SHIM + SONS

KIDS CAFES

 

{Moomah}

Today I'm guest blogging over at Sfgirlbybay. I'm sharing some of the inspiration for redecorating the boys' playroom and bedroom. You can read more about it here.

little girlfriend gifts // the pink edition

// handmade birthday gifts for our little girl friends // personalized notebooks // book plates // pens // 

// my new favorite gift to make // "write your own story" books // perfect for a little budding author + illustrator //

// dedication page //

// pages include blank space for illustrations + lined sections for story writing //  

// individually packaged in glassine bags //  

// tucked inside an ikea kassett folder // my new favorite packaging box //  

// personalized label for the box // 

// handmade drawstring bag // happy birthday tag //

j's 5th birthday party

Our sweet j turned five last month. Yes, FIVE!! [I keep telling my boys to stop growing up so quickly but they don't seem to be listening!] This year we celebrated j's birthday with Miss E, a classmate + family friend. Miss E's mother and I both share a love for planning birthday parties for our children so I knew we would have a lot of fun with this birthday party. The party venue was our local park which has a nice covered area and bbq grills. As I mentioned before we chose a  red + white + blue color palette and opted not to have a specific theme for the party. Instead we focused on the concept of "Hello, Summer!" which gave us a lot of options when it came to designing the birthday party print material, decorations + favors.

I've been wanting to design party invitations with cute bunting ever since I saw Sharilyn's darling invitations for her daughter's 1st birthday party. Since I love texture I thought it would be fun to make the bunting out of washi tape. I printed out the text on to heavy white card stock and then cut and placed a bunch of washi tape triangles on to the card. The invitations were paired with my favorite polka dot envelopes which I picked up in Korea. The thank you cards are similar to the ones I've been designing for several years now. The simplicity of the cards make it really easy to get them in the mail shortly after the party [which is key in my book!]. 

My favorite thing about party planning is coming up with new + fun decorations. I try to keep things simple by using items and materials around the house or in my studio. For the centerpieces I filled mason jars with candy [red hots] and added several different handmade decorations. Using painted bamboo skewers as the base I glued paper flowers + flags, tied strips of fabric and made picture circles of the birthday kiddos [I love the picture Miss E's mother took of the j + Miss E while they were playing dress up]. 

After sharing with Miss E's mother about my failed attempt at making caramel apples for J's 7th birthday party favors, she decided to have a go at it. And although her caramel apples turned out better than mine we decided it was a bit time consuming making the 25+ favors needed for the party. So instead she made caramel apple kits for the party favors. She put the ingredients + instructions in a clear bag and tied it up with twine and custom label. I love edible favors + cute food kits so I was thrilled with how these favors turned out. And even after making more-than-you-can-imagine paper globes for J's school carnival, I made more for the birthday party. Paper globes are one of my all-time favorite decorations because 1) I usually have all the supplies on hand, 2) they come together quickly, 3) they are reusuable, and 4) they are versatile. You can hang them, string them or toss them onto to a table. 

Miss E's mother sewed the birthday boy + girl sweet coordinating fabric birthday crowns [which j LOVES] and we each made them our traditional fabric applique birthday number shirts. Using fabric from my stash we sewed together yards and yards of bunting and reused some bunting from j's 3rd birthday party [see, using the same color palette over and over again comes in handy!]. Miss E's mother also made a cute birthday banner for the party.

 

We enjoyed yummy food prepared by Appah + Miss E's father [grilled chicken, ribs, fresh veggies + fruit, salsa + chips, freshly squeezed lemonade] and our traditional vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and rice krispy treats [for our non-cake loving friends]. This year we tried something different ordered a red velvet sheet cake from a local bakery [it was so good] which we decorated with red + blue M+M's. I made little cupcake toppers and a paper banner decoration to put on top of the birthday cake.
 

Needless to say the birthday party was a lot of fun and the birthday boy + girl had a great time. And I actually took some photographs at our homemade photobooth this time around. One of my favorite props was the blue frame [which is an old matte frame covered with blue paper] and a painted embroidery hoop.

   

I have to admit I was going through birthday party planning withdrawals after the party. But since I cannot wait another 9 months to throw the next birthday party I've decided to throw a few non-birthday parties for the boys + their friends. Stay tuned!

wall of onesies

My close friends know that when I like something, I really like something. If I like a certain food at a restaurant I will eat it over and over again until I am sick of it. If I love a song I will listen to it on repeat over and over again. You get the point, right? 

So of course once I got bit by the masking tape + metallic fabric paint bug, I went a little overboard. My sister said she needed some small onesies for my new niece so instead of sewing fabric appliques to the onesies I decided to make some simple designs using masking tape + fabric paint.

I had so much fun working on these onesies. And although I never considered myself a "gold" person, I am really liking it these days.

I used 1/2-inch masking tape, Jacquard Lumiere + Jacquard Textile Color fabric paint and a small paintbrush.

The balloons were made using this Martha Stewart balloon craft punch + freezer paper. I am planning to stitch a little string to the balloon using embroidery thread.

I also used my scalloped edge shears + pinking shears to cut the masking tape to create some scallop + zig-zag patterns.

I love the unlimited possibilities of this project--you can paint designs on tea towels, curtains, bed linens, tote bags, etc. I plan to let the boys design a few shirts for themselves this summer. And with all the little ones in my life I'm pretty sure this is going to become my "go to" gift for baby + big kid presents. Simple, sweet + fun!