The Florida Girl

𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕪𝕝𝕖 𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕘𝕘𝕖𝕣 • 𝕞𝕠𝕞 • 𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕖 𝕕𝕖𝕔𝕠𝕣 • 𝕗𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕠𝕟

Pop in and see this incredibly simple paper flower DIY!

Looking for an adorable DIY that is sure to bring lots of love? Stop right here and check out how to make this gorgeous paper flower bouquet. What a great way to pop in and show some love for spring, a birthday, Mother’s Day, or simply, just because.

My mom has been providing us so much support every day and I have been wanting to get her some flowers to thank her for all of her help. When a friend introduced me to Wrappily and I viewed their product line, I knew I wanted to use their gorgeous Eco-Friendly paper to create a DIY flower bouquet for her. How could she not love them when they are sustainable, made from recycled paper, and are this gorgeous?

When I Love Plum reached out to us and sent us their Suede tutu, I saw the teal color and immediately thought it would be the perfect compliment to our craft day!

What little girl doesn’t love dressing up and making a fun craft project? Mine sure does! Grab yourself a fun outfit and these supplies and get to work!

the supplies:

wrappily eco-friendly paper

scissors

hot glue

glue

wood dowels

twine, craft ribbon or like

glitter

pencil

This DIY comes with a quick preface… DO NOT get overwhelmed by all of the photos! I wanted it to be super clear so I took LOTS of photos to show you step by step how easy it is!

Step 1:

Cut your gorgeous paper into a 3″ x 3″ square – (I used a post it note pad as my template, it was perfect) – you can make as many as you want for your bouquet, I made six.

Step 2:

Fold your square paper diagonally (corner to corner), once, twice, a third time, and then draw a big arch as shown (you can freehand that or use a quarter coin as a template).

Step 3:

Cut along the arch and slowly open the paper up entirely until it creates a flower shape.

Step 4:

Cut ONE section out of the flower.

Step 5:

Apply a very small amount of glue on the left edge of the opening you just cut and glue the right edge to it to create a cone shaped flower. Pic 4 shows seven finished glued flowers.

Step 6:

Use scissors to create a hole about the size of your wood dowel. Use hot glue on the end of the dowel and insert the dowel until it sticks out of the inside of the flower about 1/4″-1/2″.

Step 7:

Cut a 1-2″ piece of Wrappily Hemp Cord (or craft ribbon or twine), use hot glue gun to cover the wood dowel inside the middle of the flower and begin to wrap the hemp cord around until it sticks to the glue. Use glitter to cover the top exposed piece of the dowel and, Voila!

Here’s my cutie helping with the glitter!!!

Didn’t they turn out amazing??? To boot, all of Wrappily’s Eco-Friendly paper are double sided so you get double the bang for your buck!

Here we go! Popping in to surprise Nana with her flowers!

Hendrix used the glue to create glitter flowers and an “H” for her signature on the card.

That smile, that I love Plum tutu, and those Wrappily paper flowers…winning combination!

Tic Tac Toe, I Love You So! Valentine’s Party

I love a good LOVE DAY and will use any excuse to decorate with red and pink! Wink Wink! Queue all the X’s and O’s, flowers and tutu’s! I repurposed some of last years DIY’s and some new goodies to create this little Tic Tac Toe, I Love You So Party. Scroll and pin away! X<3 X<3

This year’s Christmas gift has been coming in handy! My honey got me a new iPad and stylus and I downloaded the Sketchbook App and have been thoroughly enjoying it. Check out the sketch I dreamed up and sent to my girl Liz of Aquarelle USA for my balloon inspiration and then scroll to see the real life picture of how it came out! She nailed it!

FROM SKETCH…

TO REALITY!!

The lips form was my favorite new addition this year!!!

Hendrix helped me arrange these simple carnations in our oversized mixing bowl from the Target Dollar Spot and she was so proud! I must say, I was too!! I hope this girl grows up to love flowers as much as I do! Just look at that huge smile!

For a sweet tablescape, simply layer paper plates, decorative seasonal bowls, napkins, cups, silverware and straws and you are good to go!!

I couldn’t get rid of these cuties just yet! Here are last year’s DIY pennant wands!

Share The Love – Valentine Gift Basket Ideas

Here are some simple ideas to spoil your little one without breaking the bank! Oh, and spoiling your babes doesn’t have to be elaborate or crazy. Pick a theme or color pallet and run with it. Here are some of my go-to items I include in my holiday themed baskets!

