Here he is..... Baby Isaiah.. He weighed in at 7lbs, 19 ounces.
Look at those cheeks!! Sigh..this makes it all the more worth it!
It's a boy...It's a boy.....
Only a friend will wait until the last minute to ask you to do a baby shower...and by last minute, I mean TWO WEEKS....right in the middle of me working on the family reunion project! Of course, she didn't want just a simple shower--she wanted a theme, custom invites, unique favors, and party games too...... IN TWO WEEKS--in the middle of my other project! Oh, and did I mention that she said she was on a tight budget!!!! Ok,ok, I can't pretend that I was mad, because I wasn't. I get geeked under pressure..LOL. Don't ask... Creating events on a budget only pushes my creativity that much further.. Anyhooo, my friend hosted a baby shower for her niece, which took place at a Curves location. Although it was last minute, I made sure it came out nice. You can click on all the photos below for close-ups...
The diaper invite.....since this was so last minute, I made her sit with me and help cut out all three layers, because of course, these invites had to be in the mail in two days...sigh...
It took some time to do the hole-punching, and ribbon tying after I got the invites assembled, but once that was done, I added a few button embellishments to finish them off....then away to the mailbox they went!
Ok, so, baby shower on a budget---easy to do when you have a theme. I decided on King Of The Jungle, and used blue, orange, green, and brown as the color scheme. No time for detailed centerpieces, so gift bags, stuffed with coordinating tissue paper, along with coordinating balloons coming out of the top-did the trick just fine. I added baby confetti and gift shreds around the table to embellish. I set the tables with the napkins folded like diapers and held together by baby stickers.
The Gift and Favor Table
The Cake Table
The tablescapes, with detailed views
The Favors
The favors were a lot of fun to do. In keeping with the theme, and of course, making them cute and unique... I had my friend purchase a box of newborn diapers and then fill them with chocolates. I cut out netting that was purchased from the fabric store, laid some baby confetti inside the netting, put the diaper in the netting, wrapped the top, and tied them with coordinating ribbon.
Auntie and mommy-to-be were very happy with the results!
FINAL WORDS.....
Little details are always the perfect touch to bring it all together, no matter how big or small the budget or event. While having extra money to throw a party or special event is always desired, its not a must-have to have something turn out just as nice!
I'm exhausted because I had two projects and one still in progress- going on at the same time, and they were both on the SAME WEEKEND... My brain is currently in "creative overload"! Hope you enjoyed my latest projects.... Until my next post......I'm signing off!
~FRIDAY NITE WELCOMING DINNER~
Phhhhheeeeewwwww.....The family reunion is complete! It was a lot of work, but it turned out great! Let's start out with Welcoming Night.....this reunion was the Glencamp-Croker Family Reunion, and the theme was "Steppin In The Name Of Love". The welcoming dinner was Friday evening, after everyone was settled into their hotel rooms and had a rest from travelling. Since the t-shirt colors for the reunion were going to be blue and khaki, I was inspired to do something with peacock feathers as the centerpiece. If you look closely at a Peacock feather, they not only have blue and khaki mixed in, but you'll also notice green, purple, and brown as well. I decided to use Caribbean blue and khaki colored sand to fill tall vases that the feathers are in. I also alternated blue, chocolate, and green table runners on each table. Each vase was placed on a large mirrored plate, with candle votives on each side.
Each family member was given a "welcoming" box, which consisted of the reunion t-shirts, a CD, and a family connector( a spreadsheet with family contact info). Since the reunion was held here in Chicago, I thought that creating a CD, made up of steppin music, would be a nice keepsake. I added a personal touch by creating a CD cover that showed the family name "in lights" above the Chicago Theater...you know, just keeping with the theme!
T-Shirts for the women were Caribbean blue, and khaki for the men. They were nice shirts, and fit right in with the theme.
The CD covers came out pretty nice too. You can click on the photo to see a close of up of the awning. A lot of the family members loved it because it looked as of they were staring in a play on Broadway! The CD was just as much a pleasant surprise as the cover....of course I had to represent Chicago by adding some R.Kelly to start the steppin off right....then they slid into K'Jon's "On The Ocean, Maze's "Before I Let Go", Heatwaves "Love's Gonna Last", and Aretha Franklin's "Wonderful", just to name a few!
The evening was full of love, great food, some family members meeting for the first time, and some catching up on the latest with one another. It was a nice to see family coming together....just lots of love, like a reunion should be!
