Buntings, Banners, Pennants, OH MY!

On all of the party blogs, they seem to be everywhere!  They are all over Etsy too, even as decorations for children's rooms and nurseries.  Whatever you want to call them there seems to be a bonanza of buntings, banners and pennants. I think they are super cute, a bit nostalgic and a tad vintage at the same time!  These are the buntings I made for Peyton's Sweet Shoppe Party (I'll be posting that tomorrow so come on back and check it out!)  This cake bunting was fun and easy to do.  I didn't HAVE to sew it since it's scrapbook paper but I wanted it to match the fabric one hanging above it.  The posts on the end are just skewers that I painted.  This is actually reusable which is kinda cool!  Don't mind the shoddy frosting job on the cake.  I used Swiss meringue strawberry buttercream and it's not the easiest to work with for decorations but it's DELICIOUS taste is more than worth it's appearance!

Peyton and I made this cupcake banner which was easy and fun.  I showed you this around Valentines Day, I think.  We used it for decoration at the mock "photo booth" we had set up in the corner of the family room for Peyton's party.  There was a basket of silly props the girls could use for the photos, they had FUN with that!  I definitely would recommend a little photo booth for any party with kids, they LOVE it!

Kate, Peyton and Hannah

I made two different fabric buntings, one in shades of pink patterns and one that was all pink with white polka dots to match the table runner.  You'll see that one tomorrow when I show P's whole party.  It hung at the front of the table.

The bunting and poufs behind the table

A chalk bunting on the wall behind the drink station

So what do you think?  Do you love this new party trend as much as I do?

Peyton's entire party reveal is HERE

Dollar Store Delights!

A couple weeks ago, I was reading one of my favorite blogs, Bienvenue by the fabulous Susie Harris.  She had found these awesome faux moss covered rocks (the rocks are faux too!) at her local dollar store.  They looked so Spring-like, I HAD to have them!

I went on a faux mossy rock hunt to two different Dollar Trees and came up empty handed.  I'm sure that the clerks at both stores thought I had moss for brains when I asked them if they carried faux moss covered rocks!  I mentioned them to my sister and she remembered seeing them at her Dollar Tree in Delaware.  She was sweet enough to grab me a couple bags of them.  Aren't they cool?  I LOVE THEM!

I've been busy working on a post about Peyton's birthday party, I can't wait to share it with you. It was sooo much fun planning it! I should have the post up late Thursday or early Friday.

If you have a moment, please check out Susie's blog, her family could use some prayers.

I joined a couple parties, check them out over at party time on the right.

Party Hats and other pink party details of Peyton's Sweet Shoppe Party

EDIT: The entire party reveal is HERE

As I mentioned a couple weeks ago, I've been having so much fun with Peyton planning her totally pinkified SWEET SHOPPE Party.  I saw super cute birthday hats on Etsy that were adorable and a bit pricey (not that they are not worth it, I KNOW a lot of time goes into these!).  I made a prototype and showed it here and then I made the final hat which is above.  I know it's a little busy (umm, gaudy! LOL ) but in Peyton's world right now, the more bling the BETTER! It has a P on it that way she can keep it and have it in her room.  I used several vintage goodies including vintage seam binding, a lace heart and German glass glitter from www.jennibowlin.com and an antique button that was Peyton's great grandmother's.  Peyton's favorite part is obviously the little crown...typical Peyton!  I got a little crazy on the hat kick and made a few more for Callie and her friend and my niece Grace.  That green floral circle under the C in Callie's name is actually vintage flocked wallpaper!

We picked out some fabrics and I threw together this fabric bunting which I'm LOVING!

I wanted to show you how the UGLY PLASTIC  Goodwill frames turned out after I gave them a couple coats of bubblegum pink!

Peyton's vintage feel invitation is from a sweet Etsy seller called Bnuit.  Matt printed the little insert about wearing pink.

I can't wait to share ALL the details with you!  I've got so many fun little details up my sleeve that are going to be fun to share.  I'm doing a dessert style table made famous by the fabulous AMY ATLAS only with mainly candy not dessert. After all, it's a SWEET SHOPPE.  I can't believe I'm going to get all these little girls hyped up on sugar AND let them spend the night!  ...crazy!

I'm sharing this post on a couple sites, check out the PARTIES over there on the right and join in and check everyone out!

computer died again...

sorry everyone for the lack of posts...our brand new computer has decided that it no longer wants to turn on.  I promise I have a lot to post as soon as I get the tech out here this week!

INTRODUCING: Out On A Whim!

I've decided to add a new little feature here at whimages, it's called OUT ON A WHIM.  Basically, periodically I'll be featuring a new site that has caught my eye.  I'll at least feature a new one once a week but in the beginning I'll probably show off more because I'm excited about this!  I think it's going to be so fun!

