Sesame Street Party – First Birthday Poster

Continuing in my series of posts about Nathan’s Sesame Street 1st Birthday Party, today I’m sharing the First Birthday Poster I made.

I loved the posters for sale on Etsy by MoulageCollection but at $52 they were way out of my price range. Instead I spent $1 on a piece of bristol board, used the expensive chalk version as inspiration and made my own with markers.

I started in the centre with “Nathan is ONE!” and then wrote around the outside about his favourites, his activities and his measurements. Basically I aimed to capture the essence of Nathan at 12 months old ;)

The last step was to dress it up by adding some doodling and then some Sesame Street chipboard characters to tie the poster to the theme. I hung it up in the living room and it was neat to see people stop and read it throughout the party. I hope I can remember that I want to make one of these every year!

Sesame Street Party – Balloon Birthday Wreath

If you’re a regular reader than you probably know that I’ve got a thing for wreaths. I’ve got one for pretty much every season and holiday. I hang them outside, inside, my Summer Paper Wreath hangs in my kitchen all year round. So when I started seeing variations of this balloon wreath all over Pinterest I knew I needed to make one for Nathan’s party.

 

It was so easy to make but had big impact and I got a lot of compliments. All you need for the basic concept is a Styrofoam wreath form, straight pins and balloons in your colour scheme. I went with 5 different colours and used just under 50 balloons in total. How many you need will depend on the size of your wreath form. Buy more than you think you’ll need because the end result is a lot better when the wreath is fuller.

All you need to do is start pinning the balloons to the wreath form with the straight pins. I tried to space out the colours evenly but I didn’t worry about a pattern as everything ends up overlapping. If you don’t like a section it’s easy to unpin and try again so don’t think too hard about it! Once I had all my balloons in place I pinned a loop of ribbon on to the back for hanging.

 

It was cute with just balloons but I decided it needed something else so I painted a wooden N that I had in my stash and attached the Sesame Street lamppost. I hot glued ribbon to the back and then pinned it to the back of the wreath.

All told this wreath took me less than an hour to make and cost less than $10. The bright primary colours fit the Sesame Street theme perfectly but they’re also just cheerful birthday colours so I’ll be able to use the wreath again next year just by removing the lamppost and replacing it with something to fit the next theme.

Still lots more Sesame Street Party posts to come!

Sesame Street Party – Baby Food Jar Favours

When I decided to make favours for Nathan’s 1st birthday I knew I needed to do something edible. I hate bringing home favours that just collect dust because you feel too guilty to throw them out. I even made edible favours for our wedding. I had acquired a bunch of baby food jars last fall for a project I never got around to making and decided favours would be a perfect use for them.

To make the labels I had Nathan scribble all over white paper and then I cut it into strips to wrap around each jar. I wrote “Thanks for coming! Love Nathan” on each one before I glued them on. For toppers I used cupcake liners. The regular sized ones fit perfectly over a baby food jar lid but I had to cut the top halves off so they didn’t cover the writing on the labels. I attached them to the lids with a glue stick.

To fill the jars – the actual favour part – I used mini M&Ms and sour jelly beans. The bright colours matched the party theme perfectly.

The favours were a hit and I’m sure the candy was enjoyed not long after it left the house. Hopefully all the jars made it to the recycling bin ;)

More Sesame Street Party posts to come so be sure to check back!

Sesame Street Party – Invitations (with Template!)

Earlier this week I posted about my son’s Sesame Street 1st Birthday Party with the promise that I’d be blogging about all the projects I made for it. I figured first things first – we have to start with the invitations.

I started with the image of the gang from Sesame Street. I don’t have a proper credit for it as it seems to be floating around on a lot of blogs and parenting sites but I found it on Google Images. I’m sure it probably originated with Sesame Street. I used a photo editing program to add the multi-coloured circles and text and done! I somehow managed to forget a picture of the finished product but I printed them 4 to a page and then backed each with colourful card stock. It was a pretty simple invite but I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on something that people were probably just going to throw out not long after receiving it. And I think they turned out pretty cute :)

If you like them too maybe you’d like to make your own! Click on the image below to get a copy of the template – all you need to do is add your text and print them out!

Lots more Sesame Street Birthday posts coming up so be sure to check back!

Sesame Street 1st Birthday Party!

Hello! Yes, I’m still here and I’m sorry my posting has been so sporadic lately. Being back to work and figuring out our new family schedule has been tough and the blog has had to take a backseat despite the fact that I’ve got lots of great stuff to share with you. Well I’m hoping to correct that now but introducing a series of posts about my son’s first birthday party. We went with a Sesame Street theme – he loves the characters and I loved working in all the bright primary colours. Over the next week or two (I’m trying not to over commit myself here!) I’ll be posting about everything you see here – and maybe a few more things I couldn’t fit in the collage!

