Dr. Seuss Thank You Cards

Okay I know I said I was going to stop talking about Cindy's party but I have one last thing and I promise after this I am done.  I had to wait awhile to share because I wanted to be sure everyone got their thank you cards before I posted them online.

So to save on cost again I used vista print to print the thank you cards.  I had the design finished three weeks prior to the party and therefore I got them for $10... for 100 post cards!  Yup, you can read more about that deal HERE.   After all the cards I had to send out, that was a steal.  Here is the design...

And here is how it actually came out. On the back, I designed it to be like a post card with the address lines, and a place to write.  I also put my favorite quote from the Happy Birthday to you book.  Plus,  they only cost 33 cents to send out.   What can I say, I love saving money.

So, do you remember the graphics I did for the Hungry Caterpillar party?  Well, Erin gave me the honor of designing her thank you cards too, which she printed at Walmart as photos. They came out so cute I have to share!  He is such a handsome little man!!!  I just love that picture!

Since we are on the subject of birthdays, did you know it is Dr. Seuss's Birthday on Friday?!  I wish I wasn't so busy packing so I can really get into it but I didn't realize that we have accumulated oodles and oodles of junk.  I just want to get it all done so I can relax next week.

But to give those of you who have older kids  here are some fun and free activity pages.  Click on the links below to get the full size of each image. [Click Actions, View all Sizes, and download the size you want].

Fish Bowl

Thing One and Thing Two

Box

Green Eggs and Ham

Horton

Pet

Cat in the Hat

One Fish Two Fish

  Cat in Hat Frame

Silly Hat for Horton

And feel free to pin the printables.

Happy Hour

Linking up with Mamarazzi again this week to share my Happy list.

Happy hour at Sonic makes me happy.  Between two and four I can get a slush for half the price [which means I usually can get a regular instead of a small and it's only a buck saaa-weet!].

And of course Sonic slushes make me so happy.  I drive by Sonic all the time since it is right next to Walmart and wondered if it was good.  I finally stopped to try a lime slush and from them I have become an addict.  I crave it all the time and it is my new coffee/Starbucks fix.  I think the people at Sonic know me already.

Cherry Cream Cheese Pie Recipe

So this past weekend I was not only in a wedding but I also co-hosted a house warming party for cousin Krista.  It came out beautiful and I can't wait to how the pictures!  But today, I wanted to share the recipe for what I made.  Gosh it has been forever since I have posted a recipe!

Because I didn't have much time or energy I had to think of something simple to make and a light bulb came in my head that these cute little tarts would be perfect!  I would make them for the hub all the time and he loved it and definitely ate more than one.  They are not only darling but absolutely yummy!! They taste kind of like cherry cheese cake.  So here is the how to

Ingredients:

8 oz of cream cheese                             1 cup of heavy whip cream [or cool whip]

1/2 cup of powdered sugar                     6pack of mini graham cracker pie crust

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla                          1 can of cherry pie filling

1. Mix cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and whip cream together [I just throw it all in the Kitchen Aide]

2. You can add more or less of the whip cream until you reach the consistency of your choice.

3. Once it is smooth and creamy carefully fill the pie crusts and top with cherry pie filling.

Yup, it is really that easy and these are a crowd pleaser.  No one would ever know it only takes 6 ingredients.

What my hubby loves about them?

They taste like cheese cake, the cherries on top, and they are the perfect serving size for dessert [he is kinda a health nut].

You can also:

Pin it

Pin It

or Clip it 

The One

Today I had the honor of being in the wedding of my dear friend Kathryn.  I have mentioned her a few times when I sent her the wedding planning book and made some things for the shower,  but today was the big day.  When I see them, I just know they are perfect for each other.  I actually knew even before they met and when Kathryn and I were both in college.  

Seeing them together made me miss my hub so much and it reaffirmed to me that when I said those vows just about three years ago, I made the best decision of my life.  I know without a doubt that I married "the one".  The one who was created just for me and me for him.  Though our marriage isn't perfect, I could not picture myself without him.   He is the one that I want to spend the rest life with, being his helper and supporter.  He is the one I want to grow old with.   The one that gives me butterflies in my stomach, the one I excitedly wait for to give me a ring on the phone as if  I were 16 all over again.  He is the one I would follow anywhere and everywhere. 

