Just Add Guests

The last party is tonight.  The house is ready to go and Ron is making Swedish and mango barbecue sauce for meatballs.  It is the lull time where big projects are done but it is too early for the last minute stuff like putting out food and drinks.

Orange flowers to welcome all to the farewell party.

DIY Pom Poms

My dining rooms ceiling is now officially covered with orange pom poms.  To make them take a standard pack of tissue paper in the color you want.  Most packs have 10 sheets and this is the amount you want to work with.  If not, stack 10 pieces of standard tissue paper and fold then cut into quarters.  Each package will give you four pom poms.  Take one of the four stacks of 10 and cut a decorative scallop along the long edges.  It helps to fold it in half so you only have to cut it once.

Accordion fold the tissue paper.  You will want to tie the center (where I am pinching in the picture) with craft wire.  Make a loop to hang it with the craft wire.

Fold five of the layers up, and five of the layers down.  Fluff until you have something that approximates a sphere, or a happy dahlia.

You saw this picture the other day.  Here are some of the pom poms.

Orange and Delicious

I am working on an orange snack station for next Saturday.  I am sure I will dink with it before the party but it is a start anyway.  I will likely do a popcorn snack mix for the bags.  I am wondering how many orange pre-wrapped candies and snacks there are to fill the rest of the containers.

Orange You Glad?

I am taking my time and savoring preparations for the last party:  Orange You Glad It's Done?  I am making orange tissue pompoms for the ceiling.

I made this orange bowl during a recent trip to Paint Yourself Silly a DIY ceramics decorating studio.

And I have been hanging pictures for a walking tour of the 51 parties that are complete.  I am trying to incorporate decorations as well as pictures wherever possible.

The last party is an open house March 19th from 6:00PM until midnight.

Heaven Must be Missing a Blaine-gel

More Blaine-gels on the light fixture.  The ceiling is gussied up with red balloons and lanterns.

Mini heart-shaped peach, blueberry, and cherry pies.  Decorated up with...you guessed it.

Party's at 7:00!

Love is in the Air

So I was floating along in the universe feeling mostly competent and somewhat creative when it happens...  The Martha's February spread featured a woman who has a book called Crafternoons (2008) and the showcased activity is a Valentine's Craft Party.  Double drats:  1) I was naive enough to believe we were the first to coin the phrase "Crafternoons" and 2) we did our first Valentine's Craft Party four years ago.  I will post some pictures later this week.  At first I was defeated, crest-fallen, and beaten.  But then I decided to chalk it up to the "great minds" theory.  Anyhoooo, here are some VD craft ideas to make for the ones you love.  Or the ones you are with.

I found the template through How About Orange.  The original design, adorable in its own right, is a winged elephant.  I simply traced the pattern onto heavy grey paper, cut out, and constructed.  I attached a simple origami box to the back with a brad.  Get the pattern right here. 

Year of the...

I found this great site where they have free printable t-shirt transfers for all of the animals of the Chinese Zodiac.  My family members will be sporting their various animals tonight.  Go to the site right now!

Our house has a ram, a rat, a dragon, and two snakes. 

Rabbit Decor

Being snowed in the last few days has afforded me the opportunity to get some decorations up for Chinese New Year.  I have dragons on the ceiling in the dining room.  Dragons!

Remember this tray from last week?  I took out the photos of my father and added a print for the Year of the Rabbit.  I purchased the Chinese zodiac stirring sticks years ago at a hobby store.

Zane and Eli helped me set up the kids" tables in the loft.  We have segregated by gender but the tables are side by side.  The settings include a treat bag, children's rabbit chopsticks, a zodiac representation, a zodiac placemat, and a napkin folded into the shape of a bunny head.

Here is a setting from the boys' table, basically the same only black bunny napkins versus red.

Happy Birthday

Here is the table setting for dad's birthday dinner.  I used yellow gift wrap for a runner down the center.  I attached black and white pictures of dad with black adhesive photo corners and then covered this with clear cellophane gift wrap to protect the pictures.

My place setting.  I used The Martha's suggestion of affixing photos to the vase of the floral arrangement.

The cake also had a photo of dad on it.  Some of dad's favorite treats (Double Stuff Oreos, chocolate covered peanuts, oatmeal raisin cookies, and peanuts) could be packed into treat bags decorated photocopies of an old picture.

Makenna helps blow the candles out.

Picture Pages, Picture Pages

Here are some more picture projects for my father's upcoming birthday.  I found an unpainted wood tray at the craft store and painted it yellow.  I cut a piece of glass to protect the pictures underneath but you could just as easily take the glass insert from a cheap photo frame.  Voila!  Drink tray.