 

I’ll come back here after each post to add a link so it’ll be easy to find everything. Here’s a partial list of the projects I’ll be writing about:

• Sesame Street Invite
• Baby Food Jar Favours
• 12 Month Summary Bristol Board
• Heart Garland
• Sesame Street Pennant Garland
• Mason Jar Decor
• “Framed” Guest Photos
• Tissue Paper Pom Poms
• Balloon Wreath
• Photo Garland
• Table Decor

Hope you’ll come back to see all of the posts!

Even More DIY Birthday Cards!

Last month my cousin turned 4 so, of course, birthday cards were made! I love making cards for kids since I get to use up all the cute stuff I have in my stash. Lauren loves elephants so this card from Nathan was a no brainer.

 

It’s made entirely from Sassafras paper and stickers. I just did a lot of layering and added the 4 sticker since it was her fourth birthday. Here’s a look at the inside.

For the card from me and Chris I just kept it simple and girly with some patchwork papers and a pretty sticker tag. I love that little caterpillar crawling across the top of the card :)

 

And here’s the inside of that one – felt birthday shapes and some cute little stickers including a little To and From tag.

 

We all had a great time celebrating with Lauren (and a bunch of her rambunctious 4 year old friends!) at her butterfly themed birthday. Can’t believe she’s 4 when it seems like just yesterday I was driving to see her in hospital on the day she was born. Looking forward to another great year with one of my favourite people in the world :)

DIY Birthday Card - Dream Big

Just a really quick post today to share the birthday card I made for my brother last month. This one was made entirely with scraps and stickers that I already had in my stash so it's eclectic but I love the way all the layers and pieces work with each other.

Please excuse the Christmas tablecloth - this picture was actually taken in December!

I think my favourite part is the little birthday hat sticker I put on the bird. It helped to make the card more birthday focused instead of just a general greeting. It's a trick I've used before here.

I really love the impact that DIY cards make. Your recipient feels special that you took the time to create something just for them but the reality is these are so easy to make! Do you make your own cards?

A Happy Birthday

This past weekend we celebrated my dad's birthday. The family got together to eat cake and watch Dad open presents. I made the cake and decided to keep it simple - chocolate cake with chocolate icing covered in candy.

I went with M&Ms because my dad's initials are M.M. When I asked Chris to pick me up a big bag at the grocery store I had to convince him that was the reason and it wasn't just a pregnancy craving!

I also made a birthday card with a collection of paper embellishments that made me think of the birthday boy. I love how cards can come together using random pieces that you might not think belong together.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Easy/Impressive Cake Decorating

I may have mentioned that I was taking a Wilton Method cake decorating class at my local Michaels store. I had actually attempted to take the class a couple of years back but, due to health reasons, I had to quit halfway through. I'm pleased to say that this time around I received my certificate of completion along with a bunch of tips and tricks for cake decorating! Today I want to show you just how easy it is to add pictures and drawings to the tops of your cakes.

I made this cake in my second class. I wish I had pictures of the process to share but I was mostly covered with buttercream the whole time, not to mention the teacher probably would have looked at me strangely! But the concept is really simple.

All you need to start is a line drawing. Obviously, mine was of a cupcake but you can use anything you find on Google or in a colouring book - just try to keep it simple for your first try. Tape a piece of parchment paper over your drawing and then use piping gel to trace all of the lines. Piping gel comes in a tub or a tube - if you're not going to be using it often then just buy a tube. It doesn't really matter what colour since you'll be covering it up with icing.

Once you've traced your design, take your parchment paper and invert it onto the top of your cake. Use your finger or a little paintbrush to go over all of your piping gel lines. Then carefully peel back the parchment to reveal your drawing transferred onto your cake. The next part is easy - just fill in the design with various colours of icing!

Mine is far from perfect but it gives you the idea. The best part is that I only had to use one icing tip to make this whole cupcake (except for the skinny wavy lines on the cupcake bottom). I even used the same Wilton 12 tip to pipe the simple border at the bottom of my cake.If you want to try this out without investing in tips you can always just snip the corner of a Ziploc back and pipe your icing through the hole!

Easy and impressive - try this for your next birthday celebration!

Party Perfect - DIY Paper Hearts

Sometimes the simplest of crafts can be so pretty and have such a big impact. For our wedding I made a ton of paper hearts that we hung on all the chairs along the aisle - it made for a whimsical homemade touch that showed my personality so well. But the best part was that they were incredibly easy to make!

Start with a piece of double-sided scrapbooking paper. Alternately, you could use pages from books - you just need to keep in mind that you'll see both sides of the paper. If you're using scrapbooking paper then cut the whole 12x12 sheet into 12 one inch strips. For each heart you'll need 3 strips. Cut one in half and cut the other two down to 10 inches each.