 He is mine and I am his.  We are one. 

And I can't wait for the day until we are reunited.

Baby Shower Gift- Diaper Babies [Pin it and Do it]

Okay so can the title of this post be any longer?  I think not but I had to get a full description of the cuteness that is about to occur.  This is officially my second Pin it and Do it Firday post [yeay] and every week from here on out I will be challenging you, my fellow bloggers to join me in sharing what it is you have accomplished thanks to pinterest.  Here is the post from last week.

But onto this week's pin of choice.  I saw these little diaper babies, pinned them to my empty for now gift idea board, and just about died because they are so darling!!!  I knew I had to make them and I was just waiting for the perfect excuse to come up.   Lucky me it did.  My sister needed a baby shower gift and I was the first to raise my hand!

  

The gal has decided not to know the sex of the baby making it very hard on me.  Do you know how hard it is to find neutral socks!  Yowzers!  I ended up using some mittens as well because I liked this color. They are super easy to make.  Just roll up a diaper and tie it with a rubber band.  Use the sock as a cap, swaddle with a wash cloth, and add googly eyes.  Easy peasy.

Now they are adorable but I had to think of a fun way to package them as a gift and here is what I came up with.  I bought this cute photo/media storage box from Joann's for less than $2.  I used some pretty paper and my slice to add the title.  I figured little bundle of joy was fitting for the little bundles of diaper babies.  You open the box and you can't help but smile.

The best part is that I created a little opening on the bottom so there is room for her to slide the card and gift card. 

And might I say I love the colors.  This box doesn't only house the diaper babies, but it will be a great little storage box for keepsakes.  I have one that hold baby shower cards, Cindy's first outfit, her hospital bracelet and name plate, her first head band, and you get the idea.

Now, underneath the diaper babies is Desatin, the little hats that came with the mittens, and on top of that is more diapers.   I thought it is just a cute little addition to just getting diapers and a gift card.  I have enough to make one more box with 6 babies so if you are interested, shoot me an email.

Who knew diapers could look so adorable all rolled up!  These little babies will for sure be going on my favorites for baby shower gifts!  Thank you Pinterest!

Now it's your turn to share.  What did you Pin and Do this week? 

Clippix- My Virtual Notebook

Ever get that satisfying feeling when you have just finished organizing something? Yup, I have that feeling because my life just became a little more organized. As with my party planning notebooks, I also have one for my sewing projects. I started it when I really got into sewing but then it got really hard to print out all the directions and patterns, I ended up copying all the links and saving them to a draft in my email.  I finally put all of my stuff  on Clipix and you can check out how it works from this video

 

Now.... I have all of the sewing projects I would like to do or have done and would like to save on this pretty little clipboard on Clipix! I LOVE IT! I love it because I can see all the projects at once with their pictures and it links me back to the blog so I can browse on the site in the future.

I haven't just started using this for my sewing projects but also for the my purchase list [both needs and wants] and stuff I would like to get for Cindy. We do a lot of online shopping in Germany so this is perfect! One of my big huge faves about Clipix is that you can have a multiboard. I can have one main shopping board and two separate folders, one for me and one for Cindy. And, if I didn't want people to see what I was buying I could just make it private.

 

Clipix is super easy as the video says. I signed up, added the clip button like a bookmark button.  Then, you can go to any site, click the clip it button, clip which board and which image you want to show, and it shows up on your Clipix account.  Cindy loves Barney and with this DVD at $6 it is for sure going on the shopping list.

 

I really love this new way to organizing my favorite shopping and crafting links. Now it's your turn so go to your favorite sites and 

There are so many possibilities! How would you use Clipix? I might convince my hubby to use it for when he plans our trips.  So get your clipix button and start clipping!clipix

Promoted Post

There is No Place Like Home

So I can't seem to keep away from the parties.  I just can't help it, I love helping out and planning parties.  This is just a sneak peak of the stuff we are brewing up for cousin Krista's house warming party.  I don't really love it but I am glad I got to use my Crop a Dile again for it.

