diy leaf fan for a luau

I'm pretty excited to share this simple leaf fan just in time for all the upcoming summer Luau parties.

supplies needed:
1/8" wide ribbon (only because it's the cheapest at .50 cents a spool), faux leaves (I got mine from the dollar tree in a bunch, each bunch came with 5 leaves), scissors and wire cutters (if you have a bunch and not individual).

1. gather your individual leaves (use wire cutters if they are on a bunch)

2. cut ribbon approx. 2.5' long

3. tie a knot starting at the top of the stem and start to criss-cross the ribbon around the stem working your way down.

4. tie a knot at the bottom of the stem and criss-cross back up to your starting point.

5. tie a bow and your done!

These little fans are such a cute touch for a luau. What better way to keep cool at a party.

 

Do you have any cute, "simple" luau ideas I need to know about?

 

linking up with life after laundry & sensational creations

diaper cake game

Out of all the party planning I love doing, I think a baby shower is the most fun to plan. Everything is so cute and fun... from the decor, gifts, and games. I'm always trying to think of ways I can make multiple uses out of one thing, especially when it comes to party decor. Diaper Cakes are SO cute and fun to make (am I allowed to say "cute and fun" more than once?!) For a previous baby shower I planned I made one and attached a "gift" sign on top for the gift table.

I was trying to think of another way I could use a Diaper Cake (other than as the gift) and I was thinking it would be really great to use it as a game. I remember attending a wedding a very long time ago where they had charms with a ribbon, in the cake. Each girl (in the wedding party) pulled a charm and whoever got the ring was next to get married (you know, instead of the bouquet toss).

So... I thought, why not do the same thing with the a Diaper cake?! 
This would especially work great for a small shower because you can make let's say 4 of these cakes, use them as centerpieces and have each person at the table pull a ribbon, and whoever gets the baby feet (in this case), gets a little gift. And the mom gets to keep all the diapers for the baby.

Diaper Cakes can be as elaborate (with bottles, lotions, onesies, etc. tucked inside) or as simple (with JUST diapers). I threw this simple one together with just about 20 diapers and slipped 4 pacifier cut-outs and 1 baby feet cut-out inside (you can see the ribbon sticking out). If you make a simple cake I would definitely use a much thicker ribbon so that it looks a lot cuter and I would also tie the ribbon from the die-cut into a bow (but these were pre-made and that knot was tight). 
So, I'm pretty sure I just invented a baby shower game... I actually tried to google it and didn't find anything similar. I really just want to say I thought of something first ... ha ha... But did I?

Thoughts on Diaper Cakes... and the game?

babe's 4th b-day

I love planning parties! And there is no one in the world I love planning for more than my babe... ok, and myself. But this is about babe. It was decided months ago that we would skip a party this year for so many reasons:
1. we already had every weekend in April planned 2. we would rather spend money on something towards the house  (parties can get pricey and I have been waiting for a full length mirror in my room!) 3. I have already started planning his 5th birthday because 5 is a big deal and I'm gonna make it a big deal.

But then this conversation happened the day after his birthday (on a Monday):
babe: mom, am I 4 now?
me: yes, your birthday was yesterday.
babe: (running to the window) is it here?
me: is what here?
babe: my birthday!
me: what are you expecting to be here for your birthday?
babe: presents and cake
and then I started crying.
(btw, I feel like I read a similar post last month sometime. kids are so similar at certain ages)

And so after I hugged, kissed and told him how much I loved him I got on FB and messaged all my family members to see who could come over for dinner "that" Wednesday. Yup, I planned a party in 48 hours.

I kept things as simple as possible:
I used cups, forks, napkins and some heart plates I already had.
In the goodie bags - fruit snacks, ritz crackers, 3 chocolates and 5 hard candies.
I even had the cupcake mix and frosting.
I bought - bubbles, punching balloons and a few plastic Dino's from the dollar tree as decor.
We ate - chicken, rice beans, chips and salsa.

And even though I was stressed to the max (not because of the party but because of everything else going on this month), it was so worth this one perfect moment...

 

 

love you babe!

d.i.y. masquerade party decor

I thought it would be fun to share a few simple DIYs I did for my Masquerade themed party last month. I love planning parties, my favorite part (and usually the most stressful) is all the stuff that happens "before" the party.
The pictures are pretty self explanatory but of course I included a step-by-step for each.

Ribbon Backdrop (this is my favorite)
Supplies: a wooden dowel (mine was 45" long), Ribbon (I had 4 colors, 12 meters of each color), Gold curling ribbon and scotch tape.

1. I calculated how long I should make each strand of ribbon in order to get the most out of the ribbon spool, making lengths of 24" and 30". 

2. start in the center of your dowel with the longer strips of ribbon, taping the ribbon to the dowel (I tried glue first but I am super impatient and it wasn't drying fast enough for me). Work your way outwards alternating colors and sizes as you see fit.

3. make random knots, on random strips of ribbon. Drape a few random pieces of curling ribbon over the dowel and your finished!

I just hung it with a piece of ribbon, at both ends, to my curtain rod. I had so much fun taking pictures in front of my Ribbon backdrop (you can see a couple here)

Flag Signs
Supplies: cardstock, hole punch, pattern edged scissors, glue and glitter.

1. cut your cardstock into 6 equal rectangular pieces. Punch hole's at 2 of your corner's and trim the opposite bottom with your scissors.

3. use your glue to create a letter and sprinkle generously with glitter. let dry. repeat until you have a word.

4. string all letters through your curling ribbon and hang.

A Simple Centerpiece and Mask Invitation's

Supplies (for 1 centerpiece. I made 4): a drinking glass, 3 bead necklaces, black cardstock, metallic sharpie's, small scrape feathers, a peacock feather, glue, sparkle embellishment, floral foam and a chopstick (I used a chopstick because it was more sturdy and my scrape feather had little bells on it that made it heavy)

 

1. paint your chopstick a metallic gold color. set aside to dry.

2. I googled free mask template and found this to be perfect for what I wanted. I printed it on regular paper and was able to get 4 traced on my black cardstock.

3. I took all 3 metallic sharpies and just started drawing random designs, starting with the outline of the eyes. I'm not super creative but I think I did a pretty good job. (you can also use glitter glue as another option)

4. use your sparkle embellishment for 1 (or both) corner's of the mask. and glue your small feathers to the back of one of the corners.

5. glue your chopstick to the back on the same side with the feather.

6. cut a small square of floral foam and strategically (yes, that's how I did it) place the peacock feather and mask (on stick) into the foam.

7. place the foam into your glass, and drop in the bead necklaces.

For my invitation's, I basically did steps 2 through 4 and printed all the details on a plain piece of paper that I glued to the back of the mask.

I LOVE doing things like this for parties! Super simple details make such a huge difference.