New Valentine's Day items at Mama Matryoshka!

I don't know why, but Valentine's Day has always been one of my favorite holidays. I love the glittery pink hearts and cheesy romance. It's more of a fun, silly holiday around here. This year Cayden will get his first Valentine's box which is a tradition between Mando and I. We decorate a shoebox and fill it with candy and small gifts for each other. Just simple and fun and I'm so excited to include Cayden this time! Expect to see yummy dessert recipes around here and maybe even some Valentine's Day crafts!

I just added some new Valentine's Day decor over at Mama Matryoshka including garlands, cupcake toppers, and even some fun new photo props! I'm always accepting custom orders so if you have something in mind that you don't see let me know! Now until February 14th you can take 10% off any custom order using code 'HOLIDAYLOVE' at checkout! Enjoy and spread the love! XOXO

Mama Matryoshka {3 DAY SALE!}

Mama Matryoshka is having a 3-day sale for the biggest shopping weekend of the season! Stock up now on photo props for holiday pictures, garlands for the fireplace, and cupcake toppers for your Christmas desserts! I've lowered the prices temporarily on several items and I will have a new deal for the next 3 days! It applies towards custom orders as well which is perfect for a birthday party or bridal/baby shower you may have coming up! Support handmade for the holidays!

Black Friday: Use code 'BLACKFRIDAY' at checkout to receive free shipping on ALL orders!

Small Business Saturday: Use code 'SUPPORTHANDMADE' at checkout to receive 30% off ALL orders!

Cyber Monday: Use code 'CYBERMONDAY' at checkout to receive free shipping on ALL orders! Also, all orders $15 and up will receive a 3 piece mustache photo prop set as a free gift!

Happy shopping everyone! XOXO

Wedding Planning Wednesday - My Favorite Pins!

We're back for another edition of my favorite wedding pins! I actually had an entirely different post planned for today, but I didn't quite finish it on time so I'm saving it for next week! Instead, I'm going to show my favorite Pinterest finds of the week!

 You know by now that I've been planning on doing my own florals for the wedding, but when I saw this fabric flower bouquet on Etsy my jaw dropped. She mixes all different fabrics and textures based on your wedding colors and adds in these amazing vintage brooches. Isn't is just stunning? I may or may not be re-thinking my bouquet right now. I mean, how could I not??

I've been looking for cost and eco-friendly ways to display my floral centerpieces on our tables, and I L-O-V-E the idea of painting coffee cans. I am obsessed with the copper metallic colors, they look so pretty in the sunlight. Perfect for an outdoor wedding in the woods!

I still don't know if a dessert table will be in our budget (crossing my fingers!!!) but if so, I have my heart set on mini pies. How sweet is this little display? I just love pie, it may be my favorite dessert ever!

We've been going back and forth on how we want to display our seating chart, and after Mando rejected about 10 of my ideas we decided on a chalkboard sign. I think this one is really cute and would definitely go with our vintage/rustic theme.

Right now, I have all of the bridal party's outfits chosen except the flower girls. I fell in love with a dress that was WAY too pricey, so my very talented sister may be making them instead. (By the way, we really need to get started on all these sewing projects, Jess!). I love this fluffy champagne dress and it's definitely one of my inspiration photos!

Another sewing project in the works are my table runners that my sister is also making for me. (I know, I owe her big time!)  I'm doing an ivory table cloth and the table runners will be a strip of burlap and a strip of ivory lace like the one above. I also love her flower arrangements, how cute are those vintage glasses?!

I hope everyone has an amazing Thanksgiving tomorrow! We are actually having 2 Thanksgivings, one with Mando's family tomorrow, and my family on Saturday. Double the pie, sweet! I'll be back Friday with some awesome Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals for Mama Matryoshka! You don't want to miss it! XOXO

Friday Favorites: Thanksgiving Love

I love Thanksgiving. I don't know when the whole 'let's skip Thanksgiving and go straight to Christmas' thing started, but I am just not okay with it! What other holiday is it perfectly acceptable to stuff your face with turkey and pie and then lay on the couch watching football for the rest of the day? None I tell you! We need to preserve this sacred holiday. This week, Friday Favorites is dedicated the best holiday of the year in my opinion. So unbutton your pants, grab a fork and let's get started! 

If you're not familiar with Rifle Paper Co, get familar! I love this artist and her illustrations always make me happy. These Thanksgiving cards are so sweet and can double as placecard settings as well!

If your looking for a handmade hostess gift, look no further! How fun are these turkey pops and jar full of turkey toes? Simple, inexpensive, and a great way to tell your hostess you appreciate her slaving over a hot stove all day! And if you're the hostess this year you can always give these to your guests as favors!

