!