Mason's Camping Party

There you have it Mason's fun little camping party! We did everything ourselves (with help from our families). My dad made the tent following this tutorial. Instead of a cake I made S'mores cupcakes, inspired by this pin. The party favor was inspired by this pin. I bought the flashlights here. The 8ft banner and large bear poster were surprisingly affordable ($15 for both). I had them printed on a large format plotter in black and white (what they print blueprints on) and colored in the tent with crayons. I found the red wrapping paper that's covering the boxes on the table at Target, on Clearance for $2 right after Christmas (it kind of was the jumping off point for this party). My mom brought salad and fruit, and I made all the goodies with help from my mother-in-law. The s'more pops were a huge hit (inspired by this pin)! Instead of using the normal jumbo marshmallows, I used the GIGANTIC ones and they were absolutely delicious (make some, you won't be sorry). For entertainment we had bubbles and balls for the kids to play with, and the adults chatted and played a frisbee game called can jam. I love how it all turned out, it was casual, fun, and pretty low stress. I hope this inspires you for your next party!

**UPDATE** THE INVITATION, BEAR POSTER, AND PARTY BANNER ARE NOW AVAILABLE ON ETSY!

Camping Party Invitation

So if you follow Design Fancy you know I love to throw parties! Actually I love any excuse to design an invitation, and Mason's second birthday was the perfect excuse! If you haven't noticed, my last name is camp and that is what I went with for the theme, a camping party. I was going for less campfires and tin foil dinners, and more for a retro summer camp sort of a feel.

More often than not, my design process becomes experimental. I knew I wanted there to be a crest sort of shape that acted a sort of the summer camp logo. I also knew I wanted it to look stamped and retro. I don't generally like when something is faux stamped in photoshop or illustrator, you can usually tell. I also knew that I could not afford to purchase custom rubber stamps (I looked into it, it would have been pretty pricey). While I was racking my brain to try and figure out how to achieve this look, I remembered an art project I did with kids while working in an after school program in Idaho. Styrofoam Printmaking! Have you heard of it, or tried it before? Google it! I have done it before, but didn't think of it as a serious art form. People, it is! Basically all you do is gouge into a styrofoam plate with a ball point pen or some other pointy tool, paint over it and press it on paper. You can create some pretty sweet stuff with this technique! The possibilities are endless. I'll share more about the process next week.

So back to the invitation...My sister and I stayed up real late one night gouging and painting different shapes on plates (thanks Lollie), then I scanned them in and added the type. All the fun shapes started out on a styrofoam plate.

I love how it turned out! It's bright and fun, but not babyish. It was the perfect intro to his fun little party! Check back in next week for more party details (the party favors were real cute) and more on styrofoam printmaking.


P.S. If you think you would like this for your own party leave a comment. If I get enough interest I'll create a version for my etsy shop.

Happy Birthday Mason

Today is Mason's 2nd birthday! Hard to believe it's been another year, but this year has been fun with my little buddy. He is such a sweet kid. He loves giving kisses and will come up and hug my leg randomly throughout the day. This kid is happy from the moment he wakes up and politely hollers "out pleath" til someone goes and gets him.
This kid loves to eat, but loves to eat really healthy things. He can never get enough fruit, and can down 4 clementines in 1 sitting (more if I'd let him). He enjoys salad and green smoothies and is a vegetarian (unless we're at chick-fil-a). His favorite foods though are waffles and pizza. Every morning when I ask what he wants for breakfast the answer is always "waffle" (I also get the same answer for lunch and dinner) but he doesn't always get what he wants :). Whenever we bring home a box he assumes it's pizza and will run to the box and start saying "mmm mmm mmm." It's hardly ever pizza.
He loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (who doesn't?) and loves to color in his Mickey Mouse coloring book. We love drawing with chalk outside our apartment together and he always makes me draw a "buth" for him (that's a bus for those of you that don't speak Mason).
We have a park 2 block from our apartment and we go there almost 1 a day because Mason LOVES to be outside, he also enjoys playing with everyone else's toys at the park (never his own of course). Mason is already a California kid and enjoys the beach, and is not afraid of the waves at all. When he get's knocked over, he just gets back up and runs into the surf again.
This kid is crazy about his little football, we almost never leave home without it!
I think what he loves most are dogs. He lights up when he sees my grandma's dog (pictured above). He quite good with her and love to drag her on walks and pick her up and hug squeeze her (sorry Noel) :)
We are overjoyed to have this little man in our family, he brings so much laughter and joy into our lives! Happy Birthday Bubs! We love you!

Check in later this week for the cutest camping party you've ever seen!

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you are having a love-ly day (too cheesy?). We started out our day with pink heart pancakes or as Mason calls them "cancakes." They were a big hit!

Mason was invited to a little valentine party so I threw the above valentines together yesterday for him to hand out to his little friends. I found the super balls in the party favor section of target for $1 for 12 balls. I thought this was more age appropriate than the other valentines I had already created.

Tonight we will be having our annual pizza picnic but sadly the hubs will be working late so it's just Mason and I this year. What is a pizza picnic you ask? Well, every year on Valentine's Day since we started dating Jon and I have ordered a pizza, laid out blankets and pillows and rented a movie to watch while we chow down. It's sort of our favorite date together!

I hope your day is filled with love and chocolate. Mason'd birthday party is Saturday so check in next week for all the party details! I cannot wait to share!!

