Great Grinch Party

            I have wanted to have a Grinch party for a while now. It has long been one of my most favorite Christmas movies. My friend Sarah and I talked about it, and we agreed that it was a holiday necessity. However, we all know how crazy this time of year is, so we didn't want anything over the top that required too much time or money.

     I decided that I would not make any decorations before the party day-I put everything together this morning, the only thing I did beforehand was shop and make the cookies. I used a great recipe I got from my sister for "Gooey Butter Cookies" and simply added green food coloring.  Oh, and I had already made these "Cake Batter Truffles" a few days ago, so I just put them in a pretty white dish!

   One of my favorite decorations was this paper garland. I literally put it together in about 15 minutes! I had some paper strips left over from my wreath (yes, I am a scrapbook paper hoarder!)  and then I cut a few more on my paper cutter. I didn't worry about the widths or lengths, I wanted them to be varied. Then I hot glued them onto a ribbon, randomly choosing strips. It turned out so cute!

   I made the tulle pom-poms for Josie's birthday (I plan on sharing that next month!) and they were just perfect for this party. I printed off this Grinch printable and used some ribbon to make the frame longer for hanging. Then put green striped candy canes in a vase with this printable on the front, and a little green tissue paper in the bottom. I put my truffles in an olive dish and a few floating candles in a glass bowl and put everything on cake stands. My peppermint tree worked with the color scheme so I put it on there, too. My friend Sarah put together these cute "Grinch" fruit kebabs. The kids loved them!

    I taped my "Paper Straw Snowflakes" over the pictures on my wall. They were the right color, too. I love this kind of decorating- simple, easy and cute. I put everything up in about an hour, and that included printing the printable, and making the garland!

     The best decoration isn't one I made. Sarah's talented husband drew this amazing Grinch free-hand so the kids could play "Pin the Heart on the Grinch". He looked so great on the wall!

           The kids had a great time trying to get the felt heart onto the right spot. And doesn't the Grinch look like he needs a heart (or 6)?!

    I put together this "Melt the Grinch's Heart" game. I used cherry Runt candies (not only do they look like hearts, but they are the right color). I made put them in ice cube trays filled with water dyed green. The water did mostly remove the color from the candies, though!

   I told the kids they could use any part of their bodies to get the candy free from the ice. They were kind of hilarious! They really enjoyed it, and I provided several towels to warm and dry their hands with. Their reward for getting the candy out was another heart candy.

The favors were the last part. So easy and cheap, too! I had a coupon so I got the Market Pantry reindeer grahams from Target for $1. Just like Max the "reindeer"! The tree shaped bubbles were $0.75 for two at Target-just like the trees the Grinch stole. And then I tied two green striped candy canes with a little curling ribbon.

 I used more of the Grinch candy cane printables to top cellophane bags with! I love having favors and these were so simple and inexpensive, less than $1 each!

    I forgot to take photos of the "green" hot chocolate I made. I used this "White Peppermint Hot Chocolate" and it was delicious! We topped it with whipped cream, snowman marshmallows and sprinkles. The kids had a "teeny" sugar high, but it was worth it. We munched all the goodies while watching the classic "Grinch" movie and it was just delightful.

      We decided that this little party definitely needs to be an annual event. It was just perfect for the holidays-easy, fun, and low-key. I think Sarah and I liked it almost as much as the kids!

Linked up at:
"Whatever Goes Wednesday" at Someday Crafts

"Raindrops and Sprinkles" Baby Shower

It has been a while since I posted a baby shower, the last one was the "Purple Butterfly Shower" back in May. I did a bachelorette party and a wedding in July, but since then it has been pretty quiet on the party front. It was nice to get back into the swing of things with a super cute "sprinkle" (another name for a smaller shower for second or later child).

My sweet friend, Denise, was the guest of honor-she just had her fourth! It was an honor to get to plan another shower for her-especially since she is really the one who ignited all the party planning/decorating craziness! Sarah and I did our first "real" shower together for her: the "tiny" baby shower! Honestly, even though that was three years ago, I still love that theme.

We considered this a "sprinkle" instead of a real "shower" because we didn't plan any games and it was really last minute-we pulled it off in about a week. I really believe sometimes that Sarah and I have connected minds, though, because it came together seamlessly. We decided that we would play on the rain/shower pun, and our theme was born. Sarah chose the turquoise and yellow color scheme, and I deemed that gray was a necessity. It was a great way to welcome a sweet, new baby boy!

