I was stuck. A huge pile of laundry to do, with all my pants that fit trapped inside them. It was cold and rainy outside, strange for Southern California in May, so I was even more unprepared. I wanted to wear a pair of jeans so I could tuck them into my rain boots, and the only pair that would work were my Gap skinny jeans I hadn’t dare try on in months. The last time I did, at about 4 months postpartum, I felt defeated after I couldn’t even get them past my hips. But I had no other choice; with no time to do a load, and nothing else appropriate to wear, I took them off the hanger… Read More
DIY Watercolor Art
05/07/13
There’s two things I want to preface this post with. Number 1, I consider my artistic level to be at the Kindergarten level, at best. My son often draws better lines than I do. Number 2, this is my very first time ever working with watercolors. I wanted to get that out of the way in case there’s any of you out there looking at this saying “No way, I can’t do that! I have no. artistic. abilities!” I hear ya lady, and I’m right there with ya. That is the wonderfully beautiful thing about watercolors; it doesn’t take much skill at all to make them look pretty. A smudge of color looks like art because the colors and movement of the medium is just so lovely. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let me share with you my first experience working with watercolor.As I previously shared with you, we had Brenda Ponnay instruct attendees at the last Craft Cabinet on watercolor technique, but I was too busy running around refilling water bowls to have one moment to sit down and really play myself. But between listening to Brenda instruct, and seeing Taylor and Syd work with the medium with my Mother In Law (who by the way is a very talented artist), I got the general jest of what I was supposed to do. You can visit the Craft Cabinet blog for a great tutorial Brenda and Jules wrote, outlining how to watercolor in 6 easy steps. Yesterday I used a combination of Brenda’s technique of first wetting the paper with water before applying color, and I also just applied water to the palette and applied color directly. I can’t really say I love one technique over the other, I suppose it’s personal preference. For supplies you do want to get actual watercolor paper, as the colors and water just work better instead of sopping up regular paper. For palettes and brushes you can certainly get fancy ones, but I just used the Artist Loft series from Michael’s and the brushes were $2.99 and the palettes were $4.99. For my still life inspiration I used this lovely orchid I picked up at Trader Joe’s last week. You begin by drawing a very rough line sketch in pencil of your subject. I chose just one flower and pod set as opposed to trying to draw the whole branch, and it turned out better than I expected to be quite honest. The sketch took me less than 5 minutes. I then began filling in each petal with color. There is no science here, really. It’s all about trial and error. The only thing I’d mention is if you apply too much color or the color is too dark, you can simply apply a bit of water to the paper and desaturate it a bit. While I was working on my orchid, Taylor made a birthday card for Grandma. As you can see, even blobs of color can very quickly and easily turn into something recognizable, as evidenced by Taylor’s butterflies. The coolest trick I learned that night from Brenda that I would have never thought of before, was the fill the background with color to make the whole piece look more like a work of art, instead of a lonely flower or whatever your subject matter is. Simple choose a complimenting color and fill in the blank. The last thing Brenda had us all do was outline our art in a very fine line black ink pen. Now I’m not sure if I loved this as much, or perhaps for my particular piece, I found it a bit of a harsh contrast, but maybe that’s just me?I decided I wanted a complimenting piece of art to go next to my flower so I did a simple ombre wash of colors in gradating colors. This was so so easy but the results are stunning I think!You can place your art in pretty frames (these ones are from Target!), or you can just washi tape to the wall or lean against an existing piece of framed art.Either way, these make a wonderful, very personal gift to give a Mother, Grandmother or dear friend. And of course it makes an awesome piece of art to display on your own walls, which I plan to do. Next, I’d love to delve into geometrics, very similar to Leslie Sherwing’s pieces she doodles out like it ain’t no thang. Something to definitely aspire to!image via A Creative MintThanks for stopping by! I love and appreciate you taking the time to do so! Let’s stay connected on Facebook.
