Friday Favorites: Party Planning!

Now that Cayden is 9 months old I can officially start planning his 1st birthday party (I've been unofficially planning it since he was a few weeks old, but that's besides the point). As you know, I am obsessed with my kid and obsessed with planning events so his 1st birthday is a huge deal for me. This week I really went into party planning mode and I already have a ton of ideas that I wanted to share so I decided to dedicate Friday Favorites to my little guy and his party! Once again, I'm using Pinterest to keep all of my ideas in one place! (Don't worry Etsy. Next week is all yours!)

First up is the theme. Ever since Cayden was about 3 months old he has been OBSESSED with Mickey Mouse. Whenever the theme song to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse came on he would go crazy in his jumper and get the biggest smile on his face. Then we took him to Disneyland and he had the best time ever. I know a Mickey Mouse theme would be perfect, but I really want it to be loosely based on him instead of a commercial, trademarked character party. To do this I'm going with a red, yellow, and white color scheme and will be making the majority of the decorations myself! The party will also be a POOL PARTY and will take place at my mama's house! I love that he has a July birthday because hot summer parties are the best!

The food: We are serving Mexican food, because 1) Cayden's half Mexican, 2) who doesn't love Mexican food?, 3) it's easy, and 4) it goes well with the summer/pool party theme. Of course we will have rice and beans and fresh tortillas, along with...

 Carne Asada. Mando is going to be BBQing carne asada tacos along with some pollo for the main course. His family knows of the best carniceria in town where you can buy the meat already marinated. YUM!

 Ceviche. This is a yummy Mexican seafood appetizer. I love the idea of serving it in salt rimmed glasses with limes like this recipe.

Chips and mango salsa. The perfect mix of crunchy, salty, and refreshing. I love me some mango salsa!

The drinks: Serving alcohol at children's parties is controversial, but I personally am all for it. Everyone we're inviting knows how to drink responsibly so I know it won't be a problem. I plan to set up a little beverage bar with some homemade sun tea, ice water, Coronas, and...

Frozen margaritas. My mom had the genius idea of making them in her ice cream machine so we have a big batch pre-made that will stay frozen. Mmmmm!

Strawberry Lemonade. Who doesn't love lemonade on a hot summer day? It's probably my favorite drink ever, and I love adding fruit to my drinks. I think I want to try this recipe for freckled strawberry lemonade. YUM!

The sweets: Probably my favorite part of a party is the sweets! I am planning an entire dessert table that I absolutely can't wait to decorate. I'm still searching for a few more ideas, but I know I will have...

Ice cream bar. When I saw this image on Pinterest I thought the idea of an ice cream bar was so unique and fun and of course delicious. It also goes perfectly with my summer/pool party theme. I'll be serving chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry ice cream along with hot fudge, whipped cream, and cherries. I LOVE this idea of using ice cube trays to hold and separate all of the toppings and will definitely be using it. Inexpensive and easy!

The cake. I went back and forth on whether I wanted to do cupcakes or a cake until Mando and I finally decided that people might think it's weird to go to a birthday party and not have cake. I think I'll either do a plain white sheet cake or a plain white 2 layer cake and then I'll make a bunting banner topping like this one found here!

Mickey Mouse cake pops. I might be ambitious enough to attempt these cake pops, but I haven't decided for sure yet. I've made cake pops and they are TIME CONSUMING. Oh, and messy. I really do love them though, and they would go so well with the theme. I might just make a few!

Mickey Mouse cupcakes. I adore these cupcake wrappers. I can also make them REALLY easily using my Silhouette and a few buttons! I think they go great with the theme, I just have to figure out what to use for the ears because I don't want to mess around with fondant. Oreos maybe?

Whirly lollipops. I haven't decided if I want to use these lollipops on the sweets table, or as favors (Or both? Can you do that?) but I definitely want to incorporate them in the design somehow. They are so fun!

The decor: as I said before, I plan on making most of the decor. I'll definitely be making a big bunting banner to put on the wall, but I also wanted to make...

Tissue paper pom poms. I love this arrangement of yellow tissue paper pom poms hanging from the ceiling. I really want to do something similar above the sweets table!

Sunflower centerpieces. I want to put sunflowers on all of the food tables. I might do real flowers or I'll do something like this DIY centerpiece, depending on what is more cost effective.

