Moms Rule Mama Shower

Happy Friday to all you lovely people!

I hope the week was quick and painless & that your weekend feels like it will never end. {Hey, a girl can dream right?!}

 

In January I had the pleasure of co-hosting a Mama Shower for my cousin.  She had recently given birth to her second absolutely perfect baby boy and it was time to celebrate!  She didn't really need much in the baby department so we decided a Mama Shower was in order. 

 

You might be asking yourself "What the heck is a Mama Shower"?  Well, I'll tell ya!  It's a party showering the new mom or mom-to-be with special little gifts just for her, things that will fill her tank when the going gets tough as all of us mothers know that it can.  Gift ideas can include new jammies, a robe and slippers, gift certificates for pampering, aromatherapy candles, specialty lotions, a bottle of her favorite wine, etc.  I just LOVE the idea of a Mama Shower and think every mama deserves one. 

 

We threw this shower with a very realistic budget, using items that I already had on hand and saved money by catering it ourselves.  Throwing a beautiful and meaningful event doesn't have to be expensive, just get creative!

 

Take a look at how it came together....

 

{A HUGE thank you to Heather Fitch Photography for the great photos! XOXO}

 

 

I made this great sign with the free printable from The Alison Show.  Isn't it perfect?!

 

 

Tin cans {from my recycle bin no less!} spray painted gold held our flower centerpieces.  They also served as favors the guests got to take home!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Another free printable from The Alison Show

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My beautiful cousin surrounded by all her 'mom' family members :)

 

 

Being a mom really does RULE!

Best. Job. Ever.

Avengers Superhero Birthday

M and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary last month.  You know the saying “time flies when you’re having fun”?  Well, the past ten years have traveled at warp speed.  I know it’s not just because they’ve been fun, but because I’ve be fortunate enough to spend them with a man that I couldn’t love more.

Apparently he’s quite the little party planner as well.  Unbeknownst to me, he had secretly been planning an anniversary party for 2 months, a party that was actually a vow renewal ceremony complete with several of the original wedding party cast members and even a wedding cake.

It was so amazing.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to ALL who helped……and didn’t spill the beans J 

I’ve slightly digressed. 

M and I had planned a little trip to toast our 10 blissful years, and as it turns out, some of our dear friends would be toasting with us.

{Come to think of it, we did a lot of toasting that weekend.  Mmmmm.  Wine.} 

At lunch on our way outta town, we were chatting away with our friends and their sons birthday came up.  I, of course, perked right up and began grilling her on all the party details.

 Where?

 When?

 Theme?

As it turns out, he’s a big Avengers fan.

That was all I needed to hear.

A couple of trips to the store later that week {I forgot to mention that we had the chat about his party only ONE WEEK before said party} and a rummage through my party stash, and we were ready to save the world, or whatever it is the Avengers do.

I have girls.

Sorry.  I’m clueless when it comes to superheros. 

Sadly, I forgot my camera the day of the party and was stuck taking pics with my phone.  It’s supposed to be a smartphone, it’s not.  It doesn’t take the best pics, but when it’s all you have, it’s all you have.  Sorry for the poor quality, BUT even with my crappy pics, you can still see how cute everything turned out.

Through the magic of Photoshop, I made this poster to look kinda like a comic book cover.  Look closely.  It’s the birthday boy’s face!

 

We grabbed lots of red, white and blue décor items from Dollar Tree.

I covered a shoe box with white butcher paper then glued on tons of small black squares to resemble and skyscraper.  We put the Avenger cast around the building.  Hulk was actually hanging from the side, and Iron Man was flying {with the help of fishing line} above.

They had the AWESOME Captain America shield.  We hung it by the front door and put out masks for the guest to wear.

 

Using the same graphic that is on the poster, I made these cupcake toppers.

The kids and even the parents dressed up.  It was so cute!

Thanks for letting me be a part of your party Spencer!  Happy Birthday!!

Pool Party!

My two oldest girls recently celebrated their birthdays.

This was a big deal not just because my babies are growing up, but because they decided NOT to have their party at our house.

At first I was sad about the party scene leaving our place, then it hit me.

 The mess would be someone elses ..... and I was liking the sound of that. 

There was just one problem.

How would I set up a cute party in 30 minutes??? 

The answer:  keep things simple.

Using some scrap plywood and ripped down 2X4's, M built me a tiki hut that I could set on top of our six foot table.

I stained it, painted on some surfboard-ish stripes, added at thatch roof {made from Dollar Tree grass skirts} and styled it up with a mix of store bought and homemade decorations.

I made this chalkboard menu with an old calendar holder and a scrap piece of wood.

It's super easy.

Just spray paint the frame any color and use chalkboard spray paint {I picked mine up at WalMart for less than 4 bucks} to spray paint your scrap wood.

That's it!

We made the drink stand with a galvanized tub and an old wrought iron table base.

Just attach them together with some nuts, bolts and washers.

I picked up the tub and table base at Digger, so my drink stand only cost me a total of $3!!!

Can't beat that!

Follow these simple guidelines, and even the cutest of swimmers won't be able to resist your food table :)



 Used my homemade cupcake stand, yet again.

This thing has REALLY come in handy.  Everyone needs one of these babies.



Our first 'away' party went great!

The girls had the best time and so did I.

Coming home to a clean house was a major gift to myself.

Thanks for reading!

I'd love it if you'd follow, share and pin :)

Have a great holiday weekend!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Wow. Where does the time go? Can’t believe it’s already 2012. I’m also having a hard time believing that my last post was 3 months ago. Geez. I suck at this. You’d think with all the time I spend on the computer I could manage a blog post or two. Hmmm. Must be because I’m usually on Pinterest instead of blogging. I know I’m not alone in this.

{you know who you are}

:)

Anyway, I hope everyone had an amazing holiday season and got to spend it with the ones you love most, I know I sure did.

I had the pleasure of throwing my daughters 1st grade classroom Christmas party. The

Bestie and I were put in charge and we had a blast making, baking and decorating. Inspired by the FAB Winter Candyland party, we went with a Penguins and Peppermints theme. The kids loved it and so did we!

Take a look.



What do you think?  We did this on a very limited budget.  You don't need millions of dollars to throw a stylish cute party, just get creative and think outside to box!

I hope you enjoyed seeing the party and maybe even got some ideas for your next shindig.  If you liked what you saw, I’d love it if you’d share with a friend! 

Thanks for reading!

Have a great day!!