Project 52: Week 35

Mother Nature, man.  She's pretty bad ass, and always full of surprises.  Last week started off much like any other, enjoying the beauty of Mother Nature's work (and an iced coffee):

Then things got a little more interesting:

That's right.  An earthquake.  In Virginia.  At naptime.

The earthquake was big news for the rest of the day, but then we had bigger things to focus on the rest of the week:

Okie dokie!  Should probably stock up on essentials:

A friend told me pop tarts were one of the top two items purchased before a hurricane, so I threw good nutrition to the wind and bought a box.

Ok, ok...for real though:

Luckily for us, the doomsday scenario that was forecast never happened, so we had more of what I call a "hurrication" at home while Irene took her sweet time passing through:

Brynn greatly enjoyed Haylie's mustache app. 

We made a shanty town out of a blanket and the deck chairs we brought inside.

iPad storytime  

 We pitched a tent in the play room in case the winds made it too scary to sleep upstairs.  Irene is gone, but the tent remains.

The girls loved having Haylie spend Friday and Saturday night with us while Tim was off being a hero.

As you can see, we had power most of the weekend, with the exception of a total of about 3 hours (2 of which were while we were sleeping anyway).  The only casualty we suffered was our Japanese maple in the backyard:

Thank you for sparing us, Mother Nature!  This week's events were a bit unsettling, as I worried about keeping my babies safe.  However, I experienced a defining moment as a mom while all this was going down.  When I offered Brynn a pop tart, she replied, "What's a pop tart?"

If you'd like to participate in your own Project 52:  Glimpse Into Motherhood, click on the link below:

Project 52: Week 34

The sound of silence in my house can mean a few things:

1)  The children are both sleeping soundly in their respective bed or crib.
2)  The children are playing a quiet game on level of house different from that which I am located.
3)  The children are up to no good.  No good at all.


Yesterday, when I finished cleaning up after lunch, I noticed the sound of silence.  I could immediately cross option #1 off the list, as my children do not just go to bed on their own accord.  That leaves #2 and #3.  Knowing that either way, I'd walk right into the middle of a Kodak moment, I crept up the stairs with my camera on the ready and found this:

Phew...#2!  Brynn had already changed into her skunk costume and was helping Camryn get into hers.  I heard sweetness such as "Come 'ere, Cam.  Come put on your costume.  Step in.  Other leg now.  Good girl!"  Heartwarming, I tell you!  Now if someone could just tell me why my photos shot in landscape are pixelated but are totally fine in portrait, I'd be much appreciative!  


If you'd like to participate in your own Project 52:  Glimpse Into Motherhood, click on the link below:

Hog for Harley

Since most of my orders come from family and friends, I get really excited when someone I don't know wants some Fancy.  My latest order comes as a result of a feature article about Fancy Fonts that was published in the Macaroni Kid Virginia Beach newsletter earlier this month.  Not an MKVB subscriber yet?  Check out their website or Facebook page for info on local events, deals, and all things family-related.  Fancy Fonts also has something special for MKVB subscribers, so sign up for their free weekly e-newsletter to find out what it is!

As for the piggy bank, it's a gift for a soon-to-be mom from her own mother, and the design was inspired by the baby's nursery bedding (Cocalo's "Tropical Punch"):

Please pardon more pixely pictures...still working on the smart phone to computer uploading thing!

Since orange is Mommy's favorite color, Grandma chose orange for Harley's name.  Love how it pops!

I loved these koalas!  Brynn wants one for a pet.

Large piggy banks like Harley's can be purchased for $25, and medium piggies are available for $15.  Fancy Fonts' August special is get 50% one item or service with the purchase of two items or services.  Think Fall birthdays and holiday gifts!  Email me at karen.psimas@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook to place an order.

