Sesame Street Party! DIY Balloon Wreath!

So as you likely already know Max celebrated his BIG FIRST BIRTHDAY this past weekend if you follow Momma Made It on Facebook you may also know that Max had a party on Sunday that was Sesame Street Themed! (Yes I like theme parties and yes I start them young!)

So as with all parties (which you can see here, and here) I like to make some if not all the decorations as well as the cake and the food and the invites and the list goes on... so since both our kids have August birthdays I have been crafting and DIYing for months trying to get everything just right...

One of the first things that I wanted to make was one of those cool Balloon Wreaths, with the logic that 1)It looks awesome and 2)I can reuse it every year no matter the theme.

So I pinned one (similar to the one above) on Pinterest and thought nothing of it until it was time to get crafting.

However when you click HERE to check out the cool project and start to DIY it wasn't quite what I thought.... you actually buy a straw wreath and floral pins then pin the balloons into the wreath....

Well since I couldn't find a straw wreath in my budget (yeah that means at the dollarama) I bought this ugly thing that apparently keeps up flowers that you plant in your garden... I have a black thumb and don't plant so clearly I needed to find a new use for it.

So away I went with bags and bags of assorted sized of balloons, this interesting thing and an IDEA!

Once home I (and by I, I mean Robyn) sorted all the assorted balloons into color groups.

 Then I actually tied each balloon around the wire hoop....

From there you just alternate colors and and keep tying... I watched a whole episode of Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe while doing this, it goes quick and doesn't take any more skill then tying a knot... I found that the assorted sizes made for more interesting texture on the wreath, some are large and some are flat and some are the twisting balloons... its just more FUN!

Soon you end up with this... and you can jazz it up a little by wrapping a pipe cleaner around the wreath and twisting the end so that it is a bit more forward than your balloons...

Then it's just hang it at your party and enjoy how pretty it is and all the complements on it when you tell friends, family and other adoring mothers that "Yes I made it and it was so easy!"

So even though its not your traditional balloon wreath I think it looks good and will as I hoped suit any party we have for Max in the future... I can see it now.... Lego, or Rainbow, or The Very hungry Caterpillar or Pirates or, or, oh man do I dread the day when the kids don't want to have theme parties anymore....

Do you DIY your party decor? or do you DIY/ make it your own other DIY projects for your kids parties? Share your party ideas in the comments I'd love to hear all about your theme parties!

PS Look for a full over view of the party before the Weekend and then more DIY projects next week!

DIY Business Cards

I haven't posted about an amazing opportunity I have.... (I have mentioned it on Facebook and on Twitter though and if you follow the links you can find out the latest and most up to date info on Momma Made It!) I am one of the lucky young exhibiters to be presenting my hand made items at a craft fair!

I am one of this years FRESH FISH!

Fresh fish is a craft fair that has been running in our fair city for 6 years, it is designed to help get young and emerging crafters out there and its a great chance to get your work seen... I'm so lucky to be able to do this and I can't wait for it to be here already!

I am admittedly nervous, and I say everyday that I am not ready and that I will never be ready... but you have to dive in head first sometimes...

Ready or not ready I still need Business Cards, and since I couldn't find ones I liked that I felt suited Momma Made It for a price I felt reasonable and since I am as cheap frugal and crafty as I am I figured that I would make my own DIY business cards!

At first I thought holy cow this will be easy.... and after making soooooo many I now realize it was a bit of an undertaking... but if you have the time and you want VERY personalized cards follow along below and you can get yourself your own DIY Business Cards in two simple steps!

First I cut out my shape... I used my Cricut because it was easier and all I had to do was load the paper and hit CUT, couldn't be easier! I liked this shape because I could use them as tags as well as business cards. (gotta love double duty!)

Next I stamped the info on... I didn't want to purchase a business stamp just yet, although I kinda wish I had. (They say hind site is 20/20 for a reason...)

And that is really it! Not a whole lot to the process but it can be time consuming...

I will be finishing up these babies in the next few days and then I will be making more... because I honestly thought that 150 would be enough however there are already well over that already interested on facebook...

Do you prefer to make your own business items like this or do you order all your business items?

Made it My Own! A few of Our favorite things!

This past month was my In-laws wedding anniversary... (theirs is just a few days after ours) and when you have been married for a while, and have kids as old as Robyn (yes dear that is a dig because your sooo old...) you have everything you need. 

So what do you give someone who has everything? 

Well this is one idea!

 I saw this version on Pinterest and thought I would change it up a bit... 

I love the sentiment and I love the look!  

To change it up I changed the colors, and instead of writing "A few of MY favorite things" I wrote "A few of OUR favorite things" (it was a joint gift after all... I also added the painted clothes pins rather than frames so they can easily change out the pictures over time... you know the quick snapshots or a smaller wallet size if they want. 

I really like how it turned out! I love the color on the letters too (that was Robyn's idea, gotta give him credit sometimes I guess!)

Do you make your own gifts? I'd love some new ideas if your willing to share!

Made it My Own! Painted Sign!

I have been seeing so many great projects around the web and on Pinterest lately that I have decided to occasionally take that inspiration and... "Make it My Own" So here you have the first project that came from that idea!

For the last while I've wanted one of those signs that say your family name and the year that you were "established" you know like this one or even one like this... 

So being me I made one from scratch... 

To make my sign I got some reclaimed wood 

and I painted it in 3 layers yellow, dark blue and then light blue. 

Then I sanded it down (a lot) and painted our name on it. couldn't have been easier... and now I have a new and very pretty sign in our porch....

Now what to put with it to accent it and make that shelf pretty?

Have you made something with your name lately? Do you have any ideas for me to add to my shelf? Leave it in the comments!