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Friday, February 5, 2010

Other hobbies...

When I worked for a certain company, we didn't have much to do. So, I ended up dabbling in Photoshop, InDesign, and other photo and publication type programs. For someone with no training, I think I do pretty good!

I love making birthday invitations, Christmas cards, baby shower invites, baby announcements, and more. Its another super simple way for me to relax while making kids happy. (And their parents. Heck, and ME!)

I LOVE birthday parties. I love planning them, and decorating for them, and playing games with the kids. They are SO FUN!

Here are a few from the past year or so...





Since we don't have a Build-a-Bear workshop, Kaisa and I flew down to Anchorage (600 miles) went to the B-A-B workshop and told them we wanted them to fill the arms, legs, heads and partially fill the bodies, then put a bunch of fluff into a garbage bag, and fill the other bag full of hearts, noises, and bows. For less than $200, we got an entire birthday party in a box (or two) Including party favors, stickers, coloring books, etc! (Not including the plane tickets, but those were almost free!) THEN, being the thrifty person I am, I totally listened to my sister and went to Wal-Mart, bought 20 preemie outfits on sale for $3 each and those ended up being the outfits the girls played games to WIN! It was a success!



Max and Maddisen come to Kotzebue right after their birthday in May, so we always have a HUGE birthday party with like 30 kids running around, playing games, eating food, winning prizes and welcoming them back to Kotzebue! This year, we're separating the invites and having separate parties! Girls Night, and Boy's whatever-they-do!!!



Clara, Kaisa and Maddisen always have a "Girl's Night Out" in mid July, so I let them make their own invites.



My best Niece's birthday is in August. Perfect for wildflowers and fairies! We made our own fairy crowns and fairy houses, with flowers, sticks, feathers and bark!



This is my buddy Nabridus. He loves Batman and Superman. And Iron man, and the Hulk. This birthday, we settled on Superman AND Batman!



Braden loves Super Mario Bro's. So do my kids...and Uyaana. Braden loved that he was made INTO MARIO! We thought that was cute! P.S. He is so cute I could just eat him up!



GI Joe, aka Cadell had his ninth birthday a few weeks ago. He stopped me IN ANCHORAGE, 600 miles away to hug me and say, "THANK YOU for making my AWESOME birthday invitations!!!" It was so cute. By the way, he's Braden's brother.



And lastly, this is Dean's best friend Rishon. His birthday was ACTUALLY on Christmas, but it wasn't fair to get, Happy Birthday/Merry Christmas presents to a three year old, so his aana had it in January! He went to Disneyland a few months ago, and can't stop talking about Mickey Mouse! Him and Dean like to watch TV together!!!

Well...there you have it. Kids birthday invitations! Another fun hobby to do in the Arctic when its too cold to ski out!

1 comment:

The Amazing Trips said...

So build-a-bear is so great you'd fly down to gather supplies for a party? REALLY? We have one at the end of our street and I've never once gone inside. Maybe I should...

Because we need a few more stuffed animals around here. I think I can see a spot of floor in the girls room. :)