ice cold lemonade

growing up my mom made pink lemonade ice cubes to float in our yellow lemonade.  while i'm sure it wasn't freshly squeezed, it remains a favorite memory of mine.  it always felt like a special treat. the more i think about it- how smart, you never had a watered down drink! so, think of that as my mama's tip of the day!

i hope my little loves remember our summer lemonade days too.
i use the recipe from a favorite food network star of mine, Ina Garten of Barefoot Contessa. 

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 to 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup ice
4 cups of water
place all ingredients in blender, serve over ice.

in order to get the boys really excited about this- i said we needed our hammers.  is there a  better way for little boys to juice lemons?

i love this facejack likes to pretend that he loves lemonssweet anna michael wanted to help too

oh how i love summer.  i can't think of a better way to soak in the sunshine....then with a glass of lemonade.

a,b,c,d,e,f,g.....

jake's mama sent me these pictures of his darling room.  we worked together to make an alphabet canvas to go above his owl laundry basket.  i hope it works! 

thank you so much for your order.  i hope you are enjoying that arizona sunshine.  -stephanie

i can take you for a ride in my big green tractor...

i have been working on a tractor party for a little guy named greyson.  my boys love this party- so i'm thinking there is a good chance greyson and his pals will too. 

if you are throwing together a tractor party i found some books that would make perfect favors.  they would look great wrapped with a green ribbon and one of those favor tags you know. 

rain rain go away

it rained yesterday.  the boys, girl and i watched the drops fall into the pool.  we had planned on swimming so they were pretty bummed.  i knew painting would make those boys happy.  i covered the table with trash bags, got the paint out- and there it was- hours of fun.  well, actually more like an hour of fun. 

why am i posting my kids painting you ask?  well- it comes with a tip of the day!  those little tin cupcake holders are perfect for paint.  the paper ones leak through and don't hold their shape- we've learned that the hard way.  but the tin ones are perfect.  these were left over from valentine's day.  best part is- toss them when you are done.  that's the kind of clean up i like.   

invitations

 

i didn't think i was going to make invitations.  i had a customer who was in a pinch and needed them.  so, here are my first attempt at barnyard invites! she actually gets credit for the wording- i mean seriously- instead of rsvp- yea or neigh....that's cute.  i know the pictures are not great, i just didn't want to send out an invitation to reagan's party to everyone!

 not to bore everyone with more barnyard parties- but i just wanted to show this one for a little girl named mae.  she lives in canada- yes, that's right!  my first party out of the US.  i like spreading sunshine all  around.

batter up

new theme for the summer.... thanks to lauren from ny.  her son jason wanted a baseball themed party- hope it's a hit.

jason is a yankee's fan.  i would be happy to recreate this theme in your team colors too. 

check out my etsy shop for more

just a few thought for those of you planning a baseball party- or an end of the season party...

great favor idea- cracker jack's of course.  hot dogs, peanuts and sunflower seeds are great menu choices.

it would be really cute to use buckets filled with baseballs in the center of each table.  i could make centerpiece items for you if you're interested. 

bases would make the perfect sized place mat- you could just trace a base on poster board, cut it out and place one under each plate. 

i hope some of those ideas help.  now get out there and catch a game and enjoy the sunshine.