Too Cute TuTu

My darling niece turned a big whopping year old on Saturday! I could go crazy with "where has the time gone?" and "she's growing up so fast", but I'll spare you the auntie insanity :) Instead, I'll choose to focus on how absolutely adorable she was at her little party!

My sister-in-law asked me a while back to work on an outfit for her to wear. After she chose a pink and brown theme for the party, I went to work creating a onesie and matching tutu for her big day. I'd been wanting to try my hand at a no-sew tutu for a while, after having tried the sew-able versions before. No-sew has to be easier, right? Well, you better believe it was easier! I wish I could say that I came up with this concept on my own, because it's so darn simple, but I must give the credit to the millions of hits on google.com when doing a search for "no sew tutu tuorial". I used this video as a tutorial, but there are tons more available. No, it's not my original idea, but I CAN offer this piece of advice. In the video, the lady suggests that you buy your tulle off the bolt. Well, Wal-Mart (and a variety of other stores) sell tulle by the spool in the wedding section. All you have to do is unroll a portion of the spool at a time and cut little strips. It's SOOO much easier than having to wrangle bolts of tulle.

This is a perfect craft for the upcoming Christmas season or for your birthday girl. And if you're going for a themed party, they're easy enough to make as favors for all the little guests. Your little sweethearts will love them...but don't take my word for it. Let the birthday girl speak for herself :)

(Shameless plug: These onesies are now available over at the improved Whatta Cute Baby! site. Mention Three Simple Girls when you order (through December 31, 2010) and you'll get free shipping on this item!)

-Sarai

How a Birthday Party is Born

So this is yet another reason why I like to come up with birthday party themes far in advance. On my way into the grocery store this morning I noticed a 90% off sale on some summer items.

After digging through the pile I came away with this:
$100 worth of goodies for... $10*!!

I had already decided that my summer babe would have some sort of ice-cream shin dig this coming year because I found the cutest banner and napkins at Michael's on clearance. Add these fun things above... 2 slip and slides, 5 beach balls, 2 kiddy pools, ice-cream shaped sidewalk chalk, beach toys, bubble blowing accessories, etc... and we've got ourselves a "Fun in the Sun" party. Come July we'll make a big tub of homemade ice-cream with toppings, and I think we'll come in at $25 or less! Not to mention, some of the items in that pile are stocking stuffers and Easter basket items.

I do so love myself a good deal.
~Katrina

* At the "Dollar General" for those of you who might also have access to the savings!

A Buggy Table

One of the reasons I choose themes for the girls' parties as far ahead as possible is that I can collect little treasures along the way... affordable, little treasures at that. M's "Buggy Bash" was no exception (especially nice this time because I did a lot of the finding before her newest sister came along!)

I found bumblebee wings for she and her older sister at the Dollar Store... scored sweet knit butterfly clippies for a next to nothing sale off Etsy... found ADORABLE butterfly visors as favors for 15 CENTS a piece at The Children's Place (for the girls) along with grow bug capsules out of the Target Dollar Spot (for the boys)... made bug catchers from throw away tupperware on the cheap (just stuck some moss in the bottoms) and sent the littles on their way to look for scads of bugs collected from Michaels and Target dollar aisles.

It's all just part of the fun, which is exactly what I had when decorating the main table for the birthday girl and 17 small guests!
We were at your standard picnic shelter, so I simply pulled two long tables to the middle. My "tablecloth" was nothing more than a roll of wrapping paper ($2.99 at Target), which just so happened to match the invites (dressed up blank note cards from Target as well). I secured the paper with black duct tape, which we definitely needed on what turned out to be an atypical breezy July morning.
The centerpieces were glass jars straight out of my recycling bin! The party's main colors were black and white accented by lots of primary colors, so I found the perfect buggy paper at the Hobby Lobby.
I wrapped the paper around each glass jar and hot glued it in place. There was a gap between the paper and the jar's opening, so I filled it with more black and white tissue paper ($1.99 from, you guessed it, Target). I stuffed these great bug pinwheels ($1.50 at the Family Dollar) in the two taller ones and some fake gerbera daisies (from home) in the others.

They still needed a little something extra so I stamped "M's" on paper and used tiny clothespins to keep them in place. I have one of these letter stamps for each of the girls, which I found at a scrapbook discount store, and I can't tell you how many times I use them for a cheap way to personalize stationary and the like.
Lately I've been in the mood to "invest" in some essentials that can be used party after party like the red hamburger baskets found here ($1.00 for four from the Target Dollar Spot).
A little more of the tissue paper allowed me to fill them with snacks of the buggiest variety! :) Some coconut dyed green for grass, an oreo and pretzel spider, butterfly and flower crackers, fruit salad, ants on a log, and fruit leather. Some lemonade "nectar" with twirly straws ($1.00 for twelve at the Target Dollar Spot) finished off the set-up along with some primary colored napkins (right now 50% off at Target making them like 75 cents).

