Showing posts with label Ella B. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ella B. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Valentine Place Mat and Sneak Peek

In preparing for Valentines Day we wanted to share a Savvy Project that comes from the Heart.

We always like to incorporate place mats for our Play Parties.
When the kids are involved in making them they are that much Sweeter.
Here is an easy and Heart Felt Place Mat idea.

Pick up some 12x12 scrapbook paper and Doilies (we of course raided the dollar bin at Target)
Paint your loved ones hand and firmly press onto the Heart.
Cover with contact paper or laminate and there you have it. The perfect addition to your Valentine table.
And the best part is that it adds excitement to kiddos meal when they can sit down to eat and look at their own creation!

We also wanted to share a little sneak peek of our next Play Party.
Our very first Valentine's Party which was a Rockin good time!

Check out these Adorable Shirts from The Tiny Hiney


We can't wait to share with you our 'Rock Of Love' Play Party inspired by our own Ella B on February 1st!!! Until then enjoy our sneak peek of what's to come....there just might be something in it for you!

Rock On!!!!
Amy & Bri

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Merry and Bright Play Party

December 16, 2010

We often get asked "How Savvy are your Play Dates Really".
To which we reply, Very Savvy. You just have to be creative.

Our Merry and Bright Play Date is a perfect example of a fun and frugal Party.

We knew as soon as we saw the Cheerful and Bright Christmas Light Party Printable Collection from InkSpot Workshop that we had found our theme.

We wanted to create a Bright and Cheery feel for the day.
To keep the styling simple since the colors were so Bright and Vibrant on the Printables.

We were thrilled when we found a Christmas Light Collection in the Dollar Bins at Target. From the collection of ribbon, wrapping supplies and paper goods we decided we only needed to purchase 2 Large gift Bags.

From the gift bags we created 4 Place mats, 3 tray inserts and 2 ribbon trim accent pieces for the wrapped boxes we used as risers.

The details of the table came together quickly and with minimal cost. We purchased 2 Rosemary trees from which we strung the printables and our Dough-a-Deer Doughnuts. This was a perfect focal point for the table and a fun and festive way to spread some cheer.


Our Craft this month was Candy Christmas Light Necklaces from Amazon.

An easy, fun and edible project for the kiddos.

The Printable Collection really was the Inspiration for the entire day. We took our Chair Ribbons from our Gingerbread Play Party and re-purposed them for this Merry and Bright Event. In keeping with the idea of stringing joy we wrapped 4 C7 Bulbs with twine and dressed up the Chalkboard (super cute right!).


For the Food we treated our guests to YUMMY Dough-a-Deer doughnuts. They were so pretty. The perfect touch to our Merry Day. As always we provided a healthy snack of Jello Christmas Trees and Pineapple Stars. In Savvy Spirit we whipped up some Light Bulb Cookies by dipping Nutter Butters in colored Wilton Candy Melts (we definitely are not Kolby Kakes ).

The total cost of the day was $27....Super Savvy for this Seasonal Shindig!!!

Sorry E...those are not lollies they are Printable Toppers.

The day was so Merry and Bight even our Littlest Guests wanted to take part in the fun.

So glad Ella B was there to capture all of the HoHoHo's and Jolly happenings.

We hope you have a Merry Little Christmas filled with Bright Savvy Stylings.

Smiles~

Amy & Bri


Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Savvy Savings.....Photo on Canvas Complete!

So those of you who Follow our Facebook Page know that we are always sharing Savvy Savings with you.

Remember those Canvas Savings we Shared from Canvas on Demand????

I cashed in!

Goodness I love these 2...They make my heart melt


They were taking the modeling thing very seriously.
Especially Miss Bean....

I am so happy with the way these Photos on Canvas turned out. I can not think of a better way to display these Amazing images Ella B captured at the Sweet Things Photo Shoot.

I think I might be addicted to putting my Photos on Canvas' instead of in frames......

And guess what?

There is a special going on now.
Save 22% through Thursday the 18th with Promo Code THXGIVING.

Smiles~
Bri

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Cookies and Milk Baby Shower

When my family and friends approached me about having a baby shower, I have to admit I was hesitant at first. I thought I had everything I needed as far as the essentials, but because this time around I am having a boy, I went ahead and agreed to it. OH how the party planning wheels began to turn!!!! I am known to have a sweet tooth and this pregnancy definitely supported that habit!! So, I remember seeing an adorable "Cookies and Milk" themed Birthday party on the Internet and thought why not have a shower around this adorable theme AND support my love of my nightly cookies and milk before bed?

With the help of family and friends I was truly blessed and was given one of the most adorable baby showers ever! Most of the details you see were hand made. The "A" on the front door was made by my talented sister, her amazing Cricuit, poster board and some Cookie Crisp cereal! My wonderful sister also made cookies on a stick that were made from Styrofoam, paint, wooden dowels, and some more Cookie Crisp cereal.

