Stella & Dot {little girl jewelry sale}

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend while celebrating the birthday of our great country and our beloved freedoms!!  I wanted to share with you the fabulous sale that ends today from Stella & Dot - all sale items are marked down an additional 20% through tonight.  There are some amazing deals to be had!!

Its crazy, the Back to School displays are at Target already.  I'm not ready to stock up on folders and composition books yet, but now is a great time to stock up on gifts for little girls thanks to the holiday sale at Stella & Dot. 

Fiona Ring

was $14, now $5

Gracie Headband and Barrettes

was $24, now $12

Mini Bloom Flower Ring

was $14, now $5

Mini Soiree Bracelet

was $16, now $8

Lola Bracelet

was $14, now $5

A Birthday Recap {Anna is 6}

As promised here is a little recap of my daughter's sixth birthday party!!

This is the sample invitation from Chickabug {I love Chickabug and all of Heather's party creations - you'll see more below}.  For the second year running there wasn't a party theme so my daughter picked two colors from Chickabug's Design It Yourself (DIY) color chart {plum and rose} and Heather created this fun invitation. 

A cute birthday banner to get the party started {from Chickabug}!

Since there wasn't a theme I decided color coordinated drinks were a must! ;)

Pink lemonade and grape kool-aide with polka dot straws from Hey YoYo on Etsy.

The girls snacked on alphabet pretzels in these adorable cups {another great find from Hey YoYo}

Party planning starts early in our house - like months and months before birthdays.  We talk about what kind of party they would like to have that year and what will fit in the budget.  Just after Christmas I was suggesting different kinds of spring parties and one of the ideas was a pottery painting party.  She *loved* the idea but waited a few more months until the decision was a definite and I contacted Kathy Fick Designs. 

Kathy is so sweet and great to work with - the girls enjoyed painting their cupcake plate and Kathy was very helpful and patient.  If you are in the Baltimore area I highly recommend Kathy Fick Designs for pottery and fused glass parties (its not just for the kids - Kathy does parties for all ages.  Girls Night In anyone??!??)

Yummy cupcakes {toppers from Chickabug}! 

I had matching purple and pink candles but they melted in the sun.  No worries, I was thankful to have a beautiful day to host an outside party so sacrificing coordinating candles was well worth it!

We ended the party with favors, of course {tags from Chickabug}.  Want to know whats inside the bag?  The birthday girl was very specific with the favors ... lip gloss, fun fashion rings, pony tail holders, three lolli pops and six Reese's peanut butter cups!!

Party Credits:

~Invitations, banner, cupcake toppers, and favor tags from Chickabug on Etsy's DIY collection in Polka Dots {also check out the Chickabug blog!!}

~Polka dot paper straws and polka dot baking/nut cups from Hey YoYo on Etsy

~Pottery and all the supplies from Kathy Fick Designs

September Wren {GIVEAWAY}-CLOSED

First Birthday

September Wren has graciously offered to continue my birthday celebration with a GIVEAWAY!

Field of Flowers

Because birthdays shouldn't be limited to a day or a weekend or even a week.

The Lake House

Birthdays should be celebrated for the entire month!!

