InspireMe Crafts

End of Year Teacher Appreciation Gift Basket

“A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others” – Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

 

What would we do without our teachers and their patience?  As the school year is winding down, I’m sure they are just as ready for summer break as our kids are and they deserve to start the summer off pampered.  For previous teacher appreciation gifts we asked for donations from the class and then purchased “larger” items for our teachers.  We decided to do it again for the end of year teacher gift.  We had some very generous donations so we were able to get both our Kindergarten teacher and teacher’s aid a tote bag full of goodies. 

I found the tote for $2.50 at Target and it seemed like the perfect “basket” for a pampering themed gift.  Then I found the card on the front that says “You deserve royal treatment” in the $1 section at Michaels.  I added a couple slits and attached it with ribbon and tied it in the back. 

 

Inside we had a gift card to a spa, a gift card to a bookstore for some summer reading, a magazine for lying next to the pool along with some summer snacking of pretzel crisps and Izze drinks. 

 

I also found a mini chalkboard in the $1 section at Michaels.  I wrote “Thank You” on the chalkboard and then on the wood frame I added each child’s name. 

 

I’m hoping the teachers know how much we appreciate them and that they get pampered this summer and geared up for next year! 

Thank you to all the teachers and enjoy your summer!!!!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun. 

 

Cookie Monster Birthday: The Birthday Outfit

My little man has his 2^nd birthday coming up and you can probably guess the theme! The shirt is made by a friend who owns/designs/creates/operates/photographs/does everything for Sweet Tea for Kids on Etsy. You must check out all her adorable stuff here!

My favorite part of this shirt is the backside ….

Chocolate chip cookie + 90 degree heat + 2 year old = messy shirt in less than 2 minutes (but still sooooo cute!)

I love this picture below …..you can even play "I Spy" and spy my Big Little Man.

Thank you to Sweet Tea for Kids for the high quality and adorable shirt along with taking some great photos of my little man. You can see his "modeling pics" here.

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Day 19 of 92 Crafty Days of Summer: Rocket Snack Cups

"They say genes skip generations. Maybe that's why grandparents find their grandchildren so likeable" – Joan McIntosh

We had a trailmix snack bar for our little space shindig. Each kid received a rocket cup to fill up with all the snacks they wanted from the "bar". We had pretzels, M&M's, goldfish, Funyons, Raisins, Marshmallows, etc. I saw the rocket ship idea here, but could not figure out the tops at 10:00pm they night before and decided they were not necessary (my sanity was).

The rocket snack cups are something quick and fun if you are having some kiddos over for a playdate.

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Day 17 of 92 Crafty Days of Summer: Mini Marshmallow Popper

"Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!" – Dr Suess

I know I didn't post yesterday, but I definitely kept up with the 92 Crafty Days of Summer challenge as I prepared for little big man's final shuttle launch party. To make up for the lack of project yesterday I'll add a couple today to make sure we stay on track!

Have Kids? Then YOU MUST MAKE THE MINI MARSHMALLOW POPPER. Did my point come across with the all caps? It is less than $2 for 12 and it is guaranteed fun. In fact, I might have had just as much fun as them. What is a marshmallow popper you ask? Well, it shoots mini-marshmallows and it can shoot them far. And the best thing is you don't have to worry about the kiddos getting hurt from something soft like marshmallows. I didn't want the kids shooting at each other so I made an "Alien" for them to shoot at. But after I made it I realized it looked more like a silly monster. No one questioned my alien and the best thing was that it was made out of some tissue paper I had laying around.

The Mini Marshmallow poppers kept the kiddos busy and full of laughs while we waited for all the guests to arrive. I found the easy directions for the mini marshmallow popper here.

Be inspired, get creative and have fun!

Day 15 of 92 Crafty Days of Summer: Space Invitation

"5… 4…. 3…. 2… 1… BLAST OFF!"

