Its been awhile...but I'm still around!

Wow! Its been over a year since I last posted! I decided to take (a lot) of time off doing the blogging thing! However, I'm still around...! 

 If you have twitter...you should follow me here. 

OR if you have Instagram...look for me! My username is OliverRue! I'm always posting pics of our little life or craft projects or things I'm working on. :) 

Hope all is well with you all out there in blogging land!  

Love, naz

Happy 1st Birthday to Our Ella Baby! {An Ice Cream Party: Part 1}

{The Dessert Table}

I can NOT believe my Ella baby is already a YEAR old! Actually...as of now - she's 14 months! BUT I suppose its never too late to post party pics is it? Especially, pics of Ella's very FIRST birthday! I had so much fun putting this party together...all so that Ella can look back one day, see how much she is loved, & hopefully, feel very, very special! I just love her so much!

This is is only Part 1. I'll be sharing all the party decor/details in this post & the CUTEST photos of Ella & other family photos in Part 2! Can't wait for you to see.

All my inspiration came at once to me when I saw this cutest little ice cream party dress on Ebay made by Mud Pie. Seriously - so cute! This was all of TWO WEEKS before the party day. This seemed do-able! I found cute Martha Stewart ice cream stickers for the invites at Joann Fabrics and it was ON!

But, wait...one problem! How was I going to do an ICE CREAM dessert table without it all melting into one big mess? That's where I had to get creative!

First...I'm sure you've all seen Bakerella's adorable ice cream cake pops...(there was one dessert idea)...then the rest of the non-ice cream ice cream dessert ideas followed! I'm warning you though - I'm posting a LOT of pics! I still can't figure out how to manipulate them into a collage and look all cool and profesh...so I'm posting them individually. I hope you don't mind. :-)

{The Cake}

Didn't it turn out just adorable? When I started this - I had no idea how it would turn out!! I knew that I wanted to make giant cake pop balls and stack them after dipping them in candy melts - but it took me awhile to figure out exactly HOW. Also - what the HECK was I going to use for the "cone" part of the ice cream cone? I happened to find this vase at Goodwill a few months ago ~ and after glancing at it while just sitting in my kitch ~ the idea just came to me to use it as the base! BRILLIANT. Also - a few nights before the party - a couple of my youth girls came over to help me bake! I was telling them my idea for the cake and one of them asked if I've ever seen Ace of Cakes. She said that he uses rice krispy treats as bases for tons of his stuff! So - she filled 3 different bowls up with packed rice krispy treats for me. (Thanks, Silja!!) I used cake ball filling to shape the rest of the balls & dipped them in candy melts. I did put a skewer right down the middle of all three balls to secure it. A little white frosting & a red m&m on top...perfect!! And it matched invite (of course!) :-)

{The Other Treats}

Twist Cones {Chocolate Cupcakes baked in cones topped with vanilla & chocolate frosting}

Cupcakes w/ Mini Ice Cream Cone Sugar Cookies

Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches {Cookies w/ Frosting in the middle}

Ice Cream Cone Cake Pops

These are the ones I was talking about on Bakerella!

Ice Cream Brownie Sundaes {Brownies topped w/ frosting & sprinkles}

Haagen Daz Ice Cream Bars {Rice Krispy bars dipped in melted chocolate, sprinkled w/nuts & toffee bits}

Ice Cream Cone Sugar Cookies

{The Drink Station}

{Other Decor}

Yes, I totally painted this inset wall box bubble gum pink JUST for the party! The hubs didn't even think twice when he saw it - he knows me too well - haha! :-) The "awning" part is a one panel curtain that I took out of Ella's nursery window! :-) I rolled the curtain up using a long wrapping paper cardboard tube, then nailed the ends of the tube into the wall. Worked great!

Since the dessert table was in our dining room...I needed some sort of lighting over the table. My idea was to find a scallopped shaped chandelier at Goodwill - and guess what - I found EXACTLY what I was looking for! BEFORE...this was a brown, super old-and-not-so-cute-chandelier... So I spray-painted it pink & attached the pink pom-pom trim with a hot glue gun. SO CUTE!

I put my mom to work on this garland. It was made by just tying/knotting ribbon & tulle onto a longer horizontal ribbon. (Thanks, Mom!)

