Jute Wreath with Felt Roses

I made this adorable but easy Jute wreath recently for the front door.  Thanks, of course, to pinterest. ;)

Supplies for the wreath (from JoAnn or Michaels)...

I started with a thumbtack with a little glue gun at the beginning, then I just went around and around, adding a bit of glue here and there.  The only thing I didn't get a photo of was how you have to go back over the Jute with more Jute (backwards) because since the front of the wreath is a smaller diameter then the back, the Jute starts to slant and slant more as you go further around the wreath so every once in a while, you have to make your Jute straight again and go over a section you already did with more Jute...I hope that makes sense!

For the felt flowers, you just cut different size squares of felt, cut them into circles and then spiral them- so they will kind of look like a swirly lollipop.  Then you just roll it up into a rose!  I glue gun here and there as I roll.  I glued the roses onto the wreath.

Some More Craftiness

Ella's Thanksgiving dress that I made with a onesie and upholstery fabric for the skirt!



Coordinating Big Sister and Lil Bro shirts...



I made this easy dress for myself, which will look much cuter on when I'm not a pregnant whale! If you'd like to make one for yourself, the tutorial is HERE. Do yourself a favor and make it with a regular cotton like she did and not a very thin, stretchy jersey knit like I did! Also, she says just to get a cheap tank, but I would still use a better quality tank because even the tops of the cheap ones don't fit right and stretch all out looking sloppy.

Happy 2nd Birthday Ella! Pink and Orange Balloon Themed Party...

Ella's 2nd birthday party was yesterday (on her actual birthday), and I think it was a huge success!  I didn't scale back much this year, but we did do it at our house, which made it much easier.  I remembered to get some photos before the party started, but once guests arrived, I hardly got any photos of Ella or anyone else!

The invitation.


The front yard and some closeups (can you tell I became obsessed with balloon flowers? It was windy so they kept turning around- I will do centers on the back next time!)...





My mom made this balloon wreath for the front door- isn't it cute?!  You can find directions here.


The backyard.  I lined all the flowerbeds with balloon flowers (good thing since almost everything else in them is dead!) and hung balloons from the trees...




We have a big fountain in our backyard that is clearly not appropriate for babies so instead of water, we filled it with balloons for "Balloon Ping Pong"!

The paddles...




The sweets and snack table (the main course- make your own chicken tacos- were inside).


On the right are the white chocolate covered oreo pops that I monogrammed. They were a huge hit so I'll definitely have to make them again!


I made these cupcake toppers using pink/white baker's twine as the balloon strings...


I made these balloon cookies- some on sticks, others not.



Yes, I even color-coordinated the veggie tray (my mom asked if she could add some celery, and I said, "celery is GREEN mom!")







I had 18 of the huge 36" balloons, but they take up SO much helium and are SO difficult to blow up/tie that we only blew up 6 of them with helium- 3 for the sweets table and 3 for the bbq area...


We hung a bunch of different size paper lanterns from the patio cover...



Inside. Ella's birthday banner I made- I love how it turned out- that is pink/white baker's twine that I used to string it together and as the balloon strings.  The silhouette in the center is the same one I used on the invitations.


Her ONE year birthday photos had to be decorated!


We filled the entire ceiling of the family room with balloons (Gary and I both had blisters on our fingers from tying balloons- remember I bought 518?!).


Some of the few Ella shots...


With grandma, grandpa and grammy...

Think she liked her cupcake?




I LOVE this photo of Ella and her Godsister, Sydney, because she is so happy to be "holding" her- it's the first time EVER that she's done that fake smile...she usually turns her head and yells NO! whenever I get near her with a camera. :)


The favors. I spray painted the boxes, used scrapbook paper for the orange polka dot, grosgrain ribbon, and adorable stickers from this Etsy seller.



Ella's dress that I made (and the fabric that inspired the entire color scheme!). It was supposed to have tulle around the waist, tied in a big bow in the back, but I was running so late getting everything set up that I didn't have time to put it on her before the party started!


I have to give credit to this beautiful party, which gave me so much inspiration!!