Vintage Luggage

I really have been into vintage things lately. We were discussing vintage luggage while departing from airport and it got me thinking that I really would love to have a vintage luggage piece to display things for parties. I know....I can turn anything into a party item! It would be great to hold anything from food items to favors.

Here is a great example of holding place cards.

Wedding or birthday cake.

Great to store all those cards you get at parties/weddings. I posted some vacation pics to Maddycakes Muse FB...didn't want to bore everyone with them! :) I will post more tomorrow to FB. Also, showed some more sneak peeks and DIY projects that I'm doing for Madison's party.

Will Never Forget

Here is a photo I found of me putting on the Marine Corps emblem on a birthday cake. Every year when the Marine Corps celebrates it's birthday, we also remember our fallen comrades. For Memorial Day, I want to remember and thank all who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. I will never forget the many friends I have lost through the years. I have been honored to know such awesome men and women. You will never be forgotten. Continue to pray for all the men and women who serve in the Armed Forces.
Just got back from my vacation so I have no plans for large BBQ but will have a family one and break in the pool for summer! Taste of Home has some awesome recipes for Memorial Day or any summer BBQ.

Ice Cream Shoppe Party

I LOVE this Ice Cream Shoppe party that was sent to me by Deanna at Mirabelle Creations!! I love the Ice Cream party craze!!
She customized all of the labels and what a gorgeous display!
What little kid would not love to create an ice cream masterpiece like this one!
Okay my peeps last scheduled post!! I will be back on Sunday to share all of my vacation muses and of course a few pics of my baby!! Thanks so much Deanna for sharing this wonderful party with us!!

Lemonade Party

I'm in love with this lemonade stand by Lolly Jane! I can remember as a young child having a lemonade stand during the summer. I would so LOVE to have this memory for Madison as well! They found this lemonade stand at a yard sale for $4!! Lucky ducks!! They added some paint and spruced it up with the yellow and white awning! I'm in Love!

This stand would go perfect with my girls Abigail and Kira's from Paper & Cake Lemonade Party printables!! What an awesome thing to do this summer with the kiddos!! I know I am!!
Yep...I'm still on my cruise - I'm loving this preschedule posting!! Too bad I waited until the night before my vacation to start writing posts!! Can I stay awake for one more??

Kiddos Graduation Invitation

I thought this was the cutest graduation invite for a bunch of boys graduating 5th grade for last day of school breakfast party! Love the graduating cap ....
the added cereal makes it perfect!
Love! Okay, so far I'm up to 3 scheduled posts....cause you know I'm on a cruise right now...did I mention that before! :) Getting very sleepy...hopefully I can get at least one more in for the week!!

Invite found here.

Lollipop Tree

How cute is this lollipop tree?? It would be great for a centerpiece and/or on a candy buffet. I'm sure the kids will destroy it in a matter of seconds though. I also love Dum-Dums ~ it's the only lolli I let Maddy have because of the small size and they have good flavor. For the full tutorial on these check out here.
BTW, just wanted to rub it in...I mean remind you that as you read this...I will be on my third day of my cruise! I'll make sure to eat an extra portion on the buffet for ya!

Ice Cream party

It is hot here in Phoenix...we have been in the pool for over 2 weeks now. Sorry if you live somewhere cold! I have ice cream on the brain...that and my vacation. You know this is a scheduled post and right now I'm on a cruise ship!! I will be posted 2 Ice Cream parties this week to get you all ready for the summer with the kiddos! Ice Cream parties can be as elaborate and as simple as you like. The theme is quite easy and inexpensive to pull off. Plus the kids will love it! (the adults too)

Don't you love the Ice Cream parlour? I know the kiddos enjoyed making DIY sundaes from all of the choices!!

I love the ice cream cone cake and the ice cream cupcakes! Too cute. For more party details check out Hip Hooray's post here!

Framed Desserts

I always see frames in Hobby Lobby over at the 80% off section and try to think of creative ways to use them. Well, here is an unique way.....frame your desserts! The desserts are on white plates that are sitting on top of glass vases. This is a unique display ... things do not have to be perfectly aligned on dessert and buffet tables!