My first "Out On A Whim" is called THE GIVERS LOG   The description says it's a pretty packaging inspiration board.  It's all that and soooo much more!  It's just chock full of all kinds of inspiration. PERIOD!  Even if you are only inspired by the packaging ideas, you'll be happy you checked it out.  I LOVE a pretty package! I love throwing a gift into a gift bag just as much as the rest of you but it's also SO FUN to start the party with the wrapping!   Check out this UBER AWESOME cool Target gift bag wrap!


Another little side note, I've been working on all kinds of fun stuff for Peyton's party and I can't wait to share.  So stop on by in a bit and I'll show you a little bit of the fun I've been having!


I'll leave you with a few more cool things from the givers log...there are so many that I could go on and on and on...

Bow From Old Magazines...now that's GREEN!

Super CUTE Zip Locks

Be Mine

Today I remembered a photo of little packets of wax paper sewn together with candy inside.  I had wax paper and some peanut butter M & M's so it was ON!  I took a handful of candy into my craft room and started sewing.  I probably do not even need to tell you that I am NOT a seamstress and I do NOT know my way around a sewing machine. However, I can thread it and make some simple stitches.  These little Valentine pillows would be so sweet to drop into the kids lunch on Monday as a sweet surprise!  The big heart is a bit low on candy because I kept dropping them on the floor.  Not to worry, my handy vacuum cleaner, Cosmo, was right there to help me out.

As soon as Cosmo realized that I had candy in my pocket, I became the object of his extreme affection.  These photos are on the poor side because a. a furry little muscle man with big sad eyes, wants to eat the candy b. no natural light today and c. a furry little muscle man with big sad eyes, wants to eat the candy.  I had to crop his wet schnoz out of these photos.  Cosmo is the king of LOVE and he has so much to share!

 Disclosure:  This is NOT an original idea.  I saw little wax paper pillows somewhere recently but I can't remember where.  I *think* it was in a magazine.  If anyone knows, please let me know so I can credit.  I'm joining a couple parties, I'd love for you to check out everyone's goodies over there on the right under parties.

Terrain At Styers, AKA: Come ON SWEET SPRING!!

Have you heard about Urban Outfitters/Anthropologie's "secret" home AND GARDEN center?  It's called Terrain At Styers.  Even if you have a green pinkie instead of a green thumb, you will LOVE this store.

 Terrain effortlessly blends the line between home and garden into a magical place where even I felt like I wouldn't kill the most delicate of houseplants.  The incredibly inspired marketing/design fingers of Anthropologie and UO are most definitely at work in this fabulous charter store.

There is somethingspecial about glasses lined up like soldiers

My husband and I were attending a Scentsy event in Allentown, PA the other day.  In order to break up the drive for my back, we made a slight detour at Glen Mills, PA to check out Terrain.  I first heard about Terrain from Eddie Ross sometime last year, I quickly Googled it to see how far of a trek it would be from our house.  Luckily, it's only about an hour! 

Much to my husbands embarrassment, I took my camera with me into the store.  There were so many beautiful vignettes to shoot!  In the end he was glad I did because there were a few things he wanted photos of because he felt he could make something similar.  For example, we both LOVE this worn turquoise potting bench, but the $1,200 (from what I recall) price tag is a bit steep for our shallow pockets.  However, we both think it would be fabulous on our patio and we could use it as a buffet for parties!  
I am in LOVE with those INCREDIBLE perforated light globes.  They could have not been MORE STUNNING! They have a bit of a Moorish/Turkish/Rajasthan feel to them.  This design trend is showing up in many places from West Elm, Pier One and Anthropologie to Scentsy!  (At the event, we were able to see all the new warmers for Spring/Summer...AWESOME!)
This store left me praying for Spring to speed along a little quicker.  The lush bright greens of new growth mirrored by the bright green accents were so gorgeous. The scent of rich earth and lushly growing plants was intoxicating! We left feeling we had to go home and plant something!  Think Spring!

well-loved terra cotta! AHHH



I LOVED these bright hoses all stacked in a row!



Must plant a container garden this Spring!

So in LOVE with these clocks, dishtowels and kitchen signs!

Baby it's cold outside! I need a CLOCHE! ...and those HANGING terraniums!

Planting in an antique bakery bundt pan...genious!

Trend Alert...

Ballard Designs



Ballard Designs



I BELIEVE IN PINK.

I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles.

Audrey Hepburn 
 
I love LOVE love this Audrey Hepburn quote!
 
I may have mentioned a few posts ago that I tend to have an obsessive personality.  Whatever I'm currently into gets my ALL.  Right now it's Peyton's 9th birthday.  If I saw a psychologist, she would probably be able to tell me all these different reasons why I'm obsessive.  All I know is that this is probably my baby's LAST birthday where she'll PINK IT UP.  I'm trying to fit lot's of last time stuff into this one itty bitty party.  My little girl will be in double digits next year, URGH!  So bear with me over the next month while I go into pink overload.  You can cluck your tongues at me and whisper to your girlfriends, "poor Robyn, she's gone a wee bit off the rocker".   It's okay because I bet pink makes you happy too!
 
