Copy That! Pottery Barn Kids Clothespin Advent Calendar

I love Pottery Barn Kids! I'm always scanning their site and finding things to order for my kids but also to get inspirational ideas! During Christmas I ran across this cute advent calendar. Although we have an awesome advent calendar already (one my mom made when I was a kid and then passed it down to me) I knew I could use this idea for one of the upcoming months. The Pottery Barn Advent Calendar is $149 but I'll show you how to make one for under $10!!

Here are the supplies I picked up. The wood board is from Lowes ($1.80)  that I painted white.  I picked up a few options from the $1 section at Target to show some of the different ways to put it together.

I picked up these number stickers from Hobby Lobby, normally $4.99 but on sale for $2.50. A few coats of Red paint (or any color you like) makes these the perfect thing for the days of the month.

Here's what they look like after I put 2 coats of red paint on them.

 

 Right now Target has some super cute crafty Valentine's Day decorations. I love these cute clothes pins already with the Valentines theme. At $1 a package you could get enough for your calendar for just $5!

Here's an example of how to use the painted numbers and clothes pins

 Target also has these cute felt heart envelopes that could be glued on to the board and small treats, kid coupons or trinkets could be put in each. 2 come in a package so $7 total.

I opted for these cute Chalk Board Clothes Pins. 4 come in a pack for only $1! I wrote the numbers 1-14 on the boards and attached them to my board with hot glue.

 I then attached a picture hanger to the back and that's it! My total cost was around $6. I then used a black paint pin and added our name. You could also add your kids name, put Happy Valentine's Day or any Valentine's Day saying that you love.

 I added these canvas bags that I filled with little treats for my kids. I also added coupons for my kids of fun things they like to do that they can redeem whenever they want. The bags I found on clearance at Michaels after Christmas and got them for .10 each.

 I also found these bags at Hobby Lobby. 24 bags per pack and on sale they were $1.50

Easter Bunny Cupcakes

More cute and easy cupcake ideas from Disney Family Fun!!

Ingredients A cupcake (baked from your favorite recipe) White icing Shredded coconut Pink decorators' sugar Jelly bean nose Chewable Sweet Tart eyes Large marshmallow Mini marshmallows X Instructions Frost a cupcake (baked from your favorite recipe) with white icing and sprinkle on shredded coconut fur. Cut a large marshmallow in half widthwise. Squeeze each half slightly to give it an oval shape, then decorate the sticky side of each one with pink decorators' sugar and set them in place for ears. Add a jelly bean nose and either jelly bean or snipped Sweet Tart eyes, and mini marshmallows for cheeks. For a finishing touch, draw on decorators' gel pupils or whiskers if you like.

Easter Chick Cupcakes

I found this cute Easter cupcake idea on Disney Family Fun and wanted to share it. It's super easy and would be a great project to do with your kids!!

This easy-to-make Easter chick perched on a grassy coconut knoll will sweeten anyone's holiday.

Ingredients 2 tablespoons of shredded coconut

Green food coloring

1 cupcake Green frosting

2 plain doughnut holes

Toothpicks

Yellow frosting

1 orange gumdrop

Black decorators' gel X

Instructions Place the coconut in a resealable plastic bag with a few drops of green food coloring. Shake the bag to color the coconut. Then transfer it to a bowl. With a paring knife, remove a quarter-size portion of the center of the cupcake top. Frost the cupcake green, including the indentation. Dip the frosted cupcake into the coconut and add a dollop of yellow frosting to the indentation. Trim a small slice off the doughnut holes so each has one flat surface. Skewer a doughnut hole on a toothpick, frost it with yellow frosting, and place it in the cupcake indentation flat side up. Use the same technique to frost the second doughnut hole. Stack it on the first hole flat side down. Cut a small beak from the gumdrop and push it onto the chick's head. Finally, add 2 black gel eyes and watch your guests chirp with pleasure!

April Fools Day Idea

I was recently looking for some fun "prank" ideas to pull on my boys on April Fools Day and I ran across this idea on www.familyfun.go.com. It was really easy to put together and I think my boys will really get a kick out of it. I think sometimes we over look April Fools day, but what a great day to have some extra FUN with your kids! On April Fools' Day, trick your family with a tiny breakfast that's really a cleverly disguised dessert. Ingredients FOR THE EGGS: 3 tablespoons white chocolate chips 12 yellow M&MS FOR THE FAKIN': 1 square caramel 1 Tootsie Roll Midgee X Instructions For the eggs: Melt the white chocolate chips according to the package directions. Transfer the melted chocolate to a ziplock bag and snip off a corner. Squeeze nickel-size portions of the chocolate onto a sheet of waxed paper, then gently press a yellow M&M, letter side down, into the center of each. Let the candies cool. Makes 12 eggs. For the fakin': Remove the wrapping from a square caramel and a Tootsie Roll Midgee. Microwave the candies for 4 seconds to make them soft. Use your thumb and forefinger to slightly flatten each candy piece, then press them together. Halve the candy, then stack and press the pieces into alternating layers. Slice a 1/4-inch-wide piece from the stack. Pinch and stretch the piece lengthwise into a flat bacon strip, then cut it in half. Add ripples to each half by gently bending the edges. Makes 3 strips (6 pieces). If you try it, I would love to hear about it and see your photos!

