Tuesday, August 27, 2013

DIY Carnival Themed Partaaay

We had a little get together for Zakariya's Arabic Preschool, The theme was a Welcome Ramadan Carnival. As expected on the day of a series of things that do not typically happen- happened!

For starters the camera was taking pictures without a memory card for about half the party. I forgot to take pictures of the handmade giveaways and party favors, did not get pictures of all the kids in their cute costumes... and well the list goes on.... Oh and I have almost no pictures from the photo booth set up!

Everything from the games to decorations were all handmade. Apart from materials to make the items, I did not need to purchase much of anything. For prizes I opted to stay away from anything commercial or character related. Which was hard because practically any store bought party favor had some sort of Disney character all over it.

We kept it simple with an "every player is a winner rule" and we had little straw wicker baskets filled with goodies to take home. Baskets were filled with seashells, marbles, stickers and little colored stone gems. The children had brown paper bags with yarn strung thru them as handles to carry their tickets and treasures.

The kids were encouraged to dress up in costumes. They were adorable! We had everything from a horse to guy in a meeting! I am serious, one of the little boys showed up with an ear piece and when we asked him what his costume was- he said "I am a guy in a meeting."

My little man opted to be a bumble bee, my husband was the local sheriff- complete with horrible texan accent and I was a native american. Zakariya told all his friends that my costume was a feather!

For party favors, I spent hours making adorable felt wands. Will post the tutorial and finished product pictures later. We also made nontoxic, handmade soaps. They were a big hit. I couldn't find fish to go inside the soap so I used frogs instead. You can check the tutorial here. I have to admit, the tutorial makes it look much easier than it actually was. The soap was a huge hit and the kids could not wait for their soap to dissolve and their frogs to hatch.

Alhumdulilah a good time was had by all and we all enjoyed welcoming the blessed month of Ramadan.

Thanks to some of the parents using their camera phones and we did manage to get a couple of pictures.

Enjoy!

With the help of Grandpa we built and painted this wooden ticket booth. Will reuse it as a lemonade stand, puppet show theatre in the future

Kept the food simple, finger snacks 

Lovely banner made by this craft mama

Virgin Mojito for the adults only 

Dart a balloon game 

My husband made this cute little bean bag toss in the shape of a masjid, complete with moon crescent! 

Pin the tail on the donkey 

Fishing! 

My friend was so generous to lend us her bouncy castle. This was a favorite! 













Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Princes & Fairies Giveaway!

I do not know about you but with all the Eid Ul Fitr festivities coming to an abrupt end my heart is seriously missing Ramadan and Eid!

The blessed month passed us by so very quickly... leaving me feeling a little glum. Hafsa over at Princes and Fairies was kind enough to offer a quick fix.... A GIVEAWAY!

Wait until you see the adorable items available at her shop. Even if you are not expecting, they will have you wanting to make babies all over again ;) Frankly, I am sick of seeing the same old duck, frog and bear prints everywhere. I love the idea of custom and handmade gear for babies. For those looking for products without faces and characters products like these are perfect!

Have a look at this adorable selection

I was oh-so curious to know about the brains behind Princes and Fairies, here is what I learned after chatting with Hafsa:

  • What is the inspiration behind P&F? 

I think it is safe to say that Princes and Fairies came into being from a confluence of different inspirations. The 3 key factors that really spurred me on were;

a) My son had very sensitive skin as an infant and most baby linens/blankets bought from big box stores (like our favourite baby store) would result in his skin getting irritated. When I did some researched, I read about the less than stellar conditions in which some of these items are made overseas and then often transported alongside hazardous materials on barges where they sit together for weeks and months. No amount of laundry can get rid of those effects.

b) I had a very difficult time finding baby items that were stylish and modern but reasonably priced. I found that with most baby stuff, you either had cheesy and cheap or stylish but super expensive (we're talking $800-900 for crib bedding. Plus, I found there to be a serious lack of organic baby offerings when it came to linens and blankets that appealed to my taste.

c) When I became a mom in November 2011, I went from being a busy professional with a thriving career to being a mom. I LOVED being able to stay at home with my son but I really missed that feeling of accomplishment and independence that comes with working outside the home. However, I was not willing to leave my son in the care of strangers to go searching for that feeling. Princes & Fairies allows me to have the best of both worlds. I am able to give my baby my full attention and enjoy him while planning and organizing my work around his schedule. It gets crazy some days but I love every minute of the experience.

  • What is your favourite must have P&F product?
I love all the Princes & Fairies products However, my favourite two products are the Luxe Hooded Towel and the Heirloom Hand-cut Chenille blanket. The Luxe Hooded towel is awesome. It was one of the first things I ever designed and my son still uses his towel that I made almost 2 years ago. I love the Heirloom Hand-cut Chenille for how unique it is and just how many variations you can make with it. I love the quilted look with the oh so soft back. Totally awesome!





  • You donate a blanket for every blanket you sell, can you tell us more about this awesome cause?
For every Cozy Cuddle blanket sold, we donate one to a children's charity or a local homeless shelter. I used to work in the non-profit sector prior to becoming a mom and it deeply impressed upon me the need to give back. We are surrounded by blessings from the Almighty and giving back is a small way of saying thank you. Plus, as a mom, I saw how careful I was about keeping my baby warm. It broke my heart to think of mothers who couldn't keep their babies warm through the night because they couldn't afford a blanket. Every child deserves the security of a blanket and every mother deserves the knowledge that her baby is sleeping warm and cozy beside her.


Now for the fun part.... DRUM ROLL PLEASE! Our giveaway is for one of my favorite products has to be the swaddle blanket. I love the idea of having baby in a breathable blanket as oppose to a thicker material, especially in the summer time.




To enter the Giveaway: AND for MULTIPLE entries:

-LIKE Princes & Fairies Baby Boutique Facebook page
-SHARE the link for Princes & Fairies Baby Boutique
-SHARE the link for The Alif to Yaa of Motherhood Blog
-LEAVE a comment below telling us about your favorite product
-LEAVE a comment for every like/share you did so you have multiple chances of winning!

*This Giveaway is only open to residents of North America



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