Chalkboard Popcorn Buckets

At my sister-in-law's baby shower, my other sister-in-law and I wanted to offer several different flavors of popcorn as snacks and take-home favors for our guests.  I had seen the idea on Pinterest where people used large glass jars and labeled them, but I didn't really want to shell out the money for additional glass jars.  I mentioned to my mom that I saw some cute plastic popcorn buckets at the Dollar Tree.  They were a good size, but I really wanted to be able to label the different flavors in a cute way.  My mom, being the genius she is, immediately suggested chalkboard paint.

 I decided to give it a whirl, but I left one side as is, just in case the chalkboard paint didn't work.

I started by tracing an oval shape on clear contact paper and cutting it out.  I cut my oval slightly smaller than the oval on the bucket.

After pressing the contact paper down, I masked off the rest of the bucket with paper and painter's tape.  I first sprayed a coat of plastic primer on the bucket.  Then, I did a very light coat of spray chalkboard paint.

Here's what I had after the second coat.  I thought it was looking pretty good until I pulled the contact paper off.

 I quickly realized that my masking job wasn't so good. I had a lot of overspray and some of the paint had seeped under the contact paper.  I started wiping it off with some Goo Gone on a paper towel and, much to my pleasant surprise, it all came off!  I was even able to touch up around the oval with the edge of paper towel.

I'm guessing that since those areas didn't have the plastic primer, it made the paint almost wipe right off.  I let the chalkboard paint cure for a few days before writing on it.  After the shower, I hand washed the buckets and the chalkboard labels held up just fine!

Rainbow Dessert Stand

At my Rainbow Birthday Party for my 5 year old twins, we served a variety of desserts on a cute rainbow colored tiered stand.  I thought I'd show you a quick before and after.

These elements started out as tired, dated Goodwill finds that I usually wouldn't have given a second glance.  With a few light coats of primer and then spray paint, new life was breathed into them!

I let the plates, glassware, and wooden candlesticks cure for a few days after the paint was dry.  Then, I used E3000 glue to stick the pieces together.  I glued each candlestick to a plate and let that dry overnight and then glued it all together and let it dry overnight a second time.

Let me be perfectly clear, I completely understand that spray paint is NOT food safe.  I used paper doilies as liners on the two smaller plate tiers.  The bottom tier is an oval shape and I just couldn't get it to look quite right, so I just encouraged certain family members to eat those cookies.  Just kidding.  I just decided it wasn't that big of a deal to me and I went for it.  You can decide what you're comfortable with.  If I did it again, I would choose a round platter instead of an oval.

A few hints that might make this easier for you:
 - Use self etching primer made for metal or glass on your ceramic or glassware
 - Before applying your glue, line up your pieces and mark them with a pencil.  It's easier when it's not covered with sticky glue.
 - Try to find pieces that aren't super heavy.  Cheaper quality dishes seemed to be lighter.  You don't want the whole thing to be top-heavy.
 - Be patient!  This project requires a little planning ahead.  I spent a lot of time waiting between coats of spray paint and letting the glue dry properly.

I gently hand washed this after the party.  It seemed to hold up well.  However, I don't expect it to be an heirloom piece.  I spent less than $10 on thrift store items and used a lot of spray paint that I already had.  So considering the cost, I feel like I've already gotten my money's worth out of it!

Pop the Balloon Game

My girls requested that we play at a game at their recent rainbow themed birthday party, so I set out to create something simple that they would enjoy.  I started with a piece of scrap plywood from the garage and covered it with a plastic tablecloth that was an extra from the party decorations.  I just wrapped it around and hot glued it on the back of the wood.

I started out planning on making a rainbow shape with the balloons, but that was easier said than done.  If my original wood piece was bigger, this probably would have been easier.  Oh well, you get the idea.

The day before the party, I filled each balloon with a small prize before inflating it.  The smaller the object, the better!  This proved to be a harder task than I anticipated.  I used some really tiny party favors like plastic rings and necklaces, small animals, stickers, Tootsie Rolls, change, confetti, and a few lottery tickets that the adults enjoyed.  One trick I learned was to turn the uninflated balloon inside out on your fingers and then turn it back right side out once the prize is in place.  Think of it like you're folding a pair of socks.  I also went ahead and splurged on the $1.99 balloon pump.  Why didn't I buy one of those things sooner?  Much easier on my lungs.

Once they were all inflated and tied off, I just hot glued each balloon into place.  I wasn't sure if they would pop from the heat, but they all did just fine.  I just kept the glue onto the knot and the tied end of the balloon.

For the actual game, I used Sharpies to color each side of a die a different color.  When it was your turn, you rolled the die and popped a balloon of the coordinating color.  I couldn't find a thumb tack, so we ended up using a sewing pin.  A thumb tack with a little handle would have been easier. 

It was really simple, but the girls loved it!  I'm sure you would have to add a more complicated element for older kids, but it was a blast for 3 and 5 year olds and their adult guests!

