Our daughter Olivia turned 2 last month! Her assistanceship typically involves covering the studio floor with a variety of toys, but now she’s old enough to help count when Mommy cuts ribbons! She certainly brings a lot of creative inspiration to the work we do.
This year we created a simple invitation for her party: an “invelope” that folds to create its own exterior envelope. It’s a very economical design that doesn’t sacrifice connection or creativity. Her smiling face on the inside gives guests a personal connection to the birthday girl who is so excited to be turning “Teew!” as she would say. The invitation also includes a reply card with a blank side for guests to draw their own birthday greeting for Olivia. We absolutely love this idea, as it encourages everyone to be thoughtful and creative in their own ways.
I have also continued my tradition of sewing a special birthday dress for Olivia every year, but this year’s dress is especially unique! Her favorite pastime is coloring; sometimes on paper, sometimes on whatever she can find – including the walls and furniture. (Her second favorite pastime is, apparently, Time Out.) One day she scribbled out a yellow design that looked interesting. Since she has yet to study color theory, I colored in the negative spaces to give it some vibrancy:
I took the drawing into Photoshop and manipulated some of the shapes and colors to create a pattern, which could then be printed directly onto fabric. Spoonflower.com is a fantastic source for custom printed fabrics, and it turned out beautifully!
Olivia had a blast at her party! We covered the coffee table with paper to let the kids color, decorated our own party hats, and ate a fantastic homemade strawberry with lemon frosting cake. It was my first ever from-scratch cake that surprisingly turned out amazing! Party photos courtesy of my talented twin sister, Manda Marie Photography:
Her favorite toy was this insane Godzilla-sound-effects-light-up-bubble-blowing-gun!
Like all parents, we find it hard to believe how quickly the time is passing. She’s turning into such a fun person, despite the toddler insanities, and we can’t wait to see what year three is like!