ladybug party

A ladybug birthday for my two-year-old meant bright reds, polka dots, grass green and most importantly-some tiny ladybugs fashioned from pom-poms (courtesy of Martha Stewart via Michael's). After we added some antennae-d party hats and fresh flowers-it was a party!

 

birthday wishes and a keychain

If only I had spied this Dowager Countess keychain earlier....it would have been a happy birthday indeed, but alas Vivi, you must settle for my warm birthday wishes and the knowledge I think you are awesome enough to pull this accessory off...happy 38!

keychain: etsy shop PeachyApricot

hot air

Recently, for her 65th birthday, my aunt went hot air ballooning. She said it was pretty amazing, with the breathtaking views and the exhilarating rush of adrenaline making it her best birthday in some time.

I definitely want to try hot air ballooning at some point (hopefully before I am 65!), but until then I think going to one of the ballooning festivals would be very fun. If nothing else, it would provide for some incredibly cool photographs.

HotAirBalloon.com has a comprehensive list of ballooning events and festivals.......there is bound to be one near you!

 Images: Inhabitat, art.com, telegraph.co.uk

10 cards

SugarBeetPress

I have a box filled with my kids' birthday cards and while I am not 100% sure why I keep every single one, I do know that I am always especially appreciative of the unique selections. I know when they are older they will enjoy going through them and I imagine the cards will hopefully inspire some great art projects down the road!
Here are 10 unique cards from Etsy- if you have a little person's birthday on the horizon, you may want to consider one....

 belleandboo

 UnderTheStairsStudios

 EllaLeachDesigns

 twotonepress

 pixieland

 gumo

 ArtistInLaLaLand

pistachiopress

  littlebeehive

Elephant First Birthday

Have a very good year, Lorelei!

Today, for a number of reasons, I turn to Statler and Waldorf's rendition of "It was a Very Good Year" in honor of Lorelei's birthday. First, because they, like Lorelei, are awesome. They, like Lorelei, are funny. And they, like Lorelei, are old. And like the two of us, they have also known each other for a very long and though we are not quite there yet - I look forward to being two cantankerous and snarky old friends talking about everyone and everything. Happy Birthday, friend, and have a great 37th year!

37 is :|

The colon and a line make an expressionless face or "stoneface". It is a little fellow my friends and I use, often in emoticon form, to illustrate just being over something.....filled to the brim with annoyance. I love stoneface, he says so much with so very little.
Vivi is 37 today. So far, 37 is stoneface. To make it better I added Bill Murray to her day, because he always makes her :).
Happy Birthday!

Image courtesy of Lunch With Bill Murray.tumblr

a different gift

As my kids unwrapped numerous toys from well-meaning family and friends this past holiday and as I found myself purchasing toys for our large extended family, I got to thinking about different sorts of gifts. I always love giving and getting picture books and art supplies for kids -that will always be true, but I need something for the coming year's birthdays and far off holiday season that is different.
I think I found it.
I am going to go with the World Wildlife Fund's species adoption options. There are many choices and price ranges. My nieces and nephews vary in age, but I think all of them would appreciate this gift. There are over a hundred symbolic adoption choices, so there is sure to be an animal for every personality!
And really, how cool is it to say you adopted a Koala?

All images courtesy of worldwildlife.org

Happy 50, too!

Image courtesy of pinterest

This fall marks the 50th anniversary of the film version of West Side Story, starring Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer. There has been much written and done in celebration of this anniversary, including this feature in Life magazine, and a whole series of numbers on the show Glee.
My favorite song from the film and musical is the swoon-y "Somewhere", but I am posting the jazzy dance/song number "America" because it showcases the incredible talent that appeared in that production 50 years ago.....

Video courtesy of youtube

and baby makes five!

Great news here on the "Hiving Out" front! Lorelei gave birth to her third child last night, a dark-haired and chubby baby girl. Mother and daughter are doing just fine and we wish both of them  - as well as the rest of their beautiful family - lots and lots of love (and rest too!).

photograph by Andrea McClain

Happy Unbirthday to Lorelei!

