Art Birthday Party - Repost

In honor of Grace's 5th birthday(!), this week I'll be sharing my favorite birthday posts.  On Friday, I'll give you a chance to link up your own favorite party post(s).

Without further ado, I present to you, Grace's 3rd birthday party (again). 

Color, paint and play as we celebrate Grace's 3rd birthday. Arts and crafts was the theme of the party from start to finish. If you are interested in the details, keep reading...

Since the party was a crafting themed party, I focused mainly on our crafting center.

To cover the table, I used 2 rolls of packaging paper, from the dollar store. At each seat, I attempted to draw a frame.

Instead of recycling my cans, for a month, I kept them figuring they would make perfect containers for crayons and paint brushes. The table had an assortment of washable (these are 3 and 4 year olds after all) paint, water colors and crayons.

 
At Hobby Lobby I was able to find wooden wands for $1 that the girls painted and $2 wooden trains, with wheels that actually moved, for the boys to paint.

Every artist needs a gallery. I found a simple and AMAZING tutorial here that walks you through the process of converting pictures into coloring book pages. I made one for each artist but definitely had a favorite or two. Thanks Photojojo for walking me through the process!

Party favors are my favorite part of any party. I had so much fun figuring out what our little crafters would take home with them. Fortunately, crafting runs in the family, my mom made all the personalized aprons out of the most adorable crayon material.

I spelled each guest's name out of crayons, you can see the tutorial here, and used that as not only a party favor but their gift tag. I also sent them home with 2 extra copies of their coloring book page.

Having focused so much time and energy on the crafting table, our decorations were kept simple (if you read between the lines this translates into 'I ran out of time'). 3s, balloons and tissue paper poms decorated the house and outside, though, it was so hot that by the time the party started most of our balloons popped. We also left out a jar for people to leave birthday wishes for the birthday girl. I love anything that has an element of memory keeping, which is probably why I have over 5,000 pictures of Grace and she's only 3.

Yes, we had one of those parties with a photo booth area.

The frame was suspended using heavy gaged fishing line. Eyelet hooks were added to the ceiling of our porch and back of the picture frame. The fishing line was strung between both the hooks on the ceiling and the hooks in the frame. It did take time to get the frame level and hung straight. If you don't have the time to hang a frame, we also took some pictures holding the picture frame.

Hung or held, the pictures taken using the frame were among my favorites. I can see why this is such a popular trend right now.

The theme of the party started with the painter's palette invitations.

Continuing that theme and inspired by the painter's palette cupcake tray I saw here. Using a jig saw and a piece of scrap wood, we were able to create our own version.

 For the cupcakes, I started with white store bought icing and added a few drops of food coloring to mimic different shades of paint.

All in all, I would say the party was a success. Memories were made. Great pictures were taken. Most importantly, the kids all had fun.

Wait until you see what we've come up with for her 5th!

Design Your Own High Heels

I realize, this post is a little ironic and perhaps even perpetuates the notion that I actually wear high heels all the time.

Though, I do love to wear my heels, these days, Grace wears them more than I do, which is why I love Birdie's Big-Girl Shoes by SuJean Rim.

This beautifully illustrated book tells the story of, Birdie, a little girl desperate to wear her mom's high heels.  A plea I hear often from my own little Birdie.

Since this book is one of our favorites, we spent a day designing our own high heels.

 I cut each shoe out of card stock.  Then, passed it along to the shoe designer.

Who applied glitter.

Or scribbles.

Or embellishments such as flowers and rhinestones.

Some of my favorites,

were water colored.

Grace has decided, she wants to grow up to be a shoe designer.

I just hope, if she does become a shoe designer,

she'll remember, I used to let her wear my shoes...

and hopefully she'll return the favor.

A tribute to lovies

One of my favorite gifts, given to me as a little girl, was a stuffed dog. He kind of resembled Shoeshine boy, you know Underdog's secret identity...am I totally dating myself here? I remember the connection was immediate. My dad asked me, what I wanted to name him. I thought about it and responded, Clancy. The name stuck and Clancy became a constant companion.

Rosebeary is Grace's Clancy. There may be other stuffed animals that will win her favor for a week or two but Rosebeary consistently makes a reappearance. Rosebeary is always tucked into bed with her at the end of the day. Rosebeary is always an invited guest at our tea parties. Rosebeary is Grace's first love.

When you love a stuffed animal as much as I loved Clancy and Grace loves Rosebeary, they are not easily forgotten. Jennifer Maher, an artist I came across on pinterest, appreciates what these treasured childhood lovies mean and turns them into original toy portraits. Not only is this such a unique idea but her work has whimsy and depth bringing the love each toy has received to life.

You can see more of Jennifer Maher's portraits here.

I hope to one day be able to commission a portrait of Rosebeary for Grace but for now I'll elect for a poor man's version.

I used this picture of Grace and Rosebeary.

I cropped in on Rosebeary. In Photoshop, I selected filter, artistic and finally watercolor. My photograph was instantly converted to a more artistic version of Rosebeary. Though it may not compare to the hand painted custom portrait I ultimately want, I think my version does have character and an artistic point of view that represents the importance of Rosebeary.

Maybe one day, if or when Grace decides she's too old to have Rosebeary tucked into bed with her, she can display this a piece of artwork, representing the love and security this dear friend provided. That day, when hanging on her wall, or maybe hanging in the room of her own daughter, Rosebeary can to continue to look after her and remind her of the simple joys in life.

