Tree Skirts and Stockings and Pageants, Oh My!

We’ve been having fun doing lots of Christmas-y type activities around here.

I finally got around to making a tree skirt and some stockings that have been on my To Do list for some time.

First, a tree skirt. Last year I used tulle which worked fine but then I saw a link for this tutorial via Pinterest. It looked easy and I already had everything on hand so I thought I’d take a stab at it and I think it turned out pretty well!

Like everything I make, it’s completely imperfect – mine is smaller than the one you see in the tutorial because I somehow managed to cut my circle lopsided and had to make some adjustments.

Also, I used painter’s drop cloth for the ruffles instead of linen.

And I burned my fingers with the glue gun approximately 874 times. That doesn’t really have anything to do with anything, I just thought that you should know.

Then I made these stockings.

Ok, I made this STOCKING, singular. The rest of them are in the works. The plan is to do two of them with ruffles and two with pleats, as per my inspiration found here.

She used burlap which I loved but I used (surprise, surprise) some canvas painter’s drop cloth because it’s what I had on hand.

Plus it will match my tree skirt and I’m just going to pretend like I planned it that way.

I’m also going to pretend like I meant to make my stockings with a square toe instead of round.

And last, an Advent calendar, which is also not completely finished.

I was inspired by this calendar that I saw….wait for it…on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Amy on Pinterest

 

I just used…drumroll please…canvas painter’s drop cloth to make the little pockets, but I have yet to number them. I’m still trying to make up my mind how to do that. Possibly stencil them, maybe find some fabric and do an iron on or make numbers with buttons. Clearly not something that’s going to get accomplished this year, but if I start working now, maybe it will be ready for next Christmas

In other non-crafty news, Lily had her first Christmas program a few weeks ago.

She was adorable. And I’m not being biased, just see for yourself.

And this was what her face looked like when she spotted us in the crowd. Be still, my mother’s heart! I hope she’s always that happy to see us

We’ve also been doing lots of other neat Advent activities, but this post is already insufferably long so I’ll save that for another day.

Happy Wednesday!

Tree Skirts and Stockings and Pageants, Oh My!

We’ve been having fun doing lots of Christmas-y type activities around here.

I finally got around to making a tree skirt and some stockings that have been on my To Do list for some time.

First, a tree skirt. Last year I used tulle which worked fine but then I saw a link for this tutorial via Pinterest. It looked easy and I already had everything on hand so I thought I’d take a stab at it and I think it turned out pretty well!

Like everything I make, it’s completely imperfect – mine is smaller than the one you see in the tutorial because I somehow managed to cut my circle lopsided and had to make some adjustments.

Also, I used painter’s drop cloth for the ruffles instead of linen.

And I burned my fingers with the glue gun approximately 874 times. That doesn’t really have anything to do with anything, I just thought that you should know.

Then I made these stockings.

Ok, I made this STOCKING, singular. The rest of them are in the works. The plan is to do two of them with ruffles and two with pleats, as per my inspiration found here.

She used burlap which I loved but I used (surprise, surprise) some canvas painter’s drop cloth because it’s what I had on hand.

Plus it will match my tree skirt and I’m just going to pretend like I planned it that way.

I’m also going to pretend like I meant to make my stockings with a square toe instead of round.

And last, an Advent calendar, which is also not completely finished.

I was inspired by this calendar that I saw….wait for it…on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Amy on Pinterest

 

I just used…drumroll please…canvas painter’s drop cloth to make the little pockets, but I have yet to number them. I’m still trying to make up my mind how to do that. Possibly stencil them, maybe find some fabric and do an iron on or make numbers with buttons. Clearly not something that’s going to get accomplished this year, but if I start working now, maybe it will be ready for next Christmas

In other non-crafty news, Lily had her first Christmas program a few weeks ago.

She was adorable. And I’m not being biased, just see for yourself.

And this was what her face looked like when she spotted us in the crowd. Be still, my mother’s heart! I hope she’s always that happy to see us

We’ve also been doing lots of other neat Advent activities, but this post is already insufferably long so I’ll save that for another day.

