Beatles Themes Party

On June 25th my wonderful and talented husband turned 26. He always makes jokes about how much i love birthdays, and i truly believe birthday's are one of my "love languages". I love birthdays. I love that for a whole day you can make someone feel special, and that they can stand out for the day.


So obviously for my husband it had to be a whooper of a birthday. It was a MONTH of celebrations. Travelling to see parents, and friends ten hours away, presents, and then the surprise beatles themed party.


I had seen on HOSTESS BLOG to make yellow submarine mini cakes with twinkies, and from there i went for it! It really was inexpensive, but so fun to find things to use for this beatles theme.


I made the invites using photoshop! very simple! I went onto a website for downloading free fonts call DaFont (click here for to go to it) and found the actual font used for the Beatles that i used for other party things, and i  also downloaded a couple of rock and roll looking fonts too! 

I went to the local thrift store to find some old vinyls to use as dessert plate stands and and to hang from the lemonade stand i borrowed from my neighbour. I went to the local dollar store and bought 2 bright coloured plastic wine cups to put the vinyls on to make the dessert stands. So easy and a cool way to display the food musically.

This is my husband receiving his twinky cakes on vinyl record desserts stands! its amazing what a hot glue gun can accomplish.

Go to the Hostessblog to see more. These were so easy. Picked up twinkies from the grocery store, and some icing. My friend Mandy was here staying with us for the weekend and actually did the piping and smarties for me. three of the same colour on each side, and then stick a couple of straws in the top and VOILA... yellow submarines!!


Here are a few other ways we themed the day:

Made some retro bunting to hang, and a couple of records hanging from the end and made a little drink station. All the tableware i made sure was bright and colourful like the 60's/70's.

Twizzlers on grass mats from the local dollar store! We even had some of our garden grown strawberries on another grass matt too! yummy!

I found these little flower power blossom biscuits and i couldnt resist!

My husband loves Dr Pepper so what better way that sitting them on top of a little kids piano and renaming them SGT dr Peppers

Everyone had to come dressed up as  Beatles song, and here are a couple of photos of friends and family

 St Pepper (he came dressed a pepper pot hence the siv on his head... chuckle!

Me and the hubby. I was "Octopus Garden" and i dressed him up as the cartoon version of John Lennon in the Yellow Submarine Movie.

our best friends Mandy and Quincy came as "Baby Im a rich man" and "Money"

"Rocky Raccoon"

All my in laws at the end of party!

My mum and dad in law.. mom came as "Piggies" and dad came as "yesterday" (he wore a tshirt that said Friday and the party was on saturday... clever!!!

It was such a good day! Lots of ways for me to release some creativity while celebrating the amazingness of my man!

Cheap & Easy Strapless dress

After seeing a tutorial online for an easy to make strapless dress, i was excited to try and customize one for my preggo body, for a little 7 month pregnant photo shoot.


This can be for anyone though, and i am not a seamstress at all, but this was soooo easy, i believe any can do it.


So heres how to make a dress like this one (photo by my talented friend Monique over at Pocketful of Whimsy)

Step one:

Forget about going to a fabric shop, hit up the local thrift store and pick up some fabric there, mine was from value village for $3 and still have tons of it left for other fabric. I found this hanging with the table cloths, and i loved how retro it was. Make sure your fabric has a little stretch to it, this will make it easy to fit your body with no extra materials needed.

Step two:

Grab a tank top that fits with nicely and is a little more body hugging (make sure it has a little stretch like your fabric).

All i did was trace around it and as much length as you want, mine was just above the knees. And i cut down straight from where the hips would be.

Step three:

use the first side you cut of your dress as a template to cut out what will be the back of your dress.

Step four:

Then pin one side of the dress together and sew all the way up.

Then once i sewed up one side, i hemmed the top and bottom of the dress with 1/2 seam.

Once i have hemmed top and bottom, i folded right sides together and sewed up the other side.

Now flip back so fabric is right sides out, and there you have it, your new easy and cheap strapless dress.

I had a little excess at the sides of the bust, so i just took it in a little so it stayed up nice and steady.

I am thinking of putting black bias tape around the hems just to neaten in up, but photo shoot came before i made the effort to do that.

My lovely husband and my baby bump are the loves of my life.

