Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Cowboy/Western Party

Tonight I'm featuring Ethan's 2nd Cowboy/Western Birthday Party.  We had this party in our backyard.  The kids had a great time!

The Decorations

I made "Wanted" signs for each child who attended the party. 
I took pictures of the kids in Western gear for the posters.

 
 
 
I made several Western signs and posted them throughout the party.
 
 
 
Ethan's Birthday Poster
 
 
Lanterns from IKEA.  Fabric stars from Hobby Lobby.
 
 
 
This was supposed to be our "hitching post."
 
 
 
The Food
I made the cake.  I am no professional baker by any means...
 
 
 
 
 
The Activities
 
 
 
My husband wouldn't let me get a pony, so this was my substitute. 
A co-worker has horses and let me use one of her saddles.
 
 
 
 
Potato Sack Races
 
 
 
The Favors
 
The Birthday Boy
 
 
 
 
Happy 2nd Birthday to my Sweet Ethan!
 
 

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Buckets of Christmas Wreaths

With 4 days to go to Christmas, I thought I'd do a post dedicated to my obsession with wreaths before I bid adieu until the next holiday season.  I've always had a thing for wreaths, why I do not know.  And as I began to decorate my house this year, it began to dawn on me that perhaps my fondness for wreaths may have crossed the line into needing a 7-step program :)

Square wreaths are probably my favorite.  Here are the ones I have for the Christmas season:
These wreaths are from Pottery Barn, many years ago.  I have them hanging on my mirror above my mantle.

 
Another Pottery Barn square wreath from several years ago.  I found these wreaths at the end of the season on clearance and picked up one for each of the doors in our home.  I love the simple look of them.

I just made this wreath today using the Martha Steward Gingerbread wreath as my template.
Gingerbread-Man Wreath 
I used my own recipe to make the gingerbread men and didn't quite follow her directions (Shhhh...don't tell Martha.)  Stay tuned for a post on how to make this wreath (Melissa style).

I plan to use my wreath for my Gingerbread party I'm already planning for next year using Paula from Frog Prince Paperie's ADORABLE gingerbread party printables.  Check them out here.

Gingerbread Christmas Cookie Printable Party Collection - DIY, SALE

Here are some pictures of my more traditional wreaths.
   
 
I love the look of doubling or tripling wreaths and using ribbon to link them for hanging.



In our home, wreaths are not just for walls (of course because I've sort of run out of walls and doors!) 
I hang wreaths on the back of my dining room chairs.

I've also used them to adorn other home accessories, like these lanterns I purchased from Pier I on clearance. 
  

When I have to pack this all away at the end of next week, I'll look around my house and think it looks naked.  My husband on the other hand will be happy the "clutter" is packed away for another year.