Party like Picasso - As Featured on Apartment Therapy

Color, paint and play as we celebrate Grace's 3rd birthday. Arts and crafts was the theme of the party from start to finish. If you are interested in the details, keep reading...

Since the party was a crafting themed party, I focused mainly on our crafting center.

To cover the table, I used 2 rolls of packaging paper, from the dollar store. At each seat, I attempted to draw a frame. Instead of recycling my cans, for a month, I kept them figuring they would make perfect containers for crayons and paint brushes. The table had an assortment of washable (these are 3 and 4 year olds after all) paint, water colors and crayons. At Hobby Lobby I was able to find wooden wands for $1 that the girls painted and $2 wooden trains, with wheels that actually moved, for the boys to paint.

Every artist needs a gallery. I found a simple and AMAZING tutorial here that walks you through the process of converting pictures into coloring book pages. I made one for each artist but definitely had a favorite or two. Thanks Photojojo for walking me through the process!

Party favors are my favorite part of any party. I had so much fun figuring out what our little crafters would take home with them. Fortunately, crafting runs in the family, my mom made all the personalized aprons out of the most adorable crayon material. I spelled each guest's name out of crayons, you can see the tutorial here, and used that as not only a party favor but their gift tag. I also sent them home with 2 extra copies of their coloring book page.

Having focused so much time and energy on the crafting table, our decorations were kept simple (if you read between the lines this translates into 'I ran out of time'). 3s, balloons and tissue paper poms decorated the house and outside, though, it was so hot that by the time the party started most of our balloons popped. We also left out a jar for people to leave birthday wishes for the birthday girl. I love anything that has an element of memory keeping, which is probably why I have over 5,000 pictures of Grace and she's only 3.

Yes, we had one of those parties with a photo booth area. After months of searching for the perfect frame, I found one in my mother in law's basement. It never fails, no matter what obscure item I am looking for, she has it in that basement. Are you looking for something you think is impossible to find, let me know, I'll go check her basement for you!

The frame was suspended using heavy gaged fishing line. Eyelet hooks were added to the ceiling of our porch and back of the picture frame. The fishing line was strung between both the hooks on the ceiling and the hooks in the frame. It did take time to get the frame level and hung straight. If you don't have the time to hang a frame, we also took some pictures holding the picture frame. Hung or held, the pictures taken using the frame were among my favorites. I can see why this is such a popular trend right now.

The theme of the party started with the painter's palette invitations, described in greater detail here. Continuing that theme and inspired by the painter's palette cupcake tray I saw here. Using a jig saw and a piece of scrap wood, we were able to create our own version. For the cupcakes, I started with white store bought icing and added a few drops of food coloring to mimic different shades of paint.

All in all, I would say the party was a success. Memories were made. Great pictures were taken. Most importantly, the kids all had fun. Now to start thinking about what to do for 4.

Chalkboards and Backdrops

Growing up, I was the kid that always wanted to draw on the chalkboard at school. Something about it seemed so grown up and important, maybe even forbidden. SO when I saw this post on Oh dee doh about chalkboards, I knew I had to try it. Using chalk on a sidewalk or driveway is fun but drawing on a giant chalkboard, at least the kid in me thinks, is so much cooler.

I figured it would be the would be a perfect addition to Grace's arts and crafts birthday, not only for the fun element but also because...

1. it would hide our unsightly chain linked fence

and 2. it would hide our neighbor's unkempt yard.

It was so easy. I used some plywood and 2 cans of Rust-Oleum chalkboard paint, 2 coats per board. When they have completely dried, prime the board by rubbing it with chalk and then it's ready to use. I drilled some holes along the top and used zip strips to attach each chalkboard to the fence. After all my hard work, Martha Stewart emailed me her tip of the day, how to make your own chalkboard paint (ironic). I am not sure how well that would have worked but if you'd rather try a DIY, you can find that formula here.

When I saw the finished chalkboards, the kid in me came out, I had to grab some chalk and start writing. Which turned into an impromptu photo session. Rarely does a day pass that I am not begging someone to say 'cheese'.

And since I can't show favoritism. I had to include my other baby as well.

Though, she was anything but a willing participant.

You've Got Mail - Art Party Invitations

I always look forward to the time of day when our mail carrier arrives. I rush to the mailbox hoping to find something interesting waiting for me. Most of the time, though, it's usually bills (yeah, we still need to go paperless) or junk mail.

When I do open the mailbox and find the new Martha Stewart Living magazine has arrived or a handwritten envelope smiling up at me, my heart swells. Being a stay at home mom, sometimes it truly is the simple things that make me smile.

In a world of evites and text messages, we wanted to set the tone for Grace's 3rd birthday party, an arts and crafts party, with these handmade invitations.

I was almost tempted to mail one to myself (I joke). Believe it or not they actually made it through the postal system, with paintbrushes still intact.

The invitations were cut in the shape of a painter's palette. The 1 inch circles of color, yet another reason I love trips to Home Depot, came from paint chips.

The paintbrushes, a 12 piece paintbrush set purchased from The Dollar Store for, you guessed it, a dollar.

If you happen to be curious, today was one of those bills/junk mail days.

Be sure to check out the rest of the details from Grace's Art Party.