Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Pantry Door Makeover

 I finally got my Silhouette that I won from Skip to my Lou  giveaway! 
I still can't believe I won! Yeah!
Since I  am so new at  the awesome Silhouette world, I decided to start doing something easy.
I always wanted to have a menu/grocery list board but since I don't have much wall space in my kitchen, I decided to turn my pantry door into one! ;)
 I made the {PANTRY}, {menu} and {grocery list} signs using the Silhouette machine, the utensils rub-ons are from Michaels. I painted the two middle rectangles using PLAID black chalkboard paint.
I also made a fabric bunting and some rosettes to add some color!

The children are very excited about this new idea and I am happy that I won't hear the daily question "What's for dinner?"  :)
Now to come up with an idea for their school/GS/sports/parties/playdates schedule!
I will be back! :)
XO,
Cris

Today's Creative Blog


I Heart Nap Time

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Bookworm favors

I made bookworm favors for my son's preschool class! 
Super cute, easy and inexpensive way to celebrate their first week in school!


 Material
worm gummies
clear plastic bags
ribbon
FREE back to school printable from Amanda's Party to Go
alphabet stamp - I got mine at Walmart's scrapbook aisle for $1

Fill the bag with some worms, tie with a cute ribbon and embellish with the apple cut out from Amanda's Party to Go!
Easy peasy!

Hurray to School!
Cris

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Welcome to our Pad, a party on a Budget!

A new school year is always exciting time for children specially if  it is their first time going to school. My youngest child started preschool last week and to help him with the transition, we had a fun Welcome to our Pad party! 
The best part of all, is that I only spend $36!
 I love to walk around the candy aisle and brainstorm on easy and affordable ways to bring some fun to the dessert table. Dollar Tree is always on my list for great finds and inspiration. It was at the Dollar Tree that I got the idea to do a Welcome to Our Pad party on a budget. A very cute theme that can be also used for a Frog Birthday Party theme. Most of the items that I used at the party came from the Dollar Tree. As you scroll dow, you will be able to see every detail from our party and the 

For the backdrop, I used black wrapping paper, embellished with a polk a dot trimmer with the big frog in the center and the small frogs around with the names of the children that attended to the party.
For this party, I tried to keep the snacks simple but creative. For the sweet table, we enjoyed some erasers (Stacker Mallows),rulers(AirHead), chalk  (marshmallow confetti), chocolate frogs, apples and frog cupcakes and marshmallow paint brushes. 
Before they enjoyed their sweets, the children munched on apple shaped whole wheat ham and cheese sandwiches, bookworm grapes and fruit punch. 
One of my favorite DIY projects for this party is the crayon cupcake stand using crayons and paper towel roll! So easy to make and definitely made the cupcakes stand out! You can get the tutorial HERE.

I used the frog labels from the Dollar Tree to embellish the snack containers and personalize their drinks. I got alphabet stamps from Walmart scrapbook section for $1. 
I already had the chalk place mats from Jill Celebration's, the kids played tic-tac-toe while munching on their snacks. You can also use 12x12 black scrapbook paper as place mats. Michael Stores often has a sale for 6 scrapbook papers for $1.
Just like class parties, I set up 3 Stations that included a Lace and Learn, Tangrams and color the puzzle. 
I made the goodie bags using paper bags from the dollar tree and scrapbook paper. They came up so cute and inexpensive.


Welcome to my Pad snack/sweet Table break down


26pc Frog Welcome to Our Pad bulletin board $1

black wrapping paper $1

AirHead candy $1

Rice Kripes treats $1

6  juice $1

2 big clip board $2($1 each)

animal crackers $1
green paper bag $1
4 frog plate $2 ($1 for 2)
8 small favor box $1
red candy $1
writing practice board $1
learn and learn $1
color your own puzzle $1
tangrams $1
cake mix $1
red plastic towel $1
From Walmart
mini alphabet stamp $1
ink pad $1
goldfish, bread, cold cuts, grapes, marshmallow, icing and apples $15

total cost: $36

Items used that I own:
silver pail from Target dollar section
chalkboard place mats and fabric bunting from Celebration by Jill
                                                               DIY crayon cupcake holder
large pail(centerpiece for the kids table)

polka dot napkin

scrapbook paper

cupcake liner and sprinkles
3 small clipboard 
frog chocolate mold and chocolate(from a previous party)
craft spoons
apple mini clip from Michaels
children's tees from *golden*


Great party to welcome the 2012/2013 school year! 

Happy Back to School!
Cris





Saturday, August 11, 2012

Apple Gumballs

I always have so much fun coming up with unique ideas for party snacks and sweets! I often find myself in the candy aisle of Walmart just browsing the candies and coming up with cute ways to serve them at our parties. This time I used red gumballs and turn them into cute apples! 
It was a hit at our  BACK TO SCHOOL party!

Material
red gumballs
green pipe cleaner
toothpick
scissors
Directions
Using a toothpick, make a small hole into the gum ball, insert the green pipe cleaner and shape it like a leaf and stem. You can also use green Air Heads candy for the leaf.



Another cute way to display your sweets! 
Using a paint pallet you can display mini M&M's just like "real" paint! I added the cute easel from Michaels and added the snack time icon from the FREE Back to School printable. One of my favorites!

How about some edible chalk? How fun are these marshmallow confetti?  It looks just like chalk! I found the metal pail at Target dollar bin and the chalk at Walmart. I also found the small chalk place cards at Michael's and just new that would look so cute to display the marshmallow confetti! 
Fun and easy treats on a budget! Got love it! :)


Enjoy!
XO,
Cris

Friday, August 3, 2012

Tutorial:DIY Crayons Cupcake Holder


One of my favorite parts about getting ready for a party, is brainstorming ways to come up with simple DIY projects like this crayon cupcake holder. It was an easy, fast and affordable way to make our cute book worm cupcakes toppers from Lynlee's Petite Cakes stand out!
 They look so adorable and it was the perfect addition to our  BACK TO SCHOOL party!  
The best part is that you probably  have all the materials around your home needed for this project! Yeah!
View and download the full FREE back to school printable HERE.
Material
paper towel roll 
crayons
ribbons
scissors
rubberband
glue gun


 Directions:
Cut the toilet paper roll the same high as the crayons. I added a red ribbon to the top of the roll before adding the crayons to cover the top of the roll. I was going to hot glue the crayons but I opted to have all the crayons secured by a rubber band and added a self stick scrapbook ribbon on top of the rubber band. You can also glue all the crayons to the roll and simply glue a ribbon of your choice. The self stick ribbon really kept the crayons together and the best part was that after the party, I simply took the ribbon and the rubber band off and now we have extra crayons for another Back to school project!


Happy Back to School!
xo,
Cris