Once the guests arrived they went to play at the park next to our shelter. It was fun to call them over and have each little place all set up and ready to go as they climbed up to the tables. I did the same thing once they finished the bug hunt with their "dirt cup" desserts. The cups with lids were another "investment" at $1.50 for four from Big Lots... I'll for sure use these for parties, playdates, and all kinds of other gatherings.
Simply layer chocolate pudding, then crushed Oreos, then a gummy worm on top... easy and fun to eat!

Best of all, this bug-loving birthday girl had a blast.


And I admit that I did too, even if it means she really is (sigh) TWO years old already!
~Katrina

A Buggy Bash

We're BUGGIN' out... cause M is turning TWO!

These were the words on our recently turned two year old's party invites that asked her friends to join in for a BUGGY bash at the park. They were told they would munch on and hunt for some cutie, creepy crawlies.

And so...







...that's just what we did! :)

Details to come,
~Katrina

Picnic in the Park

I have a winter, summer, and soon-to-be spring babe.

Though throwing parties in the colder months can require a little extra thinking on my part to accommodate everyone, it still can be a lot of fun. Thankfully, though, I love the ease and simplicity of also having a little gal whose party can be taken to the parks and fields.

As we start to prepare for the summer fun, I am reminded of her very first birthday bash... a picnic in the park!

We held it several hours away at my parent's church picnic area, so that meant I needed easy food prep. I bought several packages of hoagie rolls at our local discount bread outlet and froze them so by the time we arrived they were perfect for the sandwiches. Nana picked up yummy meats and cheeses from a local Amish store and we kept them together with olive topped toothpicks. That was the most elaborate of all the food... nice!
We had two coordinating ribbons (on plain jane brown paper sacks) depending on whether the lunch was an adult or kiddie bag. The fillers were apples or raisin boxes bought in bulk from Sams, granola bars bought in bulk from Big Lots, and pretzels or goldfish divided into snack sized baggies to get the most bang for our buck. Pink lemonade pouches and water bottles completed the easy picnic theme! The kids decorated cupcakes for everyone's dessert.
The favors were big, swirly lollipops as well as a few sticks of sidewalk chalk from the Dollar Store and clearanced pinwheels from the Hobby Lobby.
Decorations included lots of paper lanterns and some little daisies in mason jars... really, we kept it pretty easy at that. Oh except for our centerpieces on the picnic bag table... these cute little cupcake stand-thingies Nana found at Tuesday Morning. We printed off pictures of my daughter in the same chair taken each month up until a year. Then we tied them four to a stand... so fun to see how much she had grown!



With sidewalk chalk on the pavement, bubbles in the field, and a park next door-- that was all we needed to ring in a celebration of her very first year.

Somebody pinch me, though, because I can hardly believe we're about to ring in number two!

~Katrina

Girls' Weekend

It's been a running tradition (almost a decade now!) for us three simple girls to get together with about four other college friends. Each year takes on a little different flavor because we all rotate turns in the planning and putting together of the details.

But a few things pretty much always stay the same. In no particular order those would be... cuteness, encouragement, laughter, and brownies.

Lots and lots of brownies.

This year it wasn't up to any three of us to do the planning, but two other gals with true simple girl style did some kind of a beautiful job! We thought we'd share a few of the details to encourage you to get together some girlfriends and enjoy one another.

In order to save money we stayed at a friend's beautiful home in Georgia. One of the best parts of pulling up to the place where we make a weekend home is the smidge of adorable plastered on the door:
"Spring" was the theme this year... in the past we've seen everything from colors to our shared love for butterflies to... well, you name it. Just inside the door, this sweet table setting got us right in the mood for flowers and all things sunshine.
Throughout the weekend the hostesses shower everyone with agape, little gifts given out of unconditional love and joy. These tidbits are rarely ever expensive and typically handmade. One of our favorites was given during a devotional (another favorite part of the weekend!). As we talked about the depth of the Father's love for each of us, we were given hand painted pots (in colors that matched each of our styles!) with a journal, some matching gloves, and "forget me not" seeds. Precious!
We are often happy to lounge in our pjs until as late as possible. This time, though, we had a little motivation to get us up much earlier than usual on Saturday morning:


The neighborhood sale was RIDICULOUS! Don't think any of us spent more than ten bucks, and we came back with all sorts of treasures.

The rest of the time was spent doing things we enjoy... a trip to the Hobby Lobby, Sunday morning church together, girly movie night (complete with each person's favorite drink and candy), a free mini-spa that had us all in stitches, and sharing many good meals together.