Cute Basket or Crate – Doubles as Presentation and Storage

Pajamas

Books

Small Sweet Treat

Accessories

Themed Holiday Tumbler or Cup

1 – Love Is Book – Amazon

2 – Pajamas – Old Navy

3 – Heart Shaped Waffle Maker – Target

4 – Pajamas – Old Navy

5 – XOXO Sunglasses – Paper Source

6 – In My Heart Book – Amazon

7 – Foldable Crate – Urban Outfitters

8 – Hot Cocoa Bomb – Target

9 – Snickers Bar – Target

10 – Pajamas – Old Navy

11- Heart Shaped Tumbler – Paper Source

12 – Heart Shaped Pop It Keychain – Amazon

13 – I Love You To The Moon and Back Book – Amazon

visit @the_floridagirl for more holiday inspo!

Also, check out the past few years of LOVE!

Love Day Gift Basket Post

A Love Affair Post

Nothing But Love Post

Let Me Love You Valentine’s Day Basket Post

You’re Going to Love This Girly Football 4th Birthday Party

SCORE! Hendrix is FOUR!

Initially when my daughter Hendrix told me she wanted a football themed 4th birthday party I was a bit scared to be honest. I do love a good challenge, but my oh my, that was a huge one in my eyes! How does one create a girly, whimsical, colorful football party?

She gave me a few absolute wants for the party and that gave me a jumpstart I needed.  Cue all the footballs, whistles, cookies, and a bounce house. 

After establishing the theme I immediately put together a color pallet and created a mood board. I began reaching out to local vendors I knew would comprise the winning team.

I sketched the game plan & design ideas for months and sent all of them out to the team and they executed the plays perfectly!  There was zero chance of letting Hendrix down!  It was a huge victory!

Party Planning + Concept + Styling: Jen Feliciano, The Florida Girl @the_floridagirl

Venue: Veterans Park, Delray Beach, FL

Photography: LV Photography @lvphotographyllc

Picnic Setup + Curation: Magnolia Sunsets @magnoliasunsets

Bounce House: Island Bounce House @islandbouncehouse

Balloon Backdrop + Installations: Aquarelle USA

Locker + Peg Board Backdrops: Jen Feliciano, The Florida Girl @the_floridagirl

Acrylic Signage + Accessories: Floral Dust @floraldust_

Marquee Letters: Alpha Lit South Florida @alphalitsofl

Floral Design: Jen Feliciano, The Florida Girl @the_floridagirl

Cake + Cakecicles: Petal & Pear Cake Design

Cookies: Confetti Confections

Vegan Artisan Ice Pops: Pop Shack 561

Paper Goods: The Party Darling @thepartydarling

Custom Color Table Cover + Football Crayons: Creative Crayons Workshop @creativecrayonsworkshop

Kids Football Jersey Shirts: Amazon by: Jen Feliciano, The Florida Girl @the_floridagirl

Custom Favor Boxes: Amazon by: Jen Feliciano, The Florida Girl @the_floridagirl 

simple back to school DIY kicks they’ll love

Supplies: Any Style of white shoes & Colorful Fabric Markers

Instructions: Let your babe design and color their very own back to school shoes with the markers!  The more creative & original, the better! Pair with the best tutu & accessories by @iloveplum

“Mom, I’m too cool for school!”

Come dance with me, I’m 3!

Baby girl, you ARE the party!

Tutu & Jacket by IlovePlum Shoes by Vans

Our daughter, Hendrix has always been the life of the party so naturally a dance theme birthday was the perfect way to celebrate her, and she was all for it! Plus, there’s nothing like getting all dolled up, blaring music, and dancing your butt off, am I right?

I’m not sure what you might expect at a 3-year old’s dance party, but I think it had to include tons of frills, endless sweets, and a tremendous amount of bling. Hands down, the disco ball had to have been the most widely used décor item of 2020, needless to say, it was the perfect accessory to create all the magic and bling.

One of my biggest tips when planning party is to create several zones. One way to tie décor together from each zone is by using various hues of your color palette. Danielle, owner of The Stylish Detail, created this gorgeous custom fringe backdrop for the dance floor area by using desaturated colors that tied in with the florals and the wooden divider.

