Grinch earrings

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So my nickname during the Christmas season is "Grinch" and I've taken a liking to the name. So much that anything I find must be Grinch related. I saw these earrings online and it just so happens that my daughter got Shrinky Dink paper for her birthday. So what I did was printed a picture of the Grinch in paint, then traced the image onto the shrink dink paper and colored it in. I added a hole punch at the top for the earring piece. After they were baked, I added the earring part on (you can find that piece at Wal*Mart)

Wreck it Ralph Party

I've been so swamped that even though I'm working on these, I forget to post. Wreck it Ralph was not a very big movie (or at least it was bigger than Disney had anticipated). Because of that you can hardly find anything that has to do with the movie. My luck always is that my daughters always chose something that doesn't have a lot of stuff to go along with it. Luckily there is Pintrest.

The banner was made by using a white sheet and red construction paper to make bricks. I printed off Ralph and Felix. I also printed off the "Hero's Duty's" medals and wrote my daughters name instead.
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/195765915026004571/
Spoonful

Decorations are scares, but if you go to this website you'll find a bunch of annoying 3D printables that are supposed to hold up, but didn't do too well. Vanellope's legs kept falling. They made it through the party and that was the main thing.

Our main project was to build candy racers (like in the Sugar Rush video game) it was a lot hard said than done. We had to layer the car parts (3 graham crackers or wafer cookie) and then stick the wheels on held together by toothpicks.


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The cake came out great! Not nearly as amazing as the original poster, but I did not have the man hours nor the candy resources. Cutting the cake to make the rims was the hardest part. To make the toppers, I went to the website (where you find the 3D Ralph), printed the pencil toppers, added a toothpick into the back and fake laminated it by using clear packaging tape.

GAMES:

We took a bunch of minute to win it games and called them new things based on the movie. We had
"I'm gonna Wreck it!" We took water bottles and labeled them with brick looking paper and the words "I'm gonna wreck it!!". Using a pair of tights and a baseball at the bottom of one leg, they had to knock the water bottles over.

This game was called "I can fix it!" They broke off into two teams and had to put together identical "puzzles" (coloring pages printed and glued to the cereal boxes)

 

"Make your mama proud"

We tied tssue boxes filled with pom pom onto the girls backs, they had to shake, shimmy (but not jump!) to get the pom poms out!

Hannukah Cross Stitch

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For one of my friends for Hanukkah I thought I'd make her a small cross stitch (it's about ornament size). I found this one online, but it was purchase only. I was able to print off a picture and count the squares however, and came up with this:

 

She loved it.  I got it to her just in time :)

Nightmare Before Christmas Wreath

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I love from October all the way to April. There is something to do and decorate and look forward to each month. Halloween is by far my favorite. Even since the movie came out when I was seven, The Nightmare Before Christmas has always been one of my favorite movies. We watch it twice a year, once for Halloween and once the night before Christmas ;) 

 

When I saw the wreath (though it's supposed to be a joke) I loved it. I always like to be different than other people and so I thought this was perfect. 

What you need:
Hot glue gun
Sharpie
Wreath (got mine at Target for $8. I looked everywhere and theirs was the fullest for the price)
Yellow Easter egg that opens from it's side (rather than the traditional top and bottom)
White poaster board
Red ribbon ( I didn't have felt, so I made due with what I had) When I get Felt I'm changing it
Holly Berries (not pictured, still must buy some- it was expensive everywhere?)

Directions:
First thing I did was pull the wreath apart more to make it fuller. I made a basic bow and hot glued it into place. For the eyes I actually had to magic erase the bumble bee off so that I could draw the pupils in. I placed them slanted on the wreath, added the pupil and glued them into place. The hardest thing was the teeth. I laid the wreath on the board and sketched the teeth into place, then removed it, cut it our and hot glued it into place.

Coffee Protein Drink

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After a long run and workout, I like to have a very small amount of the protein powder that we have on hand. Honestly, it's not the best tasting thing in the world, but I only have a little and I drink it pretty quick. I typically workout before I go to work and so I am a little tired afterward and I like to bring a second small cup of coffee with me. Now I can just have it in my drink.

