Embroidery Hoop Art

We moved Ruby Kate from her crib to her big girl bed when she turned 2. That was a year ago, and we are just now finishing up the decor in her room.  We didn’t have a convertible crib, so we had to purchase a bed for her. We decided a full bed was the best option because it would be harder for her to fall out, and she would be able to use it longer than a toddler bed.  We found this bed at Land of Nod, and we have been nothing but pleased with it. I have an obsession with Aneela Hoey fabric designs, so I decided to sew Ruby Kate’s bedding myself. I chose the Sherbet Pips line. We just needed some art to finish up her room. We looked for the perfect piece for over a year. I was inspired by the Cottage Mama when she used embroidery hoops to decorate her daughters’ room. And it just so happened that I had some spare embroidery hoops. When my grandmother passed away, my mother gave me her embroidery hoops. I pulled out my leftover Sherbet Pips fabric and hooped it up!  David was kind enough to paint them white and then hang them for me. I am in love with these. I can’t help but think about how happy my grandmother would be that I found a way to use these hoops in my little girl’s room.

Doc McStuffins Birthday Party

I started planning Ruby Kate’s 3rd birthday party in June. After much deliberation, we decided to have a Doc McStuffins themed party at our home. If you are not familiar with Doc McStuffins, her animated series on the Disney Channel has become quite popular. She is a little girl who acts as a doctor to all of her toys. The show is fairly new, and it’s hard to find party supplies or even ideas. I have scoured the internet and my brain, and this is what we came up with. I tried to include links to everything I purchased from a third-party in case you are looking for Doc McStuffins party ideas too.

We sent invitations out a couple of weeks in advance and included a note to bring your favorite toy for a Doc McStuffins check up. I found these cute invitations at this Etsy shop, and I had them printed at FedEx printing.

Our guests were welcomed at the door with this sign.

Upon arrival, our guests were given a personalized guest doctor badge. We did this so each child could help give his or her patient a check up. I found the badges at this Etsy Shop. This shop was great about personalizing each badge.

Next, our guests headed to the clinic with their favorite toy for a checkup. They passed the waiting room (the stairs) on the way.

Here are a few pictures of our set up in the clinic. The Doc wall chart actually came as a fold out from a Doc McStuffins DVD we had purchased. On the clinic table, we had a Doc McStuffins doctor kit (from Target), a check-up checklist (found on Disney Jr. website for free), hospital bracelets for each patient, surgeon masks, band aids, and Doc McStuffins stickers. On the other side of the room, I had a table set up with paper, crayons, and stickers where each child could create a get well card for the sick toy.

After check ups, we had a play area set up with all of our spare doctor’s tools. This was great for the kids who finished their check ups before the others.

We finished all of the check ups and headed outside for an ambulance race. David had lined the yard with flags we made from white felt and wooden dowels. I played ambulance sirens I found on iTunes while the kids raced to the hospital (a play house we have in our yard). The kids really enjoyed this, and they all participated. It was so much fun.

  

Then it was time for the food. We enjoyed take out pizza from Tomato Head. The cake and cake pops were my favorite things at the party. They both looked great. I got the cake from a bakery I’ve been going to since my childhood called, Krahn’s Bakery. The cake pops came from this Etsy shop.

I love assembling party favors. This is probably my second favorite part of planning birthday parties. Here was our goodie bag. It included a doctor’s kit (from Target $ bin), a doctor’s checklist (from DisneyJunior.com), bubbles, band aids, a big book of boo boos (purple notebooks with hearts glued on by me), candy bracelets, a Doc Mcstuffins Memory game, Doc McStuffins headbands for the girls (made by my wonderful niece, Emi), and a Doc Mcstuffins mask for the girls (made by me from this embroidery file). I placed all of this into a plain white gift bag with a red cross sticker on the front.

And finally, I compiled a few pictures from the party. I’m so glad we went with the Doc Mcstuffins theme this year. We really had a lot of fun celebrating our little girl’s third birthday. Time to start thinking about next year! 😉

Where’d you go, Bernadette?

I am not great at writing book reviews. I’ve tried a few times, and I get really nervous thinking I have to be serious. Then I just feel silly. All I know about reviewing Where’d You Go, Bernadette? is that I really enjoyed this book.  The plot is great, the writing is great, and I laughed a lot. The book is set in Seattle. I have never been to Seattle, but now I’m dying to go. I recommend reading this book if you are looking for a quick, fun read.

Naturebox

I love Naturebox. If you are new to Naturebox, this is what it’s all about. Healthy Snacks delivered to you. It’s a monthly subscription service that you can cancel at anytime. You get 5 full size packages of healthy, delicious snacks each month. My second delivery came today. I opened all of the bags immediately, and sampled the snacks. The best thing we have gotten so far is Blueberry Almonds. They are so very good. There are all kinds of coupons out there for a discount on your first shipment. Just google it, and you’ll find some. I love this stuff.

