For Paxton's 1st birthday party, I continued (and maybe concluded?) his monkey-themed year with monkey decorations. I kept the decorations very simple, using his banner, some stuffed monkeys from his bedroom hanging from the chandelier and candle holders, and a bag of balloons.
We had a very low-key party. Just the local aunts, uncles and cousins over for dinner (shishkabobs) and dessert (monkey cupcakes of course).
I can't claim credit for the design of the cupcakes, though I did make them. I just searched Google images for "monkey cupcakes" and I got LOTS of ideas. :)
For a moment, I wished every season had a "tree" to decorate...
Then I realized it wouldn't be near as special that way. Perhaps that can be my excuse for NOT decorating for all the other seasons...to make Christmas decorations more special...
See that ribbon on the wall? Add a few clothespins and it's a SUPER-easy way to display our Christmas cards. Here's another idea that I used last year.
Love my wrapping paper this year (and probably next year too--there's a ton of it in the Sams-size roll). It's reversible. And, it's not Christmas specific, so it's good for Hannukah and maybe even weddings or birthdays too!
A view of our kitchen side nook. Although you can't see them, the four frames on the wall usually have my "HOME" pictures in it, but have been switched to holiday photos along with the frames all over the main level of the house. Makes everything look a little more festive and is CHEAP decorating!
I hung our stockings on the railing in the kitchen this year since we don't really spend much time by our fireplace down in the playroom. And yes, Paxton has his own now! :)
Now, if only all that rain we had last night could have been snow....
Instead of doing all the things I *should* be doing today, I was inspired to make these photo tags for each of our Christmas stockings as I was in the middle of decorating the house for the holidays:
I made Paxton one too...but he doesn't have a stocking yet! I gotta get on that...
Time to make your Christmas wish lists, who-to-buy-for lists, what to make, what to bake, when to decorate, etc. Whew. I'm already tired.
But here's the notebook I'm keeping all that info straight in this year:
An easy project! It's just a $1 composition book covered in Polar Expressions papers from Imaginisce. Makes me excited to open it up and write in it. And it's tote-able. I just slide it into my purse or diaper bag (depending on my shopping companions).
I know I won't use the whole notebook this year, so I might just save it and use it next year too...it might be nice to have a reference to what I bought, made, etc.
I'm helping host a "Crafts for Christmas" workshop at my church next weekend, where everyone will bring ideas and supplies to work on crafty gift projects for an afternoon. To prepare, we're sending all the attendees a list of handmade gift ideas. Here's a list I've come up with so far, some I've made, some I've found online...please feel free to add your ideas in the comments as well!
This is a fun little Halloween banner I made (with Ayla's help) to hang in my office doorway. I have it hanging so that the "Boo" side peeks into the kitchen, but it didn't photograph well that way, so I just turned it around to show both sides.
Looking for something to do this afternoon, I decided to see if I could make Ayla some Easter puppets to play with this week. A little bit of scrap fabric, buttons, and a hot glue gun, and here's what we came up with:
Thank you to Nicole for this fabulous idea of how to display your Christmas cards. I saw it on her blog this afternoon and had to try it out! Hers is much prettier of course, since I don't have a pretty side table to put it on, but this present-wrapped book and a wire shelf works for me.
If we get as many cards as we did last year, I may need to add some branches!
I went to my friend Patricia's house today for a Cookie Exchange, and the crafty girl that she is....she had a holiday craft all ready for us to make and take home with us. Gotta love that! I came home with a bowl full of cookies and a really cute snowman doorstop (idea courtesy of Family Fun magazine).
First, the cookies...YUM...
And here's my finished Snowman...
I used a trimmed off wool sock that sadly hasn't had a "match" for well over a year as the hat. A rolled paper cone made the nose. The main portion of the snowman is made from a keyhole-shaped paver...and I believe they only cost about $0.75 or something like that. Cheap, and cute!
Patricia's 10 year old daughter left us all in the dust though...she thought a penguin would be more fun, and I LOVE how it turned out. So neat how kids can take an idea and totally make it their own.
