Sock Monkey for the First

The hardest part about being around kids is how quickly they grow up.  It's so crazy to look at pictures of how little they were thinking that was just last month, when in reality it was like a year or more ago.

Case in point:  my nephew, Zachary, who just turned one!  Didn't I throw a baby shower for his mom just a few months ago?!  And I could swear it was just a few weeks ago when my mom held him at a couple of days old.  But, no, that was a little over a year ago....which means she's been gone almost a year....but this is a happy post, so I move on...

So this precious little thing is now a year old, and with a birthday generally comes a party.  And this one's theme?  Sock monkey!

I feel like my mom was all over this party, even though she was just watching from on high.  At some point in Zachary's infancy, my mom bought him a sock monkey.  And it's not just any sock monkey; this one plays peek-a-boo and giggles.  Omygoodness, it is soooo cute!!  You just can't help but giggle along with it! And Zachary loves that thing.

So sock monkey love has always been in the forefront, and it was only natural that the party would go in that direction.

Again, like with Matthew's party, their mom and I started in Pinterest, gathering ideas for the party.  We soon realized this one wasn't going to be as elaborate as Matthew's, only because it was going to be outdoors at our local park, which wouldn't be a very favorable environment for decorations {lakeside = lots of wind!}, so our focus were the invites and his portrait outfit.

Zachary's mom quickly found an argyle print in light blue, red & chocolate brown that she LOVED and thus our color scheme was born.

I took that idea and ran with it for the invites.

Unlike Matthew's invites, these were about the graphics so I created the argyle print and drew the sock monkey.  There was a special request with the sock monkey that, I admit, had me tearing up a bit as I added it.

See that little detail on the monkey?  The heart with the white ribbon?

That was a special nod to my mom.  Even now thinking about it makes my heart hurt a little.  But I appreciated the thought to have her be apart of this special day, even though she isn't here, physically.

But I think these turned out pretty cute.  I actually did a version with a red & white polka dot background that was also really cute.  Thinking of adding it my shop as a printable.  What do you think?

ANYhoo...

I mentioned a portrait outfit.  We found this on Pinterest:

{So adorable!!}

Source

and their mom fell in love and decided we had to do it.

The hardest part for us was finding the fabric--that classic sock monkey knit.  We don't have as many resources where we live and the time frame didn't allow for online ordering, so it was "make it work" time!

We came across a grey burlap that we thought would work well for a couple of reasons:  first, Zachary's monkey is actually on the grey side, rather than the typical brown, and secondly, I knew the burlap would give us that "frayed" edge look like in the picture.  We grabbed a red & white polka dot fabric, a couple of buttons and the white onesie, then it was time to sew.

I free-handed a vest pattern for the burlap, as well as for the red & white dot tie.  I ironed on some interfacing to help the reinforce the burlap, then traced my pattern and cut it out.  I did the same with the tie.

With my pieces cut, I sewed them on the onesie, then added the buttons.

How cute is this?!

And he looked totally adorable in it!

I also made the hat using the burlap and polka dot fabric.

He wasn't a big fan of the hat, ha ha ha!

I'm pretty much in love with this big brown-eyed boy!

And remember the shirt from Matthew's party?

He loved showing off his mustache!

Yeah I kinda can't say no to these blue eyes either!

{All portraits done by J&C Photography.}

I had more fun planning for these two and it's all the more worth it when I get a big hug and an "i love you" from Matthew, and a big slobbery open-mouth kiss and a hug from Zachary {he's learning how to give kisses now}.  Then Matthew gets jealous and gives me a kiss too!  Love those guys!

Now it's on to the next party.  The hubs is turning 30 and since he never had a true birthday party growing up, he's getting one now!  I'm not doing the favors or all out decor, but we have a theme--Lego Police to be exact--and so I'm hoping for some fun things along that line.  I had lots of fun with these invites and I can't wait to show ya!

I also have a new client--a girl client!!  I can't tell you how excited I am about that, ha ha!  I mean, I love all the guys I've created things for but I have wanted to do girly for so long and I finally get to!!  She's due to be here in September, so that means girly baby things.  Did you know how much super cute girl stuff there is out there?!

O, one more note:  I added a follow-thingy to the sidebar there up near the top {you'll have to view the desktop version if on a mobile device--scroll to the bottom for that link}.  If you click to follow me, you'll be "in the know" when I post new goodies.  Or, if you'd rather, you can just subscribe to my posts and get them delivered right into your email inbox.  If you've been reading with me for a while, you know I don't post very regularly {you can kinda see why here}, so I won't be invading your inbox.  But I love sharing with you guys, and I love hearing from you, so I hope you'll consider me friend enough to follow along with me.  (:

I also post different things on Facebook, so be sure to "like" me there, too!

Ok, enough self-plugging!
Have a great day guys!

ta-ta for now...

Linking up here:

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