DIY: Make your own envelopes

To complete Pazely's recent s'mores birthday party, I made quick little thank-you notes for her to mail. I found THE most perfect scrapbook paper--covered in graham crackers, chocolate bars & marshmallows. Total score. Making envelopes is so easy. Take an envelope, carefully open it up with a craft blade or knife, & then trace it onto your choice of paper.

Once it's cut out, use a glue stick to adhere the appropriate sides together.

For the notecards, I used pieces of paper from a sketchbook & cut them to size. I cut out a roasting stick & a marshmallow from craft foam, just like I did for the party favor notebooks. Adhere with clear tacky glue. 

I thought the marshmallows needed "roasting", so I found the perfect color in my mom's basement. (Yep, still crashing at the parent's home until our rental is done being renovated.) She happened to have oil paints, but acrylic works too.

Since the pattern on the envelope is quick dark, I simply stuck a blank address sticker onto the front before addressing & mailing. To close the envelope, licking won't work of course. Use a glue stick instead.

Continuing the theme of the party in the thank you notes will remind our guests of the fun they had, roasting marshmallows, & making crazy s'mores on a lovely evening by the river.

♥

Pazely's S'mores Party

While the fam & I HAVE traveled 1200 miles & arrived in Washington, we are still currently without a home, as the rental we'll be moving into is being renovated. We've been house hopping, living out of suitcases, for 3 weeks. I'm hoping our duplex is finished soon, as I'm uber eager to make it all homey & cozy!

Nonetheless, little Miss Pazely just recently celebrated a birthday. I had all of 6 days to throw a party together! *GULP*

But it all came together, thanks to the help of friends, family, & a lot of borrowing.
Pazely turned 9 over a week ago &, finally, I have a day of rest & peace (plus the Mr's laptop) to blog about it.

I didn't have a chance to send out invites for the party, so it was all word of mouth. We invited family & friends to gather at a nearby park, by the river, for a S'mores Bar.

Tia & her Mr. brought their giant custom-made fire pit. It totally made the party. We asked everyone to bring camping chairs or blankets for seating.

I made the "S'mores Bar" bunting with scrapbook paper. The letters were hand-drawn with a black Sharpie. The banner was pinned onto the tablecloth, which was a brown sheet I found in a friend's closet.

I gathered as many wooden bowls, dishes & trays I could find, lined them with parchment paper, & displayed all the makings for s'mores.

Cookie options included: regular graham crackers, cinnamon graham crackers, (I was bummed to not find chocolate graham crackers), chocolate chip cookies, regular Oreos, & mint Oreos. Marshmallows came in a variety of flavors, such as: strawberry, mint chocolate, chocolate, regular, GIANT sized, banana, lemon meringue, berry, & coconut.

And we couldn't simply serve ONLY Hershey's chocolate bars. Also available? Reese's peanut butter cups, Heath bars, Twix, Kit Kat, cookies-n-cream Hershey's, & Mr. Goodbar.

It was so much fun watching everyone create crazy s'mores. Someone even made an inside-out s'mores. (Stuff a GIANT marshmallow with graham cracker & chocolate, & roast over fire.)

Even though there was a public restroom nearby, I made sure to have baby wipes on hand for sticky fingers.

One of my favorite touches at the party were the kids' drinks. I found some dusty ole mason jars in grandma's basement, & cleaned them up. Next, I wrapped a latex balloon around the bottom of each jar. A paper cupcake liner + the jar's ring creates a bug-proof container! (Those two ideas were found on Pinterest.) And I finally got to use paper straws! (I cut an "x" in the cupcake liners to insert the straws.) I loved the peachy & white stripes of the straws. Which reminds me to share that I sort of picked a color theme reflective of a campfire & smore's: peach, orange, cream, white, tan, brown.

Another option for the balloons on the jars is to get a different color for each jar, like a drink marker, so the kids know EXACTLY which drink is theirs.

The goodie bags, my absolute FAVORITE part of any party, were made with the help of my friend Tia. I was in a bind & needed an extra pair of hands with an extra sewing machine. And an extra iron & ironing board. We stayed up late one night & got all 12 bags sewn up with some ADORABLE mushroom fabric Pazely picked out at JoAnne's. The instructions for "the map bag" can be found in the book Sew What! Bags.

Inside the bags I stuffed a notebook (found at Craft Warehouse for $1) embellished with a campfire scene (made with craft foam), a chocolate scented marker, a Golden Grahams s'mores treat, & a retractable marshmallow skewer (found in the $1 bins at Target). 

