Speaking of Pinterest, I saw this cute pink owl costume and thought, "I could make that." Well, I made it, but I am not itching to do that again. The instructions said it would take fifty "feathers." So I cut out fifty out of felt and flannel. Yeah, it took WAY more than fifty. I felt like I would never get to stop making feathers. I think fifty must have been to fit a two year old (not my seven year old.) The mask was surprisingly easy to make. Overall, I would say this was doable, just time consuming. Start early. The good thing is, this was probably the least expensive costume we have ever had for halloween if you can find a pink jacket for $3 like I did. You can find instructions and even templates here.
Yoo-hoo! It's that time of year again! Time for a birthday party!
With all of the cute owl stuff out there, I could not resist doing an owl party. I made these owl invitations to match. I love how the wings move by using mini brads. (I actually had to do that so they would fit in the envelope.)
Foam squares under the eyes make them pop. Inspiration came from here.
So glad I decided to use a round table this year. I found the plastic tablecloth at Target and was so happy that it was long! (That is not a cute table under there.) The napkins were held down with a wooden 8 from Hobby Lobby. The forks were contained in a small flower wall vase, which I have a small collection of. My sister, Jena, and I made the circle streamers with a circle punch, scrap paper, and sewing machine.
Good thing my mom knows how to make cakes, cause I am not prepared to dish out big bucks for something that gets eaten! The owl on top was a cookie.
This is one of my favorite birthday banners ever. I used real doilies under the letters for more texture. The letters were cut with the "Vintage Findings" cartridge for the Slice machine. I love this color scheme. Love the long satin ribbons (my sister's idea.) The best part? I already had all of the supplies for it!
Treat bags this year were a lot of work, but I loved them!! I stole the birdcage idea from a friend at work. She had a very similar cage with a chalkboard stuck in at a baby shower. I thought it would make a perfect spot for the goodie bags (since owls are birds, after all).
Party favors were paper owls sewn together to form a pouch with friendship bracelets and bottlecap magnets inside. The kids had to rip them open to get the treats.
You can't see it, but the little card said, "It's been a HOOT!" My daughter wrote those, and made the magnets with owl stickers and Glossy Accents (sold at Michael's.)
This "Use Your Noodle" game didn't work so well. Turns out, balloons don't like heat or dried out spiky grass. The kids had other games to play, thank goodness. But man, that was a lot work putting "M" stickers on those and cutting noodles. The important thing is, it was cute, right?
Owl Make and Take
I found this idea on Pinterest. I tried to make a link, but could not find this project. You just hot glue the top of the toilet paper tube down to make the shape of the owl. The kids get to paint and decorate. I used scraps of paper for wings and beaks and bought colored eyes from Michaels.
The ice block was a hit! I filled a plastic container with enough water to cover several trinkets and let it freeze. I then added another layer of water and toys and let that freeze. The problem was that the sides would melt when you poured more water on it, so we had to lift out the block, put toys and water under it, and then freeze again. This takes several days to complete. I bought a meat tenderizer for the kids to take turns breaking the ice. The tool broke after a few hits. I bought the $5 one from Target. Maybe a more expensive one would work or just a hammer. I didn't think an ice pick would be a good idea. An adult (or several) needs to stay close to supervise so that no one gets hurt.
Why is it so fun to get or give a gift basket? Or in this case gift bucket?
I made this for a friend in the hospital after delivering her baby girl. Someone told me about a recipe for chicken soup using 6 canned goods. I tried it and liked it. So, I thought maybe it would make a good gift. Especially if it is wrapped in a super cute green bucket from the dollar bins at Target. (It was actually $2.50, but still a great deal.) You'll never guess what I made the monogram with. Shelf liner!! Shhhhh! don't tell my secrets! It was on clearance at Michael's so I bought several different patterns because I just knew it would work like vinyl cut with my Slice machine or Cricut.
I added a bag of Fritos and a cute recipe card to the basket. You could even add shredded cheese to the gift basket if you are delivering to the recipient's home. Everything for a complete meal without having to try too hard. Everything goes in one pot. No need to remember to thaw something or dirty lots of dishes if you seriously don't feel like cooking OR going out. Or having pizza delivered. Am I the only girl in America that doesn't care for pizza much?
6 Can Taco Soup:
Rotel
Whole Kernel Corn
Black Beans
Chicken Broth
Can of Chicken
Cream of Chicken soup
+ Taco Seasoning packet
Mix all ingredients in a pot and simmer.
(Most of the time, I actually cook chicken in the pot first and then add all ingredients except canned chicken. In a pinch, it works with canned chicken.)
THE gift for Christmas this year was an Easy Bake Oven.
If a girl is gonna bake, she needs an apron, right?
If a girl has an apron her dolly will definitely need one, too!
My sisters made these for my daughter and her new American Girl doll. I don't even think they had a pattern. Pretty cute, huh? I am just a little jealous of their mad sewing skills. But not really cause my new Instax mini camera should come in by Friday and it's gonna be awesome! Stay tuned for more on that.
And get your little self ready to Smash with me. (You don't really need a mini instant camera, but it might make it even more fun.)
Little Girl: "Maybe Nanny will open the owl propellet with me. Since you never want to."
(She means pellet. I think she is confused with propeller, which she may have heard her Papaw say since he has airplanes.)
That's right. This is the girl who would rather dissect the bones from owl regurgitation than play with Barbies. Kinda makes it hard on Santa.
Now that I look at the picture of the wreath I made, it looks a little wonky. May need some adjustment. I actually made the wreath last year, but it just got an update and I must say I like it MUCH better. No before pic, sorry. Instead of a colorful ornament in the center, it had a white snowflake. Sorta blah. And not as coordinated with my Christmas color scheme. Now it is perfect. And the best part about the upgrade? The enormous ornament (which is covered in a metallic foil stuff which did not photograph well) was only $1!!! It was half off and I had a coupon. Awe-some!
These are suprisingly easy to make. Go to Dollar Tree and get the wire wreath for $1. Get some of that mesh stuff. I think they sell it at Hobby Lobby now. I got mine and the purple tubular stuff at a local store called Ellis Pottery, but you could use ribbon or something similar. Attach it to the wreath using wire. Attach the ornament in the middle. Done. And I have seen people charge up to $70 for these! I would love to see yours!
I really cannot believe my child made this far in life without ever having taken a picture with Good Ole Saint Nick. I know, I know. Bad Mom. I really am not much into waiting in long lines with cranky children.
To give the long awaited Santa photo the respect it deserves, I used the frame from Goodwill that I had spraypainted for my sister's baby shower. I even left the same chartreuse fabric covered cardboard on it. (You can see that here.) It just happened to work out perfectly for a Christmas color scheme as well as it did for the Circus themed shower.
I love how it makes this picture important, rather than blending in on the fridge with the Christmas cards.
