Easy DIY Party Centerpieces

The next project for Little Miss's upcoming birthday party: Come up with centerpieces!

I ordered princess tiara lollipops, tea pot lollipops, chocolate gold coins, candy bracelets, and small plastic wands from Oriental Trading (I love when they have free shipping codes!). I wanted all of these to go into goodie bags, but then I came up with a new idea - Use them all in the centerpieces! And when the guests start to leave, they can take the candy out of the centerpieces ala candy buffet style. This way I won't end up with centerpieces I may never use again!

Since I had tulle and ribbon left over from making the cupcake stand and goodie bags, I decided to incorporate the remains into the centerpieces.

 
Does anyone else have a cabinet full of vases from flower arrangements over the years? Well I have one very full cupboard and decided to use a few of these vases for the centerpieces. I used craft glue to attach ribbon around the vases to give them all a unifying look.

Small round vase filled with tulle and chocolate gold coins

Princess Tiara lollipops in a medium yellow vase, first stuffed with grocery bags then topped off with the tulle.

Tea Pot lollipops in another small vase

Another small round vase, filled with candy bracelets

 
The taller vases I first stuffed with plastic grocery bags then topped them with tulle before adding in the wands or candy.

I made sure to buy plenty of candy to ensure if the kids grabbed a few before it was time to stuff their goody bags, there would be enough left at the end!
 
    
 
 

Are We There Yet?

Though we are *thisclose* to having Hubs home, we aren't quite finished with this deployment yet. I feel like a kid stuck on a long road trip...

Oh yah, Hubs will once again have pull-in duty so it'll be one more day until we get to see him. I was quite upset at first because he had pull-in duty last deployment. But I decided I wasn't going to let this get me down because ultimately months from now it won't matter, so why should I let it ruin my homecoming? We will just have a more private homecoming the day after the ship pulls in, Hubs has agreed to wear his uniform so we can get pictures too. He will be home and that is all that matters in the end. After all, this is the military life and you really can't plan for anything!

I did something I swore I wasn't going to do: Homecoming Cleaning. For those of you unfamiliar, it is alot like the nesting that near-term preggo mommas go through. Last year, I ended up touch-up painting throughout the house. I also spent a whole night scrubbing the grout in my kitchen with a toothbrush and bleach. I told myself that I wouldn't do any extreme cleaning because it is pointless, Hubs doesn't notice! Well I managed to spend 6 hours cleaning my house. I even scrubbed all the cabinets and the walls in my kitchen. Who does that? But honestly for whatever reason there was food splatter on my kitchen walls. I didn't realize I was that messy of a cook. I would blame Hubs but it would be impossible for him to make such a mess because he doesn't do any of the cooking. HA!

My Homecoming outfit is hanging outside of my closet taunting me. The Homecoming sign is in on it too. There aren't very many chocolate kisses left in the jar from Daddy, now I can't sneak them for myself when Little Miss isn't looking. Here's to hoping the remaining time goes by quickly before I loose my mind or run out of chocolate... 


 

Read My Lips...

When it comes to my makeup, I feel fairly confident when I try out new things except for one: lipstick. Meaning I know what works and what doesn't work but lipstick is a mystery to me. 

I've tried quite a few and I haven't found "the one". I have a tendency to bite my bottom lip and constantly wet my lips. Therefore, lipsticks just don't stay put. I've tried the kinds that are supposed to last all day, they just make my lips feel dry, so I lick my lips more, then I end up with no lipstick on the center of my mouth only the outside edges remain. Not a very attractive look. Most of the time, I just throw on lipgloss and call it a day. I carry a few different ones in my purse...

Philosophy Kiss Me Lip Balm - Red

Don't let the color worry you, it adds just a touch of color. Plus it has spf 20 and it have a nice minty scent! It isn't sticky and feels very conditioning on my lips. 

C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve

My sister turned me onto this product. Not only is it an great lip balm, you can use it on your skin and cuticles. Its nice that this salve is so versatile, especially in the winter when my skin gets flaky I can use it to spot touch-up those dry spots on my face. I also have this in Lavender. I only have two minor gripes, it has almost no staying power on my lips (lasts a long time on skin) and it adds no color at all.

After reading quite a few beauty blogs, I ventured out to WalMart and Sally's Beauty Supply in hopes of finding a new lipstick. I am just tired of the rest of my face looking so well put together and then having nothing on my lips. It just looks like an unfinished canvas to me.

I am happy to announce I have *finally* found lipstick that I will actually wear and I just had to share!

Palladio Herbal Lipstick in Brownie

This stuff has some staying power and doesn't feel dry! I only had to reapply after eating. 

Its my go-to for occasions I want a colored lip for. Just enough color but not overpowering. Only downside is it tastes and smells like oily lipstick or something I can't quite figure it out. I now add this gloss on top of it...

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss in Peach Petal

Very glossy, not thick or sticky, and moisturizing! Doesn't add much color when I wear it alone but on top of my Palladio lipstick, amazing.

Much better for everyday wear. I hate taking pictures of myself, by the way. Awkward...