I have such fun memories of making pilgrim hats and turkey handprint crafts at school. And I distinctly remember getting to play Queen Victoria in our Christopher Columbus play making all the other girls in the class very jealous! This feather headpiece would be super fun for a young child to make and wear Thanksgiving day and I love the idea of writing what you're thankful for on the 'feathers' of this yarn wrapped turkey. Both are fun projects and can help educate your little one on how Thanksgiving started!

I'm also running a Thanksgiving special over at Mama Matryoshka! I have a ton of Thanksgiving/Fall garlands, banners, and cupcake toppers available and you can get 15% off using code 'DOMESTICATEDDELIGHT1' at checkout! Also, if you order today I can guarantee arrival by Thanksgiving anywhere in the US!

I hope everyone has a safe and fun holiday week filled with lots of food and pie! I personally can't wait to get some shopping done on black Friday! Have a great weekend everyone! XOXO

The Threadery

This past Saturday I had a booth at my first handmade market, The Threadery! It was so much fun meeting other handmade mamas and being inspired by the beautiful things they make! I had a lot of fun setting up and interacting with everyone there. Hands down best part was getting to see all of the kids (+ adults!) playing with my photo props and seeing all of my items through their eyes!

Let me just say, I was on a very strict budget for my booth... this was my first handmade market and I wasn't sure how it would go or how my things would sell so I didn't want to invest a ton in a fancy booth. With the money and resources I had, I think it turned out pretty cute! Of course nothing compared to the other talented ladies, but still good!

Here's a peek at some of the other booths at The Threadery. These ladies were oh so talented and did an amazing job decorating!

And of course I had to shop! There was way too many pretty things there not to! I picked up the cutest zippered pouch and hair clip from Olive Blue and this amazing flower necklace from Rellas Bellas. Love!

In the end, my booth didn't do as well as I'd hoped... I think a lot of the traffic was people browsing versus buying and I ended up spending more than I made! I'm still glad I tried it though and am chalking it up as a learning experience. I think my life is way too busy to do any more handmade markets right now, but who knows what the future will bring! I'm just glad I have a successful Etsy shop and get to spend my days making things I love!

Thank you to all of my friends and family who came by and shopped and supported me! It meant the world to me to see you there. And thank you to Nicole and Kristen for hosting this event! You girls did a great job! XOXO

Friday Favorites: New Items For The Threadery!

I cannot believe tomorrow I will be selling from my own booth at The Threadery! Eeeek! I am so nervous and excited. This is the first handmade market I've participated in and I'm really curious to see how everything will turn out. I hope Mama Matryoshka does well! I will take a million pictures and make sure to tell you all about how it went sometime next week!

For Friday Favorites I wanted to do one last sneak peak of the new items I've been working on for The Threadery. I can't even begin to tell you how hard I've been working these last few weeks so I hope you all enjoy what I've come up with!

Last time I showed you some cute Halloween items, but I also wanted to do something fall/autumn themed that could be used all through Thanksgiving! This way you get more out of your decor! I love this trio of pumpkin cupcake toppers. They can be used for both Halloween and Thanksgiving treats! This Give Thanks banner is also really pretty... I currently have it hanging underneath my mantle! I love the 3D effect that the autumn leaves have.


Of course I had to bust out the matryoshka cupcake toppers! I am a tiny bit obsessed with these and of course I had to represent my shop name! I love the idea of a matryoshka themed birthday party or baby shower and I think these would be a sweet touch! I also made a matching banner for my booth. Love!

I really wanted to do more boy themed decorations because I don't have many options in my shop right now. As a mother of a baby boy (who always complains about the lack of cute boy things I might add) it was really important to me to represent the little men! A popular theme for boys right now is monsters so I decided to make these cute (not so scary) monsters in a color theme of blue, green, and purple.

I have some pinwheels in my shop already, but I wanted to soften up the colors with a pastel palette. I think these would be gorgeous at a bridal or baby shower. Pinwheels always add a pretty touch of whimsy, don't you think? I love these soft colors; they remind me of Easter!

Aside from handmade cards, I really wanted to have some low cost items for my booth. Since photo props are hands down my most popular item at Mama Matryoshka, I thought it would be fun to make a 3 piece prop set. First, I made this vintage/1920/circus inspired set with a bowler hat, polka dot bowtie, and a big droopy mustache. I love how it turned out; the bowtie is my favorite! And with the holidays coming up, of course I had to make Santa props. These are so funny and that big white beard? Epic. I love this set for a silly Christmas card!