While much of this post centers around blogging, I hope that it can also be relate able to other parts of life, small business owners, particular handmade, and even parenthood, and the general workplace. This is my preemptive strike to get you to hopefully stay on and bear with me through the title, and not click away if you have no interest in blogging. I’ve made it no secret that at times I grow weary of the online world. I go back and forth with my place in it and whether I’m fully 100% happy being part of it on a daily basis. Knowing this, on Thursday morning as I was set to head to Mom 2.0, a 3 day blogging conference, I found myself feeling grumpy and anything other than excited. We’ve all been terribly sick and I was still functioning at less than full capacity. But I decided to make the most of it and move on. This is the part where you roll your eyes at me and think to yourself how annoying of me to complain about having to spend 3 days at the Ritz Carlton Laguna.
Before I proceed, let me just get the ugly truth out there that I feel like our community often tries to brush under the rug. Not all bloggers are nice. Just like not all other moms in your kid’s school are sweet and supportive, or not every coworker will bend over backwards to lend a helping hand, not all bloggers are supportive and encouraging; they all have their flaws no matter how perfect their life appears online or how smart and nice they seem. Great crafts and witty writing does not take away the asshole in some of us. I know I am not perfect and have been snarky and rude at times too. I’m human after all, but for too long I have at times sat up on a high horse wagging my fingers at some instead of quite frankly, just minding my own business. I have had my work stolen, I have met people dozens of times and yet they still don’t find me important enough to remember my name, and I’ve had bloggers act like they are a celebrity. News flash, you are a blogger, not a celebrity. I know this sounds terribly negative, and I promise to get to the part about “peace” soon enough, but I wanted to get that out of the way because it was a big obstacle I had to overcome in order to find some sort of peace with blogging. I found that peace this weekend finally, when it occurred to me that I am responsible for me, and only me. In order for me to continue in this business, I had to realize that I am the only one responsible for my success or failures, and begrudging people for one reason or another only contaminates me. Deep thoughts right there I know, but truly it is so true.
Point 1: First realize that not everyone is going to be as nice as you want them to be, and then let it go. Negativity towards other bloggers (or moms, or coworkers) only hurts yourself, your inner peace and your work. Only follow those you respect, admire, and have positive relationships with and eliminate the rest. The only thing to be gained by following someone who annoys you is more annoyance.
The other side to the coin though is that for every 1 asshole blogger, there are 100 amazingly supportive and genuinely nice bloggers out there, and I think this can be said for most of humanity. We tend to focus on the negativity and only remember the one person who was a jerk instead of the other 50 people who were nice. I met and discovered a great amount of amazing people this weekend who were genuinely supportive, nice and gracious. People who inspired me and gave me so much to think about. They are the ones who are the core of this community and have helped and led in doing so many wonderful things in this online world.
Point 2: Try to surround yourself with people who will be as supportive and positive as possible and use their work and successes to inspire you to push forward with your own work. If you aspire to their success or think you have something to learn from them, ask them to be a mentor. I developed a deeper respect for someone this weekend after meeting her in person, and in exchange for me writing for her on occasion, I asked her to mentor me. We have yet to iron out the details, but if it works out, I think I have a lot I can learn from her. And of course always return the favor and be as nice as you hope others to be.
So once you’ve found some people online who are genuinely nice (or at least seem that way), and you have sort of a tribe of blogging peeps, people you can trust and bounce ideas off of, make a list of what you really want out of blogging. This would be similar to making a career path or outlining some parenting goals for how you aspire to raise your kids. Include goals, big dreams and little, and plans or ideas of how to get there. Ask yourself what you truly want out of it. Is it just to make some extra money, to get some perks like free stuff, grow your handmade shop, or do you wish to someday write a book or appear on TV or in a magazine? Once you’ve outlined what you want, it will better define the path you will take to get there. It will also allow you be free to celebrate the successes of your peers without negative feelings of jealousy. I used to get that yucky feeling in my stomach when I heard another blogger got a book deal, but then I stopped doing that when I realized I had no desire at all to write a book. So how could I begrudge someone’s success when my idea of success looked so different?