Happy Wednesday!

Cowgirls and Birthday Cake

So, as I mentioned, last week was Lily’s birthday. This was the first year that I think she really “got” what was happening.

Her birthday was on Thursday, but for scheduling purposes, it was easier to have her party on Saturday. Still, we wanted to make the actual day of her birthday a special one.

Before she got up, I hung streamers from her door (thank you Pinterest, for that idea!)

After she woke up she started things off with a special Daddy/daughter date to IHOP, which I’m pretty sure was probably her favorite part of the whole day. They ate pancakes and talked about princesses and listened to her favorite songs in the van on the way home. At naptime, she asked me to thank God, “for pancakes with Daddy.”

I happened to be babysitting for my friend Laura, which meant that Lily got to spend the rest of the morning with her friend Jaxon.

For lunch I made her a “special” grilled cheese sandwich in the shape of a heart. Which she hardly touched because she was so full from her giant pancake breakfast

I had also gotten her this “Bellywasher” bottle of juice with a Hello Kitty top – she LOVED it and we’ve washed it and refilled it with water almost every day since then

When I asked her what she wanted for her birthday dinner, she told me “cake”…we went with something (only slightly) more nutritious…macaroni and cheese and hot dogs. Oh, the simple tastes of a three year old!

She got to open two presents after dinner – a pair of pink cowgirl boots and a big Curious George storybook. The rest we saved for the day of her party.

And speaking of her party, we did a cowgirl theme this year…it was so easy and so much fun!

Dave’s mom bought Lily and Sophia matching cowgirl outfits with hats and they already had matching cowgirl boots. So cute, but naturally, I didn’t get a good picture of them together! They’re going to wear them for Halloween, so…maybe then!

I have long since accepted that cake decorating just isn’t my thang, so I asked my friend Deann to make a cake and it was absolutely the star of the show…

Seriously.

Mad skills.

Anyway…I made the banner with scrapbooking paper that I got on sale at Michael’s, 4/$1.00. Used this foam board stuff from the Dollar store and wrapped it in brown kraft paper for the “backdrop”. Some haybales (which I’m now using as outdoor fall décor) and a bucket full of root beer along with some .99 cent handkerchiefs from Hobby Lobby and voila! Party complete.

We had pulled pork and cheesy potatoes to eat (which just seemed cowgirl-ish to me) and then opened the loot.

Everything turned out great, but most importantly, Lily loved it!

And in just two more weeks…Sophia turns one!

Tear, tear *sniff, sniff*

I think I might start slipping coffee in their sippy cups to stunt their growth.

RELAX!

I’d give them decaf

Photo Booth Friday: Attack of the Killer Rug

Would somebody please tell me how it is possible that this silly little goober…

is already NINE MONTHS old?

Pulling herself to a sitting position all by herself,

waving bye-bye,

eating solids like it’s her job,

sprouting teeth,

and {army} crawling all over the house, wearing rugs on her head?

No more lazy housekeeping for Mommy – those chubby fingers will find even the most inconspicuous specks of dirt or food on the floor and shove them in her mouth.

Happy 9 months {and 3 days} Sophers! We love you to pieces!

To My {First} Little Girl

Dear, sweet Lily,

My firstborn, my little girl.

A post in your honor is long overdue.

You are two.

TWO.

And I know how very cliché this sounds…but when did that happen?

We had a rough start, you and I. You didn’t make things easy on this new mama but I loved you through it all…even if I wondered whether or not you loved me sometimes!

Not anymore. These days there’s no mistaking the fact that you are mama’s girl through and through.

You’ve moved from being a fussy newborn to a sweet toddler who is {almost} always ready to cuddle.

There are days when I wish I could just bottle you up and keep you two forever.

I don’t want you to lose the rest of the baby fat on those sweet cheeks.

I want you to keep loving Winnie the Pooh and Elmo instead of the Jonas Brothers or Hannah Montana.

I want you to keep playing princess and having tea parties.

I want your Daddy to always be the only man in your life.

I want you to keep believing that I am everything you think I am.

