ELLIS & FINN'S BIRTHDAY / EASTER

How can my little Easter baby be three??? It just doesn't seem possible!

Last weekend our family, along with Logan's sister's family, joined forces to throw a big birthday/Easter celebration. We celebrated Ellis' 3rd birthday and Finn's 6th birthday. I am a sucker for a good party theme, so we went with animals in party hats and all things Easter. We had tons of yummy food, a bounce house, an egg hunt, and a visit from the Easter Bunny himself! Let's just say Ellis slept like a log that night. A bounce house and all her cousins make for a very crazy day! :)

Between our two kids and all of Logan's sibling's kids, there are eight kids - all six years and under. One of our family traditions in to take 'couch pictures' where we line all the kids up on a couch, either stick bunny ears or Christmas jammies on them and snap hundreds (no joke) of pictures until we think we may have gotten one where every child is looking. There is usually at least one child who has expired and is completely losing it and at least one who WILL NOT sit no matter what. It is kind of hilarious. For the picture below we added in Logan's cousin's two kids. So here they are, five girl bunnies and five boy bunnies. ;)

CAKE DETAILS: safari animals, cupcake wrappers, and tiny tinsel poms for the party hats are all from Consumer Crafts. I made the table top out of two strawberry wafer cookies that I hot glued together, used a scrap piece of vintage fabric for the tablecloth and straws for the legs. The little cakes are life savers that I painted with watered down food coloring and topped with frosting and sprinkles. I designed the banner and it is held up with straws and the string is baker's twine, also from Consumer Crafts. Cake recipe is from Half Baked Harvest and the frosting is from Cooking Classy.

Animal crackers are my weakness - especially when dipped in frosting!!! For party favors, I filled plastic cups with animal crackers and then mini cups with frosting and sprinkles to dip them in! I put them in clear plastic treat bags, twisted them shut with silver twist ties (used a pen to curl the ends), and slapped on some cute custom stickers with Ellis and Finn's ages on them!

I used custom printed gift wrap from tinyprints for the table runner and it was perfect!!!
Everyone thought it was so cool that it said their names!

I found the most adorable stationary for Ellis' thank you notes that went perfectly with our theme!

We got Ellis a wubble bubble ball (say that 5 times fast) for her birthday and it was a hit! Unfortunately, it popped. :( so... if you are going to buy one, just make sure you keep your receipt. We took ours back and got our money back, but I am half tempted to try one again. The kids really did love it... while it lasted.

2014 KIDS HOLIDAY GIFT BUYING GUIDE: ROUND ONE

I really love gift-giving. If money grew on trees, I would buy everyone I know a Christmas present. Now if 'free time' grew on trees, that would be a dream come true because then I would totally MAKE everyone Christmas presents. A girl can dream, right?! There is something about the holidays that makes me want to sit at home all day in my sweatpants, drink tea, and make DIY christmas ornaments and felt advent calendars. If I ever get to any of those things, trust me, you will all hear about it. Don't hold your breath.

Anyways, turns out we don't have a 'free time' tree growing in our backyard, so that means everyone is getting store bought presents. Here are a few I have on my shopping list for my nieces and nephews.

1. ORANGE MINI TOP $54.50
Don't you just want to hop in?! My friend bought one of these for her niece and I guess she just LOVED it. And really, what could be funnier than a dizzy toddler?!

2. OLLIBLOCKS $12 digital download
You purchase and download the file, print it out, cut and modpodge the faces, bodies and legs onto little wooden blocks and you have one seriously adorable gift - or gifts depending on how many sets you chose to make. This is a great one for people like me who like crafting. You have to check out the Caravan Shoppe. They specialize in digital downloads for home, family, and fun and have the most adorable designs. My olliblocks are at the print shop right now. I can't wait to get started!

3. WUBBLE BUBBLE BALL $19.99
This thing is AWESOME! It inflates up to 3 ft, has won several awards AND it has a lifetime guarantee!!! As the tagline says, "It looks like a bubble, plays like a ball!" Check out their website for videos that show it in action.

4. BEKA BLOCKS $50-$300
Do you remember these as a kid?! I do! They are good old fashioned wooden building blocks. Ellis has them at daycare she can play with them for hours. BEKA is a St Paul, Minnesota company that makes all natural wood products that are made right here in the USA.

5. BEADING KIT (CREATE YOUR OWN) AROUND $20
When I was little, my Aunt put together a beading kit for me and gave it to me for Christmas. It had all different kinds of beads, string, clasps, wire, and even pliers. I spent hours making necklaces and bracelets and I will always remember it as one of my favorite gifts. Even when I was little, I was crafty. All I ever wanted to do was create things. My Niece (almost 4) is a crafty little one, so buying for her is my favorite. I put together a little beading kit for her this year with things from Consumer Crafts. I have bought a lot of crafts in my day and trust me, this site has great prices and they carry pretty much anything and everything you could ever want. Here is what I put in her kit: storage box ($4.97) / various plastic beads ($1-$3) / string ($3.57) / key chain clips ($0.97) / ball chain necklaces ($2.37)

6. FACE PAINTING STICKS $2.97
What kid doesn't love having their face painted? The size and price is perfect for a stocking stuffer!

