Milk and Cookies Baby Shower

Pin It

Something's in the water where I live because I have so many friends that are having babies. Just one after another. So of course that means there are gonna be a ton of baby showers.

Well, a few weeks ago, me and a few friends put on a baby shower for two friends that are due around the same time and are both having boys.

I'd seen this party here and then had seen all of the milk and cookie parties around blogland and wanted to do something similar to those.

So, between the three of us we made 8 different types of cookies and put each one in a cylinder vase/jar. I also had three milk jugs that I put fat-free, 2%, and chocolate milk in {found at local thrift stores}.

Here are the details:

I tied ribbon around each vase and found the tags {found online for free - - forgot where, I'll keep on looking} that I just printed out, cut, put a ribbon on, and taped it to the ribbon on the vase. The tissue paper I had already had {thrift store find}, the eclectic white plates I'd found at many thrift stores in the past 2 years, vintage stroller to hold all the gifts {found on craigslist for $20 to use as a photography prop}, tissue pom-poms I made {tutorial to be up this week}, glass cups found at ikea for cheap, paper straws I found here {groupon deal}, and take home paper bags I made. So simple.

We had a few games here and there, opened up presents, and just mainly socialized . . . of course. Love baby showers.

Milk and cookies . . . the perfect treat.

I'll be linking to these parties here.

"What I'm Loving" Wednesday

When I was pregnant with my first little one, I decided that I was going to use cloth diapers. I researched and researched. You can imagine the responses I received. Basically, everyone thought I was "crazy". I was so self-conscious about it, that some of my friends didn't even know. {although now I really could care less}

But I bought a bunch of them and knew that in the long run, I'd save a lot of money! And I have! I didn't start using them until Ava was 4 months though because I had received so many diapers from her baby showers. Same with Reese. I've started using them on her within the past month.

The diapers I've been using are fuzzibunz. And they work. But I'd love to try some other brands out there sometime. There are so many! Any of you that use them?

Here are a few of my tips:

-I use them only when I'm at home {unless I'm out of disposable diapers}. If I'm out and about for a few hours or more, I usually change her into a disposable diaper. For me, it's just so much easier and I don't have to worry about storing the dirty diaper in my diaper bag.

-make sure you rinse the diaper out right away. Then you can store it in a plastic bag until you do your wash. If you don't rinse it right away, you'll start to notice a nasty, little odor.

-At night I usually don't use a cloth diaper on them because the ones I have at times will leak through at night {not sure about the other kinds}.

-I bought most of my diapers on e-bay in a lot and at the fuzzibunz seconds store- - that way they're cheaper than buying them from the company.

-It's rare that my little girls have diaper rashes when I use/used them.

- I don't take them on vacation.

-I keep a few cloth diapers in our 72 hour kit just in case. You never know what's gonna happen, right?

-plus, they're really fashionable. They come in almost every color and look so cute on the little ones.
I'm sure there's more, but I just can't think of anything else right now. Any questions?

Happy diapering!!!

refurbishing: coffee table

A little over a year ago, I was looking on Craigslist for a coffee table that I could transform. And I found this one. I posted it here. It was about $25-$30. And I knew it would look amazing when finished.

So, here we are . . . one year later. Hey. At least it's finished. The main reason it took so long was that we had issues with the wood stripper I was using. So we decided to go out and buy a sander instead. It did the job wonderfully and now we have a beautiful coffee table! But there were months and months that we didn't even touch it. It just sat in the garage.

Before:

So, here is the awaited finished product. {I'm sure you've all been in total suspense.}

What project are you still in the middle of? {don't worry, I'll be the first to admit that I'm in the middle of many!}

I'll be linking to these parties here.

Sewing: Easter dresses finished!

Here are the finished products! The girl's Easter dresses made from $3 thrift store fabric. Love it.

And I'm very proud to say that I finished them before Easter. {I'm a procrastinator.} I'm also very proud to say that this is the first infant dress I've ever made. I didn't really get into sewing for Ava until she was 1 year old.

I love how they turned out! I'll share all of the details with you next week. But this pattern is my go-to pattern. So easy. Can't wait to share it with you. {Although I did tweak a few things this time.}

Who wants some free paint?

You know I love me some free paint!!! Who doesn't.

I have a ton of projects just waiting to be finished. And now I can finally finish them thanks to valspar paint.

Everyday, they're giving away 100 free samples of paint. So, the first 100 people that go here at 9 a.m. CST (7a.m. PST) gets this below.

Lovely, huh? Just received mine in the mail yesterday and I'm so excited to paint a craigslist chandelier that we bought almost two years ago . . . yellow!!! Of course to go in our grey/yellow guest room/sewing room/photography studio/study. We'll see.

What will you paint with your free paint?

Saving Money: Restaurant.com

I think most people love to save money.

I know I do.

Well, we've been fans of this site for almost 2 years now.

We even discovered our favorite local pizza

place due to restaurant.com.

And what I love is that they often have their gift certificates 80% off!

That's my kind of deal.

So. A $25 gift certificate is . . . $2!

So, click on the link above and it will direct you to their site.

Make sure you enter the code: SAVE

It's worth it! Let me tell ya.

Oh, and this is only good until March 14!

There are restrictions, so make sure you read the fine print (like buying maybe $35 worth of food, etc.)

"What I'm Loving" Wednesday

I'm loving mint.com. It's an amazing budgeting tool. And it's free! It's so easy to use and has simplified my life! Check out the video below or go here.

Crafts: freezer paper stenciling

This little girl can't wait to meet her little sis. 2 more weeks left . . . and counting. She's ready. And so am I!

One of the projects I wanted to finish before having this little one, was to make big sister/little sister shirts. I'd always wanted to try out the freezer paper stenciling and thought this was the perfect opportunity.

Made has a great tutorial on freezer paper stenciling. Go here to check it out.

-I don't have a fancy program and just made my design off of Microsoft Word. The owls were part of the clipart.

-I was able to print it off right onto the freezer paper (you want the ink on the dull side and not on the shiny side).

- Then you have the really fun part (definite sarcasm coming through - - if you couldn't tell). You get to cut it out with an exacto knife. This is the longest process (if you have words - - tiny words).

- Iron on the freezer paper (shiny side down) to the shirt.

-Use fabric paint (I used the Tulip brand) to blot the paint on the shirt and let dry for 3-4 hours.

-When you're done, you'll get something cute like the shirts above. (this was my first time and I did have some bleeding through - - especially with the name Reese. Need to figure out what to do next time.)

Ava absolutely loved her shirt. She couldn't stop looking at the finished product on herself. I can't wait to get a picture with the girls in them together.

I'll be linking to some of the parties below.

Refashioning: christmas dresses for the girls

I absolutely love refashioning clothes. Mainly just for my little girl (soon to be girls). The other day, I received a free $10 card in the mail from Kohls. And now I know why I don't ever shop there. We would be there every day, all day long, and in some major debt! I couldn't stop looking at those clearance aisles.

I was trying to find some type of outfit that I could make the girl's Christmas dresses out of. And I think I found it. I found this cute Lauren Conrad skirt. A little too tiny for me but could be perfect for what I have in mind. It was on clearance for $13 and so I was able to get it for $3. Amazing. We'll see how it turns out. I'll keep ya posted.

Will you be making any Christmas dresses this year?