Talk about Protection from Above!

ARRRGGGHHH.  Frustrations. Ok folks, how about some advice here.

My niece, she is 4.5.  In 4K at our local school and since Christmas has just been a royal handful. She's totally boy crazy, which is bizarre because that's not encouraged in her homelife. She's had these two boys as her best friends from day one, but suddenly they are boyfriends, and she blows kisses and follows them around. The school separates them, but it's not really helping. Any ideas?

Additionally to that, last week when her mama dropped her off at school, the teachers were walking towards the entrance door.  My sister told her daughter to run and catch up and she drove off.  The school uses a flag to indicate if you have to stop and sign your child in and the flag wasn't out.

Weeeeellllllll, the teachers didn't turn around to see a little girl behind them, the doors shut and my niece couldn't get the door open.  She was locked out of the school and had no idea what to do.  She sat on the grass outside and cried.  One of her classmate's mother was running behind and thankfully saw her crying in the grass, bringing her into the school with her son.

CAN. YOU. IMAGINE. My sister didn't find out until the parent got word to her 4 days later through a mutal aquaintance my sister works with - and the horror of what all COULD have happened... Oh my gosh, we were all just sick with the "what ifs."  God really took care of this situation, protected my niece and brought her classmate's mother there just at the perfect time. My sister has spoken to the school and there is a new policy where an administrator will make a "last lap" outside after the first bell rings and the teachers who slipped out of duty early (or so it seems) were all called into the admins office for a conversation.

I'm hoping my sister also realizes you can't drive off until you know she's in the school, but that's another issue outside of this particular one.  Heaven help, just thinking what could have happened...

Thank you, Lord.  You are so good to us.

The Right Thing?

I am so dang stressed and I'm trying not to be. Why? A few reasons but probably at the top of the list is my car. And the guy that hit it. Sigh. Older fella, had his grandson in the truck with him and was going through the Mickey D's drive thru. It's one of those split drive thru concepts where I was on the outer ring and he the inner. As I pull up and stop behind someone waiting to pay, he pulls forward and pulls forward and crruunncchh. Into my drivers side back door.

It wouldn't be so bad if 1- it didn't go down through all layers of paint and 2 - if I had a color easier to blend. Both repair companies said the same thing. Ugh. 

He freaked out and jumps out, wanting me to settle outside of insurance. Ugh. I don't do stuff like that. But after an hour of him pacing and begging while we waited on the cops (I'll be honest, he intimidated me!) I said I'd consider it and call over the weekend. 

This was Friday afternoon. I gathered as much into as I could for a Friday afternoon but wasn't quite finished. I didn't call over the weekend (bad me, I know) but wasn't ready to make a decision. Monday (today) I was able to see another company for a second estimate and talk to my insurance agent (adore her!).  

Holy smokes this man showed up at my workplace and for another 30-45 minutes went to talking nonstop. He'd borrow the money. He has a friend that could fix it cheaper. He and his wife were on limited incomes. They were raising his grandson. Listed allll the ailments if every person. Admitted they would probably take his license because of all the wrecks he had while on painkillers. But then he found the Lord. And I was invited to his church. They have a great preacher! I mean, I was tired of hearing him talk. 

So I gave him a month to get together the money and no-I'm not accepting $50 at a time for $800+ of damage. Then he tried the tactic of - well, you probably have a $500 deductible ... Sir, my insurance isn't paying. Yours would. ... Oh yeah, well, I heard even if you aren't at fault your insurance could go up... No sir, my insurance will not go up. 

Can you see why I have a headache? I really want to file with insurance because I'm lazy. But I am trying to do the right thing for the little damage that was done. But I seriously feel like he's going to run out on this and try to leave me with the bill. And I told him I'd call back tonight with an estimate on rental cars. Ugh. 

So I left work early, came home and enjoyed a three hour hot bath. Not that it solved my problems but I swear, it helped. 

Any thoughts on this situation? Because I can tell you, my dad thinks I'm nuts and that I should file with insurance to be done with it. Man it would be so much easier or to do it that way. I'm not sure I'd ever agree to something like this again. 

