Anniversary

Friday was our 16th wedding anniversary and we usually go away for the weekend of our anniversary as we rarely go anywhere with out our girls, but this year my youngest daughter's youth group was running the service at our church and she had a pretty big role. So we decided to stay home so we would be there to see her pn stage. My husband made a delicious dinner for us to share and we watched a great movie and enjoyed spending quality time together at home. He also surprised me with a beautiful Family Platter. Here is a picture of it below.

I absolutely love it and am just so happy that I have to smile when ever I look at it. I do not know where I want to hang it yet so for now it is sitting on my dining room hutch.

I love getting gifts I did not even know I wnted, such a sweet surprise.

And I did not forget about him, he had recently been telling me how his sunglasses kept falling down into his face on his last fishing trip.  So I decided I was going to get him a new pair. He likes the nemesis brand that comes with a little nylon loop on the ends of the arms, but he doesn't ever wear the loop, but I thought he would for the times he was fishing.

However, I was looking online and I came across these sunglasses that clip onto a ball cap and do not fall off. They were $24.95 retail and I got them on Amazon for $9.95 plus $2.95 shipping and let me tell you, he absolutely loves them he wears them all the time and they fold up under the bill of the ball cap so he does not have to take them on and off, how cool is that! Here is a picture for the website,

All in all, we had a great anniversary, as he told me on facebook " The best portions of my life are the little nameless, unremebered acts of love you show me. I love you my little redhead girl"

I believe that says it all!

XOXO, Sonja

Pink Teddy Bear Baby Shower

Today I will be sharing some pictures for the baby shower I styled for my cousin Brittany who was having a little girl. My mother-in-law offered to host the shower in her home and she asked me to create the decorations. She placed a cute patterned table cloth on her dining room table that was sweet. We chose an adorable teddy bear theme and used lots of pink to make this party all girly.

My aunt was making the cake and had purchased the plates, cups, etc. so I did not have to worry about those; instead I put all my energy into decorations and games.  I used pink and white circle garland that I made using various size circle punches from my craft supplies. I knew the style that the guests were used to so I created the décor around what would make everyone most comfortable.

I purchased a cute printable file on etsy.com by BusyBeeDesign1 and looked to one of my favorite websites,  Kara's Party Ideas, for inspiration. I was so excited by all the adorable baby showers featured there, and my favorite was the pink elephant.  I saw so many ideas I could incorporate into my teddy bear baby shower so I took lots of notes.

With the printable files, all I had to do was print them on cardstock and embellish them to get the look I was going for. Since I already have an abundant supply of cardstock and embellishments, these were easy to make. The file contained a banner, a welcome sign,  cupcake wrappers and toppers, water bottle labels, thanks you cards, favor tags, and bingo cards. I embellished them with matching patterned scrapbook paper, ribbon and glitter and they turned out so adorable and my cousin can hang 

them in the baby’s room later.

Since we were not having cupcakes, I did not intend to use the cupcake wrappers and toppers until I saw a great idea at one of the baby showers on Kara’s Party Ideas website. They took small, clear plastic cups and placed the wrapper inside the cup and added pink popcorn with sprinkles and placed the topper on top of the popcorn. So that is how I used them, except I used iced animal crackers and bunny marshmallows.

We had sherbet punch, pink lemonade and bottled water for drinks. We also had a variety of cookies, candies, mints, and nuts, to snack on. My mother in law made baked spaghetti with garlic bread and salad for everyone to enjoy and it was delicious.

After everyone ate and visited with each other we played some party games. We played the baby game where everyone gets a small plastic clothespin and you cannot say baby, which is always a hit at every baby shower I have ever been too – got to keep the tradition going.  Next we played the “poopie diaper” game. For this game I made small diapers out of card stock using my Cricut Machine and a cartridge with baby shower related items. I used safety pin stickers on the front and on one I placed a brown circle sticker for the poop. The person that got that diaper wins.

After these games were over, she opened her presents and we played the Bingo game were each guest fills out a card with items they think she will receive as gifts, we had prizes for the first three winners. 

It was a huge success and everyone had a great time and Brittany received so many wonderful and useful gifts for baby Selina. Each guest was sent home with a cute little pink box filled with candies and embellished with pink pacifiers on the front and I taped the favor tag from the printable file on the back of each one.

Party planning can be fun, easy and affordable with the right tools and a little time. And party planning websites with beautiful pictures for inspiration doesn’t hurt either.

Blessings, Sonja 

Long time no post....

It has been quite a while since I have posted on here but, I have been excitedly researching, studying, and learning all about blogging, photography, crafting techniques and trends. I started this blog as a creative outlet for myself and to share some of the crafts and creations I have created for my family and friends along the way. I have recently styled two baby showers for family members and a birthday party for my neices daughter's 2nd birthday. ( I will upload pictures soon) I enjoy creating amazing celebrations no matter what the ocasion and I am currently organizing a mother/daughter luncheon for my sisters church. I have so many ideas in my head I can harly wait until the final decisions are made (hopefully this week) and I can get started creating some cute and crafty decor.

Happy Tuesday!