 What you need:
2  Cups of ice, blended
1/2 cup of almond milk
1 cup of your choice black coffee
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder


I threw the whole thing in my blender and then did a quick taste test. It needed a LITTLE splenda, so I sprinkled that and a LITTLE bit of sugar-free vanilla coffee creamer into it and re blended it. That is the smaller of the two protein shakers and it made about 1 1/2 of those.. I think it tasted great- couldn't taste the protein in it after that. I think that it was a great new shake to use during the Summer especially.

Betty Crockers Baked Donut

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 Who doesn't love donuts??? I know I don't typically pass one up when offered. Recently I aquired a donut pan in hopes to still eat donuts when craving them, but feel less guilty about it because they are smaller and baked, not fried.


What you need (copied directly from Betty Crocker)
 3/4 cup Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix (from 15.25-oz box)
1 cup Original Bisquick® mix
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons multicolored nonpareils

Glaze and Topping

1/2 cup Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy vanilla frosting (from 16-oz container) 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon warm water 1/4 cup multicolored nonpareil.

 
 Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl while pre heating the oven to 350 degrees. Take your GREASED donut pan and fill them 3/4 of the way full.

 

Bake for about 10 minutes or until they are springgy when you touch them. The hardest part was letting them cool for 10 minutes so that I could add the melted butter and cinnamon sugar or the glaze and sprinkles.

 

Verdict: Not so good. They tasted like the bisquick. The texture was LIKE a cupcake, but still the bisquick was overpowering.. Even my daughters didn't finish them and one of them will eat anything.

Ribbon landyard/ ID holder

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So the main reason I don't "pin" as often as I use to is that I  am now working and although I am actually doing a lot of the pins, I don't take the time to upload them anymore...

I needed a landyard for my job and so I saw this pin and quickly made one that wasn't just string. I used some Hello Kitty ribbon and two different hooks that I bought at Walmart ( I have no idea what they are called, sorry).

Anyway, I checked the ribbon length around my neck, cut it apart and sewed it together. To keep it from moving around I sewed the ribbon above the hook. The other pinner added a flower, but I thought it would be weird on mine... I may add a cupcake, but I think I like it how it is.

Vanellope Von Schweetz Costume

 

This was a really easy, yet hard costume. Trying to find a blue hoodie in a good color (almost with leggings that matched) proved more difficult that you could imagine. Thankfully I found some online from Old Navy and purchased them quickly. The skirt was purchased at Target.

Using a purple/pink  shoelace I added the stitches to the hoodie. It didn't actually have strings for the hood, so I just sewed the end pieces to it to give the effect.

For the leggings I found some red yarn and sewed it lightly on. This picture was taken before we decided we liked it and could sew it on fully and more secure.

To see her hair clips, click here

Taffeta Muttonfudge Costume 

Taffeta Muttonfudge Costume

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There wasn't really a tutorial to show me what to do for this. I had to really wing it. Thankfully my daughter owns a lot of pink.For the shirt and skirt (although in real life it's a pink glittery dress with a stripe. Since we can kinda zip her jacket no one is going to notice) I found two pink things and added a wavy white line through the skirt using ribbon, I barely had enough!

We already owned a pink jacket (luckily the zipper just broke, so I didn't feel bad when I altered it). I added red binding to the bottom of the jacket, tucked in the hood and made a green collar. For the white stripes on the side, you could use more binding (but I didn't have any) So I went through the house and found some brand new white shoe laces and sewed those onto it.

The leggings (not pictured) were a pair that were really dirty and honestly she refused to wear to school. So I took some thick white ribbon and traced the stripes in correct spots and painted them onto the leg. I've seen people spray paint them on, which looks nice as well. Also people might use thick ribbon, which would have been nice but the whole meaning of the costumes was to reduce the costs since we're going to Disneyland

The hat I used the same basic idea found   here . Except I did NOT add a bottom "ribbon" I made a  thin hat brim instead. Also, before I sewed the top closed I added the strawberry leaves and stem.

