Cutest Halloween Costume I Ever Did See

I've been waiting over a year to debut this halloween costume.  I bought it while I was still pregnant after seeing it on my girlfriend's adorable son.  At the time we had two Bernese Mountain Dogs - Hudson and Lola - and I could not wait to dress Ella up as our third Berner.  I had visions of the three of them running around together, playing, trick or treating and just being cute.   Unfortunately we lost Hudson a few months ago so the other day I dressed Ella up and took her and Lola to a field for a fun pre-Halloween photo shoot.  I'm kind of obsessed with this costume and wish Ella could wear it everyday.  

Love them!

family fall days

Please forgive me.  I just can't help myself.   I am so obsessed with these photos of Ella in her little red wagon.  This is fall for me!  (This could also be the cutest Diet Coke ad.)

  

Ella's Elephant Themed First Birthday

We had a wonderful day celebrating our sweet, little Ella.  The rain may have kept us inside but it didn't dampen the fun.  I am so grateful and feel so blessed that so many family and friends came out to celebrate with us.  Here is a sneak at the party for those who couldn't be there.

Shout out to my AMAZING sister and mom for making the elephant cookies.  My mom has the best sugar cookie recipe and my sister has mad decorating skills.  I am obsessed with them.  

I also ate like 10 (not lying).

Since this was my first experience planning a kids party I kind of panicked about how to entertain the little ones who are still too young for games.  I came up with a coloring station and kiddie toy corner.  I used an editing program to de-color (that would be the official word) the elephant pics used to decorate the party to continue the theme.  It would be so cute to collect the masterpieces and put it in an album for Ella.  For the toy corner I just grabbed a blanket, basket and some simple (non-noisy) toys the kids could play with.  This was a hit and it was so entraining to watch them play together.  Best part was the moms were able to sit on the nearby couches and actually chat and enjoy the party a bit.  I would just like to note the dads were in the opposite corner watching football. 

And of course, it wouldn't be a birthday party without some cake smashing fun.  

My sister made the adorable birthday sign out of a kitchen cabinet.  She also made the sign that was placed at that front door in the first picture.  I will share more about that in another post but can we just note how she got all the creative and artistic talent in the family.  That's not true - my brother is an amazing photographer.  The adorable cake was made by Brandon's cousin, Jessalyn.  

I'm obsessed with it!

Unfortunately, there was no real "cake-smashing," instead it was more finger-lickin' fun.  We had to actually grab chunks of the cake in demonstration.

Cousin Louisa (who also just turned 1) helped teach us how it is done.  She got in there and just stuck her fist right in.  It was so cute to watch how differently they responded.

The cake-smash safety zone was made from several plastic table cloths from the dollar store taped to the wall and floor.  It was such an easy clean-up.  Especially since we just stuck the baby toddler in the sink for a fun bath.

We cleaned up just in time to say goodbye and thank you to our guests before heading home for dinner and bed.  We just barely made it through dinner.

AND 

because I love them so much, here are Ella's party invitations.

I made them on Microsoft Office.  They are so easy.  I will never buy invites or cards again.

You're My Sweetheart Printable

I am at again with another new print for the nursery.  I love the Lumineers song, Hey Ho so I decided to turn it into a print.  I'm putting it in Ella's nursery but it would also work as a sweet print for the hubby.

Check out all the different styles (there are a ton) for purchase on my Etsy site Sweet Pea Knits & Prints.

You can also view some different styles on my Flickr page that are available for free download.

Enjoy!

This Little Light of Mine Nursery Printables

I can't believe it has been almost a year since Ella came into our lives.  Our tiny newborn is turning into a chatty, active and social little girl.

I just adore who she is becoming.  Seeing her personality shine through inspired a new print for her nursery wall.  I am sure many of you are familiar with the song, This Little Light of Mine.  I sing it to Ella every night as she falls asleep in my arms.  It is also my daily prayer for Ella, that she would have an inner light and joy that comes from knowing and loving her Savior.  I pray that others are always able to see that light and joy in her.  That is why lately I have been changing one lyric so it now reads:  This little light of mine, I'm going to let HER shine.  God has given us this little light named Ella; he has entrusted us to keep her shining bright for him.  This nursery print is my reminder.

I made a whole series for both little girls and little boys with various colors to match numerous nurseries for purchase on my Etsy page Sweet Pea Knits and Prints.

You can also view some different styles on my Flickr page for free download.

best part of the day

I will always cherish this.

DIY: Instagram sticker book

I love the fact that I can easily capture any and all of Ella's little moments on my phone.  I haven't given up on my DSLR but it is large and heavy.  It is a pain to carry in the diaper bag and I often miss the moment trying to whip it out.  The iPhone takes pretty decent photos and with Instagram it is so easy to instantly edit and share them.  My instagram photos are some of my favorites but I never knew what to do with them.  Then I learned how to use clear packing tape to make stickers and I've been addicted to turning my IG photos into stickers ever since.

Here is how I turn these photos into sticker books.

 Print the photos in color.  The photos should be 2in. x 2in. squares so the tape can easily fit over the photos.

Using clear packing tape, tape over the photos.  I made sure each photo was completely covered by one   piece of tape with no seams.

Then cut each photo out.

I bought several of these accordion photo books by Martha Stewart to hold my photos.  You can use anything.  The photos stick well to anything: paper, glass, plastic....get creative with where you display your photos.  I put several on glass votives so when the candles were lit the photos glowed.

We are not done yet though.  You need to get the tape sticky again.  To do that you soak the photos in water and rub of the paper with your fingers. 

The paper comes off easily leaving just the ink from the photo.  There will be a transparency to the photo where the ink was light or white.  You will also start to feel the stickiness of the tape.

Lay them upside down to dry a bit before using them.

 

I love my little photo book.  I plan to fill many of these.  I certainly have enough photos!