I did these mason jar drinks for the "Hungry Caterpillar" Shower but since that was in a different state, I decided I could get away with it again. The cupcake liners were from Target, and I purchased the chevron straws at Hobby Lobby. The yellow bucket is Walmart, the turquoise one from Target. I purchased a cloud shaped punch from Amazon (my big splurge for this shower) and simply used an X-acto knife to put a slit in each punch and slid it over the straw. I used yellow washi tape (Target) to attach the straws. Note to self: attach the straws *before* putting in the cold liquid next time! It stuck okay, but it would have adhered better on the glass before it was cold. I filled them with lemonade, and stacked them on ice in the bucket.

The favors were lemon "drops" and I used Avery labels printed with "Thanks for "dropping" by Denise's "shower"! I used scrapbook paper (Hobby Lobby) and stapled it over cellophane candy bags (also HL) and added a cloud punch with a glue dot. I loved the dotted paper with the chevron contrast!

Sarah crafted this adorable topiary. She used felt circles pushed into a styrofoam ball. Then she attached felt "raindrops" on string. We found out through Pinterest that it is easy to make a raindrop by folding a heart shape in half.

I know I always say this, but truly, I loved the Scripture for this shower. It was definitely inspired by the Lord:

 "God's voice thunder in marvelous ways;
He does great things beyond our understand,
He says to the snow, "Fall on the earth" and to the rain shower,
"Be a mighty downpour"
So that everyone He has made may know His work."
Job 37:5-7a (NIV)

I really felt it was so fitting-and especially to just pray that this new little life will be a "mighty downpour" in the name of the Lord. I had so much fun putting it together, too! I positioned all my text to the left to leave plenty of embellishing room on the right for ribbon, clouds and raindrops. I found my fun fonts on Dafont (I used "Champagne & Limousines"  and "Joy Like Sunshine Through My Window"-love all the fun, free fonts, and they are so easy to download.) and typed it up in Word. I slipped it into a spray painted frame from the Dollar Tree. The guest of honor took it home as part of my gift!

I couldn't resist buying some mums at Walmart (only $1 each!) to add some live flowers. I put them in a Longaberger Oval Spring basket and finished it with some ribbon (HL, Dollar Tree and Walmart).

Another one of my favorite touches: I hand stitched the two cloud pillows. It was my first time trying a blanket stitch and I am in love! I actually really like hand stitching-I find it to be relaxing! I put together a little tutorial on the clouds that I will try to get up soon. Sarah did the open frame with the clouds and raindrops-felt shapes on baker's twine, it was so cute! She also put the monogram in the frame-it is a scrapbook sticker letter on scrapbook paper in a Michael's frame (a *steal* for $0.50!). It is easy but such a cute personal touch!

We finished the mantel decorations (my friend Christy, who also hosted the "Vintage Pink" shower, has such a lovely fireplace!) with a pennant banner (handmade by Sarah). She also added the yellow watering can-a nice touch opposite the flowers and a great pop of color!

I hung balloon "clouds" from the ceiling interspersed with giant heart "raindrops" over the guest of honor's seat. Another note to self: remember to put marbles in the balloons the next time you are hanging them from the ceiling!

I wrapped my gift in white paper from the Dollar Tree and added scrapbook paper embellishments. The giant cloud at the top ended up looking a little like a car, but oh well. I love wrapping my gifts to coordinate. It is like a decoration that the honoree gets to open!

I made a little wreath for the front door- I wrapped a styrofoam wreath form in ribbon and added the clouds. I loved the dangling raindrops! The "bow: is just knotted ribbon-so quick!

I also made the cloud chandelier (or mobile if you prefer). It was probably my favorite thing next to the Scripture. It is a little hard to see in the photo, but it was a great focal point over the food! I used this fantastic tutorial and templates from HGTV. I usually hate video tutorials, but this one is short and easy to follow. I added the raindrops (more heart punches, although I cut these in half to make them hang straighter and sandwiched the fishing line in between) for a little color. I joked with Joel that I probably use more of his fishing line than he does!

Christy made the cupcakes again-she is the baker/caterer to our decorating skills! (See more of her work here and here and here!) I used my tried and true technique of sandwiching a toothpick between two paper punches. It is a little hard to see, but I added a tiny raindrop to each cloud!