Change

My little baby turned 3 on Sunday. She started preschool on Monday. She started Ballet on Wednesday. We’ve had a busy week, and we’re exited to see what the next year brings!

 

Craft Day

A couple of weeks ago, I hosted a craft day for my nieces and nephews. I have been intending on doing this for awhile, and I knew we had to schedule it before everyone goes back to school and life gets crazy. So I gathered up my supplies, headed to my Mom’s house, and started crafting away. My niece, Addie, and my nephew, Zeke, came to participate. We had so much fun, and only had one craft that was a fail. Here are the crafts we completed.

Coasters

This craft is all over Pinterest. We used inexpensive floor tiles, scrapbook paper, cork backing and modpodge to make these delightful coasters. The kids were so proud of these. They made them as gifts for their mothers. Here’s a great tutorial on how to make these coasters. Next time I’m going to try this project using fabric instead of scrapbook paper.

Duct Tape Handbags

This is a great project for kids. Duct tape is everywhere. I see it all the time in all these really trendy prints and colors. I purchased some, in boy and girl prints, before I even knew what we would do with it. I did a search and quickly found this duct tape handbag tutorial. Using only a garbage bag and duct tape, this craft was simple. Once I got the kids started, they were finished in no time.

Chalkboard Composition Notebook

I didn’t take a picture of this one. We took very inexpensive composition notebooks and painted them with chalkboard paint. The result was a really cool back to school notebook the kids can write on with chalk. Here’s the tutorial.

Melted Crayon Shapes

This craft was a disaster, and we almost caught the house on fire. We tried to melt broken crayons together to make interesting and fun color combinations. It did not work. The crayons just melted together into a brown color. I need to go back to the drawing board on this one.

Except for the crayons, our craft day was a success. I told the kids we will try hard to have another craft day before Christmas. I can’t wait.

Things I’m Loving on Etsy

When I can’t sleep, I browse Etsy. This is a terrible habit. And expensive. Here are the things I am loving on Etsy right now.

It’s never too early to be thinking about Christmas. I love, love, love this gift wrap. I ordered it in green and brown to coordinate with our Christmas decorations.

I love these little purple and pink bags I purchased for Ruby Kate’s Doc McStuffins themed birthday party. I think I will use them as “take home” bags for the Doc McStuffins cake pops.

Christmas is clearly on my mind. I snatched up these Christmas monogrammed pajamas for Ruby Kate as well. These sell out quickly, so you have to preorder for Christmas.

I love this monogrammed clutch. I ordered the mustard yellow with a navy blue monogram. At $18, it’s a great price too.

In addition to all of these, I have purchased many party supplies for Ruby’s birthday party, but I’ll include that in her birthday post.

The Best Brownies

Here’s my take on Pinterest recipes. Half the time they work, half the time they don’t. These brownies stood out to me on Pinterest because they are called, “Nutella Brownies.” And who doesn’t love a recipe with Nutella involved?!? I followed the recipe exactly except for replacing the flour with Cup4Cup gluten free flour. We had just finished dinner, and I place them in the oven for about 35 minutes. After letting them cool for about 25 minutes, we enjoyed the brownies with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. They were perfectly warm, chocolate, and lots of ooey gooey happiness. You can find this wonderful recipe here, and while you’re at it, check out my recipe board on Pinterest.

Garden Update

  

I thought I would give an update on our garden. All of the plants are certainly growing, but I’m not getting very many veggies from them yet. We get two or three cherry tomatoes everyday, but we eat those before we get back to the house. The cilantro came and went quickly. In fact, the plant actually went to seed within a few weeks. Our other herbs  (basil, oregano, and sage) are still coming in strong. I think something is eating the squash, eggplant, and pepper blooms. I’ll see a bloom on them one day, and the next day it is gone. I’m not sure what to do about that. I think it may be my bunny rabbit friends. Next year, my garden needs a redo. It definitely needs fresh soil and maybe even a small fence to keep the bunnies out. I have some pinterest research to do!

Violin Lessons

I’m excited and nervous about Ruby Kate starting violin lessons. I’m excited because it’s such a fun instrument, and it’s a great hobby for her. I’m nervous because she is so young. I fear that starting her out so young will burn her out on it. I hope this isn’t the case, and instead her young mind enjoys and easily grasps reading music and playing the instrument. Fingers crossed!

We found a great violin teacher who is a graduate student at the University of Tennessee. Not only is she an experienced violinist, but she’s also a member of a blues rock band. Pretty cool. She is patient, kind, and fun. Everything is working well right now. Hopefully this will continue. Ruby Kate has lessons twice a week for 20 minutes at a time. Her teacher recommended these shorter lessons due to her age and attention span. One of our first assignments was to assemble a box violin from a macaroni box and some general craft supplies. After searching the internet, I found this tutorial to be the most helpful in completing this task.

Now isn’t this the cutest violinist you have ever seen?