Crafting for a special boy

I have a nephew who has lots of handicaps and this month his parents found out he also has leukemia. We were crushed for them and him and have been thinking about them constantly. Upon finding out about the leukemia the doctors started chemo right away, but shortly after his third treatment his body began reacting poorly to it, to the point that he had to be life flighted to primary children's. He has been in ICU there now for about two weeks and just had his sixth birthday yesterday while in the hospital. I have wanted to do something but didn't know what, but I finally decided I wanted to make buttons for them so that they could give them to friends family and nurses. I wanted them to represent Ammon and his strength and bravery. So after reading their family blog and finding out that a friend told them that his name Ammon Everett means hidden strength I made a crest with the words brave like Ammon and hidden strength on it. From there I made little paper buttons and tonight or Sunday we are going to take them to the hospital or their home.
This poor little guy needs all the prayers and love and support he can get. He encompasses all that his name means and stands for.

Where I have been & What I have been up-to

Life has been busy and here is why:

Paper Doll Baby Shower

There comes a mile stone in every hostess's carrier when you know you must be good, and that mile stone is when you are asked to cross state boundaries to do a party. It is quite the feat to pack a party and execute  it far from home, but I can now check it off the list of things I have done in the universe of part planning. Here is the Paper Doll themed baby shower I did for my Sister-in-law. Invitations, Decorations, Food and all. Thanks to the help of a group of ladies in Arizona that have been throwing parties a lot longer than I have it went off with out a hitch.

Fire Pit Area and Benches

The fire-pit area and benches are now complete and ready to enjoy. I am so happy with how it turned out, and know we will be enjoying it for years to come.

Days of 47 Celebration

Here in Utah we have Pioneer day on the 24th of July celebrating the Mormon pioneers that settled Utah. So July feels like one big party with that and the 4th of July. I love it because I can get double use out of my 4th of July decorations. I put them up at the beginning of July and they do not come down until the last week in July. So when we realized that all of Ryan's siblings and his parents would be in-town for the weekend of the 24th it seemed like the perfect excuse to have a party and go all out. Here are some pictures  of what I did.

How to Make A Fire-Pit on the Cheap

(yes I know the shutters do not match, and the black plastic pipe-thing is ugly...just give me a month or two)

I have been wanting a fire-pit area in our backyard since we moved into the house two years ago. I knew right were I wanted it too, and it just so happened that, that spot in the yard did not grow grass well and had tons of weeds...Bonus. This year I sneaked it into my budget by racking my brain on how to do it cheap without compromising the look or the long-term durability of everything.

In this post I will give you a step by step tutorial of what we did to make our fire pit and fire pit area.

Invitations... Invitations... Invitations

I wish I partied like this family friend of mine that just had me make four invitations for four parties she was throwing between April and May. Now that is a serious party schedule. I had a blast making the different invitations and helping them with themes and ideas for each party. Invitation making has got to be one of my favorite things to do.


Invitation One: This was for a Bridal Tea party at a fancy hotel tea room in Arizona. The invitation was made to somewhat match the hotels menu and it turned out cute with just enough fancy.