Creating A Candy Shop Birthday

So my daughter will be one tomorrow and we are having a small party at her grandparents house on Saturday to celebrate. This is just a "small" party since we did her baptism "big" but I still needed to have a theme. I am obsessed with bright colors lately so I decided a Candy Shop Birthday would definitely display the rainbow. I set up the "candy shop" today and am thrilled with the outcome. I had such a random array of items that came together quite nicely. Good job me!!

Finished table

So what's included? Candy of course!! I got the large rainbow swirl lollipops and the monster lollipops from Oriental Trading. I got M&Ms, Sour Air Heads, Swedish Fish and gumballs from Sams Club. Plus I found the awesome tubes of gumball favors from Sam's, they were totally catered towards this party! I also picked up Hershey's kisses and coin candy in brightly colored wrappers. The rest? I had mason jars left over from another project but you can find a carton of them really inexpensive at Walmart. I also used two really large glass candle holders I got as a free gift with purchase at Ulta. I got the two striped bucket tins from the dollar spot in Target. I picked up the solid color gift bags at Target as well, that way everyone can make their own goodie bag to take home. I found colorful candy scoops at Party City. Lastly, I ordered plastic candy jars from Oriental Trading and filled them with M&Ms for the little kids. I was able to write all the kids names on them in permanent marker.

Then of course there is my totally awesome handmade banner. I used brightly colored card stock I picked up at Michaels and trimmed it to size. I wrote on each rectangle and then took a long piece of pink yarn to string them all together. All I did was use hot glue to attach the yarn to each piece and ta dah! you have the perfect sign.

Hopefully everyone enjoys this as much as I loved putting it all together. I will touch base after the get together and let you all know how it went over.

Going A Bit Crazy!

Pulling my hair out..

So as you can see in the photo above, I may have just lost my mind. Between all my jobs and being a mom, my little one in turning 1 on Friday!! So you know what that means...Planning a birthday party!!  Now I actually enjoy party planning but I have so many posts to make for you and have to put them on hold until this party is over. I have been creating lots of fun accessories and taking lots of photos so I have tons to share once I have the time. Well I have to go back to work but tomorrow I will be revealing Olivia's party theme and be sharing some of my super fun handmade decorations. Until then.....

Owl Vs. Octopi

I had the pleasure of coming across and contacting a great Etsy shop this past week, Owl Vs. Octopi. As if the name isn't intriguing enough, they have a unique and varied shop. I especially loved all of their Valentine's Day items. Gosh, I cannot believe that is right around the corner.

So I contacted the owners/creators, Carrie and Cher and learned some interesting info including how they came up with the name for their shop. I think this is so clever so I will quote Carrie directly: "The origin of our store name came from a conversation Cher and I were having while attending a craft fair...we saw a bunch of owl items and octopi items and I said, "If an owl and an octopus had a fight, who would win?" And that was it...we became Owl vs Octopi. I am the owl and Cher is the octopus (but wants to be octopi because of her multi-faceted personaity.)"

There is much more to these two ladies than having a shop with a cool name.  They like to upcycle, reuse, repurpose and recycle.  They are inspired by things they come across in this world and think "I can make that." They have also decided to embark on a 52/25 project - A Repurpose Driven Life for 2013. They will not be buying any new clothes this year and only shop thrift stores, garage sales, etc. This is a fabulous idea, although I don't know if I am as strong as them with being able to hold out for a full year.

These ladies also have a great web series called "Glitter Glue and Gluttony," where they craft, snack and cocktail. It was nominated as best web series of 2012 by LA weekly so you'll definitely want to check these ladies out. Here are the links: web series , blog , and Facebook Page.

Think I need this pendant - check it out in their shop!

Operation Clean House (Part 1 - Before)

So on this day off, my sole purpose is to try and clean as much of our apartment as possible. For some reason I just can't get organized. Between all the craft supplies, baby stuff and clothes for every weight I've ever been, there just isn't enough room for it all. Since I don't have a "home" for everything it is just scattered about and I cannot take it anymore. I'm feeling motivated this morning so I have to take advantage and kick my apartment's ass! Cleaning motivation doesn't happen often so I must get on it immediately. Maybe I'll pretend that this isn't my place and I was hired to clean this apartment. I am always ambitious when it comes to my work so maybe I can trick my brain to thinking this is my job. I would love to write a lot more on the subject but I need to get to "work" and will touch base later.

St. Patrick's Day Tutu Sale

I am excited that St. Patrick's Day is practically around the corner. I just posted my latest green tutu on my tutu Etsy shop, Oh So Pretty Designs. February and March are sure to be busy months for me, slaving away making green tutus. So to encourage early sales, I decided to have my own sale. Purchase your tutu in the month of January and 20% off!! Use coupon code: PATTY20. Only to be used on St. Patty's Day tutus in my shop. Here's a photo of my latest green tutu.

Get your Irish on!!

Framing the Perfect Shot

I am happy that I had two very successful photoshoots this past week.  They were fun while managing to capture good images. I had seen a portrait on Pinterest that I absolutely loved and I had been dying to try the concept. You can see the image below.

Photo found on Pinterest

My first shoot of the week was for TJ's 2nd birthday photos. He was full of energy and really enjoyed running around the Bayard Cutting Arboretum in Oakdale. We got some fabulous photos but it was a little difficult to get him to stay in place for my idea of the "perfect" shot for this particular idea. I knew going into this shoot, this idea would be hard to execute but I was pleasantly surprised and happy with this candid action shot.

TJ running for the balloons

Now for my second shoot of the week, I had the pleasure of taking photographs of brother and sister, Francesca and James. We put together this session to surprise their mom with the photographs for her birthday. Shhhh....She still doesn't know about it. ;) I, again, tried this concept, which was a lot easier with two adults. I am pleased with the outcome and hope everyone loves it as much as I.

Fran & James!

Well, I love both my images and look forward to experimenting with this idea in the future. When the weather gets warmer I definitely plan on hitting up the beach with some frames!

Back in 2013!!!

I am so excited to announce I will be starting my blog back up in 2013, with a few tweaks of course. I have so many interests and ideas I am pursuing and exploring that I couldn't limit myself. My blog will now cover my photography, my tutus, my jewelry designs, my writing, my adventures as a mom and wife and anything else that tickles my fancy. I am excited to see where 2013 will take me and hope you will enjoy my journey.

So....let's get this started. Yesterday, Joey and I did Olivia's first birthday photos. A bit early, I know, but we wanted to have actual prints before her party. All in all, we ended up getting some priceless shots but you will have to wait until her big day to see them. But here is a shot of the aftermath we had to clean up...

And she is still stained pink......