Sigh. 

Let's look at happier, more fun times! Like a few of my coworkers and I went to conference in Myrtle Beach (let's not discuss how cold it is in January!!!) but it was fun. Really enjoyed my villa-mate. We are Hot Tamales!! Hahaha!!! 

This lady will crack you up! Had some great convo with her, as well. Love good talks. 

Came home to this sweet thing, that I missed so much while I was gone. She is what makes me home sick when I'm away from home! ❤️

My happiness meter was overflowing when I took half a day from work (on my first day back from conference) to babysit these cuties!!! 

Can we say TEETHING?! Poor fellas. But oh they are soooo snuggly! Growing so fast! I love every moment I get with them. 

Holy smokes, as I'm typing this, I just made a sale on Etsy!! That's two for today(which is unheard of). Wow, I'm excited! I sewed like a madwoman this past week, trying to up my stock. Looks like that was a good thing :) 

Some of my bibs in the store I sell them. Spent part of Saturday working on inventorying all I had for sale there to better track everything. 

Totally missed the super bowl and its commercials. That's another story that we'll just skip for now. But look at all these great times!! These blessed moments!  Life is good and I needed to take a moment to realize that. Thank You, Lord, for all You have given me. ❤️ 

Fridays Letters 7-18-14

Happy Weekend! :) It's time for Friday's Letters!

This is now framed and in my hallway. Love it!

Dear God, thank you for taking care of me through these ups and downs. Bumpy road? Well, yes. But as I was passing the print made by Paulene that hangs in my hallway, I felt you right there with me. "Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything."  Yes indeed. And thanks to all of you who have prayed with me.  No answers yet, but we are ruling out more serious issues. :)

Dear self, you must quit crying every time you get scared or nervous. And you have to learn to control your emotions and quit being so scared and nervous. :)  See above!

Dear crafty people, this is what I made last night while watching Big Brother (love that show, my dirty little secret).  I'm not sure I'm the best at it, but what do you think? Is this cute or annoying? Give me feedback, please! (I bought a massive box of buttons at a yard sale years ago and haven't done a thing with them. I finally sorted by color and am trying to find uses for these things. I love how some still have bits of thread and fabric in them!)

Dear Sweet Niece #2, you are such a trip. I love seeing you grow, learn, how you put things together in your mind, how sweet you can be, not as impressed with the sass but it comes with being 2, I think. It melts my heart when you run up to me and hug me around the legs, or hug my neck so tight.  I firmly follow the advice of a Disney Princess - I always let you let go of the hug first, because I want you to know you are loved.  

Celebrating Uncle Clay's Birthday!

Dear God (again), thanks for letting me appreciate your scenery and artistic expression in the drives to and from work (or the dr, or whatever). It's just good stuff. 

Ya'll have a great weekend and we'll see you back here next week.  

Choose Joy!

source

Do you feel like I am screaming at you yet? Because I totally am.  It's been one of those days where God is pouring this message over my head in various ways and means, so I thought I'd share it with you.

My morning began with a devotional shared by a dear friend that is about the Debbie Downers in life.  You know know who I'm talking about - heck, I'm one of them way too often.  It's like they present a laundry list of bad things that are happening.  The grumbling, the complaining, the grousing... And it rubs off on everyone around them so that now you have a room full of people grumbling, complaining and grousing. Oh happy day! Doesn't this sound like fun!

To quote the Girlfriends in God devotional: "When you think about it, ingratitude is a casual despising of God’s sovereignty. It’s like saying we don’t like how He is running things and think we could do it better."

Holy cow!  I don't want to be the person who thinks my way is better than God's way! But you know what, I quite often am that person, and it's so shameful.  So, instead of grousing and complaining, I want to CHOOSE JOY. I want to trust in God and appreciate what He has given to me, because I know He has plans created specifically for me that are for His glory.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.  Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
     Jeremiah 29:11

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."
     Romans 8:28

Here it is, in black and white, spoken directly from the Lord God Himself and written down by His people. He is telling us IT WILL BE OK because I AM WITH YOU.  Through anything we face, God is with us.

