Layla's 6th Birthday Party (Ice Cream Party!)

After a week of completely stressing out about this party (that's what I get for waiting till the last minute, right?), the big party day finally arrived! Here again are the invitations, courtesy of Dimpleprints.







I knew I wanted to make an ice cream shop sign. Pleas excuse my lettering, I'm no painter! I'm sure the fact that it was probably about 3:00 am when I did this, didn't help.

When I made Morgan's cake topper, she told me she wanted one, too. I did this dress different and I think she turned out cute. Thankfully, when I made Morgan's, I had painted more than one doll. Otherwise, she might not have turned out so well! The ice cream cone is a $1.00 eraser from Joanns.

I didnt want to spend a ton of money on party favors (I never do!) and I hate buying junky cheap stuff that will just get thrown away. So I decided on making ice cream cone crayons. It was my first time doing them this way, and they turned out great!

I also whipped up a bright, colorful bunting. I love the colors on this. These were the pre-packaged fat quarters from Joanns when they were on sale for $.99 each. I used these fabrics again both in the cake topper dress and a t-shirt I made for her to wear.

Since it's pretty warm out and I didnt want the ice cream to turn into a soupy mess, I made up this little menu sign so the kids could choose their flavors. I'm sure I could have made this a lot cuter, but this wasnt done until the day of the party!

Finally, the main event! The sundae bar! TONS of toppings here... bananas, cake & sugar cones, sprinkles of all kinds, crushed Oreos, peanuts, strawberry sauce, marshmallows, chocolate, caramel & strawberry syrup, gummi bears, M&Ms and cherries. Even some of that stuff that hardens into a shell when you put it on the ice cream.

Check out this hungry herd!

Before I forget (I almost did!), here is the t-shirt I made her. I found this t-shirt on clearance in the toddler section of Walmart (it's a 5T!) for $2.50. Six scoops for 6 years!

And for some of the other details. I whipped up some more candy covered marshmallows.

And pretzels.

Cupcakes, too!

And you can't forget the cake! The cones are really just decorative. They are cut in half and I put a few marshmallows in just to use less frosting (I was getting low!).

Check out the inside!

Make a wish, big girl!

Finally, a little after party fun in the bounce house.

I think it turned out pretty good, and I'm glad it's over! No more parties until September! At least Blake already knows what he wants. I can keep an eye out for stuff during the coming months. His party will be football themed. I just don't know if he wants a generic football theme, or to use Cowboy colors, since that's the team he plays for.

Anyway, hopefully now I can get some household projects done. Have a good one!

A Review & a Giveaway!

As I mentioned a little while ago, I was contacted by CSN Stores to see if I would be intersted in doing a review and/or a giveaway. Of course I said yes! It was SO hard to decide on what to get. They have so many items available! Everything from home bars and bar accessories, to pots & pans, towels, baby gear and more. Pretty much anything you need. I could have gone fun, but in the end, I chose functional. We needed a new water dish for our indoor cat, Poof. I ended up going with the Le Bistro Microban Waterer (small). We had been using a bowl I found in the yard (feels like stoneware maybe). It wasnt working for us. It was constantly empty or getting knocked over. What a change this waterer makes! It is really easy to fill and holds a lot of water. Even though it's "small", it's still pretty big. The water fills easily. And when she knocks food into it, it's pretty easy to just pour it out, rinse and let it refill, instead of having to take it all apart. So overall, I'm very pleased with this new water dish. And the shipping time from CSN Stores was really quick as well!



(Please ignore how bad the floor looks! I can't seem to get rid of that!)






And now for the part you've been waiting for, the giveaway! One lucky reader will win this 6 piece Pyrex Smart Mixing Bowl set! All you have to do is leave a comment, it's that simple. I will keep this giveaway open until Friday, April 30.

Crayons!

256 crayons, lots of peeling wrappers, and lots of chopping...

And we were making crayons!

Thankfully, tonight they are finished. And I finished her t-shirt. Still lot's to do though!

This is completely off topic, but I am a BzzAgent. They recently launched a new "Bzz Campaign" promoting the new movie, Babies. If you havent yet heard about it, it's a documentary that follows the first year of life of four babies, from Namibia, Japan, Mongolia and the US. are so cute! And it premiers Mother's Day weekend! Check out this little clip featuring the babies, and some of the animals they interact with. You can also view the trailer by clicking on "Babies" above.

Some NEW Finds

Finally, I have a few recent finds to share! I have had such an urge to go thrifting/yard-saling. It seems like when that happens, and I finally go, it always pays off! I found these cute little birds. There was only this one "nest".

And more Pyrex! For $.20, you can't pass it up.

Another piece of milk glass.

I assume these are spun cotton?

I was needing some more old books for decorating, and just look at these colors! The one about buying country property isnt that old, late 70's, but I liked the title. And I try & make sure I like the title when I'm buying these. They were all $.20 a piece!

Some little eggs...

And some nests. This beats craft store prices!

I always see these dishes on other people's blogs, and I saw several in the antique shops in Virginia. Now I have two!

I almost coudlnt believe I found this. There is a new thrift shop down the road. They are okay, kind of pricey. Like $4-$5 a t-shirt pricey. But for some reason, this vintage Christmas tablecloth was marked $1.99. I almost couldnt believe it!

Course, there is one flaw. Maybe this explains the price?

And finally, somewhere to hopefully display some of this Pyrex I keep finding. This was a Craigslist find. Obviously it needs some updating! But I think it will look great when we're done with it. Question is... what color? White? Or maybe a soft/apple green? (That glass has already been removed! I'm debating between taking the doors off, or adding chicken wire. What do you think?)

I'm linking up to Today's Thrifty Treasures at Southern Hospitality!

More Party Prep!

Somehow I've managed to wait until one week before Layla's party to get started on her party. Usually I look forward to these things, I'm not sure what happened this time! All I know is I better get in gear. Can I pull this off in one week?


I found these cute little erasers for $1.00 each at Joann's. I think I'm going to use one of them on her cake topper.




This rainbow of fabric is going to be used for a bunting and a t-shirt for her to wear. Doesn't it look fun?




This will be used to make crayons.

This will be my first time making one of these!

And of course, we must have tissue paper pom poms. I saved all the ones I made for Morgan's party, so I just need to add some more of the other colors.

I have so much to do! I hope I can get it all done!