This weekend, we celebrated Bella’s 9th (very belated) birthday. 83 belated days to be exact (not that she was keeping track or anything). It was to be a simple gathering with just her closest school friends. A little craft, some ice cream, pizza and maybe a little Karaoke.
And though I am often made fun of for not being able to ‘keep things simple’, I realize that this is the way I was formed. Whether my creativity is nature from my dad or nurtured by my mom, my most inner being feels happier when I create.
Bella was assigned the task of naming the ‘paint’ colours in these cute little buckets. This one is ‘purple wurple’, but there is also ‘green energy’, ‘falling star yellow’, ‘little bow pink’ and ‘blustery blue’.
But even though I get the credit for putting it all together and am the self proclaimed ‘artistic director’, I could never pull it off without the help of my beautiful family.
My mom always makes beautiful cakes and she even surprised me by making these gorgeous cupcakes. My mom’s gifts have never been about price, brand or trend. Her gifts to us require sacrificing her time, creating with her own hands and doing it with love each and every time. I am so blessed to call her mami.
My little sister, who with a smile on her face, will always lend a helping hand, no matter how boring the task. And of course my sweet hubby, who can go from wearing a suit and tie speaking executive lingo to millionaires, to being the silliest and funniest daddy in the world, making a little girl’s heart smile as her friends laugh along with his crazy jokes.
It’s moments like these that I find myself without words to express the gratefulness my heart feels.
But beyond all of the decorations and pretty colours, there was something even more beautiful that happened that day. As Bella’s friends left and our family was once again alone, we opened her gifts. The cards – some bought, some hand-drawn – all contained sweet little girly pictures depicting childhood innocence. But one card especially touched our heart as it read:
“Dear Isabella, thank you for liking me all these days and for standing up for me and I am
so proud to be able to call you my friend.”
It was written by a little girl who was relatively new to the school and – as Bella later explained – had not been initially accepted by the other children, but teased and made fun of. It brings happiness to my heart knowing our little girl didn’t succumb to peer pressure, but had learned compassion and was able to stand for those who were being mistreated. Of all the memories from Bella’s 9th birthday (and 83 days), this will be the fondest memory of a proud momma.
Thank you for allowing me to share a little bit of my life with you.
much love,
Hello Lucy. I am new to your blog. I must say you have a lovely blog and I’m amazed to see the creativity in you. In fact I was asking myself as to how you get to be so creative and talented. You answered my curiosity with this post!
And a belated birthday wish to Isabella. Do give her a kiss from me 🙂
Congratulations for having such a beautiful blog and I wish you success in your creativity which has no bounds!
The party looks totally amazing. What a beautiful idea and your love and artistic talent really shine through!
I love all the colors that you and your family used for your daughter’s birthday. The kids did a wonderful job on their paintings!!
I was very happy to read about how accepting your daughter was towards a new friend…..our children teach us so much!!
Lynn
I do love your creativity and your desire to use it to inspire others. I have a precious 10 year old daughter . . . you’re giving me ideas! Thanks for all you do.
As an artist, this would have been a dream party for me! Lucky little girl! Beautiful colors and great idea!
Wonderful!!!
What a happy, beautiful and colorful birthday party you’ve created! Lovely post, thanks for sharing!
What an amazing memory at the end of your story. Way to go Isabella! If you don’t stand for something you stand for nothing and to think you have learned this at such a tender age. Your kindness to your friend will have an eternal impact. Love.
Too cute! I love the paintchip table runner! So creative!
I’m always inspired when I visit your beautiful space, Lucy. I’m not surprised to see such creative flow for your beautiful daughter’s birthday. Nothing is prettier than dessert tables.. but you’ve added your own artistic flare! Most of all.. your final words touched my heart..
This is all so very precious and sweet!! The whole design, thought and meaning behind the party to the Sweet words of a little girl. I Loved it! Happy Belated Birthday to your sweet Bella.
xo
Angelina
What a colourful party. You have share with us how you made the cake. I am loving the colours.