"But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength."   2 Timothy 4:17

I think Joy is all about FAITH.  Our grousing is because we think it should be different, better.  But if we have FAITH, we know God is with us. (any thoughts on this?? share please!)

This may be my word for 2014.  I haven't decided yet, but I do feel like this would be a great word to focus on for the new year.  (Was this my word for this year that I've tossed aside and not focused on at all? Hmm. maybe I hsould go back and check.) Oh good. I chose Simplify - #fail. So maybe this would stick a bit better. :)

What's been keeping me busy?!

I wanted to show ya'll what I've been up to and what's been keeping me busy.  My Etsy store, Pressed Clovers, has been hopping with specialty orders.  Having the customer come up with the requests usually leads to GREAT ideas that I wouldn't have thought of on my own, but I then fall in love with - precisely what happened with these. I'm going to share a few pics from the recent books, but you can see more at the Pressed Clovers Blog, or PC Facebook page. Or heck, visit the store and make your own request for an awesome book!

This mother has taken a photo of herself on Mother's Day since her first son was born - and it was time to give him a book (which you know will be passed down to his daughter) of his mom on Mother's Day.

Want to see more of this book? Click here to see the PC Blog which will show you more!

The next request was from a mom in PA that keeps a scrapbook of her son each school year, which includes the holidays.  She wanted the ability to put more than one photo on each page, so I worked up 13 pages of cuteness for her son.

To see more of this book and the holidays included, Click Here for the blog post about it!

I had a close friend want a baby girl scrapbook for a special child that the parents have prayed for and wanted for many years.  Blessing has been granted and special delivery will be here soon!

Trust me, I know some of these pics are less than stellar, but sometimes I'm in such a rush to ship, I just need a few pics to get approval from the customer. No Internet at the house sometimes makes life difficult. :) 

Are you ready for the last book today?? It's an ADORABLE Halloween book, which just turned out C.U.T.E.  This mom is putting all her son's Halloween costume pics in one book, with journal pages to write about her memories of each one. Love this. 

See the rest of the book by Clicking Here. I really do love these ideas that folks have been coming up with, and plan on using what I've learned on my new projects.  So exciting!

What are your thoughts?  Ideas for books, likes/dislikes, recommendations??? Please share!

Magic Bullet Bliss?

Dad gave me a Magic Bullet last night. You know, those things that are advertised on TV as being the answer to your culinary dreams?  Yeah, that one.

He's had it forever at his house and told me to take it home, but the color coded rims on the mugs were just so freakin' cheesy, I resisted.  Last night, I finally brought it home, mainly because I want to try my hand at smoothies.  I've gotten so many berries from my Community Support Agriculture box that I have a freezer full.

Yes, this sucker comes with a recipe book, but you know me better than that and you KNOW I had to look online for a million recipes.  How cool is it that I found THIS: A blog dedicated to Magic Bullet Recipes! No way, right? WAY!! All kinds of crazy and hopefully tasty recipes for the Magic Bullet!

I'm hoping this is something I'll use frequently for healthier alternatives to my weekly menus.  Living alone, it's tough to make something just for one.  Maybe this will help? I'll let you know.

Do you have any suggestions for 1) recipes for one or 2) recipes for this new toy of mine? Lemme know, please!

Can I get your opnion, please?

I don't know if you have seen the documentary, "The Invisible War" yet or not.  If you haven't, you really really REALLY need to, ASAP.  But be prepared to be furious.

So it's all about rape/sexual assault in the military and how this is a very big issue. Stats are disgusting. The fact this issue continues to be swept under the rug, despite major sexual assault scandals time and time again, is enough to make me want to ... well, I don't know but it's very upsetting.

So upsetting I'm still fuming about it weeks after seeing the documentary.

