A Date With Daddy

Tonight my husband is taking Xiera on a dinner date and then to the Father/Daughter dance. She was so excited as she has been looking forward to this night for about a month now. She gets daddy's full attention and gets to dress like the princess that she is.

On Monday Xiera had asked me if I could make a shrug for her to wear over her dress so I decided to make a black shrug for her to wear. It is the same pattern as the Dress me Pretty Shrug I had made a few years back.

Her beautiful flower headband was made by Pink Apple Cache on Etsy and it matched perfectly. She borrowed my necklace, earrings, lip gloss, and two squirts of my Fantasy Perfume by Britney Spears. for the occasion. ;)

Seeing her dressed up like this is bittersweet. I think she looks absolutely beautiful and much older than seven years old. She is growing up so fast right before my very eyes.

I am so excited to hear how everything went later on tonight when they return. I know they are having a fabulous time.

Her Very Own Party With...

Chuck E. Cheese himself!
Every year we have had Zella's birthday party at home so it made sense that Zella wanted a change of scenery. This past Saturday we had her 5th birthday party at the place "Where a kid can be a kid!" but of course she still wanted a Monster High theme so I brought along these yummy cupcakes I made the night before.

And these Monster High goodie bags filled with lots of goodies that also stayed with the theme.

She had lots of fun with family and close friends.


She quickly made a birthday wish and blew out her candle.

Although I truly believe all of her wishes have already came true. :)

M-O-N-S-T-E-R, Monster, Monster, so Bizarre!

Yes my girls are true Monster High fans and of course when asked what kind of birthday party theme Zella wanted this year she screamed, "Monster High!" Abbey Abominable and Nefera De Nile are her two current favorites.
Heidi of The Closet of Eden made her fun and funky Monster High birthday set. It has Abbey Abominable appliqued on the front of the top and that famous Monster High skull with pink bow is featured on the front of the skirt. Those whimsical ruffles on the skirt and shirt sleeves are my favorite!

I made the leg warmers to match the stripe fabric used on the skirt.

Her adorable top hat was created by Marie-leigh'chelle Boutique. I adore that sparkly heart. Zella calls it her Mad Hatter hat.

Zella absolutely LOVES her new birthday outfit and can't wait to show it off at her birthday party this weekend!

5 Years Ago today...

5 years ago today we welcomed a sweet little princess into our lives and we thank God every day that he brought her to us to raise, protect, cherish, and love in good times and in bad. Happy Birthday Zella! We love you so much!

Happily Ever After

Last week Zella modeled the prettiest Princess set made by Jayne of Baby*Grace*Design. I believe it was for DillyDally's Famous Couple's launch. Zella loved this outfit and told me she felt like a princess while wearing it. Last Friday was a cold day here in Ohio with the highs only reaching 25-30 degrees so we modeled the set indoors at the Hayner Cutural Center where the girls have their art classes. It is such a beautiful building with lots of windows to give off wonderful natural lighting so I was pleased with my very first indoor modeling shoot. I just love the hood on the back of the top. So fun and whimsical!

And the detail of the applique of Cinderella and her Prince Charming is incredible!

We had so much fun modeling this set for Jayne!

You Got Mail!

Valentine's Day has to be one of my favorite holidays. I adore all things pink and red, topped off with hearts. This year Xiera had to make her own Valentine box at home. She said she wanted to be unique and bring in something other than a shoebox or oatmeal shaped container. She suggested a mailbox shaped box. I searched and searched online and finally found a website that inspired the perfect box.

I found an old clothing box lid downstairs and cut off three of it's sides.

Then I used wrapping paper, (I found a roll of wrapping paper with roses on it that I purchased awhile back at the local Dollar Tree store.) and wrapped up the largest part of the box lid and the side I did not cut off.

After wrapping, I folded the box into the shape of a mailbox using the side as the bottom of the mailbox. Using box tape, I taped it together.

I then took a piece of pink cardstock paper and traced the end of the mailbox. I drew a few tabs all the way around and a larger one for the end and cut it out taping the tabs to the inside of the box.

Next, I traced the front opening and drew only the bottom flap.

After cutting it out, I taped the bottom flap to the bottom inside of the box.
I took a hole punch and punched a hole on the top front of the box and top of the front lid.

I used a scrap piece of ribbon and threaded it through both holes. This is what we used to open and shut the mailbox, tieing the ribbon into a bow to close the box and untieing it to open. I also used a little box tape around both holes to make them sturdier and less likely to rip and tear.

I took my pencil and poked two holes at the top.

I then threaded a scrap piece of ribbon through both holes and tied a knot. I pushed the knot through one of the holes to make a ribbon handle. I used box tape again around both holes to make the holes sturdy. I used a scrap piece of red construction paper to create a flag. After cutting it out, I realized how flimsy it was, so I glued the flag to one of the leftover sides that I had cut off from the box.

After cutting out, I attached the flag to the box using a brad.
Xiera then decorated it with sequins, buttons, fake flowers, and foam letters and shapes to make it her own.


I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Love Inspires

Valentine's Day is approaching and I have been inspired to decorate and create for the upcoming occasion. Last year I crocheted a heart swag to adorn my hutch. This year I made two more to hang all the way around.

I purchased a sweet little decorative hand painted block set on etsy from SimpleBlockSayings. I thought it was simply perfect in every way.

The white tree I found at Hobby Lobby on sale for half off. I was sad to find that one of the bird's tails were broken and even more upset to find that it was the last one they had. But when they told me that they would give me another 20% off for the flaw, I knew I had to have it. I think it looks like a mommy bird perched on a tree with her baby bird. Perhaps she is teaching it how to fly. I have so many plans for this adorable little tree for every season. The little heart tree on the blocks inspired me to crochet the heart ornaments.
I am not the only one inspired by this fast approaching day of Love. Look at these beautiful treasuries that feature my Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue scarf and hat set.


You can view them both HERE and HERE.

Zella's love for Pandas and her pretty big blue eyes inspired me to create a new hat design.

The Pretty Little Panda hat was made with the softest fluffiest polyamide yarn and has long textured braids attached to it's earflaps for a touch of whimsy fun. Remember the Fluffy Little Owl hat I made recently? I really loved the design of that hat and so I gathered inspiration from it to create the Pretty Little Panda. You can find it in my Etsy store HERE. As I was making the eyes, I decided at the last minute that I wanted the panda to have blue eyes like Zella. Now that it is finished, I can't imagine it having any other color. I think Zella would agree too.

A New Year With a Pretty Blanket of Snow

We are still here and enjoying our first REAL snow of the new year this weekend. We woke up this morning to this beautiful view.

So I thought it was the perfect morning to make a fun little breakfast to go with the "snow theme".

Then it was time to get our layers of clothes on; coats, scarves, gloves, hats and boots, and head out into the snow to play. We noticed a little feathered friend must have paid us a visit on our front porch early this morning.

The snow wasn't ideal for making a snowman or having a snowball fight but it was great for snow angels and sledding.