A Party to Celebrate 1 Whole Year (and 2,788* Diapers)

As a full-time working mom, it is always difficult to find time to be creative. It is a delicate balance between using the time to rejuvenate the body (also known as sleep) or the soul (also known as fulfilling my innate need to make something). When my daughter's first birthday came around, I wanted to make everything myself. But my reality just didn't allow me to and so I picked only the things I could manage and enlisted the help of other makers. Here's how it turned out!

"I Love You to the Moon and Back" First Birthday Space-Themed Party Dessert Display Table and Backdrop. Photo Credit: Morgan Bayard Photography

"I Love You to the Moon and Back" First Birthday Space-Themed Party Dessert Display Table and Backdrop. Photo Credit: Morgan Bayard Photography

My vision was a space-themed birthday party because we love my darling daughter to the moon and back. Even though I couldn't make everything for the party, I wanted to keep the spirit of crafting in all of the details. Things started coming together when I found much of the decor on Etsy. Here's a run down of everything from the party, just in case you're looking to create your own space-themed birthday party. It takes a small village to craft a party!

  • An Etsy seller, Kourtrivera, made the awesome ribbon banner and I added some gold foil strips to give it a metallic touch.

  • To create the feeling of vastness, I found a giant black foam core board at my local Artist Craftsman store and created the space backdrop. I altered outer space clipart I bought from an Etsy designer, DragonflyTwist, printed them and fussy cut each piece. I compiled the words "Happy Birthday Elizabeth" with holographic letters from Staples. They're the alphabet sets that are usually found in classroom bulletins. I then free-hand drew a chunky banner using a gold marker to give the appearance that the rocket ship is pulling the banner held by the astronaut.
  • Part of the birthday girl's gift was an astronaut backpack, Hello Kitty doll in a space suit, and a really amazing hand-painted astronaut doll from another awesome Etsy seller, LIllakopmis. She was kind enough to even customize the hair so that it resembled my daughter's. On the backpack, I adhered a serious space explorer iron-on patch from another great Etsy seller, MokuyobiThreads.
  • Inside of the backpack were some snack-size Miky Ways. In fact the dessert table displayed Starbursts, Moon Pies, Astro Popcorn in awesome baking cups from Etsy seller, InTheClear, and Astronaut Neopolitan ice cream. Each sweet was labeled! I printed names of food using 01 Digital font and stuck them to smaller pieces of black foam core board.
  • Paying attention to all of the details, I also printed space-related signs, using the same font, such as "Coloring Station" for a kiddy coloring area, "Orbital Nutrition Station" for the food buffet, "Fueling Station" for the drinks, "Waste Management" for garbage and restroom directions, "Odyssey Check-in" for the guestbook area, "Space suit Drop-off" for the coat rack, and "Wavelength Observatory" for the TV area.
  • The birthday cake and delicious mini cupcakes were baked by our favorite local bakery, DuJour. Inspired by my search on Google for a "moon-shaped cake", we designed a buttercream frosted half-moon cake with gray fondant craters and a light dusting of edible stardust. I also fussy-cut another astronaut clipart figure to top off the cake. On the cake is the perfect gold glittered beeswax candle from another amazing Etsy seller, NikkiCrafts. NikkiCrafts also supplied gold and silver glittered star cupcake toppers.
  • The chevron rose-gold sequin table runner is also from an Etsy seller, Jessmy. The option of rose-gold pulled in the pinks and peaches from the banner but also complimented the gold and metallics.
  • Details are key! In the background, we played all space, moon, planets, and star-related songs such as "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles and "Moonshine" by Bruno Mars. On the TV, we looped Amazon instant space-related episodes of Peg + Cat, Daniel Tiger, and Caillou.

To keep the kiddies busy, I found cardboard space ships! I assembled, painted, and colored in a Build A Dream Cosmic Cruiser and Alex Color A Rocket with the help of my husband. They turned out to be perfect toys and photo ops.

Instead of a traditional book, we asked guests to pose with a cardboard astronaut helmet prop, snap a photo with the Fujifilm Instax camera, and write a little note to the birthday girl.

To create a cardboard astronaut helmet, I painstakingly cut cardboard with super sharp and strong scissors and painted the helmet details using black paint and stuck it on popsicle stick.

Now, about the birthday girl's outfit... our little star wore a beautifully crafted pieces from Etsy sellers!

"I Love You to the Moon and Back" First Birthday Space-Themed Party Room and Cardboard Spaceships. Photo Credit: Morgan Bayard Photography

"I Love You to the Moon and Back" First Birthday Space-Themed Party Room and Cardboard Spaceships. Photo Credit: Morgan Bayard Photography

To give the venue a space museum look, I also adhered prints to black foam core boards and added a source label with the Etsy seller name and shop URL to the lower right corner of each board. The space-themed prints included:

Sprinkled on the tables were flowers from my local supermarket sitting in beautiful vintage ball jars from Etsy seller, TheCherryGrove. I actually had these left over from my wedding that I've kept in our apartment for years. They are the perfect go-to vases.

We really appreciated all of our family and friends who joined us in the celebrationLast but certainly not least, a huge thank you to my pal, Peggy, my husband, the grandmas, and our photographer, Morgan Bayard, for capturing all of the details and little moments of our day.