I've had a Space Junkie on my hands ever since May when he saw the Shuttle Endeavor launch off from Kennedy Space Center. When he heard the Shuttle Atlantis was launching on Firday, July 8^th he asked if we could go back to Florida and watch it. If only I could make that happen! He currently thinks I have special Mommy Superpowers ever since I changed the radio station from behind the steering wheel and I'm surprised he hasn't asked me to use the superpowers to get us down to Florida. He's asked for my superpowers to fix his lacrosse pads (which they did when he was sleeping), make his daddy come home early (secret phone call solved that) and sometimes I've just told him my superpowers work only on a full stomach or something crazy like that to buy me some time. To my luck, he has not requested the Mommy Superpower to beam us down to Florida. He must have been happy enough with my suggestion of having friends over to watch the launch on TV.

So here we are, just getting the space invitation out today. Oops. It is just a few friends, but I must admit I had some grand plans running around in my mind. But since we have 3 days until the launch they might have to use their imagination….A LOT! That's what kids are good at, right?!

I better get to work…

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

First Birthday Party: One Year in a Flash

"My oh my how the time does fly!"

It was time to celebrate my little man's first birthday and even though I said I wasn't going to do much…I just kept getting ideas that I couldn't resist trying out. I am the definition of "Mamarazzi" and for those of you who haven't heard this term yet the Urban Dictionary defines me as this:

Mamarazzi: Mothers who constantly follow their children around with several cameras and video taking equipment, snapping photos at each turn and documenting each milestone or event with at least two dozen photos and a video. 

I definitely have about 2 dozen photos from every outing or milestone and figured it was time to share them instead of just filing them away until I make the end of the year photo book. Being a Mamarazzi is a good thing (someday my kids will agree) and it was time to show off what my little man had been up to all year long. So the theme started to develop based on photos and my scouring the internet for ideas began. I went to Etsy first and found this invitation. I loved the wording in it so I started playing with my own invitation. I love chevron designs right now (along with everyone else) so I started there for the background and started playing around until I came up with the above invite.

My first "big" idea was to make a collage out of the photos spelling "one" similar to the "one" in the invitation. With some white posterboard and lots of black and white photos I got to work. Are you ready to see lots of photos? Because you do know you are reading a blog from a certified Mamarazzi ;).

I had lots of photos that were not used in the collage, but I still wanted to showcase them. So I made my own version of photos drying in the dark room by hanging them on some twine with clothespins. I loved it so much I think we are going to leave them up and change the photos regularly.

I also hung pictures with twine and clothespins above the sliding glass door, but every time I tried to get pictures they looked like dark blobs.

I wanted to sum up all the major milestones and if you aren't a regular reader you might just be learning that I LOVE chalkboard paint for just about everything. I spray painted some $1 foam board and put it behind an empty frame. And, yes, doesn't that diapers number astonish you? The ear infection number isn't a good one either, but really, 2190 diapers?!?

Remember how I love chevron designs? Well , I had to incorporate it into the party since it was on the invite so I found the black and white chevron fabric at a discount store. I purchased 1 ½ yards and put it straight onto the table…no sewing J. With my large black and white "one" photo collage I knew I needed some color. I found the green lanterns at the DollarTree and hung them from the ceiling. I then took a pack of tissue paper from the DollarTree and turned them into some brightly colored rosettes. There are lots of detailed how-to's on the web to make these paper rosettes, but I just folded the tissue paper in accordion style, tied the middle with dental floss (its nice and strong), and started to spread them out and tape pieces into place. I then ruffled up ½ a piece of tissue paper and put it on the middle to hide all the "ugly" stuff. Like I said…lots of detailed directions on the web based on the type of paper and size that you want. It's definitely something to bookmark if you need an inexpensive way to add some color or decorations to a boring white wall like I needed to.

As if there were not enough pictures yet….I had to do a "1sts" wall. I used black and white photos to stay consistent and then glued them onto some white paper. I cut out the paper and placed the photos on to it to resemble Polaroid photos. After the party I am taking them down and putting them straight into a book of his 1sts.

Michaels had some frame decals on clearance for 50 cents – perfect to extend the photo theme out to our deck.

You think this kid is having a good time?

He is in awe of the big candle…

Enjoying his cupcake one star at a time!

