French Fashionista Birthday Party

Happy 10th Birthday to Grace!  This birthday was a little different than our past birthdays.  First, we had two parties on two different days - one for friends and one for family.  Second, the friend party was held mostly "off site," not at our house.  And third, both parties were VERY scaled back - VERY.  No one believed me that I could do it.  I love a challenge.

 

Grace wanted to have a "fashion shoot" for her girlfriends.  We needed a big space for it and our house just would not work.  My good friend Kimberly allowed us to use part of a space at a local store she owns (Green Baybeez - check it out!)  It worked out perfectly. 

 

The day could not have been more perfect.  Every tween girl deserves to feel like a super model - regardless of body type.  Our photographer - Andrea Westein did just that.  She was amazing and made the girls feel beautiful and special.  What a valuable lesson to teach these girls.  I am so glad Grace chose this theme!

 

This was not my typical birthday extravaganza.  I reused a lot of previously purchased decorations and items I had for prior parties.  No fancy sweets tables.  No over the top table backdrops.  What it taught me was that even on a small scale, birthdays can be special and memorable.  The girls who attended Grace's friend party have been to most of her previous parties.  They all said this was the most fun one yet.  Great lesson - high end designed sweets tables, perfectly symmetrical favor tables and high end decorations do not make a party memorable.  Laughter, friendship and family does!

Favors

Decorations

Small Treat Table for the Super Models

 

 

 

Super Models!

(Photographs by Andrea Lynn.  Copyright Andrea Lynn Photography)

 

 

 

 

I even had a chance to get a pic with my sweet little lady.

 

Treats for the Family Party

Decorations

Thanks for looking.  I hope this party inspires you to make a party meaningful for your child and not simply about great pictures for a photo spread.

Sources:
Printables - Lora Lang Designs
Tissue Garland - homemadexojules

Tween Girl Bedroom Makeover - Paris Glam

My daughter Grace turns 10 soon.  Where has the time gone??  I still look at her and see my baby.  And her room reflected it.  Gone was the crib, but still in place was the baby/toddler bedding and a hodge podge of decorations that had accumulated in the room over the past 10 years. 

 

As her birthday present from us, we decided to redo her room to reflect her entry into double digits.  She definitely has acquired her own style over the past 10 years and I wanted her room to reflect that without breaking the bank.  We had some ground rules - no furniture changes.  No crazy paint on the walls and the choices had to be within our budget.  In the end, she did a great job and the room now reflects my grown up little lady.

 

Here are some before pictures:

 

 Here is the finished product:

 

 

 

 

Product list:

Bedding
Chair - Pottery Barn Teen
DIY Message Board - see here.
Chandelier canvas art - DIY, Chandelier vinyl from Hobby Lobby
Pom Pom Curtains - white curtains on clearance from JC Penney, I added the pom pom fringe (with hot glue!)

Our Holiday Home Tour 2013

Virtual "Holiday Home Tours" are all over blogosphere so I thought I'd join in.  Thanks for coming on my tour!  This year I attempted to use a few pinspirations and change things up a bit in our house.  I spared no glitter or Modge Podge!  Here is a tour of our home. 

 Holiday Fireplace

My first project this year was to make the pallet Joy sign.  Here was my pinspiration from Uncommon Designs. I love their version but I wasn't sure I could pull off the marquee letters.  I decided to Modge Podge script scrap book paper strips on the letters from Jo-Ann's.  It took me about 15-20 pages of scrapbook paper to do all three letters and about 3 hours to complete the Modge Podge step.  Once the letters were dry the next day (because I finished at midnight!), I sprayed spray glitter on the letters and then a sealant.  Overall, I'm pretty satisfied how they turned out.  On top of the pallet backdrop, I put a spray of greens with lights and hot glued a star ornament to the center.  I strung the cord for the lights behind the pallet. 

 



Table Decor

The picture of the kids was our Christmas card last year.  I still love it!

 

 

Entertainment Center

We have a massive built-in entertainment center in our living room that sits besides our fireplace.  Because it is so close to the fireplace, I try to coordinate the decor with that of the mantle.  The centerpiece of course is the Nativity Scene.  My set is a Belsnickle set that I was given at my wedding shower from my mom and then fiance.  I don't think the set is in production anymore so it makes me nervous every time I set it out!  Good thing it is high enough that it can't be accessed by little hands :)  However, that does not always stop Nerf footballs flying across the room :)

 

Black and White Picture Wall

My Aunt is a professional photographer.  As a result, our walls are full of family pictures and pictures of the kids.  One of my favorites is this black and white wall.  I'm not a huge fan of Christmas specific prints so I leave my normal decor on the walls (except for one wall).  For this wall, I just added a little greenery to bring in the season.

