Let's Party! The Ultimate Blog Party with Five Minutes for Mom

Today I am partying with Five Minutes for Mom, at their annual Ultimate Blog Party. I met the lovely Janice, on the left below, at the Social Media Mom's Conference last February and love making new friends. I anticipate finding lots of great bloggers throughout the next week, through the party blog linky. It's a lot of fun and you can win great prizes, so be sure you check out how to participate too!
To get the party started here at my own blog, here's a little introduction. I'm a craft junkie, who takes way too many pictures and then needs oodles of scrapbooks, handmade minis, and altered projects to house them in. New lines of paper and all the latest embellishments can send me into a frenzy.

I dabble in a lot of other things too. Right now, I'm trying to figure out my new Cricut. If you've got some tips, please share! I also spend a lot of time reading about European royalty and am a history buff when I'm not discovering new children's literature.
I'm also a former teacher, turned stay at home mommy to a preschooler. She's a princess in training and uber girly. We love being fancy together! I am constantly thinking of new ways to play to learn with her and rely on my bag of tricks from being a kindergarten teacher all the time. But anything artsy, that gets our fingers all messy is always our favorite thing to do.
My hubby and I are celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary in August and he's moved me around the US during that time. It's ended up being a blessing, as we've gotten to experience very different regions from the Midwest and travel places we never thought we would. We've lived in three different time zones and are happy to be settled closer to family, back in the state we both grew up in. He's super brainy - a PhD ladies, yep I married a DOCTOR, well okay so it's not an MD but it still counts. We love being out and about and I share our adventures and family day trips a lot. That's the quick version of our lives☺ Welcome to my blog!
For this year's party post, I also wanted to share some of the highlights from the parties I've thrown. Any celebration is a good excuse for me to create a lovely centerpiece. You can never go wrong with a beautiful floral arrangement. I incorporated fresh fruit in this one, to tie it in with the tropical theme at my daughter's second birthday party. I love to get my daughter involved whenever possible. She made these polka dot pots and they doubled as a gift for the Grandmas at our Mother's Day Tea. It's also fun to add a little candlelight to the table and these photo luminaries from a Fourth of July BBQ are an especially fun touch. Plus they are easy and inexpensive to make. I LOVE crafting and really enjoy making decorations. I think they add a personal touch to my parties, several are shared in this birthday party post.Another example of the handmade creative touches I like to bring to parties are these message cards and keepsake box. They were for the graduation open house of my friend's step daughter. Friends and family can write a special message or congratulations to the graduate. I also made the frame and a simple tag banner, that you can see in the post.
I am not much of a cook but it is important to provide a lovely spread of delicious food for your guests, the menu for our Mother's Day Tea was pretty to look at and simple to prepare. I am always looking for more super easy recipes to serve at parties; I'd love it if you left me yours or a link to your tried and true one. The most ambitious thing I've ever made is a beach themed birthday cake, which doesn't look as good as the original but still is pretty cute. Once upon a time I used to teach special education and kindergarten and I miss being in the classroom. Hosting themed play dates for my daughter's friends helps fill that need. These cute pearly bites are from the Ocean themed one I held last summer. A picture of my daughter from it even made the mailbag of an issue of Family Fun Magazine!

Thank you for stopping by! I really appreciate your visit it and would love for you to become a regular reader and follower, and if you are on Blog Frog please join me there too☺ Please poke around and have a look around my "nest". If you already are a follower or subscriber, thanks for coming back☺

If you've stopped by please leave me a comment, because I want to make sure I visit your blog too! I always visit the folks kind enough to leave me a comment or drop me a line at katiesnesingspot{at}live{dot}com first. Have a great time partying!



There are a ton of great prizes for participating! My top three are:

Number 1: The Grand Prize, a Toshiba Laptop!
Number 2: #8, Buds to Bloom Photo Tile Necklace from Elemental Jewelry
Number 3: #23, $50 Gift Certificate to Monogramed Gifts

and if those are already awarded, I'd also love to win: #56, #71, #67, #22, #50, #6, #76, #34