I wanted the colors of the shower to compliment my son's room (Pics to come). So we of course went with brown, whites and accented with orange. I love how the pop of orange made the whole table stand out. I asked my talented friend Donella of Ella B Photography to create a banner for me and she did not disappoint! "Got Cravings" was strung over the table with the complimenting colors of the shower and she even added little chocolate chip cookies on each letter.


I had also seen these blue and white paper straws on Bake It Pretty and knew they needed to be included in this shower. They were just too cute to pass up!


Not only did my amazing friends and family make a variety of dozen upon dozen of delicious cookies for the table, Jamie of Kolby Kakes also made her famous cake balls in the coordinating colors of the shower. She is so creative! I also asked her if she could create a milk bottle and chocolate chip cookie sugar cookie for the day and she perfected my vision! The only bummer was that I did not get to sample one, they were gone instantly!

I wanted to limit the usual baby shower games, so my sister came up with "Guess How Many Cookies are in the Cookie Jar?" She simply filled a jar with (again) Cookie Crisp cereal and had each of the guests put their guess on a slip of paper with their name.



I knew I wanted each guest to leave with some sort of cookie to remind them of the day, but was not sure what I wanted to put them in other than a bag? I was so excited when I found these ADORABLE milk cartons from Polka Dot Prints! I contacted Jordan, the owner and she was able to compliment the colors and the theme perfectly onto these mini milk cartons that were then filled with mini chocolate chip cookies from Trader Joe's. Aren't they SO unique? Stay tuned and we may just have a lil' Giveaway in the future (tomorrow....wink, wink!!)????


Thank you everyone who had a hand in throwing me not just a shower but a day full of memories that will last forever! I am beyond thrilled and excited to Welcome Baby Ayden into this world in just a few more days.

Stay tuned for our Giveaway from Polka Dot Prints......

Smiles~
Amy

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Never in our wildest Dreams..........

October 4, 2010


You know that saying, "If you believe it, you can achieve it". Well that could not be more true to life than our experience thus far. About 5 1/2 weeks ago we started The Savvy Moms Guide as a way to create the ultimate Play Date, give amazing parties, and design all things to perfection.....for pennies. Never in our wildest dreams did we think we would get such honorable mentions as we did this past week. We have to gloat for just a post, so bear with us! We were beyond thrilled, in fact in disbelief, when we saw that our first Halloween "Spooktacular Play Date/Party was featured on Martha Stewart's Dreamers into Doers. I mean seeing our hard work getting a feature mention that has Martha Stewart's name attached to it truly is every party planners dream, well at least ours!!!!




In the same day we were also featured on a new network, The Children's Party Newtwork. It is a website designed to connect, share and celebrate in the children's party movement (the new wave of stylish and beyond creative children's parties). How could this be, two amazing sites in one day???? All we can say is Thank You!!! Thank you to the amazingly talented Donella of Ella B Photography for capturing each of our Play Dates. Our kids just love posing for her and her "circle"!!!! Thank you Nicole from Sweet Things for adding a bit of sweetness to each of our Play Dates with your one of a kind costumes and designs. Thank You Kolby Kakes for providing your delicious not to mention detailed edible creations that put a smile on our kids faces every time!!!! And Thank You Kerry, of Canvas by Kerry for complimenting each Play Date with your original art work. Each of these Savvy ladies have had a huge hand in our success along this 5 1/2 week journey and look forward to many more to come!!!!



Here's to making Every Day Savvy!!!!


Smiles,


Amy & Bri


Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Savvy....Spooktacular Halloween Play Date

September 30, 2010


BOO!!!! Did we scare you? Didn't think so. Welcome to our first Halloween "Spooktacular"

Play date. We wanted the day to be nothing less than fabulous for our kiddos and friends so greeting them at the front door was this adorable Anders Ruff "Boo!" sign (a free printable) that set the Halloween mood right away.




It's not a Halloween play date without a little friendly Bewitching right? How cute is this little witch we had as our door greeter with another free printable "The Witch is in" sign we downloaded from Clickable Party.



As soon as our ghoulish guests came inside we started our lunch time recipe. What do you get when you pair hot dogs and crescent rolls? A yummy "Mummy Dog" for a delicious hands on snack. We gave each child their own crescent dough triangle and a hot dog and let them "dress" their own Mummy Dog to their liking. As soon as their Mummies were wrapped we popped them in the oven and let the kiddos outside where we had set up the rest of the Halloween Spooktacular day for them to enjoy!



When we were planning this play date, right away we knew it had to be at Bri's house. Her back yard alone is a canvas of possibilities. We had so much fun creating this table and are so excited to share our Amy Atlas inspired table. Here is what we came up with.....take a look!!!!





