My girls made these stickers for Cory’s guitar case last Christmas, but I think they would also make a wonderful Father’s Day gift, so I’m putting this out there for those who might need some last minute ideas.

It’s a very simple gift, perfect for our little ones, and there are a couple of ways you can go about making them:

I purchased some printable sticker paper from an office supply store (which continue to come in handy!) and printed a scanned image of the girl’s artwork onto the paper. Sometimes my kids make very light marks, so I wanted to be able to adjust the brightness and contrast of their work so that everything stood out well.

You could also have your child use markers to draw directly on the sticker paper.

You can cut your shapes out first and have the child draw within the confined space, or you can cut the shapes from an existing piece of artwork.

So many ways to make one sweet and simple gift for the musician in your life!  Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s out there!

First, my apologies: for being a day late posting this, and for referring to this as a “recipe.”  I think it could be more appropriately be referred to as a how-to. It’s just so simple.

I knew the cake was already going to be over-the-top, so I wanted something a little lighter with a more subtle flavor for the cupcake topping. I decided to use Cool-whip as the base, then added about a quarter of a packet of instant banana pudding mix. You could use more or less depending on how strong you want the flavor. Paired with a chocolate cake mix from a box, it was the perfect foil to the banana split cake!

Enjoy!

When Annabelle first told me she wanted a “banana party,” I had no idea what that would entail. It ended up being a ton of fun coming up with ideas and the party was hit with all of the kids!

First off are the invites which were, of course, bananas! I used yellow cardstock for the “peel” and used my sewing machine to stitch around the edge so that the “banana” could be inserted and removed easily. And, I couldn’t have a banana without a banana sticker, so I used sticker paper and printed off my own with a 3 on them. The fronts read, “Our little chiquita is turning 3!” and the back had the pertinent party info. They were sent with the flaps up so that the guests could feel like they were actually peeling the banana. I love these

I found this adorable banana fabric from Moda and used it for her skirt and the goody bags. It was destiny! The skirt was made from this twirly skirt pattern and it was quite cute for the short amount of time that she wore it.

About 20-minutes into the party she changed into her bathing suit to play on the “wet banana” (AKA slip-n-slide). Ok. I’m the only one who called it this. I do believe that the slip-n-slide will make an appearance at all of our birthday parties because it’s easy and the kids LOVE IT. I will find a way to work it into whatever theme these little monkeys come up with!

Here are the goody bags. I just made very simple bags that tied with an attached ribbon. Inside the bags were paintchip-notepads, banana crayons (melted then poured into candy molds), noise makers, banana suckers, and little craft papers that I picked up in packs at JoAnn’s. I spent no more than $10 on everything total (not per bag…total!) which thrills me to no end.

Some of the kids were not quite ready to jump right in and join the fun at the slip-n-slide so they played this Banana Toss game:

We had chocolate cuppies with a light banana topping. I’ll post the recipe for the topping tomorrow (I actually have stuff to post so I’m dragging this baby out!). While I’m at this photo I’ll also point out something else that worked out and made me immensely happy. I used the tutorial for attaching plates and candle sticks from Design Sponge to make this cupcake stand and I’m just thrilled that it worked out so well! We had more cupcakes than this. I staged this quickly before the party then promptly put everthing back in the fridge before it melted. I added a banana slice to each cupcake before serving.

And, for the cake, I made this Banana Split Cake from Martha Stewart. It was a big ol’ pile of ooey goodness and it was delicious!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out our fun! Here are just a couple more pics of the girls playing with the banana toss the day after the party:

So today my little girl turned 3. Here she is wearing her favorite dress (coincidently my least favorite) and playing her favorite game: catch. She had a blast at her birthday party yesterday and I’ll have some of the details from that tomorrow. In the meantime, here are some proud-mama-pics of my big girl.

Annabelle has requested a “banana” party for her 3rd birthday party this weekend. More to come…

These girls are getting so big. I wish I had some time to share everything we’ve been up to lately. Hopefully soon. In the meantime, I thought I’d share this picture I got today of the two of them together. Could there possibly be anything sweeter than the love shared between two sisters? See you all very soon!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother’s Day! We kept things pretty low-key around here, but I enjoyed being able to slack off on a few things and let the hubby pick up the slack! I received the most adorable photo card from Cory and the girls. It was very sweet and I’m wishing more and more that I had a card box (or old shoe box) to keep all of treasures.