Point 3: Make a list of what you want to better define your goals and how to get there, but to also release any possible negative feelings towards others and their successes.
Once you’ve made that list, and you hopefully start accomplishing some goals, celebrate your successes. I talked about this after I attended Alt, and how bad I am at doing that. I’m horrible at it in fact. I never stop to be happy with any amount of success I achieve because I never celebrate it. I either find a way to downplay it like it’s no big deal, or am afraid of coming across as if I’m bragging. So today, I’d like to share with you all something that when I stop to think about, is actually pretty darn exciting. Our very first Craft Cabinet event was featured in Mingle magazine! My business partner Jules had an online relationship with the editor of the magazine, and when we pulled off the first event, she shared the photos with her and they liked the event and concept enough to feature us in an 8 page spread! I think this is a perfect example of surrounding yourself with the right people, who are kind, supportive and respectful of good work. We are quite proud of what we’ve accomplished so far and are now forever grateful to Mingle Magazine for appreciating our work, and the work of our talented photographer friend Mary of Yung Bean Photography who with her pretty pictures from that night, helped us even get featured. I never dreamed that anything I ever did would be in a magazine, nevertheless get featured, so this was a huge honor.
Point 4: Celebrate Successes, both big and small.
The last thing I want to talk about is complaining. Or rather, NO complaining! I have too many times allowed myself to get caught up in a spiral of worrying about what everyone else is doing, or getting down on myself because I can’t do enough, or getting frustrated that now I have 3 kids, I can’t create as many projects. I am in charge of me, and you are in charge of you, and no one else. It’s like the serenity prayer; God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. I cannot change how others act, but I can change myself. I decided to have another baby, so I need to accept I can only get done what I can get done. If I want to write more or create more, I need to figure out what my priorities are and realize I cannot have it all or do it all, something always has to give.
Point 5: Bottom line, no complaining if you’re unwilling to make some changes. From here on out I make a vow to not complain about blogging. I will no longer concern myself with what others are or aren’t doing, and focus on my own work and my space here, and instead will try my best to be as positive and supportive of a light as I can be.
I think everyone’s 5 step process to finding peace with whatever it is you’re working on is different, but this here is mine. I wouldn’t be surprised if many of these things resonate with a lot of you though, because I believe many of these feelings are common results of our human nature. Some of us have to fight hard against feelings of resentment, jealousy, and annoyance. But those negative feelings can be toxic and start to filter though to other parts of our lives. This 5 point list is very big picture and is void of any real “practical” advice, but I think big picture is where we often have to start.
This past weekend was a big eye opener for me. I always learn something at each conference I attend, but was especially thankful for the things I came to realize this past weekend because it truly is going to bring a lot more peace to my writing. Now it’s about putting these things into practice, which as we know, is always the hardest part. So if you catch me being annoyed, do me a favor and remind me of this post?
What have you had to commit to doing in order to find peace? Did you find once you made the list and made yourself conscious of it, it was easier to put them into practice, or did you still struggle?
Out and About – Chris Tomlin Concert
05/03/13
My favorite part of church is worship. Actually in all fairness, it’s been my favorite part for many years, but now as I find my faith growing and my knowledge of the Bible and scripture grow, the actual sermon is inching up to a close tie. But for many, many years, during worship, is the only real time I felt a connection with God, felt a presence of the Holy Spirit. It’s not hard to understand why I suppose, considering my history and faith journey. Having not grown up in the church and with very little practical knowledge of scripture, I felt I could at least read some words and sing along to the tune. What was seemingly a very simple task became the way I connected week after week with Jesus. Where scripture sometimes left me confused and frustrated, song lyrics and melodies helped to bridge the divide and kept me coming back week after week. Music is the common denominator that can bring most of us together, tie us up and allow us to connect on the same level, no matter where we’re coming from. Some of my favorite songs and music that I found myself connecting with over and over again were by Chris Tomlin and Hillsong.
