Cardboard Playhouse Makeover

I don't know if anyone remembers this cardboard playhouse that I made for Bijou and Zion a while back.  While incredibly economical (it cost me next to nothing to make) and easy to move, it did not get used as often as I would have liked.  It get HOT here in Mississippi and playing out in a cardboard house that's been sitting in the heat was no one's idea of a fun afternoon.  So the playhouse got retired to the garage and there it sat for awhile.  I decided that all was not lost for our little playhouse and with some tweaking, it could still be a really awesome toy.  So, I scaled the size down a bit and attached some Velcro (to stand up to rough play a little better) and brought it in the house.  I have this strange obsession with paint chips from the hardware store, so I literally have every singe one that Home Depot has (thanks to a very patient cousin who helped me collect all of them one afternoon).  I used one stack (of many, many) paint chips to cut apart and make "bricks" for the outside of the house.  I also added a little chalkboard (actually just a rectangle of chalkboard spray paint framed with wood grain contact paper) for them the draw or write little messages.  Now it's cheery and colorful and when I want to free up the floor space, I can just take it apart and store it under their bed.

Bijou's Dinosaur Tea Party

Bijou is five years old today.  I know I say it every time a birthday rolls around, but I can hardly believe that she's five already!  She has had such a big year.  She learned to ride a two wheeler, tie her shoes, got glasses and learned to read.  So what better way to celebrate such a big year than to have cinnamon pancakes, scrambled eggs and hot chocolate for breakfast and then a dinosaur tea party? And that's just what we did.  The party is over and Bijou and her friends had a great time.  I'm tired and glad it's over.  Here are some lovely pictures for you to enjoy!

I made fossil shortbread cookies.  The cookies kind of puffed for some reason while they were baking, so the fossils weren't as defined as I would have liked.  I dusted them with a patina of cinnamon to make the edges stand out a little better.

Dinosaur birthday cake (white cake with raspberry lemon buttercream frosting) surrounded by chocolate rocks.

Thanks to our local Goodwill, we are now the proud owners of a bajillion tea cups.  I am sure they will be put to good use.

Dinosaur garland...

The entire spread.  There were cheese sandwiches, jam sandwiches, fossil cookies, chocolate rocks, peppermint tea, pink lemonade and birthday cake.  Oh and of course a multitude of prehistoric table dwellers.

The birthday girl.  We had a Cosby Show moment before getting dressed for her party.  Remember the episode where Rudy wants to wear the summer dress to the fall party and her mother wouldn't let her?  That was us this morning.  But just like the Cosby Show, it all worked out in the end and she looked perfectly cute in her sweater dress.

Last, but not least, I thought I would share the gift that I made for her.  She'd been bugging me forever to make her a wooden camera.  So I gathered a few blocks from her room, some other random wooden bits and some paint.  Voila, homemade camera.  Nothing like a present that doesn't cost me a dime.

Bijou is turning 5!

Bijou's fifth birthday is just around the corner and the addition of a full time job makes the time I have available for birthday party prep very limited.  This one feels like it's sprinting up on me way faster than I am prepared for.  BUT, I know that things will come together in time.  This year, Bijou is having a dinosaur tea party.  Yes, a dinosaur tea party.  The girl still loves her dinosaurs and what better way to turn five than with a tea party.  This year's party will boast fossil cookies, tea sandwiches, tea, pin the bone on the dinosaur and a variety of other dinosaur/tea party related activities and decor.  So, without further ado, here is Bijou's dinosaur tea party invitation. 

I got the floral frame from Graphics Fairy which I think adds a cute vintage, girly touch.  I also think it's super funny with the ferocious "tea-rex" in the tiara.