Sweet Birdie's Nest Blog

{Sweet Parties} Holden’s Safari Brunch

March 13, 2013 By 2sweetbirdies

We recently received some pictures from our customer Lisa from her son Holden’s second birthday party – a safari party brunch! Beverly and I created this collection for our cousin’s wife’s baby shower three years ago and it was fun to see this collection again. Not only is brunch one of my favorite meals, I think it’s a brilliant time for a party, especially for toddlers, since you avoid afternoon naptime, dinner time and bedtime. Although I supposed you’d have to be super prepared leading up to the party, since a morning party time doesn’t allow for much wiggle room on the day of!

Look at those adorable cookies! And the handmade party hats are too cute. Thank you, Lisa, for sharing these sweet pictures!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: birthday, green, orange, safari party, toddler, yellow

{Sweet Parties} Alexandra’s Magical Party

March 11, 2013 By 2sweetbirdies

We’ve said time and again that all of our customers are awesome, but we are especially appreciative our repeat customers. We created the printable for a princess party for one of Cristina’s daughters last year and her son’s race car party, so we were excited to hear from her for her other daughter’s magical unicorn party. Cristina sent us these pictures in January, but I’m just now catching up on the going through the pictures.

Cristina was super creative with the food – pretzel rods were unicorn horns and M&M’s were magic beans. There were several activity stations for the kids, which is always so smart and helps the party have a bit of structure. There was a ring toss game that Cristina labeled “Toss the hoop of the unicorn horn” and there was a painting station. The girls got fairy wings and there was a lot of pink, purple and glitter!

Thank you Cristina for asking us to create these items for Alexandra’s party! I always love to see how you put everything together for a fabulous party.

We have found that a lot of our customers find party ideas from YOUR parties featured on our blog. If you have pictures from party that we’ve created some fun items for, send them to us at sweetbirdiesnest {at} gmail {dot} com. We’d love to feature your party on our blog! Thank you!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: fourth birthday, girl birthday, magical unicorn party, pink, purple

Happy Friday!

March 1, 2013 By 2sweetbirdies

Happy Friday, lovelies! I hope you’ve had a great week. It’s been a busy one here as I ramp up to teach two short session classes after spring break and am in the midst of editing the spring publication for the Junior League of Charlotte. Beverly’s boys started their spring sports this week – baseball for Jackson and lacrosse for Benjamin. While I don’t envy Beverly’s schedule right now, I must admit that the idea of my kids doing something they are really passionate about is something I look forward to. Her boys are old enough to choose which activities they are involved in and it’s really fun to hear what they choose, what they stick with and what they quickly move on from. Meanwhile, Molly tried dance and hated it, then tried soccer and didn’t love it; but we’ve started swim lessons and she seems to really enjoy them and looks forward to Mondays, a.k.a swim day. I’m curiously waiting to see what direction she’ll go – team sports? no sports at all? music? art?

As I was thinking about all of this this week, I saw that Beverly had pinned this:

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So not only do I love this idea because it’s one I believe wholeheartedly, but as I was perusing the designer’s website, I loved so much of what she had to say! While the original idea of the universe being made up of tiny stories is much grander, this week, it helps me to remember this idea of what makes the world go ’round can be applied to just about any relationship or experience. As much as I want Molly to dance, simply because I danced for years and years and I love the idea of having my own tiny dancer, that’s just not her story. She has to write her own way and it may very well not be the story I would write for her. BUT, this piece of art reminded me that we each have to write our own story and just because Molly is three doesn’t mean she doesn’t know what she likes (or doesn’t!).

The designer, Jo Klima, wrote about being a designer and finding a creative outlet by doing something different from her normal. This kind of creativity actually makes us better at what we do and provides a much needed mental break so we can come back to our work rejuvenated! She signed up for a workshop and created that lovely piece of typography above. More proof that doing what we want to do and not just what everyone expects from us can have wonderful results! Another great reminder for Beverly and me to take a break and do something for ourselves, our homes, our children every once in a while. If you follow Beverly on Instagram, you saw the adorable print she created for Addison’s room this week, during a much needed mental break.

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Are you still with me? That was a rambling, semi-deep post! Long story short, I’m glad Beverly pinned that this week – it obviously resonated with me!

What are you up to this weekend? I hope it’s a great one!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: children, Friday, stories, typography, weekend

{Sweet Parties} Adelaide’s Pink Pirate Party

February 28, 2013 By 2sweetbirdies

Anne contacted us in December for a custom party invitation for her daughter’s first birthday, which was at the end of January. They live in Tampa and Adelaide’s birthday falls during Gasparilla weekend, when the whole city has a Pirate themed celebration. How fun! Anne wanted something that reflected the pirate theme, but that was still girly too. She sent us some pictures earlier in the month and in true fashion, I’m finally getting around to downloading them and sharing them with you!

