Yummy Party Favors

Since the guests at my daughter's first birthday party were mostly adults, I had to forgo the little favor bags filled with cheap plastic dollar-spot toys we usually give out. (Hey, the 5 & under crowd love those!)
So I opted to make some cute snack food items for them to take home. I had them ready to go on trays and brought them out at the end of the party.



I made the Fall Snack Mix that my family loves and packaged it in these little boxes I found at Hobby Lobby. (They are like mini collapsible popcorn boxes) They were too plain looking, so of course I had to decorate them. I used a scalloped circle punch on some scrapbook paper, stamped a "1" on it, and stapled on a loop of ribbon and a felt flower. I put the boxes inside a cellophane bag & tied it with a tulle bow.





I also made these jumbo marshmallows by pushing a lollipop stick into them & dipping them in chocolate & adding shaped sprinkles. I let them dry & then packaged them up!
I bought these polka-dot paper sacks (also at Hobby Lobby) and made a digital scrapbook image on CropMom with my daughter's photo on it. I printed them on cardstock, cut them out & adhered them to the bags for everyone to take their favors home in.


It WAS a hoot and I think everyone enjoyed the favors!

12 Month Photo Banner & High Chair Banner

Continuing on with my daughter's birthday party DIY decorations...

I couldn't find a cute fabric banner that matched her party theme, so I decided to make it. I bought pieces of felt (they're cheap-usually 4/$1-and also sturdy) and cut them into 12 triangles-one for each month of my daughter's 1st year. I hot glued on ric-rac around the edges. I then hot glued the triangles to a pink & white nylon clothesline I bought at the dollar store a while back. I tied a tulle bow in between each triangle. That part was ready to go...





I hopped on the computer & found a favorite photo of my daughter from each month of her first year and printed them. I used a circle cutter to crop them. Then I ran into some trouble...I though that "Zots" glue dots would hold the photos to the felt, but alas, they would NOT stay for long! So I ended up using velco tabs-one on the back of the photo & one on the front of the felt triangle to stick them together. After the party, I removed the photos and now I'm able to use the banner for other occasions, so it worked out!
Note: I ran out of time (and energy!) but you could also number each photo or title them "1 Month", etc. I opted to just tell my guests. :)

Here it is, on the mantel:



I made another, smaller banner to go around her high chair. I measured first to make sure how many triangles would fit, and made the banner in the same way. I cut out a number "1" and glued it to the front. I used velcro circle tabs to attach the banner to her tray.



I think she liked it!

Outside Arrangement for Birthday Party

Before my daughter's birthday party, I already had the wall bucket with the "grass" (it's actually plastic-and admittedly a little out of control!) hung by my front door. I simply made a few things to embellish it to welcome our guests to the party...
The first was a letter "M" that I bought at Hobby Lobby. I painted it with polka dots and later came back & added glitter around the polka dots...because, like I always say, everything's better with glitter!

Before glitter:

After glitter:


Then, I tied a bow & hot glued it onto this little premade wooden owl from HobLob. I painted a kabob stick (found in my kitchen drawer!) and glued it to the back of the owl to make a pick.


I added ribbon to the "M" to hang it...

...and made a big bow out of deco mesh. I think it added a nice touch to the entryway.

Semi-Homemade Party Decorations

For my daughter's owl-themed first birthday party last month, I bought some inexpensive party decorations & modified them to fit the theme of the party. I found this set of 3 paper lanterns at Hobby Lobby and cut scrapbook paper into wings, a brow, a beak, and circles around large googly eyes to make the largest one an owl. I used removable adhesive so that after the party, I simply removed the owl parts & I can reuse the lanterns for other occasions.






I found the table centerpiece (in the top picture) in the clearance section for $1. The colors were right but it had a toile scene on it, so I covered the scene with some scrapbook paper and owls that I cut out from an extra party invitation.


Here it is on one of the guest tables:

These decorations turned out much cheaper--but just as cute--as if I had bought them pre-made!

Easy DIY Felt Owls

I made these 2 owls as a decoration for my daughter's first birthday party. (The next few posts will all be about things I made for her party, so stay tuned!) They're super easy to make...

Supplies:
2 Styrofoam balls (I made 1 big & 1 little)
Sheets of felt--in however many colors you want for the feathers
Large googly eyes
Hot glue
Scissors

I started by cutting out a feather shape & then used it as a template for all the other feathers. You can trace them onto the felt before you cut, if you wish. I just cut several of each color until I felt it was about enough. (Sorry, I didn't count them.)


I cut out 2 slightly larger pieces to be the wings. I used a patterned felt so they would stand out a little more. I also cut one end straight, not pointed.

Then, I cut out the weird shape to go around the eyes (the chocolate brown pieces in the pics below) and then some circles for the googly eyes to be glued onto.

Finally, I folded one of the "feathers" in half to be the beak.


I started gluing the "feathers" from top to bottom on the ball, alternating colors.


Large owl


Small owl


Then I glued on the wings, eye pieces, googly eyes and beaks...



Tah-da! 2 little felt owls, just sitting around enjoying the party. These would be super cute in Fall colors, sitting around pumpkins & such!

"Fang-Tastic" Halloween Favors

I owe this idea to Pinterest. I wanted to send a little something to school with my son to pass out for Halloween, but wasn't sure about handing out candy and also didn't want to spend much money. Then I remembered an idea were you print a cute saying, (I used "Hope you have a 'Fang-Tastic' Halloween!" And signed my son's name)then cut it out & staple it around some plastic fangs! Too cute & perfect for Kindergarteners. They were a hit!

Personalized Pumpkins

My kids have the traditional orange plastic pumpkins that I had when I was a kid, and that's how I like it. Don't get me wrong--I love the latest crop of fashionable buckets & pails, and whatnot-- but for me it's all about the tradition. The kids' pumpkins didn't present a problem for me until this year, since it's only my daughter's second Halloween and last year she was just over 1 month old! I was wondering how they weren't going to get the pumpkins mixed up. And then, I thought "DUH!"



So I cut their names out on the Cricut to personalize them! I wished I had black vinyl, but the chocolate brown worked fine...until I ran out of it after finishing Madelyn's pumpkin! So I resorted the the only other color I had, green. It worked out fine, but I may redo it in the future because it does bug me a little. Ok, a lot! ;)



Then I got crazy & tied lots of ribbons from my daughter's handle. Tried on my son's & it just looked too girly for me. He agreed! So, I'm happy with them because now they are "updated traditional!"