Balloon wreath. I think balloon wreaths are so fun and festive! I also love how easy they are to customize colors to match the theme. I really want to do something similar to this one, but with a silhouette of Mickey Mouse in the middle!

Whew! That was the longest Friday Favorites yet! Are you all birthday'd out yet? Hopefully not, because I'll be blogging more party planning details over the next 3 months! Thanks for reading and have a great weekend everyone!

What's new at Mama Matryoshka

When I first opened Mama Matryoshka most of my inventory consisted of handmade cards which I LOVE, but I really wanted a wide range of products available. Lately I've been all about cupcake toppers and I can't stop designing them! I just think they are such a fun and unique way to add decor to a party or event. And who doesn't want cute cupcakes? I'm all about it. This week I designed 3 different sets of toppers inspired by children's party themes that I love.

Pinwheel cupcake toppers. Lately I've been seeing tons of rainbow/color themed parties all over the blogs and I love it! The bright colors are so fun and there are so many different ways to customize a party based on a certain color. I've even made these customizable so you can choose which colors you want (although I am digging the mustard yellow/aqua combination).

Farm animal cupcake toppers. When I started seeing the farm themed parties I was so excited. It's one of my favorite themes and I really hope my kiddo's are open to this theme when they're older. Red bandannas tied together for a banner, petting zoos, straw hats, I love it all. These are one of my favorite things I've designed so far. The baby animals are so cute and I love them against that vibrant barn red color.

Nautical/Sailor cupcake toppers. I'll admit it, I have a special place in my heart for nautical themed events since both my baby shower and Cayden's nursery were sailor themed. I love anchors and navy blue and I think it's so cute for a little boy. These cupcake toppers were definitely inspired by my little sailor Cayden.

(All cupcake toppers cost $10. That's less than $1 each!)

Custom projects: I'm so thrilled to say that I've gotten quite a few custom project requests. I'll be honest, those are my favorite thing to do. I love hearing about other people's events and designing something specifically for them. The whole experience is so personal and I love when they get excited when they see what I've come up with. It's the best feeling in the world!

I made these sweet Koala Thank You cards for my Twitter friend Ashley. She had an Australia themed party for her 2 little one's. Isn't that such a fun and unique party idea? I love how these came out.

I designed this sweet bird card for my sister as a gift for a co-worker. She is the easiest customer ever because she pretty much gives me free reign to do what I want. Of course I had to use my favorite color combination ever, red and aqua and I love how it turned out. (Oh, and make sure to visit her blog and comment on her latest post for an extra entry in 4 giveaways coming soon!)

I designed these retro cupcake toppers for my friend Jen who is not only a fantastic photographer, but also very crafty herself! She and her husband are renewing their vows in the Fall and the theme is 50's diner. If you knew me in high school you would know that I am ALL ABOUT THE 50'S THEME so I was SO excited to get this request. I love the polka dots, music notes, and the record. This was so fun to do!

So as you can see, I've been a busy little bee! I still have a ton of ideas and I'm trying to find the time to bring them to life as soon as possible! If you have a party and you want custom decor don't hesitate to contact me here or through my Etsy shop!

My little bunny celebrated his first Easter, 9 monthday, and took his first step!

How did every one's Easter go? We had a nice, low key day which was perfect for Cayden's first Easter. I've had his Easter basket done for over a month and I was SO excited to give it to him! I meant to incorporate a lot of handmade items in his basket, but I realized I failed completely once I was finished. Also? Easter baskets are SMALL, yo! Half the stuff I got for him didn't fit inside! It ended up being small and simple which, in retrospect, was a lot better.

Baby's first basket: V-Tech Peekaboo bunny, sippy cup, board book, bubble machine for the bathtub, and a chocolate bunny of course! Not pictured: 2 more Easter books, a hand-made plush from Uff Da!, 2 hand-me-down Winnie the Pooh DVD's from my sister, and bunny ears.

The morning of Easter dawned cold and rainy, so after we arrived at my mama's house we did a last minute indoor egg hunt. The boys were so cute running around the family room and of course had no interest in finding eggs whatsoever. After a few minutes though, they started to get it and carefully selected some eggs for their baskets!

