40th Fiesta & Superbowl

Finally, here are a few pictures of my big 40th Fiesta.  I will apologize now for the lack of pictures.  I tried my best to take some decent pictures...but after a few beer margaritas (which are delicious, btw), I couldn't remember where the camera was :)

So here goes..

A little of the decor.  I used the great Fiesta printable collection from paper & cake and Jo Ann of Oh goodie designs sent me a box of fiesta goodies.

I made a few tissue paper flowers that I put in clean frap bottles  

No pictures of actual food..but we had grilled chicken, black beans, cilantro/lime rice & all the fixin's.  I even made some cute salt & pepper shakers using empty beer bottles.

 Notice my festive 3-tiered stand??  It was used to hold 3 levels of chips -  worked perfectly!

Maria of Love & Sugar Kisses did an OUTSTANDING job with the cupcake toppers.  I got so many compliments about them & they were quite tasty too!!

My mom always makes me a chocolate birthday cake.  Awww :)

 I got a pinata..filled it with tattoos, gum and little maracas for the kids.  

I also made sure they had a few extras to keep busy

I couldn't pass up the chance for a "40 Sucks" display 

(made the holder from a yellow box from Costco)

I also wanted everyone to know that I appreciated them celebrating with me.

I made little fortunes that said

"I'm fortunate to share my birthday with you.  

Thank you for making it special"

Cupcake liners from Hey Yo Yo made cute fortune cookies.

And because I really wanted to help raise a little money for a family in need,

I put out a 'tip jar'...

I collected ~$100 :)

We had lots of food left over & lots of beer too..so the party continues :)

It was a great birthday party/Super Bowl party 

(even though, I didn't care who won)!!

I'm hoping 40 is the best yet!!

a whole new decade..

and I started it with these 2 goofballs!  

I {heart} the lizard & ladybug!

Like my new look?

It's finally here!!  My little blog has a BRAND NEW LOOK. 

Michele from Intrigue Design Studio/Crazy for Design worked her genius 

and created my little piece of heaven. 

I'm in love with ALL of it.  

The colors, the graphics, the 'feel' - it's just perfect for me!

As you can see, there are new pages/tabs. 

I will be adding content to each of them gradually.

Notice the 'advertising' tab?? 

If you'd like to advertise you business/blog with me - 

email me (jbandsam@gmail.com)

for rates and details.

I'm offering a 'sweetheart' of a deal for February :)

Thank you to everyone who visits, reads and comments here.  It is still amazing to me that there are people (other than my relatives) who are interested in my 'stuff'. 

I have lots going on this week..

regular mom stuff, Valentine prep, my birthday party prep

& oh yeah, I'm 40!!! 

TODAY!!

I hope you all have a wonderful Monday!

a gift to myself

Some of you may know my birthday is coming up...(in 13 days, to be exact).  

I've been looking around for fun ideas for my 40th Fiesta - here's my Pinterest board. 

I wanted something special to wear, like jewelry.  

I'm not a flashy jewelry person.  I like simple, classic & unique.

  I'm loving hand stamped, washer-style pendants. 

In fact, I made some for Mother's Day a few years ago.* 

While searching online for my own hand stamped cutie, I decided to try making one (again).  

*my first attempt left me frustrated & needing to wash out my mouth with soap.

This time went much better. 

Here's what I started with.

I got my stamp set here.  The washers came from Lowes (~$1.20/3) 

Oh, grab a Sharpie too!

I picked 9/16th size washers because I liked the size 

(and I had lots of letters to add)

 I kind of eyeballed the placement of the letters, that's why they are a little wonky.

After I filled in the letters using the Sharpie..it looked like this

Dampen a paper towel with rubbing alcohol to remove the 'extra' marker 

I plan on trying it again, to see if I can even out the names.  

And to make better impressions of all the letters.  

But you get the idea.  

I'll probably hang it on a simple ribbon 

(maybe with a bead) and give it to myself as a gift :)

Have a great Tuesday!

and don't forget to enter the O.R.E Originals giveaway HERE

planning WAY ahead

I already have a few big deals in the works...

my 40th, the husband's grandfather's 90th and Valentine's Day.  

BUT I had a few discussions with the lizard & ladybug this weekend and they agreed to have a Super Hero Party.  

Now, their birthdays aren't until May but I figured I'd get cracking early :)

I've seen some really really great ideas for Super Hero Parties.  Since it's going to be a combo party..I need to make sure it's not to 'girly' or 'boy-y'

I've even created a Pinterest board to start saving my ideas.  

