This feels a little bit self congratulatory (especially since the party hasn’t even HAPPENED yet, so I have no proof these things actually WERE good ideas) but I am pretty excited about some of the stuff I’ve put together. This is the 4th party I’ve thrown since I discovered how much I LOVE hosting, and I’m finally getting the hang of it. And by “getting the hang of it” I mean “not spending a zillion dollars on unnecessary crap” and “make sure the guests have fun instead of just making the pictures look good”. So here are a few of the details I think are worth explaining a little more in depth than the coming soon post-party picture post.

DIY lace paper

A fancy hole punch can make regular paper look expensive. I bought this Martha Stewart edge punch at Michael’s with a 50% off coupon I tore out of a magazine. I’ve had it in a drawer for months and has started to think it was a dumb purchase, but it ended up being PERFECT for Caroline’s invitations. Then I carried the pattern over to the signs for the cocoa bar, food labels, cocktail recipes and the favor bags. One $10 box of blank invites and one package of white cardstock was the only other cost. There are tons of patterns that would be cute for other party themes, but the lace worked nicely with my snowflake decorations.

Party favors

I’ve spent a lot of dough (PUNNY!) on stupid crappy plastic party favors in the past, but I’m really excited about this idea. I made two double batches – one pink, one blue – of sparkle play dough (using this recipe I found on Pinterest), divided each color up into 10 smallish balls, popped them in sandwich bags and stapled on a label. It worked out to pennies per favor and I think they kids will really like it. I also made a triple batch of plain white glitter play dough I’m going to have out with a bunch of plastic cookie cutters for the kids to play with at the party. They’re all going to be COVERED in glitter but I figure then they’ll just match my theme better.

Christmas tree turned into a Caroline tree!

Twinkle picture in action

I figured since the Christmas tree was already prominently featured as part of our decor (because it is a GIANT TREE covered in lights in the middle of the room where we have parties) I should make it more Caroliney for her birthday. I am very conscious of the “My birthday never felt special because it was too close to Christmas” problem EVERYONE I MET told me about when I was pregnant. I dreaded telling people I was due December 26th because they always told me about their mother/brother/cousin/dog who was born that week and has hated it their whole life. My attempt to prevent that feeling in Caroline is why we are having this party at all, so I’m doing my best o make the day ALL ABOUT HER. But really, photos + clothespins on the tree is a cute idea with ANY photos.

Which reminds me I made this:

I crack myself up.

DIY Pull String Pinata

I think this is the project I am most excited about. Ever since I saw Young House Love’s party post about their daughter’s 1st birthday I’ve been dying to try making my own pull-string pinata. The idea is a one year old is too young to smack a pinata with a stick (and also hello December birthday in New England, we’re INSIDE, maybe giving kids bats to swing isn’t the best idea) put they can pull a ribbon and have the treats fall out. To make the base, I followed their tutorial here. My original concept was a giant snowball or snowflake but I like how this ended up even better. I just folded coffee filters in half and glued them around with hot glue, overlapping layers.

Close up of the coffee filter petals

My last good idea isn’t so much a really good idea as just a “Why didn’t someone TELL me that before?!” I bought a small glass pitcher at Goodwill to put the cream of coconut in for my grown-up drinks. I figured no one could identify white stuff in a glass pitcher as cream of coconut, so I was just going to write on the glass with a black sharpie and it would be my cream of coconut container FOREVER. But it turns out magic eraser takes permanent marker off of glass super easily.

p.s. I have terrible handwriting

It also worked on clear plastic, which is perfect for my dipping sauces. Regular dry erase would get smudges and illegible as soon as it got dripped on/touched but I tried smudging the sharpie and I can’t.

I’ll try to have a full party recap up on Monday, unless I am so exhausted I end up sleeping straight through Sunday. It’s entirely possible.

Also known as the week my iPhone died, came back to life, died again, started working EXCEPT for the camera and then died. I suspect Caroline had something to do with it, but there’s no visible damage and I tried the dry-it-out with rice trick without success. I was going to get a new phone in January anyways, but I’m kind of annoyed I won’t be able to give the toddler the old one (deactivated) as an iPod touch for his apps & junk. I’m MORE annoyed that after more than a year of daily photos I missed half of this week. The good news is my iPhone photos are VASTLY improved thanks to the new phone!

Sunday:

Candy cane sugar cookies for Caroline's party...except I ate them all. Oops.

This game is called "squish the baby".

This game is called grab the baby with your legs. She gets pushed around a lot but she's really tough.

Monday:

Who is this big girl?!

This is considered a really bad traffic jam in my town.

Crafting! So messy!

Mommy's crafting mess is even bigger.

Tuesday:

The baby gate makes it petting the kitty like going to a zoo!

True fact: I'm going to just throw this whole mess in boxes and hide it in the basement for the party.

