Eloise Birthday Party

Hey, hey!!  

I hope everyone has been having a lovely July!!  I know I have.  :-)

This past weekend, I helped a co-worker with her sweet daughter's birthday party.  She turned six and loves Eloise, so we Googled other Eloise birthday parties we had seen online, and used that inspiration with a few touches of our own.   

For the favors, a candy bar seemed just the thing for this party.  (Note the runner -- it's just pink and white polka-dot wrapping paper.  Cute and budget-friendly!)

From left-to-right, there were Rice Krispies treats made with pink marshmallows.  To make wrapping them easier, I suggested lollipop sticks, and they were tied with pink and black curling ribbon.  That's my pretty little cake pedestal underneath.  

Next (and possibly my favorite) was the cotton candy tower.  I found the mason jars (12 for $7.99) and the cotton candy at local grocery stores.  After filling each jar, I covered the top with a small square of pink-and-white polka dot wrapping paper, then tied with zebra-print ribbon.   The tower itself was all Jayson's doing.  He's creative, too!

*  Note:  Do this as close to the event as
possible so that the cotton candy stays fresh! 

The cake was made by someone she knows who produces things like this from her kitchen.  Isn't it awesome?

I also put pink and black gumballs in little bowls.  (The birthday girl thought the black ones were olives!)

Next came my signature candy bags.  We selected things like Flying Saucers, Tootsie Rolls, Good n' Plenty, Gummy Watermelons, etc.  Anything pink, anything black.  

Finally, iced animal crackers (made exactly like the candy bags.)

For the actual favor bags, I took white bags from the dollar store (2 for a buck, if you can believe it!).  They're rather large because I knew they would have to carry mason jars.  I cut small slits on either side, and tied the curling ribbon through it.  The little labels I printed right from my computer onto scrapbook paper.

For decorations, we used streamers and balloons (which I think are highly underrated), along with some tissue paper pompoms I made myself.  I used a Martha Stewart idea (though I tweaked it a little.)  Seriously, these things are awesome.  I will post a tutorial entirely for them another time, but for right now, just "ooh" and "ahh" at them in the pictures.  ;-)

I made a little banner for over the candy bar.  (Here is my tutorial on how to make one.)

A close-up of one of the pompoms.  Isn't it adorable?

(Decorations Total: less than $30.  What!!)

For a game, she had an Eloise picture blown up, and they played 'pin the bow on Eloise' (a cute little switch on the classic pin-the-tail.)

And finally, a picture of the hat I purchased at the dollar store and dressed up as a gift to the birthday girl.  She was stylin', let me tell you.

What parties have you been to lately?

~ Sarah

Festival of Ice, 2012

Well, I have successfully survived my first big event since my illness a couple of months ago.  I have to admit, I was dreading it in a way... I really didn't have faith in my ability to physically pull it off.  But with the help of my fabulous husband, we did it!!

Our town does an annual Festival of Ice, and the entire community comes together to participate.  The theme this year was 'Frozen Games,' (a salute to the Olymics) with a London twist.  Our church participates by sponsoring a "warming center," a free event where families can enjoy games, hot chocolate, coffee, popcorn, snacks, face-painting, and crafts.  We don't go half-way with our decorating, either (the part I'm involved with.) 

At each game station, children earned 'medals' made from chocolate coins and crepe paper, so we set up a photo corner for them to show their prizes off.  Using a photo I found on the internet (hurrah for Google!!), Jayson and I painted an impression of Big Ben.  {Fortunately, it photographs much better than it actually looks in person.}  My father-in-law made the gold/silver/bronze stand, and we had additional medals on hand as props for the photos.

  

Elsewhere in the Warming Center, we had a 'torch' (made from a stovepipe, paint can, fan, angel food cake pan, and crepe paper), Olympic rings (made from hula hoops and spray paint) {both made by Jayson} ...

And, what has become our signature Warming Center decoration, hundreds of helium balloons dotting our ceiling. 

Strangely, I forgot to take any photographs of the ice sculptures, which is a shame because some of them were very cool.  There was even an ice torch, which was lit for a short time.

All-in-all, a successful event!  On to the next.  :-)

~ Sarah

A Magical Hallway

Everyone knows that feeling... you walk into a room that makes your eyes light up, your breath catch, and childhood come flooding back, even for a brief moment.  Two nights ago, we went to the Dietrich Theater (a/k/a the Wyoming County Cultural Center) for their annual gift to the community, a free showing of "It's a Wonderful Life."  And as we walked in... just look at what we saw!



A spectacular display of lights, ribbons, and ornaments!

 

It's impossible to get the magical feeling from a photograph, but perhaps you can tell a little.  It was a very simple idea... ornaments dangling from ribbons tied to strands of Christmas light.  Absolutely delightful!