The kids were so eager to have their own bag that they grabbed 'em as soon as they showed up at the party! And my girls carry around the mushroom map bag wherever they go. It's so cute!

The kids played at the playground near the party all night. It was a simple affair: no games or activities were planned. Just the s'mores bar, that's all. Pazely waited to open her presents until we got home. (There was just too much fun to be had to stop for prezzies.)

It was a great night (the party started at 7:30 PM) with lots of fun mingling & visiting with friends 'round the campfire. 

To view the thank you notes, click HERE.

♥

Swimming Birthday Party

This was prolly the most strange birthday party I ever planned. EVER. Why? Well, because there was hardly any planning involved. And, silly enough, that made me feel guilty at first. You all know how I love planning everything at my girls' birthday parties---to the last little crafty detail. Weeks & weeks in advance. You see, I had this adorable "Polka Dot" themed birthday party all planned out. (Pazely picked out that theme.) There'd be polka dotted balloons scattered about. And large cardboard circles painted in every color of the rainbow adhered to the walls to dress things up a bit: Kinda like THIS. I even purchased amazing & simple polka dotted gift wrap from Target that I was planning on decorating the tables with. (As seen in THIS photo.) I had plans to play games like STICKER TAG, & a unique version of Twister that I found via familyfun.com---but I can't find a link at the moment, so take a peek at THIS blog 'cause they did the same thing. The kids would craft something with pom-poms. I was gonna take polaroids of the children standing in front of a polka dotted backdrop with Pazely, that I would later send to them in their "Thank You" notes.

I even purchased THESE plates, THESE napkins & THESE paper straws from a place called Polka Dot Market. I was going to make THIS cake & attach sweet bunting like THIS to the cake. And the kids would drink milk from cups decorated like THIS---which, I was certain, would be my most favorite detail of the party! And I dreamt of a buffet of round shaped foods...

But, alas....We decided that Pazely's birthday is always during hot weather, & the kids might enjoy a bit-o water fun. So we rented out the community pool for a couple hours of night swimming.  And all the kids did was swim & swim. Oh yeah, they swam alright.

I didn't really have a lot of time to do all that original planning anyway. Things have been busy & hectic around here due to more hours at work, & children out of school & just regular routine type stuff happening on a regular routine. But, I have to admit, I still felt guilty up to the minutes before the party began.

Our invitations were decorated with simple polka dots painted (with pencil erasers) onto blank white cards. I didn't even request an RSVP. I simply said, "We can't wait to see you there!", & left my phone number at the bottom in case there were questions or someone needed to get ahold of me. Nobody responds to RSVP's anyway. Why fight it?

The only decorations I put up were cardboard circles that came from pizza boxes. A friend gave me a HUGE unused box of them & I had no clue what to do with them at first. Until the party. I spray painted them in colors I had on hand: red, yellow, green, purple. I hot glued a paper clip in-between the cardboard to act as a "hook" for hanging on the chain link fence around the pool. And really, I could have made twice as many for more of an impact. They weren't necessary, but kinda fun anyway.

I didn't have the kids take a break at all for the usual "gift opening" part of the party. (I hate that part of parties anyway. It's kinda boring. I'm just saying.) Instead, Pazely took her gifts home afterwards & we opened them up in our dry & peaceful home---just the fam. It was nice!

All the party guests surrounded Pazely in a big circle in the pool. (Well, Pazely was too shy so she scooted off to the side.) They all splashed in the water & sang "Happy Birthday". And then kept on swimming. I didn't have the kids break for the traditional "cake & ice cream" part of the party either. I let all the party guests know that, at anytime, they could help themselves to cupcakes outside of the pool. I made cupcakes instead of a cake because the pool doesn't allow food inside & I figured it'd be much more easy to just grab a cupcake outside & eat it in a jiffy... with a juice box. No fancy punch bowl full of fancy punch here! And no ice cream either!

For party favors, the Mr. & I purchased enough big bouncy balls for every kid to take one home. We scattered all 22 balls in the pool water before guests arrived. They were a HUGE hit! Balls were being bounced & kicked & tossed & thrown throughout the whole party. It was my favorite detail of the night.

And that....was it.