Sibling loves

Missing: Wednesday, Thursday

Friday:

HOLY CRAP LOOK AT HOW CLEAR THAT PICTURE IS

SERIOUSLY, SO CRISP AND BRIGHT! (Caroline's first year book from Shutterfly)

NEW IPHONE CELEBRATORY SUNSET PICTURE

E is not as excited about the new phone as I am

Saturday:

At the 7th circle of hell aka Walmart for Ball jars and Dr. Seuss

Closeup baby is CLOSE

Practicing my DIY snowglobe project. That animal is actually a baby cow from a Toob.

It turns out that piping melted chocolate into fancy gorgeous snowflakes is a LOT HARDER than the internet makes it look. Shocking, I know.

 I suspect next week’s photos will all be of cookies. I’ve got so much to do before Caroline’s party – luckily cookies can be frozen so I’m not trying to do ALL my baking on Saturday.

Did you take any camera phone photos this week? Link up with one or lots using the linky below and grab the code (so it shows on your blog too!) over at Amy’s . It’s really fun!

Busy, crafty, bakey, sleepy, crazy week. I cannot BELIEVE it’s December.

Sunday:

Saw cute toddler hat online. Thought "Dude, I can do that". DID IT.

Lights on our bannister

Spray paint for an overly ambitious project. Per ushe.

Monday:

Double swinging

Future basketball scholarship?

I made this. WITH MY HANDS.

Tuesday:

My floors are disgusting. Were disgusting. Obviously I cleaned them, but they're probably this dirty again by now.

The Monster at the End of This Book READS ITSELF. Brilliant.

Bath time is the happiest time of the day

Wednesday:

Mike Mulligan and Mary Anne are Evan's new favorite

Target soda fountain, where Coke and Pepsi live together in harmony. AS IT SHOULD BE.

Invite for Caroline's first birthday. I'm insanely proud I made it from scratch.

I asked him to smile nice for the camera. Toddlers are so helpful.

Thursday:

Babies are also helpful.

Lap nap

Tiny Christmas tree to plant in the yard. It makes up for the one we chopped down, right?

Friday:

Caroline gets so much love from the big girls at Stroller Strides

Prepping for some SERIOUS holiday baking

I wish I got as much sleep as this kid.

Saturday:

Twinke lights photo shoot set up #2. It went MUCH better.

Christmas cards DONE.

My kid tried to blow out the birthday boy's candles. He thinks all parties are for him.

Demanding baby demands your french fries.

I’ve been so busy doing stuff I haven’t had time to BLOG the stuff I’ve done (even though a lot of it is stuff I WANT to blog) and I’m going kind of crazy. I feel like I haven’t sat down for a whole week – and that might actually be true, because somehow I’m managing to lose weight even with Thanksgiving and road trip food and sugar cookie dough for lunch. I actually fell asleep sitting up on the couch Friday night. But I’ve only got 2 weeks until Caroline’s first birthday (and the party I SWORE I wasn’t going to throw) and 3 weeks until Christmas, so I figure I can sleep after New Years. I’m looking forward to it.

Did you take any camera phone photos this week? Link up with one or lots using the linky below and grab the code (so it shows on your blog too!) over at Amy’s . It’s really fun!

To Ohio, to Columbus, Thanksgiving, to Connecticut, CHRISTMAAAAAAAAAS.

Sunday:

DIY in car entertainment center. It worked like a CHAMP.

Rest stops are EXCITING

We were at the in-laws for less than 2 hours before the kids got to open their Christmas presents.

Monday:

This is the ONLY TIME she slept all week.

How many braids can I fit on my head? (Answer: four, this time)

Learning the fine art of eating peanuts at a roadhouse.

Tuesday:

This was the first picture I took all day.

This is the only other picture I took. TUESDAY WAS NOT GOOD.

Wednesday:

Obviously Wednesday was MUCH better.

I should stop calling her a weirdo, but not until she stops doing stuff like this.

C-bus. That's what the cool kids call Columbus. If there were any cool kids in Columbus.

Thursday:

The cousins LOVED the iPad, almost as much as they loved Little Evan.

Turkey shaped turkey and cheese ball is cheesy. Bahahaha I'm hilarious.

She wasn't as excited about the vintage dress as I was.

Friday:

Towing a plane with your car seems like a really, really stupid idea. Planes don't sit in traffic.

She's ashamed to be seen wearing the same jammies twice in one week.

Back to our regularly scheduled TV zoning out.

Saturday:

My GIANT HAUL from Joann's. Spent about $90, saved $112, and I won't need any craft supplies for months.

Went out to hunt and kill our own Christmas tree like good Americans.

Walked three houses down the street to watch the parade. One of the best parts of living in town.

Future eyelash model

Naked tree. Don't worry, it's fully dressed now.

Whew! That was exhausting. Tonight I am putting some of those craft supplies to use and finishing up my list of shopping to do tomorrow while E is still home to watch the kids. There will also be napping. I need to make up for some of that sleep I missed while Caroline was trying to kill me in Ohio. Or maybe I’ll get started on my Christmas baking. SO MUCH BAKING TO DO!

Did you take any camera phone photos this week? Link up with one or lots using the linky below and grab the code (so it shows on your blog too!) over at Amy’s . It’s really fun!