Yup, that is the face I made too. I know baby girl, it’s true, we made the divider wall from scratch. It actually wasn’t that hard to make (says the one who designed it and wasn’t really the one who “made” it). I did paint it though (that counts, right? LOL) This simple DIY divider will forever be the best idea. It blocked and hid our sliding glass doors. I plan to use it time and time again to hide things I don’t want to visually see and add texture and color. I need to paint the blush panel out now for my son’s first birthday in a few weeks! I have a DIY Backdrop highlight reel on my Instagram about how we made these!

Setting the table and creating the backdrop in that zone was an event in itself! It was an incredibly windy day… like 10-20 mph gusts crazy…all day! Mama was slightly freaking out (aka a lot)! One would never know from these photos though! My hubby created a PVC miracle and mounted it to our hurricane shutter pegs! Yes, you heard that correct. I had visions of hanging disco balls and handmade pompoms from “something”. After many hours of brainstorming together he made it happen!

Modern Birch Co. nailed it with this custom acrylic name for the backdrop wall. Scroll to see the custom drink stirrers she made us also!

Table setting is all about layering and creating lots of texture, levels and movement. So many details of a tablescape get overlooked so here are some amazing angles and close-ups!

The DIY Candle block centerpiece was probably one of the most talked about and asked about item of the party! I saw this idea on Instagram and knew my hubby could make it for me for just a few bucks, and he sure did! Check out the IG Highlight Reel about the Party Deets where I cover all the details of how we made it.

There are those Modern Birch Co. drink stir sticks! Pro tip: Mix real tableware with paper goods and use a cute accessory like a mini disco ball to hold down paper cups (especially on windy days)!

My closest girlfriend Shauna of @stayinghomesawyer made these adorable music note cut-out placemats for me with her cricut! If you remember, she made me some of the same ones with lemons for our Blogger Summer Soiree.

That sign though!! Floral Dust knew exactly what I wanted when I described my vision to her! This 18″ diameter custom acrylic sign with hand painted background and gold leaf was the perfect showstopper! She also created our gorgeous cake topper.

When we do sweets, we go big or go home! Our local bakery, Two Fat Cookies, always knocks my vision out of the park! This custom cake was the sweetest part of Hendrix’s day!

At every great party, there is a V.I.B (very important babe) lounge, right? We took our little outdoor seating area and dolled it up with some cute pillows, a cozy blanket & some florals, of course! (PS., these décor & home accessories were all things we previously had – that is the best and easiest way to decorate a party and add tons of texture & color – shop your own home…bring the indoors out!)

Needless to say we are all looking around dumbfounded how we already have a sweet 3 year old (Ummmm, actually 3-1/2 year old now due to how slow I was to get this blog out)! Where did that year go!?

Hop in and get excited! Simple DIY bunny headband

These simple DIY bunny ears are sure to get you egg-cited! Follow along to make your own DIY Easter Bunny ear headband!

What you’ll need:

  • Plastic bunny ear headband
  • Yarn to wrap around headband
  • Felt – two colors (I used classic brown and pink – you can use any set of colors)
  • A pen
  • Hot glue gun
  • Scissors
  • *Opt. decorative “fuzzy fur” yarn” & other ribbon or embellishments

Instructions:

  1. Use a piece of scrap paper to cut the shape of a bunny ear.
  2. Trace onto brown felt.
  3. Use that same piece of paper and trim it a little smaller to make the template for the inside of the ear.
  4. Trace onto pink felt.
  5. Use hot glue gun to glue the pink cutouts onto the brown ones.
  6. Start by placing a small bit of hot glue on the end of the headband and begin wrapping the headband with yarn.
  7. Continue until the entire headband section is wrapped and covered. *No need to cover the ears.
  8. Use hot glue to attach the felt cutout ears onto the plastic ears of the headband.
  9. Add fuzzy “fur” yarn as an accent on the ears if you would like.
  10. Add embellishments like other decorative ribbon or flowers if you would like.

Some bunny thinks they can get away with slackin’ & snackin’.

Well, I guess you can when you are this cute!

What do you mean Easter carrots? I wanted Easter candy!

Easter Basket For Kids

Easter is no longer just about candy for me anymore since having kids. I love to see the joy and excitement on their faces when they see their holiday gift baskets. Last years Easter basket had huge meaning for us! Check out the blog post here, Easter Basket Gender Reveal. I knew it would be hard to top that set of baskets, but these come pretty darn close! They are filled with all the best goodies!

These are my top 4 simple tips in order to create the perfect holiday basket:

1) Buy items you would already be purchasing or need anyway.

2) Purchase shoes in the next size to get longer use.

