finley's second birthday: a ladybug garden party!

Finley is obsessed with ladybugs. She talks about them all the time. She has a beloved Skiphop ladybug backpack. And a few months ago a small wooden craft ladybug fell on the floor in my bedroom beside my desk. I didn't have the heart to pick it up, because it became Finley's muse. She would visit it every day before her nap, just to say hi. So a ladybug party for her was inevitable.

The party was pretty low-budget, which meant I had to get creative. I decided to not go crazy with ladybug motifs, but to decorate mainly with polka dots in red, black and white, and kraft paper for that gardeny feel.

I designed the invitations and had them printed at Staples (note they are available as a DIY printable in my Etsy shop). I love the look of the clean, stark polkadots with the rough brown kraft envelope.

 Our porch decor just happened to match!

 

I crafted antennae for each little guest out of cheap headbands from Walmart, black pipe cleaners and electrical tape.

Jumbo flowers were made out of tissue paper. Easy decor and very effective! The picket fence was cut out of white card stock, and some inexpensive letters from Michael's were spray painted gold.

 

Grass cupcake liners held chocolate cuppies, topped with 'dirt' (cookie crumbs) and cute edible ladybug toppers from Sweet Sarah's Boutique.

 

One more look at the paper flowers because they are just so pretty!

This large 'Finley at 2' poster was printed in black and white at Staples for $8! You just have to ask for an 'engineer print'.

Instead of flowers, I opted for cat grass in dollar store pots. Vinyl (wipeable!) polkadot tablecloth fabric is from IKEA.

I was able to reuse a lot of decor items from Sage's first Picnic Party. I love being able to reuse! And I of course love paper straws.

Washi tape purties up some plain old cups.

Polkadots on the wall.

Kate Spade polkadot puffs found at Chapters! They went perfectly with the red puffs I ordered for the Picnic Party (that arrived a week after the Picnic Party due to a mail strike at the time).

Remember the little wooden craft ladybugs that Finley fell in love with? I had a bunch of them, and some mini terracotta pots hanging around too. I wasn't sure what to do with them so I made some of these weird wee things.

Favourite photos from the year posted on our chalkboard door.

Lootbags, the best part! I love putting these together. This is the girl's version - the boy's version swapped out the hair clips for a creepy crawly bug toy.

I had plans for the kids to make a ladybug craft, and to play pin the dot on the ladybug. But they were all having such a blast just playing with toys in our basement. We just went with the flow, and didn't push any of the activities. Still we all had tons of fun!

Thanks for checking out Finley's Ladybug Garden Party! Up next - Sage's 4th freezing cold Frozen Party next month, in what is usually the hottest week of the year. Stay tuned.

free printable: father's day card

Father's Day is a bit early this year! Usually it's closer to my sister's birthday on the 21st, and it really snuck up on me. I just created this card for my hubby, an amazing father to my two girls. 

Need a Father's Day card in a pinch? Feel free to download this one and print! The card is 7" x 5" when folded, and will print on letter-sized card stock. Just follow the trim marks to cut, and fold the card stock in the middle.

Enjoy and Happy Father's Day to the wonderful Pops out there!

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE PRINTABLE CARD (for personal use only please).

and just like that...

...my newborn baby turned 2! Hard to believe this post was written two years ago, and that the little bundle is now a little girl, full of thoughts and quirks and sweetness. Happy birthday to my second born, Finley. An awesome girl, a complete joy.

ode to my grandma

On Wednesday, April 16th, 2014, my grandma passed away. I want to say a few words here for her, because as far as grandmothers go, this one was pretty special.

Always beautiful and elegant, and so well-dressed, she was wearing heels until her final weeks at 90 years old. My grandma created a magical world for us when we were kids, and 'fairies' were always leaving us little presents or notes. She had a strange gift for finding four-leafed clovers and could always pick us a few from any clover patch.

I can thank her for any artistic genes I may have received. She was the original Martha Stewart, and could sew, knit, decorate, paint, or sculpt anything really. My grandma was a fabulous cook too, and her presentation of any dish was stunning and usually included a cherry tomato, or some sort of vegetable, carved into a little flower.

She was a story-teller, and a master at word puzzles, often beating her computer program at Scrabble.

She was a successful, independent woman. At a time when it wasn't the norm, she went through a divorce and worked to support herself and her two daughters. She did well for herself too, even putting her kids through university.

She was a fireball, clever and so witty - even during her final weeks she had us very amused with her funny little quips. 

She was caring and took care of everyone else. Up until January of this year, she was dropping by with a ready-made meal to help out.

Such a talented, interesting woman. And such a good friend. One day I hope to be a grandmother just like she was. She will be, and already is, very missed.

100 sales on Etsy!

I just noticed my Etsy store, Olive + Iris, has reached 100 sales. Hooray! And along with a new Etsy banner, I've just added another invitation to the store as well. 

This polkadotty invitation was created for my daughter Finley's upcoming second birthday party. She is obsessed with ladybugs, so we are having a Ladybug Garden birthday party. I'm in the process of planning {how I love planning and designing kid's birthday parties!} but I was eager to add this design to the shop, with it being Spring and all. 

