Etsy's Cyber Week

Etsy is having a Cyber week of sales. You can find the holiday items in Amanda Condra Designs participating in this sale now through Cyber Monday.

Be right back, now I'm digging all these prints out to display in our house!

Unicorn Themed Baby Shower

We hosted a co-ed baby shower for our friends, Dan and Kalysa, who are expecting their first baby in August.  When we first asked if we could have them a shower, Kalysa mentioned liking unicorns.  She's using the theme of unicorns, mermaids, fairies, and dragons for the nursery so I decided to choose unicorns to go with for the theme of the baby shower.  I designed an entire party suite for the shower.  I pulled out some of my old favorites from the first shower I hosted a few years ago and updated them to fit the unicorn theme.  I made wishes for baby cards for guests to fill out, scratch off cards, and a Price is Right game. I have had the Price is Right game in my shop for a few years but had not yet used it so I was happy to finally get the chance to use it personally.

Once again, I created a diaper cake only this time I played up on the unicorn them! I also made a diaper wreath for my front door to greet guests as they arrived. I decorated the mantle by framing the baby's name and hanging some banners.

For food we decided to grill hamburgers and hotdogs to keep it simple.  We had veggies, pasta salad, chips, and desserts! I made a unicorn pull apart cupcake cake, sugar cookies in the shape of onesies, unicorn bark, and we had fresh strawberries.  I also put together an infused water bar! I made lemon lime infused water and cucumber mint infused water and also created a do-it-yourself station to create your own flavors with citrus, cucumber, and mint!

After we all visited and ate, we played our games and then Kalysa and Dan opened the gifts.  We had such a fun time having everyone over to celebrate and shower the parents-to-be and baby girl with love!

ACD: Sale on all Holiday Prints!

Now through the end of the year, you can grab your instant download holiday print for just $5! Find them all here.  I am having a hard time deciding which prints to set out this year so I might just set them all out, grab the holiday movies and popcorn, and enjoy the holiday season! There is still a week left until Christmas.  If you haven't finished shopping for your gifts, don't forget to download your free shopping list printable to help you plan the rest of your shopping!

Gilmore Girls Viewing Party

via Jane.com

I am so excited for the Gilmore Girls revival on Netflix coming out later this month! The minute I heard that it was actually happening and would be released in November, I instantly wanted to have a binge watching party.  Unfortunately, I will be traveling on Black Friday and will not be able to binge watch the minute it's released.  There will be no late night viewing party at my house, but I did want to share all the ideas, tips, and plans so you can host your very own Gilmore Girls viewing party.

Invitations

Now, you could just send out a text to your friends inviting them over, but what fun is that?  I found some great option online.  Jane.com (pictured above) and Bren Did both have some free options that are perfect! I also found a few items for sale on Etsy that are worth considering!

Decor

If you don't decorate, is it even a party? I'm just kidding...sort of.  Here are some cute and easy ideas for your GG party.  

Target has such cute party supplies!

You can find some free printables for your party online from several bloggers and websites that are just as excited about the return of the Gilmore Girl crew as the rest of us!  There are also some great and fairly inexpensive option on Etsy. You can even grab a free No Cell Phones sign from Luke's Diner.

Food and Drink

What would any Gilmore Girls party be without food?  The strange eating habits of Lorelai and Rory are continually featured in the series so you have so many options to go with when planning snacks for your get together!  Here are some ideas I have that would be easy to pull together quickly!

Miss Patty's Founder's Day Punch

1 cup peach brandy

1/2 cup Kentucky bourbon

1 cup apple juice

1/2 cup orange juice

1/2 cup strawberry jam

1 cup strawberries

1 & 1/2 teaspoon lime zest

1 750ml bottle dry champagne

1 12oz can spicy ginger ale or ginger beer

1 teaspoon bitters
Blend together brandy, bourbon, apple and orange juices, strawberries, jam and zest until well incorporated. Pour into an ice-filled pitcher, top with champagne and ginger ale. Stir in teaspoon of bitters and pour into glass. 

the Rory Cocktail

1 oz chilled vodka
1.5 - 2 oz pineapple juice
0.5 oz grenadine
Shake and top with a float of champagne and add a cherry or lemon spiral

And on top of the cocktails, it would be fun to have a coffee station so guests can create their own coffee drink.  Once you have the drinks covered, you obviously need all the food.  Grab your favorite poptarts, Chinese takeout, pizza, donuts, popcorn, red vines, and more.  I think it would be fun to have a couple of different food stations to allow guests to customize their snacks.  Guests would love a french fry bar to create their own loaded french fries!  This would be a super easy and very fun take on having french fries for snacking on during your binge watching!  A candy buffet would also be very fitting and easy to pull together.  

Activities

How fun would it be to have a way to declare weather you are Team Jess, Team Dean, or Team Logan (definitely Team Jess here)?  Guests can cast their votes for which one of Rory's guys they think she'll end up with or you can hand out stickers/pins to for guests to wear to declare their loyalties!  Some other activities that would be fun for this party is a Gilmore Girls bingo or some DIY stations such as make your own felt pennants or newspaper hats.

And of course, come prepared dressed in your favorite GG themed attire.  I grabbed this shirt from Etsy last month.  

Happy watching! I cannot wait to see what a year in the life gives us!  And by the way, I think I'm totally Team Jess!

ACD: New Twist on Old Favorite

Today I sent out this nautical inspired customization to an old favorite over in the shop.  I am actually really loving this customization of the original and am suddenly thinking about an entire nautical themed party suite!

Amanda Condra Designs Update

Tonight I finally re-opened the shop on Etsy!  I put the shop on vacation mode just before a few big events back in April and am just not to a point where I feel that I can devote the proper attention to it and any orders/requests I may receive.  I just completed two custom design orders and it really got me motivated to update my listings and take the shop off vacation mode!  I have a couple of other design projects I will be starting soon but here are the two custom designs I just worked on last week.  I created a logo design and some party decor (not pictures below is another food station sign and a birthday bunting banner to match the theme).

Etsy Lust List

I spend my fair share of time on Etsy for my shop, but I also spend a lot of time just browsing shops I like or searching for particular items.  Here is my what I'm currently lusting over.

1. Charleston Neighborhood Poster | I love this black and white neighborhood poster for Charleston.  I wish we had a spot for it in our Charleston decorated bathroom.

2. National Parks Checklist Map | This would be a great addition to an office.  I love the idea of having this as a reminder that I need go to National Parks more often!

3. Horeshoe Ring |  I love this ring!  I got a pair of horseshoe earrings last summer in Louisville.  This ring would be the perfect addition to my ring collection.

4.  Hand-stamped Cocktail Spoons | I have often seen stamped utensils and swooned.  These would be perfect for a Kentucky Derby party!  This shop has so many cute options! I love the idea of having stamped utensils for cheese boards and at holiday parties too.

5. Stamped Wanderlust necklace | This necklace is so cute.  Keeping in theme with my love for travel, it's no wonder that I love this.  I have often said that I have wanderlust.

Amanda Condra Designs, Open for Business!

I finally did it!  I finally opened an Etsy shop. I've thought about it for quite some time now, but I finally sat down and just did it.  It will be a place that I can sell my party printables and a few prints and other things as well.

I have a few projects in mind that I am going to be working on to get added to the store shortly.  I have so much fun creating things that I can't wait to share some more new designs with you all.  Go take a peak and see what I have been up to lately with the shop.