Etsy Store

Hi lovelies, we're back!  After a sunny and hot, I'm talking 104F heatwave hot, week in California we're back home.  We've also been busy updating our Etsy store.  You'll find it full of gallery wall art to baby shower games to gift tags.  Shoot us an email if there's something you don't see, we can customize anything in our store, so don't be shy.  Happy Monday! 

A few of our updated items:

DIY :: Baby's First Year Memory Box

The next big project on my to-do list is the little Man's album.  I've been "working" on it for the past year, and all I've managed to finish are 4 pages.  Partially because his stuff is everywhere.  His doctor notes and milestones are in a file somewhere, his pictures are scattered in a couple locations and most of them have yet to be printed, his artwork from school is in his nursery, and his baby stuff from the hospital is somewhere in our den.  Basically, I'm pretty unorganized when it comes to his stuff, which has made making his album all that more challenging.  So when my cousin was due I thought a memory box would be the perfect addition to her shower gift.  Even if she wasn't planning on turning all those keepsakes into an album, all of her little one's stuff would be in one lovely place. 

What you'll need:  a photo storage box with index cards, embellishments, ribbon, and you can find the month circles and milestone printout on our Etsy store.

For the box: I attached grey ribbon on the lid of the box, and added a diaper safety pin which I bejeweled with yellow crystals.  A chalkboard sticker with their soon to be bundle of joy's name was added to complete the look.

For the monthly index cards:  I printed out the milestone tracker and the monthly circles and attached them to each index card.  Then I got creative with the embellishments I had.  I used grey and yellow as it was the colors of their 'You Are My Sunshine' baby shower, and it's perfectly gender neutral.  The embellishments I added included: washi tape, ribbon, scrapbook paper, stickers, buttons, mini clothespins, yellow crystal stickers, and a few sun paperclips.



Jungle Safari Themed 1st Birthday {Eats}

Today I'm sharing all the details behind the food and desserts we had at the little Man's jungle safari themed first birthday.  If you haven't already done so, you can enter to win an Etsy prize pack featuring all our designers over at The Wise Baby.

The dessert bar featured a safari cake, which sat on top of a vintage suitcase, with the most adorable gold elephant candle holder, thanks to Gnome Sweet Gnome Shop.  The goodies on the dessert table included: rice krispy treats, cake pops, jello cups, ants on a log (with animal crackers), and delicious personalized safari hat cookies from Rollin’ in Dough.  The  backdrop consisted of zebra print fabric, the happy birthday banner, which hung from a bamboo frame, and animal prints from Lisa Kay Designs.  Green moss, large leaf prints, and a raffia table shirt, polished off the dessert table.

We kept things simple for food and served salad & pizzas, and it's the easiest way to feed a crowd of nearly 75 people.  In addition to the usual appetizers we had a cheese plate and a fruit tray with a double pineapple tree. In case you are wondering, I cut the top and the bottom off the the bottom pineapple and hallowed it out, and used skewers to secure the two pineapples together. At the beverage station, or the watering hole, we served jungle juice, water, juice pouches, Izzes, and of course milk.  I created custom water bottle labels, and used the same stickers on the cups.  And for added fun, I made drink flags with the little Man's favorite jungle animal sound, the roaring of a lion.

Zebra fabric: Joann Fabrics

Pizza paddles & bamboo fencing: Amazon

Raffia tree skirt & green leaves: Party City

Photos by Niraj Gandhi Photography.

Jungle Safari Themed First Birthday {Decor}

Today I'm sharing the detail behind the decor from the little Man's safari themed 1st birthday.  Don't forget to enter to win a fabulous Etsy prize pack giveaway featuring all of our Etsy designers over at The Wise Baby. 

Starting with one of my favorite details from the little Man’s first birthday were the amazing invitations created by one of my incredibly talented friends at PS Paper Couture.  She pulled together beautiful details to create a passport style invitation, including the customs stamp from our most recent trip.  And the boarding passes are amazing, check out all that detail. 

As the little guests entered their jungle safari adventure, their first stop was base camp.  Here they gathered their supplies like binoculars, safari hats, and picked up their safari passes.  The back of the safari passes had a fun safari adventure itinerary that included: a photo in the safari jeep, searching for a herd of zebra, a romp in the quicksand pit.  For slightly older safari adventurers, I created a custom activity book.  

Safari supplies for our little adventurers.  Safari hats, binoculars, & their safari passes.

I wrapped a few cardboard boxes in contact paper, and stenciled in a few stats about the little man, and included the usual shipping terms.  I also created a cargo manifest and altered it for 'live cargo' and added washi tape in the par avion pattern to finish it off.

The guest book, a copy of Disney’s Jungle Book, and favors were also featured at “base camp”.  I know guest books aren’t typical for first birthday parties, but I love the idea of the little Man reading his signed copy in years to come, and it’s another wonderful addition to his library.  The favors, stuffed animals from the Kohl’s Cares collection, were housed in a vintage crate.  I love that they doubled as favors and were a great way to give back.

The centerpieces consisted of a safari animals that I spray painted gold, and a framed picture of the little Man throughout his first year.  To add some texture and add a more safari feel, I added burlap runners to each table.

One of my favorite details from the party was the favorite things poster by Moulage Collection is one of my favorite party details.  I love how it turned out, and we received so many compliments on it.  I can’t wait to frame it for his nursery; it’s the perfect way to capture his first year.

We created several play areas for the little ones, which included a 'quicksand pit', a safari jeep photo booth, and a floating zebra herd. The  safari rides photo booth came to life with several yards of burlap, the safari jeep, and a few jungle friends from the little Man’s nursery.  The Mister built the safari jeep using a cardboard box, and after several coats of spray paint and some quick glue gunning, we had ourselves a fun photo prop.  Using an inflatable pool filled with plastic balls, we created the “quicksand pit”, which was by far the most popular play area at the party.   The “zebra herd” consisted of several inflated mylar zebra balloons, the inspiration behind the zebra herd was  this Land of Nod design photo.  With several floating zebras around the party, our little guests could spot them with their binoculars, or take them for a walk.

Inflatable pool, balls, safari hats, binoculars, zebra balloons, & mosquito netting: Amazon

Safari animals & burlap: Joann Fabrics

Photos by Niraj Gandhi Photography.

Jungle Safari Themed 1st Birthday

We are sharing the little Man's jungle safari themed first birthday on The Wise Baby today.  And you can enter to win a fabulous giveaway featuring all the Etsy designers we used.  The giveaway includes a $10 gift certificate to Lisa Kay Designs, a $10 gift certificate to PS Paper Couture, an animal candle holder from Gnome Sweet Gnome Shop, and a dozen delicious mini Easter egg cookies from Rollin' in Dough!  Enter over at http://www.thewisebaby.com/safari-themed-first-birthday/ to win.  Also for all you parents or soon-to-be parents out there, our photographer, Niraj Gandhi, is offering 55% off a newborn or family photo shoot if you mention 'The Wise Baby' and book by March 31st. 

And I'll be sharing all the details behind the little Man's first birthday this week on the blog.  But first, I give you the smash cake success as it was beautifully captured by Niraj Gandhi.  Since the little Man is a replica of Mowgli, from the Jungle Book, we found this orange diaper cover to complete his 'Mowgli' inspired look.