In lieu of a traditional happy birthday banner I an used grey cardstock to frame vellum baby pictures of each of the family members.  I used an exacto knife to cut the holes in the center and sandwiched the pictures in between the two pieces of paper.  Gluesticks work best.

Close up of the banner and cute baby Katy and baby Ron in lederhosen.  I threaded the pictures on rick-rack but you could use a curling or decorated ribbon, string, or wire depending on the look your are going for.

I also made a candle lantern with four different images of my dad; one on each of the sides.  I made the frame out of balsawood.  I did not intend to put the paper edging on the sides but Tacky Glue makes vellum pucker.

The lantern from a different angle.

Oh Babies

I am trying to incorporate black and white pictures into the decorations.  I have some really cool photos of my father in his younger years.  I had considered doing all of the napkins with pictures of my dad but decided to do a baby picture of each of the guests instead.  I thought they might get more use for future holidays and the like.  I scanned the pictures and converted the color ones to black and white using a Kodak Easyshare.  I printed them on to iron on paper and made napkins out of white cotton and yellow and white seersucker.

Know When to Fold 'Em

I am 95% sure that Kenny Rogers was talking about origami when he wrote the lyrics to The Gambler. Or not.  Here is the place setting we did for the origami dinner.  Everyone received a wax paper bag full of assorted origami paper to fold  We cut the top piece into a flower.

A crane's eye view of the table.

Thank you Trader Joe's for the sushi.

And the mochi, which is a Japanese ice cream (or more aptly rice cream) treat.  We did not love the gelatinous skins but were smitten with chocolate, mango, and coconut ice cream centers.

Tune in tomorrow for party pictures and see our lovely origami creations.

Origami Party

As I mentioned yesterday my friends used origami cranes as a theme for decoration at their wedding.  Here is a picture of their cake.  I don't have a picture of this, but they filled vases with tall twigs and hung the cranes with string from the twigs.  Very pretty.

Konnichiwa

Well, I have been scheming and plotting and I think I have the last SIX parties scheduled.  The first will be an Origami Party.  My friends Micki and Matt had a wedding decorated with paper cranes as her maiden name means crane in Polish.  It was breathtaking.  My party will be decidedly less important.  A Japanese inspired lunch and then us guests can impress each other with our mad folding skills.  Here are a few of the flock hanging from the light fixture above my table.

 

An Arty Party

Makenna had an art party with her friends. This was originally scheduled a few weeks ago (there were some party prep pictures then) but it had to be moved as the birthday girl was under the weather.  We used a kindergarten table that I purchased at a school action for a dollar.  I painted over the damaged top with chalkboard paint.  Cicely wrote the guest's names on the table.  We made and framed coloring book pictures out of photos of each of the young guests.  Kodak Easyshare software has this feature under "Fun Options".

The mothers helped color pictures.  Amanda found the unusual looking colors at Commodities LTD online.  They worked well for little hands and came in great colors. 

A duded up picture of one of the Owens.

The snack table.  Amanda set up kids friendly snacks in plastic bowls.  We also found colorful disposable sippy cups for each of the guests.

The rainbow cake, all six layers of it.  That's right, no indigo.

Owen models his art apron.

Also Owen, but slightly less convinced.

Amirah in her art apron.

The birthday girl.  Her other guest, Rosie, let us know in no uncertain terms that she would not like to be photographed in her art apron.

We were all pleased and amazed how well the party with five about-two-year-olds went.  They spend a lot of time playing with Makenna's toys and the balloons all over the floor.  Very low key.

Fondue You!

Less than two hours until the Fondue in the New Year/Time Capsule Party.  The balloons below are filled with confetti.  It won't be long before I regret that decision.

I put a lot of colorful and silver candles in the entry way.  They will be more impressive when they are lit.

We did miniature jade plants, a symbol of good luck, for all of the guests.  I wrapped them in silver gift wrap and tied different ribbons on each one.  I got the silver plant labels four for a dollar at Michael's.

Fondue in the New Year

In order to include some special people in my New Year's Party we are actually celebrating on Thursday instead of Friday.  As the title suggests we are doing fondue for the menu.  We are also going to make time capsules to be opened in 10 years.  More on that tomorrow.

 

I used beaded letters on curling ribbon to spell out some wishes for the upcoming year.  In the past I have taped these to the ceiling and let everyone rush for the type of fortune they were looking for when the clock struck midnight.  I might twist the ribbon and let people select one to see what their 2011 holds.