Super Mario Bros 40th Birthday!

My wonderful husband turned the big 40 this year. When I asked what theme he wanted for our small family gathering, he said video game. So, I racked my brain for ideas, Gears of War, too violent. Finally it hit! Super Mario Bros! What fun would that be to design a party surrounding that theme. I went crazy with ideas and I think everything turned out well. Here are a few pics of the items I made special for my man.

It all started with the invite...

{Mushroom invite-view 1}

{Mushroom invite-view 2}

{40up Banner}

{40up Banner-view 1}

{40up Banner-view 2}

{? boxes hanging from the ceiling}

{Cloud with gold coins & Bullet Bill}

{Piranha plants in pipes}

{Mario moustaches}

{Piranha plant terrarium}

Surprise day at the spa!

Recently we had a very good friend visit from out of town. Like me, she has been going through some hard times. Her time at our house was a way to get away from a bad situation and to spend time with people who love her very much.

My husband, who usually can not surprise me, surprised the both us with a spa day at the beautiful Ritz Carlton Spa. I must note that he totally got me and made me very upset so I would be distracted. As we drove to the front of the building our jaws dropped and he just sat there smiling.  He pushed us out of the car and said "You better get in there before you two are late for appointments!".  Utter shock and excitement filled us both. It was an amazing experience that made us fill with tears and joy. Massages custom suited to our Chinese zodiac elements. We were able to discuss everything we were going through in a quiet and peaceful environment. At that moment my friend realized that we really do love her more than anything and that she is part of our family.  More importantly, this is what people do for each other during tough times. There in the beautiful desert surroundings I felt like she was not just a friend, but a sister.  Sharing feelings and experience that few know about. It was a wondrous time and I am thankful to my husband who provided that for us.

Woodland Bathroom

A few months ago I decided that my son's bathroom was boring and the baby duckies had to go. After all he is almost 5 and yellow duckies get old really fast after the baby age comes to an end. I had been eyeing a cute shower Curtain at a local big box store. Once the big man, I mean my son, had approved on the curtain and theme, we forged forward. It took us about 2 days to complete. Like the crazy woman that I am...I painted the whole bathroom in one night. Once I get started...I can't stop. Here are a few pictures of the transformation.

{Boring bathroom}

{Woodland bathroom}

{Baby Ducky Pictures}

{Woodland animal Pictures}

So there you have it! With a few cheap changes my son's bathroom is now a cute woodland theme that he can enjoy during bath time. Guest's seem to enjoy the change as well.

Circus Inspiration

My husband and I surprised our little man with an evening at the circus. He was beyond amazed at all the sights that lay before him. In fact, I am not sure he closed his mouth once during the whole show! So with my trusty Hipsamatic phone app, I shot as much as my battery would take. The costumes and sights inspired the artist within. Here are some of my pics! Please note: not all are in focus, but the it all created interesting effects and content.

This reminded me of a project that I made for a little girl's tea party. My son was invited and I decided that we would have fun with it. So, I made him a top hat inspired by Alice in Wonderland. Anyone could easily make this into a Ring Master's hat!

Supply List:
• Foam Derby hat
• 2 Adhesive backed foam sheets (same color as hat)
• Wide colorful ribbon
• Any decorations you wanted to add

Directions:
• Use one piece of foam to make the top section of the hat, pulling away backing only in the areas that will adhere to the derby hat base.
• Next you will need to cut a circle out in the size of the top of the hat, making sure to leave tabs every few inches. The tabs are used to adhere to inner part of the foam that wraps around the hat. You will peel off the more of the backing on the main foam piece to stick the tabs too. You might have to adjust the tabs as you go.
• Last decorate your hat as you please! Wrap ribbon and add decorative items. I used pieces of jewelry to mine. The hat pins are simply dowels painted silver and little tea pots jewelry pieces.

Enjoy!

Toes that have personality

I am like every other girl out there...I like to have pretty toes. Unfortunately for me, my toes always get wrecked from working with kids. My little piggies are like magnets for little people's shoes and dropped toys. While prosing the aisle at a big box store I came across the Sally Hansen line and decided to give the Salon Effects a try. They are super easy to put on and the plus was I wasn't sniffing nail polish fumes! So far I love them! The best part is that they come in all sorts of patterns. I may be an artist, but the thought of trying to draw art on my toe nails was not my idea of fun. Here is a look at my checked toes for a trip this weekend to Disneyland!

{Checked Toes}

Aiden's Zoo Birthday

Few pics from my son's birthday back in April. When I decided to do his party at the zoo, I decided that the zoo party themes at the store where not to my taste. So, I designed everything myself! He LOVES tigers, so I made his own tiger logo that went on everything! I wanted the colors and patterns to be fun and contemporary, not the typical color scheme that you see in most kids products. I use bright colors as my staple when designing anything for kids. The whole process was fun and even the parents even seemed to appreciate it! More importantly my kiddo loved it and had a blast.

 

{Birthday Banner - Designed and Handmade}

{Centerpieces with "Thank You" lollipops}

{Gift Table}

{Party Schedule}

{Cupcake Tags}

{Mini cake for my little man}

Thanks to my awesome husband for the lovely pictures.

Room with a view

Today is the first day that I begin my blog site. This is certainly something I never thought I would do and if you know me...you know this is out of the ordinary. The tides have changed in my life. I made the very hard decision to take a break from Graphic Design. With that I am going to use my blog site as an outlet for creativity.  Along with the creativity and inspiration, this will be my healing process. I feel honored to be able to share my journey of healing with all of you. There have been so many times when people ask how I have made it through all the tragedy and now they can read all about it.

SO... I am sure you are wondering what all this tragedy is.  It all started my junior year of college, my father passed after years of health issues.  Fast forward to 2009.  My middle brother, who I was very close with, passes away unexpectedly and I get laid off. Fast forward again to February this year, my oldest brother passes away unexpectedly. This leaves my mother and I left from the original five of us and it leaves us torn to emotional pieces. As I look out at my garden in the beautiful desert southwest, I know there is a purpose for all that has happened to me. I could look out this window and see all the ugliness the world has brought to me, or I could look out and see all the life that is bursting forth through harsh desert land. I choose the beauty, life and more importantly... the positive road.