Easy Photo Backdrop

At my twins' rainbow party, I made a super quick backdrop so we could take some photo booth style photos with each of their guests.

When each guest arrived, the girls greeted them at the door and then we quickly snapped a photo before they got settled into the party.  People were then free to go back and take more photos later, if they wished, but it was an easy way to make sure that I got a picture of everyone with the birthday girls.

 I positioned the backdrop right in the entryway of our house.  There was plenty of natural light with the front door and its surrounding windows.  This also kept it out of the way of the rest of the party.

I found an extra piece of molding or trim in the garage and hot glued lengths of crepe paper party streamers around it.  We had a nice space between our mudroom and powder bath doorways, so I just rested the piece of trim above the door frames and it hung there nicely.  We added some clusters of bright balloons and we were set.

It would also be easy to add some hanging lanterns or other decorations to the trim piece.  We also had a bucket of props like sunglasses and hats available for guests, but the bright rainbow colors provided plenty of interest for our photos.

Rainbow Birthday Party

Our twins just turned 5 (eek!) and they requested a rainbow birthday party. I jokingly called it a Pinterest party because I felt like it was a breeze to plan with all of the fab rainbow party ideas people have pinned.  I'll share some details on a few of the ideas that were a bit more original.

 We set up a super easy photo booth backdrop with rainbow colored streamers.  I'll post more details on that later in the week. 

 I'll show you some before and after pictures of my rainbow cake stand.  Thrift store plates have never looked better with a little spray paint!

One of my favorite things about this party was my girls' involvement.  All three of them were really able to help make a lot of the decorations.  They really enjoyed being included and took a lot of pride in showing their guests their creations.

We typically just invite family to birthday parties, so my kids are usually the only kids present.  This time, they asked why we never get to play games at their parties.  So, I made up a quick game.  I covered a scrap piece of plywood in a plastic tablecloth and hot glued balloons on it.  Before I inflated the balloons, I added small prizes like candy, plastic jewelry, bouncy balls, coins, and a few scratch off lottery tickets.  I used Sharpies to color each side of a dice (die?) a different color.  When it was your turn, you rolled the dice and then got to choose a balloon of that color to pop and get the prize.  The girls insisted that the adults play as well and they were thrilled with their simple game.

In case you're interested, the girls' super cute tie dyed dresses are from the Etsy shop inspiring color.  They are great!  I highly recommend her items! They washed wonderfully and the colors are so vibrant.

I'll be back later in the week to share a few more details!

Snow White Party -- Cut Wood Vase Tutorial

I wanted to share a quick tutorial on this vase I made for our Snow White birthday party. 

The inspiration for the vase came from the wreath I made for our front door.  When I saw this one at diy kinda girl, I knew I had to have one of my own.  I made the wreath following her directions pretty closely.  I did use brown burlap instead of felt to cover my wreath form.  I added a little Happy Birthday banner out of scrapbook paper for the big day.  I loved my wreath so much when it was done that I wanted to make something coordinating for the inside.  I decided on a large vase that could hold some flowering branches from the yard.

 

Because I'm cheap, I didn't want to spend money on my base, so I started with two empty green bean cans.  These are the giant ones from Sam's Club.  I used the can opener to open up the bottom of one of the cans so that it was just an empty tube.

 I used black electrical tape (because that's what I could find) to hold them together once they were stacked on top of one another.

 Just like with the wreath, I wrapped the whole thing in brown burlap strips, secured with hot glue.

 I started gluing the wood discs on, thinking of it like a puzzle, large pieces first, then fill in with the smaller ones.

I just kept turning it around, filling in until I got close to the top.

I added some cut forsythia branches and it made for the perfect natural element to our dessert table.  I wouldn't fill the water past the top of the bottom can, just in case it's not water tight.  The vase itself is pretty heavy with all of that wood, so it could really hold some tall branches and make a large visual statement.

If you're interested in seeing the other details of our Snow White party, check these out:

Snow White Party Invitation

Banners and Buntings

The Queen's Table

Snow White Party -- The Queen's Table

 

 When we first started planning Lily's Snow White birthday party, I knew we had to do something with the iconic mirror and that scary queen turned witch.

 On one of my trips to Goodwill, I spied this gold framed mirror whose curves spoke to me.  It seemed perfect for that evil queen's mirror.  While I was trying to dig it out from a pile of junk, an older lady came up and started asking me if I could get that mirror out for her!  I quickly explained that was what I was going for.  I uncovered my mirror quickly and got out of there.  The ugly plastic candle sconces were also a Goodwill find and I secured them up on the wall with some Command strips.

   

Once I made it home with my prized mirror, I cleaned it up and cut my words out of frosted glass vinyl on my Silhouette.  It was my first time working with vinyl in the Silhouette and it was harder than I expected!  My words could definitely have been applied straighter and the spacing could have been better, but Lily didn't seem to notice!

