Cat in the Hat Birthday Party

Whew, what a party!  My kids, Gwyneth and Leo, turned 4 and 2 last weekend.  Since the party was on the 2nd, we decided to have a Cat in the Hat party to honor Dr. Suess' birthday as well!  And, as a children's librarian, I knew I could save all of the decorations for work. Bonus!

I used Pinterest a lot for this party, as inspiration and for instructions.  Here is a photo of all of my projects, and I will break it down below as to where I found my ideas so you can check them out too!

A) I made green eggs and ham!!  I saw green deviled eggs on Pinterest, HERE, and knew I had to do it.  I didn't look for how to make them, I just used it as inspiration and added green gel food coloring to my own eggs recipe.  They looked great, though the picture doesn't really do the green justice!

B) Party hats are a must!  Kids are too cute in them, especially when they are all around the table eating cake.  Leo, my birthday boy, really didn't want it on long, especially while he got down to the business of eating cake!  I had originally wanted to buy plain colored hats, since nobody on the island really sells Cat in the Hat party supplies.  But the hats come in multi-colored packs and that just wouldn't do for the party!  So, I found THIS pin about making hats.  Now, I didn't make them totally from scratch.  I did buy those multi-colored hats.  But I traced their shape onto wrapping paper, then used crepe paper to add a ruffle around the base, then a little tuft at the point.  I only did the tufts for the birthday girl and boy, as well as cutting out numerals with my Cricut. 

C) Well, this pic is just a side view of my table.  The red tissue paper ball I made, as well as a blue one that hung to the left of the banner, were so simple and cheaper than buying premade ones!  I didn't actually learn this one on Pinterest, but from YouTube.  But HERE is a pin covering the same technique.

D) Oh the lollipop tree!  My inspiration one was covered in blue ribbon instead of yarn, and I added yarn pom-poms and a Cat in the Hat to the top.  Check it out HERE.

E) Okay, there are a couple of items in this frontal pic of the table.  The banner was made using my Cricut.  I saw different banners on Pinterest, so I decided to use them as inspiration and just do a simple pennant shapped one.  I used cardstock for the background, cutting it on the cricut.  Then I cut one out 1/2" smaller and used the negative to trace in a beat up copy of Cat in the Hat.  I found it for 69 cents at the thrift store, with a very faded cover and water stained pages.  So, yes, the librarian cut up a book!  For my crafts, I will do almost anything!  But it helped that it was a crappy copy!  Then, after putting them together, I cut out my kids' names with the Cricut, in black, and glued them on.  Punched holes in each corner, then used small scraps of ribbon to hook them together.  I have already taken the letters off and saved it for a future library event.  Easy! Here is ONE similar that I used as inspiration!

Also in this picture...goodie bags!  I found inspiration HERE for them, but because of time restraints, only did the scallop scissors then sealed them with Washi Tape in the opposite color.  Buttons and twine would have been adorable too, but the dang hats too all day so I was running out of time! 

One more thing of interest, the wrapping paper on the wall.  Another Pinterest idea.  Check it out HERE!

F) The cake was inspired by many.  I knew I wanted a hat on top of another tier, but most out there are in fondant.  Here are a couple that I really liked as inspiration cakes:

CAKE 1
CAKE 2

G)  Ah, my wreath.  I love this thing.  Definitely a keeper for future events.  I didn't know where I was going to put it, but at the last minute we put it above the banner and it worked perfectly!  There were a couple of inspiration pieces that led to this creation.  I wrapped a foam wreath with yarn.  Then I made pom-poms.  I had never made them before, so here is the PIN where I learned that technique.  Then I cut my pennant banner out of felt, glued them to twine.  Then I used brads dipped into glue, poked them into the wreath, and strung up the twine.  I adhered sticker letters with a bit of glue too so they wouldn't fall off.  I covered the brads with printed images that I colored over with a brighter red to match the yarn.  Easy peasy!

Here are a couple of inspiration wreaths:  Wreath 1, Wreath 2

H) Last but not least, the Fish in a Cup Jello!  Saw this on Pinterest HERE and knew I had to represent Fish!  All it is...blue JELLO with a Swedish Fish in the bottom.  I think the kids were more excited for these than the cake!  I bought the cupcake stand after Valentine's Day at Target (love anything 50% off!) and covered the heart with the Fish in his bowl.  Easy! The cups fit perfect, though some were a bit cramped but it worked.

So, that was the party.  Here are a few more pics of that big day!

A quick note...their outfits were handmade from Etsy HERE.  Their invitation, which everyone loved, also came from Etsy, HERE.  All I did was send the file to Walgreens and print them out as pictures!

I am linking this post up to Glitter Tart's 2nd Monthly Pinterest Party, I Saw It On Pinterest & Did It! Please visit her blog and check out what other people are doing with their Pinterest ideas!

Enjoy!

Happy Scrappy Savings!

Jess

Pinterest Valentine Projects

Click here to check out my post for the Purple Valentine Blog Hop!

Glitter Tart Designs is hosting a Linky Party called I Saw It On Pinterest & Did It. Every month you post your Pinterest inspired projects, making sure to link to the original creator as well, then link it to the Glitter Tart Designs blog. I have been wanting to do this for a long time, but I just didn't have the following for it.

