Spoonful of Imagination

Add it to a Family for Something Beautiful

Woodland Fairy Birthday Party

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fairy_party

I am amazed at how many extremely talented people I have in my life. From family to friends (new and old) there is so much creativity around me. I am continually inspired and challenged by those creative juices of so many I love.

I shared with you the other day about how one of our best friends is making films in LA. Today, I want to share with you a birthday party that one of my friends threw her little girl, Zoë.

Rebecca is oh so talented. She is a professional photographer and is so sweet to let me share her gorgeous work with you here. She took these pictures and created this picture perfect party. She has skills!

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One thing that I adore about Rebecca is the heart behind the parties she throws for her kids.  Every detail and gorgeous bit of her parties comes from the heart to honor, celebrate, and love her child.

As a homeschool mom of three, pastor’s wife, daughter, friend, and all the other hats Rebecca wears, I love that it is such a priority for her to make her children know they are so loved.

From start to finish her kids help her pick the theme, find inspiration on Pinterest, and create the finished product.

How cute are those “fairy jewels” (pictured above) they created!? She and her girls created them by coloring the inside of an acorn cap with a marker and filling it with school glue. How simple is that!? They are gorgeous.

acorn wreath

I have wanted to throw one of my kids an art party for years. The boys have not gone for it yet, but maybe with Reagan I will get this dream. Rebecca came up with some amazing crafts for her party theme. Her daughter, Zoë, was turning five and loves art, so it was a perfect fit.

One of the first activities at Zoë’s party was to paint a fairy house. Rebecca got some $1 bird houses at Michaels, cut the perch off, and had acrylic paint and paint shirt cover ups for the guests. They did this activity first, so the houses would dry by the time the party was over. What a creative idea! A birdhouse is the perfect size house for a fairy. Genius!

fairy_house

Another craft the girls created was a fairy friend! She had all the supplies (popsicle sticks, tulle, yarn, felt, small artificial flowers, sharpie, hot glue gun, and a stick) ready, so the girls could just piece together what they wanted to dress their fairy. While the girls played a game, Rebecca hot glued all the elements together to make a fun puppet.

Reagan would love this! She is so into Tinkerbell (as you might see after Halloween), and she would love to have a little Tink to fly around. I have to remember this craft!

make_a_fairy

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On top of the fun crafts, the girls got to run and be ferries together. Rebecca had a pair of wings for each girl. The wings were decor and doubled as a party favor. They also wore them for a creative version of “duck, duck, goose”.

fairy_party_gameThe girls look like they had the best time. There was so much creative energy and time spent to make such a special day.

The names of the food are perfection!

fairy_party_food

What an incredible party! I’m currently thinking through my J’s fifth birthday that is coming up. I know he doesn’t want a fairy party, but Rebecca has inspired me to think through what HE would like and not what I want him to like. It is all about celebrating him and the interests and gifts that he possesses.

At the end of the day, if he feels loved and celebrated like this picture of Zoë portrays of her feelings, I will be happy.
fairy_birthday_partyIsn’t she stunning!? I was blessed to hang with this sweet family last week. Can’t wait to do so again soon! Thank you so much Rebecca for letting me share your party with the world!

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To Clean or Not to Clean?

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To clean or not to clean? I had the chance to think about it A LOT last week when I was preparing for hosting Matt’s whole extended family here for Thanksgiving and then having both our immediate families over for J’s birthday less than 48 hours later.  It was a crazy busy time with lots of picking up and cleaning.  I found myself wiping down the blinds which I only do twice a year, so maybe that is why they were in such need of it. Like me, do you make a mad rush to clean your home before you have guests over?  Why is that?

I found myself wondering “Why am I doing this?  Won’t my family accept me even with all my dirt exposed?  Of course they will!”  Do you ever ask yourself the same thing?  The crazy thing is that once the party is over, our houses will be dirty and messy once again.  Seems to make more sense if we just cleaned AFTER a party, right?  We don’t do that though.  Maybe I am using “we” because I don’t want to feel alone in this thought process.

Do we clean to make ourselves look better?  To make it seem like we have “it” all together?  To show every one we are really happy?  Do we want to impress others?  Do we want them to be envious of our life?  Depending on the day it might be a little of all of that, but as I cleaned and analyzed this situation, I decided this is why I was busting my butt…


I want people to feel comfortable in my house.  I want them to be relaxed, so they can enjoy themselves and make memories.

I don’t want my house to feel cluttered with stuff or all my piles where my guests don’t have room to sit down their purses, or be in an environment that feels dirty and stuffy.  I want it to be relaxing and natural, and for that all my dirt has to be taken away.  I want a home where little girls can giggle…

…and big girls can giggle with them.  A place where kids can play without worrying about breaking something or spilling something (on our usually huge mail pile).  This is the home I want to have for others to enjoy.

Easy decor tip for a last-minute wreath: Clip your daughter’s hair bows to a Dollar Store wreath. Yes, I did do that. 🙂

I want there to be love and hearts of servants flowing from these doors.

I will decorate and plan (and hopefully be a little more prepared next year) to love my kids by loving what they love, and showing them that by creating FOR them.

A few of my party prep helpers helping with our DIY Transformer’s necklaces.

Tradition passed down from my mom: make the center piece out of toys, art, pictures that represent the birthday boy! I used some of his favorite toys from previous years with also his latest favorites and some of his art and pictures from the years.

I want them to feel so loved by my actions and time that their hearts are over flowing into their little faces with eyes that light up and smiles that go from ear to ear.

If they feel so loved, wont they love others the same way they have been loved?  That is my prayer.

I will spend hours cleaning their pee off my toilets (surely one day their aim will improve) and stamping Autobot faces out of paper and taping them to toothpicks, so they feel honored.

I will do all this because I want memories with my kids.  I want to have and create parties where we laugh and play.  I want to have an environment somewhat clutter free, so we can all unplug and relax.

So, I’ve concluded, I will continue to clean and decorate for parties because it is part of the preparation for the memories, laughs, and stories that will come out on the other side, no matter the mess that is left behind! I just hope that my guests and family always feel loved and welcomed even if it has been six months since I last wiped down the blinds. 🙂