A to Z with a little J

Going through my posts I came across this one in my drafts that some how never got posted.  This project was completed in January 2012. For my final project for Jameson's Birthday Party I made a Jameson Train.  Surfing Pinterest I came across the yarn wrapped letter tutorials and thought it sounded like fun but needed to be spiced up a bit.  Of course the tutorials always make it sound so much easier than it really is so after much trial and error here is my final product! First I traced and cut out the letters from a cardboard box I had around the house.  I highly recommend using an Xacto knife to cut as many as possible because cardboard and scissors don't get along well. Then using a piece of tape I secured the yarn to the card board and started wrapping horizontally around the letter.  Once I got to the top of the "M" it got a little difficult to keep the yarn on the letter and not slide off.  I just struggled until I finally got it to ...

UPDATE:  The invitation and party game are now available to purchase at my Etsy shop. https://www.etsy.com/shop/AbbyLynDesigns My first niece/nephew will be arriving in just a few short weeks.  I'm not one for surprises so the fact that my sister-in-law has decided to be "team green" and not find out the gender has driven me crazy.  I have to admit however the closer her due date comes the more exciting it is to finally find out what she is having.  So in typical Abby fashion I went into overdrive planning her baby shower and I couldn't be happier with the turn out. The Invitation The Spread The Cake I made a cupcake bouquet (which was not as easy as I expected).  Using a styrofoam ball on top of the metal bucket base and toothpicks to attach the cupcakes.  I found this idea on Pinterest and after my first trial was a disaster I went to YouTube and watched a few videos to help perfect the technique.  The cupcakes ar...

One more project complete!  I am slowly getting there but have picked up the pace since the party is only a couple days away.  All I have left now is food and the birthday banner. These were very simple to make once I found all the candy I needed.  I never thought it would be so difficult to find Lifesavers in a roll.  I went to 5 stores before I finally found them at the gas station. What you need: Hot Glue Gun Hard round candy such as peppermints or butterscotch Roll of Lifesavers Pack of Bubble Yum Gum Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Hershey's Kiss Mini Chocolate bars

In my last post I showed an adorable little picture of my crochet monster for Jameson's 2nd Birthday party.  Well, this is what I get for getting an early start to my party planning.  Jameson is obsessed with trains now!  So what does a good mommy do (or at least this mommy)?  Scraps all her hard work and starts over.  So here I am, starting from scratch.  This time I started with the invitation.  All the cute decorations will follow. I had the idea to make the invitation into an activity.  So I spent hours searching online trying to find just the right idea.  Finally I found the folding train idea and I customized it to fit my needs.  It turned out so much better than I ever expected.  The inside of the card is the folding train and if you bring it with you you get a prize. I am beyond happy with how it turned out!  So what do you think?

Yet again the blogging slacker in me has prevailed. Yes my son's birthday was almost 2 months ago and I am just now getting around to posting his!  Maybe it is just slacker Abby since I have yet to finish the thank you cards as well :( Jameson's birthday went off without a hitch!  Lots of family and friends came to celebrate with us.  I decided to go with a frog theme and it turned out better than I could have imagined.  I think I may have missed my calling as a party planner.  Who knows maybe it will be in my future? First I came across the idea to make cake pops as the party favors.  I must say they were absolutely amazing and simple to make!  I do have some tips if you plan to attempt making them.   Recipe: 1 pre-made box cake 1 can of frosting 1 package Wilton's White Chocolate Chips  (if you want colored use precolored chips.  Adding food coloring to the white chocolate will make it curdle and not work well) ...