I hope you will make the trip with me and become a follower over there. Thank you very much!

Mandy Starner

I took on the role of making the invitations and the decorations and I couldn't be more excited! I wasn't quite sure where to start though, so I began my research where everybody does... Google. LOL! I came across THIS DIAPER CAKE, THIS TABLE SCAPE(I especially loved the wall art behind the table), THESE INVITATIONS,  THESE SOAP FAVORS, and THESE FONTS.

 Armed with all those things, I began my crafting.

I started with the invitations. I really love the light saber invites(linked above) and I just HAD to create my own version of them. It was just too cool to pass up. So I enlisted my local (and Facebook) friends to help me collect enough paper towel tubes to get the job done. The invitation list was a little over 30 ladies so I needed a lot of help! I bought some American Crafts POW glitter paper, in Cricket and some vellum from Paper Issues. ** It took about 17 sheets of the POW to make 34-35 invitations. I used my Star Wars fonts to create the written part of the invitation and printed it on the vellum. **To keep the ink from smearing, I sprayed all my vellum(after printing) with a matte spray sealant like THIS. I cut down all my cardstock, glitter paper, and vellum and started an assembly line with my co-host. It took several hours of crafting and chatting to get them all done. This is what they looked like...

I apologize for the poor cell phone photos of the invite, I apparently didn't get a better photo with my camera before mailing them all out. Also, be warned that mailing a tube can be quite costly!

After the invites were all mailed I needed to get started on the other stuff! I had never made a diaper cake before, so I searched how to make them and I came across THIS BLOG. I love how she put the Lego planets on dowel rods to stand them up. So I used that idea and the above diaper cake as my starting point... and this is how my very first diaper cake turned out...

I watched  a couple You Tube videos on how to construct the cake, it took almost a whole case of size 2 diapers. Each diaper was rolled up and secured with a rubber band, then the whole sections were secured with a large rubber band. I stuck some dowel rods down through all of the layers to help it all stay put, then I wrapped each layer with ribbons. The Yoda, Darth Vader and the planets are all just stuck on top of dowel rods to keep them in place and the R2D2 and Chewbacca are safety pinned to the ribbon. The Lego sets came with a long stand that I just tucked inbetween the layers. Nothing was glued or pinned to the diapers because I wanted the new mom to be able to take it all apart and use the diapers.  I sprinkled a bit of confetti on the platter to finish it all off. It ended up looking a bit like outer space, which was a nice surprise.

 For the wall behind the table, I created this vinyl decal using the Boba Fonts(linked above) and my Silhouette Cameo.

And for on top of the table, I made a banner and more vinyl for the candy jars...

and my co-host ordered a custom cake topper for the cake...

I also used my Star Wars fonts to create the signs and tags for the favors and the guessing game...

I did not take the time to photograph the onsie table, but I had also cut out a bunch of iron-ons with my Cameo, and the guests had the opportunity to decorate onsies for the baby. Mamma really loved all the onsies made by her family and friends.

Our surprise went off without a hitch, the guests had a great time(the new mamma, too), and I am still hearing from the guests, how much they loved the shower. So I guess it was worth all the work. ;)

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you are having a great day!

See you soon!

And if you have't already heard, Cocoa Daisy has teamed up with Simple Stories to create some kit exclusive papers! Cool huh?!?! You can read more about it HERE.

And now, here are the layouts, I've made with the kit so far...

All of the above layouts were made using the main kit and the Wellies add-on.

Stop by the CD gallery to see what the other girls created.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you've had a great Easter weekend. See you soon!

You'll have to stop by the MR blog to get the full pics and a run down of all the products I used.

Thanks for stopping by, today!

Feast your eyes on the main kit "Forecast" and the add-on "Wellies"...

Reveal is coming, VERY SOON! So stay tuned for full project photos!

Thanks for stopping by!

Here's what I created...

I used quite a bit from my stash of Studio Calico 6x6 pads from the card kits, some Elle's Studio tags, a PandaEight flair, some washi tapes, and those killer arrow stamps are from Cocoa Daisy.

One thing I like to do with my stamps is stamping them onto vellum and then cutting them out. That way I can move them around til I like where they are, without messing up my project... I have commitment issues. ;)

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be back very soon with some sneak peeks of  the April Cocoa Daisy kit!

You should have arrived here from the lovely and talented, HeatherLeopard's blog.

If this is your first stop, be sure to head over to Paper Issues to start at the beginning!

I can't tell you how much fun I have had playing with the PandaEight flair! I have it out on my desk and at least one piece of flair has made its way onto every project, since its arrived! I'm going to have to order more, SOON!

Here's one of my projects using the PandaEight flair...

How fricken cute is that flair?!?!?!

If you just can't wait to see if you are one of the 5 lucky hoppers, and you just HAVE to shop now...

PandaEight Shop

all orders till March 23, 2013 can recieve 20% off using the code: PAPERISSUES20

Next up on the hop is Pamella Brown.

Thanks for hopping with us today! If you'd like to be one of 5 lucky winners of some PandaEight flair...

1. Like PandaEight on Facebook {tell them we sent you}

2. Like Paper Issues on Facebook

3. Leave a comment

I'll leave you with a spring layout, I made last spring...

Thanks for stopping by!

This kit is gorgeous! Its a little bit artsy, a little bit vintage-y, and a lot of beautiful! I had so much fun working with this kit and I still have a ton left to use, and I will be doing just that, this weekend!

Here's what I've created with it, so far...

Be sure to check out the DT gallery to see what the other girls made!

Thanks for stopping by!

Here is my inspired layout...

I hope you'll play along! If you do, link us up!