If you're in Southern California, make sure to stop by The Threadery tomorrow from 9-4pm. I'll be at booth #10! And don't forget, if you can't make it you can still get any of these items from my Etsy shop! Have a great weekend everyone! XOXO

Trick or treat banner + Halloween cupcake toppers!

 I just wanted to pop in quickly and give you all a sneak peak of some new holiday items I made for Mama Matryoshka and The Threadery! I meant to post this yesterday, however an angry, teething toddler kept me busy most of the day. I hope you'll forgive me!

I really wanted to make some fun Halloween items this year so I focused on a color palette of orange, purple, and lime green. I think these colors just scream Halloween and I love how it turned out. First, I made this 'Trick-or-Treat' banner which is perfect to hang at a pumpkin carving party or Halloween celebration! It features Frankenstein, a witch's hat, and a jack-o-lantern! I braided 3 colored ribbons together to hang it which gives it a little pop and texture.

And of course I had to do some cupcake toppers! I did the same theme of Frankensteins, witch's hats, jack-o-lanterns, and ghosts! These look so cute on cupcakes; I am obsessed! I think Frankenstein is my favorite!

If you're in Orange County, make sure to come see me at The Threadery on October 22nd! If not, you can purchase these Halloween items in my Etsy shop here.

I have a lot more new items to share coming up! I've been crafting it up over here! XOXO

Thank You + A Giveaway!

Awhile ago I promised on Twitter that when I reached over 100 blog followers I would do a giveaway and last week I finally hit 102 followers! I know this is nothing compared to most blogs, but it's super rad to me. When I first started this little blog a year and a half ago, I never knew how much I'd grow to love it. Now it's a constant source of inspiration for me and I'm more than stoked that anyone other than myself actually read it. So, to say thank you to everyone who's ever read this blog, I want to have a fun little giveaway for you all!

As you know I'll be one of the vendors at the upcoming handmade and vintage market The Threadery. When I found out I was accepted I knew I needed to get some business cards to pass out . After asking around, I came in contact with Diana at Livy Love Designs. I found out that she actually designed The Threadery's logo which I LOVE so I knew she'd be the perfect person to design my business cards. She did a phenomenal job. I was super impressed with her awesome communication, quick turnaround time, reasonable prices, and of course her amazing talent. As you can see above, my business cards came out amazing and were exactly what I envisioned. And when Diana mentioned she'd like to do a giveaway I jumped at the opportunity!

Here's the details: Diana is giving away an 8x10 print from her Etsy shop to one of my readers. The winner can choose any print currently in her shop and choose which colors they'd like them in! You can see some of her adorable prints below... I personally am dying over that California one! The giveaway will go until next Friday, 9/30. To enter, you just have to follow my blog via Google Friend Connect (just click follow over on the right hand side) and leave a comment telling me your favorite thing about my blog! For an extra entry you can follow Diana on Twitter here: @LivyLoveDesigns. Make sure to leave an extra comment letting me know you did! Oh, and the giveaway is open to anyone worldwide!

Good luck everyone! And thank you for reading me and keeping me constantly inspired! I hope you all enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy updating it! XOXO

Exciting Announcement! Mama Matryoshka will be at The Threadery!

With all of the craziness of birthday parties, moving, and vacations, Mama Matryoshka has been on vacation mode for most of the summer. I didn't mean for it to happen, but it did and I've missed it! I just love being creative and making pretty little things, and I always get inspired when the holidays roll around. This fall I really want to focus on trying new projects. One of my goals was to try and sell at a handmade/craft market and I'm happy to announce that on October 22nd, I will be! I've been accepted to sell at a booth at The Threadery! It's a new handmade craft market created by two lovely ladies (you can learn more about it here) in Orange County. I'm really nervous because this is my first time doing anything like this and I know it's going to be A LOT of work! I need to build a booth and backdrop completely from scratch and make a ton of inventory of both old and new items to sell! But mostly I'm super excited to put my product out there and interact with my customers face to face. I'll also get to hang out with Alyson of Eisley Rae Clothing and Heather of Happy Bee Boutique so I know we'll have tons of fun! If you're in the Orange County area make sure to stop by and say hi! I'd love to see you!

When: October 22nd, 9:00AM- 4:00PM

Where: 505 W. Lambert Rd. Brea, Ca 92821 North Orange County

I'll be sure to blog more details soon and keep you updated on all of the new products I'm making specifically for this event. I also have a giveaway coming very soon to say thank you for supporting my little Etsy shop for the past 5 months! Stay tuned! XOXO

Cayden's Mickey Mouse birthday party.

Cayden is obsessed with Mickey Mouse so I really wanted his first birthday to be something that makes him happy. I'm not a huge fan of licensed character parties, so I stuck with a red, yellow, and black color theme and incorporated a ton of DIY details. Although the day was hot and hectic, I'm so glad that I was able to do this for him. We all had so much fun and it was worth all the months of planning, and sweat and tears that went into it!

