It's a Donut Party!!!

This year Anna turned 5.  Whew, wipe away the tears.  Earlier this year we learned that June 2 is National Donut Day.  A donut birthday it became.  We had three days of celebration.

The Cake

Anna's first request was a chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting. It needed to be five layers tall with five donut holes on top.  It also needed lots of sprinkles, five tall candles, and a big five candle in the middle.  The actual cake has four layers (I would have needed another mix to make five, plus it would not have fit in my cake holder.)  The fifth layer has the donuts on top.  I used Paula's Donuts, as it is the best place to get donuts where we live.  This cake was challenging, but really fun to make.

The Donut Decorations

They came from Hobby Lobby.  I got a banner, plates, and napkins with a donut theme.

The Friend Party

Anna had her birthday party at Hyatts, a local craft store.  She loves art, so this party was perfect. The teacher taught the children how to paint a parrot.  By painting the palm and fingers on one hand, they were able to make wonderful bird wings.  And, they got really messy.  It was awesome!  Each child also made a robot using Model Magic.

The children enjoyed some snack and cupcakes, Anna opened her presents, and the party was a hit! The store did a wonderful job.  They even provided favors, which included a sketch book and some actual artist tools like a charcoal pencil and pastel crayon. They embraced the donut theme, but also changed to birds once Anna changed her mind.

The Donut Outfits

Once the party theme was decided, I saw that Once Upon a Bowtique was taking preorders for a line of clothing called "Donut Party."  It was PERFECT!  The only hiccup was the clothes did not arrive until the week of her birthday.  Anna had a headband too, but she didn't want to wear it.

Grandma Sharon made Anna a donut shirt too.  I think this picture of our family turned out well.

So that was Anna's donut birthday.  It was a wild, sugar donut filled weekend.  Happy birthday Anna!

You are my Sunshine First Birthday Party

It is a cliche, but time really does fly.  Our youngest turned one this week, and to celebrate we invited everyone over for some BBQ and a sunshine party.  This theme turned out to be so much fun, and simple as well.

When I started thinking about this party, I wanted to keep it simple because as a full time working mom, my free time is sparse.  I made a list of what I really wanted to make.  This included painting a canvas:

I wanted to make a high chair banner (not sure if that is what this was called, but it was really fun using all the ribbon.

I wanted to make a banner using suns for Molly's picture each month. This was so easy and a lot of fun.

I also really like making cupcakes, and my MIL got me this really beautiful cupcake tower for Christmas. It is the first time I used it, and I loved how it looked.  The tablecloth is actually sun fabric.  The little spoons are for butterscotch banana pudding parfaits, which were delicious but were not as pretty as I thought they would be.  Molly loved her sun cake. I used funfetti cake, but used cream cheese as frosting.  Did you know that cream cheese frosting does not harden?  Oops!

At the last moment I bought some sun balloons, and I am so glad that I did.  I set up this table in our play room, and everyone ended up gathering there.

Molly really enjoyed her party.  We had a great time with friends and family.  She truly is sunshine in our lives.

Anna's "Santa" Hat

Anna did not want a traditional Santa hat. She picked out this yarn instead.  I enjoyed crocheting this while I was pumping at work.

Peg People Family and The Lakehouse

This year I really wanted to make some homemade gifts for my parents that actually meant something. With the birth of our second daughter, my parents have been helping us so much.  I wanted to make them something special.

When I was in seventh grade I had an amazing art teacher. One of our big projects was to use leftover wood and supplies from technology to make a model of something. I made our house out of leftover 2 by 4s and triangles.  It fell apart pretty quickly, but my dad and I have glued it back together many times, and it still makes an appearance under the tree each year.

My parents bought/built a new house about 12 years ago.  The Lakehouse really is a dream property on a lake.  I decided to make a wooden model of it.  I made a pattern and my husband cut it out of wood.  Then we glued it together and I painstakingly painted it.  I am a perfectionist, and this model is far from perfect. I'd like to believe that it's better than I would have done in seventh grade, but I am not sure.  However, my Dad got a little teary when he opened it.  Success!

I also got ambitious and decided to make my mom people for under the tree.  I found wooden peg people on Etsy from The Early American Shop.  This shop also sold snowmen and trees, which I made for each of my sisters and my husband's mother.  I painted 15 people, and it was a learning experience.  They turned out great.  I am not 100% satisfied, but content with them. My Mom loved them, and that is what mattered.