I've decided to write the Senators who are at least trying to make a few changes to the system and seem sincere in their pursuit of justice for the victims.  Will you please read the letter below and tell me if you think this makes any kind of point at all? I would like to send it to the Senators who are sponsoring bills as an encouragement to not let this die. Even if it doesn't pass, keep fighting this fight!

Please leave me feedback on it before I start firing off letters tomorrow. I want to be professional but passionate, not rabid and crazy.

Thanks for reading and commenting.  This particular letter is for Senator McCaskill - I'll have to research each one of the others to make it specific to them.  Thanks!!!

Dear Senator McCaskill:

While I realize I am not one of your constituents, I am writing to thank you for your efforts in protecting our men and women in the military.  Please, do not give up this fight.  After watching “The Invisible War” documentary, I am disgusted at how those most vulnerable have been treated like criminals themselves while too often their predators received no punishment.

In an Huffington Post article in 2011, you cited 8% of sexual assaults investigated in the military are prosecuted compared to 40% in the civilian world.  Even more distressing is this only reflects those cases investigated and does not account for the thousands assaults not reported or reported and not investigated. One in three women in the military are victims of sexual assault - double the civilian rates. Yet a small fraction of these predators ever see justice; some even see promotions and awards.

While the statistics are haunting, the image of a young woman featured in the documentary, who called her father and told him she was “no longer a virgin” due to being raped is the one I cannot possibly get out of my head. I want to meet the father who tells his daughter, “Well sorry, sugar, but that is an occupational hazard to being in the United States military. Suck it up, Buttercup.”  which is basically, what the courts have told the women who dared to bring a lawsuit to their doors concerning sexual assault in the military. 

Obviously, our current system is badly broken and causing life-long repercussions to those thousands who are assaulted each year. Please stay strong and be their voice.  Fight for them. Continue to stand up to the “good-ol’-boy” mentality and keep this issue on the front burner. We need you and others like you to be brave for those who protect us.  Thank you for the work you have already done on this matter; you and those standing with you are making a difference.

Sincerely,

Me!

Disturbing Trend

I was catching up on my blog reading when I ran across this blog entry, at Grits and Giggles.

It scared the poop out of me. I'm very open about my family, my life. I share photos of my baby niece, older niece, best friend's niece, church nursery children...I share. I love these children and to be honest, I just want to brag, show them off, share with you how adorable they are.

But this is the second time recently I've heard of photos being stolen. Once the photo ended up in a child porn site! And in the blogger above's case, someone used it to sell a product.

I want to snatch down every photo because that is down right scary. Oh my gracious, the thoughts of the babies I love ending up on a child porn site just because someone evil stole them from this site makes my blood boil.

What are your thoughts on this? Any suggestions?

Friday's Letter

Dear nasty cold, please remove me from your evil clutches. I feel like poo, isn't that enough for you?



Dear Ultra Soft Kleenex, you are my friend. I adore you and my nose does, too.



Dear weird tree, you are being shipped to my Cara Box partner this month. I struggled with the theme this month, so I hope she likes it.



Dear Macy, I am missing you, sweet girl. But I can't risk giving this to you. :( I must get welk quick I'm having withdrawals.



Dear peeps, aka YOU, I know so many people struggling, as we all do at some time in life. Please share your favorite Bible verse below that may help someone get over the hump. Mine is above. Thank you!

Go link up at sweet season!

Creating Confidence!

When my friend, Paulene, mentioned to me making a scrapbook for her running bibs, I cringed. I know nothing of running. I know nothing of races.  And I avoid the thoughts of working out. I put it off. Then I got busy. Busier, and busy and then I ran of out excuses. This book needed to be made and it needed to be NOW.

Cupid's Chase

I asked for her list of races. I asked for standard measurements for racing bibs.  I hemmed and hawed, I sweated over what this should look like.  How many pictures, how many vertical, what does a person want to record about a race...

Turtle Trot

 And when I finally started piecing it together, and figuring out how it would look, and assembling it page by page, I finally felt like it was coming together! (Turtle Trot, how cute is that for a race?!)