Last Saturday Art and I had a wonderful opportunity to go and see Chris Tomlin at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect, going to see a worship band. Would it feel uptight, would it feel like an extension of church, would it feel good or awkward? I really honestly didn’t know if it would feel strange to worship outside of church, because essentially that’s what we would be doing. I’ve talked before, how Art and I sort of have a private relationship with Christ, whereas I pray on my own and he prays on his own, and rarely do we really pray together. During church we hold hands and he hands me a tissue when I inevitably start to cry, so I wasn’t sure what the evening would be like. Would it be like all the other concerts we go to together where we sing our faces off and lose our voices by the end of the night, or would we sort of stand side by side holding hands, similar to what we do in church? Maybe I’m over thinking this, I know, but I have a feeling some of you out there would be thinking the same thoughts, right? When we got there though and saw the DJ onstage, leading us through a dance song with high energy and awesome beats, I had a feeling it would be all good. Turns out we did a mixture of singing and dancing our faces off, and also standing side by side.
The night turned out to be beautiful. Art and I had just celebrated 14 years of marriage a few days before, so to be outside under the stars on a beautiful California night, singing praise and feeling the energy and presence of Jesus in that auditorium was nothing short of awesome. Chris (it’s totally okay to call him by first name after spending an evening with him right?) and the band’s energy were incredible, and their stage presence pretty magnetic. Art admired the drummers beard, I admired their overall fashion sense, and we both admired their skill level as musicians, singers and songwriters. The way they connect with music and the audience is something special and a beautiful thing to see.
Last Saturday Art and I had a wonderful opportunity to go and see Chris Tomlin at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater. I’ll be honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect, going to see a worship band. Would it feel uptight, would it feel like an extension of church, would it feel good or awkward? I really honestly didn’t know if it would feel strange to worship outside of church, because essentially that’s what we would be doing. I’ve talked before, how Art and I sort of have a private relationship with Christ, whereas I pray on my own and he prays on his own, and rarely do we really pray together. During church we hold hands and he hands me a tissue when I inevitably start to cry, so I wasn’t sure what the evening would be like. Would it be like all the other concerts we go to together where we sing our faces off and lose our voices by the end of the night, or would we sort of stand side by side holding hands, similar to what we do in church? Maybe I’m over thinking this, I know, but I have a feeling some of you out there would be thinking the same thoughts, right? When we got there though and saw the DJ onstage, leading us through a dance song with high energy and awesome beats, I had a feeling it would be all good. Turns out we did a mixture of singing and dancing our faces off, and also standing side by side.
The night turned out to be beautiful. Art and I had just celebrated 14 years of marriage a few days before, so to be outside under the stars on a beautiful California night, singing praise and feeling the energy and presence of Jesus in that auditorium was nothing short of awesome. Chris (it’s totally okay to call him by first name after spending an evening with him right?) and the band’s energy were incredible, and their stage presence pretty magnetic. Art admired the drummers beard, I admired their overall fashion sense, and we both admired their skill level as musicians, singers and songwriters. The way they connect with music and the audience is something special and a beautiful thing to see.
It definitely was the most energetic, yet peaceful concert I’ve ever been to, and we left there feeling a sense of just happiness. That’s the most simple way to put it. If you’re a long time fan of Chris Tomlin, or even if you’re new to his music, and not sure how you’d do at a “Christian concert”, I’m here to say that you’ll love it and be very awesomely surprised. There will be a few posts being published online today talking about our Chris Tomlin concert experience, and while I’m not sure the perspective that everyone else will be coming from in their writing and experience, I’m here to represent the girls who didn’t grow up in the church, who don’t have their scripture perfectly memorized, who goes to church but sometimes still has lots of questions, yet for whatever reason, connects with Jesus through music on a level she never thought possible. I’m representing that girl who is curious and wants to try out something like a Christian concert but may be a little hesitant and afraid. Afraid if you’ll fit in, have a good time, connect, feel good while doing it. Try it, push yourself, and I can almost guarantee you’ll come out of it not only glad you did, but also inspired and humbled in the process.
