Parties! 6 Year Old Bowling!

One of the things I love most about 5/6 year olds is how much they know what they love! This week I worked on a special birthday party for my friend's daughter who is turning 6. She called me a few weeks back and said, unsurprisingly, that there was really no great bowling party goods out there for her party. (I say unsurprisingly because in the past few years I feel like party goods in general have gone downhill and it is nearly impossible to find things in good themes!)

So we chatted for a while and I started dreaming up awesome ideas for her party. We decided to do a t-shirt with a small "pocket" design on the front and large design on the back. Thanks to my talented cousin, I made her matching hair bows with bowling pin centers. And for party favors, my favorite little water bottles with personalized bowling pins for each of the party guests! 

A few of my favorite things about them.... I LOVE the bowling pins, which I purposely put 6 of (even though no one will notice but me!) I also "bling-ed" them up a bit with glitter stripes on each of them, and a glitter-ed bowling ball. I think my most favorite part is this fun, retro-looking font. To me it looks like what you would see on an old bowling sign from the 50's! 

Super fun party to help with, I can't wait to hear how much the birthday girl loves her new stuff! :)

Sneak Peek & Advice Needed on Upcoming Shop Items

One thing I learned from my Etsy Shop at Christmas, as it was exploding with orders, is that even when there are hundreds of things that come up in a search, if you can design something even nicer, you will succeed! 

My Christmas success was an Engagement Ornament. My sister needed one for her friend and we couldn't find anything we liked.... so I designed one. Based on the amount of orders that came pouring in, I guess others had the same problem!

So now I am trying to come up with the next "big thing" and somehow ended up looking for First Holy Communion stuff. It's there, but it's not amazingly cute (in my opinion!) So I found this adorable little girl and adjusted it a little and made it something I could use on my own projects. (Sorry about the crazy watermarks, I've been having tons of problems with people stealing my designs!)

So far I've put her on an ornament...

I'm working on a banner & matching invitations. My neighbor suggested a bible box or a little box for Rosary Beads. Now I'm trying to think what else I could do.... any ideas or suggestions? Do you think a DIY printable kit would be a good idea with cupcake toppers and such? Or would it be better just to sell them already made? 

Children's "Masterpieces"

Maybe it's the teacher in me, or just the proud parent, but I absolutely LOVE the things my daughter brings home from school! Only problem is..... where to put them ALL??? It's at least three things a day she brings home, and I can't put them all on the fridge, but I also want to recognize all the hard work she is doing, so I was in a predicament. That's when I saw this Pin on Pinterest:

I love it, but let's be honest, I've been out of wall space for a long time now. ;) Then the wheels started turning in my head.... I had also seen another pin for using picture frames on your fridge instead of just cluttered pictures. So I decided to combine the ideas and use the little display space I had left, my back door in the kitchen! We're in the kitchen all the time, and that big door just sits there, blank. Why not use it?

So first, I decided that at the top of the door I would write "Mary's Masterpieces." I typed it up in a few different fonts for my daughter to check out..... 

Of course, she chose none of the above. She wanted something "simpler" (She's 5!) So together we found one we liked. 

Then we went to Michael's and bought a few 8x10 frames that were on clearance, some super strong magnets. When we got home we took the glass out and I hot glued the magnets to the corners of the frames. Then, she chose art work while I applied the vinyl decal to the top of the door. Here's how it turned out..... 

Of course, we can't put everything up there, but she loves coming home from school with her favorite "treasures" and changing them out when she wants to. (Like on Saturday, when she changed them three times!) Yet another reason I love five year olds! :)

So if your children's masterpieces are taking over, try it... or something like it! And if you want a vinyl decal like mine (or you want to dream up a custom design) check it out in my Etsy Shop! 

Parties! Winter ONEderland

Every once in a while I get a phone call from a friend who says "I know you are super busy, but my son/daughters birthday is coming up and I was wondering if you had time to help me make some stuff...... but no pressure, if it's too much, just say no." YEAH RIGHT!! Like I would ever turn down the opportunity to create something awesome for a birthday party-- or for any party for that matter!

Usually these calls end up with me agreeing to do whatever I can, spending at least an hour on Pinterest "researching," and then sitting in bed all night with ideas swirling around my head. Hundreds of ideas. Wayyyyyyy too many for a "normal" family party. 

I've had three of these calls in the last month, four if you count my phone call this morning that was really just a conversation but already has my head spinning with thoughts! (Thanks Kari!) ;) 

Since I haven't mailed all of the stuff away to the birthday girls, and some things are a surprise for an upcoming party, I can't share all 3 of them today, but here is one I did right before Christmas.

This was for a Winter ONEderland party-- What a super cute idea, right??!! (No, it wasn't my idea, it was the Mom's idea, I just created for it!) 

She bought the tutu, but I made her the shirt using heat-transfer vinyl, and then on the bottom photo these are a highchair banner (great idea if you are short on wall space to just have a small banner to hang across the front of your highchair tray!) and some little cupcake toppers (put on toothpicks and stuck into the tops of your cupcakes. Talk about simple and easy, but so pretty!)

What I love about all three of these things is that they are simple, classic, and took that little family party  and gave it that little extra touch of special! :)

Now, back to work on the bowling party I'm doing for a six year old girl..... 

Smart or Crazy?

One of the traditions we've carried on from my husband's side of the family is our annual Christmas cookie baking bonanza. I call it a bonanza because my daughter and I spend HOURS upon HOURS baking cookies in the weeks before Christmas. At least 5-10 different types, all in several batches. Crazy, yes. but also yummy. ;)

So what do we do with all these thousands of cookies? We bring them to all the people we know and love when we see them.... teachers, friends, relatives, neighbors, and even the UPS Man who we love. (My sister swears we are the only ones in the world who give the UPS Man cookies!) 

Every year shopping for tins to give them in is a challenge. They are always too cartoony or too expensive or just plain tacky. And after all that work baking, presentation is just as important as the yummy deliciousness inside. So this year I decided to buy blank tins (or mostly blank tins) and decorate them myself. 

So then the question became, on the small red ones, do I write "With Love From Our Home to Yours" or "With Love From The Januszka Family." If it has our name on it, people can't reuse it.... but do people really reuse them? If it does have our name on it, it seems more personal, but is it over the top?

What do you think? Am I smart or crazy to personalize my cookie tins? Would other people?