Thursday, March 31, 2011

How to make a Lego Pinata

This was seriously the easiest thing I have made to date for my kids.

As you may know, the little one is turning 6 next month and wants a Lego party. Ok..no problem. It just so happens that May is THE busiest month in our year, so I have to start making things like yesterday.

So I have made some banners, his name sign, a balloon wreath, a few games, and have ordered a Lego mold to make more favors and decor...but the pinata was scaring me a little.

Not a lot, but enough to make me put it off for over a month. But really, it was EASY!!!! And so much cheaper than going out and buying one that may or may not fit your theme.

Jansen was very specific about wanting a square, red Lego brick pinata. And after two days...here it is...


Total cost $12 for the candy inside and for one can of red spray paint (which will be used to paint other decorations for the party. Here is the play-by-play.

First, I cooked up a little paper mache.

4 Cups of water
3 Tbsp sugar
1.5 cups of flour

Bring 2 cups of water to boil in a saucepan on your stove. While that is coming to a boil, in another bowl, whisk together the 2 remaining cups of water with the flour. Once the water on the stove is boiling, add your flour mixture. Return to a boil, then remove from heat. Whisk in the sugar, pour into a bowl and let it cool.

While this is cooling, get your box.


I chose a box Jansen had left over from a toy he got for Christmas. It was square and had enough sturdiness to it. I had left over Halloween cups that I placed on the box to figure out the right size for the dots.


Then cut the bottoms out of the cups and hot glue them to the box.


I cut rectangles out of the sides of the box and a couple out of the top for the rope to go through.
A helpful tip for this??? Reinforce this cut with some extra cardboard.

The rope will be holding the entire weight of the pinata and the candy inside.

Earlier that week, I had gone up to my childrens' school to use their paper cutter because I didn't have one at home. I highly recommend using one!!! Cut newspaper in various widths from 1-3 inches.

By this time, the paper mache should be cooler and ready to use. Start covering!
I found that wearing an apron and having some paper towels handy was very helpful because this is messy. Dip your strips into the mache, squeegie it off with your fingers and place it over the box, smoothing as you go.


After the first coat is dry(in about 12 hours), put on an additional coat of mache. I found that 2 full coats gave it stability but shouldn't be so concrete that the kids can't break it open.

At this point, I let mine dry overnight with a fan on it to speed up the process a little.

Then I sprayed a coat of primer, followed by two coats of Red Tomato, and hung it to dry.




It is perfect! I love it and I know Jansen is going to be ecstatic when he sees it. This is one time that I saw that going EXACTLY THE SAME in my mind....

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

What I Wore Wednesday #2

I am going to officially make this post WIWW #2 since last week I remembered to take more pictures. And this week...all but one day! The only day I didn't take a picture was Monday, and that was because I was cleaning all day and wore my sweats, and then by the time I was done....well...it wasn't a pretty picture at all. Next week I will post it and you can see what I mean.

Anyway, let's get to it.

Thursday-I took a trip for my final follow up with my plastic surgeon. Mommy makeover complete! Shirt: Maurices Shorts: Old Navy Earrings: Maurices. (Have I told you lately how much I hate my camera and want a new one?)

Friday-I had to go up to the school to get some work done, run errands, eat lunch with Caleb at school, and bake, bake, bake. Tank top: Maurices Purple shirt:Maurices Striped vest: Maurices Jeans: Old Navy Necklace: Urban Eve Saturday-Finishing up all the details for Caleb's party, and then going to a BBQ at my cousin's house to celebrate some familys' birthdays. Shirt: Kohl's Jeans:Kohl's Headband: made by me (the glitter sock) Sunday: Caleb's party at the bowling alley. Shirt: Kohl's Jeans: Kohl's Earrings: a gift from my husband for our 1 year anniversary many moons ago.

And finally Tuesday- working up at the school and having coffee with some friends. Shirt: Kohl's Jeans: Maurices

There you have it. What I Wore Wednesday. Let's hope I can keep it up!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Broken candlestick

Ok, so look at what happened....
It shattered. Yep the glass ball and all. Hmmmmmm...



Plan B. This is what my thrift store cloche used to look like...
For a while, I liked the chunkiness of the base. I am a chunky girl, so I see the beauty in the chunk. But, I have to say, in this instance, the thinner one looks better. It just looks a little more delicate, and that is good for me.
I ripped off the other base, glued this base on, and set it next to my little white platter that I got on clearance at Walmart. We use it as a dry erase board for the kids to count down events on. They love the chance to fight over who gets to change the numbers and pick the next event.