Ahhh Spring, by the way. The smell of mud and cow poo is making me very happy. So nice to have made it through that marathon winter!

cousins

 

If you can believe, on my husband's side of the family, there are six girl cousins, 5 years old and under. My husband and his two siblings each have two girls. That's a strong family X chromosome! 

One morning in March we armed ourselves with colourful tutus, treats and bribes in order to take a photo for my in-laws, Grams and Grumps. The morning ended up being quite fun actually, and the girls were amazing. The photos turned out great, and we enlarged one and had it printed on a giant canvas board. Just a little something we will cherish as the girls grow up. Especially during the scary teenage years.

pretty little settee

Hello there, pretty little settee. I don't usually find good steals like this one ($20!). But one day last summer, I was driving and spotted it at a garage sale, couldn't stop thinking of it, and turned around to get it. Oh the potential it had! It didn't fit in the car I was driving, so I called my sister who also loves a good makeover, and luckily she was nearby and it squeaked into her hatchback. And the best part? My sister offered to give it to me as my birthday gift. So it actually wasn't even $20. It was free!

Although it definitely has vintage, shabby-chic charm as-is, I can't help but wonder what it has seen in its lifetime. It needs some refreshing.

Should I stick with velvet, perhaps a grey, like this beautiful settee from Nickey Kehoe?

Or this lovely geometric Dwell Studio fabric, Casablanca Geo, Citrine.

I'm loving these stripes too, as seen on Little Green Notebook. 

All would look great in my living room! And as a prop for photos. Now to decide the fate of this pretty little settee...any input is welcome.
 

the dining room is coming together

It's been a while since I've shown any of our house improvements. Between two little ones and work, it's taken a long, long while to come together. We aren't there yet! But certainly on our way. Over the holidays we worked really hard at getting our dining room in order. There are still a few more pieces of furniture to buy, art to put on the walls, but here we are so far.

This once was a blank, carpeted room that was a dumping ground for bags, boxes, and a lot of junk. Now it's a fabulous room for family dinners and parties. We are in love with our custom 'roughed up and rustic' harvest table that sits 10 comfortably (remember my quest for a rustic, large table way back when?).

This is a happy room.

Custom harvest table and bench - Heritage Harvest Tables
Chairs - Structube
Curtains - West Elm
Chandelier - West Elm
Chicago Poster - Ork Posters
Custom trim and mouldings - Millard Bautista Designs

happy day, valentine!

Happy Valentine's Day! Here are some Valentine tags created for my kids' daycare friends. I'm seriously loving Target lately, and found these cute Valentine bubbles for Sage's pre-school class. Finley's toddler class will receive these more age-appropriate stickers, also from Target.

(By the way, I can't seem to leave Target without spending $150. That seems to be my number. Every time. Anyone else have that problem?!).

art supply organization {an easy chalkboard spray paint project}

We keep most of our art supplies in the basement, but I usually keep a few on our main floor too, so they are easy to grab for the kids if they want to do a quick drawing or mush some play dough. All our supplies were a mess though - thrown into a clear plastic bin, crayons spilling all over the place, mixed with markers, paint and pom-poms. 

I had one of these old IKEA MOPPE mini chest of drawers. I'm not even sure they sell these anymore! This is vintage IKEA - for some reason I've hung onto this little chest of drawers for at least 15 years. It was holding a few travel supplies but wasn't really as functional as it could be. I wanted to use it to finally organize our 'upstairs' art and craft supplies.

On a bit of a chalkboard paint kick, I pulled out my chalkboard spray paint (obsessed with the stuff!) and set about on a really simple project of spray-painting the front of the drawers. I taped the edges just so it would be a bit neater.

It only took two coats of the spray paint, but the results were really effective. With my chalkboard marker (obsessed with it too!) I wrote on each drawer and my 3-year-old helped me organize all the supplies into their compartments. 

 

The drawers are surprisingly roomy. And while this little chest doesn't hold everything to do with art and craft, it sits nicely in our pantry for easy access whenever the art mood strikes.

 

Wow, I love little projects like this. Super fast and accomplished during a toddler's afternoon nap. Quick and satisfying.

More on my pantry a bit later. As you will see, I'm really loving the handy dandy chalkboard paint trend!

new in my etsy store! baby name vintage postcard printable

I just added a little something to my Etsy store, Olive + Iris. I made this little vintage postcard print last year for my daughter Finley's room, and I've been asked about it a lot, so I decided to make it available for sale.

It's lovely and delicate and perfect for a baby girl's room! I will customize the name and date of birth of the baby, as well as the weight and height. The print is 8" x 10". Once I customize the file I will send along a high-res .jpg file for printing - so you can print it yourself on your choice of paper (which saves extra printing and shipping costs from my end!). If interested in the print, please click here to purchase.

my work: amanda forrest website

I had the great pleasure of working with interior designer and TV personality, Amanda Forrest, on the design of her new website. Together we were able to create a look for her site that matches the style, glamour and sophistication of her interior designs.

Not only is Amanda a busy interior designer, and resident Design Expert for The Marilyn Denis Show. But she is the mother of five kids. FIVE!! And she still manages to look amazingly glam. This woman is my hero.

Check out her new site and her amazing portfolio here.