{The Wednesday Hit List}: My Top 5 Most Repinned Pins on Pinterest

As a mother, blogger, and total Type-A personality, I live for lists, particularly those that highlight the best of something! And since I love sharing my favorites here, I thought I would turn them into lists and make a weekly thing of it. So starting today, Wednesdays on The Everyday Momma will be 'The Wednesday Hit List'!

 My first Wednesday Hit List is going to be My Top 5 Most Repinned Pins on Pinterest. If I am being honest, about 90% of the traffic to my blog comes from Pinterest, so I will be sharing the pins that get me most of that traffic. 

1. Under the Sea Birthday Party: Snacks and Food Tent Labels

This is my top repinned pin on Pinterest. These were made for Myles' first birthday party. I put some different snack in sand buckets and made the food tent labels using wedding place cards with stamps and my handwriting. 

2. DIY Plastic Bottle Waterfall

 This DIY was apart of a Summer Fun Series I did with some other blog friends a few summers ago. This particular week we were to come up with a fun activity or craft using old plastic bottles. Myles had too much fun helping us make and then play with this Plastic Bottle Waterfall.

3. Under the Sea Birthday Party: Napkin Wraps

This pin is another DIY from Myles' 1st birthday party. Putting these napkin wraps together was actually pretty fun and you can't go wrong with the convenience of silver wear, napkin, and mint all wrapped into one when it comes to managing a huge party!

4. Mini Turkey Meatloaves

This is one of the first recipes I shared on my blog... and I think it's pretty obvious! Despite the horrendous picture (composition and quality), Mini Turkey Meatloaves still my most popular recipe on Pinterest. It is still a big hit at home too!

5. Under the Sea Birthday Party: Crab Walk Relay Race

My number 5 pin is another one from Myles' 1st birthday party (parties a popular!). This was the sign I made for one of the games we made up to play at the party: Crab Walk Relay. It was a relay race where everyone could only do the crab walk!

I hope you enjoyed the first edition of The Wednesday Hit List and I also hope you'll come back for more!
Also I am thinking about eventually turning this into a link-up if anyone is interested in sharing in the future or even co-hosting with me! Let me know in a comment or email!

Alice in Wonderland Birthday Party

A few months back, a friend of mine from high school posted pictures on Facebook from her daughter's 2nd birthday. I instantly fell in love with EVERYTHING she did. When I decided to start blogging again, I knew I had to share the party she put together. So here is her fabulous Alice in Wonderland Birthday Party:

Let's start with the entrance:

How ridiculously cute is this entrance with the door made to look like a tree and the "Down the Rabbit Hole" sign.

She also placed this welcome sign in the front yard leading up to the door.

Inside she had the dessert table with tons of yummy Alice themed treats.

Here are some of the details:

 She put cute little "eat me" tags on all the desserts, which included marshmallow "Cheshire Cat Tails", mushroom cookies, cupcakes, and Rice Krispies treat pops.

The table also included her daughter's adorable smash cake.

She also had a snack table with a Cheshire cat cheese ball and grape caterpillars.  

Outside was a drink station. I absolutely love this set up with the sign indicating drinks for kids and adults and the straw tags that say 'drink me'!

These signs 'directed' guests to the different areas outside; such a fun way to bring in the theme!

My favorite part of the whole party is the kids table. She made these mushroom stools herself and put together the cutest little tea party set-up. 

She also had some fun activities for the kids like this Queen of Hearts croquet game and a Twiddledee and Twiddledum photo booth.

Cute color themed highchair tulle skirt:

Some more cute chalkboard signs and banner with movie quotes:

And lastly, an Alice in Wonderland book as a thank you and party favor.

Thanks to Kristin for letting me share the amazing job she did on her daughter's second birthday party! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did through the pictures. 

What's your favorite birthday party theme?

{Home}: DIYs Around the House

I have been wanting to share some home decor posts for months now (we have been in our new place for a little over 3 months), but nothing is finished to my complete liking so I have been waiting. Well I think I have come to realize that in my crazy OCD mind no room will ever be completely done. Some areas I am at a total loss and need some advice (an upcoming post), but mostly it's just that I am not not finding exactly what I want.