Here are some of the great ideas I've found:

Maria of Love & Sugar Kisses created these adorable cupcake toppers 

(she's also making some goodies for my 40th Fiesta). 

The ladies of Anders Ruff created this SUPER party.

These adorable capes and masks.

I love the idea of individual capes & masks!  

My thought is to have a pool party & have the capes double as towels.  

Can any of you make these??  

I don't can't sew :)

There you go, this is what I was doing last night.  

Instead of ALL the other things I needed to do, I was searching for Super Hero ideas.

I hope your weekend was a little more productive than mine :)

looking for inspiration..

I have LOTS of other things going on right now..

but that hasn't stopped me from gathering ideas for my big 4-0 coming up in January.

We're planning to have my party the same day as Superbowl Sunday.

a '40th Football Fiesta'. 

I've even created a Fiesta 40th board on Pinterest to save ideas.  

*if you aren't on Pinterest, let me know & I'll send you an invite*

There are a few things I REALLY REALLY want to have...

1. Mexican Food

2. FAB cake/cupcakes

What fun ideas would you include at YOUR party?

Pirates & Polka Dots Party (part 3)

in case you missed part 1 and part 2...

Part 3 is all about the activities and/or entertainment.  

I like to have a few things for the kids to do..crafts, games, etc...  

BUT it's hard to compete with a BIG ARSE PIRATE SHIP!

I did manage to sneak in my polka dotted planks - 

the ladybug and lizard raced - once.  

How cute are their shirts?? 

Thanks to Tanya from FrouFrou Britches!!

I also had Pirate Swords (bubble wands) and a refill station.  

The kids played with them & even refilled a few times.  

These swords also doubled as favors.

We had a Treasure Chest pinata, at the request of the lizard & ladybug.  

I filled it with pencils, stickers, tattoos, coins, beads, gum and lollipops.  

Everyone got a turn to whack at it.  HUGE success!

The big birthday gift was this giant playset built by my dad and uncle.  

Slide and swings arrived in time.  

Everyone was impressed (even the parents) at the set.

I attached a fishing net (from $Tree) on the fence (opposite the pirate flag),

slipped in rolled up treasure maps with pink/red ribbon & a Pirate charm.  

Everyone grabbed one on their way home.  Each map read:

"we hope you had a swashbuckling good time.  

Thank you for joining our Pirates & Polka Dots adventure".

and just in case you thought I wasn't looking out for the 'older' pirates 

- a special 'treasure chest' of drinks :)

So there you have it!!  

My Pirates & Polka Dots Party!!

I'm already working on our next party - 

Pre-K Graduation!!!

Pirates & Polka Dots Party (part 1)

A SWASHBUCKLING time was had by all!!!  

I'll spare you all of the pictures 

(there were lots) 

so welcome to part 1 - decor

super cute glittered goodie from The Purple Pug greeted everyone



along with a pirate flag

(ignore the creases in the flag - mama doesn't iron)

adorable birthday sign created by The Purple Pug



another goodie from The Purple Pug - centerpieces on the picnic table 
notice my last minute holder...
kraft paper box filled with a little 'borrowed' sand from the sandbox



simple polka dotted letters (from Joanns) & their favorite gum


lastly, my coffee filter 'yo ho ho' banner. 





argggghhh
next up...the grub

Yo Ho Ho banner

Here is a banner/garland I made for the party this weekend.  

I have a feeling I'll be using coffee filters a lot more now.  

They ROCK!!!

Happy Hump Day!

"Birthday Seeds"

I found this idea from See Jane Blog 

after it was shared on Facebook by Home Confetti. 

I fell in love.

The idea is so simple.  

Plant your beans/seeds and a GIANT lollipop grows!

  

Even though the original idea was to plant them at Easter, 

I thought they would be perfect for birthdays!!

The ladybug's birthday was this past Saturday.  

Friday night, we planted her 'Birthday Seeds'.  

And this is what grew for her birthday :)

(I found my lollipops at Walgreens for $1 each)

The lizard's birthday is tomorrow..

so we will be planting his 'Birthday Seeds' tonight! 

Have a great Tuesday!

The new playset

The lizard & ladybug's BIG birthday gift is almost complete.  

I saw it yesterday and it looks great!

I basically just told my dad what I was looking for...

and he and my uncle 

(his business partner) 

created this!

