Party // The One Where Someone Special Turns Eight

Happy 8th Birthday to my oldest!!! I'm feeling nostalgic today. Eight is in big boy territory now… bridging the gap between boy and tween. I've heard that this is a special phase that all parents should cherish. While kids this age may not need you as much to take care of their physical needs, they still look to you for guidance and emotional support.  And they're usually still down with giving hugs too. His nickname on the blog has been "Smarty Pants" for the past 5 years now, but suddenly it seems, *maybe* too young. Sniff. I'm a little sad about that. So until I can come up with something else, I guess my kids will be known as "oldest" and "youngest". How creative.

Anyhow, this weekend he had the 8th Birthday Party of his dreams-- Go Kart Racing. He literally has been waiting years before he and his friends were tall enough.  This was finally THE year.

The boy had a grin on his face the entire day. He has loved cars since he was just a wee babe. I know that Go Karts may not seem like cars to adults… but to my kids, they ARE. We were the family that always traveled with a Hot Wheel collection, he has a car-themed room, we watched the CARS movie umpteen million times, and he's probably one of the few kids that can tell you what rim goes with what car and why.  So this Go Kart party was, as he succinctly put it  "My dream come true!"

This year I did something that I've never done before-- I did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING creative for his birthday party. No personalized party decorations, no games, no custom party favors. Nada. This year I pushed the EASY button and outsourced everything. The only thing I did, besides contact the Go Kart place, was to bring in the appetizers and cake. They handled everything and did a superb job. It felt a little strange to not do anything extra, but you know what? I think this was his favorite birthday party EVER.

Since I always like to share something a little creative, here's a trip down memory lane for his past seven birthday parties. We've covered the gamut-- cowboy, lego, space, police…

[Make] Star Paillette Garland

How about a simple and economical way to add a little pizzazz to your party?

Gotta love paillette sequins...

And the mini glitter stars are fun too.

bling! bling! bling!

Click "Read more" for the details

Oh Martha Monday - Hanging Decor

technically Tuesday in some parts...

Although I'm all "partied" out from this weekend's event, for some reason I still have party decorations on the brain.  After this post, I swear I'll move on from the party stuff (that is, until I have to start thinking about Happy Vee's birthday... in a month or so... gah).

Here are some fun hanging decor ideas from the folks at Martha.

pretty paper lanterns

book garland

wired monograms

paper chandelier

hanging bubbly ball decor

fabric star medallions

balloon flowers

modern mobile

Hope your week is off to a good start!

Oh Martha Monday - Paper Party Decor

Paper decor is pretty, economical, and if you store it properly, it can be reused again and again.  I still have some paper bunting and lanterns that are just waiting to be reused.

Here are some paper party decor ideas from the folks at Martha Stewart--

paper plates with punched decorative border

if you have to use paper plates, why not pretty them up with a border punch?  love this idea!

edge punched medallions

in the right colors, this could easily be decor for a boy's party.  sometimes girls get all the fun stuff!

punched shimmery streamers

i think this could be made even easier if you machine sew the circles together

tissue paper pom poms

it seems like every girl party and every girl room in blogland has these pom poms hanging somewhere.  of course it originated with martha!

ruffled crepe paper runner

easy and economical

papier-mache hot air balloons

I'll be back later to show some of the projects that I'm working on for Smarty Pant's Police Party.

Have a good one!

Party Police!

It's that time of year again... next month Smarty Pants is turning 5!  I still can't get my head around "5".  It's such a big milestone!

So this year Smarty Pants has requested a Police Party.  Since it's not a commercial theme, anything goes... as long as the 5-year-old-to-be agrees.  So the challenge is on!  How to make a not so "cute" police theme into something that he'll love and something that I'll enjoy putting together.

At first I thought it'd be fun to go the old-fashioned British "bobby" route, but he got hung up on the hats-- "Those are NOT Police man hats, mommy!".  He hasn't been to the UK yet and the police here look nothing like the keystone kops, so I decided to let it go.  My brief dreams of the Union Jack, Keystone kops and bobby hats were dashed...  (cue the violins)



Then, I decided to come back to the States for some Americana inspiration-- Stars, a red & navy color scheme... and maybe a little yellow chevron if I can sneak it in.  And flashing lights... Smarty Pants would LOVE that!