I have finally gotten a few projects done in the past couple weeks and I have a couple more currently in the works. The sad part is all of these projects are for Myles' rooms (playroom and bedroom). For some reason, those areas are the easiest for me to decide on decor for.  And they are way more fun than any other room in the house to put together. I will do a full playroom post soon, when I am some how able to keep it clean for more than 30 seconds. For now here are a couple of the things I have been working on:

Gallery Wall in the playroom: 

I started this project like 2 months ago! It took me a long time to decide on what exactly I wanted to have on the wall. Then I had to pick out colors.... From there I couldn't decide which color I wanted on which item... then I had to actually paint them (which took the longest time)... and finally I picked my favorite layout. I moved them around at least 25 times. Then I slept on it and woke up the next day and changed it another 15 times. I am really happy with my final choice. I love the way it looks currently, but I am also able to add more if I want to later. 

The colors come from the rug in his room (which I forgot to take a picture of this time). The first thing I bought for the room was the rug and then designed the whole room around the colors in it.

From top left going clockwise: 
1. A canvas that I wrapped in fabric (same fabric I used for the chairs of his Ikea play table). I painted the 'M' (from Micheal's) orange and glued it to the canvas. 
2. A cheap picture frame I painted and glued the clothes pins to. This will be for Myles' art. 
3. I got this shadow box at Goodwill. I painted it and attempted to put some of Myles' hot wheels in it, but he freaked out and made me take them all out. So I am still brainstorming something I can put in it.. any ideas welcome!
4. I painted this canvas and attached this free USA map printable with sticky Velcro.  
5. Chalkboard I had from who knows where that I painted.. and have yet to write on!
6. This piece is the reason I decided to make a gallery wall. I based it all around this picture. It is a picture my mother colored for my cousin when she was born. It was a color by number picture but she just did her own thing. A couple of years ago my cousin found it and gave it to me for Myles. I found a frame to put it in at Goodwill and painted it. 
7.  Canvas painted with clothes pins glued on it for Myles' art.
8. Painted frame with this free printable.

The other thing I put together in his playroom is this Toy Story corner. Myles had a Toy Story birthday party this year (still needing to blog that!) so I had a ton of Toy Story things left over. My great friend bought Myles this personalized banner! I LOVE it and knew I had to put it up in his playroom. Under that I added a white shelf to display all of his Toy Story figurines (mostly Woody and Buzz). And below that is a board I made for the die-cuts that I had left over from Myles' party. I ordered these die-cuts for center pieces on each table. I didn't want to just throw them out because they are really good quality and fun to play with. 

I started with an old poster frame we had laying around. I glued yellow fabric to the back board and attached the plastic front with blue duck tape around all of the sides. Lastly, I used sticky velcro dots to attach each die-cut to the board. That way he is able to take each one off, play with them, put them in different places, and they will always go back when he is done. We are huge Toy Story fans, so this little corner makes me happy!

The last project on today's post is something I did a while back for Myles' new dinosaur bedroom. A couple of months ago I shared some wall art the we made together (melted crayon canvas and painted puzzles). I have since almost finished his room and promise to share soon. I only have a reading chair to pick up and it will be all done! Anywho, here is his dresser with dinosaur knobs:
Sorry for the poor quality of these pictures, the lighting is horrible in his room.

I had been collecting different dinosaurs from all over (thrift stores, garage sales, etc.) for a couple weeks and when I had them how I wanted I cut them all in half. Once I did that, I took them all to the hardware store and found cheap wooden knobs that fit each one the best. Then I glued the dinosaurs to the knob/drawer. Just a fun little touch to his room! 

What kind of projects have you been working on around the house?

{Think Outside the Toy Box} Paper Cups: DIY Race Track

Hey look at me posting on time and everything! We are slowly getting our life and routine back together, just in time for it to get all crazy again as we are leaving in less than two weeks to go back home for Myles' 2nd birthday party! Life is hectic around here and when all is said and done, I will have a two year old, memories of an awesome vacation home, and a new city to explore when we get back. And by that time summer will be pretty much over! 

Well here we are at week nine of the Think Outside the Toy Box Summer Fun Series! 

If you are here for the first time or want to check out all the details again, take a look at the post introducing the Think Outside the Toy Box summer fun series. Also if you have missed any previous weeks, here are the projects we have done so far:
Glow-in-the-Dark Bowling (and bath)
Plastic Bottle Waterfall
Astronaut/Alien Costume
 Foamy Bathtub Paint

Edible Sensory Bin
Marble Drop/Race
 Shredded Crayon Canvas Art
Painted Puzzle Wall Art

Now on to this week's fun with:

PAPER CUPS

I have had the idea for this week's item in my head since the beginning of this series. I originally came up with two ideas and really wanted to try them both, but with moving and everything else going on, I only got around to making one. I'm sure either would have been a hit with Myles, but I think (for once) I actually made the right choice! He is super into his race/train tracks right now (as I am sure he will be for many years to come), so I came up with my own version and made him a

  Paper Cup Race Track

What You Will Need: 

1 box of 200 count paper bathroom cups

Glue Gun (with a lot of glue sticks)

 Flattened Cardboard Box/ Plywood Sheet, Particle Board

Different Colored Markers (optional)

Race Cars

Directions:  

1. Lay out the board you have chosen (or have laying around the house.) Put the paper cups out on the board in the placement you want them. I experimented with different  features and the way they would hold up best. I laid it all out on the board and moved parts around until I was happy with the whole set-up. 