Sweet Adelaide was sick her birthday weekend and turns out they had to cut the party a little short. Beverly knows a little something about this – poor Benjamin was sick his first four birthdays. I can only imagine planning a party and then not getting to carry it through.

Regardless, thank you Anne for asking us to create the invitations and some other fun items for the party and for sharing your pictures with us! We hope to work with you again next year.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: birthday party, first birthday, girl, invitations, pink, pink pirate, red

James’ Notecards: Perfectly Simple

February 13, 2013 By 2sweetbirdies

So, you already know my affinity for all kinds of stationery, notecards in particular. There’s nothing better than a handwritten note, sent via snail mail. After James was born, I needed some simple, not-too-feminine stationery so I could send thank you notes for the sweet gifts we received for James.

Beverly created a perfectly simple design that I’m obsessed with. Beverly did a similar version for her son Jackson, with just his first name in lower case letters at the top. It was pretty perfect, too! This just may be the only stationery James will use for a long, long time.

And the back has one of current favorite designs – the diagonal stripe.

The blue is a very dark navy, almost slate color. You can find these new notecards in our shop.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: boy, correspondence, gift, masculine stationery, notecards, simple, stationery

{Sweet Parties} Thatcher’s Elmo Mardi Gras Party

February 11, 2013 By 2sweetbirdies

Ashley, who lives in New Orleans, was planning her son’s second birthday party during Mardi Gras (check out his first party here), so she was looking for a way to incorporate Mardi Gras with Thatcher’s love of Elmo. So…introducing the Elmo Mardi Gras party invitation!

We’ve worked with Ashely before, and she’s such a doll! Also, she had a baby girl just a few weeks before I had James, so I’m impressed with her party planning skills while juggling a not-quite-two-year-old and a newborn. She decided to have Thatcher’s party at a local party, in the morning. Great timing for a lot of reasons, but specifically because it didn’t interfere with afternoon naps and she didn’t have to provide a full meal. Some simple snacks, a sweet treat and plenty of room to run around is all that’s required for a super fun toddler party.

How happy does that birthday boy look?! So fun!

Thank you, Ashely, for asking us to create this custom design for you! We had fun working on the paper products for Thatcher’s party and look forward to working with you again. Read more about the party in Ashley’s blog post.

Paper products, including invitation, sign and favor stickers :: Sweet Birdie’s Nest

Birthday boy’s applique shirt :: Lisey Lu

Cookies :: Essie’s Sparkling Confections

Photography :: Christie Froom Photography

Coloring Sheets (in favor bags) :: Let’s pARTy NOLA

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: birthday party, boy, Elmo, mardi gras

Happy Friday!

February 8, 2013 By 2sweetbirdies

We made it to the weekend!

This week has been crazy. Equal parts fun and exhausting. Beverly and her boys (hubby and sons) made an impromptu trip to the mountains to go skiing. SO fun! They had a blast and all deserved the quick getaway.

At my house, James has started smiling and is more alert during the day, which is a lot of fun. Molly was home one day with a fever and I dealt with another bout of mastitis. I did, however, finally get around to actually organizing Molly’s clothes, from size NB to 3. I can finally check that one off the list. Ha!

This weekend, I’m looking forward to drinks with friends tonight at a local brewery. On Sunday, we’ll celebrate Benjamin’s (Beverly’s middle child) 7th birthday! And I’m hoping to get organized for Valentine’s Day – I need to get a little something together for the kiddos and starting working on the printables for Molly’s friends at school.

Do you celebrate Valentine’s Day with your significant other? I think in the nine years Jim and I have been together, we have gone out on Valentine’s Day exactly once. I definitely prefer to stay in and cook a meal together. I almost scheduled a hair cut for next Thursday night at 7 pm, not realizing it was even Valentine’s Day. I want to do something fun and sweet for the kiddos, but not too big and not any more candy…so I’ve been perusing Etsy for ideas and Pinterest for inspiration. I didn’t find anything specific for Molly and James, but I did find these adorable love-inspired items.

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And I would love to go all out and decorate the dining room for the day, a la Pottery Barn Kids. But Jim would probably take away my credit cards if I bought any more ‘stuff,’ plus I’d then have a fit trying to figure out where to store the stuff after Valentine’s Day! {Storage space is at a premium around here and the focus right now is stuff OUT, not IN!}. But, this is so sweet, isn’t it? I can imagine how excited Molly would be to wake up to this scene for breakfast next week!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Etsy, Friday, kids, Valentine's Day

Thursday Thoughts: Clothes shopping for the kiddos

February 8, 2013 By 2sweetbirdies

Y’all, is it just me or are you overwhelmed by spring clothes shopping? First of all, it’s February. Secondly, I’m excited to shop for Molly’s spring wardrobe and James’ since you know, we can’t reuse any of the things I purchased for Molly a few years ago. I have a few things pulled out for consignment and plan to use that money towards new clothes for the kids, but it certainly won’t cover everything they need. I, for one, am awfully excited about picking all new clothes for both of the kids but not excited about the expense. I’m currently circling items in the Tea Collection catalog, Kelly’s Kids, Shrimp and Grits, and Hannah Andersson, not to mention the stuff I’ve been eying at Target!

