The Bebe Shower: Decor

My baby shower budget was very small, these days we are stretching our dollars super thin. Despite that fact, I tried to make it cute and simple. One thing I did learn with throwing this shower is take some PTO at work and take the week OFF. Due to the fact I was trying to balance work and the shower, some of my decor, (the pom poms I wanted to make, the lanterns I was going to spray paint, etc.) did not get made. I still think it turned out cute though. I spent a grand total of about $20 out of my pocket on this shower. The only things I had to buy was some scrapbook paper, chocolate, and some food. I have a great family who helped make/buy food, I am so lucky! Everything else I had on hand.

First, I made this necktie banner. Remember how I hung my Christmas cards? Same idea here with the twine and clothes pins, which I already had on hand. I used my Christmas present from my hubby (the Silhouette) and can I just say, that little machine is AWESOME. Saved me so much time cutting everything for me!
I have a bunch of the TOLSBY frames from IKEA. I picked them up a couple months ago, they are darling and only $.99!! I love how you can use them front and back too! I put a picture of the parents to be, an ultrasound photo, then used some scrapbook paper to jazz them up. I also decided with the "little man" theme to do mustaches on a stick. I have seen these a bunch of places, my cute friend Cierra did an awesome photo shoot with some, and I thought they would be so fun. I was RIGHT! Everyone loved them! I downloaded a mustache template from Lisa Welge's blog; I debated whether to do them in felt I had, but then I thought, "I can either hand cut them out of felt, or the machine can cut them for me out of paper." I don't have to tell you which choice won. I just used my trusty glue stick to glue them onto skewers.
When I decided to do the "little man" theme, all I had for ideas was my sucker mold. I perused the internet a bit and came across this CUTE idea for necktie napkins over at the Smitty Baby blog. So easy to make, just use napkins I already have, cut the ties out of scrapbook paper, and use a glue stick to adhere them. Easy, cheap, and FUN!

Don't the mustaches and neckties look great together?

I used the diaper cake to as a decoration at the end of the table, overall I think the decor turned out cute, what do you think?
I can't wait to share the rest of the details with you!

One Dollar Wednesday... subway art

Right now I'm up to my eyeballs in laundry and homework, so this is gonna be a quick one. Don't you just love all the cute subway style art that's popping up everywhere? I love that so many websites are offering free downloads, it's great. Great if you download and print one with a white background; not so great to download and print one with a red background. That's a TON of red ink, and let's face it, ink is not cheap. Being the penny pincher that I am, I decided to come up with a Dollar Store version.


I found this cute Valentine gift bag and black picture frame at the Dollar Tree.



I cut my gift bag apart, and then laid my glass on top and traced all the way around.



I cut it out and put my frame back together... Viola!

The Bebe Shower!

This weekend was so fun!! Lots of family time, lots of good food, and LOTS of fun! My sister in laws baby shower turned out great and we all really enjoyed ourselves! If you remember I went with a "little man" theme, and I think it was well received. Here are a few pictures of the event, starting off with the guest of honor sporting her sweet stache'....



There were a couple things done at my baby showers that I decided to implement in all baby showers I participate in going forward.

First, if you are the hostess, designate someone ELSE to take photos of the event. That way you can focus on your duties and photos still get taken care of. If you try to do both (unless you are a great photographer, I know a few of you who would do amazing) you will forget to get some photos and/or be super stressed. My cousin took my camera at my shower and took a bunch of photos for me, it was so nice, I got to sit back and relax, yet have tons of photos from the event. My niece (who is 21, I wasn't depending on an 8 year old) was so gracious to be my photographer at this shower, which is good cause you have seen my horrible photography skills. Once you have someone else take the photos, burn them onto a CD as a gift for the mom to be.

Second, as the guests are arriving designate someone to greet them and hand each an envelope and a pen. Have each guest write their address on the front of the envelope, and give thank you cards as a gift. Then when the mom to be does her thank you cards, the tedious task of addressing envelopes is done for her, she can just stamp and go.

I will be posting all the shower details (decor, menu, games, etc.) throughout this week and next, I have lots of fun photos to share!

Valentine BOOK PAGE Wreath

I have been LOVING all the pretty Valentine wreaths I have seen in Blogland. I decided I'd make one with things from the Dollar Store, of course, and stuff that I had around my home.

This cute hanging heart was my inspiration...



I have three of these picture backers, that I've been hanging onto, but I could have used a box from the recycle bin for the same effect.



I measured and cut, so I had a cardboard "frame".



I got this little thesaurus from the dollar store, my sister would flip if I used a "real" book. :)



I covered my frame with book pages, and then cut out GOBS & GOBS of little squares.