2. Use the glue gun to secure all of the cups to the board/other cups. 

I tried a bunch of stuff out and came up with a few fun features like bridges, a tunnel, a jump, and some towers. I opened up the cups to make the jump ramp, bridges, and ramps to go up and down the bridges. I also opened the cups to make a tunnel. That didn't turn out exactly how I wanted though. It works well enough, but the cars get stuck in there sometimes. I should have made it shorter or higher. I also glued cups on other cups to make some towers and a big bridge. 

3. You can also draw/color areas to make it more like a real race track. It can be a dirt trail, have a lake, a pit-stop, etc. I didn't have the time, but you could get really creative with markers. 

4. Play! I am pretty please with how much Myles actually likes playing with this! And he hasn't destroyed it yet!

We had a blast with week eight of the Think Outside the Toy Box Summer Fun Series; thanks for checking it out! Also don't forget to check out what all of the other ladies put together for this week's item in the link-up below. 
  And if you have a post (new or old) that you created showcasing paper cups in a kid's project, craft, game, experiment, etc., submit it below as well. No post this week? No problem; join us next Monday when we will be using milk jugs! 

 And in case you want to get a head start, here is the complete list for the coming weeks:
July 28 - Plastic Milk Jugs

{First Birthday} Under the Sea: Games and Decor

Well here we are at the last first birthday post! The blogger in me is happy that I finally finished these posts, but the mommy side is sad that they are over and I will now be starting his toddler monthly updates! The really sad part is that in real life he is already 22 months and that close to being TWO! It's kind of nice being so far behind because I get to reminisce a lot; smile and laugh over how cute and goofy he was. But alas, it is time to put the first birthday in the books. Before I start though, if you happened to miss any of the other first birthday fun check it all out here: 

First Birthday Theme and Photo Shoot

First Birthday Festivities

First Birthday Under the Sea: Party Guests and Photo Booth Pictures
First Birthday Under the Sea: Cake and Presents
First Birthday: Under the Sea Food and Favors DIYs and Tutorials

 

Now that you are all caught up, let's get to the Under the Sea party decor and games:

DECORATIONS

 These are the welcome signs we made for the party. The 'Happy to Sea U. Clam On In" sign was in the front yard. My mom painted the sand and water on a piece of cardboard and then stenciled some sea creatures and shells. I hot glue gunned some real shells onto the board and my brother's friend wrote the saying. The other sign was hanging from a trellis arch at the backyard entrance. We made this one basically the same way as the other. I added some shells, foam stickers, and animal stencils. I also used pipe cleaners for a little more flare.

Here is a bigger view of the sign and a couple other DIYs we did for decor. We used the screened-in porch to house all of the food, favors, etc., so we added some sea themed items back there too. I tried to make some jelly fish from paper lanterns, but they didn't turn out as I had wished. I just added some streamers to the inside of the bottom of the lanterns. I crinkled the streamers in hopes it would give them more 'movement', but they didn't stay that way. I still liked them, but I am not sure that they really looked like jellyfish. We also added a DIY anchor. My mom strung a fishing net onto the wall and then attached an anchor she made from cutting out cardboard and painting.

On the outside of the porch, I hung the picture banner that I made. The hardest part of this DIY was deciding on just 3 pictures to use for each month. I had to go through and organize all the pictures I had taken for the past year! After I had all the pictures printed, I put the actual banner together. First, I cut out the fish shapes, four of each color (teal, green, and orange), from scrapbook paper. Then I laid out the fish in the arrangement I wanted them to hang. I wrote each month on the fish (newborn-11 months) and then hole punched each fish and picture. The top two pictures I hole punched both the top and bottom of the picture. I tied the pictures together with twine and then to the fish that corresponded to the month of the pictures. Lastly, I taped the fish onto a long piece of the twine.
My step-dad hung the banner with nails to the roof of the porch. This project took the most time, but it was my favorite part of the whole party.