(now remember..we still need the slide and 'big kid' swings)

Here's my favorite part.  The deck!  

The whole set is much bigger than I expected and the kids LOVE it!  

Have a great Wednesday!

Thank You Tuesday

Yesterday, I realized I had 800 'likers' on Facebook! 

I couldn't (still can't) believe it.

I just have to say:

THANK YOU!

  

THANK YOU!

  

THANK YOU!

I have lots going on the next 2 weeks.  

The ladybug turns 3 this weekend..the lizard turns 5 next week.  

Their Pirates & Polka Dots party is May 21st!  

I hope to share some peeks of my planning -

which means I need to get crackin' on all my ideas :)

I hope you have a great Tuesday!!!

good clean fun

The lizard and ladybug just found Noodle and Doodle 

(on the Sprout channel).  

We don't actually get the channel from our local cable provider. 

We only get a few of the episodes 'on demand'...but the kids love it.  

Each show there is a craft.  

Their favorite craft has been the 'super duper bubble blower'.  

So that's what I made this past weekend.  

Here's what you'll need.  

Straws

Tape

Bowl (for bubble solution)

*Bubble Solution*

1/2 cup dish soap
4 cups water
2 tablespoons glycerine

Gather your straws and tape them together.  

Mix your bubble solution.  

You can figure out the rest :)

The original craft idea was to add paint to the bubble solution. 

Then blow the bubbles onto paper...making bubble art.  

It's a great idea (and we'll probably do that) but they just wanted bubbles.

I was able to find the liquid glycerine at Wal-Mart by the pharmacy.  

It was ~$3 for a 4oz bottle.  

Great deal considering you use so little of it and it makes great bubbles.

Yesterday, I bought all of my kid friendly bubble 'swords' 

for the Pirates & Polka Dots party. 

I plan on having a 'bubble refill' station 

(thanks to Kim at Party Frosting for directing me to this idea from Come Together Kids)

 

All that glycerine will come in handy!!

Brown Bunny (freebies)

I am digging polka dots.  

So much so, I've finalized the theme for the lizard and ladybug's party in May.

Pirates and Polkadots!!  

After searching in stores and online for polka dot paper that was 'just right', 

I found a great digital set on Etsy.  

Great Graphics is where I got exactly what I wanted!!  

I could not wait to start playing around with the paper..

and I found a great freebie download from My Grafico 

(designed my La.La.Studio).  

Here is what I came up with - 

2 versions of the Brown Bunny

greendots

pinkdots

They are yours for the taking 

(just click on the links under each picture)

..they were designed for 3" punches.  

They would be cute at gift tags, centerpiece lollipops or

hung together as a banner.

Even tied around the neck of a big fat chocolate bunny!

 I think they are adorable, if I do say so myself.  

Polka dots make everything cuter :)

What 'wood' you do?

You may remember, we are in the market for a new playset for the kids.
Well, I have a very handy extremely family.
The husband and my dad came up with something for our backyard
(which is tiny).
It's perfect for us.  Just a slide - with a little platform.

So now my dad (and his business partner, who is my uncle) 

have designed a much larger playset.  

That's the one that will be the big birthday gift for the lizard & ladybug.  

Anyhoo...after the platform was finished, 

there were a few scrap pieces of wood left over.  

I asked my dad to cut them into blocks.  

Now I have a tower (or 12 to be exact) of wood.

Now I just need a project!  What 'wood' you do with them? 

Get it, WOOD - yeah, that's your Monday funny :)

What kinds of things would you do with these little gems?

Monday Monday

So the husband was out of town the last few days.  Not work, all fun!

He had a good t$me and that means I get to go $hopping :)

Anyhoo...yesterday afternoon, I planned a little birthday party for my dad
(his birthday is St. Patrick's Day).
He's not one to like a fuss.  

In fact, he told me not to do anything.  

Well, I'm not a great listener!!

He turned 60 so I needed to make a little fuss!

To keep things SUPER simple, I made rice krispy treats 

(instead of a cake).  

 I found this delicious idea from How Sweet It Is.  

They were so good!

I made this cute centerpiece using - yes - 60 rocks!  

 I made the sign on Word.  

I also made water bottle labels to match.

I picked the colors because they went perfectly 

with Pizzazzerie's freebie Birthday printables.  

I love how it turned out...simple, easy and super affordable!

I hope y'all had a great weekend too!!

Happy Monday!