We of course used an amazing group of talented women to help pull this festive Play Date together. We found complimentary printables from Tweedle Dee Designs. The yummy Spooky Circles, Pumpkin Pops and Pumpkin cupcakes were provided by the wonderful Kolby Kakes. And the Savvy find that we think finished the table was the $3 bat garland that draped the front of the table from a local store here in CA called Tai Pan, every Savvy shoppers dream!!!!


This Spooktacular Play Date could not have happened without a trip to our local Dollar Tree where we found glittery spiders, googly eyes and plastic pumpkins (See craft). A recipe, we still have yet to perfect, is our version of a healthy candy corn treat made out of fruit. (Post to follow) Our Glamorous giveaway this week, a hand painted chandelier canvas with rhinestone detail, comes from Canvas by Kerry which we used to decorate our drink table. Bake it Pretty gave us inspiration to use cupcake liners as popcorn holders for everyone to snack on while the Mummy Dogs were baking.



So here is our kids version of Mummy Dogs. Yea, we know they are missing eyes and are halfway dressed, but that is the fun part right? Yet another Savvy find and FREE printable we found were these sweet candy corn cone holders from Skip to my Lou that we used as hangers filled with more popcorn.

With every Play Date as you all know, we incorporate a recipe, a story and a craft. For this craft we found plastic pumpkins from The Dollar Tree that the kids painted and decorated with pieces of felt, googly eyes, and glittery pom-poms. (Post to follow on how we did this). We wanted these pumpkins to be sort of like Mr. Potato Heads, where the kids can change around the eyes, nose and mouth by simply using Velcro.



We ended the Day with Kolby Kakes delicious Pumpkin Pops and a story. The kids intently listened to The Spooky Smells of Halloween A Scratch and Sniff Book by Mary Man-Kong. The kiddos loved the cute story and really enjoyed the Smells of the Spooky Season an Adorable Seasonal Read....



So the day was done. Their tummies were full and the craft was made. Ella B captured it all and even got the kiddos together for a group shot all dressed up in Sweet Things fashions and other homemade costumes. Aren't they too Cute??



Smiles,

Amy & Bri

Monday, September 13, 2010

Another Reason we love Ella B & Sweet Things

Monday September 13, 2010
Last Friday we had a chance to have our kiddos and many other cuties play dress up on a photoshoot shot by the fabulous Ella B, where they modeled the newest Sweet Things fashions and Holiday costumes. The kids had a great time dressing up and posing for the camera. Ella B captured some great moments while Nicole from Sweet Things hosted an overall fun day for the kids as well as sweet designs. If you are looking for unique and one of a kind Halloween costumes, make sure you check out the Sweet Things shop!!!!







Smiles,
Amy & Bri






Monday, September 6, 2010

What...Another Giveaway????

I (Bri) am obsessed with pictures. A straight momarazzi..... my poor children. Someday I know they will appreciate the millions of pictures I have taken to capture every single moment and memory of their lives. For now I am just annoying. Even still I always have my camera ready for the perfect shot. So for my birthday this year my husband bought me the Cannon DSLR camera I had been talking about obsessively for years.

The stipulation was that I would learn how to use it. Well, 9 months later and I am still learning, aspiring to be like our very own Ella B and my beloved Laura Kent Photography, even though she moved hundreds of miles away (clearly I am still bitter and miss her).

I digress….. But in all honesty, I am failing miserably.

Nonetheless, I Love the Camera but hate that I am ALWAYS misplacing my lens cap, asking if anyone in my entourage has it. Because they should right? I have the camera but they of course have the lens cap when I cannot find it. So just last week on the 1st day of preschool there I am sobbing as my husband dragged me out of the twins class (I just could not leave) panicked that he had lost my lens cap, because of course I could not find it, and he should have it. So then and there I decided this needed to stop, I cannot keep asking my “peeps” where the lens cap is. So I turned to Etsy…you know about Etsy right? And there it was…the perfect Camera strap, from SewTamz Designs; sassy and stylish with a lens cap pocket! I could not get it in my cart fast enough. How cute am I going to look pretending like I am a professional photographer? My pictures may not be great but my camera will look Snazzy.

So, since you are such great followers…..Since you have put up with a couple of my bad pictures; with many more to come (can you tell which ones are mine & which are Ella B?)….Since you have embraced us and just because we love you…. We are giving away a SewTamz Designs Personalized DSLR Camera Strap with Lens Cap Pocket! Get a $30 credit to this fantastic Etsy shop, we love her…..

How great will this look with a Jo Tote? You can still enter TomKat's Giveaway until September 8. I am crossing my fingers, toes, legs and arms hoping that I win the Rose in Teal tote to match my new Camera Strap Cover.

3 ways to Enter & Win.....


1) Go to SewTamz Designs on Facebook. "Like" her and visit her Amazing shop then comment here with your favorite Strap Design.

