Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Carrot-esq Treat Cones

When I think Easter, I think bunnies.  And what bunny doesn't love a carrot treat!  In honor of all those Wascally Wabbits out there, tonight's Easter craft project are these carrot-esq treat cones. 



To make 8 of these treat cones, here are the supplies you will need:
  • 8-10 sheets of scrapbook paper (I found mine at Hobby Lobby.  I think orange gingham would be adorable, but they did not have any.)
  • 1 roll of 25' green tissue festooning.  (I purchased mine from Shindigz.com.)
  • 10 yards of coordinating ribbon (I purchased mine from Hobby Lobby.)
  • Paper punch
  • Hot glue gun
  • Paper cone template (I used the Silhouette cone template.)
Step 1:  Cut the paper into cone shapes.
Step 2:  Form the cones.


Step 3:  Hot glue the tissue festooning to the top of the cone. 
I doubled the festooning, going around the cone two times.


Here is what the cones will look like after you've added a double layer of the tissue festooning.


Step 4:  Punch a hole on each side of the cone.


Step 5:  Cut ribbon to desired length (I made my ribbon about 2 feet each.



I can't wait to fill the cones with treats for my nieces and nephews and Grace and Ethan for Easter day.  I think they'd look cute hanging from an Easter basket handle as well.

Happy Easter Crafting!


Monday, March 28, 2011

Cute Find for Superhero Parties - Target to the Rescue!

Have you seen Anders Ruff's latest Super Hero spectacular?  If you missed it, check out all the fabulousness here.

I LOVE how they took a theme that could easily be commercialized and made it adorable without the commercial characters.

I particularly LOVED their city scape background for the treats tabletop and the use of city scape elements throughout the party.
Superhero Birthday Party Ideas

Superhero Birthday Party Ideas 


In case their efforts make you feel intimidated, I spotted this fabulous City Scape shower curtain from Target in this weekend's flyer for only $13!  If you are not up to making your own city scape for your little super hero, this shower curtain would make the perfect back drop for a sweets table!  It would also make a great backdrop for a photo booth opportunity.

Product ImageRoom Essentials® Cityscape Shower Curtain - Black at Local Stores

And, when your little super hero is all partied out, you could always use it for what it was intended.  Nothing like multi-tasking a shower curtain!

Buckets of Pottery Barn Easter Inspiration

Despite the 18 inches of snow sitting outside my window, we have Spring Fever here!  And with Spring Fever comes getting ready for Easter.  This Spring's Pottery Barn magazine has so many inspirational ideas!  I want them all!
 
Here are some of my favorites:
 
The "Egg-a-labra!"  (Who knew!)
Egg-A-Labra
 
The $149 price tag is a little too much for this girl.  If anyone can figure out how to make these, I'd love to hear!
 
I love this entire setting!!!
 
Happy Easter Vase Filler, Set of 11
 
Absent winning the lottery, I narrowed down Pottery Barn's ideas to what I could reproduce - these eggs:
 
Happy Easter Vase Filler, Set of 11
 
Happy Easter Vase Filler, Set of 11
 
I found eggs at Hobby Lobby for 40% off.  I knew I wanted to have the eggs on my dining room table and wanted them to match my new table runner so I decided to paint them a chocolate brown.  I then used my Silhouette to cut out the letters in a light blue vinyl.  You could use scrapbook sticker as well.  Here's what I came up with:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As Ethan says, "It's Bunny Time."  Happy Easter deorating!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Buckets of Inspiration

I'm back...I can't believe it has been over a month since my last post.  Since that time, I turned another year older (which I refuse to acknowledge) and have gone through quite a lot of heartache and sadness in my professional life.  But in that time and despite the horrendous roller coaster my family and all of my brothers and sisters have been riding, I have never been more proud to work for who I do, stand with those who have chosen to stand up, and hold out hope and continue to have faith that in the end, good triumphs over evil.  The battle has just begun and believe me, someone has picked the wrong fight this time. 

In addition to the inspiration I've gotten from those I have the honor of working for every day, I also have gathered tons and tons of inspiration for planning Grace's 7th Birthday Enchanted Prom.  Because as every party gal knows, "the show must go on!"

So after a month or so on hiatus fighting the good fight, I've returned to working little by little on getting ready for The Prom.  Grace is on spring break this week and I managed to take a few days vacation.  Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell Mother Nature it is Spring - we received almost 18 inches of snow since yesterday!  I have to remind myself that it is March 24th!  Ahhh....spring time in Wisconsin!

Since we are stuck inside, I wanted to work on a few things for The Prom.  My first inspiration came from Amy's BEAUTIFUL Glittery Ballerina Birthday Party she gave her daughter.  The details of this party are truly amazing.  It makes the Ballerina Princess Party I gave Grace a few years ago look like amateur night :)  As soon as I saw Amy's party, I knew I had to steal some of her ideas for The Prom.  In fact, I told Amy so and she gave me permission to copy away :) 

I just LOVED the glittery ballet dancer she made for the backdrop of the sweets table.
ballerina-party-glitter-backdrop

ballerina-party-dessert-table

As soon as I saw it, I knew I found my inspiration for the backdrop of Grace's sweets table.  Instead of the ballerina, I thought I'd incorporate the "prom girl" from the invitation my talented cousin designed.

And here is what I came up with (yes I know it's backwards!):


The frame was on clearance at Hobby Lobby for $11 (marked down from $111!).  I know it is not the exact correct size, but that adds character :)  I placed light pink fabric behind the frame.  It has a touch of sparkle that the camera did not pick up.  The pink sparkly tulle matches Grace's "prom dress" she'll be wearing.

 And a close up...


I'm particularly proud of the little wrist corsage I added :)

I plan on anchoring the prom girl with 2 of these ribbon mirror balls on each side.


The inspiration for my second project comes from Lindi at Love the Day.  Would it be cheesy to say that I Love Lindi!  Her ideas are modern yet classic, clean yet detailed.  A while back she posted pictures of these beautiful yard stakes that are for sale in her Etsy shop

Large Ice Cream Yard Stakes Signs (PRINTABLE)

I'm no graphics designer, but I managed to put my Silhouette to work and use some of the materials I gathered for the party and put together my own yard stakes.  I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out!


The crown and disco ball are actually invitations I originally purchased a while back to use for the invites.  After deciding not to use them, I think they've found a good re-purpose!


I added "bling" to the crown.


Now let's just hope the snow melts in the next month or so or these stakes will be finding a cold home in a snow drift!

In closing tonight's post, I just want to express my gratitude to all of you who have sent your prayers and thoughts over the past month.  As I keep reminding myself, God doesn't give you more than you can handle!  And as my mother keeps telling me, "everything happens for a reason."  Let's just hope that reason turns out to be a good one!