Invitation. Decoration. Celebration.

A Baptism/Birthday Party Tutorial  

We hosted a two-fer party in February for our grandson Daniel. Well, maybe a three-fer.
(a) On Saturday, February 14th--Valentine's Day--our little sweetheart would be
(b) baptized and
(c) celebrate Birthday #3.

Since I really enjoy decorating our home for a party, I scoured Pinterest for ideas. Nix on baby blue baptism with doves. Nix on a shower of Valentine hearts. Nix on Thomas the Train or Wheels-themed birthday. I was stumped; how do I blend all these celebrations into one? Shopping excursions to Target and (where else?) Hobby Lobby scored me some inspiration items. Those, along with illustrations from a children's book from GiGi's stash, were my jumping off place.


I used this book (in GiGi's stash)
as inspiration for our happy celebration.
Okay--I broke copyright laws all over the place.



Invitations

With help of Microsoft Office Publisher,
I designed and printed the invitation in-house on cardstock;
trimmed with rotary cutter, acrylic ruler and mat.

Want a shape? Click. Click. Done.
Well, . . . almost. 

Happy Dancers

Somebody needed a moustache.



Do you think I'll face charges for
copyright infringement?

After printing design on white cardstock,
I sketched random lines around each shape
with a fine point Sharpie pen
to give some movement--
just like the book's illustrations.



My nod to February 14th.
Not code for a love triangle   ;~J

I found a celebratory font
called WIZARDRY.



Because I skipped the tutorial on printing double-sided stuff,
Plan B was a go. Glued down a cut-out star and . . .



. . . printed info on vellum paper.
It looks really fancy, but is so easy.





I attached vellum insert with transparent glue dots.
Sheer vellum allowed star shape to peek through.
(White lines are photoshop blurs of info--not the glue!)

While I may not recommend this process for a party of 35, a baker's dozen was pretty easy for this retired housewife to knock out in a day. I found some perfect black chalkboard paper envelopes at Nirvana Hobby Lobby, addressed them with a permanent white 'chalk' pen, and dropped them at the Post Office.

Even though all pertinent info is blocked,
you can see how the "chalk" pen looks on black envelopes.

My only expenses for invitations were glue dots, envelopes, and extra postage (because the awesome chalkboard paper envelopes with the cute little string tie on the flap were 'oversized').

BTW--though mailed 2 weeks prior to the event, only a handful of invites were received beforehand. I mailed myself an invitation so I could see (1) how long it took to arrive, and (2) what it looked like when it showed up in the mailbox. During this particular season, there was 'neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail' to slow mail service. Not even extra postage guaranteed timely delivery, because ours arrived on February 24th. Thank goodness for email and texts; everyone came to the party on the 14th.

 

Decorations

With red, white/chalk, black, and silver as my color story, and dancing shapes for fun, I got busy with some crafty stuff.

Which black and white paper design
will get modge-podged to which cardboard box?

These little faces made me smile--such personality for a cardboard box, right?

Googly eyes + pipe cleaner limbs
made small cardboard boxes
come alive.

I attached scrapbook paper to box top
with Mod Podge. Trimmed with sharp
X-acto knife when dry.
Covered curved edges with Washi tape.

I removed lid and
punched small holes to
insert pipe cleaner arms and legs.
Secured inside with a glob
of glue. Replaced lid.

Simple face details were cut from scrap cardstock,
outlined with black Sharpie marker,
and glued in place. 

Attached with fishing line to the chandelier, these little box people danced above the food table.

D checked out the dancing box people,
but mostly his cake.

Their one-dimensional triangle friends hung out on the mantel in a picture frame with black and whites of the guest of honor.

I printed copies of pix from Daniel's year off our computer
on cardstock in black and white; then trimmed and attached to
baker's twine 'clothesline' strung on picture frame.



Little triangle men--happy to hang out.





 

The other cardboard shape project was a big number 3.

