A Birthday Fit For A Princess! Part 1

Invitations and Party Decor

My youngest turned 6 in September…wow…were did that time go? To say she is obsessed with Princesses would be a understatement! She is a hopeless romantic already!! When we were discussing her birthday party she of course wanted a princess party.,,,ughh…really? Don’t get me wrong I LOVE a good princess party, but we have already had a Princess party TWO years in a row. Been there done that! So we were able to nail it down to a specific Princess this year and I was thrilled when she picked (was talked into) Rapunzel and Tangled….yippee!

My little Princess was sooo excited she couldn’t wait to run to Party City and buy everything Tangled they had! WHAT?…do you know what I do every day?…so she hesitantly agreed to let me SEE what I could come up with. Make no mistake though they better be good or she was going to Party City pronto..lol. Luckily the invitations passed the test. I don’t draw! I can’t draw! Even my stick figures bow their heads in shame…lol…seriously! But I’m finding I can sort of make things out of shapes on the computer…cool! So I was able to put something together that resembled a tower and then using some embroidery floss made some Rapunzel braids to hang out of the windows. Cute!

I loved the idea of those little braids so much that I thought how cute would it be to make a big braid out of yarn and have it hanging down onto the front porch from the upstairs window. I also thought “hey I’ll make one that we can use for a photo prop also”. After spending an entire hour making a small braid to use as a photo prop I quickly decided…”yep, we need to come up with another idea for Rapunzel hair that is not yarn”…lol. A little tip for you if you try and make a braid out of yarn. Once you have all of your yarn cut into pieces gather your three sections for braiding and tie each section with a hair band at the bottom BEFORE you try and braid. It will keep the yarn from getting all Tangled up! Trust ME! Anyway, I had to find something else to use that did not require braiding and came in long pieces. I was walking through the aisles of Party City (well I can’t make EVERYTHING) and I spotted the large rolls of plastic table coverings in bright yellow…Perfect!

The “hair” is hanging from an upstairs window and we draped it all the way down to the front porch to greet our guest as they arrived. It was easy to work with and gets the idea across! We also used it to string through the trees outside and also along the ceiling in the dining room were the food was set up. The hair was a bit messed up by the time we got to pictures outside but you get the idea…lol.

Then I had to decide how to set up the food. Were would Rapunzel have a party? The Snuggly Duckling of course! I themed the food table and the dining room to resemble the Snuggly Duckling (the thug pup from the movie). I used a lot of burlap fabric and browns and made labels for the food that had the Snuggly Ducking logo on them. We turned the lights down low and used some candle lanterns to add to the ambience. I had so many ideas for this but truly just ran out of time! Hard to plan your own party when your planning for other people as well…lol.

I knew I wanted to have most of the party outside for a few reasons. 1. Most of the movie takes place outside as Flynn and Rapunzel travel to see the lanterns. 2. My house is not big enough to hold 14 6 year olds. 3. My house is not big enough to hold 14 6 year olds!…oh did I say that twice…yeah…thought so! Of course it was a rainy and cold week…of course! Luckily the sun came out that morning and dried everything up in time. Thank you GOD! I really was sweating that one! Anyway, I have a large tree on the side yard that I decided to make the focal point. I used some Christmas lights and the hubby wrapped the tree is those, he then strung the Rapunzel “hair” through the trees. I had printed several photos of clips from the movie out on some glossy photo paper and using some fishing line I hung the pictures off of the branches around the tree. Thank you Taylor Swift
(another obsession of my little princess) for the inspiration…one of her video’s has a similar thing and I loved it when I saw it! Also, if you Google Disney’s Tangled and look up images you will find TONS of FREE high quality photos to use…there are really some great ones…here is one of my favorites!

he he he….love Maximus! My hubby wasn’t real sure this was a great idea…he didn’t get it. BUT, when the kids arrived and they were running around squealing and looking at every picture he GOT it! We also took a white frame (found at Michaels in their clearance rack for $5) and using fishing line we hung it from the tree branch as a photo op spot. For some reason we didn’t get a good shot of the pictures hanging from the tree…but trust me it was cool!