3) Purchase one seasonal/holiday item.

4) Add a little sweet treat or novelty item for a special surprise.

When it comes time to staging them and having all of the items show (especially if you are photographing them) use old rolled up hand towels and filler to stuff and fill the baskets. I used brown construction paper to fill the bottom of the baskets and bring all of the goodies up to the top to be more visible. I rolled hand towels and used them to fill and prop the items up as well.

Here are all the items I snagged for Bodhi’s basket:

And check out all the goods for Hendrix:

For more holiday basket inspiration, head to these posts: Valentine’s Day “Love Day Gift Basket” or “Let Me Love You Valentine’s Day Basket” , St. Patty’s Day “Ultimate St. Patty’s Day Basket Guide”

Love Day Gift Basket

One of my favorite quotes is “Love always, in all ways”…and I’ve got nothin’ but love so I sprinkle it like confetti!

Are kids Valentine’s Day baskets necessary? No. Are they fun? Yes! My babes are only so young once and I love spoiling them when I can and spreading the love. That is why I enjoy creating and giving special gift baskets like these for the holidays.

Some of the basics I like to include in my holiday themed baskets are:
An original/unique “basket” of some sort
Cute name tags
Books
Pajamas
Flowers
Sweet treats (this year hot cocoa bombs were all the rage!)
Holiday Pennant Wands (see my Instagram highlight reel for DIY)
Themed Cups or Tableware
*The links to most all of my items in our baskets this year are below*

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12 / 13

Here are a few other holiday baskets I have created in the past! Happy viewing! Hop to it, Spring! Easter Basket Gender Reveal Ultimate St. Patty’s Day Basket Guide

We’ve Been UPPA-Graded

We are riding the newborn high over here! It has been four fast months since we welcomed our 2nd IVF miracle baby into our lives. Meet Bodhi Croix! He joined our family on 7/27/20 and we couldn’t be more excited.

Complete Versatility

We have been long-time consumers of UPPAbaby and have owned the UPPAbaby VISTA since we went through IVF to have our first child. It is our pleasure & honor to be working with UPPAbaby and showing off all of the additional features and benefits of why we chose the VISTA stroller.

Why We Love UPPAbaby

Our daughter, Hendrix Rae is nearly 3 years old and has been enjoying (and we have done a lot of enjoying) the VISTA stroller since we brought her home from the hospital. Our stroller is just as amazing as it was on day one! We knew we wanted to invest in the best quality stroller, have the ability to upgrade & transition from a single stroller to a double, as well as have the most beautiful stroller on the market and the VISTA nailed it! Speaking of beautiful details, here are some close-ups of what set the VISTA apart from other strollers. One of the most iconic parts of an UPPAbaby stroller, to me, is the adjustable premium, full-grain leather handlebar.

The Bassinet, RumbleSeat, & Toddler Seat all feature a canopy with UPF 50+ protection! Super important and perfect for this Florida Family!

The UPPAbaby VISTA has a super light-weight frame and even with the Toddler Seat installed is still a mere 27lbs combined. The Toddler Seat is reversible, includes a five-point, no-rethread harness, an adjustable footrest, and a one-handed, multi-position recline.

The oversized, easy-access basket is hands-down my favorite feature! It has a 30 lb weight limit for all the mama & baby things!

Reality

This year has certainly been crazy and has thrown many of us for loops but I will say, welcoming baby Bodhi has made it one of the best years ever. Going for family walks has been one of the saving graces for us. We love that UPPAbaby has thought of it all with so many different configurations. For the first few months, we used the Bassinet but we have recently transitioned Bodhi to the Toddler Seat and upgraded Hendrix to the “driver seat” in the RumbleSeat upfront. UPPAbaby has a great tool on their site showing all the various VISTA expansion options. Click the link HERE to view.

Magical Everything

As if what I have outlined above wasn’t enough, UPPAbaby offers several additional accessories for all-weather, terrain, and lifestyles to make their strollers even sweeter. From rain additional car seat adapters to infant snug seat inserts (shown in the previous image), to cup holders to kids snack trays, they have it all, and it’s as magical as Christmas!

We, as native Floridians know cold temperatures are fleeting so, naturally when they dipped we rushed out for a coffee (hot cocoa for the babe) & a family walk. The air was crisp and the sky was clear! It made for the perfect night to see the Christmas tree our city installs each year.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of UPPAbaby. All opinions are 100% mine.