Oh, and we're definitely doing donuts!  So the fun begins.  :)



Oh Martha Monday - Flower Mobile

This pretty mobile caught my eye...

a unique way to dress up a dessert or buffet table, or perhaps to add a little romance to a Valentine's dinner.

details here



How was your weekend?  Ours was too short!  I didn't get to half of the things that I wanted to... however, I did put together the boys school Valentines.  I'll share them later this week.  Have a fab Monday!

Oh Martha Monday - Felt Fortune Cookies

These are darling...

how-to here



They're cute for Valentine's Day, but in a different color scheme, they'd also make a unique favor for an Asian-inspired party or wedding. And with a glue gun, I think they'd be pretty quick to crank out.

Where, oh where, did the weekend go?  And for that matter, where did January go??!! Happy last-day-of-January!

Oh Martha Monday - New Year's Prep

Some fun (martha-esque) ideas to ring in the New Year...

 

 

the details are here



Are you ready for 2011?  I'm still in shock that Christmas has come and gone.  I think I'll be able to refocus once the Christmas decor comes down (sniff). 

Have a happy (and hopefully quiet) Monday!

It's Just a Number... 40th Birthday Card

At least, that's what I keep telling The Mister.

(poor guy's been having a hard time with the big 4-Oh no!)

Getting older sure gets harder once you pass... 39. 

Of course that'll change once 50 rolls around.

Then 40 will seem so, so, so... Junior!

The fun "40" photos are courtesy of Leo Reynolds on Flickr.  Along with other original photographs, he has an amazing array of photographic typography that he allows the public to share and remix for their own personal use.

Here are a few designs that you may have already seen...

 via under the table and dreaming

via my 3 monsters

This originally caught my eye several years ago. I even started taking my own "found" letters, but quickly pooped out.  

via uncommon goods
$175??? No thanks, I'll just make my own!

Not *exactly* the same look, but I think it might be fun (and cheaper) to replicate with Leo Reynold's letters or perhaps, with a little patience, search through the Flickr Photo Stream... many cool letters there.

So, do you know someone who is turning 40?
or is having a 40th anniversary?
or just likes the number 40?

Feel free to copy and print this 40's photo montage for your own personal use.

Please be aware of the photographer's restrictions.

 

Ahem, did you notice that there are forty #40's? It's all about the details, folks! ☺

I printed this out to an 8x12 size,

then cut it out and folded it in half to make a card...

who knew that 40 could be so fun!

linked to:

someday crafts
paisley passions

Art Party

I'm loving this Art Gallery Party that I spied over on One Charming Party.  If you haven't already discovered this site, it has a wealth of creative ideas, beautiful photos, DIY tutorials and free printables.



I've been wanting to make one of these cakes... although all the extra artificial coloring always makes me shy away

Love these DIY chocolate toppers

The frames are awesome.  How exciting that they'll be available for free download!

Hmmm... I'm wondering if I can make this work for one of my boys? 

♫♫♪ It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year ♫♫♪

There I was... skipping through the aisles of the store, with this little ditty playing in the back of my head--  ♫♫♪ It's the most wonderful time of the year ♫♫♪ .

Yep, it's Back to School week for us.  I can't remember what commercial this is for-- Office Depot? Staples?-- but it always makes me laugh.

Smarty Pants starts his 2nd year of Preschool and Happy Vee and I are enrolled in a 2 year old program twice a week.  I'm actually looking forward to getting back on a schedule... Yeah, I know... I'll be eating those words in a couple of months. 

Speaking of eating... Aren't these adorable? 

via Family Fun

Perfect for a "Back to School" or perhaps an Apple-themed party?  Have a great week!

Book Party - Giving Back

Ashley Ann has a charming website full of beautiful pictures and wonderful ideas.  She recently threw a party to collect new books for a charity that provides them to a local children's hospital.

What a great way to remind both children and adults about the joy of giving~

Visit Ashley Ann's blog to see more photos and all the details.

Now all the gears in my head are spinning... So inspirational and what a lovely way to give back.