Tomorrow is our Lorelei's actual birthday so today let's celebrate her unbirthday! Here's to wishing that Lorelei's today (and, I guess, tomorrow) are full of song and love and cups of tea drunk with a drunken mouse... :)

via youtube

Thursday, a Valentine's Birthday, and Etsy

This much courtesy of sarahjanestudios

This year I have truly hit the party circuit......the toddler/pre-k party circuit. We have been to quite a few fantastic soirees. It got me thinking about a Valentine-themed party for the girls with February birthdays. I started looking around on Etsy (of course) and put together a party for those maybe slightly older than the pre-k set, but still little, those gals who could appreciate a tea party filled with hearts and sugar.

This invitation is the perfect combination of Valentine and Birthday....

Queen/King of Hearts- Luxe Birthday Invitation courtesy of NikkiPlott

Some simple, but plentiful, tissue heart streamers would be all that you need to decorate for the tea party.

Tissue Heart Garland courtesy of pipsqueakandbean

A fancy crown for the lady of the hour.....

Heart Crown courtesy of LittleIslandCompany

and some dainty party hats for all of the honored guests.

Love is in the air Party Hats- set of six courtesy of PrettyPaperFactory

Cupcakes are a must and these holders/wrappers couldn't be any sweeter (or more girly).

Valentine's Day Cupcake Wrappers/Holders- Set of 12 courtesy of KidsAtHeartDesigns

Beautiful heart-shaped cookies and molded sugars for the table-

Pretty Pink Heart Valentine's Day Sugar cookies with special added bonus of Pink Molded Sugars for your coffee or tea courtesy of LeChicBakeryBoutique

And some variety in the cookie choices, so you can be sure to please all of your guests.

Mad Hatter Tea Party Variety- Hand Decorated Cookies courtesy of crumblescookies

For those who may pass on the tea, some drink tags for their pink lemonade.

Drink tags from printable doll-themed party pack courtesy of chatchkedesigns

It seems for any party to be successful you need some great activities. What a perfect time for DIY Valentines and pinwheels!

DIY Valentine Kit courtesy of brixtonlane

DIY Pinwheel Peony Kit- Large Handheld choose from over 200 papers- courtesy of crossroadscottage

To keep things festive-ruby, magenta, and pink colored eggs filled with confetti for the party goers to toss and crack.

Fancy Pantsy Princess Confetti Eggs (5 Dozen) courtesy of JokeyYokey

Tiny bags to hold the parting gift of sweets or stickers and the perfect "Thank you"s for the birthday girl to send out when the celebration is over.

Vintage Style Valentine Glassine Candy/Treat Bag Kit with Handmade stickers- set of 20- courtesy of ifiwerecards

White Rabbit Thank You cards- Alice in Wonderland Themed Vintage Inspired- bundle of 10 courtesy of AnistaDesigns

That is my Valentine Birthday brainstorm....now if I only had a child with a birthday near the 14th!

Birthday

Image courtesy of D-504 via flickr

Happy Birthday to a gal who stands out in a crowd! Enjoy your day , Vivi....may the upcoming 365 days be your best yet.

a day at the zoo

Image courtesy of google

This year for my dad's birthday the kids were giving him the gift of a trip to the zoo. They are very excited at the prospect of a day at the zoo with Pop. I knew my dad would love this as well and I set to work figuring out how to present it to him. We don't buy the tickets in advance (we actually take advantage of the local library pass for some of us), so I did not have one to slip into a card. The kids are a bit young to create an artistic rendering of the present, but I really wanted something they could give to him at his party because they are always so excited to give gifts......and then I had an idea. 

I went to Michael's and picked up a white box and a baby elephant - the plastic toy variety, of course. I dug through some supplies at home and found blue raffia, a ticket, and some rub on lettering sheets. Put it all together and they had their gift for Pop! 

P.S. My oldest did wind up drawing a picture of a zoo in the card he gave to my dad.....who promptly said he just loved the "dog with a birthday cake"! Luckily, his mistake was only met with peals of laughter and not hurt toddler feelings....I was glad we had put this gift together for clarification ;).