If you made it this far into this post, I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into my Mamarazzi files because we all know these were only a sampling of what my camera actually took! Enjoy and hopefully it sparked some ideas for your own party. Imagine doing the "One" collage for an anniversary – the numbers 50 really large with photos from 50 years of a marriage. It would be stunning and such a tribute to the couple.

I think the party planning is done for a while since both boys had their big days for 2011. Now the time has come to organize, organize, organize! I wonder what project I can accomplish tomorrow in between referring my boys game of Tom & Jerry around the house.

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

I've linked this party over at Under the Table and Dreaming

Killer Whale Birthday Party: The Fun Stuff – Games, Activities and Goodie Bags

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year" – Ralph Waldo Emerson

I am lucky enough to see this smile every day (well, most of the day at least) because to him every day does seem to be the best day of the year. And it should be for a 5 year old! With some fun birthday games and activities, I made sure that there were plenty of smiles from all the kids. As the kids showed up I used some chalk to write their names on the whale tail of their goodie bag. I cut out the whale tail from chalkboard stickers I found at the craft store and added some blue paper for water.

As the kiddos showed up they would take their goodie bag over to the sand box. They dug for killer whale teeth and some ocean animals. We made the killer whale teeth from some white modeling clay. Dig in!

Then came the big hit of the party – Fishy, Fishy in the Brook. Instead of buying a whole bunch of little things for the goodie bags, I put a couple small things in them and then found some great ocean themed gifts from the DollarTree. Once again, the DollarTree came through for me! I also used blue plastic tablecloths and a fish net from the DollarTree to make our little brook/river/water….whatever it was, the kids got the point.

I posted the saying up so the adults could all have a cheat sheet. Just add the kiddo's name at the blank spot and read the rest….pretty easy J.

And, of course, with a bunch of 4-5 year olds you have to add some of their humor to the mix. Throw in some dirty diapers, dirty socks, empty toilet paper roll, etc and you are sure to get lots of laughs.

Who is behind that "water" anyway?

It was great to see them all so excited about what they would get as well as what their buddies would find in the brook.

So there you have it - A fun party for not much money. Now I'm off to plan for the little man's 1 year celebration.

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Killer Whale Birthday Party: The Decorations

"Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's party'" - Robin Williams

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are lucky that Lil Big Man has a spring birthday so we can celebrate outside. Otherwise, I'm not sure what I would do with all his energy plus the energy of 15 of his closest bouncing buddies. Luckily, the weather pretty much held out except a few minutes of rain that didn't even phase the kiddos. Since we celebrate at the park I don't go overboard on the decorations – just a few simple and inexpensive special touches to go with the theme.

Anything I bought went with the blue, black, and white color scheme. Blue tablecloths for the water, black and white napkins and plates, a black and white wrapped box to hold some drinks, etc.

The first things the kiddos noticed were the inflatable killer whales hanging from the rafters of the park picnic shelter. With some Dollartree twine and my underhand toss over the rafters to the hubby we created our own swimming whales in the ocean. They were about $2.00 each and added just the right amount of decorations. I thought of other decorating ideas to make it more under-the-sea theme, but we really wanted to stick to just killer whales as much as possible. So we stopped here…I can't believe I had that kind of self control.                                                                                             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My ocean in a jar idea was originally going to be a project for the kiddos with some empty baby food jars I had. However, after testing it out on some big jars I decided it was going to be too messy and the little sea creatures I purchased didn't float. You put half water with some food coloring, and then fill the rest with mineral oil or clear vegetable oil ( I couldn't find this). Instead of keeping the non-floating sea creatures in the jar, I printed out some killer whales from the computer and glued them on the outside of the jars. When you move it you make waves. There was a breeze so I used them as paper weights for the plates and napkins. Plus the kids still had fun checking them out and making 'waves'.

Then we had the cake and cupcakes. I used out of the box cake mix, homemade frosting, killer whale cookie cutouts, and some candy fishes and jelly bellies. We made the killer whale cookies for his pre-school class celebration and luckily had leftovers. Thank goodness I refrained from eating them because they saved the day. We used the leftovers to put on the cake instead of having to use a plastic toy or figuring out fondant (one thing I still haven't tackled). Lil big man loves jelly bellies (along with his mommy) so it was a special touch to use those for the waves. It certainly isn't going to win any awards, but it was relatively painless and to a bunch of kiddos it was cute. If only it hadn't taken lil big man 14 tries to blow out 5 candles…

Add a few random beach balls everywhere and we were ready to party!