I've seen these ADORABLE deluxe, handmade birthday hats all over Etsy and the party blogs.  They are gorgeous.  They are expensive!  Knowing I would enjoy trying to figure out how to make it, I decided maybe Peyton would want one too.  Tonight, I took a little bit of time and made a prototype of a frilly, oozing pinkness, sweet and pretty party hat.  It's just a practice run and I already know what I'll do differently (too many layers on the 9 badge).  Ms. P saw it and LOVED it!  She thought that she would want a P on the real one so she could save it and keep it in her room. I love the crochet white heart, it's an antique from Jenni Bowlin and I REALLY love the sweet iradescent flower button.  It was Matt's grandmother's.  I'll be re-using that for sure! It is such a fun project!  I can't wait to start the real thing!
 
I picked up several swatches of 1/4 yard  each of cheap fabric for my other party project.  I'm also flying by the seat of my pants on this one.  Let me tell you that it involves my SEWING MACHINE (that's always a bit scary) and there are samples all over blog land of this project too.  This is also something that Ms. P can keep in her room as a keepsake.  I'll post it when it's complete.  I *think* it's going to be pretty. Let's hope!
 
 

SCENTSY SALE and My Petite Maison

You may remember a few weeks ago I had a SCENTSY giveaway here at Whimages.  Sweet Tracie from My Petite Maison was the lucky winner.  I'm addicted to all things that smell nice, like fabric softener and the soft and sweet scent of a new born baby.  Since sweet Tracie has fallen in love with her plug in warmer, we thought we'd have a little SALE in her honor! It's a 15% off SCENTSY SALE! We love our Scentsy goodies so much that we want to share them with everyone and also share Tracie's store and blog.   If you check out our SCENTSY goodies and you see something you like, then this is the sale for you!  Email me at robynlbedsaul@gmail.com and mention MY PETITE MAISON, we'll give you 15% off your purchase! There is a sale like this only 2 times a year! This is for the whole month of February!

Our Spring/Summer product comes out in March and we are all so excited to see the debut of the new warmers and scents!  However that means IN with the NEW and out with some of the old to make room!  Some of your favorite scents and warmers are going into retirement so if you have some favorites (I KNOW I DO) you may want to stock up now!

If you haven't already visited My Petite Maison, check it out, Tracie has a lovely store with fabulous French finds and her blog is so pretty, you could stay all day.


Here's the fine print... :-)

Unfortunately, we can't offer a discount on the Breast Cancer warmer, the campus warmers or some of the combine and save but that leaves you with about 95% of the catalog 15% off!

Red Velvet Cake Balls

lushredvelvetygoodness
Yes, I had to do it.  I HAD to have a cake ball post of my very own.  I've been ohhhing and ahhhing over Bakerella's yummy and often adorable cake balls and cake pops for about 2 years now.  Cold, snowy weather often flips some internal switch for me and then I MUST BAKE.  Over the past two weeks I've made: 4 batches of Nana's butter cookies (Eddie Ross even loves these!), soft and chewy oatmeal raisin cookies, a pound cake, homemade carrot cake cupcakes with decadent cream cheese frosting (the recipe is on here somewhere), vanilla cupcakes with meringue frosting,  white chocolate dipped oreo cookie pops and now a batch of red velvet cake balls.  Peyton loves red velvet cake and has requested these for her SWEET SHOP BIRTHDAY PARTY, since I have never made them before, I thought I better do a test run. Since everything at Peyton's party will be white and pink, these dipped in RICH white chocolate, should be perfect!

Bakerella uses a box cake and canned frosting, so the baking part isn't so time consuming.  Next time I make these (for Peyton's party) I'm going to refrigerate the cake/frosting mixture so that the balls will be easier to form and hopefully I can make them smaller like Bakerella suggests.

OHHH, hey, LOOK, there is a BOX TOP on this frosting.  I'm more than a little obsessed with collecting box tops for my munchkin's schools.

I'm not a huge chocolate cake fan but I think these lushious lumps of moist cake look lovely!

OH MY!  Look at that yummy, big DOLLOP of cream cheese frosting.  My heart goes pitter patter for you, oh yumilicious frosting!

Ooops, I must have looked like I was having too much fun so the littlest munchkin decided that I needed her help with dipping the cake balls into the white chocolate.  She does a GREAT job...she must get her culinary skills from her Momma. ;-)

No comment necessary.  I'll just let you take in this sight.



Sorry for the flash photos, we made these last NIGHT

Joining WHITE WEDNESDAY  Please check out everyones white wonders!