Transparent Productions is a concert promotion company who strive to bring Christian shows to Southern California and the rest of the nation. Transparent Productions has promoted shows and events with Hillsong United, Casting Crowns, Third Day, Mercy Me, Chris Tomlin, Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, Amy Grant, Delirious, Jesus Culture Band, David Crowder Band, and Tenth Avenue North as well as shows with Switchfoot, Family Force 5, Relient K, Owl City, NeedToBreathe, Anberlin, Red, POD and many many others. You can follow Transparent Productions on Twitter, Facebook and find them on Instagram.
Tickets for Fish Fest 2013 is on June 29, 2013 at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater and tickets go on sale today. To find out more and purchase tickets visit here. The Hillsong United show is on Friday June 7th, 2013 at my all time favorite venue The Hollowood Bowl. To get tickets visit here.
This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® andTransparent Productions but all my opinions are my own. Thank you to Pollinate and Transparent Productions for the wonderful experience, amazing seats, and for pushing me a bit out of my comfort zone.
My little guy is growing despite his best efforts to refuse all solid foods lately. He’s now comfortably fitting into 12 month clothes and has quickly outgrown the arrow onesie I made for him just 2 months ago. So it was time to stencil up some new pieces for him to wear, and this time I had some help from the Handmade Charlotte stencils from Plaid. I have was the Family Message Center set which contains 87 stencils to create calenders, to-do lists, chore lists, etc. I however, saw some of the smaller scale patterns and designs and figured they’d be perfect for some more bold, graphic onesies.
As fun as it is to make your own stencils, I have to say it’s twice as fun to create these onesies when you have half the work. To make them all you need are your set of stencils, some sponge brushes and acrylic paint or fabric paint, whichever you prefer. You’ll also want to make sure you place a rag or piece of thick cardboard between the 2 layers of fabric so the paint doesn’t bleed through.Start by taping the stencil in place, and then with a gentle pouncing motion, apply the paint in up/down strokes. You don’t want to attempt to brush it on side to side because it will pull at and stretch out the knit too much. Up and down, applying a generous amount of paint is the way to go.To get the gradated colors of the raindrop I just mixed some of the aqua paint with white and didn’t worry about being too precise with color match, so that it kind of came out in a swirly blend of light and dark shades of aqua.To get the graphic Morse code looking pattern, I cut out a grouping of 3 shapes and then just applied the paint and alternated the stencil right side up and upside down.Allow the paint to dry for at least 2 hours and then remove your rag or card stock. You can prewash it but not necessary. These hold up in the wash fine for me and we end up getting lots of use out of them. They never come out perfect, but that’s part of the charm I suppose.
Let me know if you have any questions, and if you have a set of the Handmade Charlotte stencils, I’d love to know which one you have and how you like it, so I can get another set. The catalog of stencil sets can be viewed here, and I’d love to get the patterns or party set.
As fun as it is to make your own stencils, I have to say it’s twice as fun to create these onesies when you have half the work. To make them all you need are your set of stencils, some sponge brushes and acrylic paint or fabric paint, whichever you prefer. You’ll also want to make sure you place a rag or piece of thick cardboard between the 2 layers of fabric so the paint doesn’t bleed through.Start by taping the stencil in place, and then with a gentle pouncing motion, apply the paint in up/down strokes. You don’t want to attempt to brush it on side to side because it will pull at and stretch out the knit too much. Up and down, applying a generous amount of paint is the way to go.To get the gradated colors of the raindrop I just mixed some of the aqua paint with white and didn’t worry about being too precise with color match, so that it kind of came out in a swirly blend of light and dark shades of aqua.To get the graphic Morse code looking pattern, I cut out a grouping of 3 shapes and then just applied the paint and alternated the stencil right side up and upside down.Allow the paint to dry for at least 2 hours and then remove your rag or card stock. You can prewash it but not necessary. These hold up in the wash fine for me and we end up getting lots of use out of them. They never come out perfect, but that’s part of the charm I suppose.