 

 I scooted a sofa table over underneath the mirror and candleholders and set it up like the queen's magic workshop.  We used a black plastic cauldron (from my mom's Halloween stash), a spell book on a really neat Goodwill easel or book holder, a wooden scoop full of apples, an owl figurine swiped from my grandma's house, a goblet from Goodwill that I spray painted, and a Goodwill cheese board and dome glued to a wooden candlestick to make a pedestal for that poison apple.  I'm telling you, this really could be called a Goodwill party.

Down below, I added a basket of apples, some glass jars filled with colored water to look like evil potions, a bird's nest, and empty jars.

 For the queen's spell book, I completely ripped off one I found through Pinterest at Polish the Stars, except hers is much better.  Seriously, go check it out.  Mine is the extremely quick version.  I typed up some text to look like a magic recipe or spell, printed it out, stuck it in the oven for a few minutes, and then used double sided tape to stick it inside an old book that was missing some pages.

Once the party got started, we added dry ice to the cauldron for a spooky effect.  We added hot water to the dry ice and the fog started flowing.  Unfortunately, so did the water.  The black plastic cauldron turned out to have a leak.  After it was cleaned up, we switched to a black stockpot and we were good to go.  :)

If you'd like to see more of the Snow White birthday party, check out these posts:

Snow White Birthday Party Invitation

Banners and Buntings
Woodland Vase Tutorial

Snow White Party -- Banners and Buntings

To add plenty of visual interest and pop, I added several buntings around our house for Lily's Snow White Birthday Party.  I got my inspiration from Kirstin's book page buntings from her fabulous showers at kojo designs. 

 I searched high and low at the thrift stores looking for an old Snow White picture book.  I think I found every Disney story except Snow White.  I found one pretty inexpensively on ebay.  I picked out the pages with the largest pictures, trimmed them down to the same size, and glued them onto some pom pom trim.  I also used a Martha Stewart punch from Michael's to make some lace edges on the bottom of the pages.

 I added some little mushroom birds from Hobby Lobby up in the corners to make it look like the birds were holding the bunting up.  I hung the bunting with a tiny finish nail and just used the metal clip on the bottom of the bird to clip it onto the nail.

 After making the large book page bunting, I took the leftover pages and cut out smaller pictures with two different sizes of circle punches.  Then, I just ran them through the sewing machine and stitched them all together to make a little banner to hang over the cake.

 For a super quick project, I quickly cut out some triangles from fabric scraps and burlap and hot glued them to some jute.  I didn't even measure the space between triangles, just glued them and hung it up!

If you'd like to read about the other details of our Snow White birthday party, check these out:

Snow White Party Invitation
The Queen's Table 
Woodland Vase Tutorial

Snow White Party Invitation

If you missed my overview of my youngest daughter's Snow White themed birthday party, check it out here.  I wanted to revisit some of the details that made the party such a success.

For her party invitation, I decided to try my hand at some fancy schmancy chalkboard lettering.  I borrowed my mom's framed chalkboard that hangs in her hallway for the job.  I knew it would be big enough that Lily could sit in front of it and I could get her and all of the text in the photo without getting the wood frame.

I played around in Microsoft Word and printed off my text in the size I wanted.  I laid it out on the chalkboard to get a rough idea of placement.  Then, I took a piece of chalk and rubbed all over the back of the paper.  I carefully laid the paper back on the chalkboard and went over the letters with a pencil.  This gave me a VERY light outline of chalk left on the chalkboard.  I then went over my guidelines with a chalk marker to get a more definite line.

When I was done, I cleaned up a few smudges with a damp paper towel.  Then, I propped the chalkboard up next to a window and sat Little Miss Princess in front of the negative space next to the letters.  I made sure to place a piece of white posterboard next to her, opposite the window, to act as a reflector.

I gave her an apple and let her big sisters stand behind me and make her giggle.  I did some basic cropping and added a simple frame and it was done!  I printed them out as 5x7 photos and stuck them in a red envelope.  Done!

A Snow White Birthday Party

 

My youngest daughter LOVES Snow White.  With two older sisters, she was forced into the princess craze at an early age, but she has always been loyal to Snow White.  Last year, she shared a birthday party with her sisters, as their birthday is only two weeks away.  This year, she got her very own party and, of course, chose a Snow White theme.

I tried to make it a bit less commercialized and go more with a woodland or nature theme thrown in with Snow White.  Honestly, this could probably be called a Goodwill Snow White party because the vast majority of our decorations came from the thrift store, if it wasn't something we didn't already have.

I'll share a bunch of pictures and then check back in with some of the details and how-to.

Our 3 year old Snow White loved her party and was delighted at all of the little touches!  Her big sisters loved helping out with the planning and decorating.  I'll check back in tomorrow with some of the details on how we pulled it all off.

Read about more of the party here:

Snow White Party Invitation
Banners and Bunting
The Queen's Table 
Wood Slices Vase Tutorial