design. wash. rinse. repeat.

littlest little

Hard to imagine that little baby Ev has already successfully completed her first year of life. it can't be easy with such a busy mom and an attention hog for an older sibling (a sister who seriously was crushed that for Halloween i wouldn't make Ev be the "ugly stepsister" to Lil's Cinderella. imagine the future therapy bills if i had gone along with that idea!). Ev doesn't get nearly as much blog time as LK, so this post is all about celebrating the littlest little at our house. Don't let her gerber baby looks, mellow nature, and big blue eyes fool you, this girl has a wild side! she's not only a biter but a pincher. I'm convinced it's the "little sister" genes. Ev's Auntie Tink (my little sister) left my arms sprinkled with childhood battle scars (although most of the time Ev's motivation for attack seems to be that she thinks it's funny!). and you should see her climbing skills (again, totally inherited via Auntie Tink), it's risky to take your eyes off her for a second. even before she could walk, she would strategically place stools and chairs to help her scale just about anything. i can't count the number of occasions i've caught her relieving various "out of reach" drawers of their contents. and given the opportunity she'd climb endlessly up and down the stairs. But for all her adventurous spirit she's also quick to cuddle, loves to gives hugs, and has her mama's passion for music. I can't wait to get to know this little one even more over the coming year. 

For her birthday we invited a few friends and family over to celebrate. We had a simple lunch, and lots of delicious cupcakes, of course! (although did anyone see Alec Baldwin's hilarious line on 30 Rock talking about the fact that now "cupcakes are out, donuts are in"? cracked me up). The incredible Sue even made a special mini birthday girl cake just for Ev. For party favors I found this fantastic "mini piñata" idea on the Not Martha blog. Growing up i loved getting crazy with paper maché, so it was just like old times. Strips of pink, red, orange, and yellow tissue paper worked perfect, and we filled each one with hersheys kisses, swedish fish, and a mini bottle of "bubbles". They were a big hit with the kids, and i loved that by layering different colors the inside of the piñata was different than the outside. made for a nice visual surprise. {For detailed instructions check out the post on Not Martha. I recommend using a mixture of flour and water as the "glue", it's cheap, easy, and always on hand! (Dissolve 1 cup flour in about 5 cups water and boil for around 3 minutes--mixture will become thick and starchy. obviously let it cool before using)}

vote

seriously. even my 3 year old is excited about this election.

DSD freebies!

Happy Digital Scrapbooking Day! The good peeps over at Digital Scrapbooking Magazine have quite a few festivities planned for today, including guests posts on the DSM blog by myself and the talented Rhonna Farrer. I'm thrilled to be involved, and my post will include a freebie Halloween QP download of the layout pictured above! Also be sure to check out the pcLayers blog for a post by DSM's very own Molly Newman as well as links to download a fabulous 12 page freebie Album by Jessie! The "Year to Remember" cover even features digital 7gypsies scrapbook products.

Even though we have just about EVERY princess costume LK decided that Tinkerbell was the MUST-HAVE look of the day, sending me into a frenzy. (yah, she's spoiled.) But despite last minute costume swaps we survived Halloween. Here in SLC the weather was divine, which made things that much more fun. The neighbors were all out on their porches, there was a huge turnout of kids, and they were even able to run around without the usual coats hiding their fun costumes. Earlier in the day I was able to attend Little Kate's very first school Halloween party and parade. Growing up Halloween was my favorite day of the entire school year, so it was truly an event to get to see my own kid's celebration. Reminds me why i love being a mom. Even baby Ev enjoyed herself (but what's not to love about endless piles of candy and friends in crazy costumes?!) With Ev as the spider i should have been "little miss muffet", but unfortunately i wasn't that ambitious. 

LilyKate made the cutest pumpkin... She first drew it out on scratch paper and then i carved it for her. look at those crazy teeth! and who would've thought to add freckles? apparently she must think they are scary, like my well-intentioned grandmother who told me "you would be so pretty if you just didn't have all those freckles" when i was about ten. ummm, not a good idea to essentially insinuate to a shy, fragile 10 year old that she's not pretty. but hey, i LOVE freckles, and now that they've faded i miss them.

new stamps!

Just when i was about to mail out these pretty pink packages to the random winners my samples of the co-ordinating stamps arrived! i'm so excited to have them, and couldn't wait to share, so along with the Paper Pack, Rubon Sets, Glazed Brads, and Chipboard Letters I threw one of each Stamp set into the package for melissa. a complete Urban Prairie collection! enjoy melissa! i'd love to see what you create! {Random winner Stephanie: i haven't been able to reach you via email! i apologize. contact me with your address so i can send your prize!!}