Today’s post is a a simple trash-to-treasure thrift upcycle. When I spotted these old Party Lite ceramic houses at the thrift store, I saw potential and snapped them up. But now, I’m second guessing my plan and need your crafty/decor advice!
A few weeks ago I shared my difficulty in letting go of baby clothes. Well, it goes far beyond baby clothes. Today I’m going to share how I recently made an upcycled t-shirt dress using outgrown knit shirts.
I have a confession: I have an unreasonably hard time parting with my kids’ baby clothes. For reference, my “baby” is 3 years old, and I haven’t thrown anything away that hasn’t been irreparably stained or damaged. I have a problem letting go.
It’ s been awhile since I’ve shared on the blog. I ran out of steam there for awhile, but I’m back with a project I’ve been planning for some time, and finally got around to: my self serve sign for the kitchen.
We’re slowly but surely making some changes to our builder grade home, like a new back splash that we love. Still, I thought the kitchen needed a little more character.
This summer I picked up this vintage doll house from the thrift store for a few dollars. I can’t explain why I picked it up, but I was thrilled with the find. So, what to do with a 1940’s era doll house in disrepair? I originally had delusions of restoring it, because it certainly had charm. However, once I started trying to do some touch ups I was faced with the reality that this baby needed a complete overhaul.
Here’s how it looked when I brought it home.
Looking for a way to upcycle those baby clothes you can’t part with? When Dub lost his first loose tooth, I decided to use his baby clothes to create a tooth pillow – a tradition my parents started with me. The concept is that the tooth pillow makes it easy for the Tooth Fairy to find baby teeth and deposit money (I’ve heard she hates to loose those first baby teeth!).
To make the pillow, I combined a chambray shirt and a little plaid shirt, with snap button pockets, that Dub wore as a baby. He actually helped me dig through his baby clothes to find just the right combo.
Here he is at just 3 months old sporting one of the shirts.
My mom used her fancy sewing machine to embroider some letters and voila! An easy, free tooth pillow that he absolutely loves.
Do you have any Tooth Fairy traditions?
My baby girl just turned one and because her birthday is exactly a week after Dub’s, I’ll admit I ran out of steam on the party planning. However, I wanted to do something special and celebrate as a family, and was able to put together a cute Bow Birthday theme really inexpensively.
To keep birthday party planning expenses manageable, we buy a few essentials that we reuse year after year.
These include:
Additionally, we always save leftover party supplies such as napkins, plates and plastic cutlery and every few years we find we don’t have to buy these supplies at all because of that stash. That was the case for baby ‘Belle’s party.
For the cupcakes, I whipped up a batch of vanilla and chocolate cupcakes and frosted them in pink and white buttercream frosting. I wanted them to carry out the bow theme, but because I’m lacking in fondant skills I purchased these toppers. You can find similar fondant bows here and here.
We served homemade vanilla ice cream and a simple punch using 7-Up and raspberry sherbet.
With just two inexpensive plastic tablecloths from the dollar store, I made this impressive table centerpiece by using one tablecloth as usual, and using the other as a decorative sash by draping it across the front and simply pinching it in the middle. I actually unfolded some of the party napkins and fashioned a bow out of them – one napkin for each side of the bow, and two for the tails. Surprisingly beautiful, easy and inexpensive!
Next, I made bow napkin rings – I love how these turned out! I bought rectangle shaped napkins, but you could also do this by folding traditional napkins in half. Simply pinch them in the middle, place them on top of your cutlery and wrap a small band of paper around the bow, secured with tape.
As I mentioned earlier, I used leftover napkins to make the bow you see on the front of the table to carry the theme through.
I took a little photo shoot of baby ‘Belle sporting her birthday bow. I’d say the cupcakes were a hit!
Like the ideas you see here? Be sure to follow my birthday party inspiration board and subscribe below to keep partying with me!
Looking for more inspiration? You might like these parties:
Peppa Pig Party
Malibu Barbie Party
Princess Birthday for $20
https://fivemarigolds.wpenginepowered.com/2014/08/04/eves-princess-party/