Hope you give this a try and you are as happy with the outcome as i was!!

26 PHOTO TREASURE HUNT :: It's My Turn!

Thank you to everyone that has participated in this 26 photo treasure hunt!

Let me remind you of the people you have seen and where you find them in the blogger-sphere.

Jordyn Schulte :: My Sisters Closet

Jesse Lozier :: you could be creepy and search him on facebook, but that would be weird

Mandie Hagel :: Holding their Hands

Meryl Reesor :: Im on fire when he speaks

Monique Willms :: Pocketful of Whimsy

...and me from 12stone Dance, where you are right now! :)

Here is my little treasure hunt... i had fun doing it! While the husband was struggling with some kidney issues we went for a stroll one night to get a few of them... it was the perfect little date tied into some creativity!

I think this would be fun to do with kids to get their minds going creatively!

1. Self Portrait :: with my own self made hand glasses

 2. Favourite pair of shoes :: I bought these when i lived in england, they are a lovely shimmery green and very vintage.. but they are so high i just love them from a distance and never actually wear them :(

3. Hands :: The hand i wanna hold forever... love of my life, Tunskis.

4. Books :: Just bought a new cube storage system, i am loving having at least some of my books out, i would need a library room for the rest of them.

5. High angle :: My little neighbour friend, Hanny Pants. I was babysitting one day and took the time to try and capture her and her brother playing, this was one of my fave shots! she is so cute!

6. Fresh fruit :: yes, i am going to boost that these are from my garden, and quite frankly they are delicious

7. Animal :: Ok, im not calling one of my brother in laws an animal, but for my husbands beatle themed birthday party Kei came as Rocky the Racoon... i dislike animals so this is as close as i was willing to get :)

8. Silhouette :: This picture is from probably nearly two years ago, so a slight cheat, but i love it. My friends mandie and jarrett

9. Sun Flare ::  Just outside our house as we took a walk to try and get my tunskis to pass some kidney stones

10. Reminds you of childhood  :: My dad's dressing gown (house coat for you canadians). I have always loved wearing my dads dressing gowns, they were always so comfy and comforting. I am requesting his old one for my hospital stay when i have baby

11. Someone you love :: I couldnt just choose one now that baby chicken legs is on the way... my husband "Tunskis" and my baby in utero are the loves of my life.

12. Action :: He had been house and hospital bound with suspected kidney stones, so he enjoyed the swings.

13. Mason Jar :: Last weekend i planned a surprise Beatles themed birthday for my husband, and i used the mason jar for twizzlers

14. Eyes :: The other little neighbour friend in my life, Mr Kai Guy! His eyes are stunning blue, and this is only with a slight contrast added to the photo. They really are very blue. I love 'em!

15. Water :: If you live in Saskatchewan or surrounding areas you will know this sight well this summer. we were declared a state of emergency as places around and in where we live has been affected by flooding. We drove through some of this on the way out to calgary about two weeks ago. This is the HIGHWAY

16. Up close shot :: One of the grads i did a photo shoot for. She was so beautiful!

17. Black and White :: One of my close friends came down and was here for the beatles party, so we had from fun in our little photo booth set up

18. Love :: So many that i could choose from, but it will always come down to their is no love like that of love for a grandma... i love her. She is a light in my life, a little treasure... crazy in her own way but their is none like her.

19. Favourite colour :: PINK! I choose to take this picture because i love the colour that much that it brings me joy to find even the simple things in the colour i love!

20. Your Weakness :: Anything owl! I had a whole range of pics to choose from, but this is one of my faves! An owl jug from hobby lobby! mmmm... delicious owlness!

21. Transportation :: errr, my feet pretty much do a lot of the work, they have a lot of responsibilty. they carry not only me right now, but my little baby bump too

22. Low angle :: Another one of my grads, i had her high on a ladder, while i struggled to crouch below to get what is one of my favourite grad pics of the season

23. Yourself with ten things :: My in laws, and there is me with exactly ten of them!

24. Flower :: Yes from the garden... why cant it be summer all year!

25. Picture depicting emotion :: I had to use this one as i was doing a quick shoot for my neighbours family aka Monique and co. and this picture is actually depicting a few emotions.

