It's a Circus!

I just finished and shipped my latest order, and I love the way everything turned out. Thought I'd share in case you're looking for party ideas. This party package is for a precious girl's circus-themed first birthday party. I thought the mom had a great idea. She wanted a birthday banner that she can use each year for each child. So I did the name separate from the "Happy Birthday" and focused on gender-neutral colors including the pinks and purples only in the name banner. I love, love, love all the bright colors!

1 Onesie - Front

And who can resist a rainbow ruffled hiney? =)

Circus Bunting (x2 - each was 13-feet long)

Birthday Bib

And the birthday banner

These projects could not be more fun to create!

Simmer Pot

Ahhh, I love Fall. And, judging by my candle cabinet, I'm a tad obsessed with Fall scents. I just always wish my house could smell more authentic than some chemically-crafted candle. As I was baking some pumpkin bread the other day, I thought I'd throw some of the spices into some water and boil it to emit the scent. It was heavenly. Every day since I've loaded up my mini crockpot with fruit, spices, and water to give my house the perfectly real scents of the season. Since I peel an apple at least once a day for the kids, I've been saving the skins and core to throw into the pot. My favorite combination so far is apple skin, orange peel, cloves, cinnamon sticks, and vanilla. But the combinations are endless. An added bonus - when I pour the contents down the drain each evening, it cleans and freshens the garbage disposal nicely.

Here's the how-to:

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil (on the stovetop or in the microwave). Pour into a crockpot (although you can always just leave it on the stove), add your favorite combination of scents (apple peels, apple juice, oranges, lemons, cloves, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, lavender, etc.), and let simmer all day. Make sure to check it frequently and add water as needed. Yum!

Church bags

My 3-year-old is at the age now when she has things for Sunday school that need to be carried back and forth each week between church and home. She has a backpack that we use often, but we always switch it out with her Leapster and accessories, her Tag reader and books, and her Sunday school things. When we showed up to church with her Tag reader and books sans Bible and Sunday school supplies one Sunday, I knew it was time to get a bag that's solely for Sunday school. Of course her brother had to have one too. I picked up some plain canvas craft bags at Hobby Lobby for $2.99 (and half off!). Then I grabbed a handful of fabric scraps, backed them with Heat-n-Bond, cut out some letters and shapes (I used this tutorial for the flowers on Hannah's bag), and decorated a bag for each of them. Hannah's carries her Bible, her memory verses, and a snack or two. And Parker's holds a couple of diapers, wipes, snacks, and a toy. I already love that they are always packed and ready to grab. And the fact that the whole project was less than $8 for BOTH bags is a win for sure!

Color Finder

There are so very many ideas floating around the blog world for using paint chips from your local paint store. I came across one I had to try, and it's been a huge hit. I just grabbed a rainbow assortment of paint chips, hole-punched one corner for a ring binder clip, and hole-punched the opposite corner of each to use as a see-through hole for color matching. I tossed it into our library book bucket, and the kids have used it to match colors in their library books, magazines and catalogs, and even their toys. It's provided hours of fun and learning in one simple, free project. I'd highly recommend this for your little ones.