In Which I Become a Craft Blogger (From D.C.!)

Hi friends!

So no one needs to tell me that I am NOT a world-class crafter. However, I will say that over the past few years I’ve become more and more interested in the art of crafting. Particularly when it comes to giving gifts or throwing parties or asking for favors (like when I asked my sisters and Chris’s sisters and my BFF to be in my (never happened!) bridal party) — it’s always nice to add a little crafty touch. It just really shows how much you care.

Anyway, all of this is to say, this past week I was in D.C. with a friend to help her prepare for her sister’s “sprinkle”. (Here’s where I admit that, despite the fact that my journalism career has had me writing about parenting topics for the past 4+ years, I had never heard of that term!) Suffice it to say — Lisa doesn’t do anything halfway. So this “sprinkle”, if you will, was probably more effort (in the best of ways!) than most people would put in for a regular shower.

She’s one fabulous lady — I’m lucky to have such a fun-loving, caring, thoughtful friend in my life.

So back to the title of my post … ‘In Which I Become a Craft Blogger’. As I mentioned last week, I knew this trip wouldn’t involve much site-seeing (who needs that when you’ve got a best friend, a bottle of wine and tons of crafting to do!), so I thought I’d go ahead and share some details of the baby “sprinkle” here.

You know … just in case you’ve got one coming up and you’re looking for ideas 😉

^^The beginning stages of lemon bars for the dessert bar. Can you say yum?!

^^We also made these to-die-for apple crumble bar with cinnamon. The sign in the back was a piece of corkboard that Lisa painted with chalkboard paint and strung some twine across. People wrote notes on little cards and placed them on the twin for Alison and her new baby boy. — ^^We also made these to-die-for apple crumble bar with cinnamon. The sign in the back was a piece of corkboard that Lisa painted with chalkboard paint and strung some twine across. People wrote notes on little cards and placed them on the twine for Alison and her new baby boy.

^^ Chocolate & Vanilla Ice Box parfaits with graham cracker and whip cream.

^^ Blueberry Crumble for the dessert bar.

^^ We lined these cardboard boxes with white ribbon and stuck an adorable photo of Alison and her daughter on two sides. The photos were stickers from Shutterfly, and they said 'Thanks so much for coming!' Guests filled the boxes up with treats from the dessert bar as part of their parting gift. — ^^ We lined these cardboard boxes with white ribbon and stuck an adorable photo of Alison and her daughter on two sides. The photos were stickers from Shutterfly, and they said ‘Thanks so much for coming!’ Guests filled the boxes up with treats from the dessert bar as part of their parting gift.

^^ The box set-up at the party looked like this. The CDs in front were made with songs all the guests had sent to Lisa ahead of time that reminded them of their childhood, along with a key tied to the back and a sentence or two about their memories of the song.

^^ Honey Baked ham, spinach dip, fruit salad, pasta salad and Sister Schubert's rolls rounded out the desserts. — ^^ Honey Baked ham, spinach dip, fruit salad, pasta salad and Sister Schubert’s rolls rounded out the desserts.

^^ In lieu of gifts, each guest brought a onesie with a decoration that was indicative of something about themselves. Mine was the one with the bunny. We hung them on a string in the living room and Alison guessed whose was whose. She did a really good job!

^^ We also had cupcakes from Cake Love. Oh my!

^^ And of course, the star of the party -- Lisa's little niece, Abigail. — ^^ And of course, the star of the party — Lisa’s little niece, Abigail.

So that was about it, friends! A good time was had by all, and now there’s not much left to do but wait for Baby Boy Grantham to make his debut!

Here’s what Chris and I have on our plates in the next few weeks, in terms of travel:

* A visit to my sister’s new apartment and a trip to Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery
* A day trip to the beach for Labor Day, as well as hopefully out to Governor’s Island to see the vintage carousels they have on display there right now
* Chris’s Super Secret 30th Birthday Trip (Shhhh–I’m SO EXCITED about this!)
* Australia for our fourth wedding (awahooo!!!) and our honeymoon at the Great Barrier Reef!

And that takes us through September and on into the fall, my friends. Can you even believe it’s already half-way through August!? Hope everyone’s making the most of these summer days before they fade away!

Bis bald!