My Little Pony Party

Originally my soon to be 7 year old wanted to have  her party at home. She picked My Little Pony as her theme. Having a party at home puts me into create mode. I started looking on Pintrest for ideas and buying things as I came across them.

Then she dropped a bombshell on me...she wants her party at the rollerskating ring. WHAT?!?! How could she do that to me? I was already on a roll with tons of ideas planned. I was crushed.

Of course that only lasted until I realized I don't really have to do anything for this party then. I can just make the goody bags, order the cake and go!

One day at Micheal's they where having an awesome clearance sale. They had MLP lunch boxes for under $4.00. I counted out how many girls will be at the party and picked them up. The goodies for inside the box that where under a $1.00 where: MLP stickers, notebook, press on nails, and mini pens. I was able to get other items for under $2.00. Each girl gets one of these. I have to say, I want one for myself!!! They are way too cute and so much fun. I am going to use my Cricut to cut out their names in vinyl and label each one so there is no confusion.

Front and back of the lunch box.

These goodies where about $1.50 each.

Found these at Walgreens for $1.50.

All these goodies where under $1.00.

For the boys I am just going to give them candy and a few trinkets. Maybe even a character cup...thinking minions...which I can pick up at the Dollar Tree.

So I am left with the want to do a MLP party and a great Pintrest board of ideas. Have your kids ever done this to you??

(Update: Added pictures on 5/18/15.)

3rd Birthday Party Time

I have stated before how much I love birthday parties. Well, in a couple of weeks my little guy turns 3. I went back and forth between a Mickey party or a dinosaur party. I asked him again last week and he said dinosaur. So the theme is set!! (Yes, I did have to send out invites on short notice. His birthday snuck up on me.)

Of course my first stop is ALWAYS Pintrest. I loved the parties where they used their plants from all over the house to decorate one room. Too bad for me I have a black thumb. Plants just DIE around me. What this leaves me with is making my own plants.

I picked up packaging paper at the dollar store and made vines to hang. (You just scrunch and twist.) Thanks for my stash of scrapbook paper, I have leaves. I used a Cricut to cut some of the leaves and then just free handed others. I made large leaves and small leaves. I also made flowers. If you google prehistoric flowers, there are some really pretty ones.

I have made a couple of trees for the table. My local dollar tree had some 2 oz Mod Podge. I picked up a couple. This allows me to do small projects without having to open my big 16 oz bottle.

Inspiration hit this morning and I made the door decoration. I also sketched a dino on a poster board. I will paint it later or maybe tomorrow when all the kids are in school.

I can't wait to finish up the decorations. I just have to wait out Halloween. 

Here are some pictures of my progress. Keep an eye out for an update on the party.

 

 Thanks for stopping by! 

Birthday Parties and Pintrest

I love birthday parties. I am the kind of person who will stay up all night to decorate. I start planning the birthday theme months in advance so I can keep an eye out for things to pick up when they are on sale. I make as much of the decorations as I can. For the goodie bags, I try to include as much as I can but spend as little as possible.

I have friends who do not like parties as much as me.  Being the great friend I am, I have told them "look on Pintrest." Yeah, that's not really helpful when you are not a crafty person and don't like parties.

Here are some simple things that you can do to make your party great, without having to be crafty.

1. Use streamers. Streamers are inexpensive and make for a quick party place dress up. If you don't want to hang streamers from the ceiling, just drape them on the wall, or put them up the wall.

I like to bring the streamers down the wall a little.

I removed a picture to cover the wall in streamers.

Streamer flowers

2. Make a birthday sign. You do not have to buy the "Happy Birthday" sign in the store. Use colored paper or book pages to make a unique sign.

The name banner is pages from a winnie the pooh book.

I took pages from a winnie the pooh book that had pictures on them and made a banner for the food table.

3. Cover the tables and surfaces with table clothes. Use solid colors, use the ones from the dollar store, use them on lots of surfaces. If you buy one from the store that has characters, use it on the table that will be the center of attention. Use accent colors for the area where the presents will go or if you have a table on the side with the goody bags. If your character table cloth is not big enough for the table you have, place solid color ones under it and then use it in the center of the table. Don't be afraid to layer them.

The table cloth made this table with the goody bags a part of the decor.

4. Balloons. Balloons. Balloons. We all know that nothing says party like balloons. I use them on the mailbox by the curb to make the party guest feel festive as soon as they pull up. The balloons don't have to be helium filled. I like to blow them up and tape them to the walls. (See picture above.)

5. Have fun. If you do nothing more than the above, the party will look great. The most important thing is that you set the tone for the kids. If the kids think you are unhappy with the party, they will be as well. Remember parties are a celebration. Don't stress if everything is not perfect or PINTREST worthy.

Which brings me back to Pintrest. I think as moms we tend to compare ourselves to other moms. We look at what they do and feel like we are inadequate. Don't fall into that trap. Use Pintrest to gather ideas not to get down on yourself. Use Pintrest as a tool to help you, not as a tool to make you spend more money.

I hope I have helped a little to make that next party less stressful.

Thanks for stopping by,

Face Painting

First design ever done.

One year I picked up a "character make-up kit" from Walmart on clearance after Halloween. The kit was under a dollar and came not just with some paints but with a little instruction book for three different face designs.


That was the beginning of what has become a little hobby for me, to the benefit of my children. During this last summer I would paint their faces once a week. We would go on Pintrest for them to find a picture, then I would try to recreate it.


I am in no way an artist...I need to get that out in the open. My kids love to tell me what an artist I am, but that is far from the truth. I have never been very good at drawing. I get very frustrated with symmetry. If I can get the right side to look awesome, chances are the left will not look as good.


(Keeping the previous thought in mind...) My kids LOVE that they can come to me and ask for a face design. When we go to a new animated movie, they usually come to me for a design directly related to what we are about to see.

For Despicable Me 2

Painting their faces has taught me a few things:
1. I do not have to be perfect. The design can be a little off and still look great! (Which has bleed over into other parts of my life.)
2. If you can do something small to make your kids smile, do it. My kids love going out when I have painted their faces and telling complete strangers that their mommy did it.
3. There will always be people out there better than you and that is OK. (Some of the pins I have found have blown my mind.)
4. Just try. I have not attended any face painting classes or even painting classes, but it is really fun just to try. (And this is not about only face painting.)

Hope I have inspired you to try something...maybe face painting!!! This is my Pinterest board with face painting ideas: http://www.pinterest.com/yadiwyatt/face-painting-ideas/

Thanks for stopping by,
Yadira