Race to the Rock

 It started coming together faster and the themes of each race seemed to work out with what I had! The Clemson colors, the color bombs for Color Me Rad, pinks for the Breast Cancer run... it just worked out!

Race in to the Pink

 I discovered that as my friend experienced a confidence boost last year when she started her quest with running, I received my own confidence boost through creating this book for her successes!

Irmo Dam

 All through the year, she posted inspirational quotes and motivational images that encouraged her and all her followers as she went on this journey.

Color Me Rad

So I added those on every page, and guess what?! I had images to match every page! Either the colors, or the message, or image - it was kinda crazy how well it worked out!

Thunder Road

I can't tell you how excited I was when it was complete.  I looked at it and felt good about the work I had done.  I crossed my fingers she would love it, too. Because it was more than just a book. It was a door opening inside of me, showing me that I COULD take on a major project. But only if I actually START it!

Girls on the Run Race

She loved it.  LOVED IT! She became emotional over it and that meant the world to me. Sharing something special with someone you care so much about, that's just beyond totally awesome. :) So Now I'm flying high from the new knowledge I have of myself AND the fact it made a friend very happy!

So maybe I'll figure out a way to include something like this in my Pressed Clovers shop?  I struggle with how to offer books like this which are so personalized.  But I haven't seen much out there for runners to preserve these successes! And I'd love to be the avenue for them to do so! Any ideas or thoughts on this? Just let me know, I'm curious how to work it.

Thanks for following this long post and my journey here! :)

Four New Books

Ya'll, this is one tired puppy. I have been in training all day to learn how to manage conflict and confrontation.  Ohhh.. my body aches. But it was a really good class. I laughingly decided I sounded like a bully because I love to use sarcasm. *sigh* I am definitely working on a new attitude, as I've become more frowny faced than I used to be. Back to writing in my Thankful Journal on a regular basis. I really does help refocus me to the positive.

So, as you already know, I took this weekend to create books. It felt so good to create... love it. And I managed to post four of them online today - so go check them out. www.etsy.com/shop/PressedClovers.  Bookmark me, so me some love. :)

We have baby boy books ready now! Loved the adorable cuteness of these baby books. There were already a baby girl and neutral baby for those who didn't want to be overcome with blue and pink. Or, who have a shy baby like Macy was for us.

We have tween/girl books for those girls ages 1 - 8 or so. Lots of glitter, glitz, flowers, butterflies and just all things adorably girlie.  My older sweet niece, AH, loved the one I gave her for Christmas. Was over the moon. I think she felt so grown up. :)

And I added two holiday / calendar books that include all the major holidays. You'll just have to check them out, they are each different, so sometimes it's just a matter of preference. The girls at work couldn't decide which one they would prefer. I like the crazy cat myself.

I'm excited, I should get my Cara Box this week! EEEKKK!!! So excited! My first time, as you already know, so I'm just giggly wondering what is coming in the mail!! I've had such an amazing time meeting these two girls and getting to know them better. I highly recommend everyone trying it and seeing if Cara Box is for you.  It's been really wonderful for me.

Ok, I need to get moving and keep getting stuff done. I'm zonked and really want a hot bath and a good book, but that will have to wait just a little while longer. Hope your hump day was fabulous and give me some feedback on what you think of the new books.

Thanks ya'll - I really appreciate you and all the support you've given me here! It's just amazing!

Seeing dreams come true!

So today is Thursday...and I've wrapped up my 30 things.  I'm not quite sure what direction I'm going to take Thursdays into for future posts. I'm currently thinking about that.

Today, however, I want to share with all the world how incredibly proud I am of my sister!  She's an excellent teacher - outstanding teacher - and she finally took those first baby steps to post her work on a teacher-based website.

CLICK HERE TO SEE HER AWESOME WORK.

Seriously, this is awesome. Because she is really creative, funny, connects with middle school students and yet gains such respect from them. And now she's finally sharing her skills and talents with others who excel in other areas but may need a little help with the creative part of presenting history.  There is even one Christian based lesson for homeschoolers!

