Dear Santa....

Kapri wrote Santa a letter this year, after we got back from the Holiday Train - she was so excited to actually WRITE him a LETTER... cannot believe how great she is with writing her letters these days, both upper & lower case:

She thanked him for coming on the Holiday Train ride, and sitting with her to talk about what she wanted for Christmas - a jewelry box and a unicorn doll. Then we sealed it up, addressed it to the North Pole, and took it to the Post Office so she could buy a stamp & mail it off all by herself.

About a week later, we woke up one morning and Buddy was at the top of our Christmas tree holding a BIG, beautifully decorated envelope, which had a fancy reply letter from Santa himself (with a little help from moi!). She was sooo happy to get such a personalized letter from him!

I definitely plan to make this an annual tradition with K from now on ;-)

Holiday Cards - 2013 {via Zazzle}

I am seriously so glad that Groupon & LivingSocial exist....because I honestly don't know how much money those sites have SAVED me!!

For example... a deal for holiday cards from Zazzle (75 with envelopes) and for a photo session at JCP:

Together, those would've cost us around $267 full price - but instead I got both for only $55 total...so we saved over $200!!! People who don't check Groupon/LS sites before doing ANYthing, are nuts.

I decided that I wanted to get our pics done early, so that we'd have time to get them on the CD, then take it home to save to our computer, then use to upload for our holiday cards...then have adequate time for processing & shipping of the cards...then having to label them all & get in the mail by Dec. 1st.....whewww!

Here are the 3 photos that we selected from our session...next year I'll definitely find a photography deal for an OUTDOORS photo sesh...I feel like it's always more 'natural' that way.

From those I made a little FB profile pic for December (edits via PicMonkey):

And here's the card ordered from Zazzle:

The quality of these cards was SO great....the selection was amazing (they had a page for Groupon purchasers only), they were delivered very quickly and were a nice, thick card-stock...I just loved how they turned out! I had never heard of Zazzle prior to seeing/buying that Groupon deal, but I'm now officially a huge fan and hope to order from them again in the future.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Cutest Baby Shower - EVER!

Baby showers have become more & more stylish over the years, especially with the explosion of Pinterest - people are FILLED to the brim with ideas on decorating everything from your house, to nursery, to weddings & parties.

I had a feeling while getting ready for this one that it'd be pretty special...even the location was amazing - tucked away in a little (and by little...I mean huge & exclusive) gated community that contained houses/mansions, which were nothing short of AHHHmazing. Living in San Diego, and right next door to RSF, I'm somewhat accustomed to seeing very nice homes, but as I drove through this particular area...my jaw was on the floor. I just wanted to know one thing.... "what do you people do for a living?!!!!" haha

Anyway, the actual shower was held in the local community room/center (that was flawless in itself), located right on this little lake, surrounded by beautiful homes & lush landscape. We couldn't have hoped for better weather - the whole day was stunning.

I arrived to find adorable shower decor in every inch of that place & being the person I am... took note of all the tiny details the hostess' put into it...I could tell they spent countless hours making everything to ensure it was perfect:

The glowing mamma-to-be {Christina} is a long time friend, who's husband actually used to share an apartment with James & I many years ago. They are high school sweethearts like us, so I love having that common bond with them. They also married in the same location we did - though entirely different theme & feel which was so fun!

My gift set - coordinating necktie onesie, clip-on bowtie, & burp cloth - cannot WAIT to see baby Lucas rockin his new CfC gear:

As she opened my gift, she knew by looking at the front of the card that it was handmade...by me, haha! I'm such a sap, I totally cried writing on the back of it...remembering Kapri as a baby just brought tears to my eyes. It all goes so fast!

Along with the above baby gift set, I also made her a nursing cover from fabric that she'd seen in an Instagram pic and specially requested it a few weeks prior.

Congrats girl & thanks for having me at your out-of-this world, beachy baby shower!!! Can't wait to see how little L's first b-day party turns out! haha

Baby Shower Gift Set

This past Saturday I was unable to attend my neighbor's baby shower/sprinkle (baby #2) - but I was able to find some time to make this cute gift set & drop it off just before the party started.

I purchased little birdie fabric (to match her nursery theme), to make an initial onesie with, so what better to pair with an outfit, than matching itty bitty shoes?!

Baby shoes were definitely something I hadn't made before (attempted, but never finished)...something quick & cute - obviously... and these "Modern Baby Booties" from the Tao of Craft - were perfect!

Since this was my first attempt at making these, I know I have a bit to improve on - trail & error. The tutorial is a bit cryptic. For instance:

• It doesn't direct on which shoes (left or right) you're working with... the soles should match up correctly to the top part of the shoes - not sure if mine did perfectly because you're working mostly while it's inside out...it's confusing. 
• And the velcro strap...it should be identified as to which side to place it on for each shoe (left & right)...otherwise you may end up with the strap securing so they end up on the INsides of the shoe....no bueno...they should be on the OUTsides. 
• Also, the strap is SO small/narrow...then when you sew it into a tube (inside-out), then try to flip it right-side out, it's pretty hard to accomplish (I re-did this about 3 times to get it right!)...I used a chop-stick to help flip it!

Maybe I'll make another pair or two, while keeping track of my steps so that I can make my own tutorial, haha!

Then I found this fabric with birds on it and it literally screamed at me: "put me on a burp cloth!!!" - so I listened & did just that. It's beautiful. Definitely completed my gift 'set':

The little card is also handmade. I saw this adorable bird scrapbook paper and this pre-cut square paper, and knew they'd be a match. So I cut the bird to fit against the pre-cut piece, then glued them together. For the middle/text area, I cut out a smaller square from the top/pink part of the bird paper ...then sewed a little design on another piece & glued that on. This was actually cheaper than buying a store-bought baby shower card... less expensive, cuter, & one-of-a-kind - you can't beat that!

Handmade Cards...not my forte, but I'll try!

I love to shop for cards - Hallmark has the best for selection obviously. 2nd runner up would be Target because they have the "Papyrus" brand which I love - but overall selection sucks. I could spend a good hour reading 578903 cards, just to find the perrrrfect one for a particular person/occasion. It really has to speak to me - the words have to sound exactly like something I would either say or think about someone.

In short - I don't just pick any old card....and I typically expect the same treatment from those I love, haha - I'm a BIG card person. Don't get me a gift, just spend some good, quality time picking out that perfect $3-5 card just for me. That's all it takes to put a smile on my face!

However {on occasion} my mind slips, an event sneaks up on me and I'm left scrambling for a gift and/or card - lucky for me, I'm equipped with a good stack of scrapbook paper, LOTS of fabric scraps, a sewing machine, ribbon, buttons & a glue gun - done & done.

Observe, my Pinterest-inspired card that I made for a friend's baby shower yesterday - I call it the "Fabric Baby Carriage Card" & I love it dearly. I'm thinking this may be my go-to for the future. I love the simplicity of it, and the stitching/buttons/fabric give it just the right touch, and obviously screams "home-made just for YOU!" At least that's how I see it, haha!

I don't really see the need for envelopes, or folded cards (if making them) - so this one just has a front & back side. I chose a grey/yellow theme, as that's what the mamma-to-be is using in the nursery. I found some stickers to spell out BABY in the front, then wrote a little note on the back. Simple & so personalized.

I also checked out this mamma's BRU registry & found this:

So I found some similar fabric & made one for her, complete with an adjustable strap and a little boning around the neck for a "peek-a-boo" top which makes it easy to see baby. This being my 2nd one made for a mamma friend, I decided to add some terry cloth into one of the inside corners. Perfect for any baby dribbles while nursing.