Strawberry Shortcake Birthday Party 2014

It's time for a party, and you are all invited!

As I have mentioned before, Baby Girl decided upon Strawberry Shortcake for the theme of her birthday party this year.  Once a theme has been established, I like to figure out ways to communicate the theme without just going out and buying character items.  By using key colors (red, green and pink accents) and constructing much of the decor myself, I was able to create a themed party for  a low cost.  Here is the break down:

Strawberry Shortcake character cutouts:  Free from my stash
Strawberry decorations:  Made from scrapbooking materials I already had
Strawberry Shortcake Coloring Pages:  Made from Baby Girl's coloring book
Balloons:  $2
Plastic Table Coverings:  $2
Napkins:  $2
Plates/ Cups/ Flatware:  $7
'Confetti':  $1
Crepe Paper:  $1

That's an entire party decorated for $15!  A little creativity goes a long way :)


Come in now to see how I decorated and what was served for dessert!

Wall decor.

I used scrapbooking paper to make the paper strawberries and Baby Girl colored and cut out Strawberry shortcake characters from one of her coloring books.  You can read a more detailed post about that here.

The printed cutouts I got from the florist I used to work for.  We sold balloons there and each one came individually packaged in a paper wrap that had the balloon's picture on the front.  Normally the packaging would be tossed in the trash, but I got permission to keep the wrapping.  I have tons of these now for every occasion; birthday, holidays, characters, new baby, you name it.

I collected so many over the years that I had to figure out a way to organize them.  I ended up buying a binder for each category and filled it with plastic binder sleeves.  Each sleeve holds a different balloon design and the binders are labeled by category.  I keep them on the shelf with my scrapbooking supplies, but as you can see they can be used for many things!  Baby Girl like to go through the character binder and choose cut-outs for her art projects ;)

Another tip:  I also keep my stickers and small paper embellishments in the same binders, so everything is neatly together in one place.  Sometimes I like to scrapbook at Mamaw's house, and this makes things much more portable,  I just grab the binder I need and go!

A Photo 'Back-Drop'

After seeing the idea on Pinterest, I decided to start creating an area where guests could have their photo taken with the Birthday Girl.  Of course I always want photos of everyone, and this makes for an easy and cute solution.

Kitchen & Dining Tables

I used a simple green plastic table cloth to set the color statement that I wanted.  On top I scattered more of the paper strawberries and Strawberry Shortcake character cut outs.  For confetti we used red shiny sequins.  When we couldn't find any 'real' confetti that worked well with our theme, Baby Girl and I started going up and down different aisles of the store's craft section.  It was Baby Girl herself that spotted and suggested using the sequins! Ahhh, what a proud Mommy-Designer moment! ;)

I like using plastic table covers because of the color they add to the party, but I hate the way they slide around the table.  Last Christmas I was at my Grandma's house and noticed that she tied her table coverings to the table legs, so I totally copied the idea!  Not only does it stop the sliding, but it's cute too. Win-win!

(I also tape the paper decorations into place.  The only thing that is loose is the sequins....and I'll be finding those for months now every time I vacuum...)

'Strawberry' Balloons

I have a post coming soon where I'll explain how I made these :)

So it's the night before  the party and Baby Girl decides she needs a hair clip specially designed to coordinate....sure, Mommy's got time for that!  I ran out to the garage and hunted up a strawberry from my summer decorations, paired it with a white daisy and there you have it.  The perfect hair accessory for my princess!

The strawberry shortcake candle from one of our many treasure hunting excursions.  I had it burning with cupcake wax cubes in the scentsy warmers.  The whole house smelled yummy!

(I always have something that smells like cake or cupcakes for birthday parties.  I think walking inside to smell delicious treats helps to add excitement and set the mood)

Dinner & Drink Stations

For this party I had red plates, green napkins and white with red polka-dot napkins.  I like to unfold and lay out a few napkins as a way of adding color and extending the theme throughout the party.  Of course we scattered more of our red sequin 'confetti' throughout the kitchen.

Dessert Station

Strawberry shortcake (of course!) in a trifle bowl.  

A few red sprinkles on top add to the party look.

Devils food cupcakes with chocolate frosting.

A little red icing combined with red cupcake liners and these chocolate cupcakes fit right in with the overall decor.  I displayed them on the glass cupcake stand that my Brother-In-Law Todd gave me as a Christmas gift.

You can read more about this stand, and my other display pieces here

A miniature strawberry cake, just for the Birthday Girl!

A larger strawberry cake for the guests.

As you can see, I love making and serving yummy treats!  I have a post coming up soon where I'll go into more detail about these desserts.  I have a whole lot I want to share including baking tips and design ideas....stay tuned!