The gloves were by far the hardest thing to figure out. I tried using this pin
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/195765915025657141/

but I failed miserably. When I first printed it I felt like it was extremely small. I figured since it was for a childs hand it would be OK. I was wrong. The first attempt I accidentally cut the thumb hole out on both pieces, which ruined it. The second attempt I realized it was too small no matter what.  So I traced my daughters hand (big for seam allowance) and that didn't work. Almost 1/4 yard of white fabric and really frustrating time spent on it, my daughter turns to me and says, "Oh wait! I know what you can do!!" She ran to the bathroom and got out an extra pair of hair dye gloves I keep on hand and told me to trace that onto the fabric. IT WORKED!


Vanellope's Clips
Vanellope Costume

Vanellope Hair clips

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Ah, Vanellope Von Schweetz from Wreck it Ralph captured our hearts upon first meeting her in just the previews for the movie last year. After going back and forth on who she wanted to be for Halloween, the Banana finally chose  Vanellope (Sorry, Wonder Woman...you'll have to wait). I thought the clips were going to be difficult, but they turned out to be pretty easy.

 

I purchased polymer clay from Wal*Mart and  shaped them with fondant cutters and by hand. I didn't make the gummy bears (although they were cute) we made cupcakes instead. My first batch I accidentally burned when I was cooking them because I forgot to set a timer. The second batch came out not only not burned, but better looking. After they had cooled I glued them onto black bobbi pins and let them set. Originally I tried to glue them to white hair clips I purchased at Michaels but the "base" was too visible and we quickly pulled them off and re-glued them to the bobbi pins.

For the licorice hair tie I took a rectangular piece of red fabric, sewed 3 of the 4 sides closed, turned it right side out and then added pipe cleaners (to make it stiff)

For the cookie necklace, I rolled out a very thin layer of tan and made a teal with blue, green and white. I used a cookie cutter for both (trimming down the blue afterward) Then I added some red and white sprinkles and I made "pipping" by thinning the white as best as I could. The writing was by far the most difficult of the whole outfit!!

End of Summer writing prompt

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With school starting in less than two weeks for us (yikes!) I thought this would be a fun craft/memory/first week of sharing for school type of thing. Since the link didn't work I copied it into paint and adjusted the size.Then let the girls color them and I helped my youngest fill hers in.

Baby Doll carrier

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WOW. That's all I have to say. The original blogger was so  detailed that I really don't think I can even remotely top her!  I really do recommend going back to her page, you can visit her by clicking the top link.I Started by choosing one of our bigger dolls, Minnie and laying her out onto 3 pieces of paper, which I later learned really only needed to be two... that third bottom piece ended up being taped to the middle piece at half way mark.

 

 after cutting out the fleece (I opted out for the batting) I made the strips for the straps and sewed them (longer because my daughter is tall.. This was also a problem and I had to take them in. I suggest sticking with the original posters of 5''x25'')

 

When I finished cutting and prepping the straps, I sewed most of the "base" together (excluding all sides and where the straps go--see original poster for more details). Next I turned it right side out and attached the straps and sides (folding in raw edges to look nicer) and sewed it all together.

My daughter loves it, although she puts Nora (the smaller baby) in it. Now that I know for sure I can make this, I'll be making a second one for my 1 1/2 year old niece later!

American Girl Beach Bag

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This was such a cute and easy summer time craft. All you need is a clean and dry capri sun (or similar) juice box container with the lid cut off (from the bottom up it will measure about 3 3/4 inches) some duct tape, ruler and scissors.

I found the easier way from the original blogger was to make the handles first by measure 8 inches of duct tape in whatever color you would like. Cut that piece in half, then fold that half into half (see below)

 

So make the handles, then tape them onto the not done  capri sun  container. Wrap main duct tap color around the capri sun container. and over the handles- it will stay in place and then you won't have the extra pieces of duct tape showing when you attach the handle.

