Favorite Things Party

I know most of you have probably heard of a Favorite Things Party because they have gotten really popular on Pinterest. I remember hearing the idea about 2 years ago but I just recently teamed with a friend to put one together. And it was AWEEESOME!!!

So here's the lowdown: Every girl brings 5 of her favorite things (Sidenote: all but one of us brought 5 of the same things. One girl brought 5 different things and I personally think that way is better!). Anyway, you bring 5 things under $6 (or whatever budget suits you). 

Then when the guests arrive they write their names on 5 slips of paper and put them in a bowl. Each girl stands up, explains her favorite thing and why it's so awesome, and picks out 5 names out of the bowl. Those 5 girls get the favorite thing! The girl who gets pulled last goes next with her favorite thing.

I don't think I can explain to you how much I loved this party! I think we'll be doing another one of these around Christmas time. Wouldn't that be so much fun?!! We also asked each girl to bring one of her favorite snacks to share. Some of the snacks were popcorn, Airheads, carmelitas, ice cream, cheese...

I'm kind of proud of my board, so I had to share. I drew this freehand on a dry erase board I had lying around. I got the idea from THIS. 

Our table spread was amazing! We kept the decorations to a minimum and it helped keep the feel of the party fun and casual. 

Each girl got a bag to take all her goodies in. It was a lot better than trying to carry out the loot in your arms!

Here's some of the loot! There was sleek hair spray, Oreo truffles, Meyer's counter top spray, Trader Joe's Mini Peanut Butter Cups, French soap, Honest hand soap, Nsync cds, and more!! If you're thinking of throwing a Favorite Things Party, stop thinking about it and do it! You won't regret it!!

Two other helpful links were HERE and HERE.

Need different party ideas? Check out my Party Ideas Pinterest Board!

Sharing here: Ginger Snap Crafts, DIY Dreamer, Rae Gun Ramblings,   

Felt Board Idea: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

My son came home from preschool the other day with a new love for the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. And when I say new love, I mean he was able to recite to me the entire book! I was amazed!     And a little proud. 

So when I was thinking about what story ideas to use on my Travel Felt Boards, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom was a no brainer. 

My son loves to recreate the whole story on the felt board:

"A told B and B told C, I'll beat to you to top of the coconut tree!"

My son's favorite part is when, as he puts it, all the letters "fall down!" 

Chicka Chicka BOOM BOOM!!

To create all the letters and the coconut tree, I just sat down and used the book as a template. I free handed everything and cut them out. I used embroidery thread to create the detailing on the tree. It took me a couple hours (not all in one sitting) but I think it was well worth the effort! I also tried to stay close to the same coloring as the book, as far as the letters are concerned.

I snapped a shot to show you how the Travel Felt Board stands using the Velcro straps.

Next up, The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar!

Sharing here: See Vanessa Craft, I Heart Naptime, Flamingo Toes, Lil Luna, Ginger Snap Crafts, Rae Gun Ramblings,    

Travel Felt Boards

My 2 kids and I are going to embark on a plane trip next month from North Carolina to Washington state. 

It's going to be a loooong trip. I started looking on Pinterest for some ideas on how to possibly entertain two toddlers for that long. One idea I found and LOVED was a travel felt board. I found the idea and the tutorial at Miss Lovie. 

I have mixed feelings about this tutorial. But I think a lot of my troubles came from me cutting the tutorial in half because I wanted a smaller version. My suggestion is to play with the proportions and do what works for you. I had to add and snip and cut stuff off but in the end I'm happy with it and my 4-year-old boy is IN LOVE with it!

You may have noticed there are some funky Velcro tails on them. (Another problem I had with this tutorial). They're to make it so that it can stay standing like an easel, making it 2 sided. Which is nice. Just kinda funky looking. 

Here was my first attempt at a felt kit. A little pizza kit. My daughter loved it, but I also make a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom kit and that's the one my 4 year old went gaa gaa over. I'll post that one a little later.

I like that they're the right size for my littles now. They'll fit in they're backpacks & they'll be ready for the airplane ride!

Feel free to follow my Felt Fun Pinterest board for more ideas!!

Mickey and Minnie Birthday Party

Wow, it has been a looong time! 

So sorry for the absence! My mom was here for 3 wonderful weeks and right after that we moved... and it has been crazy! But I wanted to share the details from my kids' Mickey and Minnie birthday party. They had a blast!

My little cutie pies! My mom made the Mickey shirt on her embroidery machine and I made the Minnie dress.