7. LOST MY NAME PERSONALIZED CHILDREN'S BOOK - $29.99
I am a sucker for personalized gifts, so naturally, I am drawn to products like this one. I have seen so many companies try and do the 'put your kids name in a book' thing and to be honest, I have not been overly impressed. That was until I saw these books. They do not just pop your kids name into the story, the story is actually about your child going on an adventure to find each letter of their name. Ummmm... why didn't I come up with this genius idea?! Oh and the illustrations are adorable. I got one for my nephew and one for Ellis for when she is a bit older. This is the kind of book a kid keeps for a lifetime.

8. SCULPEY CLAY VARIETY PACK WITH TOOLS $21.94
Yes, this is another favorite from my childhood. I would make beads and clay creatures for hours and my mom would bake them in the oven. This is a must for any crafty kid. Ohhh the memories!

9. DohVinci DELUX STYLER $5.99
It's a cross between a cake decorating set and a caulk gun! Fit a tube of the soft compound (from the makers of Play-Doh) into the styler, then squeeze to make 3-D dots, swirls, and lines on paper, cardboard, even wood. Leave the creation to dry overnight for a permanent design.

FREE PRINTABLE: XMAS GIFT TAGS

I am over at Pretty Providence today with my November free printable contributor post! Head on over to get your free Christmas gift tags! I might be bias, but I think they are pretty darn fun! :)

UNICORN COSTUME TUTORIAL

I will always be the mom who bakes and decorates my children's birthday cakes and crafts them homemade Halloween costumes because I.LOVE.IT. These are the things that I was so excited about while I was pregnant. I couldn't wait for all of the holidays with her and I CANNOT wait for her to really understand Christmas and get excited about Santa! We are going to do it all --- the cookies for Santa, the reindeer food, Elf on the Shelf, cookie baking, etc. Oh boy! Just writing this makes me excited for Christmas! I am that person who listens to Christmas music from the moment is starts and legitimately gets upset when Christmas is over and it stops. I have been known to play the Glee holiday CD in my car on repeat for an extended period of time and even bring it out once in a while off season. :)

Anyways, let's hit the breaks b/c it's not Christmas yet. It's Halloween! Plan #1 for E's costume was Uncle Si from Duck Dynasty. My friend gave me this ADORABLE little vintage camo jacket and pants suit, but it ended up being way too big for her. I plan on using it next year possibly. It is seriously wayyy to cute to not use it at some point. So then I was on to plan B. I literally thought up this costume in my head on the way to Hobby Lobby last Friday. I seriously had so much fun making it that I have started to think of all the different costumes I could make in the future! Oh the possibilities are endless. Really, anything flies and they do not have to be fancy. I still remember the picture my mom has of my brother on Halloween when we were little. She must have been scrambling for a last minute costume b/c she put a brown sheet over him with a brown beanie hat and attached a sign that said snickers to the front of him. :) It may not have been fancy, but it is the one that I remember!

So here is what I came up with - Ellis the unicorn!
I made this costume one afternoon and it only took me a few hours.

Everything listed below (except the sweat suit) you can find at your local craft store.  The costume was pretty basic. The only two parts I included a tutorial on are the horn and ears. Beside that, I basically super glued or sewed things to the sweat suit. 

I sewed the cone onto the top of the hood with embroidery thread and then covered the bottom of the cone with the mane to hide the stitches. 

To create the mane, I braided several strands of the yarn together and hot glued it around the horn, onto the hood and down the back of the sweatshirt. 

I attached the tassel to the arms and legs with hot glue. Easy peasy! 

For the tail, I opened the seam in the back of the pants and inserted strands of tulle just like I attached the ears to the hood. (see tutorial below)

To finish off the look, I attached a piece of purple ribbon to the zipper as a pull and tacked on two ribbons for strings with my sewing machine. I wanted to be able to tie the hood tighter around her head in hopes that the cone would stand up straight and she wouldn't be able to pull off the hood.  

Did you craft an awesome homemade Halloween costume this year? If so, send me a picture of it!! I am thinking about doing Halloween wrap up post of DIY Halloween costumes and I would love to share all of your costumes!

Also, I am selling this costume after Halloween. Do you have a little one that is going to be 18-24 months next Halloween? This sweat suit is a 24 month size.

Email me at katieannebuell@gmail.com to send me your pictures or inquire about buying the costume!