I hope you enjoyed our Strawberry Shortcake party, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2014

Birthday Decor 2014

Remember my last post where I talked about getting ready for birthday celebrating?  Well today you get to see all of the birthday goodness!

(You can click here if you didn't catch the post earlier)

The dining room, all clean, shiny and ready to go!

Here are the same shelves, now filled with birthday fun.

Plastic balloons and party hats. 

The large party hats can be found at Dollar Tree and the small pink one is a keepsake from Baby Girl's first birthday.  I purchased the plastic balloons from the florist I used to work for.  We got them in and I loved them right away, but they were too costly.  At $6-$8 dollars a piece it would have been nearly $150 dollars to get as many as I wanted.  So I waited...and waited...and waited...and waited and waited and waited...and finally they were reduced to $1. Yay!  I have about 20 of them now.

Another hat from Dollar Tree and a few noise makers.

Pictured here are more of the plastic balloons and a Dollar Tree party hat.  

Also from Dollar Tree are the party headbands.  

If you look closely you can see two glass jars filled with tiny items.  One contains miniature party hats, and the other miniature balloons.  These are birthday cake decorations.  I went to the bakery section of a grocery store and asked if they would be willing to sell cake decorating pieces.  I can't remember the actual cost but it was inexpensive at around $2 for the contents of each jar.

Birthday signs and banners.

I have these in the dining room, living room, kitchen and front porch.

Birthday ducks for the kids bathroom.  

I found these when Baby Girl was turning one and used them with her birthday decorations.  Now they come out every year to play wit the rest of the duck family.

Birthday in the kitchen.

I save the candles from Baby Girl's birthday cakes and put them in a glass jar.  I think it is so cute to have out on the counter each year!  Just don't try to store them in the garage, attic or any other place that gets very hot.  I did that once with some Christmas candles and ended up with melted wax everywhere...good times :p

We also have a pretty birthday wine glass.
Baby Girl thinks it's fun to drink her milk from this glass on her special day.

That's it for the basic birthday decor.  I'll follow up soon with photos from our Strawberry Shortcake party.  Thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2014

A Blank Slate 2014

With a 5 year birthday celebration coming up, it was time to get out the birthday decor.

I like to do a small themed party a week or two before Baby Girl's actual birthday.  She gets to pick the theme (this year was Strawberry Shortcake) and we invite the Grandparents and immediate Aunts/ Uncles/ Cousins for dinner and dessert.  Her 'real' birthday I reserve just for us.  We have another cake, she gets to choose dinner and that's when she gets her Mommy & Daddy presents.  Little Man will get the same deal, he just hasn't had any birthdays yet ;)

In addition to the party decor, I also have 'basic' birthday decorations that I like to put out.  I take down summer, put out birthday for a couple of weeks and then transition into fall.

Whenever I do a switch, I like to give my shelving and glassware a good cleaning.  This time I thought it might be nice to share photos of the dining room while I had it all cleaned and ready to go.

 (Our house has an open floor plan with the living and dining rooms connected.  For now I cluster the decor into the dining room since the living area also functions as a playroom)

The dining room, all clean and shiny!

My shelves are full of pillars and glassware that I use for decorating.  Keep scrolling to see everything in detail.

A couple of pillars and a large jar.  Each found for $1 while treasure hunting.

Four of my glass cake stands.  Two are standard sized and two are miniature.  The miniature ones I found while treasure hunting and were intended as cheese plates.  They came with wooden butcher block bottoms.  I tossed out the wooden bases and replaced them with clear glass candle plates that I already had on hand (the size to fit a big three wick candle).  Now I have miniature glass cake stands, perfect for single serve cakes!

My trifle bowl collection.

The three large ones I found for $1 each over the years.  The four miniature ones were .25 each.  They are the perfect size for holding Easter eggs, Christmas ornaments, miniature gourds.....

On the left are photos of a glass platter that I found for .50 and a pedestal dish that I think was $1.  Both found while treasure hunting, of course ;)

The two photos on the right are of my cake pedestal set.  A gift from my brother-In-Law Todd, these three raised pedestals can be used separately or stacked on top of one another.  I love the versatility and use them often!

Last, but not least, the birthday bins from the garage!  Yay!
Lets crack these babies open and start playing!

Stay tuned to see what's inside........:D

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2014

Into My Candle Cabinet 2014

Awhile back I wrote up a post featuring my kitchen decor.
(You can check it out here)

In the kitchen and above the fridge is my 'candle cabinet', you can see it in the photo below.

This is where I keep all of my decor goodies in the kitchen; candles, glassware, empty jars, etc.

This past weekend I was rinsing out these jars and decided to keep them.  They are Little Man's baby food jars.  What am I going to do with them?  I have no idea, but they are so cute that I have to keep a few.  I love the bright green lids and the colorful labels.