The set-up:

It was SUPER windy that day. I would've complained more but the weeks leading up to the party and the weeks after the party were all crazy cold. The day of the party it was in the 70s. I'll take windy and warm over chilly any day!

1. I had one table as a "craft table." There were little baskets with foam Mickey/Minnie heads and face foam stickers to decorate. The littlest littles weren't that interested but there were a couple kids who loved the activity.

2. I made these adorable little gumball machines after seeing something similar on Pinterest. Not very practical and I have NO idea what I'll do with them now, but I thought they were so cute!

3. The kids' table! I found the Mickey fabric at Hobby Lobby and knew it would make the perfect table runner.

I decorated some cardboard letters from Hobby Lobby to look like Mickey & Minnie. It was so windy they wouldn't stay standing up, so my mom piled rocks around the bottoms to keep them upright.

1. Mickey & Minnie cupcakes. I used regular and mini-sized Oreos to create the Mickey heads and for the Minnie effect, I just piped on a red bow.

2. Sugar cookies! Yum.

3. Pigs in a blanket. If you've ever seen Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the Disney channel, they sing a Hot Dog song. I had to incorporate hot dogs somehow!

I made a bean bag toss with a presentation board you can buy at Target or Wal-Mart. I used an X-acto knife to cut out the Mickey head shapes and made bean bags out of felt and dry beans. They had fun chucking those bean bags!

My wonderful, awesome husband made a backdrop for a little photo booth. He created the Disney castle with scrapbook paper. It looks like all one piece but the castle is made of little pieces of paper. He's so creative!

We had so much fun celebrating my little ones' birthdays! They sure have some wonderful friends!

Sharing here: Craftomaniac, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Be Colorful, Lil Luna, Ginger Snap Crafts,    

Lola Bea Diaper Bag

My sister-in-law is pregnant with her first baby and since I've gotten pretty good at sewing, I decided to ask her what she would like for me to make her. She narrowed it down to a few choices and I made the ultimate decision to make her a diaper bag. I found this AWESOME pattern HERE on Etsy. The shop is called Sew Much Ado and I loved the pattern. It was easy to follow. And the end product...well, let me show you.

Isn't it pretty?! I'm so proud of myself for making this and all by myself! Normally I have to ask my mom what she thinks the directions mean (over the phone, she lives far, far away :( ) but with this pattern I found it a lot easier.

There's so many things I loved about the bag. I love love love the ruffle on the front. And the magnetic snap. That was a first for me but it wasn't as hard as I thought it was going to be!

Then there's the pocket situation. Anyone who needs a diaper bag knows that pockets are ESSENTIAL. Look at all these pockets!!

And that's just on the inside! There are two more on the outside of the bag! Plus the one in the middle is a zipper pocket, which is awesome. And the pockets are big enough to stick some diapers and wipes in them. The elastic tops make the contents stay in the pocket, instead of flying around and getting all jumbled.

I  love how it turned out! I was a little sad to send it off, but hopefully my sister-in-law finds a lot of use out of it!

Sharing here: Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Be Colorful, Skip to My Lou,   

DIY Mickey & Minnie Invites

This year I decided to throw a combined birthday party for my son & daughter. Their birthdays are only 2 weeks apart. And since they're so little, they don't care yet.

I decided on a Mickey and Minnie-themed party, since we recently went to Disney World. Just as a warning, there will be lots of Mickey & Minnie projects on here in the very near future. 

Anyhooo.... what's the first thing you have to get done for a party?? The INVITES! 

I love how they turned out. I used a cookie cutter (I found at Disny World) to trace and cut out the Mickey/Minnie heads. Then I sewed on a half circle.

With a little paint and hot glue, they morphed into Mickey and Minnies!

To make the circle inserts, I used InDesign to design them. You could also use Photoshop. If you want the font, I used dafont.com to download. The font is called Waltograph. Also, I bought a circle punch from Joann's to make the little circles look all nice and circle-y.

 

$5 Baptism Gift

I work with the Primary at church and the other day we had a double baptism. Two sweet girls got baptized! It was such a sweet experience to share with these young girls. As a presidency, we wanted to give them something that would help them remember their special day. I came up with these:

Not only did they turn out cute, but they didn't break the bank! I got these frames from Wal-Mart for about $2.50 each:

I spray painted them and used this printable (I personalized them on Photoshop). I glued on a bow and they turned out cute!

And all for $5 each. Not too shabby.

Sharing here: Ginger Snap Crafts, Lil Luna, Rae Gun Ramblings, Southern Lovely,