DIY PINATA

sorry for the lack of posts this past month. we've had a busy mix of 1st birthdays, school projects (i don't envy you, nancye), sick babies and my husband and i have been planning some exciting stuff! maybe there will be more on that later. :)
but rewind a couple of weeks and you have me frantically preparing for my girl's first birthday! 
i love parties. specifically, i love organizing parties (my wedding reception was a blast!) and i desperately wanted to throw an amazing first birthday bash for all of nancy's little friends. but time, money restraints, and practicality (there was a good chance nancy might just want to sleep through the whole event) made me decide to save the real big celebrations for when she is older and able to appreciate it. 
so i kept it simple and had an easy, kid friendly party with a diy pinata!
seriously, i love this. pinata's can be so expensive for something that you bash to smithereens with a stick, and (sometimes) pretty ugly. this one that i whipped up in an hour cost probably 3 dollars. and it looks so preeeeettyyy...

so here's the how to.
supplies:
a cardboard box (shoes, nappies, wipes, the box your kettle came in, whatever.)
craft glue
tape
stanley knife
a roll of party streamer
strong string. emphasis on strong.
 

(you will have to use your imagination for the first few steps because i forgot to take photos)

using your stanley knife, cut your roll of party streamer halfway in 1cm size chunks. it gets pretty scrappy in the middle of the roll but you probably won't use that part so don't worry. 

poke two holes in the box lid and thread a hook or ring of some sort through. I just used a length of tape rolled up with ends taped together to make a ring. see pictures below

fill box with lollies and tape lid firmly shut.

attach the streamer layer by layer, starting from bottom and slowly working up, gluing as you go.

let the layers overlap slightly so your pinata gets nice and thick and frilly. for the top and bottom, glue the streamer straight cross-ways, then neaten the edge with a little glue and your finger.

thread your strong string through your hook/tape loop and wallah! (excuse the mess. i'm keeping it real here, people.) 

you have one sweet looking pinata that doesn't hurt your wallet every time you whack it with a stick. 

happy birthday noo noo. we love you.

xx Bret

A MONDAY PROJECT

i was needing a little more colour in my day today.

hope you had the most spectacular weekend!
xx Bret

IT'S LOVE DAY

it's love day! i think love is the sweetest thing to celebrate. whether it's love for your partner, spouse, child, daddy, grandma or pet dog - we can all celebrate the lovin' we have. 

and what a nicer way than this to show your love to that special someone than these gorgeous diy valentine printables from My Paper Crane. they are so so sweet!

my husband and I are not usually the most extravagant couple when it comes to celebrating romantic events. our anniversaries are usually just spent eating different foods and chatting about "remember when..." moments. but this valentine i thought it would be nice to leave a few reminders for Ty around the house of exactly why i love him. 

sweet and simple. that's how we like it. you can download and print these pretties from here too.

i hope you have a lovely day.

xx Bret