~SATURDAY PICNIC~
OK, what's a reunion without the picnic??? For the family's picnic, I decided to do a Carnival theme simply because it's summer time and who doesn't love the carnival! I also mapped out family games such as tug of war and potato sack racing, just to name a few! A carnival pretty much gives you cart blanche on decor, so there were lots of bright colors for me to work with. The first thing that came to mind was POPCORN!!! Don't know why I couldn't think of a more simple project for centerpieces, but that's me... Needless to say, I enlisted help after I realized I had rolled two bags of "popcorn" out of tissue paper, and it still wasn't enough! I also created centerpieces with bags full of "popcorn", attached to carnival goodie boxes, and they were all alternated on each table. I ordered coordinating table covers, and plenty of colorful bunting and carnival signs for the tent that was being set up. Even though it was in the high 80's that day, the wind was something fierce. I velcroed down all the centerpieces, and had the signs and bunting secured tightly, but mother nature is not to be messed with! It still turned out nice though. Sorry for the wind, but some of the table stuff just wouldn't stay, but you can get the gist of the theme for the day.
You can click on each photo to see the "popcorn" up close.. Phheeeewwww.. that was alot of rolling of tissue paper and glue gunning....piece by piece!!! Event detailing is gorgeous when it's all put together, but it's also alot of work--don't let anybody tell you its easy! And yes, for all my hard work in creating the "popcorn", I did in fact take a centerpiece for keepsake before ducking out early.
~SATURDAY NITE DANCE~
STEPPIN IN THE NAME OF LOVE
After setting up the picnic, and of course grabbing some of that delicious smelling BBQ- I ducked out so that I could make my final stop to pick up 30 plus balloons, and head back to the hotel to set up for the party. Once again, my mind went to a far off place for centerpieces. Of course, I'm always thinking about the theme and the purpose of the event. I decided to take some of the best Chicago Landmarks and put them on display. Since everyone was from out of town, I thought it would be only befitting to educate them on some of Chicago's greatest spots.
I had to combine the theme of the evening as well.....Soooooo, I decided to make each table a "landmark" by creating "building" as the centerpieces. Some were sitting at Navy Pier, The United Center, Sears Tower, etc... On two sides of each building, I placed a brief history of each landmark. Coming out of the buildings, there were pictures of each landmark, and heart-shaped balloons-which of course tied it all in with the theme of the reunion. You can click on and magnify to see close ups of each of the photos.
The evening was a success. I wasn't sure I'd be able to get all of the centerpieces put together in time, but one of the family members offered to help me with the set up since she was going back to the hotel at the same time. All the centerpieces were put together and the tables were set, with a little time to spare. The only thing that I didn't get to do, was place the awesome "building" shaped confetti around the table(hotel rules) :( ... but that's ok- it still turned out great! ...and yes, I took one of those centerpieces for keepsake as well!
FINAL WORDS........
They say that you're always your own worst critic, so I wasn't sure if everyone truly loved the work that I did. I think you can always see where you could have done better, or done something differently, but forget that you're the only one that can see it:) However, my concerns were at ease when many of the family members commented on how much they loved the creativity and decor. This was the first Family Reunion that I've done. It was a lot of work, and I was exhausted by the end of the reunion weekend, but it was rewarding to see an event that I'd done for the first time, turn out pretty nice:) Until my next post.......
They say that you're always your own worst critic, so I wasn't sure if everyone truly loved the work that I did. I think you can always see where you could have done better, or done something differently, but forget that you're the only one that can see it:) However, my concerns were at ease when many of the family members commented on how much they loved the creativity and decor. This was the first Family Reunion that I've done. It was a lot of work, and I was exhausted by the end of the reunion weekend, but it was rewarding to see an event that I'd done for the first time, turn out pretty nice:) Until my next post.......
As promised--A DARLING BABY GIRL........Babies are always fun to create for, especially little girls:):) I had to put a keepsake box together really quickly for baby Ava. This is one of my simpler designs, but I think it still came out pretty nice. I didn't know much about the couple, so I took my inspiration from the fabric that I used for the box itself.
The side view of the bibs...had fun making those.
This is the inside of the box top
The inside of the box
A closer look at the inside
Stay tuned, as I will soon be posting sneak previews of my Family Reunion project, as well as more babies...and even WEDDING BELLS!.....My project plate is full, but please be patient! Until my next post....
Gotta take a second to thank Zoe from ChicSassyDesigns! She gave me exactly what I was looking for. Zoe was extremely professional and prompt with revamping my previous sad, sad, blog:) She listened to everything that I was wanting in terms of design. I was really hoping for a complete representation of myself and my creativity, and I must say that she nailed it!!! So..........
THANK YOU ZOE!!
Please check out her blogspot. She does AMAZING work!
http://www.chicsassydesigns.blogspot.com/
My next post will be coming soon.....