Let me know if you have any questions, and if you have a set of the Handmade Charlotte stencils, I’d love to know which one you have and how you like it, so I can get another set. The catalog of stencil sets can be viewed here, and I’d love to get the patterns or party set.
- Long and lean true workout bottoms that have a slight compression fit that molds to my curves and that fits slim all the way to the ankle or knee; no bootleg type openings.
- Longer and loose tops that cover me up a bit more and glide over the postpartum pooch, don’t hug and squeeze it.
- Ankle athletic socks that are hardly visible inside the shoe helps creates a longer silhouette to your legs
- Functional coverups for staying warm that are long and loose to comfortably fit over clothes.
Next week we’ll talk about shorts, because I know they’re the bane of many women’s existence, especially workout shorts. I hope this has been helpful for some of you. I’ve continued with my Pop Physique workouts 2-3 times a week and I’m now down about 9 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. I’d love to get to the gym more in the coming months as soon as we’re out of cold and flu season and I can feel comfortable taking Hayden to the gym daycare. Until then I’m happy with the progress I’ve made!
New Balance has the following mission: Demonstrating responsible leadership, we build global brands that athletes are proud to wear, associates are proud to create and communities are proud to host. The Heidi Klum for New Balance partnership combines New Balance’s expertise in fit and form with Heidi Klum’s commitment to sophisticated style, to create a versatile collection for women that is both everyday wearable and chic. Learn more: http://www.newbalance.com/Heidi-Klum/heidi-klum,default,pg.html New Balance encourages you to submit your own Heidi Klum for New Balance looks via Instagram or Twitter using the #hknb hashtag.
Compensation was provided by New Balance via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of New Balance. I personally have been a fan of New Balance for at least 15 years and have exclusively worn their shoes for all of my workouts. I was more than thrilled and honored for this opportunity to share these active wear pieces with you all and can attest to how awesome they are.
DIY Floral Glitter Crowns
04/22/13
Since we were getting all random on Taylor’s “favorite things” party, we decided to throw some floral crowns into the mix. After all they combine all the things that most 7-8 year old little girls love; hair accessories, flowers, color and glitter. I decided to skip goodie bags and hand these out instead. They also served as the perfect table decor when placed at each girl’s seat, and eliminated any need for a “centerpiece”. The girls wore these all night, and the next morning, and to my surprise, since every single crown was unique, not one complained or fought over which crown they got. Here’s a super simple tutorial of how we threw these together an hour before our guests arrived.For your supplies, you’ll need some inexpensive floral stems from places like Ikea, Michael’s, even the Dollar Store. You’ll also need some plain headbands, a hot glue gun and heavy duty scissors or wire cutters to cut through the floral stems.If you want to make the crowns a bit more funky, then buy a few strands of these colorful fuzzy pompoms available at Michael’s, some glitter and very important, spray adhesive.Start by hot gluing the pompoms and/or imitation flowers onto the headbands. Super easy and quick process, don’t worry about getting super precise and picky. Once you have the pretties glued on, add some glitter if you are so inclined by spraying a quick and deliberate spritz of spray adhesive onto the flower. The first one I did I went a little crazy and just sprayed all over, getting the adhesive in the flower’s center, which looked a bit silly doused in aqua glitter. But you can be precise and just spray the leaves and petals if you concentrate.Quickly sprinkle some glitter onto the petals, before it dries.And that’s pretty much as easy as it gets. You are done. You can make several different variations, getting as big and loud as you wish, or more subtle and restrained. I did a bit of both and the girls loved each one they got. Some were really big and over the top colorful, some were super petite and simple. That was the funnest part, making each one slightly different than the next. Now take lots of pretty pictures of your finished product and the girls wearing them.
The last few years it seems the floral crown has come to be associated with bohemian hipsters and Coachella attendees. I was happy to make these for those they were originally intended for, sweet little girls.