Wow Lucy! You are so talented! I laughed when I read the part about how you can’t keep things simple. I wasn’t raised in a creative family but I, too, am the same. I just can’t do something simple. It’s so much fun to create for our family!!
Jamie @ somuchbetterwithage.com
My daughter wants to have an Art Party this summer. I love the rainbow tissue balls! I also really like that all of the girls had their own canvas for the owls. We might have to try that too.
Oh Lucy, What a precious post! Especially about the true character of your little girl! God bless her! It takes a loving set of parents to turn out loving children! Thank you for sharing this post. I would love to do an artistic party for my grandchildren as they love creating all kinds of treasures of their own. What fun ideas! Thank you for the inspiration!
(Your blog is one of my very favorites!) :o)
Deborah :o)
All the photos are scrupmtious! A treat for the eyes. I bet the girls loved it. As an elementary art teacher I give you props for encouraging creativity at this lovely birthday party. The owl paintings turned out beautiful!
Oh Lucy, this party is beyond beautiful! Everything about it is dreamy and stunning! What a lucky girl your daughter is!
Oh Lucy, I hope that some day I get to meet you! This post and the theme of this party made my heart smile. When my SON (who will turn 21 in a few weeks) had his 6th birthday, we held a painting themed party at the local “paint your own pottery” place. The children each received brushes, water colors and a black wool beret hat as their “goody bag”. His “cake” was multicolored cupcakes…arranged on a foam core pallet shape….it was one of my favorite parties and one that he still talks about. His “masterpiece” ceramic treasure box from that day still sits on the cabinet in his room. Thank you for sharing what I’m sure will be a life long memory for you AND your daughter. Hugs, Kimberly
Lucy, this made me cry! Your story about your family, and your precious girl standing up for others. I’m seriously touched by this post. I understand your desire to make things beautiful and go overboard. My motto is… haters gonna hate, creators gonna create.
It’s just IN us to do this kind of thing, and I totally get that. And you, my friend, do it better than most ANYONE. Well done, Lucy. I’m seriously blown away over here!
The story of your sweet girl brought tears to my eyes. What a beautiful memory you created for her (even if it was a couple months late) She will never forget that day! I could feel the love oozing through the computer screen as I scrolled through the pictures and words. Just precious.
So pretty! Pinning to show my 10 year old daughter…she’d LOVE this! 🙂
This post explains so much. I see creativity oozing out of you like there is no tomorrow & it’s all because you were born into it. I love that! What a special story & now you get to pass it along. I hope to do this for my future kiddos. Loved the post my friend!! xx liz marie
Absolutely totally enchanting! So incredibly gorgeous and everything looks so delicious! Oh that CAKE! 🙂
You win world’s best mom award for this! Your daughter sounds like an absolutely beautiful soul – just like her mom! And now I see where all your creativity came from.
Kelly
I don’t know exactly how I ended up in this lovely space of yours, but I am happy I did. I love your blog, and your heartfelt sharing. Your lovely familia reminds me of mine. Except my dad always with pen and pencil on hand drawing beautiful homes and my mom sewing away. Nice to meet you. I will be back.
You obviously come from a wonderful family and I can tell you are raising your children with the same love for art and beauty. I hope I can provide my children with true beauty surrounding them as well.
http://www.shaggysheephome.com
Stunning party idea! What a sweet loving child you have raised 🙂
Gorgeous! I enjoyed this post a lot, every single detail!
Very inspiring.
Besos!
What a beautiful party! I especially love your hand drawn wallpaper. Your daughter is simply amazing and is a huge reflection of you and your family. In times when all we seem to hear about is bullying, violence and a society desensitized by social media… this was a breath of fresh air. xo, Melanie
As I was stumbling along the internet to figure out how I was going to plan out my daughter’s 10th birthday party, art style, I was lucky enough to come upon this blog. I LOVE IT! You (all) did a fabulous job both with the party, and clearly in raising your Bella to be an awesome friend to all. Keep it up! 🙂