I was given the task of completing a family tree drawng for my friend/coworker. It's to be a birthday present for her father. When she gave me the drawing, it was on a piece of white fabric and only had the trunk and branches of the tree drawn, with the names written on each branch. It was in pencil, and it was my job to paint the tree, and give it some life. Sooo, I tried to imagine what the end result of the tree should look like, and since it was a Family tree, I knew that it had to bloom with life! My favorite tree is the Magnolia, with it's beautiful, full blooming flowers. I'm an "earth tone" kind of girl, so mixing the paints to get the different shades of orange was quite fun. Magnolias bloom mainly in the South, so if you ever get the opportunity to see them, you'll know instantly!
Now, I'm not an artist by any means, but I don't do too bad free hand. So, I decided to extend the branches and draw in my "version" of magnolias freehand. She gave me total cart blanche, so it was easy for me to create. The only difficult part was using a spot brush to outline everything, paint the names, paint around the names in a different color, and then fill in the various areas of color where the regular brush wouldn't fit. I don't smoke, but a cigarette may have been useful after that tedious task! Nonetheless, I love the details, so it didn't bother me to sit and go over each area with the spot brush. When I was done, I had it framed for her. My only concern was if she'd like the finished product since she did give me free reign......... Well, she did! I was happy to know she loved it and was glad for the challenge. So, thank you Dana, for the challenge, and for your patience!!!
I think it came out pretty decent. What do you think? Well, until my next post......
I got a breathe of fresh air this evening while chatting with Dyani of Sweet Marvels (http://www.sweetmarvels.blogspot.com/). It's amazing how your "second wind" comes from the most unexpected people, places, or things; and I'm alright with that! So, as I'm getting back into the swing of things, I will be updating my posts as I complete each new project. I'm signing off. Until my next post.......
I was online tonight, searching for different blog templates because I'm not completely happy with mine. Me and my BFF have a few ventures in the works, so I was searching for some stuff for us too, when I ran across a blog called www.fortyisthenew20.blogspot.com . LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT! Now, I've been searching for some time, trying to find a template that fits me and all my creative efforts, but to no avail. So, since I fell for this blog I discovered, I decided to contact the blog author to ask her about her design. Her name is Phyllis Bourne and I sent her a message via FB. I introduced myself and hoped that I would hear back. I didn't know if she created it herself or if she'd come across a template goldmine that I hadn't yet discovered. I didn't expect to hear back from her anytime soon, and if I did, I didn't know if she'd be willing to share information with me. Well, slap me silly because Phyllis responded right back to me and provided me with the creator of her blog that she highly recommends. I hate to say it, but I was truly shocked. I guess because society is so "It's all about me" these days, that I just expected that "maybe" I'd hear back, and maybe not. Well, I guess "society" showed me. Phyllis's blog is full of great stuff--all things beauty and more. Aaaannnnd, she's an author, so please check her out.
Oh, and for that great blog creator that Phyllis recommended, check out www.chicsassydesigns.blogspot.com
Ok, I have to get up in a few hours to go to work, so I'm signing off... until my next post.
I'm sure everyone is busy getting ready for a New Year's Eve party. Just a reminder to please be safe so that you and everyone around you can have a great 2010! So, as promised, here are two more of my projects-one for my sister and one for my darling niece! My sister is a fabulous stylist and my niece is...well.... a princess:):) My baby sis was super geeked when she opened this box for Christmas. Now, you must understand that she doesn't get excited about much, so when it does happen, it's sorta like a big deal! I do believe that this box is my absolute favorite. It was the most difficult to make because I literally made everything by hand, but it was the most rewarding. I'm still thinking on that one though because it's a toss up between this one and my mom's keepsake.
Except for the round mirror piece, I handmade each styling tool. Burned my finger tips off a few times, but it turned out great. With a little imagination, you can make just about anything. The most grueling was the tiny appointment book.. Yes, I cut out all the little pages to fit inside... Since my sister is such a fabulous stylist, I thought that red hot feathers shooting out of the end of the dryer was the perfect touch!
I have a pretty good camera, but I guess I'm going to have to upgrade so that you will be able to see the extensive details, but if you click on each photo, you can see it pretty good. The last pic is the inside of the cover. I used a photo of me and her on the inside..you know, the sentimental touch...
And for my little Princess.... She is truely America's Next Top Model when she's not wearing the princess tiara. Her favorite color is pink and since she is ooohhh sooo into fashion, it was quite easy to make a keepsake for her. I made the purse out of fabric scraps and just stuffed it with paper to help keep the shape. I then embellished it with rhinestones, bows, chains, and a pocket on the back side. She loved her box and she uses it! I'm the best Auntie E-V-E-R!!!
I hope you enjoyed these creations! As promised, please check back,as I will be posting more of my different prjects!
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