Ruffle tree skirt tutorial

I have been hoarding this stash of burlap since I threw my son's safari party almost 2 years ago.  When I bought it, I knew I was going to make a ruffle tree skirt after it had served its party purpose.  I have just been procrastinating which may have a lot to do with the fact that I had been recovering from a nasty neck injury.  

Let me start by saying this project is very very time consumming. It took me about 3 days. Probably 8-10 hours total. I did however have to take seceral breaks because of the before mentioned neck injury.  You could probably do it in one days time.  

Things you'll need:

2 yards of red fabric or which ever color you prefer.

2 yards of burlap so 4 yards of material total. I have also seen these made all one color and that looks great too.

Lots and lots of glue sticks. I probably used 10 or more. 

Glue gun.

Fabric glue

Dollar store felt tree skirt for the base

Sewing machine

I started out by cutting all my fabric into 4 inch wide strips.  The red fabric I cut just a smidge wider to allow for a very small hem which I did on my seeing machine.  I only hemmed the edge that would show. For the burlap, not going to sugar coat it, it was messy! I tried to zigzag around the edges to keep it from unraveling but it was just too thick. Then I had a stroke of genius and decided to use fabric glue around the edge that would show.  Once that was done I laid down my dollar store tree skirt upside down and plugged in my glue stick.

Then I carefully hot glued and overlapped each of my layers all the way around the circle.

As I finished each row, I alternated burlap and red fabric. When I got to the center I made a very small ribbon from the red fabric abd glued that around the center to give it a finished look.  

It looked even better once we had our tree up! I seriously can't stop staring at it!! I love it so much!!

Toddler crafts for Halloween: Spider Web

Everyone that knows me knows I love all things kid and all things craft. So if you know my kids they are exactly the same! Be little but think big!! Even if your 3 in my house your covered in paint and glue already.  This morning Drew and I spent at least an hour making spider webs out of a left over paper plate and yarn! I just punched holes all around the plate.  I taped one end of the length of yarn I cut to the back of the plate and watched as he endlessly weaved the yarn in and out of the holes to form different patterns. He would have kept going if we didn't have to leave.  This little craft was also good for developing motor skills valuable for all preschoolers! Now all we need is a spider for our web.  Stay tuned...we might just catch one!!

Matty's Angry Bird-day Party 2014

Like all 7 year olds, our son Matty loves anything that has to do with video games  and in this house full of boys, Angry Birds is a favorite!  Planning this party was so fun! I hope you enjoy the photos as much as we enjoyed planning this special day!  

You know I am always happy when I can reuse decor from other parties and this wreath happens to be one of my favorites!  I have used it several times since first making it for our Dr. Seuss Party.  The tutorial for making can be found here: Ribbon Wreath tutorial

 This time around I had the treat table inside mostly because it was 107 degrees that day and we figured most guests would be inside.  But I actually think it worked out great and might be our new spot from now on!

 I made this last minute letter for the snack table and love the way it turned out!  SQUAWK!

 The snacks:  Pretzels aka Twigs

 TNT Brownies with little white fondant rectangles.  I used food writer markers to write TNT on them.

 Birds nests.  I made these before for our owl party.  Always a big hit and so easy to make!

 Sugar cookie piggies.  The snouts are made with green Wilton melts!

 I am super proud of these marshmallow pops!  I used a rolled out starburst to cut out the beaks.

 Iced tea...TN-TEA!

 Piggy Punch was just pineapple juice and sprite.

 Our backyard before the guests arrived

 And of course the piece de resistance... a full sized Angry Birds game!! I will have the tutorial for how to build the slingshot soon!  Basically it's made of PVC pipe that we spray painted brown.

 The birds are balls that I painted the faces on.  I made some ball piggies too.

 Our new favorite party thing is a photo booth.  The pictures we get are always my favorite! 

 Favors were easy.  I just bought a ton of these Angry Birds candy boxes at Walmart.

 I used Matty's stuffed birds around for decorations.

 I found this pinata at Target.

 I had planned on making cupcakes but then I saw this cake at Sam's club and it was perfect!

All in all the day was amazing!  I wish it hadn't been so hot but we still had a ton of fun!  

First Day of School 2014

My kids like many others across the nation started school today! I miss him like crazy but well they were gone this really awesome treat for them! With the help of my three-year-old we baked cupcakes and then made these super easy toppers out of fondant.  

They were really easy. First I rolled out the white fondant and then used a circle cookie-cutter to cut out circles.  I used the Wilton's decorator Preferred brand box.  You can find it at Michael's or Joann's for around $7 and use a 40% coupon. I've also seen it at Walmart.  The box looks small but goes a long way! I still have some left over for a future project!

  Then with food writer food coloring pens I made the blue lines then the red lines and then personalize them with the black marker.  I learned this little tip the hard way... Make sure you hold the pin straight up and not at an angle like you normally write. The ink bleeds that way as you can see in the top right circle.  It doesn't look terrible but it is definetely not the best either. 

To stick them to the cupcakes first I put a little frosting on the cupcakes (that's the glue) and then just popped the toppers right on top! Done!! Could not be easier!

For the apple ones, I just used red frosting, a pretzel stick for the stem and a sour candy Strip I cut into leaf shapes! The boys loved them!! And because it's also my hubby's bday, there was a special one for him. 

But even cuter than these cupcakes are my little sweethearts! 2nd grade, freshman and a senior! Baby is still home with me but I made him a sign too so he won't feel left out! :)