It is possible to complete a theme just enough without breaking the bank if you pay attention to what the kiddos will appreciate more than what us adults would appreciate. For adults a great layout for the food is often something we focus on or the table setting…..but to a 5 year old? Not so much! The flying killer whales are way more interesting. Think like the age group you are planning for and you'll throw a great party. Next, I'll share the games and activities we played. Stay tuned J

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Killer Whale Birthday Party: The Birthday Boy Whale Shirt

"The first sign of maturity is the discovery that the volume knob also turns to the left".  ~Jerry M. Wright

The above quote cracks me up. ..it describes my son to the 'T'. The birthday celebration is for the big '5' and I have a feeling we are years from discovering that the volume knob turns to the left. His volume controls are loud and louder and nothing less. And recently is volume was cranked up to loudest when he insisted that the killer whale on his shirt needed to have white on it. Yet, after a good night's sleep he decided he liked it with the blue. Good thing I didn't act too quickly on fulfilling his wishes. J

I made this killer whale shirt using my new favorite technique – freezer paper silhouettes. I followed the same directions as shown here and as originally found on MADE's website for her silhouette President T-shirts.

To re-cap see below, but for detailed directions go here.

1. Print your photo onto the non-waxy side of the freezer paper.
2. Using an X-Acto knife, cut out your photo.

1. Place wax side down on t-shirt and iron.

1. Paint with fabric paint and let dry.

4 more days until the party and oh so much to do! I had all these grandeur plans to make some inexpensive games for the party like throw the ring on the dorsal fin, toss some fake fish into the mouth of the killer whale, a fishing hole, etc. Then reality hit and I realized there was not enough time and I've seen this kiddos play – they will be happy just running around at the park. I'm glad I had my reality check. Although, the games would have been fun !

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

 

Killer Whale Birthday Party: The Invitation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are about 10 days away from Lil Big Man's 5 year old party and I haven't done much except brainstorm. Oh – and hand out the invitations. My soon to be 5 year old has been obsessed with killer whales for a few years now so it is time we celebrate this love the right way. Unfortunately, there have not been too many killer whale birthday parties ahead of us. We found plenty of Under the Sea themes, but none (that I could find on the web) that focused primarily on orcas. So we are going from scratch. I started with the invite. It is nothing fancy – just some basic photo editing skills and the photo printer at Sam's Club. I figure we will be going with a blue (for the ocean water) and black & white (for the whale) color scheme for the party. You would think a 5 year old would not care about the color scheme, but this 5 year old has definitely made his voice heard about having blue for the water.

I thought I would post the projects as I go for this party and we'll see how it all turns out. We still have some decorations to do, the goodie bags, maybe some games, the cake and who knows what else. Hmmmm….where to start!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss: Bake a Cake

Little man's pre-school class is celebrating Dr Seuss's birthday all week and the teacher wanted a birthday cake today to add to the birthday celebration. So today we sent in a Cat in the Hat cake for them to enjoy. You could still do it this afternoon with your little ones or for them. With sick kids right now, I needed something quick and easy. Is the cake bakery perfect? Far from it! But it gets the point across, was fast, and put a smile on little man's face. Did I mention how much I love box cake mix? In the terms of little man, "it's easy-peasy".

1. Bake your cake.
2. Draw a simple outline just on the top of the cake (not all the way through in case you have to fix it). Once you have the outline you like, then cut all the way through to the bottom. Remove outer edges. In hindsight, don't cut the outline still in the pan like I did. I then had to transfer it to the baking sheet and worry about not breaking it. Take the whole cake out first, place on your plate or baking sheet and then cut out your outline.

1. Add some frosting. Or if you are really fancy and want a more professional looking cake you could used rolled fondant. I've never used it before so no tips from me L. I guess I'll have to give rolled fondant a try one of these days.
2. I was looking for easy-peasy so I just did red sprinkles for my stripes. However, you could use food coloring to die some of the frosting red.