After the egg hunt, we hung out and chatted and then had a delicious meal cooked by my mama. It was the perfect family Easter. Also, Cayden took his first step! He just started standing on his own for a few seconds earlier this week and today the little daredevil took one step towards daddy and promptly fell down. On his 9 monthday too! This mama couldn't be prouder!

How was your Easter? Don't you just love seeing the little ones dressed sharp in their Easter outfits? I think that's my favorite part. I hope you got all the Easter candy your heart desired!

I'm in the process of adding some new items on Mama Matryoshka right now. I have a busy week ahead of me, and lots of blog posts coming! Happy Monday every one!

Friday Favorites: Pinterest Volume 1

OKAY I'LL ADMIT IT. I'm obsessed. When I first discovered Pinterest I was busy with a hundred other projects and didn't give it much thought until one night I was home sippin' sizzurp (AKA wine) and finally signed on... and was on for the next 3 hours or so. I'm telling you, once you get on this site you get SUCKED IN. It's DANGEROUS.

In case you aren't familiar with the site, you can 'pin' images from your favorite blogs or websites and categorize them on 'boards'. I have wedding, recipe, fashion, crafty, home inspiration, and birthday party boards. You can also follow other people and their pins and re-pin them if you like them. It's so helpful to have all your ideas and inspiration in one place and I am so inspired every time I go on there.

Last week I was asking Twitter for ideas for Friday Favorites themes and my genius pal Alana suggested doing a post of all my Pinterest favorites and I was all over it! I asked her to join me, and once word got around all of my favorite ladies decided to join in the fun! And because we all love to eat cook we chose to do a FOOD theme! Since I'm more of a baker I wanted to do sweets. I hope you aren't reading this hungry, because you may drool!

Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream cake. YOU HAD ME AT CHOCOLATE! (Source)

Ice cream cake cookie cupcake. WHAT! (Source)

Cookie Dough cupcakes, my life is now complete! (Source)

S'mores cookies! Get in my mouth! (Source)

Peanut butter brownie bites, NOM! I made these last night and WILL be blogging about them next week! (Source)

And don't forget to visit Alana, Lindsey, Heather, Alyson and  to see THEIR Pinterest Friday Favorites! Have a great weekend everyone!

Wordless Wednesday - Mama's boy

Friday Favorites: Burlap and Lace

Yesterday, while searching for a Friday Favorites theme, I came up empty handed. I've been high on cold medicine for days and my brain just feels foggy so I hopped on Pinterest hoping to get inspired. (Seriously, what an amazing website. I blame Alana entirely for getting me hooked.) I did what I always do, which is look for wedding inspiration, and suddenly the theme came to me. I have always loved the 'rustic chic' look, farm backdrops, and the combination of burlap and lace. It seems so masculine/feminine to me, and I think they work so great together. I already had a ton of stuff saved and favorited, so this came so easily to me. So, without further ado, here is my rustic chic, burlap and lace edition of Friday Favorites!  

I've featured this Etsy shop before, because I honestly adore her stuff. Her burlap banners make me swoon, and I will definitely be purchasing one for my own wedding. I love this rustic, but elegant Just Married banner. It works so pretty with an outdoor wedding don't you think?

I adore this ring bearer pillow. The burlap and white combination works so well together, and the twine at the top adds the perfect touch. I also love how it can be re-used after the wedding as home decor.  

I don't normally wear jewelry, but this Stella ivory lace necklace is such a statement piece and I fell in love when I saw it. The lace and chain combination works so well together and it would be so pretty to wear to a Spring bridal shower or brunch. 

This linen and lace storage bin is beautiful and practical. It would be perfect for storing crafting supplies like yarn or ribbon don't you think?

This card was one of the first things I made for Mama Matryoshka. I am loving doilies lately, and I just love how it looks against the kraft paper.  

How gorgeous is this pillow cover? My sister inspired my love for skeleton keys and I just think it looks so dainty and feminine.

Coming from one of my favorite blogs is this gorgeous but simple garland made from stringing paper heart doilies over white Christmas lights. Genius, right? I love the charming effect it has.  

I love these simple, but beautiful DIY doily heart jars. Perfect for odds and ends laying around like paper clips, thumb tacks, or bobby pins. Find the full tutorial here.

I hope you enjoyed this week! It has definitely been one of my favorite Friday Favorites to date!