The last few years it seems the floral crown has come to be associated with bohemian hipsters and Coachella attendees. I was happy to make these for those they were originally intended for, sweet little girls.
I swore I wasn’t going to throw Taylor a party this year. Actually last year, after the beautifully exhausting mermaid party, I swore I wasn’t going to throw a party for her. At the time I was swollen pregnant, hormonal, hot and tired. I couldn’t imagine going through all the rigamarole with a 6 month old baby. But as April rolled around, I caved. She didn’t even ask for a party, truth be told, I just find it impossible to do nothing I guess. Which is odd, but at any rate, I had the brilliant idea to forgo a standard party with adults and families, and instead have a very small sleepover with cousins and just a couple of friends. In my mind sleepover equaled less stress because less people to feed, less people invading our house, less cooking, clean up, money spent, etc.
Holy hell I was wrong.
Sleepovers, as it turns out, are a lot of work. 7 young girls in our house for 16 hours straight, minus a very short window of time when they are actually asleep. Other than that, it is full on girl craziness 100% of the time. I loved it, Taylor loved it, and I’m glad I did it. All I’m saying though, is if you think a sleepover is going to be somewhat easier because you can do simple kid food and play simple kid games and just throw them in the room, you’d be wrong my friend.
The feelings of responsibility alone were enough of a burden to make me question having another sleepover for a couple of years. I found myself counting the girls over and over again, between pool time and bed time, I would count over and over again to make sure all the girls were accounted for. Is that weird? I also checked in on them about 5 times throughout the night. And counted their heads. One girl’s little head was tucked under her sleeping bag so I went over and lifted it up, just to be sure. I am crazy, right? Ha!
But aside from all the self-inflicted stress of hosting a sleepover, it really was a great party and I did limit myself on the decorations and “theme”. A couple of days before the party I had Taylor take a trip to Target with me and let her pick out the paper plates, some party accessories from the party aisle, and then we went and ordered the cake. Between the random, mismatched party decorations and paper goods, the galloping horse cake, and the activities planned, including a Princess Leia pinata, we dubbed the party a “favorite things” party and we sort of just went from there.
The only thing I ended up decorating was the actual table the girls would be sitting at, and hung a lettered banner, which I’ll share later this week, and some balloons as the backdrop. The table setting and the crowns the girls all took home as favors, were all made and thrown together in about 2 hours time. No joke.
For the table cloth I just used a white linen tablecloth I already owned, and then placed colorful strops of grosgrain ribbon along the width of the table. The table was set with alternating pink and lavender colored watercolor inspired paper plates, and those beautiful blue Bell mason jars? I received those compliments of Bell and they were just the perfect thing to set the table off.
I added some colorful striped straws, bright paper confetti, and then placed a flower crown at each place setting for the girls to take home as favors. A beautiful and useful replacement to ye’ old goody bag, if I do say so myself. Oh! And those horse place-card holders? I found them in the craft supply aisle at Michael’s and bought them on a whim, thinking I could use them for a washi tape craft with the girls or something. You know, in case we got bored or something (ha!). At the last minute I decided to add the girl’s names on them and use them as place holders and they ended up taking those home too they loved them so much!
The decorations proved once again, that the less preplanning and stress, the better. For me anyhow. I seem to work the best and get the most creative inspiration when I just let go and don’t force it. It was colorful. It was all over the place. It was a bit much. But for Taylor, and who she is, it was PERFECT!
I had a couple of crafts planned for the girls, as well as some games, but it turned out they just had fun swimming and making their own games up. I purposely didn’t include any photos of the girls at the party because as they get older, I’m trying to be more sensitive to their privacy, but I wish I could share one of the games they came up with because it was so cute and brilliant! I bought these glow in the dark star glasses at Target, and after passing them out, they made up the glow in the dark tag game. We turned off all the lights and all the girls except the seeker, hid. The seeker then had to find the girls by finding their glow in the dark faces. It was really cute and creative and LOUD, but very fun. Needless to say lots of throw pillows and blankets were hurt in the process, but they proved no worse for wear.