Mando and I were up until 3am the night before the party baking 2 dozen cupcakes, brownies, lemon bars, and rice crispy treats. We were back up at 7am the next morning and immediately started packing everything up to get to my mom's where the party was taking place. We picked up the cake and the balloons on our way and then started cooking the food and decorating before the party started at 1. Like most hostesses, I was running around like crazy making sure everything was done and the guests were comfortable, and I didn't get nearly as many pictures as I wanted (including any of the food table, Cayden in the pool, his high chair banner, or the kids wearing the DIY Mickey ears) but I did the best I could with the time I had! There were a few hiccups like the wind, popping balloons, and flies trying to get to the food, but we made it work and in the end all 40 guests said they had a good time!

My favorite part of the day was Cayden eating his smash cake. He looked so serious, but ended up making a huge mess and eating almost the entire thing! It was so funny! The kids all had SO much fun playing in the pool with the big rafts, beach balls, and pool noodles. The food we served was yummy and everyone raved over the dessert table. Luckily, I had time to down some strawberry margaritas and was able to finally relax and enjoy my time with the birthday boy!

Now onto the pictures!

I sent these invitations out sooooo late, but at least I had the excuse that they were handmade! I designed and made all of them and thought they turned out cute! Special thanks to my sister for helping me create the party details on the back!

 "You've got ears, say cheers!" DIY Mickey and Minnie ears for the kids to wear. I made these using black headbands and hot gluing circles and bows that I cut with my Silhouette. Super cute, easy, and inexpensive! The kids loved them.

 Along with soda, water, and beer, we served homemade lemonade and sun tea. I found these beverage dispensers at Walmart for $10! I love how they act as a display piece with the lemons on the bottom.

One of my favorite things at the party was the strawberry margaritas we made using my mom's ice cream machine! They were cold and refreshing and they paired perfectly with the carne asada tacos. I bought the red and white striped paper straws at my favorite party planning site, Shop Sweet Lulu!

This banner frustrated me to no end! Every time I tried to tie it up the wind knocked it down. Finally I had to duct tape it to the wall, which wasn't the prettiest look, but it worked! This was the best picture we got (thanks, sister!), but as you can see the wind was pretty brutal. I also had really cute Mickey Mouse balloons on both sides, but half of them popped before the party even started! Sometimes you just have to laugh it off! :)

My amazing sister whipped up these fun tissue paper pom-poms hanging above the dessert table about 5 minutes before the party started and they ended up being one of my favorite decorations! We had planned to do them together, but just didn't have time so I'm so glad she took care of it for me. They turned out beautiful and everyone loved them!

The dessert table was A LOT of work, but I'm so happy with how it turned out! We baked everything in my kitchen (with the exception of the cake) and I made the 'sweets' banner, Mickey cupcake wrappers, pinwheel cupcake toppers, the cake and smash cake topper myself. (All available to buy in my Etsy shop!) The ice cream bar was a huge hit, and the kids loved picking their own toppings! The plates, napkins, and the ice cream cups were also from Shop Sweet Lulu and were adorable! I'm so bummed I didn't get a good picture of them!

I loved the smash cake and that picture of Cayden is my favorite of the entire day! The cake topper was custom made my me, and you can see he's wearing a pair of my DIY Mickey ears! :)

 My boy annihilated that cake! He was so messy afterwards I didn't even bother trying to wipe him down, I just turned the hose on him!

I can't believe my sweet boy is finally one. Since the party, it's like he exploded into toddlerhood and is now a walking, talking, tantruming little man! ;) I'm proud of myself for holding it together the entire day... I didn't cry until we got home and I was carrying my sleeping 1 year old from the car to bed. I spent a lot of time remembering where we were a year ago, and reflecting on those sweet few first days of his life spent in the hospital. It was so cozy and quiet and magical.  I can't believe a year has already gone by!

If you're planning a big party, my suggestion is to start early! Everyone thought I was crazy for planning 6 months in advance, but I'm so glad I did. It gave me plenty of time to really find out what I wanted to do, and allowed me to start buying and making everything over a long period of time instead of all at once. I'm so thankful to Mando, my mom, my sister, and my best friend for stepping in and helping me without me ever having to ask. I literally couldn't have done it without their help! In the end, everything might not turn out how you envisioned it, but you have to make the best of it and remember your there to celebrate and enjoy the time with your loved ones!

I think next year we'll have a smaller, family party... we (along with our bank account) are still trying to recover from this one... I think Mando might be traumatized!

XOXO