Bow Holder Extraordinaire

Upcycling has become a big part of our routine around here, to the point the hubs always asks before he throws something out or recycles it.  It started with Olivia, who at the age of 3, informed us that all things need to be "recycled, reused and made new."  In the grand scheme of things we aren't making a major impact, but we enjoy knowing that we aren't wasteful. 

One of our latest projects was creating a new bow holder for Olivia's room.  She needed something much bigger than the original one I made her a few years ago so off to the thrift store I went.  I had an idea in mind, and after several weeks of searching I found this lovely.....

First order of business was to dismantle it so off came the paper backing and out came the staples.  Several coats of purple spray paint on the frame and we were ready to go.  Olivia and I headed to the fabric store for her to decided what she wanted.  We returned home and gathered our supplies:  frame, fabric, batting, ribbon, glue and stapler.

I attached the batting directly to the original picture, covered with fabric and attached the ribbons.  All that was left was adding the frame and arranging all those hair bows in their new home.  I am so happy with how it turned out.

The best part is we hung it low enough that Olivia can reach the top so she doesn't have an excuse for not putting her hairbow away at the end of the day.  Now we just need to find all the missing hairbows...

Olivia turns 5

My daughter turning 5 was such a big deal to me.  It was the end of her being a toddler, the beginning of her being a "big girl" as she puts it.  I cried, A LOT.  More than once she hugged me and told me "Mommy, it is just a number, I am still me."  Olivia is wise beyond her years. 
Going home from her 4th birthday party she told me for her 5th she wanted a Strawberry Shortcake tea party, and she never once changed her mind, so I had a lot of time to think about what to do.  There were two problems I had to deal with; I am not a fan of the newer SS and most of her friends are boys.  So, we compromised.  Olivia decided to have a fancy strawberry party, but I had to make everything.

First order of business - the dress!  She was very specific with the strawberry fabric she wanted, as well as the style.  I wanted her to wear a red bow, but she insisted on the pink.

For fun the little ones played bean bag toss, with strawberry shaped bean bags from the dress material.  It was a blast and the little ones were so adorable lined up waiting their turns.

After an exhausting game it was time to refuel in the party room.

For party favors we decided to have personalized aprons for the little ones to wear while they made their own strawberry shortcake to take home. The birthday girl wanted pink for herself and all of her friends to have matching red ones. 





The little brother did a great job hiding out in the kitchen sweet talking everyone that came by into giving him candy.

All in all it was a fantastic party.  My little princess was thrilled and claims it was the "best party EVER" which means success for this tired mommy.  I made all of the decorations (using a party package from Dimpleprints on Etsy) which took a while but the end result was worth it. 


                                    

Getting started

I am so technically challenged I generally choose to avoid it rather than try it.  It really is bad.  My husband generally sets everything up and then teaches me.  This happens when I get a new phone, a new laptop, even with my Kindle.  My point to sharing that is this, unfortunately he is as clueless as I am when it comes to blogging.  Hopefully it gets easier over time.