Please go by and check out her stuff.  If you use it - free or paid items - please rate it so she can get accurate feedback on what to change to improve! AND PLEASE SHARE! :) See those share buttons (google+, facebook, etc).  Thank you so very much. :)

so...yeah. that.

Heck if I know what's twirling around in my mind. I feel like I've neglected the blog this week simply because of my schedule. And probably the lack of sleep factors into that, too.  My sleep has been interrupted by crazy dreams... one involved those huge lizards, Komodo Dragons?

Yes, these suckers.  Isn't the thought of that enough to give anyone nightmares? Although how they appeared in my dreams, I have no idea. It's not like I've ever seen one in person. But it still makes for an unsettling sleep.

So this week has passed in a blur. I feel a bit out-of-place or like I forgot to do something or I'm missing something.  Do you ever feel like that? For example, in one morning, I forgot to disarm the alarm before walking out the front door. I NEVER DO THAT. Then I fumbled for my key fob and turned it off. Rearmed. Then forgot to lock the front door. I NEVER DO THAT EITHER. I was half way down the road when I started thinking about it, turned around and went back to discover that yes indeed, my door was unlocked.

Do you remember that someone tried to kick in my doors? So yeah, I don't forget things like that.

So what's wrong with me? Am I just losing my mind or what? Who knows, but something's got to give because I really need my brain engaged.

Despite all of these bizarre feelings of not being in sync with myself, I'm actually excited about wrapping up this election (which is still 1.5 months away) and moving along with Pressed Clovers! I really can't dedicate the time to it right at this moment, but there will be a time that I can and I'm looking forward to engaging the creative side of my brain for some fun stuff with paper.  I've considered instead of everything having to be an entire complete scrapbook, to sell individual pages for sale. Hmm... any thoughts on that? Just an idea.

But for now, it's 10 p.m., I'm still sitting in my office at work and I need to go home. Already Donna has called to see if I'm on my way or if the office boogie man snatched me up.  It's time. (But inside, I'm still having a little Pressed Clover party...) Sweet dreams, my imaginary friends! Don't let the bed bugs bite!

Sock Hop Party Ideas

When my sister and I decided to decorate for my Mom's 60th birthday party, we really wanted to do the "Sock Hop" theme.  We were, however, flat broke and couldn't spend insane amounts of money on decorations. Therefore, a little creativity came into play. :)

After searching and Pinning my ideas and thoughts, I came up with centerpieces, a birthday sign and a focal point for very little money.  Work - yes. But I can handle work.

** NOTE ** please use these idea and abuse these idea! I'm loading them here for you to steal and improve and enjoy! This way YOU aren't starting from scratch like I did! :)

1)  The centerpieces.  I found this picture online of records stacked up with a dancing couple on top. Loved it!


Surely I can re-create this, right?  Indeed, I can. And I did. I used one real record, purchased at a thrift store, for each centerpiece. If I would have had more time, I'm sure I could have stacked.

But anyway, I covered the labels using circles that I cut out from blue poster board. I used superglue to attach the circles to the records.

I also used spray glue and gold glitter to jazz it up, but that was a mess, smelly and a pain. I don't recommend it.

The templates for the people are below. I used their people for a guideline and tweaked it into what I liked just a bit better. Each person took up one piece of paper.  Then I traced it onto a flat box top to use as a template, placing their hands close together, like they were holding hands.  My template piece combined the two people into one solid piece, joined at the hands.  When you print these out and cut them out, you will need to flip one over, so they are facing.  I could get three couples out of one piece of black poster board, thanks to the sticker that I couldn't remove on each piece (otherwise, I could have gotten four). GRRRrrr....

A little note about black poster board - when you cut it, depending on how you cut, there is a white outline on one side of the poster board. This didn't bother me, however, if you are a perfectionist, I'm giving you forewarning.

The long tabs are where you will bend the paper and glue it to the record. (This is where the glitter caused havoc, making my people not want to stick to the record.) I also used superglue for this. I spread their legs apart a ways to help steady them on the record.  I also tied a piece of pink ribbon around her ponytail for cuteness.  My picture is on this page... one that I didn't glitter. I do recommend waiting until you get to your location to do this, because it is very hard to travel with these.