The shelves that are on both sides of the dessert table I dragged out from my office (thank goodness they were already white & pink!) I put candy in white milk glass vases & compotes on each of the shelves & tied each with a pretty bow. In case you are wondering...I found all of my milk glass at Goodwill! :)

I hung these paper fans behind Ella's high chair to make the photos more festive. :-)

If you are wondering what the above photo is...I printed off one picture per month of Ella's first year ~ it was so special to see how she's grown and changed over her first year of life! I'm so glad I got this done. I was so crunched for time! It came down to doing this or making the dessert tags. I don't think anyone missed the dessert tags. :-)

A few more pics of the dessert table...

And a HUGE, GIGANTIC, BIG, I-couldn't-have-done-it-without-you-THANK YOU to my friend, Jenny Keller from http://www.jennycookies.com/! She made the most scrumptious cupcakes, the sugar cookies, the ice cream cone cake pops and the brownie sundaes for the dessert table! How sweet is that?? I also borrowed some of the poms from her, as well as the adorable candy jar stands in the pink box, the garland for the window, etc for the party. HELLO....SO SWEET of her to let me borrow everything!

She also took all the beautiful, priceless photos of the party as well - YES, SHE DOES DO IT ALL. THANK YOU, JENNY!

I hope you all enjoyed the the photos of Ella's 1st party! I can't wait to show you the rest of them (the family photos & the rest of miss adorableness-herself! I PROMISE I'll post them soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

love, naz

{Announcement} My Stella & Dot Dessert Table was Featured on HWTM!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I've been BUSY BUSY planning & prepping for my sisters upcoming baby shower. One highlight of my weekend, though, was that Hostess with the Mostess featured both my {Stella & Dot Dessert Table} AND posted my {DIY} Tutorial on how to make some of the desserts from it!! To say that I was excited was an understatement! :-) Hostess with the Mostess is one of the TOP websites for party inspiration! If you've never checked it out - be aware - you'll be spinning with inspiration after you take just a peak at the site! I'm so flattered & appreciate the feature from Hostess with the Mostess - oh and slightly jealous! Did you see the graphics she whipped up to go along with them? I love them! They matched perfectly! Ughh...if only I could put my mind to it and learn a little photoshop/graphic design myself! :-) Anyway...if you want to take a look at the features...you can click on the links to them below!

{SALTY & SWEET STELLA & DOT DESSERT TABLE}

{DIY: CHOCOLATE DIPPED PRINGLES & PRETZELS}

Anyway...I hope you all have a wonderful start to your week!

Love, naz

{Tutorial: Wire Hangers} Sneak Peak of Ella's Nursery & Wall-Art w/Wire How-To!

I hope all you momma's out there had a fabulous Mother's Day this last weekend! This year, I got to celebrate my very FIRST Mother's Day! It was wonderful (we went to the ZOO)! About nine months ago, I gave birth to my daughter, Ella Vuittori. Its already been NINE months! I can't believe it - she's growing up so fast! Usually, people go through a "nesting" phase BEFORE their baby graces the world with its presence. But since I had virtually NO energy & since my parent-in-law's had visited from Norway & stayed IN the nursery for 3 weeks before Ella was born...the ONLY thing I had done in the nursery when Ella was born was had the room painted. I've been working on it ever since...and just this last week have put the "finishing" touches in it. I CAN'T WAIT TO SHOW YOU!!

I also have a few SERIOUSLY CUTE "DIY's TUTORIALS" to put together so I can share with you all for your own nursery/kid decor!

Here's a sneak peak of ONE corner/wall of the nursery!

How cute is it!? Okay- so the tissue-paper pom-poms were from the baby shower the ladies from my church threw for me! How adorable are they!? I took a whole box home with me - & used them in EACH corner of the nursery! The colors were PERFECT...they're oh so pretty & the PERFECT accessory for Ella's "little nest"! Martha Stewart has an AWESOME DIY Tutorial on how to make the Pom-Poms...you can find it HERE.

NOW....for the WALL "ART"....

I had this vision in my head since I started dreaming about Ella's nursery. I had a few of my very favorite outfits that I really wanted to "display" - especially since Ella only got to wear a them a few times! I looked EVERYWHERE for hangers like I saw in my head and couldn't find them anywhere! I thought that if I used the pink hangers I have in Ella's closet - they'd take away from the outfits. Just wanted them to be SIMPLE. So...what did I do? Figured out how to make my own... AND it worked PERFECTLY! :-) SEE BELOW for the TUTORIAL!

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I hung the hangers on small glass knobs I picked up at the hardware store ($4 each).

Here it goes! They are SO easy!

