Happy Almost New Year

A very nice end to 2010 even if it was a day early.  Edward entertains himself with a balloon while others scout out the fondue bar.

Zane makes a plate.

Sparkling conversation with Yvonne and Tony.

The time capsule station decorated with the notion that robots will be running the world in 2020.

Working on time capsules.

Cicely's completed time capsule.

My time capsule with notes from family members, receipts from Starbucks and a movie theater, electric bill, check stub, this year's school pictures of my children, a survey of 2010 best and worst, a Shindig Spree Card, and a cover from a recent Entertainment Weekly.

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.

Also Christmas

Merry Christmas.  This is, oddly enough, the only Christmas party I hosted at my own house.  A Very Pickel Christmas.  My children posing in front of the tree with my two grandnieces.

 

First the feast.

Next, the presents.

This is actually my 200th post, which seems significant.  I also feel like I am on the homestretch as I only have eight parties to go, two of which will happen yet this week!

N38 (Christmas Cake)

The fancy title is Bingo lingo.  There is a saying for every number.  Our favorite was B13 after which you are supposed to say "the devil's number" and then we would pretend to spit in distaste.  There is also the old standby "B4 and after".  We kept the table simple so the transition between dinner and Bingo was effortless.  Amanda made the trees out of styrofoam cones, yarn, and felted balls.

My mother was the first caller.  Be she got tired of the heckling and passed the duties along.

My Bingo bounty- a lovely oven mitt.

Makenna took over the spinning duties and it became a combination of speed Bingo and dodge ball as she got the cage going fast enough it was randomly launching balls.  

A Very Merry to You!

Sorry for the absence.  My family has been passing around a stomach bug.  'Tis the season of giving, I guess.  I have two Christmas parties this weekend.  The first is today with my immediate family.  We Hornung's have a tradition of playing Bingo on Christmas.  I have an assortment of vintage Bingo cards for the occasion.  The plan was to use Christmas M&Ms for markers, but I forgot them and have no intention of braving the stores on Christmas Eve. Maybe I will have Cicely help me punch some circles out of holiday scrapbook paper.  We have done the prizes different ways; sometimes the host provides them, sometimes my mom has.  This year each person is responsible for bringing a $5.00, $2.00, and $1.00 gift.  Every few moments my kids announce how long is remaining until this party.  We can't wait.  My sister's house is the setting for tonight's celebration.

The second party of the weekend is at our house tomorrow hosting Ron's immediate family.  I am starting to get the table set and the house in order.  Both are dinner parties.  Soup and sandwiches are the fare tonight, and tomorrow we will have a more traditional ham dinner.

Menage a Shindig

No, no that kind of party.  I am doing three parties this week. And I must say I am a bit nervous.  Saturday morning I am doing a cookie making party at my house with my sisters and mother.  Saturday night I am helping my friend Tony do a Christmas party at his house.  The three pictures below are Tony's doing.  A wonderful backdrop for the party.  Sunday afternoon I am doing an art party for my niece's second birthday with four of her best toddler buddies. 

Tony has put a lot of work into his decorating.  Play along with me:  Michael Jordan is to basketball as Tony is to, that's right, Christmas.

We Wish You a Crafty Christmas

Tony's completed ornaments with faux fur tails.

Yvonne's finished forest friends.

The Snowmen Class of 2010.  From left;  The Starlet, Most Likely to Succeed, Mr. Jocular, Class Clown, Most Congenial, and Drama Queen.  

Merry and Bright

Zane and Eli helped prepare the breakfast casseroles. I lined regular sized muffin tins with puff pastry and then filled with and egg mixture of either spinach and mushrooms or ham and cheese.  We also had assorted muffins, fruit, and a yogurt parfait served in a trifle bowl.

Em and Yvonne work on breakfast amidst the craft supplies.

Yvonne's projects after first coat of glue frosting.

Working.

And working.

Tony attempts the snowman.  Okay, so those ornaments were really hard and really frustrating.  We started by using a toothpick to connect two sytrofoam balls.  Then coat one area at a time with glue (don't even think about Elmer's go right for Tacky) and slowly start coiling the chenille twists around the balls.  It helps to let the glue get a bit tacky.  It also helps to pre-curl the pipe cleaners around your finger to shape them before attaching them to the body forms.  Limbs were made by folding a chenille twist in thirds and then wrapping them with another twist until you reach the desired size.  Patience helps.  So did the mimosas.  We had smooth, solid surfaced styrofoam balls.  The pipe cleaners may have adhered better to their rough surfaced cousins.  It also helps to anchor the beginning and end of the pipe cleaner into the styrofoam. We used pins to hold them in place until they dried as they had the maddening habits of sproinging off.