Of course, the movie was magical, too... as always.  I never fail to cry at the very end.  :-)

May you experience something magical this Christmas, too!

~ Sarah

Pretty Paper Ornaments

Gosh, does it feel good to be working on craft projects again!  I thought I'd get started on Christmas decorations, since, well, the Christmas season begins next Friday.  (Is it just me, or did it sneak up on us this year??)

I loved this idea - I came up with it myself but I'm certain I'm not the only person who's ever done something like this.  But, for the record, I didn't see ornaments like this and duplicate them -- they actually came from my own mind.  ;)

What you will need:

1. Cardstock in various colors that match (and closely match) your theme
2. Big hole punch (mine is 2")
3. Glue (like Elmer's, or paper glue, etc)
4. thin ribbon
5. a really good movie (optional)
6. cup of tea (also optional)

Begin by punching out quite a few circles of your selected cardstock.  Fold every circle in half with the pattern inside.

Start gluing your circles together.  I didn't make any two the same, at least on purpose, so they looked like a mismatched, colorful little band of 3-D circles.  I was exceptionally pleased with them.

Cut your ribbon into strips (something like 10" long) - I did some longer, some shorter.  Fold them in half, and tie a basic knot at the ribbon ends, forming a loop.

The ornaments should have a natural gap in the center of the circles (see photos above), which the ribbon slides through comfortably. 

And you're done!!  Before I knew it, I had made almost 20 of them, but unfortunately I had the colors wrong for the person I was making them for (it wasn't purple - it was gold.  Durn it.)  So this turned out to be a test run.  A very successful test run, I might add.  Hopefully by the time I do the real ornaments, my new phone will be here and the pictures will be much better.  ;)

Happy Monday!

~ Sarah

A Pinterest Autumn

Pinterest - the virtual Pinboard.  By a show of hands, who has experienced Pinterest, and the unexpected addiction that comes with it?  It's really a nifty idea, but I have found that my work productivity dropped significantly since I received my Pinterest invitation, and my craft/d-i-y project list grew exponentially.  Truly, though, it's very convenient to collect links in one place, and I've recommended it to my clients with weddings coming up.  This way they can save pictures of things that inspire them, which helps me to plan an event around their tastes.  Fabulous.

I haven't been working on projects lately, though my list is growing.  I'm in the middle of a couple of months off from event-planning, which has been beautiful.  I've been systematically cleaning my house, and finished (yes, finished!) the laundry last weekend.  But who really blogs about laundry and cleaning?  {I'm only doing so to explain my bloggy absence.}  So in lieu of another d-i-y post (recipe, craft or otherwise) I thought I'd walk you through one of my virtual pinboards (named Fallishness.)  I'll site the original source where I can, but Pinterest doesn't always take you back where it came from, and sometimes the links are re-posts to begin with, and no source is sited.  If you happen to know the original post for any of these, please share, because I would so love to credit the rightful owner.

Let's start with table decorations.  How simple and delightful are these apple candle holders?  Such a perfect little Autumny touch.

Original post here

And speaking of apples, how about a whole bowl of apples turned centerpiece?  My husband wouldn't hesitate to pick one off the pile as he walked by, and that would be just fine with a decoration like this.  Who says practical can't also be beautiful? 

Anything with hurricane lamps is ok in my book!  I love these colors:

Original post here

I fell in love with this simple project.  Mason jars wrapped in twine, spray painted, then tied with a bow and illuminated with tea lights.  Stunning!

Can I just tell you that I already have the paper purchased for this project?  The world's cutest pumpkins, ladies and gentlemen.

Original post here.

It's dangerous for me to concentrate on fall food too much, however, I loved this pumpkin made from two bundts put together.  On my pinboard, I called this a Pumpkindt.

A few unique pumpkin decorating ideas:

Original post here

I can't help assuming that this is a home further South than mine, as our wood burner is already in action.

Original post here

And finally, some glittery pumpkins.  

Original post here

So how do you decorate for Autumn?

~ Sarah

Safari Sleepover

It's Monday, and I survived the sleepover!   It was certainly a fun time for the girls.  We made camo binoculars out of toilet paper rolls and construction paper, ate some safari foods, and watched Nim's Island while eating popcorn from the homemade popcorn bags.  One of our leaders shared a devotional about children in Africa and how we can help them from here, and the girls asked some wonderful questions. 

Here are some photographs of the decorations and treats.

I covered a plastic white tray with leftover zebra-print wrapping paper and cheeta duct tape (yes, patterened duct tape!!), and wove an animal-print ribbon through the cake pedestal.   For a take-home treat, I made little candy bags (tutorial here) with trail mix and animal-patterned cardstock.

And as for the decorations... well, take a look:

Faux waterfall made from tulle

Some of the circle party streamers

All-in-all, it was a huge success!  : )

~ Sarah