 

Back and sides painted red, number 3 dried
in preparation for chalkboard paper
to be applied to its flat front surface.
Then came chalked stripes.

Happy Third Birthday!

Chalk Lettered Banner

 



These blank chalkboard card banners came pre-strung on nice white grosgrain ribbon, and ready to label. According to Pinterest, unless you're an artist, it's best not to freehand chalkboard lettering.

Here's the drill:

1. Find desired font. Size letters to fit banner flags.
2. Print out the sized letters on regular paper.
3. Work on flat, hard surface. Color the back of each letter heavily and completely with chalk.
4. Lay letter face up/chalked side down on a flag and trace the letter with the point of a dull pencil. Press hard while tracing; chalk outline will transfer onto the black flag.
5. Outline each letter with permanent 'chalk' pen.
6. If desired, fill in letter with design/colored chalk.
7. Clean any smudges with a slightly damp paper towel and a light swipe.

'WIZARDRY' font had stars, so I placed
those shiny star stickers randomly on each letter,
then chalked the entire letter
before removing the star stickers.
I know, I know--way too much time on my hands.
But I don't take meds for my OCD . . .

 

Here's a list of project materials and their sources.

From Hobby Lobby: 3" shape cardboard boxes, cardboard 3, scrapbook paper, Washi tape, chalkboard envelopes

From Target: red/white baker's twine, blank chalkboard card banners with chalk

From JoAnn: small black plastic clothes pins

From my craft closet: Modge Podge, tacky glue, acrylic craft paint, foam brushes, permanent 'chalk' pen, black fine-point Sharpie marker, craft scissors, rotary cutter/mat/acrylic ruler, X-acto knife, pipe cleaners, googly eyes, vellum paper, colored cardstock, foil star stickers

 

 

 

 

Finally, I decided on the theme for this Valentine's Day Baptism/Birthday party for our 3 year-old grandson:

CELEBRATE BLESSINGS

 



This chalk banner hung over the party favor/gift table in the dining room.
Silver ribbon curls floated over the gifts.

A second chalk banner was on display from the mantel,
just below pictures of our most recent blessing--a grandson.





H A P S - Y Day

On Sunday, January 18, 2015, while family in Ohio and along the East Coast hunkered down under record snowfall, I celebrated this painfully beautiful Texas day as a spectator at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon. Bright blue skies and 50-something degrees were a perfect backdrop for my sister-in-law Iris, my brother Doug, and me to stand at the 8-mile mark of this 13.1 mile course and track my son Steve's endeavor. Hopefully we would connect with him, and cheer as my Momma's heart swelled with love for my first-born. (Y'all know--this still happens, even after more than 3 decades!)

Our spot for marathon watching on this beautiful January day--
the middle of Main Street at Binz
with the Houston Museum of Fine Arts in the background. 

 

Organized runs these days attract participants who "Run for a Cause," and raise awareness along with funds for various worthy organizations. Steve Jr. had been training for months leading up to the run; then in November, 2014, his Dad was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. Steve Jr. contacted the Houston Area Parkinson's Society, joined their team, and began to ask for donations through a Facebook link. He and his generous friends raised over $2,000. And he got some cool race goods.



This is Steve Sr.'s t-shirt.

Here's the website for Houston Area Parkinson's Society:
www.hapsonline.org



How about a hero's cape?!

Doug, Iris, and I were all about the cape.

We claimed our standing room right next to the barrier flags, and began the wait for our man to show.

This part of the course took half-marathoners around the Houston Museum of Fine Arts,
passing the Mecom Fountain (center left, background) on the way.
We knew the approximate time Steve would be at this mark and
this is where we agreed to meet our guy for his pat on the back.

Doug used a tracking app on his phone to check our hero's location via a GPS chip implanted in Steve's race badge. We waited. He checked. We waited. He checked.

Time for a selfie, since we were waiting.

More runners made their way by while we waited for Steve Jr.

