The Peach’s Balloon Birthday Party

Best of Dottie, Kiddo Parties, Real Life : Dottie

Hoo boy!  I’m exhausted just remembering this party.

Since we invested most of the Peach’s birthday funds into a new play house, we were determined not to spend a lot of money on her party.  I set the budget at $50, so the mantra for the party was Cheap and Cheerful!  We ditched the idea of having helium balloons since that was too spendy for us.  Instead Eric and I watched a few YouTube videos and learned how to make balloon dogs, swords and flowers.  Perfect! Manned with only $20 I headed to the party store and left with cheap plain party hats, some kinda weird ruffly edging stuff and bag of biodegradable balloons.

I used water balloons at $1.39 for a pack of 60 to make a balloon banner which was inspired by one I saw on Pinterest.

I loved the idea of kids running around in fun and fancy party hats! So I jazzed up these plain jane hats with some white sticker dots I picked up from an office supply store and some leftover washi tape I bought last year from Paper Source. And I used that super cheap paper mache rainbow stuff to edge the bottoms of the hats. I did it in less than an hour, while watching Parks & Recreation and 30 Rock.

I gotta say the kids loved ’em and wore the heck out of ’em!

And the last balloon accent to this party was this nutty idea I had to create little balloon doggie stuffed animals.  After two weeks of trial, I made some cute little friends as giveaways for the kiddos.  I made them out of lycra scraps which cost no more than $15 all together.

And the kids loved ’em! AS you can imagine, Molly here took the yellow one…

I must admit, the Peach was tickled pink with her little play house. And a lot of the party action happened outside in the play house.  Please note–Miss Peach picked out her entire outfit herself including her boots!

And everyone loved the balloons!

The Peach had a very specific menu she wanted: lemonade, pizza and vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting and rainbow sprinkles. DONE! In fact, she was so tickled pink with her cupcakes that she just grabbed one and started eating it without a candle so we had to start singing “Happy Birthday” as she nommed away.

But what the Peach really enjoyed more than anything else was playing with her friends!

You always worry a bit about how your little kiddo will respond to hanging with a bunch of kids. Some she knew well and some were children of my friends that she sees maybe every six months. And I must say there were several times I beamed with pride over my little girl’s inherent goodness.  Miss Peach was drinking her lemonade when another little girl came up to her and said she was thirsty.  Miss Peach immediately took her little tea cup of lemonade from her own lips and raised the cup up to the little girl’s lips to drink.  Outside, some of the older girls had commandeered the playhouse and wouldn’t let little Finn in. He came crying over to the Peach, who immediately took his hand and marched over to the playhouse, knocked on the door and demanded those big girls play with Finn. Attagirl!  No “How not to be a mean girl” classes for you!

As you can imagine we tucked in be a very happy albeit very tired little three year old into her bed last night.

“Cheap and Cheerful” can still produce some pretty priceless memories!

This Round Up is for the “big kids”!

Kiddo Style: Vintage

Hi, hi friends!  We had the most lovely weather this past weekend in the Bay Area! We had a very very mellow weekend, which was great since I have TWO business trips scheduled for this week–one to L.A. and one to Austin for SXSW. But I did have time looking online for some vintage goodies to share with you.  I had a request for larger sizes, so all of the vintage pieces featured in today’s round up are size seven and up!

Ahoy mateys!  I love this sailor sweater of cuteness!  From Ebay seller, Sherrie’s Little Shop.

I love this minty sweet mini dress for a big girl in a size 8. Perfect for spring coming up! From Ebay seller, Obsessed with Vintage.  This seller also has this sweet pink gem available right now!

I honestly can’t say no to a good pair of vintage plaid pants for boys.  Especially in a big boy size 7. Actually I think these would be super cute on girls too! From our favorite Fuzzymama!

Speaking of plaid, I adore this big girl size 8 dress paired with a touch of lace. JC Penney’s at its best!  From Etsy seller, SHOP at 851.

Who wouldn’t want a vintage swimsuit with a Peter Pan collar? In purple plaid? And in a  size 8-10? From Etsy seller, LaDiDottie!

Hurrah for chambray! And the sweet embroidery just made it so adorable! From Etsy seller, IvoryBerry.

I always have a soft spot for a good vintage hat!  And this dapper one is perfect for a seven to ten year old.  From Etsy seller, Ms. Tips!

I always have a weak spot for a good vintage cardi. And the embroidery on this one is just too darling!  From Etsy seller, Presley Pigs.

