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! :)
