So for the second time in two days I’m going to link over to Mandy’s blog, this time because of the super cute things she made with her thrift store finds.  Maybe I link because I want her to like me or maybe it’s just because she’s awesome and inspires me all the time. Seriously, my comments on some of her posts are almost as long as the posts themselves. Because I’m a crazy person.

Sometimes the crazy comes in handy though, like when I volunteered to take some of the stuff left over from our charity tag sale to Goodwill and this picture frame “accidentally” forgot to make it out of my van. I had very crafty hopes for it.

Please ignore the rest of the crafting junk - it's from my "good intentions that never go anywhere" collection. It's quite extensive.

It doesn't have a back but it still had the glass - very well attached I might add, despite my best attempt to pry it out before I painted it.

When we put in the island a couple weeks ago I decided what I needed was a message board over it to keep a running shopping/to-do/where-am-I list. So that’s what this frame has been re-purposed as.

I used two slightly differnt shades of white paint because that's what I happened to have in the basement. Plus I was going for an antiquey kind of look.

Then I glued some fabric to the back (left over from when I recovered the dining room chairs). Of course, I tried to stretch it rather than do a proper job ironing it so you can see the crease. I think I'll take it off the wall and try to iron it now. Or I'll just live with it because it's the sort of non-perfection my house is full of. Probably that second one.

Regular dry erase markers work great on glass and come off with just a swipe of a damp paper towel. I know it's a little harder to read than a white board but SO MUCH cuter, don't you think?

Man, now I’m in one of those crafty moods that end with a trip to Michael’s and the purchase of a specialty paper cutting machine that I use once and then ends up gathering dust on my dining room table. No good can come of this.

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So apparently enough of you took my begging seriously to get me nominated for a BlogLuxe Award! I’m under the “funniest” category along with some of the most hilarious, talented, amazing blogs on the internet (so I have no chance of actually winning) but I would love your vote anyways! While you’re over there check out some of my other favorite bloggers in the other categories and show them some love. You can vote once a day between now and July 12th, no registration required although it does make you confirm you’re a real person via email. Hey, if zombies and robots are out maybe there’s a chance I can beat The Bloggess after all!

My sister-in-law Meghan had her baby girl on Friday! Cadence Brooke was born at 2:39 PM weighing 7 lbs and 14 oz. She is the first girl grandbaby in our generation and I am so excited to finally have a niece. I’m also insanely jealous of the crazy number of adorable dresses, headbands and lacy socks I know Meghan has in her nursery. Girl clothes are just so much CUTER.

Since I am full of good intentions but terrible at execution, Cadence’s baby gift didn’t make it home to her family before she did, but should be there soon! Until then, just show Cadence these pictures of her new friend. Computer screens are cuddly, right?

Teddy Bear pattern by Debbie Bliss from the book Simply Baby

Knit with Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmarino yarn - machine washable but still SUPER soft. I made and sewed on the little bow to make her special.

I hid the felt heart inside the bear before I stuffed it. If I was more talented I would have embroidered it but Sharpie on felt worked too.

Evan's (former zombie) Teddy sends his love with Cadence's teddy.

I’ve been thinking about taking orders for more bears from some local friends but I’m afraid my knitting skills aren’t really good enough to justify charging money. I guess I could sell them for just the cost of the yarn but the seaming takes SO MUCH time I would hate making them basically for free. I think I need a little more practice before I let my Etsy store dreams get out of hand.

Although Baby Evan will neither appreciate nor remember his first birthday party, I cannot stop myself from going a little overboard. And by “a little overboard” I mean I’ve jumped right off the ship without a life jacket and am struggling to keep my head above the dangerous waters of hand-made crafts and custom Etsy listings. If you thought the wedding industry was full of over-priced, high pressure sales, then you’ve never considered renting a cotton candy machine for a baby’s birthday. It is INTENSE. (For the record, we are not renting a cotton candy machine for a child that does not eat, no matter how much I love cotton candy.)