My projects this month are all about Valentine's Day. I love decorating for any holiday, and Pinterest is such a great place for inspiration and know-how.

First is a yarn wrapped wreath, made to have an argyle look. The original source for this was Etsy, but another person made a tutorial, located on the Mine for the Making Blog.

I pick up wreaths at the thrift store to dissemble and make new. Wreaths can get very expensive here in Hawaii, so this is one way I try to be frugal. Wrapping a straw wreath is different than smooth foam ones, with its uneven texture, so the wrapping took longer. Once that was done, I traced some hearts onto felt, cut them out, glued them onto the wreath then wrapped the yarn in a criss cross pattern.

I wish I had done more hearts, and wish that the craft store hadn't been out of grey yarn because the wreath on Pinterest is so cute in grey! I may make another one, smaller, using foam disposable plates as the wreath, then covering with yarn, as seen on this You Tube video.

I also made a burlap banner that spells out LOVE.  I received a ton of burlap for Christmas from a wonderful family member, though she thought I was crazy! This is just one of the many things you can do with burlap! Here is the original pin that I found: Valentine Heart Banner

There doesn't seem to be a real source for it.  I just saw the picture and was inspired.  I found many others on Pinterest, but this was the original one that sparked my interest!

Here is my version of the Burlap Heart Banner.  I cut out the triangles first, then stamped with red paint, using foam stamps from Making Memories and Pebbles, Inc. I used to own a ton of foam stamps, they were the trend about 8 years ago.  But I sold most of them and only keeping my beloved Making Memories themed ones (Christmas and Valentine's Day), and my basic letters from Pebbles, Inc.

Next, I used Scor-Tape to adhere the lace. I don't know if that was the best move, but I didn't feel like dealing with any messy liquid or hot glue.  Once that was done, I decided to tie small pieces of twine between each triangle instead of one long piece.  I don't have my sewing machine up so this was easiest.  Then I added some long pieces to the end pennants and hang up! Easy and quick!

I also found some card inspiration on Pinterest, inspiring me to use my bright and happy paper pad from Doodlebug, called Lovebirds.  Here is the inspiration card from Two Peas in a Bucket:

Here are my cards that were inspired from this:

The Be Mine and Love cards were also inspired by cards I found online, but now, for the life of me, I can't find them again!  Don't you hate when that happens!

Anyway, that is all for now.  I have more "ideas" I want to explore but this week is pretty busy.  Too many holidays in 1 week! Be sure to check out Glitter Tart's blog to see more Pinterest projects!

Happy Scrappy Savings!

Jess

Burlap Wreath with Felt Flowers

So I finally made a burlap wreath while pumpkin chocolate chip cookies were cooling. I had bought a couple of small foam wreaths from the Target dollar spot last month or so. Now I wish I had gotten more! I got the burlap from JoAnn Fabrics while I was in FL. I don't know if I can find any here in Hawaii. I think I might call the local fabric store and ask. The cost was $3.99 per yard, and I used 1/4 yard for this.

I cut several strips of burlap. Beware of the hairy mess it can make on your clothes as you wrap the wreath. It can be prickly through them. I used pins to secure the burlap as I wrapped it. Don't use hot glue directly on foam wreaths. It will melt.

I decided to make felt flowers because I had plenty of felt from various kid crafts. I cut a small circle, several flower shapes, folded the flowers into quarters, snipped the point, and glued them on the circle. Once I made 3 flowers, I hot glued them to the wreath. I plan on tying a ribbon on top and hanging it up in my kitchen.

Total cost was less than $5.00. Awesome!

Pinterest Trials Part 1

I love Pinterest. I have been pinning so much stuff, from cool art projects to recipes and organization tips. But what good is pinning if you don't try to use the inspiration it provides? So I am planning on trying out the ideas that I pin, and posting the results here.

Here are a few that I have tried so far:

Using embroidery hoops as frames for stitching and patterned fabric. I have had some old embroidery, stitched by my Great Grandma Ida and her mother, which were in the form of tea towels.  I did use them for a bit but that felt wrong.  You never know when a hubby or kid will stain them or damage them forever.  But since the designs were stitched on the corners, it was hard to just frame them.  Well, I saw on Pinterest about framing fabric this way, so I tried it out for these.  The hardest part for me was cutting the fabric.  Once it was done...that was it.  Very hard.  But I am pleased with the look.  I have a few more to put up.  These are currently hanging in my daughter's room, right next to a quilt that my Great Grandma Ida made as well.  With embroidered panels.  So it all ties in nicely!

Using Priority Mail boxes as magazines boxes. It was so easy to do!  Just follow the tutorial and you will get two magazine boxes from one Priority Mail box.  I plan on covering these as well as making more.  No more store bought ones! The tutorial isn't for boxes that hold scrapbook paper.  You will have to make it taller so that the paper won't flop over.  A friend of mine is planning on using plastic envelopes to hold her scrap paper, then put them in these boxes.  Great idea! You could color code the envelopes or boxes to match the paper stored there.  So many ideas!

I have a few more projects for next week so stay tuned for more trials!

Happy Scrappy Savings!

Jess