When we came home after the party, I told Mr. WhiMSy love: "That was the easiest clean up EVER." He replied: "I know! I told you!" (He's been trying to get me to have the girls' birthday parties at places like roller skating rinks or McDonald's or the bowling alley for a long time. But I just haven't been able to do that. It was a major stretch for me to do this swimming pool party.) And as I soaked in the tub that night, relaxing after a fun-filled evening, I realized that I didn't have that usual "deflated" feeling that I do after parties. The deflated feeling isn't a bad thing. It just means: "Gosh, you worked really hard & now it's over. You can relax now. Chill out & stuff." The deflated feeling wasn't there because I didn't work hard. But it was still a great party! I even heard one particular little sweet, freckled, brown eyed, 7 year old birthday girl say, "This was the best party ever!"

 

I learned, only a few birthdays ago, the amazingnes that is called "help". I used to do it all on my own. What was I thinking? I recruited a couple friends this time around to help with the {minor} set up, which mostly included hauling balls from the van to the pool. haha!

Thanks so much Ryna & Monica---you rock!

The only thing that stressed me out at this party was that rain was predicted all day. And, in fact, it started storming pretty hard a few hours before the party. Even when the party started there was rain coming down & a gloomy sky overhead. (I hung the cardboard circles on the chain link fence in the rain & ended up pretty wet.) I had parents calling me to verify if the party was still going to happen. I had to quickly come up with a plan B in case we had to resort to a last-minute indoor party. I scoured the internet for game ideas & had a list of activities for the kids to do. I was ready for whatever happened. But in the end, we decided to go ahead with the pool party---even in the rain. As long as there wasn't any thunder or lightning, the lifeguards were fine with the celebration. It was kinda fun to watch the kids swimming in the water with the rain splashing all around them. I prayed all the night before & the day of the party for a beautiful evening. And guess what? Twenty minutes after the party started, the clouds parted & the sun came out! There was laughing & giggling & chattering & shouting & happiness all around. There was even a rainbow at dusk...the perfect party accessory in my book.

Click HERE to view all the pictures from Pazely's birthday, which include photos from her actual b-day AND party.

♥

Thank Whoooo??

Zoey is sending out her birthday thank-you notes. And I was so happy with how simple & sweet they turned out. I punched 2" circles from the woodgrain contact paper that I used for decorating her invitations & for some of her Woodland/Gnome party decor.

I had these adorable owlie stickers in my stash (purchased from Walmart) & I just slapped 'em in the circles.

When writing her thank-you notes, I am teaching Zoey to thank the giver for her gift & then say something nice about the present she received. Well, she has one on me now: she also added personal sketches in each card.

♥

Woodland Gnome Birthday Party!!

My {now} 8 year old chose the theme "Gnomes" for her party. I stretched it out a bit & made it a "Woodland" party. Think: gnomes, forests, deer, squirrels, foxes, raccoons, owls, hedgehogs, acorns, etc.

It was a FUN party to plan. And, again, another theme that is not really "out" there so I had to come up with a lot of stuff on my own. In the end, it ranks as one of my top 3 favorite parties.

The invitations were very simple. Click HERE for all the details about the invites.

The decorations for the room were also very simple. We are lucky enough to have access to our church's large activity room. I spruced up the room--with its blank & bare walls--by spray painting very juvenile-like trees onto 8 really cheap plastic tableclothes. (About $1.50 each at Walmart. Or you can get 'em at the dollar store.) It was quick & inexpensive. I needed inexpensive. If you wanted to do something more permanent, you could spray paint designs onto thrifted white sheets or heavy painter's dropcloths. 

I made squirrel cucpcakes the night before the party. They took me 6 HOURS to make!!! And I had many fails & had to improvise many ways. If I had known they were gonna take me 6 hours, I would not have made them.

There were heads falling off & tails breaking & it was horrible. Enough squirrels survived for all 17 kids to get a cupcake. (PHEW!!!!) So, basically 7 squirrels died. I got the idea for the cupcakes from the book What's New Cupcake? And I'm sure I didn't give such a great book review just now, but--SERIOUSLY-- the book is AWESOME!! I can just confidently say that I'll never in my life make those squirrel cupcakes. EVER. AGAIN. I was disappointed with how they turned out. But Zoey loved them. And that's all that matters. Still, I'll never make them. EVER. AGAIN. I ended up freezing them overnight before the party. And that helped with any more of the tails & heads from falling. (Until they thawed out a couple hours before the party.) And the morning of the party, as they de-froze, some of their m&m eyes got all runny. The squirrels looked rabid & crazed. I was over it. And I couldn't wait for the kids to eat the stupid things so I didn't have to look at them anymore.

Everyone DID ooh & aah over the cupcakes. So, they were a hit despite my frustrations.

Here is a photo of some of the dead squirrels.

