oh yay studio - Making + baking + everyday celebrating

Celebrating Holidays + everydays through making + baking + DIYs

DIYs

How to make a pizza piñata + punny pizza buttons!

My niece turned three last weekend and my Sister-in-law threw one of the cutest, easiest toddler parties ever.....she ordered a bunch of pizzas, had everyone come in their cozies to hang out and enjoy one another. She made simple cupcakes and we ate pizza and opened presents....it was everything a party for a toddler should be. Full of color, good food, lots of laughing, LOADS of presents and a simple concept that won't break the bank OR leave you exhausted afterwards! :) So, HIGH FIVES Lanae, ... continue reading...

DIYs

How to make a number piñata! :) And the best birthday gift for a two year old!

SO! I am one of those parents that are in the "we have enough toys, please bring books or give experiences" type of  stages for birthdays or Christmas or any gift-giving holiday. I mean, I want my kids to feel spoiled and ULTRA loved by Grandma and Aunties and everyone, but we have SO MUCH STUFF around our house that gets accumulated over days and weeks. And yes, I do try and declutter as much as possible, but still. It PILES UP! :) Amiright?!?!? Any Mom's relate?! SO! When Esther's 2nd ... continue reading...

DIYs Holiday

DIY swirly letter crayons | national children’s craft day PT 1

I remember growing up and just watching my Mom create...on her sewing machine, or drawings of paper crafts, or embossing or (my fave) her costumes (and if you knew my mom, you KNEW this was her forte). I SO SO SO believe (like 410%) that her willingness to get messy and be creative is what gave me a passion for making myself. I already hope that I am encouraging the same kind of creativity and exploration in my kids. I know they may not have the exact same passions or experiences or interests as ... continue reading...

DIYs Life

My top 5 Olympic Party ideas + DIYs! :)

If you know ANYTHING about me, you know that I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE (like LOVE with a capital "L") the Olympics. The stories. The competition. The Mom's crying in the stands cheering on their hard-working, beloved kids. The winning. The emotions. The medal count. The coverage. NBC. ALL. THE. THINGS!!!! Do ya feel me!??! :) So, DUH.......of course I throw an olympic opening ceremonies party! Every year. It's like a tradition on the Steffen household! :) Its on the calendar for the next 40 ... continue reading...

