Happy Mother's Day!

peony... in love

via bhg

Have a lovely Sunday!

[Round-Up] Unique Mother's Day Ideas

Here are some fun Mother's Day ideas from around the blogosphere-

[Party] Decorative Paper Cups

I'm in full-blown party mode and am having fun with the little details.  I created glitter cups last week, and this week I'm working on some decorative paper cups.  Since we're not having a lunch, I thought these small cups would be a fun way to serve snacks. Namely yogurt star cookies, space-themed goldfish crackers, fruit salad and astronaut ice cream.  

And if you're wondering... These guys won't be at the SPACE party, but they sure photograph nicer than black paper!

click "Read more" for the tutorial

[Wordless Wednesday] Tea + Sprinkles = No No

via eat drink chic

pssst... have a terrific day!

[Weekender] The One with Fast Cars, Frog Legs & Jackalopes

Yeah, not our typical weekend.  Although we did have our standard lazy Saturday morning and Smarty Pant's afternoon baseball game, Sunday was way off the beaten path.  The Mister heard about an event in the Mohave desert where folks run their cars down a runway as fast as they can go... as in 200+ MPH.  Whoa.  Not my cup of tea.  But it was cool to stand on the runway (far, far away from the fast cars & planes) and watch.  The boys had fun playing on the tarmac.  I mean, how many times do you get to play at an airfield?

I haven't been toting around my camera these days, but here are some pics from my phone.

While were were out there, we decided to stop at the very interesting, very kitschy Charlie Brown Farms. I'm not sure where to begin, but it's a mishmash of everything you'd find at a Country Fair tucked into a little building miles away from a main highway.  So there were fried twinkies, snickers, basically fried anything that isn't good for you; plus dried fruits and nuts; plus smoked meats- I enjoyed my pulled pork sandwich; Plus exotic game- kangaroo, alligator, frog legs; And of course a crap load of candy,  tchotchkes and cheap toys that ensure that you have to drag your kids out of there kicking and screaming. Literally.  

Oh, and a jackalope too!

So it was an interesting weekend... to say the least. Every now and then it's good to have a little adventure. ;)

[Oh Martha] Citrus Inspiration

gem-shaped lucite escort cards

these just caught my eye.  they would also make a neat dessert table backdrop.

citrus zest lollipops

orange paper-lined bookcase

triple citrus cupcakes

read the comments if you decide to make them

citrus sorbet

how cute are these?

diy orange ombre paper lantern 

i've posted this before, but who can resist a big ombre orange?

lemonade, limeade & pink lemonade

robertson/pasanella bedroom in their manhattan loft

love the use of plastic holders to display family photos

Have a creative week!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

via she knows

Piñata cookies?  Yes please!  Or perhaps a plate of enchiladas and a slushy, salty margarita?  Yum.

[Party] DIY Glitter Party Cups

It's seems that with every party I plan, I get a little obsessed about something.  This time... it's nut cups.  Yep.  Good ol' nut cups that I won't be serving nuts in.  So I did my usual research on Etsy and found several options, but with shipping and handling, they're pretty pricey for what they are.  So I decided to DIY it.

I found a package of small cups at a discount party store for $4 and I already had the glue and glitter... So I really couldn't justify spending $14 for almost the same thing. Besides, lets face it, 6 year old boys could  care less what the cups look like.  :)

This was an easy project and gave me a chance to play with glitter.  Not often that you get to pull out the glitter for a boy's party, so I took full advantage!

Misty May

Southern California is known for sun and surf, but in May and June, the coast is usually hit with overcast and gray.  I actually don't mind the change, but after two weeks of mist, I'm starting to feel a little sun deprivation-- yawn!  So you'll have to excuse me for my lack of posts lately.  I'm just sleepy... blame it on the May Gray!  Here's what's been keeping me going...

[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] Mother's Day

Mother's Day is just around the corner, so I thought I'd do a little idea "research" over at Martha Stewart. Here are some finds for your mama and your mama's mama. :)

balloon bouquet

stamped book bindings

[Weekly Inspiration] 4.28.2012

these pretty coffee filter flowers via two shades of pink

this neon party via lorajean's magazine

these paint swirl vases via centsational girl

these stenciled glasses via urban comfort

this cute dotted gift box via ambrosia girl

Oh yawn, stretch, sigh. The past couple of weeks have been exhausting. Lots of late nights because of back-to-back baseball games and school obligations... Which results in misbehaving kids and grumpy parents. Grrrrrr...  Which also means I haven't done anything for Smarty Pant's birthday party... a little worrisome since it's just a 3 weekends away.  Must.Do.Something.This.Weekend. Ah well, sometimes a little pressure is good.  :)

Have a good one!

[Party] Space... The Invitation

It's that time of year again!  How did that happen so fast??  My big little guy is turning 6 next month (sigh).  His fifth year was full of big milestones-- learning how to read & write, playing sports, increased maturity, lots of deep questions about the world around him... Five was an incredible year and I'm looking forward to year six!

This year, Smarty Pant's decided he wanted a Space Party.  Cool!  I'm so glad he didn't say Star Wars or some other theme that involves a lot of little people running around shooting and slashing at each other.  I don't like to intentionally give myself a headache, ya know?

Anyhow, here's how the invitation turned out--

I took the astronaut photo years ago at the Museum of Flight in Seattle and, with a little photo shop magic, added a  current picture of Smarty Pants.

If you're interested in using the astronaut for your own Space Party, I created a downloadable file. Just click the File tab and select Download to save it on your computer.

Also, here are the free fonts that I used for the invitation-- red rocket, rocket script, astronaut

So invitations are out... Let the party planning begin!