How I spent the time waiting for Molly’s nails to dry earlier this afternoon. I have no idea how that Anthropologie catalog got into the mix…

I typically get Molly a few smocked and/or monogrammed dresses from trunk shows for Shrimp and Grits and Kelly’s Kids, and this year I got her the cutest dress from Matilda Jane. What I totally forgot about this year was that I’d want to get James coordinating bubbles or shortalls! We love pj’s from Hannah Andersson, and then bathing suits from Target (plus I saw some *cute* dresses and jackets there already for the spring!).

And Tea Collection? I’ll have one of each item, please. I’ve long been obsessed with their girls’ dresses, but I bought a few things for James during their BOGO layette sale and now I love the boy stuff too. And now through February 14, I’m so excited to share that Tea Collection is offering 15% off sitewide with promo code GOTHERE15. Yes, that’s 15% off everything! I’ve already got my cart full of fun dresses for Molly and a pair of sandals, plus some one piece outfits for James and the rhino shirt and shorts set.

While I still need a snow day, all of the new spring collections have me wishing for warmer weather. What are your go-to brands for kids’ clothing? Do you have kiddos of the same gender, so you can pass down clothes, or do you find yourself buying a whole new wardrobe each season?

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: kids clothes, spring 2013, spring clothes, tea collection

Happy Friday! (And my new necklace)

February 1, 2013 By 2sweetbirdies

Happy Friday, lovelies! What are you up to this weekend? It’s supposed to be cool, but sunny here. I’m looking forward to a fun weekend. We don’t have too many plans, but will see some friends, play outside and of course watch the big game on Sunday! Are you hosting or attending a party Sunday night? I am not pulling for either team, really. College sports are more my thing; I’ve never been a big professional sports fan.

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One of my personal goals this year is to not spend so much time in my workout clothes. Don’t get me wrong – running tights and a t-shirt are still my uniform, but I realized I spend money on beautiful, cute, on-trend clothes that I never wear. And since I’m not going to stop shopping, I figured I better start wearing this stuff! I’ve probably met my goal 50/50 so far; while I definitely get “dressed” to see friends or go to dinner, you’re more likely to find me in workout clothes for running errands and even going to our favorite breakfast spot on the weekends (even though I haven’t worked out, or even have plans to do so). This morning, I had a meeting at Molly’s preschool and then needed to return a dress I bought online that didn’t fit. Even though mornings are tough and my sweet hubby usually does school drop-off for me, I rallied and wore real clothes this morning – jewelry and all! And we were kind of on time.

In an effort to feel more put-together, I want to not only put on real clothes more regularly but also wear more of my jewelry. And since I needed some motivation (ha!), I picked this necklace up for myself last week. I received an Anthropologie gift card for my birthday and used it, along with my birthday coupon, towards this necklace (ok, and two new dresses and a scarf!). I love it and think I’ll wear it a lot!

Here’s to new jewelry and getting out of my workout clothes! Now, the problem is, I don’t want to go through the effort of changing *out* of this effort to work out this afternoon.

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Have a wonderful weekend!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: clothes, Friday, jewelry, necklace, weeeknd

James’ Birth Announcement

January 30, 2013 By 2sweetbirdies

I had major issues when it came to deciding on James’ birth announcements. Technically, we had the photos for our Christmas card, and I could have just done a Christmas card/birth announcement. But Molly had her own birth announcement, which is framed in her room with one of her newborn pictures that my sister Whitney took, and I loved the idea of having a separate announcement. But then, I didn’t do a photo announcement for Molly, but I wanted to for James. Oh, the decisions! (Ha!)

Once I had decided that I was going to indeed do a birth announcement with a photo, I had to 1) narrow down the pictures and 2) narrow down my ideas! We are so inundated with images from Pinterest, Etsy, and just the world in general these days! There are so many options. I communicated a few ideas to Beverly and she came up with a sweet and simple design that I loved. I wanted a smaller card, one of 4×5.5 inch cards, for no particular reason – I just like small things. Like travel size toiletries. And individual chocolates. And babies.

On the front, I chose a sweet photo of James and included the birth stats and our names.

The back is a picture of Molly and James together. It’s not my favorite picture of the two of them, but I love love love the look on Molly’s face. She is so in love with her brother and is {usually} incredibly sweet. I feel like the photographer, Tricia, captured a sweet moment here. I included the verse “Every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17) because, well, it is.

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And I posted our Christmas card on Instagram (@2sweetbirdies) and some of you got an actual card (so many of our readers are in-real-life friends and family!), but because I simply LOVE it, I’ll share it again here. I was definitely inspired by one of our customers who uses this verse on her card every year. It’s one of my favorites!