Looks Springier with the plastic eggs and grass. <3

Monday, March 28, 2011

A Super Mario bedroom....

A couple of years ago, for Christmas, we did this for our oldest son...






It took a little over an hour to map out just where we wanted each decal and to place them all on his wall.


He has been obsessed with Mario since he was less than 2 and someone gave him an old Game Boy to play with. That was in 2004 before the Wii premiered and Mario became as popular as it was in the early 80's. Mario decor was way hard to find.


The last thing we needed to complete his Mario themed bedroom was bedding. Because I don't sew, I am not creative enough to make his bedding, so we looked everywhere for something pre-made.


For his birthday, Caleb received a Super Mario sheet set, blankets, and comforter from his Nana and Pops. He could not have been happier. So while he was gone, I washed everything up and put it all on his bed, and when he came home, he was SUPER STOKED!!!!


Mario is all over this room.....
Mario is Caleb's one true love :)

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Bowling birthday party

This was the easiest birthday party we have had yet....and it was a blast! The kids could bowl as much as they wanted, eat when they wanted, pick out music on the jukebox, dance around and be as loud as they wanted. I highly recommend it! We had a small group of his classmates come out to celebrate, eat snacks, and have cake. Too much fun! Caleb got some really great NERF stuff, and as I type, my boys and their father are reloading and having a shootout. I am dodging bullets and typing, but I just got beaned in the back of the head. Caleb is using our couch pillows as a shield :) So here are a couple of pics from the party. I heave a sigh of relief that it is over, and am happy that Caleb had a great time. Yes, this last picture is of my crazy little 5 year old. Isn't he precious?!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Anthropologie inspired cuff...




I saw this cuff at Anthropologie...which is adorable!

And I can make something similar for free....



It was a paper towel roll, crayons in the colors of your choice, wax paper, an iron, and a glue gun.
Fun and easy :)






Family ties...

Growing up, I pretty much only saw my dad's side of the family twice a year...Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since both my grandparents passed away 5 or 6 years ago, the family has been making a big effort to get together more often. To put it in perpective...here is how my family goes :

Son#1: my uncle who was married for a while and had two kids, and then later divorced and remarried and had two more kids.

Son#2: my dad who married my mom and had me.

I am the youngest in that group of cousins...only child...with two kids of my own. Of the other cousins, who are all married, there are 4 more kids between them (and one on the way). They have a much bigger family than just, well...me. At first it was a little difficult for me just being the way I am, to want to get together with everybody. It's kind of like super easy to make friends as a child, but much more difficult as an adult.

But as an adult, I love these people. I realized that I don't really know much about them (which is sad) and am really enjoying getting to know each one much better. :)

This week was my two of my cousins birthdays as well as my son's, so there was a little shin-dig at another cousin's house to celebrate. I forgot my camera, but was able to snap some funny pics of me and my boys with my phone....

Happy Birthday to my Caleb, who turned the big 8 today!!!!

Friday, March 25, 2011

Bowling birthday cake


It is finished and I only burned my finger once! None the less, I burned it big time. It has impaired my typing ability...which is normally stellar......boooooo!


Anyway. The bowling cake is finished, and while it isn't perfect, I am not a professional, so I am not going to hold myself up to professional standards :)


Caleb will like it though. Let's hope it holds up until the party.
As I finished decorating it, my youngest son asked me..."Mom, do you want to be the Cake Boss or the Kitchen Boss?" ( innocent little 5 year old thinks I can cook. I can't, but I can bake pretty well). And so I told him, "Neither, I just want to be your boss!"

Thursday, March 24, 2011

1 Up Mushroom Cupcakes for school....

And they are finished.

I used a new recipe for buttercream icing for these cupcakes in preparation for making Caleb's cake tomorrow. Um, it's ok.

Really, it crusts, it tastes good, the texture is ok, but there is just something about it that I just don't like. I mean, it is fine for these cupcakes, but it definitely won't work for Caleb's cake. Tomorrow, I will have to figure something else out.

So anyway, Caleb wanted red and green Super Mario mushrooms, so that is what he got. I was informed that technically, the red ones are Power-Up Mushrooms and the green ones are 1-Upp Mushrooms. Here is what they look like....


He was picky enough to say that the girls in his class should get red and the boys should get green. Um...ok?!