Tomorrow I’ll share the process of making the very sweet and easy floral crowns, which the girls NEVER took off that night! I instagrammed some photos (@fourflights), and most of the girls were even wearing them the next morning. It was a great party and I’d do it again, in another 5 years maybe 
The Girl Who Made Me A Mother
04/19/13
In light of the events of this week, and especially the ones that have transpired over night in Boston, I struggled with what to post today. I had a post lined up sharing some exciting news with you all, but for today it just didn’t feel right. After spending the morning out running errands for Taylor’s 8th birthday party today, I came home to read this post about the Power Of Counting And Speaking Your Blessings. After news surfaced this morning that a sergeant on the Boston police force ordered those in his charge, at a shift change, to “go home and hug your children, and then hug them again”, I thought it only fitting that I say a blessing for Taylor, the girl who made me a mommy 8 years ago today.
Taylor, I am eternally grateful for the blessing you have given me and your daddy, by being in our lives. And I thank God for the chance to mother you. I love your kind spirit, your energy, your curiosity, and your silliness. I am proud that you have your own interests and pursue them, even if they are different than what some other girls at school may be into. I love your tender heart to animals, and your creative connection to everything from nature to art to music. At 8, you love to write songs, you love to paint, you love to be outside, and you love to dance. As you grew each year, I always prayed and hoped that you would be this lovely and special. And it seems God has answered my prayers.
There is no one like you, and you are the perfect piece to our family. You are the one who granted us the gift of parenthood, and you have taught us both so much. Each of us is a special part of this family, each of us has a unique role to play and spot to fill. For our family, you remind us to be curious, to be adventurous, to be kind to all living things, even if they’re pesky rodents, and you remind us to care for each other. Watching you take care of both your younger brothers is a lesson in servitude, in gratitude and in love. You love and care for them both without question, without asking and prompting, and always from the bottom of your heart. You my dear, show me what true, unconditional, unbreakable love is. I cannot tell you how much I love you, I value you and I appreciate you. I hear 8 is great, and my gosh I can’t imagine you getting much better, but I’m sure you will continue to surprise us all, and make us all very, very proud.
Happy birthday my sweet girl. We love you to the moon and back again. You are awesome, amazing and inspiring.
All these midi skirts and more can be found on my Pinterest board. Follow along with me as I pin my favorite Spring Style and Trends for women. And don’t miss a thing, like For The Love Of on Facebook to keep in touch!
I’ve been on the hunt for a lovely midi skirt lately. I love maxis, but once the heat turns up they can feel quite cumbersome, even if they’re light and airy. Midis though are a more modest, and functional version of a short summery skirt that look great with wedges, pretty heels and flat sandals. Perfect for pattern mixing, wearing back to chambray, and just a simple and easy tank, midis are on my mind, and here are a few favorites I wouldn’t mind having in my closet.
1. Floral ASOS 2. Pink Linen ASOS 3. Red Full Circle ASOS 4. Lime Green Ponte ASOS 5. Abstract Jacquard ASOS 6. Green Striped ASOS 7. Black and White Check ASOS 8. Black and White Striped ASOS 9. Strata Panel Skirt Anthropologie 10. Waverly A Line Skirt Anthropologie
As with maxis, I can just hear it now. Some of you more petite girls are going to be saying, “I can’t wear a midi skirt, I’m too short!” Nonsense! Focus on lengthening your proportions by adding a belt and tucking in a blouse or form fitting top. Then pair with wedges to give yourself some lift and you have a flowing, easy chic look that allows you to feel pulled together, season appropriate yet still functional. You aren’t tripping over your long skirt and you aren’t afraid a gust of wind or bending over to pick something up will reveal too much. I’m a fan of this length, and can’t wait to try adding a skirt or two to my current mix, which consists of just one skirt in such length, as seen below.
