Photo-Shoot Fail

For this photo-shoot  I wanted something different from the same old nature background that I normally use. So I hunted around seattle for some fun bright back drops and I found a lot (woo-hoo for eccentric neighbors)!

I also had the bright idea of having Mimi (who is 20 months) wear some candy necklaces as bracelets (she LOVES to wear bracelets). I really thought it would be perfect, they are bright and colorful and are part of the inspiration behind my new line. I figured that since she has never had candy necklace/bracelets before she wouldn't know that they are edible. Um-hum. Boy was I wrong! She took one look at them and popped them in her mouth. So for the whole duration of the photo-shoot she ate the candy bracelets while her daddy continuously told her not to and I tried to take pictures between bites (there weren't that many opportunities!).

So I didn't get the most awesome pictures of which I had dreamed, but I did get a few funny ones and I thought I would share.

Z wanted his picture taken too.

Mmmmmm! Sugar is soooo good!

At one point we tried taking the candy away.

Also don't forget that Baby Bird Clippies first birthday is tomorrow and I will be listing new items through out the day, plus I will be hosting my first giveaway!

Here are a few items that will be making their debut:

PS: Mimi's petti-romper (which is so cute!) is from etsy seller LittleDudesAndDolls. Gotta luv etsy!

Fun Stuff to Come...

As promised here is a sneak peek of some of the new goodies I've been working on over the last month. They will be making their debut the first week of June!

I have about 11 NEW hair clips and headbands and I will be holding a giveaway in honor of my one year anniversary that will include some of my new hair clips and a hair clip holder!

Tomorrow I'll be posting about the photo shoot I had with my daughter today (I got a lot of funny pictures) and I'll post some more sneak peeks! Feel free to follow my blog so that you don't miss out on all the fun stuff to come!

Some of my inspiration.

Lots of new pieces to put together.

New American Craft ribbon. So Yummy!

This is one of my favorite new pieces!

Please excuse this picture, it's from my phone.
Lots of bright fun summer colors!

New hair clip holders! Yay!
(This one is from my phone too.)

Baby Bird Clippies is turning one!

In just a few days (on June 1st) Baby Bird Clippies will be turning one! This past year has flown by so fast. I'm pretty sure that as you get older the years get shorter!

I would like to take this time to get a little mushy and  thank all of my wonderful customers from the bottom of my heart for making this last year such a success! I have met so many wonderful mommies (and daddies) over this past year, and I am truly blessed to have worked with every one of my customers. I know everyone says this, but I truly have the best customers!

So as a thank you for being your awesome self  Baby Bird Clippies will be having some fun first-birthday giveaways and sales. Be sure to follow my blog so that you don't miss a thing!

Roar if you love Dinos!

Z is my little four-year-old boy with light blue eyes and dark brown hair and an insane love of dinosaurs. He sleeps, breathes, and eats dinos. So imagine our excitement when my friend told us about the new dino exhibit at our local zoo where dinosaurs come back to roam the earth - well at least until Labor Day.

Z couldn't wait to see his "best-friend T-Rex"

The big day arrived and as soon as we set foot into exhibit Mimi started to cry. Then Z yelled "I want to go home! Now!" and planted himself in the ground, I couldn't even get him to budge. Both kids hated the dinosaurs!

Baby Dino

Being the good parents that we are we went through the exhibit anyway hoping that he would eventually like them (and that we didn't just waste a whole lot of money that could have went toward something way more enjoyable).  We kept reassuring them both that they we not real and eventually Mimi warmed up and started waving to them, but Z would go no where near them.

We were able to get him and Mimi to sit on a replica in the zoo store so I did at least get one picture. Here it is:

And then we enjoyed the rest of the zoo with the non-scary more-likely-to-eat-you animals.

My favorite big cat

Brown Bear exhibit

These are a few of my favorite things...

For right now anyway.

Bright colors:  Maybe its all the rain we've had in Seattle, but I'm just drawn to super bright colors like a moth to the flame. I just can't stay away from anything in bright colors right now, it's becoming an addiction! I love brights so much right now that I have created a new line of clips and headbands that will be coming out soon are in shockingly bright colors. They will add a pop of sunshine to any outfit. (More on those latter.)

Sneak peak..shhhh

St. Tropez tanning mousse: If you are pasty pale fair complexioned, like myself, then you will love, love, love this tanning mouse.  It has a bronzer in it too so you instantly look tanned, which is great for inpatient people such as myself. The best part for me, since (I don't know if you know this, but) I'm so pale, is it doesn't make you look orange! I could go on and on about it forever. The one thing I don't like about it is that it does smell, but most self-tanners do.
I even used it everyday day for a week so I could look like Snookie for halloween! LOL

This is my Snookie look before the black wig and bedazzled glasses

How Not to Dress Like A Mom: A super sassy blog about, well...how not to dress like a mom. She is a wonderful writer and she cracks me up. She even does a weekly post called Freaky Friday and it is hilarious. Check her out (here), you will not be disappointed!

Urban Decay - Naked Palette: This palette is full of the most gorgeous heavily pigmented eye shadows in neutral shades. You can make tons of different looks with the one palate. I normally don't spend this much on makeup, but these are colors I wear every day and they go on so nicely that you only have to use a tiny bit to get a lot of color. I just love them.

