Little Birdie Baby Shower

I threw a baby shower for my sister-in-law a couple of years ago and I thought I'd share with you all of the decorative touches.  Her nursery theme is birds, so I went with that for the shower theme.  This was before Pinterest and I always think of how much easier planning would have been if Pinterest was around then!

The sign that hung on the front door was made from a scrap piece of plywood my husband had lying in the garage.  I used Mod Podge to adhere the decorative paper and the birds and flowers, then had hubby drill holes up top where I then secured the ribbon.

This is the food table (minus the food).  The "tablecloth" is actually a sheet that I picked up at a garage sale for probably $0.50 (shhhh, don't tell anyone).  I think it's much prettier (and cheaper and more multi-functional) than a paper or plastic tablecloth.  The pink lantern was a $1 garage sale find as well, and it now serves as a nightlight in the kids' room.  Topiary = garage sale.  Ok, I was on a very tight budget when this was planned.  BUT, just goes to show you that parties can be planned on the cheap, and the cheap can be found at garage sales :)

 Decorative handmade sign that reads "girls are tweet".

Clothesline birds inspired by Pink Peppermint Blogger.  *Love* this idea.  The clothes were ones that my little girl had grown out of.

The books were garage sale finds as well (I'm a big garage sale junkie), on morning of the party actually.  The lady used to work for a publisher and they would send her home with books with her for her kids, so she had all of these books in perfect condition, and they were ridiculously inexpensive -- something like 10 for $1.  I do think that children's books work very nicely as decorations for a kids birthday party or baby shower.  Wondering where to find inexpensive, used children's books? See my post "The Best Places To Buy Used Children's Books".

The tissue paper pompons were inspired by Martha Stewart.   I absolutely love them and hung them in the babies' room after the shower.

Labels for the food.

These great birdhouses were only $1 at Michael's craft store. They were unfinished wood that I then painted.  The ceramic birds were a Michael's find too, and were ridiculously cheap with their weekly 40% off coupon.  The knitted birds were made for my kiddos by my talented sister-in-law.

I got the idea for these adorable birdcage lanterns over at The Bride's Cafe. You can find directions and templates there.

I replaced photos on my fireplace mantel with cute bird art.  Get the downloadable PDFs here, here, and here.

I'm not sure where I got the idea for this "wishing tree" but I really liked it.  Guests could write advice or wishes for the baby on the birds (template here), then place them in the nests (another Michael's find) that I hot-glued to a real tree branch and stuck in a vase with some rocks that I... um, borrowed... from a house down the street.

Custom bird art for the baby.  Love how this turned out.  It actually says "Welcome Baby" and the baby's last name, but I've blurred the last name to protect the innocent :)

The straws were inspired by Martha Stewart.

The food table....yummmm.....
Those yellow-ish crispy things in the corner of the first photo? Those were supposed to be parmesan "nests" for guests to put their salad in. It didn't work out too well for me and ended up being parmesan crisps instead, but it's a totally cute idea that I'm sure would have worked if I didn't have two 7-month olds demanding my attention instead.

Love this custom bird art. Currently hangs in kiddos' room. I admire it every time I see it and it's probably my favorite piece from the shower.  Thinking of selling some in my etsy store... when I get an etsy store.

Best thing ever to put on a baby shower cake, thought up by my co-planner. 

Amazing cake. So yummy. If you're in the Denver area and need a cake, get it from Daniel's of Paris.

I'm not much into party favors but did one anyway.  Made puppy chow and put it in bags, because... who doesn't love puppy chow?!  Sign idea from Pink Peppermint Blogger.

Photos: A Musing Mamma

Mother's Day Spring Bouquet

I am so excited to share this adorable kiddie craft. I mean how absolutely cute is this?!  My nephew made one for my mom last year for Mother's Day and I knew I had to make one for the moms this year.  My kids had so much fun doing this and it turned out great.

Materials:

colored card stock 

green pipe cleaners

tape + scissors

vase

paint + brushes

Trace the kiddos' hands on the paper. The amount of tracings you need depends on how many "flowers" you want.  We used 6 (three per kid). We used colored card stock, but construction paper or even regular white paper that the kids have painted or colored would work too.  Don't mind the blue staining on my kids' actual hands... they just ate blueberries.

Cut out the hands. At this point the kiddies could also embellish the hands with glitter, paint, crayons, markers, etc.

Tape one pipe cleaner to the bottom of each hand.  If you don't have pipe cleaners, wooden grilling skewers will work too (you could leave them as is or paint them green if you want to make them look more like stems.)
*My little girl was so cute in this picture, she saw that I was taking a photo and wanted to have her hand in it too.)

Gently fold the outside of the hands inward toward the middle and tape closed.  I suppose you could use glue instead if you don't like having the tape show, but it wasn't a big deal to me.  Do this for all of your "flowers".

Paint the vase.

Ta-da!  A beautiful spring bouquet.  A perfect gift for a well-deserving mamma
for Mother's Day!