Here are some more of my American Girl Doll items to brows:
Simple Dress
Witch Costume
school supplies
feel better kit  (Just like McKenna's!)
Gymnastics accessories  (Just like McKenna's!)
head band
Minnie Mouse ears
sleeping bags
sleeping mask
pillow dress
accessories
pet accessories

Justice League Costumes


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American Girl Super Hero

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Obviously there is a bit of a trend in my pins. They all involve superheros. Naturally our American Girl dolls needed some costumes too! I saw these pins and the idea. Then took them a step farther! The first thing I did after buying felt and fabric in the right colors and cut them out.

All of the tops made have the same pattern (found : Simple Dress) The tutu's are all "no sew" to make them look here: Witch Costume

I admit the emblem is a little bigger than it should have been, but when cutting it out with the felt I was thinking how small it was!

The mask was made by tracing the face size onto a piece of paper,  drawing a "Batman" styled mask, then cutting it out with felt and attaching elastic.

Originally for Batgirl we had a pull over mask. It was extremely delicate and after the first use my daughter made the eye holes misshaped.

To add the stars onto Wonder Woman's skirt,  headband and bracelets (http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915025105865/)
I traced my fondant cookie cutter onto the felt. To make the "lasso of truth" I took 3 long pieces of yarn and braided them together.
 Originally we also made Wonder Womans with a skirt. However I could tell my oldest wanted her dolls skirt to be a tutu also, and I had the extra tulle so I made an extra skirt for her.

I'm now thinking of making it a leotard like it should be and then the skirt can just be added over it anyway.

 

 Hawkgirl was by far the hardest costume to make. But I did and I'm sorry it's my well kept secret since she has nothing to do with the pin.

We know Spider-man is not Justice League or even DC comics...but we just like him :)

Here are some more of my American Girl Doll items to brows:
Simple Dress
Witch Costume
school supplies
feel better kit  (Just like McKenna's!)
Gymnastics accessories  (Just like McKenna's!)
head band
Minnie Mouse ears
sleeping bags
sleeping mask
pillow dress
accessories
pet accessories



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Super Hero Party

First, I have to say, Super hero's are not  just for boys. Everywhere I looked there was only boy stuff. I loved super heros as a little girl and I am so excited that my two girls love them now.  I was so excited when my youngest wanted a Justice League and Spider-man party.

http://www.queen-of-theme-party-games.com/superhero-party-games.html
http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915025289346/

Now that the cake is out of the way, it's onto the actual party planning. I kind of switched this pin up. I used her main idea of the games, but incorporated it into one big training/obstacle course. You're more than welcome to though!

Using an extra piece of poster board I made out sign :

 

I also made some decorations using construction paper. Each one is a Superhero's logo with string attached so that it could be added to the tent we put up.

When all the children were here we made superhero masks (bought at Target during their Justice League Summer event- perfect timing!!) picture not included, sorry

TRAINING COURSE

The first thing I did was download every Super hero cartoon theme song I could think of (or liked) That way the kids had "powerful music" to run the course through. The find out how I did the mp3 from youtube, click here.We played them through our home made iphone speakers 

http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915025489192/

 to recreate these speakers you need either toilet or paper towel roll and two cups. Cut holes in the sides of the cups and slip onto roll. Measure the base of your iphone and cut the hole out. To make ours a little nicer looking I wrapped a piece of paper around the tube.

The Training course consisted of a  "U" shaped spot where there were a lot of trees to pin the pictures of the super villains that they had to spray with Spiderman's webbing . In between each tree was a "building" that the superhero's had to leap over in a single bound.  

 

Another was when the kids had to remove kryptonite from on top of Superman (a dive stick we own) with a pair of kitchen tongs and then continue on with their building leaping and villain spraying until they reached the last tree. 

 

 To make the Kryptonite we sprayed scrunched up pieces of tin foil green. We kept ours in a tub and had them place the other pieces of kryptonite into a bag I kept next to the tub.

That is when they had to spin around with their heads on a baseball bat and then try to pin Batman's Bat logo onto him:

 

After everyone completed the course, they were officially superheros and we pinned their Superman style emblem onto them.