Speaking of sharing, one of our friends also started a tradition to ensure we all got to open up with everyone during our short time together. Each of these flowers had a question on it that we'd pull out as we sat around eating or whatever. The questions ranged from the hardest thing we had faced in the past year to our favorite books... we all loved this and left the weekend feeling like we had truly heard each person's heart!
As we all got on the road to head back to our respective homes, we always have one more thing to look forward to... a burnt CD with a couple of each friend's favorite songs. This somehow makes saying goodbye a little bit easier! After getting home this go 'round, we had another thing to look forward to as well... pics of us that a friend of a friend took for basically nothing per person. It was awesome to have so many group shots without having to set a timer all while making a mad dash for a crooked end result. :)

Well, there you have it... a little slice of Heaven from some of our girlfriends to yours!

Love,

For the Bride and Groom

Sorry for the crickets chirping 'round here in the last weeks... between travels, Easter, and life there hasn't seemed to be much extra time in these sunshine-filled spring days!

Good news is that one of our travels brought the three of us together, along with four of our other beloved college friends, for an annual girls' weekend. In the days ahead, we'll be sure to download our photos and share some of the creative ways we try to love and encourage one another during those all too short weekend get-a-ways!

Some of my own personal travels took me back to my hometown where I had the privilege of helping throw my brother and his fiance a wedding shower. It was a co-ed affair for a fairly modern and easy to please couple, so we had a lot of fun with the theme of "His... Hers... Theirs."

The invites, which sadly I have no pics of, were printed with a light argyle print in the background. Over top of that were pink and blue towels monogrammed in brown with their initials.

The monograms continued at the shower as I took chipboard letters from the Hob Lob and modgepodged coordinating papers right on top. I snagged the silver frames, our accent color along with white, right off my guest room walls.
The main table itself was broken up into his and hers sections... blue and brown for my bro and pink and brown for his bride. The groom's side of the table hosted meatballs, ham biscuits, spinach dip with a variety of chips, crackers, etc. Her side was a little more feminine with petite veggies and fruits along with homemade dips. Since my mom prepared most of this food, I feel no shame in admitting... it was to die for! :) The fabric was bought on sale from the Hob Lob as well.


The cake table pulled in the "theirs" element with one of my favorite wedding verses.

There were six square tables for seating so we simply printed out pics from their engagement night and mounted them on more paper inside way affordable frames from Ikea (like four frames for a buck!) They were indeed cheap, but not super sturdy, so I borrowed a few blooms in tiny vases for extra support. A tiny brown tealight gave each table a bit more elegance. The fabric for these tables was unexpectedly needed, but we went easy with just a bit more paper. Time simply ran out on us!
On the way out, guests were invited to share love and encouragement with the new couple in a blessing book. Favors were pink and brown specialty M&M's (also found on clearance- yay!) along with other brown and white candies tied with coordinating ribbons from-- you guessed it-- the Hob Lob.


Oh, Hob Lob... how we love thee.

I loved that it was a drop-in shower since it brought together lots of phases from my brother's life. People really seemed to be able to eat, chat, and linger at their own pace. And the whole thing made me realize that he is really getting married!

I'm so excited, but really... where did all the years go, you know?

Now, on to the wedding! :)
Katrina

New York... New Yorrrk!

It's been party central around here the last several weeks, and the surprise New York style birthday bash last weekend is right at the top of the list!

All the white-lying and scheming paid off for a night in the Big Apple. The hubby's 40th birthday party honored many of his favorite things... New York City, obviously, along with the traveling he does as his job takes him around the world raising money for African orphans.

There was lots of glam with sparkly silvers and glittering golds along with the bold colors of red, yellow, and blue... "Happy New Year" hats and horns, shredded silver paper, bunches of candles, boxes modgepodged with city maps, and an unbelievable banner handcrafted by a talented teacher helped set the scene.


We used the couple's recent trip to NYC for most of our inspiration. Many of their mementos, brochures, pictures, etc. were framed in silver and black (thank-you, Target dollar spot!) Others were strung along the fireplace and scattered around the house.
The food... mmm, the food! The main dish table was almost transportation themed with the map napkins and plates and Subway subs. Hubby's favorite homemade dips and chips rounded out the menu. To drink was an array of teas from all over the world along with a few cold options. And the dessert table... chocolate pudding cake, cannolis, and Ohio buckeyes (in honor of his home state). I think Baby Girl and I put on a few extra pounds for sure.
While Pandora belted out the "Frank Sinatra" station, the guest of honor got to open a gift that blew his socks off... his wife had collected special words of honor, blessing, and memories; then bound them together in a book celebrating the first forty years! So sweet!

A fun party both to put together and to enjoy... what's your favorite destination? I highly recommend making it the backdrop of your next gathering too!
~Katrina