Don't make fun of my shoes and say it looks like a drunken monkey did it. I couldn't see their feet on the example, so ... yeah. Just make yours look better, ok?

I also used this same template and a projector to make life-sized people.  Instead of carting the fridge box everywhere, I taped wrapping paper to the wall with the white side up and copied the people onto that as a template. The girl requires two strips of wrapping paper because of her skirt. Then we traced it onto the cardboard and used an exacto knife to cut. When it got dull, we used an old bread knife, which worked pretty good!  Instead of tabs on their feet, I just made them into a large rectangle at the very bottom, so I could glue/tape a box to the bottom for steadiness.  It worked great. We did have to put a brick in one box, but that was pretty much it. For the girl, just to make sure she was ok, I used a piece of cheap pipe from Lowe's and taped it up her back. This was cheaper than dowel rods.  I also bought some yard sticks for .69, but didn't end up using them. Of course, you need to spray paint your people.  I also used a scarf to tie around her ponytail. Here is the entire focal point section below.

The checkerboard backdrop was purchased at Party City, 40 feet for $20.  I didn't use all of it. (The green you see is a chalkboard - our event was held at an old school/now community center). The "records" were huge pieces of round cardboard that I got from work. But with some spray paint and labels from poster board added, they made a great decoration. Superglue didn't work well for paper-to-paper, so hot glue and spray glue was used. The Rock and Roll sign was part of a set of "Scene Setters" at Party City, which included a huge jukebox, 2 guitars (which I didn't use) and the Rock and Roll sign.  The jukebox is at the far side of the stage, but I didn't get a picture of it. Sorry!

For the Happy Birthday banner, I did buy a "make it yourself" type of banner at Party City, so I would have the vinyl background and sticker letters.  Then I used black poster board to make records and orange paper for the labels, so Mom's name would stand out.  So it wasn't quite as cool at my original idea (see below) but it was an acceptable substitute on short time.  Another thing that you want to finish assembling at your venue. 

The original idea...



My substitution



I found this great decoration idea somewhere that was a clock/record that had this "Rock Around the Clock" theme. I had to have it. But not at that price.  So, with another piece of round cardboard, I tried to be creative and do a shortcut. I glued a black plastic tablecloth to the circle.  Just don't do that. It's wrinkly and messy.  Spray paint instead. Oh well, live and learn.  However, I found these record plates at Party City on sale!!! Small ones and big ones, which was perfect! More blue poster board and some hot glue and we have our very own Rock Around the Clock theme!  Again - finish it at the venue. This was a very last minute thing, so make yours look better, ok?



Their clock



My clock



In honor of mom, we did a photo collage of pictures throughout the years.  Added a record from poster board from the top with the words, "Barbara's Greatest Hits" on the label.  This cardboard came to our office with posters inside, so it was a solid back and the two sides folded to meet in the front. Perfect - it would stand on its own. You can get these display boards at Wal-Mart, too.  I glued a themed tablecloth from Party City to the cardboard and made the border from black poster board.  We glued each photo to black or blue paper to make it stand out on the background. This is what people loved - photos of mom from baby to 60!  I'm so glad we did this.  Thankfully, I had already scanned in many of her baby pictures of 20's pictures for another project and could just print them at Walgreens for quick pick up. 

For the tables, the venue had white paper tablecloths and we just used cheap plastic ones for the dollar store, cut into diamond shapes, to add some color.  Add the centerpieces and you are good to go! We later added the smaller records (45's) to each side.  The kids loved them - they had never seen records!!

I really hope this helps someone have a great party - at least using this as a jumping off point.  We had a great time, add some oldies music on an ipod with some decent speakers and my Mom and her family danced half the night!!! It was great!

If you do use any of these ideas, or if you have some great ones of your own, PLEASE SHARE some pictures or just the ideas themselves!! I'd love to see in case I ever do this again! :) Thanks!!