Baby Mac

It was quite the team effort to pull off a great baby shower for Ryan's cousin Kathryn, and I think Baby Mac's imminent arrival is starting to sink in for the mommy-to-be!  The food was great, and the company was even better.  Kathryn received some beautiful gifts in the form of itty bitty baby clothes, handmade blankets, and nursery decor, but when her mother presented her with the knitted sweaters, blankets, and bonnets Kathryn's own grandmother (who passed away almost three years ago) had made for her when she was a baby, the whole room was a bit teary eyed.  Here are a few snapshots of the spread (not sure why some are all pixely and some are fine):

The invitation and a fishy friend

Chicken salad, and fruit, and cheese...oh my!

Diaper cake by Baby Mac's Aunt Kristin, Aunt Lisa, and cousin Madeline, framed art by yours truly.

Cutest little clothesline!

Yummmmmmm!

So excited to have another baby in the Psimas family...we're up to #9!  Best wishes to Kathryn and Wes for a quick and healthy delivery.  Until then, we wait...

Project 52: Week 33

Thanks to generous friends and family, there are a few new toys floating around the house after Camryn's birthday last week.  Some of the newcomers have eased tensions between the girls over the house favorites, while others are "MIIIIIIIIINE!"-inducing.  Since both girls like anything musical, the Mickey Mouse book that teaches you how to play the piano was an instant favorite for them both.  Sometimes they play with it together, other times Brynn hides under the little table in the playroom so she can have it all to herself.  What's funny is now Camryn thinks this is where you're supposed to play with this toy, and I often find her under the table, playing "Binkle, Binkle."

I can't get over how long she looks!

If you'd like to participate in your own Project 52:  Glimpse Into Motherhood, click on the link below:

Fancy Fern

Done!  Finished my third piggy bank in two days with enough time to spare to give those housewives of New Jersey my undivided attention.  I was really excited when I found this font, and I knew it would be perfect for the piggy I was asked to create.  The little girl's name is Fern, and the customer wanted (duh) fern fronds on the piggy bank.  Once again, I felt my artistic abilities being challenged, but I'm really happy with the outcome:

The green fronds and yellow swirls seemed a little bland, so I added purple dots within the yellow and threw in some red polka dots and "shoes" for a little punch of color.  Yup, definitely watched too much Color Splash this week!  A unique piggy for a girl with a unique name.

Medium piggy banks like Fern's can be purchased for $15, while large piggies are available for $25.  Email me at karen.psimas@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook for ordering and product information.

Two down...

One more to go for this trio of piggies to be complete.  My goal is to create products that last, and ideally have them be keepsakes for their recipients.  With that in mind, I try to design them to be ageless, meaning parents can appreciate receiving them as gifts for their babies, but when those babies grow up, they'll still dig it.  

I find this goal to be a challenge when it comes to choosing a font for a baby boy's gift.  How do I make it boyish without being too babyish?  I think I came up with a good one for Carson's sports themed piggy:

Pretty simple design, and I think the font is my favorite feature on this guy.  The Carson font is a keeper!  I found another great font for the last of the three piggies in this particular order, and I can hardly wait until the girls' bedtime to get started on it.  Maybe an early dinner and a dvd is in order...

Medium piggy banks like Carson's are available for $15, while large piggies can be purchased for $25.  Email me at karen.psimas@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook for ordering and product information.  

Unfortunately, not for my Camryn

Soooo, I thought I'd be able to knock out two piggies during naptime today, but that just didn't happen.  I figured since the piggies were medium and not large, they'd be a piece of cake.  Wrong!  This little piggy's design was incredibly intricate, and I did almost double the work by going over the bolder colors with white to soften them up a little bit.  Well worth the time and effort, in my opinion.  I hope Camryn's mommy-to-be is pleased...she already has great taste in names, so naturally her taste in piggy banks is second to none as well!

Here's the inspiration - Camryn's nursery bedding (Pottery Barn Kids "Wildflower"):

And the coordinating piggy bank:

I've got mouths to feed, so Camryn's little buddy Carson's piggy will have to wait until naptime tomorrow.  If only tonight's dinner would turn out as Fancy as this pig!