I was able to duplicate the Yellow sun from the movie and made some of the Kingdom Flag banners that you see hanging in the Kingdom during the lantern celebration. And finally of course you must have Flynn Rider wanted posters! (Again these are available on the internet if you Google)

So for decorations I really barely spent any money. I bought a role of tablecloth covering, a $5 frame and some ribbon. The rest I gathered up from around the house off the internet or made myself. Use your creativity and you don’t have to spend a fortune to make a magical atmosphere. We’ll talk about price a little later,

Come back tomorrow to read about the food and the games for the party!

Celebrate Life!

Candy

Walking on the Spoookkkkyyy Side!

I’m not really one for real spooky Halloween Decorations…I guess you could say I like my frights cute, sweet, fluffy and smiling. But when my friend posted an adorable see through ghost on Facebook that she had made I new I was going to have to walk on the spooky side! Apparently this technique has been around for a while and has made it’s rounds on the crafting circuit but I had never seen it before! So I couldn’t wait to try it! A simple Google search for cheesecloth ghost will bring up a great deal of DIY tutorials. The kids and I decided to try one and this is our version for your crafting delight!

Materials you will need

1 Pack of cheesecloth

1 Bottle of liquid starch

Empty spray bottle..We used an old Windex bottle

Something to use for the body form…We used an empty milk jug

Something to use for the head form..We used a blown up balloon..you could use a Styrofoam ball also.

2 Wire coat hangers or something to form the arms

A Towel

Some black fabric

A hair dryer

Step One:

I cut two slits in the side of the milk jug and placed each hanger into each slit and then bend and work the hangers until you have your desired shape for your arms.

Take your balloon or styrofoam ball and place on top of your jug for the head. I used some scotch tape to help hold the balloon in place.

Step Two:

Start draping cheesecloth over your form. You can play around with your length and thickness based on your desired outcome. Some people choose to use a single layer to get a more transparent ghost. I used two layers across the entire ghost form and then added an extra strip draped across each arm.

Step Three:

Fill your spray bottle about 3/4 of the way full of the liquid starch and top with 1/4 bottle of water. You don’t have to fill the entire bottle if your doing a smaller ghost or only one but try and keep your ratio 3 parts starch to 1 part water. This will ensure a stiffer ghost. Once that’s mixed start spraying. This is a very easy project that even my girls were able to help with…just make sure one isn’t sitting on the other side of the ghost when the other one is spraying…cheesecloth has a lot of holes in it..which means little sister will be very stiff as well…lol..oops!

We soaked it pretty good and as it’s drying if it doesn’t seem stiff enough you can always spray it some more.

Step Four:

Time to let it dry. If you do this on a sunny day I would recommend just sitting it outside to dry in the sun. We did this in the evening so I used my hair dryer and just started drying small sections at a time. This took a little bit of time but it wasn’t really that bad. Somehow I missed a picture of this step, but I think you get the idea.

Step Five:

After your cheesecloth is dry carefully lift it off of the body form. The head may require a bit of care since the starch likes to stick to the balloon as well but don’t worry it will still keep it’s shape even if you have to pull it a bit.

Cut out 2 eyes and a nose using your black fabric and attach with either craft glue or hot glue.

As you can see when you set it on a table it will stand up and look like a spooky ghost! I didn’t make this one quite stiff enough for my liking so I decided to try and hang it instead and I have to say I LOVE it hanging from the ceiling.

Simply use some fishing line or white thread and thread it through the arms of the ghost and you can hang it from anywhere you would like. They would be awesome hanging from trees on Trick-or-Treat night!

The girls and I tried making a mini table ghost also…he turned out pretty cute as well! Same idea I just used a plastic cup and a few plastic grocery bags to form the head.

So there you have it…go make something spoooookkkyyyy!

Happy Haunting!

Candy

The Itsy Bitsy Spider…..

Looking for a fun, easy, cheap, kid friendly project for Halloween? Of course you are! I was laying in my daughters bed the other night staring at the colorful tissue poms hanging from her ceiling and I had a Spider-iffic idea! I though “how cute would those be with little eyes on them…hmmm….and maybe some legs…” Yes I think about strange things like that…more often that I would like to admit!

So without further ado I would like to introduce you to my new friend “Spiderella”.

“Spiderella” is a breeze to make.