Glee: I'm a little late watching this show, but I just watched the first season and I am in love. The singing, the silly plot lines, and Jane Lynch who just steals the show as Sue Sylvester. Plus I LOVE Ms. Pillsbury's style! There is even a web site dedicated to what Emma Pillsbury wears, it's fabulous! (you can find it here)

Uber cool dad gift list

A fun treasury of super cool gifts for your super cool dad (or guy):



Doesn't etsy have some awesome suff?

Dirt

My kids love dirt. I don't blame them, I always loved playing in the dirt with my sister when I was little. We would discover new bugs, make mud pies, and well...dig. And now I'm doing pretty much the same things with my kids. I just wish the weather in Seattle would clear up so we could do it more often. I can always tell a difference in my kids moods if they haven't been outside, they get a little manic and sassy. Especially Z. He's a boy that needs dirt and fresh air. He needs to go outside and blow the stink off, as my grandma would say.

(Yes, my garden is full of uncontrollable weeds! I am not a gardener, most of my plants - that I actually buy, not the weeds - end up dieing. So sad.)

At least the weeds afford some photography opportunities!

Fishy Craft Fun

In honor of the newest member to our household we made an in-door fishy windsock.

Supplies:
Paper
Scissors
Tape
Markers, crayons, colored pencils or whatever you like to color with
Paper streamers (or napkins if you don't have any streamers)
String or yarn

Draw an eye and a fin on the left and right sides of the paper. Make "waves" (as Z calls it) for fish scales.

It doesn't really look like a fish, but just wait!

Let your kiddos color as much (or as little) as they want.

Next take some paper napkins that you have lying around the house (if you don't have streamers) and color those up too.

Now, on the back side of your fish, tape on your streamers or your opened napkin to the bottom edge. PS: Don't worry if your napkin is shorter than your fish, you'll need that edge to overlap in the next step anyway.

Roll your fish into a cylinder and tape along one edge. Cut the napkin tail into wide strips. Tape on some string or yarn so you can hang up your fish for the world to see!

Do a fishy dance 'cause you're so excited

Meet the newest member of our house

My husband and I agreed the other day that it was time for the kids to get their own pet and quit asking for a fish learn about responsibility. So Chris took the kids down to the local pet store to pick out their very first fish. They chose a very lovely, and fairly low maintenance, betta fish.

My husband, who knows that betta's natural habitat is a ditch/patty field, ended up spending waaaaaaaay more than he should have trying to recreate the puddle effect in a fish bowl. I'm pretty sure that Woner (that's what Z named him) is over joyed to be swimming in his decked out puddle bowl in our kitchen - no plastic plants here! I'm pretty sure we'll be getting a call from MTV Cribs soon.

Mother's Day brunch

One of my favorite things to do is to host parties! It's so much fun to plan a theme, and a menu, decorate and of course, socialize! The downside is (if you're the one cooking) you end up stuck in the kitchen while the rest of the party is happenin' somewhere else.

Here is one of my favorite make-ahead recipes, it's perfect for a Mother's day brunch. You make it the night before after the kids are in bed and all you have to do the day-of is pop it in the oven, easy-peasy. Which allows you to be the social butterfly you were meant to be. And it's delicious too, sure to please everyone, even your mother-in-law!

PS: This is great for Easter morning or Christmas morning when you're busy but want something special for breakfast too!

Baked Apple French Toast

1C brown sugar, packed

1/2 C butter, melted

1Tbsp cinnamon, divided

3-4 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1/2 C raisins

1 loaf french or Italian bread sliced 1 inch thick

8-9 eggs

2C milk

1Tbsp vanilla

Combine brown sugar, butter and one teaspoon cinnamon in a lightly greased 13x9 baking pan. Add apples and raisins, toss to coat well. Spread apple mixture evenly over bottom of baking pan. Arrange slices of bread on top; set aside. Blend together eggs, milk, vanilla and remaining 2 teaspoons cinnamon until well mixed. Pour mixture over bread, soaking bread completely. Cover with aluminum foil and refrigerate for 4 to 24 hours.

Bake, covered, at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve warm with with syrup, if desired. Makes 12 servings.

Mimi and I are going to my mom's house for the Mother's day (my parents live 2 hours away), so we won't be making this for breakfast at my house this year.  But we're going to have lots of fun, just us girls! I hope you have a wonderful Mother's day too!!!

Summer and Pink Lemonade

I can't wait for summer, it is by far my favorite time of year. I love the warm sun, swimming in the ocean, backyard BBQ's and pink lemonade...



What's your favorite part of summer?

Something special in the mail

I absolutely LOVE to get packages in the mail (yay! it's not a bill!), but what is really fun is when the package is wrapped up in a special way, it's like a little mini party in your mailbox. What fun! I want my customers to enjoy getting their special clips and headbands in the mail too! That's why every order, no matter how big or small, comes wrapped in pretty tissue paper and string.

Colors may vary, depending on the season.

Don't worry if you don't live in the US, I ship pretty packages all over the world - and I have low international shipping prices -yay!