Count Down to V-Day

V-Day is almost here! Have you downloaded the Valentine Printables yet? Is Valentine's day a big deal in your house? Do you buy gifts for your significant other? Do you buy gifts for your kids? Growing up we always got a a carmel apple from The Chocolate Factory (apple pie is the best). I'm really interested to hear what your giving/ getting this year for valentines day.
Valentine's day isn't so big in our house, which is good because I married an accountant so I pretty much won't be celebrating on Valentine's day ever. Don't feel bad though, we're celebrating on the 22nd when we go to see WICKED! See I told you not to feel bad.
We are exchanging gifts for Valentine's day, in fact I've been getting some of my favorite treats this last week because Jon didn't want to wait to give them to me. Last night we enjoyed the chocolate almond butter he got me on waffles. It was SO GOOD.
What types of gifts do you give? Is it teddy bears and chocolates? I am a super practical gift giver. If it can't be used more than once, I don't waste my money. For Jon that usually means clothes for practically every holiday. For Mason, it's toys and clothes. This is the first time we're celebrating Valentine's with Mason and I want to make it fun. Any cute little ideas of what to get him? Please share!
P.S. Like my chalkboard? That was my Christmas present from Jon, and I finally hung it this weekend. I love it, but please excuse the art (my chalk pencils were dying).

Printable Valentine Part 3- I Think You're DINO-MITE!

Ok friends, here is part 3 of my printable valentines series. This one is my little Mason's favorite (I practically had to pry the dinosaurs out of his hand to photograph these). I found these mini dinos at the dollar tree and I love them! seriously, neon dinosaurs? How can you go wrong? Plus, I created these so you can get 6 per sheet. Let's take a closer look at these bright little dinos!

Look at that face, he is just begging to be on a valentine! If you would like, you could also put the dino in a bag and fold the valentine over the top and staple it. If you missed them, check out part 1 and part 2 of the series. Click the download button below to get the printable valentine before they're extinct (get it)!

Terms of Use: This download is for personal use only and may not be reproduced or distributed without written consent of Emily Camp. You are welcome to publish 1 photo with a link back to this post (not the download itself) with credit if you want to share the post on your own blog. If you wish to use more photos, or would like to use the download for any purpose besides personal, please email Emily Camp with any requests. Thank You.

Printable Valentine Part 2- You Make My Heart Jump

So how did you like the "nuts for you" valentine? Cute right? Well if you're looking for something with a little less sugar, how about part 2 of my valentine series? This would be great for boys or girls (and I created a version in blue and red for boys) and is super easy to put together! I found this jump rope at the Dollar Tree near my house, but I bet you could find some for even less online here.

There's even a cute little spot for you to write who it's for. Be sure to download the file below and check in again Friday for part 3 of the valentine series. It's sure to be dino-mite!

To make these, click the download button below and then follow these instructions:

1. print the file on preferred paper (I like basic card stock). when printing be sure to select your "borderless printing" option and you will be able to fit 3 of the valentines per page.
2. cut on the light gray lines
3. fold on the line between the white area and the red patterned area
4. fold again, 1 in from your first fold in the red patterned area.
5. wrap around the jump rope and staple or tape shut.

Terms of Use: This download is for personal use only and may not be reproduced or distributed without written consent of Emily Camp. You are welcome to publish 1 photo with a link back to this post (not the download itself) with credit if you want to share the post on your own blog. If you wish to use more photos, or would like to use the download for any purpose besides personal, please email Emily Camp with any requests. Thank You.

Printable Valentine Part 1- I'm Nuts For You

So I sort of love Valentine's Day. I do, not for flowers or chocolates or teddy bears. I love it because it gives me an excuse to make really cute and cheesy printables like this one (theres more where this came from).

This is just a really cute and easy valentine to hand out. All you need are Circus Peanuts, celophane bags, a stapler, and this printable file. I just use the basic size treat bags that you can find in party supply stores, or I bought these at Walmart. I cut off the top of the bag so I wouldn't have to add so much candy, but you could keep the bag log and fill the whole thing with Circus Peanuts, or any kind or nut for that matter.

On the back there are spots to write who is't to and who it's from. I hope you enjoy making these as much as I did. Click the download button below to get the file and check back on Wednesday for the next Valentine Printable!

Terms of Use: This download is for personal use only and may not be reproduced or distributed without written consent of Emily Camp. You are welcome to publish 1 photo with a link back to this post (not the download itself) with credit if you would to share the post on your own blog. If you wish to use more photos, or would like to use the download for any purpose besides personal, please email Emily Camp with any requests. Thank You.

Happy February

Happy February Friends! I hope January treated you well. January in California has been amazing! I actually like winter again now that we aren't living in Idaho.

I thought since it's the first day of February I share some past valentines posts in case you're already looking for pink and red decor or you want to start DIYing some heart day cards.

For decor check out this post that is pictured above. You can print out the letter outlines and watercolor them like I did, or here's a fun idea, let your kids do it! So fun! I think I might do it again and let the little one have his hand at it.

Looking for a fun and different valentine to hand out? Check out the Lips ans 'Staches post for the printable. Want to make this Idea really fresh? Print the lips and mustaches on fun and funky colored paper! Neon pink lips? don't mind if I do! A green mustache? That's just crazy!

Be sure to check back on Monday! I have 3 new and really fun valentines to share and I will be showing off the first one on Monday! See you then.