It was a beautiful day for my darling daughter and I look forward to her looking back at these photos and feeling our love!

P.S. Wow! *2,788 diapers as estimated by KidsGrowth.com. Now that's a reality check.

Etsy School: Paper & Scarf Marbling

Hi! I mentioned last month here, how I held a class for Etsy employees on cardmaking with watercolor and masking techniques. Since then, I've taken two other classes held by my talented colleagues.

Curious about Etsy School? Learn what they're all about here.

Today, I'd like to focus on a paper and scarf marbling class where I learned different marbling techniques and since have been drawn into an obsession of creating my own marble patterns. There are so many possibilities and I can't wait to try creating more patterns. I have plans of using these as mini scrapbook covers, Project Life cards, and greeting cards for my Etsy store.


How cool, huh? You can learn how to do this yourself too from the lovely Clare McGibbon. She has a great Etsy How-Tuesday post. It's an awesome how-to, so go ahead and check it out!

Thank you, Clare and Etsy, for supporting education amongst employees!

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

Yummy Food Goodness: Bringing Butter Back

Good morning, Saturday! I love Saturday mornings because I get to sleep in and think about a hearty breakfast that I don't typically have time to eat on a weekday.

One of my most talented home chef friends, Debbie (also the owner of Bringing Butter Back on Etsy), is always sharing her yummy goodness with me. She's always warming my belly, from savory chorizo kale soup to Portuguese egg custard tarts, to Portuguese cupcakes, to chocolate caramel tarts, to power-packed healthy chia bites, her homemade goodies are always such a treat!

Earlier this week, we had dinner and she shared a jar of her delicious, homemade apple butter. I had no idea apple butter existed and I had never heard of it before, but let me just tell you, it is one of the yummiest spreads I've ever had. It's perfect on toast, pancakes, and even with plain Greek yogurt.

I'm having it on whole wheat toast today! Slurp!


Here's a closer look at the yummy goodness. It smells and tastes so delightful. It is rich, sweet, and perfect to accompany autumn breakfast.


Thank you, Debbie!

Have a happy Saturday and I hope you're inspired to visit your local farm or market to try something yummy today. Or better yet, head on over to Bringing Butter Back and get apple butter delivered directly to your doorsteps!

Thanks for stopping!
- KRAFTY pearl


A First: Teaching a Card Crafting Class

Hi! It's no surprise, I love Etsy. As I've previously mentioned, I work at this wonderful online marketplace that supports an amazing community of artists, designers, and entrepreneurs. As I've also mentioned, I also started two shops selling paper goods and jewelry, as it's been a big dream of mine to embark upon.

What's equally amazing is that it's a workplace full of talented souls bursting with creativity. So much so that we have classes for employees, taught by employees. This means I learn to sew or how to make lip balm from my fellow coworkers. How cool! Since I look forward to learning from some of the classes, I decided to also give back and hold a class too.


This was the first time I ever held a class, for reals. And I was so surprised by the ease of it all and most of all, I loved being inspired by my peers and connecting with them. The class was a card make and take session where I showed various techniques with masking, stamps, heat embossing, and watercoloring with Gel Sticks.


I had a bit of the jitters going into it not know if people will be interested in learning the techniques. Having never taught a class before, I had a lot of self doubt. But here's what I found to be effective for my class:

  • Define the aim of the class
  • Decide how much time and how many students
  • Develop a syllabus around the aim
  • Thoroughly budget and account for supplies and materials
  • Get all supplies and prepare materials once you have a head count
  • Send out communications reminding students of what to bring and expect
  • Expect set-up to take 30-60 minutes depending on size of the class
  • Expect a few no-shows as well as unexpected late sign-ups
  • Get to know the students and gauge comfort level with the tools
  • Demonstrate each technique and a final product for inspiration
  • But let the students be creative and design as they wish -- one thing I strived for was to have every student create something entirely different from the next
  • Keep track of time to ensure all techniques are demonstrated as promised in the syllabus
  • Help and engage with students to be inspired by them and their interpretation of the techniques
  • After the class, send supplies lists/recommendations and an overview of the techniques to all students thanking them for their participation

Not bad for a newbie teacher, if I may say so myself. :) I seriously had so much fun, I am looking forward to teaching more classes in the future. Do you have any good tips for teaching classes? I'd love to hear them.

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl

The National Stationery Show & Vine

I had the pleasure of going to the National Stationery Show this weekend in NYC. Thank you, Krys. And inspired by Etsy's fine Vine motion pictures, I used Vine to quickly capture the day. It is a huge convention and the 6 seconds doesn't nearly capture any of it, but here you go:


I'm so in love with all the letterpress goodness, innovative calendars, and heavy duty stamps from the various vendors. It's totally worth checking out. But remember to wear comfy shoes and bring a tote for all the business card and sample collecting, if you're a serious buyer.

Now a little bit about how I became inspired by Etsy's Vine films. All I had to do was watch these and I saw exactly how creative and beautiful a Vine video can be. It's amazing and I can only imagine how much work and painstaking detail was put into each of these. How could I not be inspired?


Happy scissors, happy confetti!


I wish my supplies would clean themselves up too!
Plus, don't forget, Etsy's Craft Party 2013 is June 20th.

Who knew color pencils could be so much fun!?

Have you been inspired?

Thanks for stopping by!
- KRAFTY pearl