My final favorite lip product:

Loreal Colour Riche Balm in Nourishing Nude

The perfect nude color for me. Just enough color to wear on days when I barely have any makeup on. It is very moisturizing, but it doesn't last very long as it is a balm so its not very thick. But I don't mind reapplying!

What makes these even better? I found all of these at drugstore prices. It makes it easier to try out new products when I'm not blowing money only to end up hating it.

DIY Cupcake Stand

The first item on my DIY list for Little Miss's 3rd birthday party was a cupcake stand. Last year, we bought one of those cheap cardboard cupcake stands that matched all of the Elmo supplies we bought at the party store. Considering the price, it really was a piece of crap. It barely held all the cupcakes and it was flimsy. When I decided to serve cupcakes again this year, I decided I was going to make my own cupcake stand.

I wanted to make a cupcake stand that I would be able to re-use and personalize for whatever occasion needed. Since we are going with a "Royal Tea Party" theme for the birthday party, I decorated the cupcake stand accordingly.

Its perfect for a little princess's birthday tea party!

I bought all of supplies at Michael's: 

Wilton Round Silver Cake Base 10in., 2 pack
Wilton Round Silver Cake Base 12in., 2 pack
Ribbon, 1in. wide
Tulle Fabric Bolt
3 Flower pots, 2.5 in.
4 Plastic Solo cups
Silver metallic spray-paint
Hot glue


First I spray painted the 3 flower pots and 4 plastic cups with the silver metallic spray-paint.

Next I simply glued the ribbon to the edge of the cake bases, except on the bottom base I glued the tulle down first then topped off with a ribbon. For the tulle, I glued then gathered, glued then gathered. Be prepared for hot glue on your fingers! The key is to allow a few moments for the glue to set before moving onto the next set of gathers. Otherwise you end up with hot glue & tulle all over in the wrong places.

For each base, I measured to find the exact center. Then I used hot glue to attach the flower pots to the bases. 

After waiting for all the glue to set, I glued the bottom base onto the 4 plastic cups.

Pretty simple, huh?

The only thing that I was unappeased about was how the hot glue did not dry clear on the flower pots, it looks yellowish to me. But I know once all of the cupcakes are on the tiers no one will be able to see that minor imperfection :)

You can use a variety of things to space the tiers instead of flowers pots. I almost used plain, wooden candle sticks but I wanted something wider. I found cute, plastic containers but they weren't as tall as I wanted. 

I spent a little more money on the cake bases because these are thick, sturdy, and wipe-able. They are also grease resistant and food-safe!

This will be the perfect cupcake stand for the birthday party, my aim is to have cupcakes on the bottom 3 tiers and place a small cake on the top tier!
 
 

A few of my NEW favorite things!

I am always willing to try out new makeup and hair products that have rave reviews. I recently added two more "must haves" to my beauty routine and I had to share!

Dry shampoo has to be one of my favorite hair products. I have thin hair and I hate to wash it every day because I color it so the ends get dry, the color fades, all sorts of problems obviously. I have been using Tresemme Fresh Start Volumizing Dry Shampoo for a while now, but it makes my hair feel gunky and full of product. While wasting time in Target one day, I came across Dove Refresh + Care Invigorating Dry Shampoo and I wanted to try it out.

I will never use another dry shampoo again, this is by far the best one I have ever used! It does a great job of refreshing my hair and taking away the oiliness. I have no problems with styling after using this product, its just like I washed my hair. It feels so light and cool, after spraying it in my hair I could run my fingers through and it didn't feel gunky. The smell is so refreshing! If I didn't love it so much for my hair, I would use this as air freshener in my house.


This summer I purchased a Sun Safety Kit from Sephora. Inside this kit were about 15 different deluxe, sample sized products. One of them was Dr. Jart+ Premium Beauty Balm SPF 45. I have been seeing commercials for BB creams and had no clue what they were, so I was excited to finally sample a BB cream to see what all the hype was about. 

What is a BB cream? Essentially it is makeup and skincare in one cream. Its really big over in Asia and from what I've read that is where "true" BB creams come from. Its not quite tinted moisturizer, full coverage makeup, or a treatment serum. Rather its a combination of all of the above! 

Dr. Jart's Premium BB makeup features "A moisturizer, sunscreen, and treatment serum, this all-in-one product also includes advanced brightening properties...natural looking coverage minimizes the appearance of imperfections and evens the skintone. Antioxidant bio-peptides and adenosine protect skin from harsh environmental factors while restoring firmness and elasticity."

I absolutely LOVE this BB cream! Its definitely a medium coverage and it applies so smoothly. After wearing it all day, it doesn't settle into my pores or fine lines (eek!). It provides a fantastic, even coverage and easily disguises my uneven skin tone. Another plus, my face doesn't feel gross or oily after wearing this all day. When I wash it off, my face doesn't feel dry or suffocated from wearing it all day. I also love that a little bit goes a long way with this product. What is even better, this BB cream only comes in one color! I was afraid of this at first because I am so pale, most of the time that "one shade fits all" ends up being too orange and dark on me. This was not the case with Dr. Jart's BB cream, this shade blended perfectly into my skin.