2) Become a follower on SewTamz Designs, come back and leave a comment letting us know you are there!

3) Become a fan of The Savvy Moms Guide on Facebook, go to the Blog and leave a comment telling us your favorite photo tips.

Be Sure to leave a separate comment for each entry. Entries must be submitted by 8pm PST Sunday September 12. The winner will be selected using random.org

Smiles,

Amy & Bri

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

"Apple of my Eye" Back to School Play Date

Webster defines a play date as~an arranged appointment for children to get together for a few hours to play. While this is true, we wanted more…. Since every play date is a party!!!!

The Savvy Moms play date is one that is creative, interactive, educational, fun, healthy and delicious, all at the same time. With Back to School (or rather our kids 1st day of school) on our minds Apples were the perfect theme. We narrowed down the craft, the recipe, and a great story and were ready to add the Sass. With dessert tables all the rage these days (at least in our own little blogging world) we thought it would be perfect to have a table centered around our play date. A table that would mimic the Desserts of Amy Atlas, and the classy stylings of Martha Stewart; but all with our own Savvy Selections. These Savvy selections included a perfect canvas from Lucky Girl, Edible Creations from Kolby Kakes and adorable attire from Sweet Things. And of course capturing the details of our day; Ella B Photography.

Class....please be seated for your lesson on our First Savvy Moms Play Date!!!!


Class is in session!!!! Let’s begin with art…a subject every child (and adult) loves. Especially when allowed to paint on one’s body without getting in trouble.


Apple Hand Prints are an easy and fun way to capture the memory of your little ones hand print while allowing them to get a little messy.

To complete the craft you will need the following:

Apple Template printed on cardstock . We cut off the stem.
Red tissue paper cut into squares (or your child can tear the tissue in strips if they aren't yet using scissors)
Glue Sticks
Paint Brush
Green Washable Tempra Paint, so you don’t need to bust out the Shout
Black Construction paper
Chalk (Optional) for child to write their name

Step 1. Glue the cutout Apple Template to the Black Construction paper
Step 2. Encourage your child to glue the red squares onto their apple
Step 3. Paint the hand green (which leads to the desire to paint other things…so watch out)
Step 4. Press firmly onto the top of the Apple creating the stem

We will admit that we are the moms that like to feed our kids healthy foods. Unless we are bribing them to behave, entertain, or “smile for the camera” at which point M&M’s, suckers, candy cookie and any other treat are acceptable. But in the spirit of nutrition and even more important aesthetic appeal we found this great Apple boat recipe….. Adorable right! And the best part is that they are a healthy and interactive snack for your child to enjoy

You will need:


2 apples
Provolone Cheese
Lemon
Toothpicks
A paring knife or Peeler
Basting Brush
1 lemon

Step 1. Slice your apples. Then notch out the center of each slice using a paring knife or peeler.
Step 2. Puncture a medium size lemon with a hole and place in the microwave for 45 seconds to juice it. Then baste the juice onto the apple slices. This will keep the apples from turning brown.
Step 3. Slice your cheese into triangular pieces.
Step 4. Allow your child to assemble the boat, sticking the toothpick through the cheese and into the apple. Be prepared you might have some samplers of the cheese or apple before the project is complete.

Now enjoy your delicious and nutritious apple boat (that does in fact float)

This activity/recipe was a great way to let our kids be hands on, to take an EveryDay edible object and create a fun and flavorful treat.


While the kids enjoyed their apple boats we thought it best to read a Book. And what better selection than The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. A classic story on the importance and reward of giving. Both of which are qualities we are instilling in our children.

While we hoped that the days activities would be remembered....and that our monkeys would take away the educational and moral aspects of the play date, we were not at all surprised to find that in the end, the most memorable part of the day was the delicious Apple Pops created by Kolby Kakes. These ultimate cake pops were really the Apple of our Kids Eyes.

Class is dismissed!!!


Smiles,

Amy & Bri


Friday, August 27, 2010

It Takes a Village....

to raise a child....Or in our case start a Blog! We have come across some very talented mompreneurs who have agreed to take this adventure with us. With the commonality of being moms we we have decided to partner up with their "Savvy" talents. We are thrilled to introduce to you......

Donella of Ella B Photography "Specializing in the Unforgettable".


Jamie of Kolby Kakes, who perfected the ultimate cake ball and bakes amazing edible creations



Kerry of Canvas by Kerry & Lucky Girl Canvas, who creates custom canvases for any occasion.


And Nicole of Sweet Things kids clothing and accessories the perfect shop for specialty designs



Thank You girls for inspiring us and helping our vision come to life. You have been a crucial part in making our ideas EveryDay Savvy.

We look forward to sharing their Savvy Skills with you and hope you appreciate their creations in with what is to come.