A Pokey Little Puppy Party

 Vera's Pokey Little Puppy Party

 

       Since Vera Rose loves all things "puppy dog" these days, I decided to have a Pokey Little Puppy themed party since that would give the party a fun literary twist since it's a classic children's book. 

       First I made two Pokey Little Puppy banners using teal/white-colored floral scrapbooking paper and two old and ragged Pokey Little Puppy books.  Usually I simply cringe at the idea of ripping a book apart (perhaps that is the former librarian in me) whether for repurposing or debundling for dealers to make a profit on old prints.  I simply hate books to be torn apart BUT this
was the first time I had no qualms about it since there are a zillion copies of The Pokey Little Puppy around and it is still very much in print.  I picked the two books in the worst condition that I could find, then cut the pages into a shape with a rounded bottom.  I glued that (using YES paste) onto the scrapbook paper, added a hand-made and curled paper fringe and ribbon and these were the quickest and cheapest banners I've yet made.

 

       I made the birthday cake based on the The Pokey Little Puppy's cutie pie head.  It was made of pound cake with chocolate cake spots, then iced with buttercream and Choco-satin frosting.

 

       My Mom made the food counter perfection by making bowls of Strawberry Shortcake and Chocolate Custard (both foods that the Pokey Little Puppy and/or his siblings ate in the story).  The chocolate custard was reaaaaallly good.  Moms always enhance anything they touch and parties are no exception!

       For paper products, www.birthdayexpress.com sells party supplies based on the Golden Books collection.  The Pokey Little Puppy was just one of four classic Golden Books highlighted by the paper products so not all items sold featured the puppy.  Luckily, the invitations, the party hats, and the dinner plates all centered on Pokey.  The napkins featured all four books on a different quadrant so I unfolded and refolded all the napkins so the Pokey Little Puppy would be the picture seen.

       I also took some wooden toy fencing and taped onto the fencing the cutouts of the signs featured in the book (cut from the books I used to make the banners).

       The theme was continued with some of the gifts that Vera Rose was given: both sets of grandparents gave her a Pokey Little Puppy puzzle (with a different image on each, of course) and a Pokey Little Puppy stuffed toy so my girls were thrilled (because yes, Liliana has claimed one of the puppies and they sleep next to them every night).  Such fun puppy items (I especially love the Holztiger dogs).

       The party itself was very special because family gathered to celebrate my little 2-year-old and that brought such joy to me.  I have never seen Vera Rose so happy as she has been throughout her little birthday celebrations.  She has smiled and squealed and clapped so much!  She seems to have entered a very joyous season in her little life (about a year ago I was concerned because she often seemed fussy and unhappy) so I am praising God and giving thanks for this sweet little girl who has found contentment and joy as she explores this extraordinary world full of doggies, books, parties, and family.  And it's a very, very beautiful world.
 

      

Crayon Resist Watercolor Birthday Banner

A Birthday Banner for Aunt Em

     Preparing for my sister's 30th birthday, Liliana and I decided to make a little birthday banner. I adored making crayon resist art when I was little, so I figured Liliana might, too. She did! I took a white crayon and drew the letters in "Happy Birthday Emily" (one letter per paper triangle) and then added little patterns and pictures such as happy faces, balloons, and a smiley cupcake. Since I was drawing with a white crayon on white paper, it looked to Liliana as if the paper was blank.

     Next, Liliana watercolored onto the pennant shaped paper, and giggled in glee as she discovered white letters and drawings appear as if by magic. Since the crayon is made of wax, the crayoned part of the paper resists the water-based paint so the white crayon shows through the paint.
     
              After the paint dried, I stapled the paper together and we had a little homemade art project to celebrate my sister.  And all we needed was a white crayon, some paper and some watercolor paints.