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  • Say HELLLOOOOOOO to March’s costume for my 2019 costume challenge. It’s a nod to one of my most favorite childhood things: A CABOODLE! :) I used to fill mine to the brim with my jewelry making supplies and schlepp it around wherever we went so that I could make things in any spare moment (or tuck more treasures that I’d find inside). Check out the full *challenge* of this month with all of the photos and fun on the blog (#linkinprofile)! :) I hope you love this one as much as I do!⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ #caboodle #diycostume #abeautifulmess #makersgonnamake #creativelifehappylife #ohyaycostumes ⁣ #makersmovement #abmlifeiscolorful #makersofinstagram #calledtobecreative #thatsdarling #creativepreneur #abmhappylife #livecolorfully #80sinspired #1984
  • If spring break isn’t intended for perfecting our donut recipe, then I think I’ve missed the memo. . Also, drizzling chocolate on just about any breakfast food will SURELY get me running to the kitchen at any hour of the morning, justsayin’! HAPPY FRIDAY friends! . . . #friyay #donuts #baking #instabaking #inthekitchen #abeautifulmess #abmhappylife #homemade #abmlifeissweet #abmlifeisbeautiful #weekendvibes #creativelifehappylife #livecolorfully
  • Life isn’t always rainbows and sunshine. I know that. I’ve been through that. In fact, I’ve been through a heap of grief loosing both of my parents at a young age, as an only child. And today marks 10 years that my Dad hasn’t been here. He took his life. His death was like a deeper stab or wound than I ever thought could happen; less than 2 years after my Mom had already lost her battle with cancer, I found myself loosing the rainbow colored world that I had grown up in. But here is the thing that I’ve learned as these 10 years have passed: Life can suck, there is no way around it. Things aren’t fair and there are no less than 9 million questions that go unanswered or understood. And loosing someone is a deep wound that I don’t know if I’ll ever *really* recover from.  BUT! BUT I have seen redemption and grace and so much love over the past 10 years from family and friends and strangers. More than I ever knew was in me or surrounded me. And, slowly, as the clouds have lifted over the past 10 years I’ve started to see rainbows again. Color, life, joy….lots of it! This journey is a *GIGANTIC* driving force behind why I do what I do. To hustle after joy like it’s my last day on this planet…I always tell people “feel the feelings 100% and then move on!” Not the kind of “move on” like pretend it didn’t happen, but feel the deep wounds, get counseling, talk to friends, live in the grief, feel the feelings, be mad and sad and cry or yell or whatever you have to do and then allow yourself to move on. Because tragedy isn’t the only story that my life or your life has to tell. I love you Dad, I wish you were here to watch baseball games and make apple pies and meet my kids and watch Zeke play tee-ball and help with the garden and watch the animals on our property and go for walks together and pick berries and call when my car is making funny noises and all the things that made you an incredible Dad. Life is different without you but you’ve prepared me for so many days that I have lived and have yet to live…because my story is still going and tragedy isn’t the only one I have to tell. . . . #grief #cancer #suicide #notalone #lifeafterloss #abeautifulmess #griefjourney
  • Warm weather is in the forecast (as the ENTIRE midwest rejoices) and I am over here planning to slap some new paint ANDDD perhaps a mural or two on our walls inside. I get *SO* stir crazy over the end of winter and although I can’t open the windows or dig in the dirt quite yet, this is my way of welcoming in spring!!!!!⁣ .⁣ Also, my husband is on vocal rest this week, sooooooooo he can’t complain about the amount of paint cans I will be bringing into the house! 🤷🏼‍♀️😍⁣ .⁣ .⁣ .⁣ ⁣ #abeautifulmess #abeautifulmess #makersgonnamake #creativelifehappylife #spring #ihavethisthingwithcolor #joyful #jouyfulbook #makersmovement #dscolor #abmlifeiscolorful #colorventures #livecolorfully #thatcolorproject #calledtobecreative #abmhappylife
  • Some days I make rainbow shaped pancakes with sweet cream clouds for breakfast. And other days I accidentally send out an email blast titled “TEMPLATE” (eye roll). Yup. It’s called balance. . Also, Esther kept eating these telling me they were “the most awesome mama” so I think that we started out our day with a big ol’ win! :) 🌈🌈 ANNNNND in case you need something festive, these would be a SUPER cute breakfast for St. Patricks day tomorrow (and wild easy). Mix your pancake batter, then split it up into as many bowls as you want colors. Add food dye and then transfer each color to a big zip-lock baggie (you could use piping bags too, but I still have a love/hate relationship with them). Heat your pan, then pipe your rainbow stripes one at a time. They will make you feel like a super-leprechaun feeding them to your kids!  Oh, and we mixed plain greek yogurt with a bit of vanilla extract and honey for the sweet cream clouds! . . . #abeautifulmess #inthekitchen #pancakes #breakfast #pancakeart #abmlifeisbeautiful #makersgonnamake #abmlifeiscolorful #theeverygirl #abmhappylife #livecolorfully #abmlifeissweet #pursuepretty #thehappynow #darlingmovement #dscolor
  • I prefer baking over cooking, sweet over salty and almond lattes over any other morning coffee drink! Yellow is one of my most favorite colors EVER and I am wildly proud of my *very first* finished sweater. Annnnndddd if you look reallllll close you can see all the loose sends and dangling yarn that I have yet to weave in. What can I say, I was excited to try it on!!! . . . #abeautifulmess #friyay #fridayintroductions #happyfriday #weekendvibes #crafty #knitter #purlsohobusyhands #purlsoho #knittersofinstagram #knitting #knitting_inspiration #imadethis #weekendfun #knittinglove #abmcrafty #makersgonnamake #craftsposure #creativelifehappylife #makersmovement #knitstagram
  • Better late than never, right? Every year, I have wanted to make a re-usable, fabric birthday crown for Esther and every year she boycotts…….SOOOO this year I found just the ticket: a birthday candle NECKLACE! She *loved it* and wore it around the house for a solid week after the party was over! 🎉 I assumed she just wanted the celebration to keep going!! AND the best part is that each year I can add another candle to the string so it represents her age! Snag the full pattern and tutorial on the blog! . OH——ANNNND you can totally make this even if you aren’t a sewer, just replace the sewing portion with your hot glue gun skills snd I would bet-your-bippy it will turn out just as cute! :) . . . #ontheblog #linkinprofile #crafty #makersgonnamake #makersofinstagram #makersmovement #crafts #craftsposure #creativelifehappylife #abmlifeiscrafty #abmlifeiscolorful #sewingpattern #sewist #makeyousmilestyle #makersvillage #abmcrafty #creativityfound