Anywhoo, on Friday I helped her move into her new little space and I was so excited and just happy happy happy for her.  I love her new condo!  In all my happiness, I also got homesick and it kind of put me in this funk.  I just keep daydreaming about my home and missing it terribly.

I miss having my own space.  I miss my kitchen.

I miss my bed. I miss sitting on my couch lounging.

  

I miss being able to stay home in my pj's all day. I miss Cindy's huge play area.  I miss my heated floors. I miss the small town life where we can walk right outside our house, up the hill, and see this [as you can see I was not appreciating that uphill walk].

I just miss HOME.  Sometimes when I say that, people get a puzzled look as though my home is California.  They don't realize that my little family of three, we have built a whole life for ourselves in Germany.  We have a place we call home...our home sweet home.  I live a completely different life out there, one void of freeways, Target, and endless busy-ness.  In Germany I am a homemaker and I wouldn't want it any other way.

Don't get me wrong, I am eternally grateful to my in laws for giving us a temporary place to stay and
 taking care of all of our needs.  I have had so much fun spending money and time with family and friends and truly appreciate their support. 

 It has been a nice trip, but now more than ever I know it is time for Cindy and I to go home.  It is time for us to be a family again.

Girls Just Want to Have Fun

This week I am linking up with Dandelion Wishes and making my Happy List.  

So, what makes me happy?!  Having fun with the girls because I love being a girl and all things girly.  This past weekend I spent some time with my lovely sistahs.  It included loads Filipino junk food, boba, stroller bumping while shopping, and of course painting our nails.  Just look at all those colors!!

I was given permission to do whatever my heart desired and this is what happens when you give me full control.  I get a little color happy!   One of my favorites is the rainbow on her pinky.

But my ultimate favorite is the unicorn on the thumb.  I am no nail artist as you can see this is not perfect but it was made possible thanks to these super awesome nail art pens.  They are so much fun!  

Nothing makes me more happy than spending time with my sisters doing all the girl-y things we love to do.

Learning to Spell in the Tub

Shesh I have been so busy doing so many things I am exhausted!! Getting everything together to head back to Germany is a lot of work. I mailed my first two boxes back home today and I got really excited. I miss my little home so much I think I will hug all of my furniture when I get back. Of course I look forward to being a wife again the most. I can't wait to take care of my hubby!

Anywhoo, I had to share this for all my mamas out there. I wish I came up with this on my own but I didn't. I was at TJ Maxx with my mom when I saw these foam letter that were meant for the tub and I had to have them for Cindy. They were only $3 so it was worth it.  What a great new bath toy!!  Plus, what a fun way for her to learn her ABC's and how to spell her name.

The letters just need a little water to stick to the walls.  They don't even slide, they just stick up there like magnets and Cindy loves it.

When she is older, I can give her a few letters at a time and she can guess what word it makes.  Or how funny would it be if I put a little message for my hubby before he hopped in the shower. 

I am pretty sure any foam letters will work for the tub but these were nice because they are smaller than the ones I have at home.  We just love it!!

Wedding Favor Tags with my Crop a Dile

Not sure if you noticed, but I have crossed over into the dark side and am now a Pinterest addict.  I bet you are too!!  My sister told me about it forever ago but I just recently got with the trend and I love it!  You can see my boards by clicking on the link on the right side bar.

Anywhoo,  I love Pinterest so much I have to limit myself to ten minutes a day or I would seriously spend hours browsing.  I love pinning but since I have started building up my boards I wondered, am I really going to do these?  I would hate to waste my time pinning and not doing so I have decided that once a week,  I will be recreating one of my pins.   Let's call it....

Pin it And Do it Friday. 

  Okay so it isn't Friday anymore but lets just pretend it is.  For my first pin it and do it,  I wanted to share these wedding favor tags that I did for my friend Kathryn who is getting married next week!  Here is the pin on her board.  Isn't that pin gorgeous?  I tried my very best to recreate it using a font she chose and these little puppies will be paired with a burlap bag of chocolate covered espresso bean yummy!