I want you to keep your innocence. There is so much hurt and evil in this world and every part of me longs to shield you from even knowing about that.

I want you to just stay two and never get big.

And yet…

I want you to mature.

I want you to move from a little girl to a wise young woman.

I want you to experience the beauty of the world God created for you.

I want you to know Christ.

These next few months are going to bring changes for you…some that you may not like. Your little world is going to get shaken up a little bit and I want you to know – I’m still your mommy. I love you more than you can even comprehend, and though you may be getting less of my time and attention, you will never get less of my love.

You are sweet. You are spunky. A little bit sugar and a little bit spice.

I see more of myself in you every day and it thrills me…and scares me.

With each passing day I lose a little bit of the control I have over your life…and I realize more and more that it’s just an illusion, really.

You’re not mine. You are God’s.

Don’t you ever forget that, no matter how big you get.

I love you sweetie, and though you I can’t make you stay two, I can enjoy it while it lasts.

So let’s  go put on our princess crowns and drink tea, shall we?

A Really Long Birthday Post With Lots of Pictures

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this before but I love planning parties. Well, on a relatively small scale, anyway. I’m not so sure I could ever do the whole wedding planner thing – too much pressure.

But a birthday party for an adorable little two year old? Sign.me.up!

I really had very little idea what I was going to do for Lily’s second birthday – we’d done the princess thing already – so I just started looking around on the Internet to try and get inspiration. And can I just say? There is no shortage of inspiration for party ideas on the Internet.

Somewhere along the way, someone {I can’t remember who} told me about this website called Kara’s Party Ideas and oh my word, if you want to see some elaborate parties, go check this out. Like, wow. That’s all I have to say.

As much as I would have loved to have a ginormous, elaborate party for Lily, I knew I needed to be a little more practical due to the fact that, you know, we have a budget. And I really didn’t want to have to start working a second job just to pay for a party!

But I was able to get some really fabulous ideas from Kara’s website, and from those ideas, a party was born.

Would you like to take a peek? Welcome to…

Lily’s Sweet Shoppe

I made the invitations using cardstock, wrapping paper and ribbon – super simple. Although I must say, I was glad I only had to make 10 of them – those of you that make your own wedding invitations? You’re amazing. I couldn’t dream of having to do that 300 times over!

For decoration, I used glass jars and vases that I already had and filled them with candy. And by the way, the candy was by far the biggest splurge out of all the things I decorated with. I think I bought six bags at $4 a piece – so that’s something like $24 for gumballs and sixlets? Ridiculous. But the great thing was, it doubled as both decorations and party favors.

I used a white tablecloth that we already had and rolled out a section of the same wrapping paper that that I had used on the invitations down the middle. The wrapping paper cost me $3.00 and was something else that served double duty– I used it for the invitations, the decorations, and the presents. And I’ve got some leftover to use for wrapping future presents!

I decided to make cupcakes instead of a big cake this year {due to all my cake decorating related issues :) } I just decorated them with chocolate frosting and candy – so much less stressful (for me) than trying to make a big cake!

The jumbo cupcake in the middle was Lily’s and it actually came from Target bakery {thanks to my friend Katie for that tip!} It only cost me $1.99 and I couldn’t believe how great they matched their cake to my decorations!

For “party favors” each of the kids got to fill a bag of candy to take home – with a toothbrush attached of course :)

The bags were $.25 each and the toothbrushes cost $.75 each – and I’m really not sure why I keep telling you how much everything cost except maybe to prove that you really can throw a party on a budget!

And of course, we can’t leave out pictures of the little girl who gave us a reason to celebrate!

She is in this goofy stage of really hamming it up for the camera so most of our pictures of her look like this:

I love her :)     

Last year I think she was a little bewildered by all the attention and spent most of her time looking like this:

But this year she was loving every second of it:

It was such a fun party to plan and such a fun celebration…but can I just let out a big sigh of relief because PHEW!

I think we’re officially partied out. This weeks plans consist of eating leftover cupcakes and playing with all our fun new toys.  I don’t think Lily will have any objections to that :)