Photos: A Musing Mamma

Homemade Thank You Cards

This is one of my favorite ways to do thank you cards for folks that have given the kids gifts.  It works for other cards as well, obviously.  We all have our kids' art lying around, so why not make it functional?  It's a very inexpensive and personal way to make cards.

Have your kiddos paint or draw on a blank piece of paper.  They could use stickers, stamps, glitter, or other crafty stuff.  My kids just stick to coloring and painting for now.

works of art in progress

Fold the paper into a card.  Stamp or write "Thank You" on the front.

Alternatively, you could cut out a portion of the paper and glue it to some card stock.  Michael's has inexpensive card stock and many different sizes of blank envelopes.  I usually have my kids decorative the envelopes too.

 And that's it!

Photos: A Musing Mamma

Photo Frame Jewelry Holder

I've seen this project many times on Pinterest.  I'm not sure who the original creator of this idea is, but I love it.  I don't like putting all of my jewelry in a box, where I have to dig through piles of tangles necklaces and bracelets to find anything.  I don't wear jewelry that much, so I like it out where I can see it, then I'm more likely to put it on.  It's so pretty when it's displayed, don't ya think? It's like a piece of functional art, and what's not to love about that?

I wanted to display all my jewelry (I don't wear it often so I don't have that much) and that includes earrings.  The projects I saw on Pinterest didn't have anywhere to put stud earrings, so I created one.  I added the ribbon across the top to push the earring through.  It is only slightly a pain to try to put them on the ribbon without knocking anything else off, but for a person such as myself who uses it so rarely, it works.  Perhaps if you need to access the studs everyday, a different option would be a better fit.

Materials:

photo frame without glass (The size is up to you and depends on how much jewelry you want it to hold. Mine is about 17''x14'' or so.)

paint (if you choose to paint your frame)

chicken wire (You can get this really cheap at the hardware store.)

hooks (I think I got mine at Target or the hardware store.  Once again, really cheap.)

ribbon

staple gun

wire snips

drill

Take the glass out of your frame. Paint your frame if you desire. I picked up mine for free at a garage sale without the glass and already painted, so it was perfect. I didn't paint the hooks on this one, but I made one for a friend's daughter and painted them the same color as the frame.  I think both look nice.  It's up to you.

Measure the bottom of your frame and then divide it by how many hooks you want to use.  Mine measures 14'' and I used 6 hooks, so put them every 2'' or so.  Use a ruler and a pencil to mark where you want the hooks to go. 

Using a drill with a small bit, drill holes where you want your hooks to go (I had my hubby do this part).  The holes will help the hooks go in much more easily, otherwise it's near impossible to screw them in. 

Using wire snips, cut your chicken wire just slightly larger than the frame opening.  Staple the chicken wire to the back of the frame in a few places.

Next, cut your ribbon slightly larger than the frame opening and staple that to the back of the frame as well.

Leave as is or adorn with a lovely flower, as I did.  Hang it on the wall, unload your jewelry, and admire your piece of functional art!

Photos: A Musing Mamma

Busy Jars

I made these little "busy jars" for the little ones for a road trip last year, and I still bring them out every now and again to keep them entertained (for as long as a two-year old's attention can be held!).  They are ridiculously easy and can be made with items you already have lying around the house.

Just add dry rice (or beans, lentils, cereal, oatmeal) to a plastic jar (peanut butter jars or something similar work well).  Fill the jar about halfway to three-quarters of the way full, then add various small household items or toys.  TIGHTLY screw on the lid (or use duct tape around the lid to secure).  Shake and enjoy! I will usually ask my kids to name what they see, or ask them to find certain objects that I know are in there.

Some ideas of items to include:
paperclip
pen cap
screw or nail
penny, nickel, dime, quarter
rubberband
thumbtack
bottle cap
small battery
crayon
dice
a straw (cut a section off)
puzzle piece
items from Mr. Potato Head (eyes, nose, ear, etc.)
shoes from a Barbie doll
any little toy item will work!

Photo: A Musing Mamma

Breakfast Sausage Casserole

I *love* brunch. My family usually hosts brunches for Easter, Mother's & Father's Day, Christmas, or just because. Among the many delicious food items to devour there is usually this scrumptious breakfast sausage casserole.  I can't believe that a recipe as simple as this could produce the flavor that it does.  I think it comes from the sausage, but everything comes together really nicely.  This is a great dish to make the night before and cook the next morning.

This is an asparagus-potato casserole, which is similar and as equally delicious.

Breakfast Sausage Casserole
Serves 6-9

1 1/2 lbs bulk breakfast sausage
9 eggs, lightly beaten
3 C milk
1 1/2 C grated cheese (we use cheddar but anything similar will do)
1 1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt
3 bread slices, cubed

Brown sausage and drain. Mix with remaining ingredients in a large bowl.  Cover and refrigerate overnight (if making the night before).  Pour into a lightly greased 9''x13'' pan and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, or until eggs are set.

Photo: A Musing Mamma