A peek into the porch: you can see all the details in the Food and Favors post.

I already posted about our shark attack photo booth, but now I wanted to talk about how it was made. I got the inspiration from this picture I found on Pinterest and then I passed the dirty work off onto my family. They put their own spin on the idea and made it before we got into town. It was cut out of one huge piece of cardboard and then painted. They also added an extra set of teeth on the bottom. When I got there, I added the water/waves and streamers. I also made the sign for the photo booth. It is just a piece of cardboard that was folded and stuck in the ground with a stake. I wrote on it and then added some stickers and stencil cut-outs. This was my other favorite part of the party. I love the way it turned out. I don't know how I am going to top it for his second birthday.

GAMES

We had a lot of younger guests at the party, so I knew I wanted to have some games for them to play. Since it was August and an Under the Sea theme, it was only right for the games to involve lots of water!

I made all of the signs for the games the same way I did the one for the photo booth. 
This game we called "Deep Sea Fishing". We filled up Myles' kiddie pool and added tons of floating toys (fish, ducks, balls, etc.). Then, we had each kid put on a blindfold and hold a butterfly net. I used the stopwatch on my phone to time them while they tried to pick up as many toys with the net in 60 seconds. My mom stood next to the kid playing and helped them empty the net when it was full. At the end of 60 seconds, my mom counted up all the toys they got and however many they got was the amount of pieces of candy they got to pick out to put in their sand bucket favor holders. 

Here are some shots of everyone playing. Myles just got into the pool and played with all the toys! The older kids did really well with this game though; a couple of them got almost all of the toys out in the 60 seconds! It worked way better than what I thought it was going to.

The next game we played I named "Ocean Sand Treasure Hunt". My mom got this box from her work and we just cut it down to size. We added tons of sand and a bunch of party favor toys, shells, and these metal pieces from my mom's work that look like shark teeth (the top right corner on the sign.) Then we added tons more sand on top of all the 'treasure'. The picture below is to show the stuff we put in the sand (before we added the top sand.) We collected all sorts of shovels and sifters for the kids to use. The plan was to let each kid dig for a certain amount of time, but once they all got over by it, I decided to let them all hunt at the same time. They all got their own space and went at it. It worked out well because all the kids were nice and not pushy or anything. Whatever they found they were able to keep and put in their sand bucket favor holders. *I didn't think of this at the time, but it would have been a good idea to get a water bucket or hose to wash off all the treasure they found before putting it in their buckets.*

There was just enough room for every kid to get a spot and they all shared very well. My uncle was trying to get Myles to join in, but he didn't really understand what was going on! All of the kids really loved this one too.

The other game that was planned to be played (I made the sign and everything), was the "Crab Walk Relay". We ended up not getting around to playing it though. The kids were having so much fun playing with the water forts (see below), so we decided to just forgo that game and let them be. The plan was to have teams (kids and adults mixed) do the crab walk from one end of the yard to the other, relay style.

We saved the messiest and most fun game for last! My mom and I had an idea to do a water fight, but we wanted to make it a little more exciting for the kids. So we came up with the idea to make these forts. This was the last project we were trying to finish right before the party and we ran out of time to really finish them, but they turned out well enough for the kids to have fun! They are just folded cardboard that got painted, stenciled, and adorned with some 'coral'. My mom had the idea to use a couch cushion to make the coral at the bottom of the 'Great Barrier Reef'. My brother and his friend we in charge of this project. She tore up the cushion into small pieces, spray painted them, and then glued them to the cardboard. The only thing we didn't get to was painting the animal stencils. You can kind of see the black outlines of them in the pictures. Time just got away from us and really they were just going to get wet and mostly likely destroyed anyway.

Once we got all the water toys, shooters, and balloons set up, they made teams.. and of course, it was boys against girls! We had two baskets full of balloons and a bucket of water for the squirters and shooters to get filled up.

Surprisingly the balloons lasted a while, which led to the kids having tons of lasting fun! I mean what can top a water fight in the summer?!?

As I finish this last 1st birthday post, I'm getting kind of emotional. The good thing is we will always have these pictures to look back on and we're less than two months away from his second birthday party! I'm hoping it's a good one too, but I'm okay with nothing ever being able to top this one! Although Myles won't remember it, he had the best time and we couldn't be more grateful to all our wonderful family and friends that made this the best first birthday any little boy could ever have!

Thank so much for joining along in my obsessiveness and all your sweet and encouraging comments! 
Do you have any favorite party games? Ones that your kids love or you loved as a child?