Giveaway Week: Summer Daze Day 2

Welcome to day two of the Summer Daze Giveaways, hosted by While He Was Napping!  It’s a fantastic week of amazing giveaways!  Each day, from June 6-11, three new giveaways will open.  Giveaways will be open for four days, so make sure you get your entries in before they close.  You will need to visit the host blog to enter.  Entry requirements vary per host.  

Let's get this party started!  Today's giveaways are courtesy of:

Ashley @ Ashley Creations has this adorable little hair clip up for grabs.  The colors are amazing and perfect for summer!  It’s like lime sorbet, raspberries and lemonade.  What little princess wouldn’t want this?

Kelly @ Make It Sparkly Mama has a whimsical, single strand bracelet that you can personalize. Customizable with birthstones or crystals of your choice.  This bracelet features oval alphabet beads. It is personalized with 6 Swarovski birthstone crystals on each strand.

Shawna @ A Very Dandoislion Life has some more cute hair clips!  How gorgeous are these babies?  And the colors are divine.  These would be so easy to dress up or dress down.  Perfect for that summer BBQ, cocktail party or wedding.

These giveaways will close on Saturday, June 11, so head over to these blogs and get your entries in for both of these fantastic prizes.  And come back for tomorrow’s giveaways!

If you haven’t entered these giveaways from yesterday, head over and do that now!

Mindie @ Bacon Time With the Hungry, Hungry Hypo.  She has a wonderful fabric rosette bracelet and matching summer scarf up for grabs!  The bracelet has an adjustable stainless steel band with "follow your dreams" engraved on both sides.  A single pearl adorns the bracelet for a light, yet sophisticated feel.

And Delina @ Dew This has a super cool, year round countdown calendar kit. Choose your preferred holiday (Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Easter), spend a little quality time with your crafty self and get your countdown on.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Giveaway Week: Summer Daze is Here!

So it's been one of THOSE days....and its not looking like it's going to get better anytime soon.

I lost my hard drive this morning with ALL my files and graphics on it.  We're talking thousands and thousands and thousands of projects, graphics, and pictures.  I'm trying desperately to figure out if it can be saved, but not getting much help in the tech department from the local "nerd herd."

So until I can get myself up and moving again, we are putting "Alice in Wonderland" on hold and I'm going to celebrate Summer coming with the Summer Daze giveaway hosted by While He Was Napping.  What better way to cheer myself up and enjoy a little summer than a little giving and winning from some amazing ladies?

It'll be a fantastic week of amazing giveaways!  And what better way to get all ready for summer than with a chance at some really cool, free stuff?!  Each day, from June 6-11, three new giveaways will open.  Giveaways will be open for four days, so make sure you get your entries in before they close.  You will need to visit the host blog to enter.  Entry requirements vary per host. 

Let's get this party started!  Today's giveaways are courtesy of:

Mindie @ Bacon Time With the Hungry, Hungry Hypo.  She has a wonderful fabric rosette bracelet and matching summer scarf up for grabs!  The bracelet has an adjustable stainless steel band with "follow your dreams" engraved on both sides.  A single pearl adorns the bracelet for a light, yet sophisticated feel.

And Delina @ Dew This has a super cool, year round countdown calendar kit. Choose your preferred holiday (Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving or Easter), spend a little quality time with your crafty self and get your countdown on.

These giveaways will close on Friday, June 10, so head over to these blogs and get your entries in for both of these fantastic prizes.  And come back for tomorrow’s giveaways!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Shout Out Sunday

.

Here's a few of my favorite party ideas from fellow bloggers.

Red, Blonde, & Burlap shared how to make Cardboard Cut Outs for your next party.  I love this idea.  I am hoping to make a few of these for my Alice in Wonderland party, but hadn't thought about using cardboard boxes.  So smart.  I do want to find a projector since I can't draw at all...so this might be a little difficult.  But once I find that it should be pretty easy to make a bunch of these.

Sun Scholars shared this amazing Watermelon Shark.  Wouldn't it be perfect for a summer party or swimming event?  I love watermelon and this would be a great treat to have at any party.  I really don't have a lot of decorating talent when it comes to food, so I'm hoping I can figure out how to make it.  And if not, I'm sure I'll have LOTS of watermelon to enjoy if I goof!

Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons shared this great Ernie and Bert Fruit Snack idea.  I just love how cute these turned out.  They look so fun and yummy to make.  These would be so cute to have at a Sesame Street part on the table as an alternative to sweets.  I'm sure the kids would eat them right up!  LOVE IT!!