It's not too late to celebrate Dr. Seuss and the happiness and laughter he has brought into our homes for decades. Continue to the celebration all week and enjoy a fun cake one day J.

Be inspired, get creative and have fun!

Gotta Make It: Chalkboard Silhouette (Denim & Diamonds Party Décor)

My other obsession right now is chalkboard paint and I am turning anything and everything into a chalkboard. The chalkboard silhouette for my Denim & Diamonds party just proves my obsession. At first I was going to make a stencil using freezer paper and spray paint the area with chalkboard paint. But that just seemed like a little too much work when it was the day before. Thank goodness for Michael's shipment of new stuff because they now carry chalkboard stickers that come in a rectangle size a little bigger than 8x10. With the chalkboard sticker, I just cut out the silhouette using a stencil printed from online, peeled off the back and attached it so my fabric covered canvas. Since this was a "bling" party where guests could try on jewelry I added some rhinestones around the silhouette's neck and a few from where her ears would be.

For some of the other decorations…

I made a table runner from some discount fabric and used the remnants to cover some canvases.

I took a clear vase that I'm sure we all have hanging around or you can find one at the Dollar Tree. I spray painted it white along with some branches. With leftover fabric from the baby food jar candles, I wrapped it around the center of the vase and scotch taped it into place. Yep….scotch tape.

From the branches I hung some beads to add some more "bling". We were going to hang some earrings from the jewelry line, but they were just a tad too heavy for the branches.

I hope you like some of the ideas from my Denim & Diamonds party sparked some simple but fabulous ideas for your own party! I promise that next time I have a party I will take way more photos!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It: Candles in Baby Food Jars (Denim & Diamonds Party Favor)

8 month old = lots of saved up glass baby food jars. I just kept adding them and adding them to a box knowing that they would get some use…eventually. This is what my husband loves about me most (yeah right) and why he often refers to my craft closet as the "crap closet". Well, this "crap" turned into something quite lovely and made a great party favor while watching my piggy bank. Who knew baby food jars would make the perfect size candle to give to guests? Here is what you'll need:

MATERIALS:

Candle Wax ( I used microwavable soy wax)
Candle Wick
Baby food jars
toothpicks
Tacky Wax
Candle scent (optional)

HOW-TO:

1. Make sure your jars are all clean with no sweet potatoes or apples left over J

 

1. Cut wicks long enough to tie around a toothpick and have the bottom of the wick touch the bottom portion of your jar. Use the tacky wax to secure the bottom of the wick to the bottom of the jar. Then rest the toothpick across the top of the baby food jar. NOTE: I had to return my original wicks because I did not get the right ones for soy candle wax. Make sure to check that before you make it out of the store.

1. After you have finished all the jars, place them on a cookie sheet with wax paper underneath (for easy clean-up).

1. Take your wax and follow the packaged instructions. Mine was easy….put it in the microwave for short intervals, stop and stir, repeat until all melted and the wax reaches a certain temperature. Then add the fragrance in.

 

1. Pour into jars and let set.

1. Cut the wicks to desirable length.
2. Decorate! I cut strips of some damask fabric and used mod podge to adhere and seal it to the glass. Then I took a ribbon and tied it around the middle.
3. Voila! Give it away or enjoy it at home.

I gave baby food jar candles away to my guests at my Denim & Diamonds party. The baby food jar decorations matched the invite and theme and added some pretty décor at the party until each guest took one home.

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Denim & Diamonds Party: Invitation

A couple weeks ago I hosted an evening out for my lady friends.  We had to start with the invite to set the theme...

Angela of Paisley Prints, etc has the perfect damask silhouette design invite shown above!

I was also doing this party on a budget so as much as I would have loved to mail pretty invitations, they got the pretty invite via email instead.  

I wanted a couple of my favorite things right now - silhouettes and damask - and you'll see them throughout the party.  The party turned out great, the only problem was that I didn't take any photos!  Can you believe that?  The queen of taking photos forgot to take photos of the evening...I was just having too much fun!  

Stay tuned for some creative personal touches that anybody can add to their party. 

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!