Vintage Inspired CIrcus Party

Well, I'm in the beginning stages of planning a circus party. I am doing Mock-Ups of each table...Sweets Table, Party Favor Table, Food & Drink Table, & Dining Tables. I wanted to share as I started with the sweets table.

I plan to create center pieces like the one I created below (my work in progress) with popcorn pales and cupcake covered styrofoam balls. I also used these vintage inspired liners to cover paper lanterns that I am planning to string on light strands.

I have to make approx 36 cupcake toppers like the ones pictured below. Made with crepe paper, loli-pop sticks and vintage Circus centers. ( available on www.maddysonslane.etsy.com)

I painted a 1950's table red & yellow to fit the theme. I am planning to paint about 10 more for the party.

I ordered these party hats from The Round Top Collection and plan to fill bags with cotton candy on a stick and then stick them in the hats.

Any thoughts or ideas? Share the with me! I have a week to complete mock-ups and a few months before the party,I love feedback or thoughts!

Cowboy Birthday Party

Yee Haa! It's a Cowboy Party!



When my middle child turn 1 we decided to have a cowboy party. One fun activity we planned was to rent shetland ponies to give the kids a ride around the yard. This was such a big hit!

I ordered each of my boys custom western theme outfits online. Each guest received a blue or red cowboy hat upon arrival.

Have fun with the cake and food and tie it into the theme too! The cake below is perfect for that. Depending on your menu label each food item with a cute cowboy name. We had barbecue and had "Rustler Ribs", "Buffalo Beans", and I ordered a branding iron online to brand the steaks and potatoes.

As you know, I love stand-ups. This barn makes a great photo opt and is available at shindigz.com for $50.

I bought a bolt of denim from a fabric store and used it to cover all my tables and embellished the edges with bandannas. I then used vintage cowboy boots filled with sunflowers as the center pieces. I opted to use hay bales as chairs.

We had a wide age range at our party so I tried to come up with games to keep all kids busy. Besides the horse rides, we set up several sets of horse shoe tosses. We had a calf rope with a bales of hay. We also had a panning for gold activity. We brought in a large amount of sand and filled it with rocks that I had spray painted gold. We then had lots of sifters and even buckets of water for the kids to clean them off with.

*One idea that I didn't use but will in the future is to turn your tables in to cover wagons. By taken two flexible plastic rods. Bend each into a U and attach one at each end of the table. Then take a piece of painters cloth or burlap and cover . If you want to get really creative, set up wagon wheels at the ends to complete the look.

Candy Land Party

Candy Land Party! The more I have thought about this party the more I want to throw one. The ideas are absolutely endless. I found a few pics on the web to get the wheels turning.

On Etsy, the cutest lines for the Candy Land theme I found were on Tom Kat Studio and Sweet Metel Moments. Both, of these stores will create wonderful custom party supplies at reasonable prices.

These invitations also be found on etsy and at many online party supply stores.

Making huge candy is an instant way to add festiveness. These lollipops above are easily created by using colored plates or poster board cut into circles. Add a large dowel rod painted white and finish with clear cellophane. Create gumdrops... Blow up solid color beach balls, cover with clear cellophane and tie at each end. These could be hung from the ceiling, trees or sat around on tables.

Life size candy and houses are the ultimate touch. There are multiple sites on the web that have theses available. I love shindigz.com for great backdrops and cardboard stand ups. FYI...give yourself a little advance time for assembly. These normally come in pieces and can take several hours for completion. Think a step further and cut out large squares to lay on the floor to look just like the game board. You could also incorporate your games this way. Have the kids follow the colored path and make stops long the way to do different games.
Obviously, the cups, plates, napkins, etc are a Must. I found the above supplies at several party stores online. Finally send the kids off with their own Candy Land game. Or, if you really want to them to have some fun, create a candy bar. Fill lots of jars, baskets and containers with the brightest candy you can find. Give each child their own colorful sack and let the fill it with candy from the buffet.