I’ve never been great at birthday parties. Usually, I slap together an event with a loose theme and some character plates chosen by the kids and then order a few pizzas. I was prepared to do exactly that this summer when I was asked by my science-loving kiddo to throw a “science birthday party” with a very vague description of what that actually was.
So, I got to searching “science birthday party” online. And, you know what I found? There are almost no science themed birthday plates or accessories that make sense for a young child. Luckily, my family loves a challenge, so they convinced me it would be a great idea to throw together a science themed party with absolutely no party store help. No “science” plates, no themed tablecloth, no activity kit to order. 
My goal was to throw such an amazing party that it would hopefully get me off the hook for throwing any of my kids a party for the next 5-10 years. I’ll let you know how that goes, but in the meantime I’m going to show you my take on a science party and share some printables I made up. 
Arts & Crafts
DIY miniature pot rack from champagne muselet for Lundby dollhouses
A muselet (French: myz.le) is a wire cage that fits over the cork of a bottle of champagne, sparkling wine, or beer to prevent the cork from emerging under the pressure of the carbonated contents.
We ended up with a muselet from a local hard cider a few months back, and after it was removed from the bottle, I set it in my windowsill while I debated what I could make it into. I've seen cute little chairs for fairy gardens made out of muselet and I considered making my own. But, then one day I decided my Lundby dollhouse needed a pot rack and went looking for supplies and found the muselet just waiting to become a lighted pot rack for the house.
Want to make your own miniature pot rack for your dollhouse? It's super easy, doesn't require many supplies, and the end result is really adorable! 
Imaginations At Play with bright and beautiful MiO toys {DIY schoolhouse}
It’s a rare toy that all of my kids play with together, so when I find one it’s a very happy day. Such was the case when I found the new MiO line from The Manhattan Toy Company. With chunky pieces that my littlest one loves, open-ended building pieces that my son adores, and the fact that it fits my oldest’s love of miniatures, this is the perfect family toy for my crew. 
But, it’s not just my family who is smitten with the MiO line, it seems like everyone is going crazy for these cute and modern toys that appeal to kids of all ages. Yes, they are technically intended for the preschool crowd, but don’t tell my kids and their friends that.
But can you blame them? Even I want to play with all the different sets and see all the ways I can design a MiO world. 
The world of MiO consists of beautiful modular wood building pieces that you can configure and redesign as often as you’d like as well as MiO people made of hand painted wood heads and beanbag bodies. The collection is designed to nest and store compactly so you can keep your MiO accessories and pieces together for play at home and away.
Alice in Wonderland inspired wall art on photo canvas
We love Alice in Wonderland around here. Like, really, really love it. In honor of the release of the new movie, Alice Through The Looking Glass, we're sharing one of our favorite Alice-inspired pieces.
A few years ago, I went down the rabbit hole of Etsy {no pun intended} looking for Alice art. In my search, I was reminded of one of my favorite lines of the Disney animated Alice In Wonderland film: "Do You Suppose She's A Wildflower?" 
I got the idea to put the quote on a picture I took of my baby {who clearly is a wildflower}, and print it on a canvas for her. I used basic clip art shapes to designate wildflowers, and used a fun Mad Hatter-style script to play up the theme.
Photo gifts and surprises from GingerSnapCrate
I just received one of the coolest packages I have ever gotten. Yes, ever. I’m a hard person to surprise, but I was so shocked by my GingerSnapCrate that it felt like Christmas, my birthday, Valentine’s Day, and Mother’s Day all rolled into one.
Picture presents are my absolute favorite, but that’s one thing that’s really tough for other people to get me. You see, I’m my family’s photographer, which means unless my photographer aunt is around with her camera, I hold all the pictures. And, I have a ton of pictures {I actually probably have a few dozen tons of pictures}, which no one wants to dig through to surprise me.
But, GingerSnapCrate really surprised me, in such a good way. GingerSnapCrate is a customized monthly box of your favorite images made into custom photo gifts perfect for keeping or for giving.
