the clubhouse tour

i think i promised a clubhouse tour a very long time ago and never got around to it.  but, since i have been having some sleepless nights and early morning cookie cravings, i've been able to catch up a little.    

 our original clubhouse was built when we lived in our tiny apartment, so it was built tiny.  the kiddo's (basically just avery) never wanted to play in it because she said it was too small.  so, we added a few feet on to it and gave it a makeover.  here's what we came up with...

the clubhouse

the house was originally half this size, with one door and one window.  the right side of the house is the new addition.  two new windows and an extra door.

come on in and take a look at what we did to the inside.

the whole inside (and outside too) got a new coat of paint.  we used green chalkboard paint for the inside walls and a light blue paint for the trim.  for the play food storage i purchased these yellow buckets and the mister attached them to wall to keep the floor free from clutter.

this is the kitchen.

we hung pots and pans and attached this fold-able wooden stove ($1.50 at the thrift store) to the back wall.

avery drew a faucet and sink so she could clean-up after cooking.

this is their view and also the eating nook.

 every home needs a fireplace, so again avery drew one.  love that chalkboard paint.

finally to complete the tour and makeover the house needed carpet (per you know who - avery)

i was looking for an inexpensive rug, but couldn't find one within my budget,  so we decided to buy indoor/outdoor carpet by the foot from home depot and paint it with red and blue stripes.  i think it cost around $7.  to keep it from bunching up and from the kiddo's tripping on it we taped it down with yellow duct tape.  the paint and duct tape we already had, so not bad for 7 bucks, huh?

it's a fun place to play house, but garrett likes to use it as a hideout and

storage for all of his pistols and swords because i'm learning, that's how boys play.

and, when their play is all finished, it closes up nice and tight and awaits the next days adventure.  

i can't finish this post without thanking the mister for all of his hard work and putting up with all of the crazy projects i think up for him to do.  so, thank you my love for all that you do for our family. :)

baby fiesta - papel picado tutorial

to make a papel picado (tissue paper banner) is pretty basic and easy, which means you probably don't need a tutorial on how to do it, but what the heck i took the pictures, i'm here so, let's do this thing!

what you need:

tissue paper

scissors

paper cutter

twine or string

stapler

step 1

 take 3-4 full size sheets of tissue paper (it's easier to cut on the paper cutter with more paper)

step 2

fold the tissue in half.

step 3

turn the tissue so that the folded edge is at the top and cut to your desired width.  i think i made mine 8" wide.

step 4 and 5

fold the tissue accordion style and cut out the design of your choice.

step 6 and 7

unfold paper,

place string or twine in between the fold of each tissue and staple at the top on both ends.  repeat with remaining tissue paper until you have your desired length.  

viola! see it's that basic and that easy!

let's fiesta...a celebration for grady

doesn't it just seem like i was telling you guys are secret?  i can't believe we are less than a month away from meeting our precious, little grady.  only 25 days left until his proposed due date, but this mama is hoping for it to come a little bit sooner.  i'm ready.  i'm hot.  i'm tired.  i'm sore.  i'm ready.  

one of the the things i wanted to do before grady's arrival was have a celebration for him.  since he is the third child and the second boy i am pretty much set with everything i need.  but,  i believe every baby should be celebrated regardless of what number or gender they are or how much you already have for them.  i decided to celebrate fiesta style.  i really just wanted to have a taco guy at my party, so that is why i chose a fiesta.  it ended up being a really fun theme and it was super fun celebrating with some of my favorite friends.  your probably saying to yourself, "so she through her self a baby shower?" um, yes basically that's what i did, with some help from my wonderful sister.  here's how it went...

let's fiesta!

i wanted a vintagey (is that a word?), fiesta look.  

i used mexican oil cloth, spray painted cans with succulents and mexican prayer candles to decorate the tables and set the ambiance.   

i didn't want to go crazy with spending money, so i decided to make the decorations.  honestly folks, i went to party city to look for decorations because after all i was like 33 weeks preggo and if there is something cute already made to buy, why not?  but, there wasn't so i was on my own.  

thankfully, we live in the time of pinterest and blogs and that just makes decorating for parties so much easier.  i found this tutorial on how to make paper flowers here.  i changed my dimensions a bit because i wanted my flowers a little more fuller than what they were turning out to be.  I think i did, 14x14 piece of tissue for the bottom layer, 12x12 piece for the middle and 8x8 for the center.  

 i made the papel picado on my own, again because i couldn't find it to buy it.  but, really it was way less expensive in the long run just to buy the tissue colors i wanted and do it myself.  i didn't follow a tutorial or anything just did my own thing.  i will post my own tutorial of how i made it the next time i get on here to blog.  (hmmm... i wonder how long that will be?)  

of course,  i had to use my authentic, antique mexican cabinet to hold all the goodies.  i used my paper flowers and some pom-poms to make it more festive.  oh, and a vintage sombrero that i borrowed from our little friend jonah.   

inside there were some yummy red velvet, vanilla, and chocolate cupcakes from ralphs (yes, the grocery store) that were decked out with  rainbow sprinkles and paper mustaches that i made.  why the mustache? a.) it just looked cute.  b.) fiesta's and mustache's totally go together. and c.) it's super hip right now, so why not? 

i stopped by the mexican bakery to get some tasty cookies and pastries. 

 i put some strawberry and watermelon fruit cups on the bottom shelf to complete the look. 

i set up the photo booth back drop from avery's lalaloopsy party and added some props just for fun.  more mustache's,  a chalk board, and an old frame spray painted the color of your choice.  

 so, my friends could pose something like this and i would remember the occasion forever!

there was live entertainment by my lovely girl avery and a couple of her friends.

they danced,

and were hypnotized.  it was so very cute. 

 guests' left with a bag full of goodies, that included cupcakes,

chocolate mustache candies, and a bubble gum cigar.

it was a super fun celebration and mister grady we are all looking forward to your arrival!

and just for fun, take a look at some of our 

photo booth fun!

the entertainment

avery, natalie, and bella

mi' familia

 me and my friend maria with her baby bump cruz

sewing buddies

the home school crew and fellow bird nerds

 me and my girl

and me and my bestie with her baby bump evan (though this was taken a few days later because she couldn't make it to my fiesta)