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.

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.

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.

Everyones Mad Here

This year for our joint birthday Jayna and I decided to have an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party. It turned out great and everyone had a wonderful time in "Wonderland" celebrating with us.

We sent our invitations out with little skeleton keys attached to them with direction to bring the keys back to the party. I copied the invitation idea from an Alice in Wonderland comic-con party Disney held. It was easy to find a free Alice in Wonderland font online too. The skeleton keys were a little tricky to find at first. I kept thinking I needed antique ones, but they were really expensive and ranged in price a lot from place to place. Then I tried my luck at Lowes and to my surprise they had the perfect little key. The secret is to go ask the "key making man". They were not out in packages, he just had a little box of them behind his desk. If I remember right they were like $3.00 each which was cheap compared to the $10.00 antique ones.

Mans Day Out

On the 7th of this month the husband turned the big 30 and yesterday was his surprise party. I had been planning this day out for him and his two friends and brother for a long time, so it was fun to see it finally come together. I got the idea for this party from a real party featured on hostess with the mostess. I wasn't with the boys for all the events so my pictures are lacking unlike theirs.

Lemonade Anyone?

The Lemonade stand went well last week with the girls. The weather cleared up just long enough for us to get a good hour of selling in. Only two out of thirteen girls showed up, but I am sure it was because a lot of them probably thought it was cancelled due to the weather. When life gives you Lemons you just make Lemonade though right? Or in this case Rosemary Lemonade and Pink Lemonade Cupcakes!

Crab Boil!

While my parents were in-town in July I decided to do a crab boil just for fun. It was a big hit and a blast to do. In-fact since then we have already done it again with some friends of ours.

Faces Party

I recently helped a girl friend with a surprise party for her husbands 30th and it was tons of fun. We went with the same idea and theme as I did for my brother-in-laws B-day celebration and used a picture of the B-day boy for our decorations.

Backyard Movie Night!

Ever since I saw the backyard movie nights that Donna over at Party Wishes, puts on for her neighborhood it has been top on my list of things I would love to do at the house. I am all about community and neighborhood "funness". My husband often laughs at me about all me grand ideas. Like the time I thought I could make cinnamon rolls for our entire condo complex, and I am often told I was born in the wrong era. So maybe it is not the world were door to door sales man need a place to rest their weary legs for the night, or carolers are invited in for hot cocoa anymore, but dang it can't I try!?!

One Year Older and Wiser Too

This last weekend we threw together a quick party for my brother-in-law Devin's 24th birthday. You would think someone who loves throwing parties would be better about remembering when her relatives birthdays are, but my husband and I are horrible at that.

Daddy O Ideas: Video Flip Book Tutorial

Fathers Day is coming up soon so I wanted to share some fun gift ideas I found via Martha. I added my own little twist to some of them and a tutorial so 
"Read On".

Bake Sale: Sold Out!

The Bake Sale was a big success! I sold out of everything we had by three and had to hide a cupcake for myself. I couldn't believe that I had made the perfect amount of everything. Although a lot of you wished I would have made more cookie mix jars (maybe next year). We raised a little over $300 which I thought was great for a one women small neighborhood Bake Sale! Thanks Everyone!!!

Check Out My Newest Sponsors

If you haven't noticed I have three newer sponsors on my side bar. I am so excited to have them onboard, and am even more excited that they are all local and run their businesses out of Utah. Please check them out.

Put a Wrap on it is a cute little business run by Brenda McQueary that makes custom candy wrappers. Put a Wrap on it is ready to add fun to your candy with designer looks, by turning ordinary candy bars into memorable and personal gifts or favors in a few simple steps. I had her send me some custom wraps for the Bake Sale that is this Saturday and boy was I impressed.

Signage 101: "A" Frame Wood Chalkboard Sign Tutorial

 Sometimes I come up with some crazy, but perfect last minute ideas and this was no exception.

 Last Saturday we were trying to figure out what kind of signs we were going to put out on the street corners for the Bake Sale, and after calling a couple of print places we decided we did not want to pay $7.00 each for a blown-up versions of the flier. Left with no other ideas I told Ryan that I would just rather make signs. He was not too in-favor of the idea, but I assured him it would be do-able and that I would be-able to use the signs again. Some elbow grease and $50.00 (so long to $7.00 each) later I had my signs and they are just how I envisioned. 

I LOVE THEM!

Semiprecious Candies

I am gearing up for next weekends Bake Sale and have one more item to sell checked off my list. 

I made these cute bags of candy jewels with custom labels to match my Bake Sale flyers. 

