Mickey or Minnie Baby Shower

 In the fall some coworkers and I planned a shower for our pal, Jessica, who was expecting in October.  She did not know the gender, so we decided to incorporate something she loved (Disney) to throw her a shower.  We had lots of plans for playing up the Mickey or Minnie theme, but baby Miles had other plans.  The shower was planned for a Thursday and he arrived on a Monday-more than a month before his due date.  He spent a month plus in the NICU, but is now home safe and sound, growing and loving life, so....we celebrated Miles and Momma a little after the fact.

 One of my favorite sign in ideas (especially at work-we are teachers) is a guest sign in with a book-we got a Disney book this time to give baby Miles.  He still had to be really careful about being around germs, so I had Jessica send me some pics and one of our talented staff members made some adorable pictures banners that we hung around the place so everyone could see Miles.

 We went ahead and let Minnie make an appearance in some of our shower prep-we had a salty (Mickey) and sweet (Minnie) side to the food.

 I dipped some pretzels and oreos in red chocolate to look like Mickey Bellies (and added some mini m&ms for his buttons).

We had planned to make all the other guest make a Mickey or Minnie headband to wear and take pictures of each group, but....we will take pictures of Miles and a healthy little boy any day over a few party activities.

A Menagerie of Mickey Baby Gift

 I blogged about the 12 months of Mickey onsie stickers I made a few weeks ago for my friend Maurine that loves A)  Taking pictures and B)  Everything Disney.  These are a few of the other goodies that went into her baby box....a little pair of Mickey shoes (which launched this whole little gift box b/c I knew they were perfect for her upcoming bundle of boy). 

 I also found this hat via Etsy.

Month to Month Mickey Stickers

Last spring I made month to month onsies for a friend of mine who had a little girl.  The idea is they wear them each month for a picture to document their growth.  I used transfer paper, and I posted the process here.  I feel like onsies are fairly forgiving, but I also have seen these little round stickers you can buy for onsies (though the older the kiddo gets heading towards that '12th' month, the more the likelihood you may need to sneak this sticker on from what a few friends shared).  I decided I wanted to recycle the idea for my friend Maurine who is having baby boy #2 in just a few short weeks.  She is also in love with all things Disney, as is her first little guy, Donovan.  I decided to explore the options of making my own stickers, and personalizing them with a Mickey them (which went with my whole gift....more on that soon). 

 The first step was finding some stickers.....I hunted down 4 inch stickers, and found them for a reasonable price (you get 80 stickers,which will make quite a few sets of these for the future) at labeloutfitters.com.  I can't really say they are superior to any other product, I'll just say they were the only ones I was able to find, and they worked for my purpose, BUT I could not find a template online for four circles....enter my ghetto computer skills. 

 So....I created this Mickey belly (I saw one similar I liked) in paint shop (yes, 11th grade computer teacher-that did come in handy).  You are free to use it, I saved it here (I just used 'snag it or print page' and a free Disney font to change the month). 

 I printed off a few test copies, used a window to hold the sticker in front to see if the size was right....and then I cut up my stickers, put them directly over the circle, taped the corners, and print each month. 

 Ghetto fabulous, I think so!   I'm really not interested in brushing up on computer skills or circle formatting blah blah blah.....I'm happy with the results and have big plans for the other stickers....just as soon as the rest of my friends give me a reason to start printing. 

I can't wait to see the little guy in a picture each month wearing his Mickey Belly. 

Cars Gift

 There comes a point in my life....right around Christmas where I sometimes have to hand over the homemade to other home makers.  My little buddy, Donovan, has a birthday five days after Christmas.  I wanted to fill a package with everything this (now) three year old loves....enter-Car themed gift package.  I've been trying to either personalize, or find someone who personalizes all the gifts I send this year-and I had to share this fun find.  I found this shirt on Etsy, and I could not be more pleased with the design and quality, and price.  I will first say that the only thing that prompts me to write this post is that I truly was just pleased and I love to share great sellers with great products.  The service was fast, shipping more than reasonable, and she completely exceeded my expectations on all ends.
I found a bunch of stuff with Car themes at Targets (not really a) dollar spot.  I also found a bunch of candy and stickers with the related theme at Party City, and then I ordered this shirt from Ruffles and Bow Ties on Etsy.  By the time I priced this shirt....doing it myself and having it embroidered was the same price, and a lot more time consuming that letting Kerry do it....

 Check it out?  I'm pretty sure this little guy is going to love this shirt.  ...and I can guarantee I'll be getting more of these little treasures from this shop.