Materials you will need                                                                                      

1 pack of black tissue paper (I used 8 to 10 sheets depending on the size you would like)                                                                                                         

1 sheet of Black Cardstock

1 sheet of White Cardstock

1 Pipe cleaner or Floral Wire

Some orange ribbon for a hair bow if your making a girl spider

Fishing line or Ribbon to hang your spider from

Your going to start by making a basic tissue pom. I stack 8-10 sheet of tissue paper and then start making 1 inch to 1.5 inch accordion folds back and forth until you have reached the end of your stack.

Next I like to trim off one of the ends to get my desired length for my tissue pom. The piece you trim off will also be used for making spider legs.

I like mine to be about 17 inches long for a large spider. After you trim off the excess place it to the side to be used later.

Then using your pipe cleaner or floral wire secure it around the middle of your stack . At this point I like to attach my fishing line or ribbon for hanging. You can attach it under the pipe cleaner or wire or simply make a loop when your twisting your pipe cleaner or floral wire to feed it through.

The next step is to cut your edges into either a point or a rounded edge. I prefer a point for a spider.

Now your ready to fluff! Flip your tissue stack onto its side and fan it out a bit.  Hold it in the middle with one hand and gently begin to pull apart each layer. I like to pull half of the sheets from the top and then switch and pull the other half towards the bottom. If it rips a little don’t panic! You can usually trim it off or just hide that piece when you fluff it.

After all of your layers are separated fluff it a bit to give it a nice even full shape.

So now you have your spider body it’s time to bring it to life..mawww haaaa haaaa!

Using the excess tissue paper that you set aside earlier determine how thick you would like your legs. I did about 1 inch. Trim that stack to your desired width. You will already have it folded into an accordion fold because you trimmed it off of your tissue stack after it was folded. I like a smaller fold on the legs so I unfold the stack and lay it out on the table and repeat the steps to making an accordion fold but this time I do it at about 1/2 inch. This is totally up to your taste so play around a bit and make it how you think you would like it the best. After you fold it again you now have 8 layers of tissue that will become your 8 spider legs.

Using a circle cutter and your black cardstock punch out 8 circle feet. If you don’t have a circle cutter trace something circular and using scissors cut out your circles or try a different shape…again it’s totally up to your creativity! While you have your circle cutter out go ahead and cut 2 circles out of your white card stock for the eyes and then 2 smaller black circles for the pupils of the eyes.

Separate each tissue layer and using a glue stick attach your circle feet to the bottom of one of your legs. Also glue your pupils onto your white eye’s. Have fun with the placement of your pupils…moving the pupils around will really change the personality of your spider!

Once all of your legs are ready begin gluing them onto your tissue pom. I like to attach them around the middle of the tissue layers. I did an 8 layer spider so I placed my legs in the middle with 4 tissue layers above the legs and 4 below the legs.

(ummmm….excuse the mess in the background…note to self…pay attention to background when taking pictures for a tutorial…lol…eeek)

Now using your glue stick again attach your eyes. I attach mine on the second layer of tissue so that she looks a little furry around the top of her eyes.

Now if your making a Spiderella (girl) add a cute little orange bow to her hair.

Ta-da!!! You did it!! Easy cheap and soooo cute! These look adorable hanging outside because the wind will blow it gently and their little legs dance around…lol. Really cute!

I had some bright green tissue paper lying there also and thought how cute would little monsters be to go along with the spiders so I created this guy the same way!

Add a bunch together and hang from your trees for your Halloween party or trick-or-treat night! These would also be great for a monster party!

Happy Haunting!

Candy

Hope, Faith and Love!

In 2011, it is estimated that among U.S. women there will be 230,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 39,520 breast cancer deaths. 

Breast Cancer is something that can hit and probably will hit every family at some point or time. I am a women with 3 sisters, 2 daughters, 3 Aunts, 1 Mother, 1 Mother-in-law, 2 Sisters-in-law, 3 Nieces, Numerous Cousins and Close Female Friends….we are all at risk! It’s so important to know the signs and symptoms and raise awareness and money to help in finding a cure for this disease!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I am pleased to offer some FREE printables for you to print and use to help raise awareness and money for the fight against Breast Cancer! Host a lunch for your friends and family and make sure they know the warning signs, hold a bake sale, have a girls night cocktail party, take an encouraging word to someone you know who’s currently battling this disease. Bottom line….do SOMETHING!

Every little action holds power and purpose!

 

To download FREE files click here http://www.scribd.com/my_document_collections/3284171

Celebrate LIFE!!

Candy