good clean fun (favor tutorial)

as promised, i'm back to show you how to make your own personalized hand sanitizer favors/gifts. 

what you need:
hand sanitizer (i found 3-packs at the dollar tree)
your labels (printed on label or sticker paper)
paper cutter/scissors
glassine bag (or tissue paper)
ribbon/twine/yarn/twist tie

gather your gear | cut your labels down to size | peel off the old labels | 
stick on your new labels | wrap 'em up with a pretty bow | and, give 'em away

see how easy that was? now you can go make your own!

sippin' & seein'

since baby brother's "sip and see", i've decided it is THE best way to welcome baby numero 2, 3, or 4. it's so relaxed, sittin' around chatting and cooing over the new baby. no sniffin' snickers diapers and mama gets to enjoy a bevvy (or 4) like everyone else!

so, last weekend, my lovely (and crazy talented) friend priscilla and i threw a welcome partay for our gal pal, carrie, and her little peanut, drew. i dooo love a party! such a great excuse to dust off the champagne glasses and break out my nana's silver. we set the mood by sending sparkly invites, tucked in charcoal envelopes wrapped in my favorite label.

priscilla whipped up some pennants and garlands, i added 'baby drew', and strung them up over the food and drink tables.

speaking of food...we wanted the shindig to feel like 'happy hour', so i whipped up a few finger foods, and priscilla baked the most delicious cupcakies and brownies. and, of course they're labeled!

as for the sippin', we had a

 a signature drink (complete with cheeky name)

and, bottles and bottles of red vino (do you think i went overboard with the personalized labels? nah!)

tags tied to each glass for guest names and jazzed up water

we sent guests off with hand sanitizer, because babies don't love germs! they say "it was good, clean fun!" (tutorial coming next week)

you wanna see the guest of honor, right?! he was pretty content to be passed around from arms to arms and all he did was snooze snooze snooze.

congratulations to rock star mama, carrie. and, thank you to my partner-in-crime priscilla for all her help pulling this off, and for the use of her images.

and, seriously y'all, any happy hour that ends with 5 empty wine bottles must be a success!

the merry-go-round

every new year, i think about writing a resolution/goals/life changes/whathaveyou post. and, every year...i don't. i mean, of course i have goals. duh. and, a ridick list of life changes. ahem. but lettin' the universe in on those goals means i maybe might hafta actually try to attain them. and, that reminds me of  barftastic corporate annual reviews. and, that makes me wanna break out in hives. the thought alone makes me itchy. mo.ving.on.

sorry - i really wanted to work on my digressions and tangents, but alas - it seems they's here to stay. sheesh - what were we talking about?

oh, right. the merry-go-round. things is crazy, y'all. and, that is sucka (how could i delete that typo?!) such a good thing! after a two week holiday break full of snow, baby spoiling and cancelled flights, i'm back, with my runnin' shoes on.

this year promises to be a good one (good riddance, 2011), and here's a sneak peek at what's on tha horizon...

onesie cuteness

celebrating baby over a little bubbly

and, the most exciting news of all - baby sister GOT ENGAGED!!! so, get set for oodles and oodles of fun designs, and a healthy dish of sisterly advice. pshaw - goes in one ear and out tha other with that one - poor child was blessed with three mamas.

i'll also be back with a recap of some super creative holiday cards. i love custom - you guys make this job so fun!

let's finish off this post with a little look see at our new year's shenanigans. we tore middle sissy and the farmer away from the kiddies and had a large time in downtown dallas.

don't be jelly - they're taken. at least they have a sense of humor! and, we love 'em for it!

see ya soon!

a new bird in the nest

i guess it's baby shower week around here! this time it's all about middle sissy's shower my mama and i hosted while we were there. you know, most 2nd, 3rd, 4th children get the shaft when it comes to parties, pictures, clothes, time (especially if they are the same gender as the older sibbies.) so, we wanted to give baby brother a warm welcome, and give friends a chance to come snuggle with mr loveable. in the south, these are called 'sip and sees' and well, sitting around sipping mimosas while snuggling a newborn is my kinda shower!

as all parties must, we started with the invite. i wanted to mix it up and do something fun; not just a standard flat card. so i decided fabric bunting, and went to work finding cute fabric. man, cutting out little triangles is tedious work! but, they turned out so.dang.cute! can't forget matching labels for the envelope.

when i pick a theme, i see that sucker through to the end, so we whipped up fabric buntings for over the food table. thanks for sewing, middle sissy!

we welcomed guests with a glimpse at the guest of honor, and all his stats. (he's a big boy!)

to snack on, we served fruit with to-die-for dip (jar of marshmallow fluff and some cream cheese), quick breads, and yummy artichoke dip, which we labeled with silly names (and more fabric triangle cutting!)

to sip, we had a mimosa bar with a selection of juices, and we whipped up some baby shower punch (vanilla ice cream topped with sprite and oj)

after friends had their fill of the baby, we sent them off with snacks for later. they really were 'so tweet to fly by'!

i can't feature this shower without showing off this cute-as-can-be 'diaper-cycle' my mama put together. is it not sooo cute?? and, soccer bear (once baby sister's!) is ready to ride off into the sunset! i don't think i'll make a plain diaper cake again!

and, for good measure, a shot of the hostesses with mommy and baby of honor! he's doing what he did the entire party - snoozin' away!

i'm glad we were there to help out and host a fun party. and, middle sissy -- no excuses for not entertaining - i found all your party gear!

welcome to the world, baby brother - i miss you so much!