So anyway, I was putting them into the kitchen cabinet where I stash all of my goodies and I thought, why not share what's inside with all of you?  Enjoy the goodness!

Left:  A gold trimmed candle plate and candle topper

While the candle plate is intended for candles (duh), I also like to use it from time to time as a decorative platter.  It works well for food, small cakes or holiday decor.

The candle topper was a gift from Husby's parents.  I think my Mother-In-Law picked it up at Yankee.  It is a nice and heavy topper that fits onto a large jar candle without falling off.  When the candle is lit the star burst design is then shadowed onto the ceiling.

Right:  A couple of photo easels and several wreath hangers.

I like to have the easels on hand for use with decorating.  As you know, I decorate frequently with family photos and a few of my frames are intended for wall hanging only.  All I have to do is grab an easel and they can then function on a shelf as well.  Versatility is good ;)

I have the wreath hangers for wreaths, of course, but also use them in other ways as well.  At Christmas time I like to hang our stockings in the dining room.  There is no mantle in there so I use wreath hangers to suspend them from the curtain rod.  I have also used the wreath hangers to hang other small decor items over the years.

My collection of empty candle jars, all ready to be filled with pretty things!

See the two larger jars with the stamped gold lids?  Those were a gift from my sister last Christmas.  I can't remember the scents exactly...champagne and peach?....but they smelled so, so good.  I'm pretty sure she got them from Bath & Body Works.  I don't know what I was more excited about, the pretty jars that I knew I could reuse, or the amazing smell of the candles!

My glassware:  

A fishbowl style vase and and assortment of simple glass cylinders in various heights.

The 'necessities' of life;)

I also keep my Scentsy bulbs, candle lighters, tea lights candles and wax cubes in here.  I don't have a whole lot of candles or wax cubes on hand right now.  I never do in the summer.  I prefer to burn candles and use the Scentsy during the colder months.  As soon as it gets cooler I will be stocking up on yummy smelling candles and was cubes.  Anything that smells like fresh baked goods are favorites of mine (especially cupcake)!  I love how cozy they make the house feel.

I do have a strawberry shortcake candle and a few cupcake wax cubes since there is a birthday party coming up soon ;)

See the yellow looking candle?  It isn't real.  I have several of these.  They are battery operated and also feature a timer.  That means I can set them to turn on each evening at a certain time and they will then turn off on their own as well.  They were pretty expensive at the florist I used to work in, but I waited it out until I scored them for (I think) about $1 apiece on clearance.

I love these for a few reasons;
One, they are low maintenance.  I simply set the timer and they are good for a few months.  Two, since there is no worry of fire hazard I can put them in unexpected places such as at the top of a bookshelf, on the window ledge near the curtains or inside of a curio cabinet.  Three, there is absolutely no worry about what might happen if little hands get a hold of them.  And four, who doesn't love coming home on a dark, cold winter evening to a house that is already lit with lovely candle light?

Well that's the ins and outs of my decor cabinet, hope you enjoyed!  Thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2014

Fall Wreath How To 2014

Recently I posted about a few fall wreaths that I had made
(you can read about that here).

 As promised, today I will show you the step-by-step on this pretty rose and pearl combination.

A little pool side crafting anyone?........:)

I decided to go with a straw wreath base and dusky orange fabric roses.

A few creamy pearls will make the perfect accent!

As always, I started out by placing my flowers where I thought they would look best.

For this wreath I will be going with an asymmetrical design.

Look at the hardware showing on the roses!  Unacceptable!  

Plus, I disliked how bulky it made the roses seem.

So apart they came and I tossed all of the hardware into the trash.

Once left with just the fabric petals, I glued each flower back 

together piece by piece before adding a pearl into the center of each.

I then attached the flowers first in the layout I planned on.  A couple of leaves and a bit of pearl rope finished off the wreath nicely.

There you have it, a simple yet pretty wreath that will transition
easily from late summer into early fall.

I hope you enjoyed the post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2014

Fall Wreaths 2014

I'm gearing up for fall and decided to make a few fall wreaths.  Right now I have them listed locally, but I'm toying with the idea of an Etsy shop.  Someday, someday...;)

In the mean time, checkout these photos!

Orange roses and pearl accents

Orange mums and fall foliage

Orange Mums


Pretty soon I'll post a how-to featuring the orange roses & pearl accents wreath....stay tuned!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2014

Bath Decor 2014

I've shared so much of the rest of the house, I guess it's time to go to the bathrooms ;)

First up:  Master Bath

I have filled this room with everything 'beachy'!  The seashells we have collected over the years from various beaches along the Atlantic coast, Gulf Coast and Caribbean.  Of course I have them displayed in glass jars!  It's the best way to display a lot of little things with out the room looking cluttered.  And I can't tell you how much easier it makes dusting the bathroom ;)

Pictured here are a few more jars of shells and starfish.  The very tiny jar holds my collection of shark teeth.  The large seashell on the lower left is a huge conch and over a foot wide.  My plants?  Plastic of course ;)



Now let's look at the kids bath.....