As for my mom, I decided to print off a photo I took of her birds a couple weeks ago that I really liked. The colors on the print came out so vibrant and it really looks so much better framed then on the screen. I think she really loved it…but then she always loves anything I make for her. Even the unfinished latch-hook snowman I made for her a few Christmases ago.

I never remember to buy things like giftwrap at the store and anyways it’s seems like such an unnecessary purchase when I’ve got an entire craft room full of stuff. So, to wrap the framed print, I ended up trying an idea I recently saw in a Kath Kidston book. The woman can apparently do anything with fabric, and to make pretty wrapping paper she said to scan it and print it out. So I did.

I really couldn’t believe how pretty it turned out given just how easy it was to generate. I used two peices of standard-sized paper to wrap the frame then finished it off with a bit of ribbon. You can see the pillowcase I used under the gift…a perfect match! I totally love the fact that I can tap into my fabric stash without actually having to cut into anything or part with my favorites.  So, the next time you have a smallish gift and no suitable wrapping paper, just break out your scanner! Try it. You’ll love it. Promise.

I’ve been seeing this here and there and finally got around to watching it tonight. It’s hilarious. Enjoy!

Hope everyone is having a fabulous Easter Sunday!  We spent the bulk of our morning at church and since we knew we wouldn’t have time to do baskets beforehand, I set everything up after ushering everybody out the door. When we got home from church, the girls were surprised with this scene upon entering the house:

If you’ve been following OCP, then some of this may look familiar to you. The baskets were inspired by the one from Disdressed, the bunnies were inspired by the chenille bunnies from Smooch Designs, and the idea for the goldfish carrots came from No Fuss Fabulous. Here’s a better look at the goods:

They each got a book, some stickers, a pocket purse, some heart bangles, and bubbles. Inside the plastic eggs were either animal crackers, peeps, or Play-Doh.

Sweet and simple, just how I like it.

Here are the girls on our way to church this morning. Lately they don’t want to go anywhere without their sunglasses!

They’ve been so excited about Easter for weeks and we’ve been counting down the days on our calendar. A few days ago I had them both paint some wooden eggs. I saw a similar idea here and I thought it would be a fun tradition, plus I love the idea of having a massive collection of hand-painted eggs by the time they’re both teenagers.

Of course, the eggs needed a home, so we tried our hand at the yarn nests that I’ve been seeing everywhere.

I think I enjoyed making these more than anyone, but we must have used waaaaay too much glue. It took forever and a day for them to dry, and when they did they just looked like a big goopy mess. We ended up keeping all of our eggs (the hand painted and dyed eggs) on a plate on our kitchen table. It’s been a lovely and colorful centerpiece that will be missed after today.

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Right now it’s nap time. Everyone is sleeping and as my eyes glaze over my computer screen, scanning what I’ve typed thus far, I’m thinking perhaps I should have joined them. We’ll be spending what’s left of our Easter driving to different relative’s homes and celebrating with family. The food is good, the  hospitality is always warm, but hopping from place to place is downright exhausting!

Wishing you all a very happy Easter!

I’ve been meaning to make these for a while, and since we’re so close to Easter, I decided to throw them into the basket with whatever other goodies I can pull together.

If you’re thinking they look a bit familiar, you’re right. They are the cuffs from the same sweaters that I used to make the heart-felt scarf. There’s so much left of those sweaters and I’m determined to use as much of it as I can!

I had originally intended to make some simple purses for the girls, but the more I thought about it, the more a pocket seemed like the right direction to take. They love pockets! I figure this way they can have a pocket handy no matter what they’re wearing.  Plus these were super easy to make. Just lop off the cuffs, turn inside out, sew the ends, add a handy strap, turn the right way and you’re done!

I really think they’re going to go over well and can’t wait to give them to the girls. I’m thinking about adding a little something to them. Perhaps a flower or butterfly applique? Any thoughts?