The details that stood out to me on the pin was the textured paper, the gorgeous color, and the metal eyelets.  I just had to have all three in the mix.  I have never used eyelets before but thanks to google I found my new favorite toy!!  Meet my Crop a Dile.  It is cheaper at Joann's than Michaels by about 4 dollars and with my 40% off coupon I walked away with this beauty for $17.  Score!!  

My Party Planning Notebook

Some of you lovely readers have contacted me about the upcoming parties that you have.  I love it!  I love helping, I love planning, and I love getting inspired with different crafty ideas so please keep it coming. In the coming months I hope to dabble more in paper crafts, banner making, and of course more digital media.  I really enjoyed creating all the printables and would love to do more. 

Anywhoo,  I am not a pro at party planner, but I wanted to share with you one thing that I always do when planning an event.... that would be the notebook.  I prefer to start planning months ahead, get my ideas on paper, create, and use the last minute for the little tedious details.  For my wedding and Cindy's party I just created my own party planning notebook.

I like this better than buying one because it saves money [even though it isn't as pretty].  I like that the I can just shove any paper I get in a clear sheet whether it is a receipt or something I printed.  And I just love that everything is in one place.  For my wedding since it was way bigger, I also added dividers.  I wish the rest of my life was this organized.... But want to see what is inside?

First and foremost it's the logistics and the first page is the guest list.  Lucky for me I have a master copy of addresses from our wedding and I just update it periodically.  Sorry for the blurred picture but I wanted to keep the names private.  For her party the other lists included an outfit checklist for the both of us, a sheet of food and drinks we were going to have, a to do list, a list of all the decorations, etc.  I also had a blank sheet where my sister wrote all the gifts Cindy got.  It was in one spot and it didn't get lost in clean up! 

There was a sheet for game and entertainment ideas and I kept all the essentials in a clear sheet.  During the day of set up, I knew exactly where I put the coloring pages and the wallet sized pictures of her.

I only worked with one vendor, which wre the bakeries Jill's Cake Creations and Von's.  It's always important to keep those receipts.

And now for the fun part, the inspiration pages.   When Cindy turned 6 months old my older sister helped me choose the theme.  She actually suggested it. I was already saving pictures and websites that I loved.  Recognize some of those pictures?! Once each task was complete I could check the picture off.  Of course I wasn't able to complete everything that I wanted but I got the main things done.  I was so proud of myself because I usually wait until the last minute to sew her outfit but had her dress done two weeks before.  This is a huge feat for me! 

Whether the party is big or small I like to have some form of a little notebook.  It just helps so much!  So, the biggest advice to you party people out there is stay organized and don't wait until the last minute! I just checked off the last thank you card and will be mailing it out tomorrow.... this party is officially complete.

Free Hungry Caterpillar Printable

Seems like party season because I know so many people planning parties and especially birthdays!  I miss crafting and party planning,  so I have taken on a few projects from different parties to keep me busy.  

A few weeks back, Erin asked me to help her create printables for her son's 1st birthday party.  I am in love with the theme and will probably use it for Cindy's second birthday party [let the pinning begin]!  It has sentimental value for us too.  But the party theme is The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Oh I just love it!  Because the book background is white, the printable was so easy to make, it took just a few minutes.   

Here is the caterpillar printable on my flickr account.  Just click actions and be sure to download the biggest size. You can print these from home or get them done at Staples.  Want a custom invitation?  Shoot me an email, I would love to come up with something for you. 

She is so adorable. Erin put them on little lollipops!  Aren't they precious?! [Thanks for emailing the picture Erin.]

I also created  a printable for all of the junk food available Here.

And then Cindy's favorite part of the book where the caterpillar eats through the fruit.  She just likes turning each of the little pages! Just click below:

1 Apple

 

2 Pears 

3 Plums

4 Strawberries

5 Oranges

And one where all the fruit is lined up RIGHT HERE

  

 Erin used them to make labels for the food!  I just love it!  

So, if you are planning a party or need these for a classroom activity, please feel free to use it and be sure to share what you did with it!! I love seeing the different ideas people come up with.  Thanks again Erin for sharing your pictures!

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