{Step 1} Collect supplies. You'll need:

~ a baby-sized hanger

~ pliers (I included a picture of wire cutters- but since the pliers should have a place to cut wire on it - you won't need the wire cutters.) :-)

~ 5 or so regular sized clothespins

~ 16 gauge wire (you will need about 40"-42" for each hanger)

{Step 2} Cut wire about 42" long. Then, using your fingers "mold" the wire to make a hook shape. Basically - so it matches the hanger you are using for a template. Using a clothespin - pin it to the hanger, alligning the hooks. Then, take the wire and shape it so it matches the "neck" of the hanger and pin again with another clothespin. Take the rest of the wire and shape it all the way around the hanger - molding it into the same shape as the hanger - pinning it as you go to hold the wire in place.

{Step 3} Take the end of the wire and bend it behind both the wire that is pinned to the hanger & the hanger.

{Step 4} Remove all clothespins, so you detach the wire hanger shape from the actual hanger. It should keep its shape. Then you are going to take the end of the wire & wrap it back around the "neck" of the new wire hanger using your pliers. Keep wrapping the wire around the neck...keep it tight as you go. Wrap it about 8 times (or until you think it looks good).

{Step 5} Once you've wrapped the wire around the neck until you think it looks good - use wire cutters/or pliers to cut the end. (I made sure I cut it so the end of it was on the side I wasn't going to see - just looks cleaner). THEN, using your fingers - reshape the wire hanger if needed. (It may end up looking a little funky...but I just be patient and I promise you it will end up looking like a real hanger with a little TLC!)

AND...you're done! I used MINI clothespins to attach the outfits to the hangers...worked like a charm!

This is a super cheap idea for wall art in your nursery! I bought 200 feet of wire for $6 (you can buy less) + $4 each knob + clothespins (already had) + clothes (already had) = $22. Not bad if you ask me for ADORABLE WALL ART!

If you think this looks TOO hard...or you don't think you have the time...& would rather just BUY hangers...I actually just posted some in my ETSY shop --> HERE!

You can purchase mini clothespins for cheap at any craft store ~ but just in case its easier...I also listed some natural & shabby chic painted ones in my Etsy shop --> HERE!

As always ~ I love to hear when my readers try out my tutorials! I'd love to see pictures if you end up trying this as adorably cute nursery wall decor! OH and be sure to check back or add me to your RSS feed for my upcoming posts for the rest of the nursery photos & DIY's! :-)

love, naz

{Personal} Easter Family Pics 2011

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Easter this last weekend! I sure did! Filled with lots of quality family time, good food, a wonderful Easter service at our church...and a FAMILY PHOTO SESH! :-) Saturday was SUCH a gorgeous day here in the Northwest, which is a rare occasion so far this Spring! We took advantage of it and got together with our friend/AMAZING photographer, MATT SUMI, for our very first professional photography session of our little FAMILY (since Ella baby was born). :-)

I was going to only share a few of them...but honestly - its too hard to choose which ones I like best! AND I was going to put them in collages to seem less overwhelming...but its 12:30am, I'm tired, and it would take way too long to do that....so I'm going to just post them as is and all the ones I love the BEST (which is a lot). :-) Hope you don't mind!

Matt did such an amazing job of capturing all of Ella's little expressions, smiles, & personality in these photos! He's always so easy to work with...and my favorite thing about him is that he knows how to direct what we are doing, placement of hands, head, etc...all the while, still capturing the "candidness" of the moment. (I'm not a natural at being in front of the camera and feel totally out of place & awkward) - so this is a HUGE help to say the least! :-)

OH and can I just say how impressed I was at his turn-time at getting these back to us? We took the pictures on Saturday evening & got them TUESDAY morning!! THAT's CRAZY! Two and a half days!? Seriously - Matt - you ROCK! (AND THANKS SO MUCH, AGAIN!)

Please check out his websites & keep him in mind for your next event/family photo sesh! I don't need to say anymore because his pictures speak for themselves. :-)

--> FLOWERTOSS <--
(Wedding Website)

--> Matthew Sumi <--
(Lifestyle, Studio, Landscapes, Etc)

OH and in case you are wondering...

Ella's dress is from LITTLE MAVEN ~ and last time I checked the dress was on sale for like $13!

AND

I made both of our bows - SO CUTE! (I will definitely do a tutorial in the future on how to do these! - SO easy!!)

Have a wonderful rest of your day!

Love, naz