Birthday Party Fun...and more ART fun!

Happy 1st Birthday dear little Sureya!

(lookin' a little grumpy here...just woke up from a nap!)

Playing with the pull-string pinata

poking a dainty finger into her birthday cake

reaching for mom's camera. (getting lots of hugs from grandma!)

little ballerina baby.

i can't believe my baby is ONE year old already. seems like yesterday i was expecting this little one, wondering what it would be like to be a mama to a little baby again...running around pregnant to art festivals and classes (knowing it'd be my last chance for a loooong time!) and journaling my heart out, wondering what this little one would be like and how she'd fit into the family. now i can't imagine life without her! :)

i had fun prepping all the little details for her first birthday fiesta. it took me a while, but i just did a little bit here and there. i sewed up some goodie bags (with the help of this pattern from the talented artist-mama sharilyn over at lovely design)

i made some t-shirts with iron-on transfers of kokeshi dolls (kokeshi was the theme of the party!). i got these great designs from tracy ann digital art on etsy.

here's a peek into the girls' goodie bags. i found mini notebooks at daiso (japanese dollar store!) and made little journals for the girls. i printed out the kokeshi dolls on sticker paper, cut out and stuck them onto the front of the mini journals. i printed out the smaller kokeshi circles on sticker paper, too, and cut them out for them to use as stickers. the little buttons i found here on etsy (i tell you, that site is a dream! especially if you're trying to find unique items for a not-so-common-themed birthday party!) ;) the candies i found at the japanese dollar store, too. and the little tank tops were a bargain at Target for $3 each.

this is a total side-note, but one of my friends gave sureya the cutest baby toys from a new line at Target (i swear i'm not being payed to promote this store--i just live there!) i think it's just called "B" and both gifts came with this little recycled booklet. of course when i saw it, i thought, "ooh! bonus gift for me!" and started thinking of ways to alter it and use it for a pocket journal.

it even has the cutest little quotes in it! i'm not sure what to do with it but i know i'll be gessoing some of the pages and pasting little things here and there.

now we're WAAAAY off topic, but i couldn't resist showing off a little vintage office supply collection i have started. it all started with this post from hope over at paper relics. once i saw her awesome find on Ebay, i had to go searching for my own. got a lot of great deals, too. you just have to be patient...

recycling at its best...the box from one of the "B" baby gifts makes a perfect little cubby to store my labels and things!

more journal love...this is a folded enclosure card from paper source. i just cut some papers down to size and hand stitched a six-page signature. (also inspired by hope at paper relics!)

pages waiting to be written in! i'm actually playing around with the idea of making a bunch of these little journals to sell on etsy. i opened a storefront but i haven't listed anything yet. still playing with ideas. but i thought this would be fun to offer as ready-to-go journals and as kits (for the more DIY types!) what do you think, art journalers? sound interesting? ;)

i started writing, "something so exciting about a new journal"

so true.