To keep the cost somewhat under control I’m doing all the decorations and invitations myself, with the help of a lot of craft-store coupons and maybe a tiiiiny bit of creative plagiarizing from other people on the internet. I decided to go with a totally unoriginal circus/carnival theme and have found some really great inspiration thanks to Google.

Caroline at Armelle Blog had an adorable photo booth, an idea I am definitely stealing:

Via @caroline armelle photo's Flikr stream

And Kara from Kara’s Party Ideas threw possibly the best circus themed party ever in the history of the world and I’ve been scouring the internet to find some of the things she used. Seriously, check out her website for the most amazing kid’s birthday party I’ve ever seen:

Via Kara's Party Ideas

My bloggie friend Silence and Noise is about to celebrate her son Bresho’s 1st birthday with a circus themed party of her own and I can’t wait to see the pictures and steal some of her ideas too.

Here’s a sneak peek of what I’ve been doing for Baby Evan’s party:

Part of the invitation. I'm going to order them as photos from an online company like Snapfish.

The vintage tray from my grandmother that inspired my theme plus some homemade confetti and rolls of tickets.

A combination of fancy craft papers and a lucky find at The Christmas Tree Shops means I don't have to create my own circus animals or patterns.

I don’t know how I’m going to keep from going even more overboard in the next month (uh, besides hitting the limit on my credit card) but I cannot wait to have everyone here and show off the final results.

In the past 30 years, my wonderful husband has done a lot of stuff. He learned to play several instruments, kicked ass in marching band, became an Eagle Scout, graduated high school, saw The Matrix in the theater 79 times, decided college wasn’t for him (it interfered with Matrix-watching time), joined the Navy, survived boot camp, became a really excellent dancer, blazed up the military ranks at wild-fire speed, got married to your truly, adopted a dog, bought a house, traveled to Japan/Hawaii/Singapore/Greece/Gibraltar on a nuclear submarine, made Chief (E7) in less than 10 years, bought a boat,  and contributed 50%  of the genetic material needed to make Baby Evan. Next up, he’s hoping to get picked up as a Limited Duty Officer and contribute some more genetic material, several times over. Since most of E’s friends are internet-based (or deployed) and extended family is a 10-hour drive, we’re going to celebrate with a nice sushi dinner and some family time. But 30th birthdays are a Big Deal so I did my best to make it a (surprise) special occasion.

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

When I got up to feed the baby at 5 am last night I also packed a lunch for E to take to work (so he wouldn't have to hike to the cafeteria in the snow). I also included some special treats.

I also decorated the dining room for the evening's cake eating.

Did you guess the theme yet?

Carrot cake with cream cheese whipped cream frosting - E's favorite. The frosting is slowing sliding off the cake (I made it too thin) but it TASTES absofrigginlutely delicious.

Baby Evan helped with the frosting.

And this is a picture from our craft project this morning, when Baby Evan made daddy his first of many birthday finger paintings. The gift is the only thing that's still a surprise.

I don't think the Crayola people had this in mind when they labeled it "non-toxic".

While I was looking for Father’s Day gifts back in June I came across a lot of fancy handprint kits.* I really liked them but couldn’t justify spending $40+ on what’s basically a picture frame. So I made one myself.

The frame was $12.99 at Target (I just looked for one with a large white mat – there were several choices). The paint is Crayola non-toxic craft paint, also from Target and about $6 total. And I printed the picture out using our home printer (I’m going to replace it with a nicer one IF I CAN EVER GET E TO DRESS UP AND POSE FOR ONE FRICKIN MINUTE).

If you notice, my hand is yellow and E’s is blue. And yellow and blue make green, so the baby’s print is green. Aw how disgustingly cute. Also, I suspect they use midgets and not babies for the product pictures of baby handprints, since the somewhat smudgy one we got was after three practice tries. Babies are more interested in rubbing the paint on their face than making beautiful treasured keepsakes. Selfish babies. Can’t they see the big picture? Anyways, if you’re somehow related to me expect your own version of this at Christmas. Try to act surprised.

*Actual Father’s Day gift: Tool belt and tool caddy I picked out in Home Depot while E was buying lumber and presented to him at the checkout so he could pay for it.