Monster Smash Cake

Hello again!

My life has changed quite a bit since I last posted. We moved closer to my work. Clinton changed jobs and shifts; he now works evenings. These two events have sent my life into chaos. I love that I'm closer to work and family but I desperately miss my friends back in Ottawa. I have great neighbors here and there are plenty of kids for my girls to play with, but with Clinton working nights, I've basically had to learn to be a single mom. Grocery shopping, housework, yard work and hobbies have had to take a backseat to being the sole person responsible for my babies from 5 until about 10:30 when I can eventually get Elsie to sleep. I realize that I don't have it as hard as a single mom, but wow, I can really appreciate how difficult it would be not to have those two days where I actually get to see my husband and count on him for support.

BUT...now I'm back. I have managed to get a few projects done and I have a couple in the works. One of my favorite aspects of our new house is my craft room. (Yes, a craft room...be jealous). I haven't had a room devoted to my crafts since before kids and I'm ecstatic that I have one now. I was able to find a large wooden kitchen table on craigslist for $25 that I will be rehabbing in the next few weeks for my sewing table- details to come.  I love it!

My little nephew turned 1 in April. He's my little birthday buddy because his birthday is two days before mine. I love that I get to share my special day with him forever :).  He had a monster themed birthday party and my sister-in-law asked me to do his smash cake. Having two girls, I love getting opportunities to do "boy" things every once in awhile, so I was happy to do this.

A Hello Kitty Themed Birthday Party

The Hello Kitty company has genius marketing executives. Never have I seen something that isn't linked to a cartoon or movie be so popular. I suppose when you manufacture pink & sparkly items, you will sell anything.

My girls are enamored with Hello Kitty. They want everything they see with this little feline on it. So, it was fitting that we did a Hello Kitty theme for Evelyn's second birthday party. Since we had her party at a jump house place, we didn't get to decorate- however, I did come up with plenty of ways to keep myself busy in the week before the party.

Here are the pics...I hope it helps inspire you for your own little Hello Kitty affair!

Pinkalicious Party- Happy Birthday Elsie!!

It was my little Pinkalicious Princess's birthday last week and she chose the theme- Pinkalicious. Her favorite book that we've read every night for the last 6 months. So, we had lots of desserts that were pink, including the infamous pink cupcakes...although, they didn't turn her pink which was a big disappointment to her the next day. Apparently, she didn't eat enough.

Butterfly Cookies

For my sister-in-law's shower, her sister and I made butterfly cookie favors. We made them using my blog tutorial. As usual, these cookies taste awesome and look great even when you mess them up!

Evelyn's First Birthday

Happy first birthday to my baby, Evelyn!

For Evie's first birthday, we chose a PJ theme. I love berakfast food and it was fun to do something different.

Happy Birthday Wreath

Here is my new tradition.  I am going to paint a letter for each of my family members and at the start of the month of their birthday, the wreath will go up with the first letter of their name.  I think this will be a fun tradition to add to the excitement of their birthday.

Here is what you'll need to make your own wreath...

Lego Man Marshmellow Pop

This was the favor at Logan's birthday party this year. They were very easy and turned out super cute once I figured out the best way to decorate the face. I tried the Wilton edible pens and they did not work. I actually went through two boxes because I took the first one back thinking it was dull.  I ended up using a Betty Crocker Cookie Icing bag. This worked perfectly. I couldn't very detailed, but as you can see they turned out great anyway.

Birthday Cake Pancakes

Happy birthday to my baby, Evelyn. She is one year old today. I can't believe she is already one year. I feel that the last year has flown by, but I suppose that's partly because she is a second child and I haven't devoted my undivided attention to her like I did Elsie.

Elmo Birthday Bash

Elsie is obsessed with Elmo. She calls him Ha-ha, I assume because he giggles so much. She lights up when she sees him and loves to sing his song. So, her second birthday party theme was a no-brainer. She loves to look through the pictures and talk about her Ha-ha cake and her pretty tutu dress.

For the Elmo cake, I made a round cake and two cupcakes for the eyes. In retrospect, I wish I hadn't tried to outline Elmo's eyes in black, but I was already committed once I started.

Here are the pics...