I also had leftover cake batter that I poured into a square cake pan. (OH! And the cake was butter pecan flavored. Num!!) A quick spread of cream cheese frosting & a chocolate doodle of an acorn & it was done.

The same cupcake book also showed how to make the acorns. LOVE those. I'll make those again. Mini vanilla wafers "glued" onto hershey kisses with melted chocolate chips. They were a hit too!

The cupcakes were set on log cupcake stands inspired by THIS LINK from Martha Stewart. I cut out hearts from woodgrain contact paper & stuck 'em on the cups. Like carving your name in a tree, the kids were supposed to write their names on the hearts to help reduce drink mix-ups. But, alas, I forgot the permanent marker. Cute anyways.

I had a small table set up displaying a bit of finger foods: veggies & dip & fruit salad & mixed nuts & punch. Nothing fancy. I didn't go all out with "themed" food at this party. I found a Martha Stewart brand scrapbook paper pack at TJMaxx (on my road trip!) that had "woodland" theme motifs. I laid some of the papers on this finger food table to dress it up a bit. And I laid logs under the table. Just 'cause.

When the kids first arrived, I had them hunt in the back yard for little logs which had paper clues tucked inside. (The logs were toilet paper tubes wrapped in woodgrain contact paper.)

 After finding all the logs, the kids came inside & opened up the clues. The pieces of paper each had a word or two written on them. The kids had to put the words together to form a sentence, which was the BIG clue that revealed where some goodies were hidden. To make it easy, I numbered the backs of their clues. Once the clue was in order, we read it out loud & the kids ran off, scampering after surprises awaiting them.

The riddle read:

"If you would like to dress the part,

and be a gnome at heart,

turn the corner, climb the stairs,

and you'll find costumes on the chairs."

I made felt gnomie hats & white furry beards for each child. It was one of my favorite details of the party.

I even surprised Zoey & made a set for her new American Girl Doll!!

Bobbing for apples was next on the agenda!

Next, I did something different. I normally have scheduled activites, crafts, & games for the kids. But since there was SUCH a mix of boys & girls & A LOT of them, I decided to have a few things set up that the kids could do on their own.

Outside, the kids could jump in one of those big jumpy house thingies.

Or roast marshamallows & make s'mores.

Or paint with sidewalk chalk paint.

It was PERFECT!!! The kids stayed busy the WHOLE time & they seemed to be having a great time!!

Presents next. Why do kids insist on suffocating the party present opener?? I have never been to a party where it hasn't been this way.

"Kids! Eat your squirrels!!"

And then, my favorite part: the goodie bags. These goodie bags were SO MUCH FUN to do!!! I'm so excited because almost everything inside them was handmade.

Handmade chocolate owl suckers. I bought the owl mold from Bake it Pretty.

Handmade finger puppets. The kids either got an owl, a gnome or a fox.

Handmade buttons. The kids got 2---I made 'em with my button machine.

Bird whistles, from Bake it Pretty. (They're the kind you put a little water in & they sound so cool!)

Fuzzy forest animal stickers. (From the American Girl's crafty section at Michael's. I LOVE A.G.!!!)

Little purchased notebooks embellished with woodgrain contact paper apples.

Twig pencils from allie beans on etsy.

The red bags were purchased at Walmart. I tied off each bag with a woodgrain tag from Rosengarten on etsy.

Zoey wrote "Thank You!" on the back of each tag. And they were decorated with the same puffy gnome stickers as the invitations. (Stickers are from Target.)

After all the kids went home, I had a few happy stragglers. The kids all sat down & decorated owl masks I purchased from JoAnne's with permanent markers.

I couldn't get my hands on enough masks to make a party craft out of it, so I didn't even bring them out. But what a perfect save at the end to keep a few energetic kids busy (mine included!) while I helped clean up the party mess.

Here are several links to projects I WISH I had time for, or just simply used as inspiration:

Hedgehog Pom Pom

Woodland Critters Baby Shower

Paper Plate Owl Craft

Owl Box Template (download at bottom of post)

Hedgehog Applique

Felted Owl Hat

Felt Leaf Garland

Paper Gnome Mobile, Dolls & Bowling (download)

Clay Toadstools

Deer & Shroom Patterened Paper (download)

Drawstring Leaf Bag

Woodland Gnomes & Fairy Waldorf Party

We all got into the gnomie fun.....

Pazely: Self portrait gnome photo



Zoey: The Thinking Gnome

Haha! (My friend Jaime is doing the "The Carlton Dance" dance from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.) And I'm just...being a dork!

Kung-Fu Gnomes

 ♥