September Wren is offering one lucky Penguin's Gift reader the chance to pick their favorite 5x5 photo from her Etsy shop.  There are so many beautiful photographs, and so many wonderful images of summer, that the lucky winner will be *thrilled* to have one of these photos to call their own.

~~~~~~~~~~

You have up to five chances to enter and increase your chance to WIN! Make sure to leave a SEPARATE comment for each entry, and leave your email address if it is not easily visible on your profile or blog.

~COMMENT~ Leave a comment to this post with your favorite September Wren 5x5 photo.

~BONUS ENTRY #1~ 'Like' Penguin's Gift on Facebook.
Already 'like' Penguin's Gift on FB? You are eligible too!

~BONUS ENTRY #2~ Post about this giveaway on your Blog, Twitter or Facebook page. Up to 3 entries for posting once on each, and don't forget to leave a separate comment for each entry!

This giveaway will close Saturday, April 30th. Please leave all of your comments by 10:00 p.m. on that day. One winner will be selected at Random.org and announced on Monday, May 2nd.

Good luck!!

{April 24}

Image from September Wren on Etsy

Happy Easter to you!!

Happy Birthday to me!

Enjoy this beautiful day.

♥

Birthdays, Birthdays, and more Birthdays

Our mailbox has been flooded with birthday invitations in the last week!  I'm not complaining because its so nice knowing we are breaking out of our winter hibernation.  Some of these birthday parties are for school, or ballet, or gymnastics friends that I don't know so well.  Its tough buying a gift for a child you aren't familiar with so I thought I'd share some of my go-to gifts.  Enjoy!

Little Girl Foundation Bracelets - $22 each

All net proceeds of the Foundation Bracelets support ACCION USA, buildOn and Girls Incorporated, which in turn support the Stella & Dot foundation's mission to create positive change for women.  Gotta love a gift that gives twice!  Each bracelet comes in a beautiful tin {for safe keeping when the little girls isn't being stylist}.

Stomp Rocket - under $11

This is not just for boys!  My girls *love* this outside toy, and springtime is a great time to gift this to a little boy or girl on your gift list.

IlluStory Make Your Own Story Kit - under $20

This has been very popular with the children in my daughter's Kindergarten class.  The early school years are a perfect time to encourage creativity as well as working on writing skills.  And the child has a beautiful, real book they made themselves!

My Little Sandbox Big Builder - under $27

I discovered these tabletop sandboxes in THE COOLEST toy store while we were on vacation last month.  I think I'll plan another vacation to the same destination next winter and block off a day just to hang out in the toy store because it was so much fun!  Find more themes here.

A Birthday Recap

This past weekend we celebrated my younger daughter's birthday at one of the hugely popular bounce places.  I find it difficult to plan her parties given her birthday is just six days into the new year.  I become overwhelmed with Christmas and all its wonderful distractions that planning a fabulous party doesn't happen.  I have learned to decide on a birthday party place and reserve it in October.  I'd love to have her party at our home but for now 20+ kids *inside* my cozy little home isn't manageable. 

Yet again hodge-podge could be used to describe her party.  There was no theme because neither one of us could think of something inspirational.  I used evite for the invitations to save time and money, and because its so darn easy to keep track of the guest list. 

I thought I'd take the easy road again with the cake and during one of our grocery trips we flipped through the cake design book.  Big mistake!!  She picked a Hannah Montana cake - my daughter has never seen the show or heard her songs.  I pulled out all the stops to get her to switch cake designs, even offering to make bumble bee cupcakes with her at home.  Nothing worked.  So I caved and we enjoyed a yummy Hannah Montana cake just like she wanted.

Now lets talk about the favors!  Another hodge-podge of things yet this combination turned out fantastic.  I found these adorable crayon rolls (pictured above) from Baby Bib and Boot on Etsy.  I like to give something useful as party favors and the crayon rolls were perfect.  Great for tucking away in your bag or car to color-on-the-go.

Heather from Chickabug (on Etsy, and check out her blog - lots of great party inspirations and great Etsy finds) sent me the cutest coloring book to include with the favors.  Big thanks again, Heather!!

I popped the crayon rolls, coloring book, and some candy into white party bags from the craft store.  I used birthday bubble circles from Living Locurto, a free printable that I downloaded over the summer, to festively mark the outside of the party bag and tied the top with a ribbon.  Super cute and fun!!

If you are planning a party be sure to check out the great finds on Etsy.  I honestly don't know how I would plan a party without Etsy!

ETS:  How could I forget to tell you about the applique shirt I made for the birthday girl!?!  I used the tutorial from Totally Smitten Mama to make a birthday number shirt for her and it turned out great ... from a distance, I can see all of my zig-zag stitch mistakes ;).

Cupcakes!

Everyone loves cupcakes!  Am I right?  They are the perfect dessert because cupcakes are just the right serving of sweetness.  Yum!  I would love to expand my cupcake baking skills with the book Cupcakes! by Elinor Kivans (under $7 from Amazon).  She offers great tips on baking and decorating cupcakes as well as some easy, delicious recipes.

Pair Cupcakes! with a few packs of baking cups from Bake It Pretty for a completely yummy gift. 

Have you been to Bake It Pretty?  Stop by to see the amazing selection of baking and party supplies from baking molds to chocolate molds to party candles to bakery boxes and much more. 

 

These are some of my favorite baking cups from Bake It Pretty and each of them would pair with the Cupcakes! book perfectly.

Last Minute Teacher Gift

Are you scrambling for a last minute teacher gift?  [dandee] has your solution.  Download these adorable thank-you notes, print on cardstock, cut, pair with envelopes (from a craft store like Michaels or JoAnns) and wrap with a wide ribbon - you are done!

Too late for teacher gifts?  Don't miss out on a free download!  I think these would be perfect for summer camp teacher as well as the every patient teacher at swim lessons. 

I also think they would make great thank-yous from little ones for birthdays and such.

birthday recap

I am happy to report we had a fun party on a beautiful Saturday afternoon - YAY! 

We were lucky with the weather and enjoyed lots of party time outside before the rain came much later in the evening.  The children played so well together - swinging, sliding, bubbles, a little soccer, and a few games organized by the birthday girl.  We all had fun, especially the birthday girl :).  Everyone went home with full bellies and smiles. 

• 
  
  Printables (invitations, banner, cup labels, cupcake picks, and favor stickers) from Pumpkin Petunia.
• 
  
  Bakers twine (Divine Twine) for the banner and favors from Whisker Graphics.
• 
  
  Cups, lids, and paper straws from Garnish.
• Favors for the older kids was an Eric Carle Sketch and Tell book and set of colored pencils.  Favors for the younger kids was the book Higher! Higher! by Leslie Patricelli.

party preparations

Planning parties is one of my favorite things!  Along with shopping for gifts :).

I am in the home stretch for my daughter's birthday party this weekend.  Please let the sun-gods smile on us!  Today I'll be busy cutting/sticking/stringing some great custom printables from Jo-Ann at Pumpkin Petunia.

I hope to take super-fantastic pictures of the party and post them later next week (if you were my husband you would be laughing with tears in your eyes - I am a horrible photographer but I'll try my best, promise!).  Until then I'll share some of my favorite party things.

For party inspirations I love visiting these blogs:

• Hostess with the Mostess
• Kara's Party Ideas
• The Party Dress
• Party Perfect
• One Charming Party

For party stuff I love these sites:

• Whisker Graphics - I can't get enough of the Divine Twine!  I have Green Apple and Orange.  There are so many uses for it, from gift wrapping to paper crafts to party accents.  I'm using the  Orange for my daughter's party.  Be sure to check out the Divine Twine Flicker Group for lots of twine inspiration.
• Living Locurto - Amazing DIY party packs, you buy then personalize the printables!  Legos, Mermaids, On The Farm, Fairy Princess, and more to come.  Be sure to check out her blog for great FREE printables.
• Garnish - Oh, how I love this shop!  They provide the basic party supplies and you embellish them to fit your party.  I'm using the simple white cups and red paper straws for our party (CUTE!).  And I couldn't resist the wooden utensils for picnics this summer.  So, so many fun things to discover on the blog.

today {April 24}

(image via karina, ink.)