I also made a "runner" of of white wrapping paper, that I tried to cut to look like clouds on the end. It is a little hard to appreciate in the photo, but the thought was good.

The shower was a huge success-we had almost 20 women, which is excellent considering we gave them less than a week's notice. I love to do baby showers probably most of all, just because there is nothing sweeter to celebrate than the miracle of a new baby. This was also a completely adorable theme to work with-if I had more time I had a bunch more ideas on my "Bump Bash"  Pinterest board! I had to laugh because Denise actually said she stayed off Pinterest so she wouldn't ruin the surprise. It *is* pretty easy to tell what I'm working on by what I'm pinning so if you're interested in my next project follow me on Pinterest!:)

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Thrifty Thursdays at "Living Well, Spending Less"

"Mustache Bash" Bachelorette Party!

I can't even begin to tell you how delighted I was to be in my sister's wedding. There is an age difference of 10 years between us, but I absolutely love her, and for her to let me be a part of her special day that way was truly an honor. It was a little daunting to be the only 30-something amid a bunch of 18-22 year olds, but I think I managed. 

Part of proving my worth was helping to plan the bachelorette party. I did not have one, my own wedding was very small, and basically, my dearest friends went out to dinner before we went back to my apartment to throw together last-minute wedding details. I was very happy with that. But kids these days! They expect a little more. 

The maid of honor (another of my younger sisters) and I managed to put together a really fun day, though. We started it off with a breakfast and because the bride is a teensy bit obsessed with the current mustache trend (even though the groom has no facial hair!) it made for the perfect starting point. 

 I have never done a breakfast party, and just let me say-I would definitely do another! My mom has the most perfect porch at her house and also tons of fun furniture that made putting together this little party a snap. We set the food up in one of her vintage crates on a low table. We did easy breakfast foods-no extensive prep. Costco muffins, mini quiches, fruit salad, ham and cheese and of course, cookies and chocolate!

 The "Wet Your Whiskers!" sign was Lisa Dawn's idea (the MOH). We used a lot of supplies that I picked up for a $0.50 each that Walmart was clearing out last year! We used mustache shaped sticky notes under clear packing tape to gussy up the water bottles. We also served mini bottles of sparking peach cider-the bride's favorite flavor! The neon green plates and napkins (I should have gotten better photos of those, they had cute sayings on them."I "mustache" for another piece" is what the plates said.) are from Walmart this current year.

 We served iced coffee in a cute carafe (my mom has some of the best party things!) alongside plastic champagne glasses-since we were outside. The cute stickers on the bottom of the glasses are from Hobby Lobby and the adorable confetti 'staches are from Walmart this year.

 We even arranged the muffins in a semblance of a mustache!

 We used more sticky notes to label the food. And we used mustache scrapbook paper to set the serving dishes on.

 The cute magnetic board is my mom's, and another one of my talented sisters whipped up the little "Keep Calm and Stache On" sign. The mini dry erase board and all the magnets are from Walmart last year.

 The 'staches on sticks made for cute and functional decor. They were fuzzy! They are from the Dollar Tree and I simply stuck them to wooden skewers. The finger tattoo mustaches (behind the stickers) are also from there. The stickers are from Hobby Lobby. The bins were Walmart finds!

 I used a magnetic frame set in a photo stand and some more favors to add a little color-all this stuff was part of my Walmart haul!

 Lisa Dawn made the banner-scrapbook paper and ribbon from Hobby Lobby. She printed the letter "I" and then heart and mustache symbols on colored cardstock and then cut them into pennant shapes. It looked really professional!

 The bride! If you look closely, you can see the cute 'stache drink identifier that my mom bought for all the drinks. They were each a different shape!

 My two cutie co-planners! It was early, so please forgive everyone's sleepy eyes and bad hair!

Everyone loved the fuzzy 'staches! It was definitely a fun, easy to put together party. It made for a great start to our day, which included canoeing/kayaking, lunch at the bride's favorite restaurant, and ended with mani/pedis. The bride was very happy and isn't that all that matters?

Linking up to "Thrifty Thursday" at Living Well, Spending Less! 
"The Weekly Creative Thursday"  at Reasons to Skip Housework

The Cutest Thanksgiving Party That Wasn't

So, it is a really long story, but the short version is this: I had wanted to have a Thanksgiving party for a long time. I love a party that is unexpected. I had set up a play date with a family I was recently introduced to (we haven't even met in person) and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to throw a little party! The short part: they all got sick and couldn't make it.

