The Invitations...

...that I promised yesterday. Sorry...dead battery on camera! Anyway, I love how these turned out. The picture collage is perfect and she is just the cutest thing.

In our conversations leading up to picking paper or a theme for her project, Darcie told me that Grace's favorite things were to sing and dance, which gave me an idea for her wording...

I'll be back with baby shower invites on Monday!

Grace

Last night I decided I was going to wait until I get her invitations printed tonight to blog about these pictures. But then I woke up this morning and decided I couldn't wait. So here is the story...

As I have said many times before, the original pictures I had taken of my girls line and of myself last summer were taken by my good friend from high school, Darcie. She is both an awesome friend and photographer and we worked out a deal...since I didn't have a ton of start up money for my shop she took my pictures in return for custom parties for both of her daughters this spring.

Enter Grace, the almost 4 year old cutie...a total replica of her mother. Darcie enlisted her photographer friend Adam to take Grace's pics in her tutu and crown that I made for her party so we could use them for her invitations. I also sent a pair of Avery's Babylegs leg warmers because they matched too perfectly to the tutu. Last night Adam sent the images to me...and HOLY COW...



I wonder how quickly I can use 1000 business cards up so that I can replace my picture on my business cards with Grace? LOL.

All of Adam's pictures are fab...if you live in MN or are just into great photography, you should really check him out.
I'll probably be back with Grace's invitations tomorrow. Thanks Darcie, Adam, and Grace!

Tate's Pirate Parrrrrrrrrrty!

Well, people, Tate successfully turned 5 this weekend...arrrrrrrre you ready for the pics? It is amazing to me that 5 years ago when he was born he was the ONLY kid to speak of. This weekend there were 10 kids at the party! Tate was the oldest at 5 and my friend Leah's little Wyatt (remember my "babycakes" shower? He's little babycakes!!) was the youngest at 2 weeks...so much fun.

After over a year of wishing for this party, Tate couldn't have been more excited about all the decorations...he's kind of into small details...so it was fun to do it for him. I may be adding a few more decor pics after I get my mom's pictures since she had a bunch she took on her camera as well.

As always, I enlisted my friend Rach from *golden* to make the party even better. This time she made my life so much easier by granting my wish for pirate scarves and eye patches for the kids to wear and take home as their favors. No hat making for me this time around!! She said she had fun making them and may be selling them in her shop if you're interested. Thanks Rach!

Polka Dots and Pirates...Literally...

Okay people...I know that two posts in a week and a half is annoying. But I swear I have a good excuse! A bunch of them actually...my computer is still broken so it is annoyingly hard to get pics off that computer...I am being pelted by orders both from Etsy and locally...and the biggest reason for my absence is that today was my 30th birthday and my son Tate's 5th birthday, so lots of preparations.

Here are a few polka dots thanks to my hubs, kids, and my sister Rach...and a sneak peak of Tate's parrrrrrrrrrrty tomorrow....I mean, really. We have only been talking about this party for over a year. It is the reason that my shop is called what it is! I have to admit that pirates are not the favorite theme I have ever done, but it makes him so happy its hard not to get caught up in the fun of it.

On another quick side note...Eric and I have been talking a lot about how my reader base for this blog is growing. With the recent business boost and direction I am going with my shop, I have decided that this blog needs a little facelift in order to make it a bit more professional. That's why my profile has disappeared and Shannon's name is under mine...she is going to be making over my blog in March.

Eric and I also decided that I am no longer going to post about my kids here (except for bday photos to show business related gear, of course!) to protect their privacy a bit. I mean, let's be honest, you'll probably see them from time to time, but I won't bore you with our cookies any more! :) If you happen to LIKE to read about my family, I started a new family blog today. Bookmark it if you want to keep up with the Newmans. I am going to take the link down on Monday night. If you are reading this after Monday night and want the link, email me and I will get it to you.

Lots of party pics after the weekend! I hope to return to my more regular posting schedule next week.

Our Valentine's Day...

I hope you all had a great weekend, Valentine's Day included. To be honest, Valentine's isn't something that gets a lot of emphasis put on it at our house since my birthday and now Tate's are so close to it. Eric and I never go out or anything. But since we've had kids, we try to make it special and fun for them.

We had a great day on Saturday that started out with heart pancakes...

and after playing and working that off, heart PB&J for lunch...and then when Daddy got home after work, heart and XOXO cookies...and then a heart pizza for supper...Then after Becks went to bed we pulled out our wedding video and let the older two kids watch it for the first time. It was hilarious to see their reaction to how everyone looked almost 8 years ago, especially aunts K & K who were in 5th and 7th grade at the time.

After the kiddos were in bed, Eric and I watched our honeymoon video and fell asleep on the couch...aaaaaaaaaahhhhh. What a great day.

Our trip to LA...

There were several reasons for Avery and I to go to LA this past weekend. It was a rather last minute trip, planned only within the last few weeks.

At the end of January my friend Rachel from Golden Shop and I were contacted by a gifting company in LA that makes gift bags and boxes for celebrity events, mainly for children. They were putting on a Valentine party for some Hollywood kiddos and wanted to know if I was interested in making some crowns for the boys at the party. Rachel was making bibs and hats for the girls and since she lives in LA they invited her to the party. After talking to the hostess, we decided it would be fun if Avery and I flew out for the event as well.

Here are some pics of the party...there were a few celebs there that we knew, as well as some that we didn't...but overall a totally fun day. It was originally supposed to be outside in a park, but rain forced us into a indoor play place (who was even run by actress Julie McCullough...who Rachel immediately remembered as Mike Seaver's girlfriend on Growing Pains...talk about dating us! Man we're getting old.)