Next line up your strips. Put the long ones in the centre with the same pattern on the outside. Then line up your little strips at the bottom of the long ones also with the same pattern on the outside - just make sure it's the opposite pattern showing on your long strips. I hope that makes sense - if not refer to the picture!

Fold each of the little pieces down to meet the bottom of the strips.

Then fold the long pieces down as well. And there's your heart! Staple everything together where all the pieces meet. If your pattern is busy then you won't really see the staple but if you don't like the look if it then you can glue one of your scraps around the base to cover it.

I told you it was easy! Switch the direction of the patterns on your next heart to have it complement the first.

To hang them just string ribbon or twine through any of the loops. You can use them as pew markers like I did, incorporate them into your centrepieces or string a row together to make a pretty garland. And they're not just for weddings - use them to decorate your house for Valentine's day, or a birthday party or just hang them up all year round!

Party Perfect - DIY Wedding Programs

I can't believe that today is already the first day of June! One year ago today I was putting the finishing touches on my wedding plans. One of the things that I really left until the last minute was our programs. I had bookmarked all kinds of ideas for fancy DIY projects but, in the end, I decided to go for something really simple.

I can't really call this a tutorial since these were so incredibly simple but I said the same thing about my seating chart and that has become one of my most popular posts. I made the programs using the same cardstock and paper that my invitations were made out of. I printed two programs on to each piece of paper and then cut the paper in half. My invites were made with pocketfolds and I had leftover so I just cut off the cover and the fold of each card so all that was left was the pocket. I slipped the printed paper into the pocket after I had punched holes and tied purple ribbon on each piece. So easy but they still made an impact.
If you're looking for a cheap and cheerful way to make your programs then this is the route to go!

Party Perfect - Bridal Shower Inspiration

My cousin is getting married this July and last weekend I attended her bridal shower. Her girls did a great job of throwing the party and it got me thinking about other shower diy ideas I've stashed away. From invitations to decor to favours - there's tons of great bridal shower inspiration out there for things you can make yourself.

First I'll show you the card that I made for the bride. I bought the "Oh Happy Day" shape for my Silhouette because I love the pretty script. The little layered bird sticker is a leftover from Valentine's Day that perfectly matched the papers I chose to use.

How pretty is this wedding dress shower invite made from cardstock and a doily? So simple to make but really effective! Click over to Zakka Life to see the how to.

I love this unique idea for bridal shower decor - it's a wedding cake centrepiece made from Styrofoam, wrapping paper and ribbon. The instructions at Crafts 'n Coffee promise that if you can wrap a present you can make this cake. I like it so much that I kind of want to make one for my kitchen table ;)

Last, I'm so in love with this idea for bridal shower favours. The woman who made them scoured flea markets looking for vintage tea cups that she wrote messages on with gold pen. So pretty! Be sure to check out 100 Layer Cake for other great ideas from this same shower.

Looking at all these great ideas I really wish I was someone's Maid of Honour. Hopefully someone else can use this inspiration for a shower they're planning in the coming months - we're coming up fast on wedding season!

Party Perfect - Hallmark Outlet Store

This post is for my readers in the Toronto area, or further if you're willing to do a little driving for some great deals. The Hallmark Outlet Store in North York is only open three days each month - the last Thursday, Friday and Saturday - and we'd been planning to go since before Christmas but never remembered when the end of the month came around again. So after missing the March dates we marked it in the calendar and finally made it at the end of April.

I wish I had taken pictures while at the store to give you a better sense but it was really crowded and kind of overwhelming. It is truly a warehouse outlet, just cement walls and cardboard boxes but who needs fancy displays when the prices are this good?! I bought everything pictured below for $10 plus tax.

Gift bags for $1, stickers for $0.25, rolls of wrapping paper for $1 - I was in gift wrapping heaven! I loaded up my arms until I couldn't carry any more without really keeping track of what my purchases were adding up to. Luckily when you're finished shopping, a store employee adds up all of your purchases for you and lets you know the total before you head to the cash register. I think the guy that counted my stuff used some kind of super special discount math because there is no way that he charged me the actual prices for all of my stuff. I think the name of the game is to blow out all their extra stock by any means necessary.

I will definitely be returning. I think the key is to plan your trip for after a specific holiday. They had Halloween and Christmas stuff but there was definitely a lot more in the way of Easter and St. Patrick's Day decorations with those holidays having just passed.

Have you ever been? Are you itching to go now? The store is located at 501 Consumers Rd and you can call 416-492-1300  for their hours. Happy saving!

P.S. For some reason half of my pictures decided to flip upside down and refuse to be turned. Sorry about that!