Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

I just wanted to wish you some Irish Luck on such a festive day! And of course to share some "Irish" inspiration! :) As I mentioned in the previous post, Jack's birthday party was on Saturday. Since he was turning 7, we decided to go with the "Lucky 7" theme. Jack's actual birthday is March 16 so it was also fitting to go with the whole Irish colors and decor. As seen in the top photo, this was the cake table. The fun framed print was provided by the ladies over at the fabulous blog http://www.eighteen25.blogspot.com/.

The invitations were all handmade using the St. Patrick's Day Noteblock Stamp by Purple Onion Designs. I love the subway poster look they portray. To see their entire line, you can check them out at http://www.purpleoniondesigns.com/StephanieWheelerStamps.html. Basically I heat embossed the stamped image with some funky lime green powder from Hamilton Arts a' la mode collection. I then used the Cricut's Graphically Speaking cartridge to diecut the "Lucky 7" out of vellum. Next I applied Shamrock Medley rub-ons from Hobby Lobby. Lastly, I decided to cover up part of the stamped image with Making Memories Rummage Alphabet rub-ons so that it would say Happy "Jack's" Day for the party. The kids had a great time at the party, and of course it helped that the weather was beautiful! :) They had leprechaun relays, hunting for gold coins & playing"lucky" horseshoes. As for the cake, my mother and I made it using a shamrock shaped Wilton cake pan and covered it up with kelly green fondant. (Thanks mom for always helping me with these cakes, I couldn't do it without you! )

As I have mentioned before, my husband Frankie is an Irish fanatic. He went to Ireland 2 summers ago in search of confirmation of his distant heritage and has been hooked ever since. Our last name is Baldwin, but in fact it was originally Flannery. Frankie's great-great-grandfather's name was Patton Baldwin Flannery. In the late 1800's he and his brothers were in trouble with the law. Apparently he fled and dropped the Flannery in hopes to not be found. Very interesting indeed. Through lots of determination and research, Frankie found an old newspaper clipping dated January 19, 1899 that documents the 4 brothers referred to as bandits fleeing arrest in the southern hills! Of course Frankie always loves anything from Ireland anymore. He purchased a Bodhran; an Irish drum for Jack's birthday and had me paint the skin. The top says "O'Flannahbra" which means Flannery in Ancient Irish. I created the shamrock using my Cricut Indie Art cartridge for a template. Using the celtic heart image, I created the clover shape and painted it with a dark green acrylic.

Since Jack's birthday was yesterday, the entire day was centered around him and what he wanted to do. After meeting MeMe & Papa for lunch, we went to the duck pond to play and feed the ducks. Jack decided he and Sam would dress in their Irish best...their Irish kilts. I leave you with this quaint picture of my little guys...don't they look precious? I must go as the festivities are about to begin! Happy St. Patty's to you all!