I had already set up all the decorations so even though my guests weren't coming, I finished the rest of the preparations so you (and my kids!) could appreciate a little of my hard work. The inspiration for having the party came from these adorable (and FREE!) printables! Paper Glitter has some of the cutest stuff, and these were easy to use, too! I used their "Thanksgiving" banner and hotglued it to some ribbon, and then I used parts of the "icon" banner to add a little more color underneath. I found it to be a good use for the paper tape that my friend had given me (from Target) and I am absolutely in *love* and am now on the hunt for other uses!

 

I printed off placemats, and napkin "rings". I really wanted yellow or orange plates, but they were surprisingly hard to find. I ended up just going with white ones from the Dollar Store. And after my guests cancelled, I was glad that I hadn't spent too much! I printed everything on regular cardstock from Walmart, and I wasn't disappointed.

I let these little cuties make one of the snacks I had planned for breakfast. I found the instructions for these Donut Hole Acorns and they really delivered. They are just as cute as the photo and so easy to make! She suggests Nutella, but I used chocolate frosting. 4 ingredients: donut holes, chocolate frosting, pretzels, and chocolate sprinkles and you get these:



I also used the printable food labels (Seriously, don't those things have some sort of name? What is it?!)  and it worked well because I made acorns and a turkey and they had little pictures of both those things!

I got this idea off Pinterest, the link does not work but you can see my inspiration photo here. I am pretty sure that they used caramel dip in the original, but I wanted something that wasn't quite so sweet, so I just filled a little glass bowl with peanut butter. I used Granny Smith, Pinata and Red Delicious apples for the feathers. The original is cuter, I think because they used a circular plate it worked better. But mine is still pretty cute!

 

I was going to have all the kids make these turkey cookies. You might remember them from my post a couple years ago! I made a few changes (I couldn't find the Little Debbie Chocolate Creme Pies, so I swapped in Oatmeal Creme Pies) and I added a gummy worm "wattle" which I think was a good move, I just snipped off the red part.

We were also going to make these gumdrop turkeys- not for eating, although you could. I was going to send them home in the little paper baskets by the placemats. I found the directions here. If you don't know where to find the big gumdrops, they have them at Walgreen's (I used them for my nativity scene last Christmas.) Her directions are good, so I won't embellish them.

I also wanted to incorporate some of the first Thanksgiving story, and I liked these bead bracelets. I chose to use leather cording instead of pipe cleaners. It is kind of hard to tell from my photo, but I used light tan beads where she uses cream ones. Basically it goes:

 

Black- the Pilgrims

White- sails on the Mayflower

Three Blue-long trip on the ocean

Green- land, Massachusetts!

Three White-long winter

Tan-Indians, especially Squanto, help the Pilgrims to plant and harvest

Red-cranberries

Orange-pumpkins

Tan-turkey

Yellow-corn

 

The pink bead is to help make the bracelet adjustable. I liked that it was a visual mnemonic device!

 

For favors I made my own version of Thanksgiving Blessing Trail Mix. I put in one bag of Bugles (cornucopias), 1 movie size box of Runt candies (fruits of the harvest), 2 cups pretzel sticks (because the Pilgrims would "stick" with it and survive the long winter), 2 cups candy corn (for the corn the Indians helped them to plant) and one cup M & Ms (for the sweetness of all our blessings!).

 

 

 

I also made these adorable hats-both the boy's version and the girl's bonnet. I used craft foam because I wanted them to be more durable. So when it called for folding the paper on the bonnet, I just cut the foam and glued it instead. On the boy's hat I just glued the headband part at the edges of the folded up brim instead of all the way across, because I bought 12x18 foam, instead of the 24 inch paper. It worked great! I will try to get pics of my kids wearing the hats because they are super cute!

 

You like? I think they are adorable!

 

So, don't you think it would have been a fun party? I tried not to be too disappointed, there are certainly worse things than planning a party that doesn't happen, and no one can be responsible for getting sick! I am taking the bracelet, gumdrop turkeys, turkey cookies, and acorns to share with our friends' on Thanksgiving, so those are not a total loss. And I have a great plan for a wonderful party next year!