Tune in tomorrow for some of the completed projects.

Consider This the Before

Tomorrow this squirrel will be decorated with acrylic paint tinted glue and glitter.  Tomorrow this squirrel will be somebody.

The cookies are made of a salt dough:  two cups flour, one cup salt, and one cup warm water.  Knead the dough well and refrigerate for an hour or so.  Flour your work surface and cut out desired shapes.  I put screw eyes in the little guys.  You can also poke a hole through with a straw or chopstick.  Bake at 200 degrees forever (I am six hours into this adventure and still cooking!) until it is dried out.  Tell the people living in your house that they should not eat these cookies.  They are to decorate and make beautiful.  The father of the family I used to babysit broke his tooth this way.  

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Still planning on Crafternoon IV this Saturday to make Christmas ornaments, but I do not have much interesting to show in the way of party prep.  Aside from the cute chenille creatures, we are going to make the salt dough cookies frosted with glue that are featured in this month's Martha Stewart's Living magazine.  I was going to add a link but I could not find them on her site.  I also haven't made the cookies yet and just realized they need to cook at a low heat for 4-6 hours.  The Martha has a very wicked sense of humor.  I will do them tomorrow after work.  The ornaments will be shaped like woodland creatures:  moose, bear, fox, squirrel, hedgehog, and snail.  I do not have much to show for Crafternoon so I will show you some of the things I have done to make the house merry and bright.  We made this wreath for Cicely's door with a styrofoam wreath mold, yarn, and some swell felted balls I got at Anthropologie.  You can find felted balls at most sewing stores.

The Pickel tree full of woodland creatures and mushrooms.  What says Christmas like fungus, I ask you?  I wrapped the photos on the walls like gifts.  The golden decorations on the wrapping are all done with glitter.  I have been finding glitter in every conceivable place for the last few days.  Next time I will choose a simple non-adorned wrap.

Is That You, Santa Clause?

Here is one of the projects we are going to make this Saturday.  The chenille Santa.

And his snowy cousin. 

I am going to learn how to make these on Saturday so I will try to post some directions/guidance.

Thankful for Family

My mother's extended family came for Thanksgiving.  I love this picture.  It is after dinner, people have broken up into smaller groups to talk and watch football, and Uncle Bill takes the opportunity to sneak in some shut eye.  Blame the tryptophan.

Cicely set up a craft table in her room and the kids created turkeys, pilgrims, and for some reason lots and lots of rabbits.

Playing Game of Things.  My favorite game of all times.  This is the first time I have played with kids.  I had to clean up my gutter mouth but it was still loads of fun.

Pre-Turkey

Here is the main table with woodlands inspired runners that I ripped off from Tony.  We ended up taping the thankful turkeys to the wall.  I did end up putting Mad Libs at all of the place settings.

A close up of the light fixture.  I will probably leave it like this for Christmas as I am going to do a woodlands themed tree.  I put pinecone ornaments on the ceiling with gold wired ribbon.

There were three Thanksgiving tables in all.  The hedgehog table was in the living room.

A squirrel nestled on the table upstairs.

Thanksgiving Traditions

My mother's extended family has a big Thanksgiving every year.  I am hosting for the second time this year.  It has been my goal to try to create mementos from the events.  Here is an easy one:  have everyone trace their hands.  It is amazing how much the kids have grown and as an adult I still check it every year to see if I have had some miraculous growth spurt.

This is one of the first projects the Thompson family did.  I asked everyone to write something they are thankful for on a construction paper feather and loosely arranged them in transparent document frame.  I love that my family is grateful for The Simpsons, googly eyes (my spelling error on the feather), cubed cheese, and my personal favorite---large waddles.

Last year we did another take on thankful turkeys.   This was a turkey pattern I found on The Martha's site and people filled feathers with things they are appreciative of like talking Pee Wee Herman dolls, and Lyle Lovett.  I cut out feathers until I had a blister the size of a dime on my finger.  This is when I first acknowledged that I might have a party problem.

This year I want hand turkeys on the chalkboard in my bathroom.  I think I am also going to put a blank Mad Lib at each place setting.