I was honestly so surprised that I was confused. How did they get these adorable pictures I love so much? I know I didn’t send them all of these, so where did they come from? When they asked for a few pictures, I just drew a blank and sent the four most current pictures I liked of this spring. So, where did the rest of these come from and how did they know my taste so perfectly? And, then I realized that they had found my pictures on Instagram, which is so awesome. 
Out of my Instagram photos and the photos I uploaded to the GingerSnapCrate site, they made me some super awesome photo gifts that I am simply in love with. From calendar sheets to framed prints and photo bags to magnets and beautifully printed photos, they nailed every single item in the crate.
Oribel introduces 2 new PortaPlay items {pre-order and save 15% off}
Do you remember my review of the awesome PortaPlay from Oribel that I posted last year? It’s still one of my most favorite “baby” items we’ve ever had, and I love it even more now than I did when it first arrived. See that tree NOT getting mauled by my 10 month old? Thank you, … Read more
American Girl GOTY Lea-inspired DIY walking stick craft
Remember my post about Lea Clark, the 2016 Girl of the Year from American Girl? If so, then you understand how excited we are for her release. She is an American Girl Doll who loves photography, starts a blog, and loves nature. Lea is basically everything we were hoping for in the new Girl of the Year, and then more. 
As excited as I was to see that Lea has an accessory pack with a camera, I was almost as excited when I saw Lea's Rainforest Hike Accessory Set that comes complete with an adorable walking stick. I’m a huge fan of hiking with a walking stick as it makes it so much easier to navigate rough or slippery terrain, and this is especially true for kids. 
Pocket-sized ZINK Zero-Ink photo printing with the Polaroid ZIP
Oh teenagers these days. They just don’t even understand how good they have it with their smartphones and digital world. Do they even know what it was like waiting for our film to come back all those years ago? I’m guessing probably not.
But, while the teens of today take thousands of pictures, selfies, shots of shoes on sidewalks, and photos of creatively arranged food, they also don’t know what they are missing out on. They are missing out on the joy that comes from having an actual photograph of good times shared with family and friends.
Granted, they might own picture frames, but you certainly won’t find many that have been updated this decade with new pictures. In this an era of instant digital photos hidden away on smartphones, teenagers these days don’t have anything tangible that they can hang up and make them smile every time they see it.
What they need is an introduction to Polaroid. No, not the Polaroid film cameras of my youth, the Polaroid ZIP Instant Photoprinter is the newest technology – a pocket-sized photo printer that makes inkless prints utilizing your smartphone pictures.
The perfect gift for the artist on your list: Winsor & Newton Pigment Markers
Have you ever gotten a beautiful piece of art made with markers that you loved so much that you framed it and hung it up? Were you surprised when only months later the colors faded to almost nothing and it looked like it was decades old?
Whenever the kids draw or write me something that just makes me melt, I have to weigh whether I want to display it which ultimately ends up ruining it quickly with light exposure, or if I want to hide it away in their special box where it will just slowly fade away. Honestly, neither option is okay with me.
The sentimental side of me wants to hide everything away and hope that it survives, but the mom in me wants my kids to grow up in a house where art is encouraged. That means that beautiful pieces need to be celebrated by putting them where they can be seen and enjoyed..
That’s where Winsor & Newton Pigment Markers come in. Rarely do I use the word “revolutionary” to describe markers, but that was before I heard about Winsor & Newton, the world’s first pigment-based, lightfast markers.
Scan your old slides and negatives easily with the Portable Digital Image Copier Deluxe
I have found the coolest new tool that every photographer of the 90s and early 2000s needs. Introducing the Portable Digital Slide and Film Converter from Hammacher Schlemmer that allows you to bring all those pictures you snapped on film into the digital era. 
If you know me, you know that I have been my family’s photographer since the nineties. This means that I got my start well before the digital age and I have a ton of pictures in boxes stored in random rooms and closets in my house… just in case.