This room is completely different and totally fun!   It's a space where lots of color is expected, and serves as home to my rubber ducks.  I love rubber ducks and started collecting them for my 1st baby shower.  (You can read about the decor for that party by clicking here)

Behind the curtain: A. Whole. Lot. Of. Toys.  :D

So I love having lots of fun toys for the kiddos, but hate clutter.  For that reason I had to come up with an organizational solution.

Left: All the soaps are way high up.
Why? because if they aren't somebody dumps them all into the tub ;)

Top Right:  Shower rod & hanging basket organizing system.
I saw this idea on Pinterest and loved it right away.  All you do is position an extra shower curtain rod at the back of the shower, then suspend wire baskets from it using shower curtain hooks.

I picked up the curtain rod from Wal-Mart and the baskets/ hooks from Dollar Tree.  The total project was less than $10.  I love this solution because the toys are organized which means they don't look all cluttered.  I haaaaate clutter!  Even if they spend most of the time behind a curtain, the toys should look nice.  I think the space is so much more inviting this way.

A couple of notes: One, make sure you get plastic baskets that are open for drainage.  That way everything can dry out nicely and prevent mildew.  Two, this solution is not at all Husby safe.  While it's great for very short people, put one large man in there and that thing is getting knocked down as soon as he lifts an arm.  Hahaha!

Bottom Right: Because I love mermaids!

Top Left:  I found these cupcake bath toys at Wal-Mart.
You mean I can have cupcakes in the bathroom too?!?!  Sign me up!

Bottom Left:  Surfer duck spout guard.
She guards little heads from bumping into the spout and meets the design criteria.
What more could you ask for?

Right:  Ariel and Flounder
Because I love mermaids, and Ariel is my favorite.
For that reason alone she gets her picture on the blog, that's it!  ;)


That's the end of the bathrooms tour, hope you enjoyed!
Thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2014

Treasure Hunting: Birthday Parties, Pancakes & More! 2014

Christmas (or not) Cards  .10

Little Man will be having his first birthday this winter, and I have decided upon a hunting/ camo theme for his party.  (Daddy is a big outdoors-man)  When I saw these cards I snatched them up.  They are intended to be used as Christmas cards with a reindeer on the front and Christmas scene inside.  But I am going to glue them shut, cut out the deer image from the front and use them as part of the party invitations.  I also like how cut-out can be used as a stencil....we shall see what I come up with....;)

This is one of my most favorite treasure hunting tips:  

Never look at an item just for what it is, but also for what it could be :)

Another gold frame for my 'stash' $1.50

You know how I talk about collecting gold frames and glass jars for my decorating purposes?  Well let me tell you just how helpful that is.  Last weekend Husby decided the garage needed a total cleaning.  He even went as far as to create a new space for all my holiday stuff so that I can more easily reach everything. (Back off ladies, he's mine! Hahaha!)  So I was working away happy as can be arranging all of my totes when I heard a loud crash...Nooooooo!  Yep, a whole stack of my Christmas bins fell over!  I was pretty concerned, but after going through everything it turned out that all I lost was one 8X10 frame and one glass jar.  No problem!  I just went inside where I retrieved a spare frame and extra jar and the day was saved. Yay!!!!

Miniature Cake Tins .10

All of these little cake tins were in a bag for only .10!  Large, medium or small, I love cake pans.  I have a whole collection in my bakers rack cabinet and couldn't wait to bring these home.  They are also useful for certain people who enjoy shaping their sand and play-doh ;)

Pancake Molds .50

I have been wanting to try shaping my pancakes for some time now. (See, I have meaningful hopes and dreams like everyone else...snicker...)  So when I came across this set of three pancake molds for only .50 I had to take them with me.  We always do a nice brunch on Sunday mornings and I thought these would be a lot of fun.

I added blueberries and they turned out pretty nicely.  Yummy too!

 Glass Trifle Bowl  $1

Because ya know, I needed another!  :)

We finally got a new freezer for the garage and inside the packaging was this.  What is this?  Is this a miniature ice cube tray?!  I looked through the entire booklet that was enclosed and found no mention of this piece, so I'm going with miniature ice cube tray.  I can now make miniature ice cubes.  This pleases me to no end.  Ahhhh, the simple things in life!  :D



That's a grand total of $3.20.  Not bad at all, and of course I had fun finding everything.

Hope you enjoyed the post, thanks for stopping by!

-Jennifer

© Jennifer Adams Flowers 2014