Medium piggy banks like Camryn's can be purchased for $15, while large piggies are available for $25.  Don't forget about Fancy Fonts' August Special...buy any two Fancy Fonts products or services and receive 50% off your third!  Email me at karen.psimas@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook for product information or to place an order.

I got a feevah, and the only prescription is more Fancy!

Trying not to let feeling yucky affect my Fancy.  While one child was napping and the other was "napping," I got horizontal on the couch and watched quite a few episodes of "Color Splash."  I loooooove me some David Bromsted, and I think he gave me some motivation to get up and get Fancy.  

I finally finished, framed, and hung the collages for Camryn's big girl room, and I'm so pleased with how they turned out.  I'm even more pleased that the frames I got at Michaels matched the frame I got five years ago and was hoping to use!  Brynn must have heard the snip, snip of the scissors, so I gave her her own paper, scissors, and glue and she worked right beside me.  Here's how my cut and paste turned out (please excuse the sub-par photography...I was balancing on a step stool with two sets of sticky hands pawing at me while trying to duck down to eliminate glares and reflections!):

Jellyfish and starfish, big and small

C is for crab...and Camryn!

Turtle?  Tortoise?  

All three, lined up in a row.  Most likely not in their final destination, but this is where I had three nails, so I went with it!  

This was a really fun project, and I look forward to making a few for Brynn's room as well (naturally, she has requested a blue fish...not a bluefish, but a blue fish).  I was thinking more along the lines of a mermaid.  We'll see who wins this one.  For now, I'm hoping that seeing these pictures hanging in Camryn's room will take the sting out of her nursery (and my time as a baby mama) being gone.

Don't miss Fancy Fonts' August special of buy two products/services, get one 50% off!  Team up and get Fancy with a friend!  For product and service information or to place an order, email me at karen.psimas@yahoo.com or message me on Facebook.  

Project 52: Week 32

I can't help being nostalgic with the celebration of Camryn's 2nd birthday this week.  It doesn't seem like 2 years have passed since my water broke at my friend's daughter's birthday party (don't worry, I was outside on the deck the whole time in case just such an event occurred), and I had to threaten Ryan with violence to get out of bed and take me to the hospital.  I labored rather peacefully through the night at the hospital, and Camryn was born just before dawn.  Since she wasn't my first child, I had a few visitors, but not a constant stream of well-wishers like my first time around.  I spent my vacation hospital stay relaxing, as well as enjoying a 4-game Yankees sweep of the Red Sox.  No wonder I wouldn't mind having another kid!  

Camryn Jane has been such a fun little baby, and she's turning into a firecracker of a little girl.  So hard to believe this is how it all began, just two short years ago:

If you'd like to participate in your own Project 52:  Glimpse Into Motherhood, click on the link below:

So sweet

My sweet Camryn turns 2 tomorrow, but we celebrated her birthday yesterday on the beach with family and a few friends.  Camryn demands enjoys a lollipop whether it's 7am or 7pm, so the theme for her party was clear from the beginning:

I was inspired by a similar invitation from The TomKat Studio on Etsy and got to work using supplies I already had in my big bag of Fancy.  I thought about buying cellophane lollipop bags to put the invitations in, but plastic wrap from my kitchen looked just as cute and was way more free. 

You simply cannot have a lollipop themed party without cake pops!  The girls helped a little:

And then they did some quality assurance before the dipping process began:

With a little bit of inventiveness from Ryan, we used this cute bucket as a serving piece for the pops and stuck the invitation in front to tie it all together:

I used a scaled down version of the invitation to create tags for the big swirl lollipops I used as party favors.  I had intended to tie the tags around the lollipop stick, but decided to tape them to the lollipop like a label instead.  When we got to the beach, we simply filled a bucket with sand and stuck the lollipops right in it to make a fun display (sorry, didn't get a close up shot, but the lollipops are on the left):

Camryn saw her guests leaving with the lollipops and got a little worried, so we let her have hers a little early.  It is her birthday party after all!

What could be better than sharing a giant lollipop on the beach with your big sister?

Easy...being these girls' mommy!  Happy Birthday, Camryn!