This vest is the best!  Great navy and white pattern that would be an easy addition to any kiddo’s wardrobe!  From Etsy seller, Vintage Aga.

Now, THIS is a brilliant vintage Western shirt in the loveliest green. Ready for SXSW! From Etsy seller, Rock Street seller.

Happy Monday!

Meet Kara!

Weekly Kiddos

We have a certain little cutie here today. Emphasis on little!  Meet Miss Kara–a perfect little lady with an emphasis on the little.  She’s always been in the 5 percent of her height and weight but that doesn’t stop her from being super full of sass and cuteness.  Although it can be tough to find clothing for one so little, her mama, Laura is very resourceful!

You can just tell by these piccies that she’s a spirited little one.  Kara has two favorite stuffed animals — “Teddy” and “Baby.” She is very friendly and easy going, and engages most everyone she meets.

Her winter style consists of a lot of cute hats, vintage bows, denim skirts and dresses, and dark-wash jeggings and tunic shirts. She LOVES her boots and bows and hats. If she’s not wearing a bow or hat in the morning, she’ll say to me, “Ha?” Or “Bow?” And she is always very happy to show off her boots (as she has more pairs of boots/shoes than I do!).

You might be tiny, Kara, but your heart and personality are big big BIG!

And thank you Laura for sharing you lovely little girlie with us!

Do YOU have a stylish kiddo you’d like to feature on Modern Kiddo? Then send ‘em our way! You can read how to submit a kiddo right here. We’re always looking for new cuties to feature. If you’ve submitted before and haven’t heard from us, please drop me a note. My In Box gets a little packed, and it’s possible I missed it! Write me at: Dottie [at] modernkiddo.com

Loving The Fisher Price Castle.

Best of Alix, Vintage Toys + Fun Stuff

Oh you magical year of 1974. Episodes of Kojak and The Six Million Dollar Man filled the screens of TVs across the country. The Godfather Part 2 and The Sting were playing at the local movie theater. Abba and Supertramp were groovin’ on the stereo. And Fisher Price rocked our world, releasing the most awesome castle ever to grace a play room. My brother and I had this glorious thang and had SO MUCH fun playing with it. Thankfully my mama saved it and every time we visit them, I can’t resist bringing it out to play around with.

Here’s the thing. The Fisher Price Play Family Castle 993 had SO MANY cool little features. Like a fun, clackety clack draw bridge. And a secret trap door that dropped unsuspecting visitors into the moat below.

And the cool stair case that opened up to reveal a hidden chamber.

Then there was the dragon’s lair—and the sweet little pink dragon that lived there.

In addition to the King and Queen and the little prince and princess, you also got two snazzy horses, a carriage, a knight and a cool huntsman (that looked suspiciously like Robin Hood).

Isn’t it awesome? The best part, of course, is that in true 70s fashion….this castle is perfect for boys OR girls with nary a piece of glitter sparkle or  pink in site. Well, except for that cheeky dragon.

final images:  1, 2 and 3

Want to nab a Fisher Price Castle for your little royal? Find them here.

 

Leapin’ Lizards, it’s February 29!

Art + Design, Vintage Photos

It happens every four years. But I have to confess I didn’t really understand WHY we had a leap year. So I did a lil poking around and found out some cool stuff. Like did you know Julius Caesar introduced Leap Years during the Roman empire over 2000 years ago? Me neither! So here’s the skinny on WHY we still have leap year every four years:

“Leap Years are needed to keep our calendar in alignment with the Earth’s revolutions around the sun. It takes the Earth approximately 365.242199 days – or 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds  – to circle once around the Sun.

However, the Gregorian calendar has only 365 days in a year, so if we didn’t add a day on February 29 nearly every 4 years, we would lose almost six hours off our calendar every year. After only 100 years, our calendar would be off by approximately 24 days!”

source: time and date

ZOINKS! Pretty crazy huh. I think it’s so cool and weird that there are some people who technically only celebrate their birthday every four years! Are you a leap year baby or do you know one??

images: Philippe Halsman (all but last image. source unknown.)

Philippe Halsman was a renowned photographer for LIFE magazine in the 1950s (shooting an unprescedented 101 covers!). He was commissioned to shoot portraits of many famous people, and one day had the unique idea to ask each person to take one final pose and JUMP for the camera! He called the series Jumpology and as you can see, the results of his quirky request were pretty amazing. Everyone from Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot, Benny Goodman, Richard Nixon to even the Duke and Duchess of Windsor agreed to “jump”. So awesome. And so fitting for today. Oh, and that very top photo is of Mr. Halsman and Marilyn Monroe.