Iris, purple pom-pom in hand, crossed the course for a better view.

 

While waiting, I decided to film a little video lead with narration. "Here we are at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon . . . January, 2015 . . . at the corner of Main Street and Binz . . . a beautiful morning . . . waiting for Steve Jr. to come down the street . . .." You know, a little intro to the fabulous footage to come with our guy running by in slow-mo, all Chariots of Fire.

 

In the actual film audio, one can hear Iris repeating above the cheering crowd from across Main Street, "SANDY! I SAW HIM! HE'S ALREADY PASSED." Then a tiny disappointed voice, "Doug, did she say he's already passed by? Did we miss him?" And Doug's reply, "That's what she said."

 

Well, since I captured Iris' revelation, maybe I caught Steve Jr. too. I raced back through the clips on my preview screen with a little prayer on my lips. If we didn't actually see him to cheer him on and get a brief sweaty hug, please! Could I actually have accidentally captured him on film? Please?!

 

Sure 'nuff--as we say in Texas. Translated, that means yes! By absolute randomness, I had filmed Steve coming up the street and around the corner right in front of me. These are still photos I extracted from the video, so apologies are in order for the very poor quality.

 

White baseball cap, yellow T-shirt
(left center)




Steve ran next to his buddy Trey
(white T-shirt, right of
Steve)
 

The tall guy in the white baseball cap
--that's my hero!



Steve and Trey (behind)
in the zone.

My consolation was that Iris spotted her nephew and ran with him for a half block! So glad he knew we were all there.

 

After watching more half-marathoners striving for their personal bests, we noticed a guy with a sign that quite a few runners were swerving to touch.

 

What does that pink sign say?



Touch Here For Power

Also in the sign man's repertoire--
a runner's joke.

We wore our capes in front so the runners could see them.

While we visited with the sign man, one woman caught our attention. With coiffed hair, makeup, and hot pink lips in perfect order, she was decked out in running shorts, pink running shoes, and a black bustier. She slowed down long enough to stare at us over her Armani shades and declare, "If my thighs are still touching when I finish this race, I'm gonna' be pissed!" Off she ran, leaving me to wonder if I, too, should be more concerned about my thigh gaps--or lack thereof. I got over that before her Chanel #5 evaporated in the cool breeze.

 

At that point, we left for Iris and Doug's house, where we were meeting both Steves Sr. and Jr. for a celebration lunch. Since both Iris and Doug had marathons scratched off their bucket lists, they knew what every runner needs, and had our lunch table decorated with all manner of useful items; bananas, Bag Balm, citrus, sports drinks, Icy Hot analgesic, bottled water, band-aids, Advil--you name it. Cute!

Table Decorations



Everything a runner needs

 

There was also a sign. (BTW--I debated briefly about including this next picture, because it has a back story that's a source of embarrassment to Steve Jr. But, I'll tell all.) Back in the '90's, when Steve walked the stage at his Lamar High School graduation, the name announced was

"Stephanie Michelle Bingham."

What?? Imagine an 18 year-old male standing on stage in front of 2-3,000 fellow students and onlookers, wishing a trap door would mercifully open and swallow him up. Alas! All these years later, that moniker pops up occasionally like a fresh shoot of nut grass in the well-manicured garden of his life. Someone--ususally his younger brother or his Uncle Tom--delights in 'sharing the memory.' This time it was Aunt Iris and Uncle Doug.

 

Well, we were proud of him. Yes, him.

It was a great day, all around. Steve Jr. poured his depleted self into a chair and told us stories about his experience between mouthfuls of food and gigantic amounts of fluids. And, yes, my Momma's heart did indeed swell with love and pride for my first-born.

A couple more pix from the day:

Aunt Iris is ready for fun.

Uncle Doug shares a laugh
with Steve Jr.

Steve and Steve
(two of my heroes!)



Congratulations, Steve Jr.!

Living with Parkinson's takes heroic resolve.