Bake Sale Baby!

I keep forgetting to share this on the blog. Awhile back the Husband and I decided that we wanted to take a trip to Southern California this summer. We had even more incentive since Disney was doing their day of service campaign, where if you signed up to do a day of service with a registered organization you could get free tickets to one of their theme parks. So I got online and signed up for a day of service that sounded right up my alley. A Bake Sale! It is a bake sale with Bake for Hope, which benefits Susan G Komen for the Cure. Anyone can be apart of it and you can make it as big or little a deal as you would like. We are going to be holding ours for our neighborhood and are just going to set-up in the front yard.

I plan on passing these flyers out door to door a couple days before the bake sale and then baking my little heart out and hoping for the best.

I really want the husband to make this for me for the bake sale (I found it online, but can't remember where, sorry). Out-look not so good though. When I told him what my ideas were he just looked at me and said "I might as-well just buy our Disney Land tickets". Which would probably be true if I did everything I wanted to. I just have big visions. Hopefully I can scale back a bit, but still have the cutest Bake Sale the neighborhood has ever seen. Mark my words though one day I will build that. Jayna would love it, and so would I.

Side Note: You have to know how many projects my husband helps with and does. He makes all my visions and dreams come true. We are always teasing each other and anything I say about him is all in good fun. Just wanted you to get the tone I was saying that in.

I plan on mostly making cupcakes.

Then having fun side things like chocolate dipped pretzels with sprinkles, bags of candied jewels, maybe some cake pops, jars of pre-made cookie mix, etc.

I just hope people come. So come if you would like.

*For information on where and when the bake sale will be, or files for the flyer shown in this post click here.

Birthday Month

This month is Jayna and I's birthday month! Almost two years ago she surprised me and came into this world on my Birthday. I love sharing my birthday with her! It has made the 14th that much more special for me. I know in the future she may not like the idea of sharing her birthday with her Mom, but I am willing to give mine up. After all I love to host and plan for parties! So as long as I can plan a party for her I am happy and that can be my birthday present. So I think it will work out well for both of us.

For our present this year the husband got us family pictures. This will be the first professional photo session we have done as a family. Crazy to think about since I have always been really into photography. We have not yet taken them and I have been searching for a photographer that will not charge and arm and a leg, but edits pictures in the style I like. I think I have found one, so hopefully by the end of the month I can show you pictures and do a post on the photographer.

Next year Jayna will be 3 and I will be 30. This will be the only time our birthday ages will match up number wise, so I am planning on celebrating big. I want to have a 3 ring circus theme and go all out. The weather here in Utah during March is still sketchy, but I am really wanting to do it outside. I have already started researching what I want to do and will most likely spend the next year planning it. Unfortunately we will not be having a big party this year since we had our Hip Hop party last year. The husband has put a party limit on things to keep us girls in check. I think it may end up back-firing on him though, because it makes me want to do even more the next year. Here are some fun inspirations I have found so far for next years party.

Beauty Night

For activity day this next week we are doing a big "Beauty Night". I got the inspiration and tag line from this clever lady. These are the invitations I made to mail out to the girls. I usually just drop the little reminders off at their houses, but I am trying to make it a big deal for them. I thought they would be excited to get something in the mail too.

We are going to do their makeup, take their pictures, do facial masks, and have treats. I have tons of makeup from my 7 years of being a make-up artist for Macy's and Nordstom, so it is fitting this will be at my house. This party idea and invitations would be fun for any girls birthday party though. So next week I will be working on turning the basement into a day spa for nine 10 and 11 year old girls.

Good grief!

Potato Skins for the Big Pig Skin Game

Supposedly the Super Bowl is coming up soon, or something like that. So says the only person with more testosterone than estrogen in our house.

We make these potato skins all the time, and they would make the perfect addition to a Super Bowl spread. Should you be so lucky to be in-charge of one.

How to Make:

You just wash and cook your potatoes in the oven at 375 for about an hour or until soft. Then you take them out and let them cool enough so that you can handle them. Then just cut them in half and with a small spoon scoop out the centers of each half. I like mine to still have plenty of potato in them so I just do a shallow scoop deep enough to place topping. Then you lay them out on a baking sheet and brush them with a mixture of 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon chili powder with a couple drops of tabasco sauce mixed in. Then fill them with shredded cheddar cheese and top with already cooked and broken up bacon and chopped green onion. Place baking sheet in the oven and cook at 375 until cheese is completely melted and serve with dollops of sour-cream on each potato skin.