Kids Pictures with Santa

Here is my one Christmas picture wall :)  One year for our Christmas pictures, my Aunt had a Santa set up at a local business that has a log cabin type interior.  My son was around 2 at the time and was enthralled with Santa.  I still love these pictures four years later.  The picture on the right of him waving to Santa absolutely captured his excitement for Santa!

Front Door "Wreath"

Pinterest really is my downfall :)  Here was my pinspiration for this "wreath."  I found the wreath on clearance at Michael's and simply hot glued cedar greenery to the bottom half of the frame.  I then added the birds.

 

 

Christmas Tree

When I was a child, my mom and grandma started a tradition of giving my sisters and me ornaments every year for Christmas so that, one day, when we had a tree, we would have ornaments from our childhood for our trees.  We've passed the tradition on to our children.  As a result, I do not have one of those beautiful themed trees that seem to be on on the famous decor bloggers.  Mine is a hodgepodge of random ornaments from my childhood and my children's childhood.  My favorite are the handmade ornaments from my children that we've made together.

Here is the ornament we made this year - "melted snowmen" :)

My tree topper lived its last life last year unfortunately.  I looked and looked for a replacement and could not find one I liked.  So I decided to make my own.  I did not want to spend a ton of money making one so I tried to use materials I already had.  I took one of the paper stars I had on my front porch for our annual neighborhood ice cream party and covered it in glitter. (This is what it looks like in Wisconsin during the few months when it is not cold and snowy!  Ha!)

I then made a paper medallion out of the same paper I used to decoupage the Joy letters.  I put glitter on the edges of the medallion. Then I hot glued a sparkly snowflake ornament to the front.  Overall, I was satisfied with how it turned out and the price was right!

Arches and Pillars

We have beautiful arches and pillars separating our living room and dining room/kitchen area.  I put greenery and lights on the inside of the arches.  Getting the greenery to stay is a monumental task each year.  I use 3M hooks.  Unfortunately, I think 3M changed the formula this year and they did not stick as well.  We had to search high and low for the hooks we typically use.  After we found them, the garland stayed pretty well.  It usually takes a few weeks before all the hooks are in the right place!

 

 

Dining Room and Kitchen Decor

No room is spared in this house!  This year I placed a small tree in besides our built in desk in the kitchen that I've been using in our basement.  I used this tree from eighteen25 as my inspiration for the decor.  Some day I'd LOVE to be selected by Michael's to do a Dream Tree!  (Anyone have a connection, let me know - LOL!)

 

I love cedar for greenery.  I used cedar greenery on my dining room chandelier and basket above my kitchen island.  And of course, like everyone else, I am in love with burlap so it had to be incorporated with the decor!

 

 

 

I love wreaths (if you can't tell.)  I really love square wreaths.  I have a ton of them hanging everywhere.  I haven't taken pictures of all of them :)  I found these wreaths at Pottery Barn one year after Christmas and bought a ton of them.  They are hanging on almost every door in the house.

 

Table Centerpiece

Corner Ladder Shelf

I apologize for the quality of these pictures.  This shelf is right by our sliding glass door and with the light shining in, it is hard to get good pictures.  The top of our shelf is our advent calendar.  I can't remember where I found the downloads, but of course this is another pinspiration.  I found tea holders to put the numbers in and placed a magnet strip on the back of each holder.

 

 Cupboard Decor

I have a space between my cupboards and ceilings.  I've had the same greens for almost ten years, but change up the decor.  This year I used my mercury tree collection and sweater trees I found on clearance at Target last year at the end of the season.  I'm always on the hunt for mercury trees but refuse to pay Pottery Barn prices :)

 Bedroom Decor

After seeing the other virtual holiday home tours, I realized I am not the only one who decorates bedrooms :)  Here is some of the decor from our bedroom.  I realized after I took the first picture that the wreaths were crooked.  Oh well!  Just keeping it real!

That ends our tour.  Thanks for looking.  I hope each of you have a happy and healthy holiday and a terrific new year!