Saturday, January 29, 2011

Updates, including Birthday Party News

What a week it's been!  Between PG&E's visit, my oldest daughter's first oral book report, yowling cats at 3 am, and kiddos who are having a hard time sleeping, I'm completely exhausted!  Finally, it's the weekend, and I can (hopefully) take things easy and get ready for next week. :)

I just thought I'd share a few things with you.  First off, I think I mentioned that I got my daughters and their 2 cousins dolls for Christmas.  As part of their present, I told them I'd take some pictures and make up a doll story just for them.  Wednesday was the day we finally got the chance for an official photo shoot.  It was time consuming and tiring, but really fun, too (and yes, it looks like spring...it was a pleasant 65 degrees when I took these pics).  I'm really pleased with the way they turned out, and I've already started working on the rough draft of the story part. :)  Here are a few sample pics for you to enjoy:

I've decided that I probably won't do pics in this spot again (see above), even though they turned out so adorably.  This was under a big pine tree, and there were sharp, poky pine needles all over the ground.  Unfortunately, I didn't discover this until I was sitting in them.  Ouch!! :{

This pic took FOREVER!!!  Two of the dolls do NOT stand very well, and they kept falling and knocking the others down!





In other news, I am slowly and steadily working on my middle daughter's birthday party, coming up in February.  I have the cake topper, her present, and almost all of the party favors.  Invitations were tricky, though.  I usually make my own invitations, so that wasn't the problem.  Most years, I choose some stickers that fit the theme and attach them to some scrapbooking paper to make a little postcard-type invite.  The problem was finding stickers of Plum Pudding by herself.  You can find Strawberry Shortcake everywhere, but not much with just Plum Pudding. 

After several unsuccessful attempts at finding Plum Pudding stickers, I happened to stop by Hasbro.com...and my problem was solved!  Hasbro has a bunch of great printable coloring pages, and they had two different coloring pages with just Plum Pudding on them!  I reduced the size, printed them out, and then the girls and I pulled out our trusty crayons and colored pencils and got to work!

After all of the Plum Puddings were colored in, I cut them out and attached them to some sparkly purple cardstock (thanks, Jo-Ann Fabrics!).  :)  They turned out really cute, if I do say so myself.  The cardstock cost me $10 for a whole 12X12 stack, and I only used 3 sheets.  It was cheaper to go that way since I scrapbook anyway.  The rest was absolutely free! :) 

In years past, my perfectionist side might have had a problem with letting the girls color the invites (doesn't that sound horrible? I'm sad to even admit it).  I'm so glad I did it that way, though.  It was so special for all of them to have a part in making them.  Not to mention the fact that it saved me from coloring, cutting, photo splitting, and writing 17 invitations all by myself! :}  And the invites my youngest colored can go to Grandma. :)

Plum Pudding Invitation (colored by me) :)

The backside of the invitation.  This is where I'll write all of the party info.

Invitation colored by my youngest.

Invitation colored by my oldest.

Invitation colored by the birthday girl! :)

I'll keep you guys updated on party news as it gets closer to February! :)

11 comments:

susan said...

I love the invitations. When my daughter was 4 she wanted a Peter Pan birthday party. Not Tinker Bell (which you can find everything for), but Peter Pan. I did the same thing you did, and had her color them in too. It is a lot more special looking back on that, than a regular made invitation. Have fun with the rest of it!!!
Susan

Phoebe said...

Those were great pictures! I have that problem with my dolls falling over all the time, too. It is so annoying! The invitations are so cute!

Caelen said...

Great pics! I wish my mom would spend more time with me but she's always busy. :(

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Thanks, Caelen. I wish I spent more time with my kids, too. I'm far from a perfect mother, and it's really easy for us as moms to get distracted with all of the things that need to be done instead of concentrating on our kids. I'm sure your mom cares about you a lot...maybe you could talk to her about how you feel. :)

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Hi Susan and Phoebe! Thanks so much for your comments. I love how the invitations turned out, too. :) And you're right, Phoebe...there's nothing worse than falling dolls when you're trying to take a picture. For one of the pictures, one of the dolls fell right as I took it. So I have a pic of a doll with her head in a basket. :}

beachbabydoll1 said...

It takes a long time to do a good photo story. You've got a great start to this one. I love your scenes. It looks so idyllic. I bet your girls and cousins and dolls are going to enjoy each other for many happy years to come.
The invitations are so cute and will definitely be a keepsake.

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Thanks, beachbabydoll1. :) The girls had a great time watching the photo shoot and helping me set up the dolls. It's a day I think we'll all remember for a long time. It's so fun to see them enjoying their dolls so much. :)

I'm so happy with how the invitations turned out. I can't wait to post pics of the party. :) It's going to be so fun!

Thanks so much for commenting. :D

M and M said...

Aww your doll pictures remind me of The Secret Garden

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Thanks, M and M. :)

Shari said...

We almost always do homemade birthday party invitations. Now that my two oldest are getting a little older and are less interested in our "homemade" parties, that's sometimes the only thing we do ourselves. On the plus side, as they've gotten older, they've been able to do more and more of the invite creation themselves. I enjoy the time spent together.

Hannah Prewett (beastsbelle) said...

Hi Shari. :) Making homemade invitations is so much fun! I really enjoy working with the girls on a creative project and seeing their different personalities shine through. I'm sure these memories will last long after the girls are grown. :)