**All the Partygoing Kids**
**Sophie, the baby hostess of the party, Brayden, son of actress Melissa Joan Hart, and Olivia, daughter of actress Joely Fisher**

**Estela, daughter of model and actress Ali Landry, and True and Skylar,
daughters of Joely Fisher**
**Of course there was much discussion about what to wear to a party like this...I figured I was successful after Ali Landry told me that she loved my outfit and had the same one...so I shamelessly asked if we could take a pic together. You should have seen the "I'm so embarrassed by you" look that Rachel gave me when I handed her my camera. The picture turned out really dark, but we didn't dare ask to do a retake. So it is a little grainy and had to be turned to B & W, but still, my proof that I was actually at the party!**
**These two cuties were a son and daughter of someone in hollywood too, but we couldn't figure out who...no one we had heard of. They were so adorable though, we called them our poster children for the day.**

**Even Joely Fischer got in on wearing a golden hat!**

Besides the fact that a couple of my favorite pics of Melissa Joan Hart's older son, Mason, somehow mysteriously disappeared from my camera, the party was great. Word has it that most of them left this party and immediately went to Tori Spelling's Winter Wonderland party...too bad we couldn't have tagged along to that, too!

The other main reasons that we went on this trip was for a fun girls weekend...here is Avery and I at the airport right before her first airplane trip...
and for Rachel and I to finally meet face to face. We've been emailing and instant messaging online for about 6 months, and just recently started talking on the phone too. It was the best part of the trip to meet her and her husband and daughter. We stayed at her house and it wasn't weird for even a second. It was as if I'd known them for years! Thanks, O'Connors!

After much discussion about whether she should make her first Disney trip without Daddy being present, we decided Avery would probably never be as enamored with Disney princesses as she is now and that we should seize the opportunity...so here are pics of Avery on her first Disney trip:

**So happy with her "My First Visit" button**

**Avery and Kylie, Rachel's 2 year old daughter...best buds for the weekend.**

**Avery and Ariel, who she says was her favorite princess that day**
**Here she is hanging on every word that Cinderella had to say**

What a fabulous birthday present this trip was from my hubs...thanks honey!

Exclusive Designs Now Available at Polka Dot Market

Hello everyone! I am back from LA...and while I was completely planning on blogging about my trip when I got home last night it turns out you will have to wait. While I was downloading all my pics and instant messaging Rachel about the good time we had, my one year old who wanted Mom to hold him all night last night decided to get mad that I was on the computer and knock over my can of DC onto my keyboard. So no computer last night to speak of, no pics, and no blogging. I am working on getting the keyboard to work again, but as of now it only types half the letters on the keyboard and they are all capital. That will only be $100 for a new wireless keyboard...welcome home, eh? :) But I do believe that when you have kids that no matter where you've been or how great your trip was, coming home is just as good if not better.

In the meantime, I am super excited that the crown designs I've been working on for Sally over at Polka Dot Market are now available! They are exclusive designs to match her party themes...pink & chocolate and pink & green for girls; chocolate & blue and red & primary for boys.

I am working on developing a set of party hats to match each one as well. Hopefully those will be available within the next month.

Cross your fingers that my trip pics will be posted tonight!!

Off to Los Angeles...

I'm going to LA today...

I hope to be back with good news...big news...some kind of news...

Have a good weekend and I'll be back bloggin' next Wednesday!

A Local Order

This order came from my brother-in-law's coworker who had a daughter turning 4. It was the first time that someone came to my house to pick their order up, which was kind of different. It was fun to meet the person that I had been communicating with...I wish I could meet all the families I make banners for!

About 20 minutes after she left my house the phone rang and her number was showing up on caller ID. I started to panic...did I put the wrong age on the banner? The wrong name? Did it fall apart? I didn't even know whether to answer or let it go to voice mail. I did end up answering and was so glad I did. She was only calling to tell me how everything had completely exceeded her expectations. Whew!

Love these colors together, don't you? Makes me think spring!Now if only the spring temperatures would come...this 0 degree weather is getting really old. I have to keep reminding myself only 3 more days until I will be in sunny (or I guess predicted to be rainy) LA!

The Clothing Line

I feel like I am constantly telling about something new...but things have been exciting and new this year!

As I've mentioned in the past few weeks, I have been working with a few of my fav Etsy girls to come up with a clothing line that matches the items in my shop. People have asked me if I have suggestions of where to get cute stuff to match anyway, so I figured why not come up with something fabulous that matches exactly?!
After about a month and a half of working and coordinating to get things just right, here you go!The GIRLS COLLECTION Party Bib and Initial tee were already bought by this last little cutie, so they didn't make it into the photo shoot with my kids, but are available as well!

Not all the items are completely listed yet since I just got the pics taken yesterday and didn't send them to the girls until last night, but I will continue to link them as they get them listed.

BOYS COLLECTION Party Bib from *golden*
GIRLS COLLECTION Party Bib from *golden*
Personalized Polkadot Party Tee for GIRLS or BOYS from Persnickety Me
Bubblegum Dots Initial Tee for GIRLS from Persnickety Me

The actual items in the girls' shops might be named something different, but the apparel will be the same. If you are looking for a different bib or tee in a different theme, both of these girls do custom work, too, so don't hesitate to contact them or see the other cute stuff they currently have available.

Believe it or not, there will be MORE NEW STUFF later this week!