I am leaving for vacation in a few hours and will not have Internet access for a week. I can't remember the last time I didn't take my laptop with me on a trip. No worries....I am working on scheduled posts right now so you will still have some muses while I'm away. I hope to get at least 4 posts written tonight for next week. I can't wait to share with you all the muses I get on my cruise. I will have my phone though and may be tempted to pay the crazy charges and FB a little! LOL

Image source

Cardboard Creations

I have found the most ingenious product called Mr. McGroovy's Box Rivets! I am in the process of making tons of DIY projects for Madison's Toy Story Birthday party and have been collecting cardboard boxes to make a Western town. In my research of trying to find building plans ~I came across Mr. McGroovy! Mr. McGroovy's Box Rivets are inexpensive plastic connectors that make building fantastic cardboard creations quick & simple.

For raucous pirate parties or quiet afternoons of imaginative play, Mr. McGroovy's Box Rivets make it easy to turn simple cardboard boxes into the project of your child's dreams! See some actual pics from peeps who used the box rivets:

You can also purchase project plans that show you step by step how to make 17 things! There is no Western town but I am going to modify another plan. Did you see my cardboard banner for Maddy's party I posted on FB?

DIY garlands

I love garland and bunting. You can really use anything to create garland. Here are a few examples. Cupcake liner garland.
Great DIY lighted paper garland.
I've shown this one before but since summer and backyard BBQs are coming ~I'll share this creative and useful garland again.
Straw Garland...never thought of that one! Share your creative bunting/garland.

Color Ceiling Wheel

I love this color ceiling wheel by Housing a Forest using different colored streamers and card stock. It has the wow factor. Great DIY project for little money but time consuming if you add the circle card stock.
Genius using a hula hoop on the ceiling fan! Where was this tutorial when I had Madison's Art party last year!?
Here is the streamers without the circle card stock. I really like it~but look how great it is when you add the circles!
But when I saw how many circles from card stock was punched out then sewn together....I think I would have finished with just the streamers. But for all of you who have amazing patience....you would have the bigger wow factor!!

Ladybug Party

This adorable Ladybug party was done by a super talented mom Katie via Bee in our Bonnet blog.
I love when I see monthly pics of the birthday girl/boy for the banner for a one year old birthday party. This is something that I wish I would have done for Maddy!
Gotta love a "blinged" out high chair!
Katie did not miss one detail with this super cute party!
Even the pretzels are ladybugs...too cute!

I love that she put large ladybug cookies in bug catchers with Easter grass as the favors!
My favorite is always the activities! For kids parties, I don't care how much styling you do...what kids most appreciate is the games and activities! My favorite was Katie spray painted tons of beans to camouflage plastic quarter size ladybugs. The kids dug with their ladybug shovels to find them. I die!!
Okay.... my absolute favorite really is that she had a real ladybug hunt! Katie made bug catchers and bought real ladybugs from the gardening department of hardware store. How fun would that be???

Cowboy Party

I tried to post this around 2 a.m. but Blogger was down...that was my first time experiencing that~so sorry for the late post. I am so in love with the styling of this cowboy party by Dulce Design! Just in case you missed this one. Obviously, it has given me muses for Maddy's Toy Story party.


I have no idea where she got all of this "western" stuff. I live in the "Wild West" (Arizona) and can't find all of this stuff. Well, it's available but I'm not willing to pay retail prices so must scour the yard sales and thrift stores!
I am posting my daily progress of all of my DIY projects for Madison's Toy Story projects on FB. I hope it is giving you DIY muses!

Cakepop Towers

It was inevitable that someone would think of a cakepop tower being that tiered cupcake stands are all the rage, right??

This is perfect for those of use who want it all ~ our cake, cupcakes and cakepops! That would be me!

(Images source)

I'm in full DIY mode for preparing for Maddy's Toy Story party. All my daily DIY projects will be posted on my Maddycakes Muse FB page. If your my friend, then you can check out my daily DIY progress.