Happy 4th of July!

We spent our 4th doing some shopping, some relaxing and some strawberry shortcake cooking!

Hope you all had a terrific day!

Pinteresting Picks: 4th of July Edition

My Fourth of July Pinteresting Picks most certainly has to include this cute and classic patriotic inspired outfit from the one and only Atlantic-Pacific. Im absolutely loving the polka-dots and the DIY clutch. Wish I was this put together!

Yes please. I'll take a heaping serving of salty sweetness that is almost prettier than fourth of July fireworks. This visual delight comes from Cupcakes and Cashmere. 

And I thought I was Martha Stewart by simply knowing how to create chocolate dipped strawberries. Occasionally Crafty

Etsy Pick Of The Day: Ruffle Birdy Pants

These super adorable and ultra girly ruffle bottomed pants are from Chasing Mermaids. I recently discovered this Etsy shop and fell in love with its whimisical little girls clothing items. The shop currently has up some 4th of July petal neck dresses that I have my eye on as well. This is my Etsy Pick of the Day and of course I could not help but choose it from something under kids items.

Whats In Our Pantry: Baby Snacks

We try to only give Baby Z fresh fruits and veggies for snacks but of course this isn't always feasible. Its also not always practical. We have found some yummy snack items that she loves and that are not too bad for her little self either. She absolutely loves these Plum Organics fruit and veggie pouches. She loves their sweet flavors and I love the fact that I am getting some more fruits and veggies in her palate. I mean when else is she going to eat pumpkin or sweet potato mixed with corn? I know they are sometimes aimed at younger babies but honestly they are great for 1 year olds like Baby Z when we are on the go or she needs something pronto.

These Plum Organics for tots Fiddlesticks are also a super easy and nutritious snack to grab for Baby Z.  They are a semi-soft fruit and grain stick that fits easily into tiny hands and satisfy their snack cravings. We have tried out the banana flavor but I know they come in multiple other flavors as well.

Baby Mum-Mums are pretty plain but Baby Z has liked them for as long as I can remember. They are like a plain rice rusk and are excellent for babies with or without teeth. Baby Z has only liked them in the vegetable flavor.

Thats whats in our pantry as far as baby snacks go with a 1 year old. As it changes and as I find other products that we like I will update you all!

Sweet Shoppe Series: The Cake

Sweet Shoppe 1st Birthday Cake

My amazingly sweet and talented friend came up with this cake design for our Sweet Shoppe 1st Birthday theme for Baby Z. I gave her lots of flexibility to design the cake however she saw it in her head only telling her that I wanted bright vibrant colors and polka dots on a white fondant icing. I absolutely loved the fondant lollipops, suckers and candies that she attached to the top of the cake. They were sprinkled with a iridescent edible glitter along with all the polka dots. We kept the cake simple by having both layers be a classic vanilla with a sweet and soft fondant. We also had a matching smash cake for Baby Z to dig into on her highchair. The cake topper that reads "Zariya is One" is from an Etsy boutique called Toadally Cute.

Sweet Shoppe Series Part 2: DIY Candy Initial

Candy Button Initial

Supplies

With Baby Z's Sweet Shoppe fastly approaching (next Saturday, YIKES) I have been crafting sweet projects all weekend long. I dont think I have ever been so surrounded by sweet things that I cannot eat. An easy project that I did last evening was this candy button initial for the mantel piece. It is so inexpensive and easy to make! 

I purchased all the items from Michaels. The wooden letter was $2.99 and they come in all different sizes.  The Martha Stewart Glitter Paint was just under $3.00 and the paint brush was $0.50.  The candy button package was $2.99 and I have plenty of them left over after gluing them to a pretty large letter. 

Martha Stewart Glitter Paint

The glitter paint is very thin and glittery. It took about 4 coats to get the consistency that I was looking for. Once your coats dry it is a really lovely sparkly finish. This paint comes in so many different colors so your possibilities with this craft are endless.

Candy Buttons

These are all the leftover candy buttons I had after finishing the craft. I didn't end up using the yellow ones as I thought they might not show up properly against the yellow paint.

I also picked up this photo/plate stand to prop my finished letter on. I think this also was just under $3.00. You could use candy hearts for this project as well. You could do the first and last initial or even all three initials. Its one of those projects that looks like it was harder to make than it actually was. You could use this on your dessert/sweet or gift table or use it to decorate a mantle piece as I am. 

On to the next craft!

View Part 1 of my Sweet Shoppe Birthday Series here!

Sweet Shoppe Series Part 1: The Idea

www.thoughtfullysimple.com

Baby Z has her first birthday party coming up here soon too soon. I originally planned to have her party in June (her birthday is May 27th) but due to family schedules I found out sort of last minute that I will be needing to host this party in just a few short weeks. With working full time and not having very many creative bones in my body I happily turned to the parties of those before me for inspiration. I knew I wanted to throw a Sweet Shoppe/Shop (not sure what is up with the spelling differences here) themed birthday complete with candy decor, candy decor and more candy decor. Thanks to good ole Pinterest my visual desires were met. Here is a list of the decadent pictures I have taken my inspiration and ideas from. I am in awe at the women behind these parties and their creative minds!

www.thoughtfullysimple.com

Original source unknown; I found it on Pinterest.

www.thecakeblog.com

www.HowDoesShe.com

www.glorioustreats.com

Stay tuned for more Sweet Shoppe Series to see how the crafts, decor, DIY and other inspiration I utilize for the 1st birthday of Baby Z!