1. Kai (little guy) just desperate to see the church bells he could hear)

2.Dean and Mo (a little frustrated about the church bell scenario trying to be optimistic)

3. and little girl Hanny Pants (i seem to have cut her out the picture.. oopps)

 26. Your camera by your camera :: Well i used both my i phone and my canon, so you can see my canon lens here and right in the lens you can see a reflection of my iphone

I had fun doing this!! Give it a try and send me some in if you want!

love dani

26 Photo Treasure Hunt :: Guest blogger 4 :: Monique from pocketful of whimsy

Today we get to hear and see from my awesome friend Monique! She is a literal neighbour, and so creative in so many ways! We bond over our love of planning parties, photography, crafting and DIY, thrifting, and going down to minot for hobby lobby and target and huge ice coffees, among many other things!!


ENJOY HER POST, AND CHECK OUT HER BLOG... its packed with tutorials and her columns and photos! Add her to your favourites


Click here for her blog

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Monique Willms and Pocket Full of Whimsy is one of my many creative outlets and kind of a place to bring them all together. I retired from teaching Junior High English after I became a mom to "the boy one" and "the girl one". Now I am the photographer behind Blink Photography and a weekly columnist over at Lifestyles (ifamily). I love most things vintage, love creating, love Jesus and I love "the tall, dark and handsome one" whom I do this thing called life with :)

Now onto the challenge... a month ago Dani contacted me with a challenge to complete a photo scavenger hunt. We were to take a different picture everyday for 26 days. Seemed pretty easy... kind of forgot though that June is my craziest month for photography, between grads, families, maternitys and newborn shoots I was absolutely swamped! So, I challenged myself to go through all my archives and find my pictures there :)

Self Portrait

 

2. Favourite Shoes

Hmm... This was really hard. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings :) But, I'll go with my new "vintagy" Pumas that I got for my birthday.

 

3. Hands

With this challenge in mind I took this photo during a family session. I saw the idea on Pinterest.

  

4. Books

I'm a book lover. I have a lot of books. I hate the clutter. I've recently converted to a Kindle lover. These are my books :) (taken with iphone)

 

5. High Angle

This pic is proof that summer is finally here. Some of our favourite peeps hanging out in the kiddie pool.

 

6. Fresh Fruit

 

7. Animal

We don't have a lot of animals in our lives (unless you count the cats I'm trying to trap, the birds on the wire or the wormans) so here is the boy one, all little, cuddling his stuffed dog.

  

8. Silhouette

Fun shadow play with a maternity client.

 

9. Sunflare

Sun flare on the belly - same maternity client.

 

10. Reminds you of childhood

My grandpa built this little playhouse for my mom and her siblings. I played in it so much as a kid! Cleaning, making cardboard food, and having pretend sleep overs in the loft.

 

11. Someone you love

I chose this pic because when I see it, it makes my heart literally hurt with love. Sounds cheesy but when I see my kids all puffy faced from sleep and needing cuddles I just love them so much!

 

12. Action

What really do I need to say?

 

13. Mason Jar

This is the jar we used for Hannah's birthday. Every body filled out a little note and wrote blessings to give to her when she turns 18.

 

 14. Eyes

15. Water

At Morin Lake. Lovely water but what's even awesomer is the muscles.

 

16. Up Close

 

17. Black and White

 18. Love

Literally - the word love. Clients.

19. Favourite Colour

Currently yellow. Especially paired with gray or teal. Here is a collection of my yellow things. Sugar bow and butter dish from Anthropologie and the yellow bird was carved by my Grandpa. He's so talented.

20. Your weekness - Vintage Sheets!

 I just can't pass them up. My obsession also includes vintage quilts and afgans.

21. Transportation

  I always wanted a motorized vehicle as a kid. I now live vicariously through my children.

 

22. Low angle

The boy one flying a kite.

23. Yourself with 10 Things
My ten fingers/thumbs... covering my face cause it's early and I'm trying to get this post done!

24. Flower

 25. Picture depicting emotion

Both pics are on Kai's birthday. Han... not so happy.

Kai? Deliriously happy that his day has finally arrived!

 

26. Camera by your camera

Finished up the hunt using my iphone. The reflection is in the kitchen door with the screen behind.

Thanks Dani for having me on your blog! If you want to see other interpretations of the challenge head over to 12 Stone Dance and check them out!