A Construction Birthday Par-tay!

Here are some photos from today's birthday party :) I can't take the credit.... pinterest was a great source of inspiration!

The mason jars were free; I had one and was given three others. The fabric I used on them was from my stash, and I created the tags on my computer. We already had the large dump truck for the chex mix and the figurines on top of the cake.









"Thank you for cone-ing to my party" ... I thought of that one all by myself :) No pinterest needed!

Thrifting a Third Birthday

I cannot believe Joel is almost three. Wow, how time flies. He has turned into this little person with his own wants and likes and dislikes! One of the things he really likes is construction equipment. (I have an old thrifted "Bob the Builder" VHS tape that he loves to watch for hours on end on occasion because of course we don't let him watch that much tv. Oh okay, you got me).

I was actually going to go with a John Deere party because that's his other love, but I hit the thrifting jackpot with construction party stuff, so construction it is. I found 50c construction cups, bulldozer thank you notes, and 90c Bob the Builder favor bags all still new in the package... I already had yellow streamers and napkins leftover from last year's Curious George party... coupled with some awesome cakes I saw on pinterest, I can do this!

I'm trying to decide what to do as favors. I like the idea of yellow/black M&M cookie mixes in a mason jar, but black M&Ms are super expensive since they're not one of the normal colors. Can you think of anything to substitue that would be black, or do you think the brown ones would be okay to use? I also like the idea of these little frames, painted yellow and black:

Source: kellehampton.com via Jodie on Pinterest

Source: parenting.com via Jodie on Pinterest

Source: fredellicious.blogspot.com via Jodie on Pinterest

I love me some bokeh

Merry Belated Christmas! Ever since my maternity leave ended and I went back to work in the beginning of December, things have been a blur. I had some free time today while the toddler is still asleep, and the infant is napping in my arms, so I thought I'd share a few holiday photos with you.

I got myself a new lens for Christmas. If you have an SLR camera, and you love the blurriness of these photos, I would highly recommend getting a 50mm lens.














My brother and his wife with my kids :)

Awesome Things to Hang on the Wall, Part Deux

When I saw these online, I knew I wanted to make one for my hubby's birthday. I had the perfect square frame (thrifted of course, and painted white), scrapbook paper for the background, a fiskars heart thingamabobbie, and tons of old maps that we don't use anymore thanks to GPS.

Here was my inspiration for this project:

Source: google.com via Jodie on Pinterest

I love how mine turned out :)

Awesome Things to Hang on the Wall

I love this. I made three, one for my hubby for Valentine's Day, one for my sister-in-law for her birthday, and one for my friend for Christmas! I used Bighugelabs.com to make the mosaic, and this Flickr group for the photos (Totally awesome!) I wanted mine to be in black and white; that's an easy fix using pretty much any photo software. I use Digital Image Pro 9. Now all I have to do is find some square thrift store frames, paint them white or black, and voila :) Yesterday I actually did find a small silver square frame (opening is 5x5) while out thrifting, still new in the box and bubble wrap, for only 90c. Score!

Of course, I can't take credit for this idea. I saw it on pinterest, of course! Here are the ones I found on pinterest for your viewing pleasure:

Source: shanty-2-chic.com via Jodie on Pinterest

Source: bystephanielynn.com via Jodie on Pinterest

And here are two more that I made.

Thrifted Candlesticks on the Mantel

I'm addicted to pinterest, people. It's like inspiration central on that website. When I decided to decorate my mantel for the holidays, pinterest is the first place I visited for ideas. (Actually it was the only place I visited)! This one from Pottery Barn is one of my favs. I love all the candlesticks of varied heights.

Source: potterybarn.com via Jodie on Pinterest

Meat and Potato Cupcakes

When I saw these TV dinner cupcakes all over the internet, I knew those would make good Thanksgiving/Birthday cupcakes for my hubby :)

Here's my version:


Instead of cornflakes, I used graham cracker crumbs, and instead of using a donut hole to make the turkey leg larger, I used an Oreo. I like how they turned out :)

In case you're really interested in my beastly cake-decorating skills, I'll leave you with pictures of from my husband's 30th birthday (2009). Can you guess what the green part of the pumpkin is? I'll give you a hint. It rhymes with mice dream phone :)