To make the emblems, I printed a picture of Supermans, then on a second piece of paper made the first letter of each childs name. Then cut them out with felt.

Scavenger Hunt

When the party was coming to an end I called out "Who wants a goody bag??"  Of course every child yells "ME! ME!" and comes running over where I am "looking" for the bags. That's when we discovered that the Riddler had stolen the goody bags!!

The First card read:

"Riddle me this Justice Friends

As (name)'s Party comes to an end.

You'll notice the goody bags are what I took.

Want them back? You'll have to look.

Follow these clues, it will be quite a task 

Superheros hide their identities by using _ _ _ _ _ "

The children ran to where we made the masks. Inside the box (the whole time!!) was another Riddle card that read

"My enemy's a 'good guy' he fights for the right

He is known to Gotham City as The Dark Knight"

The kids scrambled over to pin the bat to Batman. Behind the board was the final clue from The Riddler.

"The goody bags are what you seek

You'll find them near what makes Superman weak"

This one was the funny part. because the kids ran back over to the Kryptonite tub and looked around. That's when my oldest daughter realized all the kryptonite pieces were in the bag next to the tub.
Earlier in the day I had placed all the goody bags in that bag with a green dish cloth covering them so that when the kids looked in they wouldn't see them.

GOODY BAGS

Inside ours we bought the bags (at Target) then during the Summer Justice League thing at Target we picked up the $1 section toys (sand art, coloring page, Superman magnet), and added a glow stick. We also added a "create your own Super hero" sheet I found on pintrest:

http://pinterest.com/pin/195765915025211353/
Visit perfectspiral.co.uk

The kids (and parents) had a blast!


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Broken Flip Flop

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We bought these flip flops from the Disney Store in about April. Now I know better than to buy most of Disney's products because of the quality no matter how big of a fan I am. However we had the same type of flip flops last year and they lasted the whole time! This year? Not so much.

Thankfully we had this pin from pintrest and were able to fix them

My daughter says it works, but it feels a little funny because you can feel the clip when you walk. The other con is the bread tie eventually breaks and you'll have to keep replacing it.




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Super hero cake

Okay I know it's been a long time (but I've been busy outside of pintrest- I know)

As you might have guessed, the girls are seriously into Superheros now (yay!) So I spent a good part of Summer making Superhero costumes for their American Girl dolls (check back later!) and props and game ideas to pull of this fantastic party. We'll get into that later also. Let's focus on my favorite part:

CAKE

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 I baked 2 boxes of cake mix into two 8" rounds, two 6" and two 3" round pans. After they were finished baking I set them out to cool while I took the girls to the pool (after all I was doing this on the birthday girls real birthday. She needed to have some fun)

The first thing I did when I got back was make Wonder Womans crown because it needed time to stiffen up. To do that I dyed some pre made fondant yellow and rolled it about 1/8'' thick. Using an x acto knife I made the shape of the crown. Then placed it around a cup with some pillars on either side to keep it steady. Then I added the red star using one of my fondant cutters and water.

To make Batman, Super man and Spider-man's emblems, I printed them out onto a piece of paper, then cut them out and placed them on top of the fondant in the correct colors. Using the x acto knife again I cut them out.

Next I took the cakes and leveled them off using a serrated knife. I then iced each set of cakes and rolled out the fondant for each cake. I used blue for Super man, White for Batman, and red for Spider-man.

SPIDER-MAN

I know Spider-man isn't from the Justice League (or a DC character for that matter) However we've always loved him in our family. To make his tier I rolled out red fondant and placed it over the cake. After it dried a little, I added the webbing with a black food color marker. Then I added the classic black spider emblem with some water to make it stick.

BATMAN

I rolled his tier out in white fondant because we had bought (using a 40% off coupon) the Wilton Silver food coloring spray. We've used this product before and it is a lot of fun.

SUPERMAN
 All I did was cover this tier in blue and add the emblem on. When I was finished with each cake I wrapped the bottoms in yellow (which we said was Wonder Womans "lasso of truth")


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