Hi, I’m Amanda!!  I am the creator of Manda Panda Projects and the crazy voice and mind you hear behind the page. I was born and raised in New York and moved to SoCal 10 years ago and became the mother to totally opposite, amazingly charismatic and spunky, twin 8 (almost 9) year old boys.  And once I had them, that is really where it all began.

Let me tell you a little about myself.  I’m a Virgo, a list maker, a perfectionist, and my own worst critic.  I love *all the things* color, especially Sunflowers and Rainbows.

I am constantly on the go and my friends and family are always telling me I need to relax and stop planning out every calendar month in advance.  Above all, I am an advocate for living a life filled with purpose and capturing those memories every step of the way. 

But what I am not…. is afraid to take risks, to work hard, to learn from my mistakes, and to live my life as I see fit no matter what anyone thinks, as long as I am in the pursuit of happiness.  

I have always loved planning, crafting and being creative in any way possible. I have about 50 photo albums because I am OBSESSED with pictures-an obsession which has turned from albums to scrapbooks as a way to expand upon my creativitity and better hang on to every one of life’s prescious moments.

I am not cheap- but I AM frugal. If I can save .18 cents on something well you better believe I’m gonna take advantage of that. That combined with my passion for DIY, cooking, and creating one of a kind parties, is how MandaPandaParties became more than a dream…. It became a plan.  (MandaPanda Projects spun off of that when I started the Blog).

I have always had a knack for planning and organizing, as well as being extremely resourceful and creative at the same time. With my boys, I was determined to plan and design themes that you can’t find at Party City or Walmart.  I wanted the classics, and when I chose “Mr. Potato Head” for their second birthday’s, that is when the fun began and I started making EVERYTHING by hand because of course you couldn’t find that anywhere.  

I was constantly asked the same questions by friends, family, and guests.  Who planned this? Where did you get these decorations? Over the years I have learned that I can make any party decor out there for 1/2 the price and I truly love doing it.  

So here I am.  After planning, designing, and executing 8 of my twin boys birthdays (each one more extravagant then the previous), and then diving in to hand make every decoration and party favor for all friends showers, anniversary’s, and weddings, I’ve finally took the advice of friends and family and decided to share my low cost, handmade, and customized creations with like minded Mom’s like myself, who are busy, on a budget, and just trying to do our best.

Manda Panda Projects is here to help you create memories that will brighten up your life. I am here to help you do that by sharing easy and affordable kids crafts, DIY projects, party planning tips, gift ideas, recipes, inspiration and more!  

My goal here is to share with you all the things that I have learned along this journey.  All of the epic failures that have taught me the invaluable lesson of what NOT to do.  All of the wins I have celebrated. The in-between of what I would have done differently or better had I known. 

I would start by reading this post where I tell a personal experience that I think helped shape who I am today, and if your here on my page, I’d be willing to bet you can relate!

I know your a busy Mom, just like me.  Trying to juggle kids schedules, make everyone happy, and prepare for all the birthdays, holidays, and soccer games that come along in between. We don’t have hours to spend in the kitchen after working all day, nor the energy to do so if we did! And we certainly don’t have the budget to splurge on a party planner for our kids 6th birthday.

If I can give you back just 10 minutes a day by sharing my time saving tips and tricks, take just a shred of weight off your shoulders, and save you even a little money on ways to create life’s memories, than I’d say my mission has been accomplished.

Where it all began

The is my “Why?”

I can‘t believe my babies are 8!
I‘ll never forget their first birthday, I thought it was THE biggest thing ever. Justice and Maddox, who we’ve adopted into one solid nickname of “JustMadd”, were turning the big 0-1. We had people in from out of town and it just had to be perfect, and well because I’m a Virgo ♍️, everything must be perfect.

Keep it on goin’ to page 2 to hear all about the first birthday fiasco…

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