Some things are just too good to keep to myself, I just had to share these great finds!

DIY Explorer Backpack Tutorial

Saying my daughter loves Dora the Explorer is the understatement of the century. I have been searching for months for the perfect Dora Backpack and have come up with nothing. I found a few tutorials, but none of them were the right one. So I decided I should make one!

Turned out pretty cute!

I kind of winged it, meaning I didn't have a pattern and I just figured it out as I went along. I bought a couple yards of no-pill fleece in the perfect purple color and went to work.

First thing, I had to cut up the fleece. I needed to make the shape for the backpack, so I got creative and used one of my big dinner plates to trace the outline. After cutting out a front & back piece to the backback, I had to cut out a strip to connect the two pieces (I took measuring tape and measured the perimeter of the front piece). I made it about 4 inches wide. I decided to use a different fabric to line the backpack, so I cut out the previous 3 pieces again but on the lining fabric. Next, I needed to make straps. So I cut 2 pieces of fabric wide enough to fold each in half to make a strap. I needed to make a flap for the backpack, so I used my handy dandy dinner plate again.

First, I made the straps because this is the most annoying part. I folded the strap parts in half then sewed a 1/4 inch hem. This is the part I hate: turning the straps right-side out. Check out this easy video to help: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pn3YY4KYD9E

After turning the straps right-side out, I did a 1/4 inch hem on both sides.

To make the face, I cut out pieces of felt and used my Heat N Bond to adhere them to the backpack. Then I sewed it all down using a zig-zag stitch.

Next I attached the 4 inch wide strip to the right side of the front of the backpack (lets just call this the "smiley" side!).

Next I attached the final piece of the backpack body to the rest of the backpack, right sides facing.

Turn it right side out, then repeat the previous steps with the lining fabric.

Next put the lining fabric inside the fleece backpack. I folded the lining fabric 1/4 inch, then folded it over the fleece portion on the outside.

Before sewing, attach the flap AND the straps underneath the outside fold of the lining fabric.

Setting the flap underneath the outside fold of the lining fabric

Setting the straps underneath the flap AND the outside fold of the lining fabric

Sewing on the outside fold of the lining fabric.

After sewing on the outside fold of the lining fabric, fold this top part down into the backpack. At this point, you should not be able to see the lining fabric from the outside of the backpack. Now sew around the top of the backpack ensuring the lining fabric stays inside and is not peaking out.

For the final part, attach the other end of the strap to the backpack. To make sure the straps were the right length, I used my daughter and had her put on the backpack. After sewing down the straps, I cut off the excess material. 

Now add in an anxious toddler and what do you get...

 

A very happy Dora the Explorer fan :)

This project took about 2 hours with interruptions. It was much easier than I thought it would be. I hope my instructions aren't too confusing, this is my first attempt at making something from scratch using just the ideas in my head. Happy Sewing!




 

Running to the Deployment Finish Line!

Okay, I've had enough. I am DONE with this deployment. Where do I pick up my husband?

Can I swim there?

How about run? I can totally do that...as long as its not any farther than 13.1 miles...crap.

Nothing in particularly bad has happened this week or lately, I am just tired of it all. 

I am tired of solo parenting. I thought having a two year old was bad, but its only getting worse as we approach three. It used to be cute when she told me "No", not so much anymore. I want to be able to take a shower without worrying about what Little Miss is going to get into, Mommy is in the shower time for a makeover! I want to be able to spend time on the laptop without feeling guilty that Little Miss is having to play all by herself, at least if Hubs is home he can keep her entertained while I am starting endlessly at Pinterest. On the up side, I somehow managed to potty train her.

Oops, I just realized I put her to bed without her night time diaper on. Guess I'll be doing MORE laundry tomorrow...

I am tired of changing the cat litter, taking out the garbage, and mowing the lawn. I am ready for the man slave to come home.

I am tired of dealing with it all alone. So much has happened this deployment, its been nearly overwhelming. While Hubs has been there for me as much as he could be, its hard when they are thousands of miles away and in a different time zone. Honestly, I feel like I don't want him to stress out as much as I do so I don't make that big of a deal out of it (to him). How will Hubs being stressed on deployment help out at all? I am just exhausted. No matter how much sleep I get I am just drained by the end of the day. I have alot on my plate and even more on my mind; I am ready to have my husband home to help manage everything. 

I am ready to feel attractive again, to feel sexy. I have been working my ass off and I'm ready to have someone "appreciate it". I could expound on this even more, but I'll keep it classy folks. You all know where this is going...

So from here on out, I am jam-packing my schedule in the hopes that time will fly by even faster. Festivals for the next 3 weekends full of screaming kids? You betcha. Coming up with sewing projects just because? Definitely. Working out both at the gym AND running around the neighborhood? Damn right. 

Who knows, I may get so tired of waiting for Homecoming that I may have to run to get my sailor...better train hard.