Then I rounded them a bit.



I think everyone, that attended elementary school, made a green crepe paper Christmas wreath in this same fashion.





Three hours later, I was finished. THREE HOURS! Granted, I was dealing with four children in the interim, but this truly is a tedious craft.



I cut my hanging heart in half, and glued it to some pretty scrap-book paper. (I used my low heat glue gun)




Added a pretty ribbon, and I was finished!

Easy Super Bowl Appetizer

This week has been CRAZY!! I am running in circles trying to get everything ready for the baby shower on Friday. I can't wait, I think it is going to be tons of fun. I am eagerly awaiting the weekend with the shower Friday, a baptism Saturday, and Super Bowl Sunday! I love the Super Bowl, I grew up in a sports family and have always enjoyed getting together with family for food, football, and fun! Even though my Patriots didn't make it this year, I still enjoy watching. I thought I would share the recipe for the dip I will be taking to my Super Bowl party. It is SO yummy, but watch out, it is not low fat!! My favorite part is the good ol' Crockpot does most of the work, you do have to have precooked chicken though.

Buffalo Chicken Dip

In the Crockpot add:

COOKED chicken, either 4 shredded chicken breasts or canned chicken

TWO- 8 ounce packages of cream cheese

1 Cup ranch or bleu cheese dressing

1/3 Cup shredded cheese

3/4 Cup Franks Original Hot Sauce (Or if you love spicy, do the Buffalo style)

Cook on low heat for 1 to 2 hours stirring occasionally until all ingredients are mixed throughly. Serve with tortilla chips and celery.

ENJOY!

One Dollar Wednesday... Rags to Valentine Pillows

I found some red rags in the Automobile Section of the Dollar Tree the other day. They had a loose weave, kind of burlap-ish, and I thought I'd give them a try. There are so many cute projects done with burlap and I thought "red burlap" would be perfect for a Valentine craft.





I made a "prep" surface~ a book covered with wax paper.





I have had these foam stamps for ages. I just brushed them with a little diluted craft paint...



and ended up with LOVE :).



A trip to the sewing machine, and some stuffing borrowed from this pillow that I'm no longer using.



I gave each "pillow" a quick whip stitch to close 'em up.




Now I have a little more Valentine decor to add to my home, and you certainly can't beat it for a buck!

Guest Post Tuesday Featuring: Liv of Liv(e) & Liv's Favs

We are SO excited to have our first guest blogger today, Liv of Liv(e) & Liv's Favs. I will let her introduce herself.....

I'm a self-proclaimed blogaholic, so I'm happy to be posting here today! Before I share my project with you, allow me to share a little about myself.
My husband Kev and I live in a Pink House with our two girls- our dog Maddie and our daughter Aspen. I blog over at Liv(e) and Liv's Favs because, y'know, I'm addicted to blogging. I worked in real estate before Aspen was born, and now I spend most of my days with her when I'm not teaching Yoga or Pilates.
I also run an Etsy shop, Liv(e) and Love, where you can find my hand-crafted jewelry, custom-made picture frames, and sometimes an amazing vintage piece.
I met the ladies of A lil bird... through the blogging world. SueAnn and I have since met in person so our babies can smooch on each other (we actually have friends in common as well, so that makes it easy to get together in real life).
Today I'm sharing a little project I did on a Saturday afternoon while Aspen shoved toys in her mouth for an hour. I used a $1 wooden frame from a craft store and covered it with ancient (seriously, from Kev's grandpa's basement) contact paper.
The contact paper had gridlines on the back, so it was easy to trace a piece slightly larger than my frame to cut out with a blade.

Once I had my piece sized, I slowly peeled the front from the protective backing and smoothed it out with my cutting board. After the contact paper was stuck onto the front of the frame, I flipped the whole thing over again and cut off the excess paper with my blade.
For extra shine and protection, I coated the front of the contact paper with mod-podge and voila! Done.

I cut this feathered friend out of a birthday card I received a few years ago and thought it was a perfect fit (especially for this website!). Since I already had all these supplies on hand, this project cost me nothing and I didn't even have to leave the house.
Thanks to the ladies of A lil bird told me for letting me visit today!

THANKS so much Liv for the AMAZING project! I am seriously in love with that frame! Be sure to check out Liv's blogs, ESPECIALLY her Etsy shop, I wish I had unlimited funds to buy so many of her cute creations!

Would you like to do a guest post on A lil bird? We would love to have you feature a project, your blog, or anything that strikes your fancy. Email us at alilbird3 (at) gmail (dot) com, we look forward to hearing from you!