That's My Letter shared her guest post on how to make a Playdough Wreath.  Isn't this wreath just so pretty?  I have determined in the last few months that I really have a "thing" for wreaths.  I never did before...maybe they are just getting too cute to ignore anymore.  They aren't these huge ugly circles of fluff on the door anymore, they can be so original and inspiring....and so perfect for a party theme.  Wouldn't this be fun to hang outside your art party?

2 Little Hooligans shared how to make Ice Cream in a Bag.  We were just craving homemade ice cream last night and mourning the loss of our ice cream maker.  I absolutely LOVE homemade ice cream but never make it.  It's just so much easier to go to the freezer and get the store bought stuff.  But this looks pretty easy too and would be a fun summertime activity for my kids.  How fun would it be for each of the kids at your birthday or 4th of July party to make their own ice cream for dessert?  That would be so awesome!

 Feel free to grab a button

for your blog or website if you'd like!

<a border="0" href="http://kimskandykreations.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad259/kimskandykreations/KimsKandyKreations125x125.jpg"/></a>

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Shindig Saturday Weekly Linky Party #15

Fortunately, my hubby's doing much better this week, so I've had time to focus on the Alice in Wonderland party that I'm planning.  I actually met with the birthday girl and her mom last night and laid out my ideas and party plans.  I think it's safe to say that we are all SUPER excited about the party now.

Now it's just a matter of getting everything made and ready to be set up on the day of the party.

I've been working on one of my favorite ideas this week...it's not ready yet...but I'll show you a sneak peek if you're interested....

Can you tell what it is?

Hopefully I'll get it done this weekend and be able to show you on Monday...Hopefully.

The winner of our Skittles Candy Bar Notebook is...

Jam Hands who shared her Deconstructed Strawberries Romanov.  I'll be honest...I'm not sure about this recipe.  I do LOVE strawberries and have a (ahem) slight liking of sugar of all sorts, but not too sure about the sour cream part.  Ali says you don't really taste the sour cream part, but I'm a little hesitant.  I don't mind sour cream if it's mixed in something, but on my strawberries?  Okay, I'll have to dig the strawberries out of my fridge and give this a try tonight at our Saturday evening card game. It might be a bit healthier than our regular table food of M&Ms and Gummy Bears.

Ali shares lots of yummy looking recipes of your trying to find something new to add to your family's dinner menu.  I know I'm definitely going to try her Lasagna Soup.  My hubby spent 2 years in Italy and makes pasta for the kids all the time.  It's become a serious favorite in our home, so this would actually be a recipe they might eat and not give me the dreaded "EWWWWW" over.

And we are TOTALLY going to have to try her Banana Split Brownie Pizza.  I just mentioned to "The Daredevil" about the pizza and he is ready to hop up and make some brownies now....at 8 in the morning.  I guess we are always ready for a good dessert around here.  And a new brownie recipe to add to his cookbook for his Brownie Shop someday?  A Total Plus!  Maybe we'll make that as a "backup" for cards tonight...in case we don't care for the sour cream after all.

If you're looking for some yummy recipes, go check out Jam Hands and tell her Kim sent you!

This week's party favor for our Linky Party is

an NFL football themed Personalized Name Plaque

just in time for Father's Day!!

The dad in your life would love to receive his name in football lettering alongside his favorite team's mascot for Father's Day.  This would be great for him to hang in his office or alongside his team jersey in his "man cave".  We have all the major teams and are working to add them to our store

.

To ENTER, just join our Linky Party by sharing your favorite party themed craft, table scape, photo, favor, or whatever! I'm pretty flexible since just about everything can be used at a party...that's the great thing about us moms! We can see the potential in ANYTHING!

Don't have a blog? Want an extra entry?
Leave us a comment with your favorite project from our linky party!

(We'll use a random generator to pick the winner next Friday evening.)

Linky Party Guidelines:

* Link up to your OWN project post, not just your blog, but your actual post. (We want to see it!)

*Grab a Shindig Saturday button for your post or blog page. (Hey, it benefits us all!)

*Stay and enjoy the party by visiting and commenting on other's projects. (It's fun to mix and mingle!)

<a border="0" href="http://kimskandykreations.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i941.photobucket.com/albums/ad259/kimskandykreations/KimsKandyKreationsSS2.jpg"/></a>

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Alice in Wonderland Game Ideas

Entertaining 10 (or more) boys and girls at an Alice in Wonderland birthday party is going to be rather interesting.  I have been doing a lot of research and brainstorming, and this is what I came up with...

Pin the Grin on the Cheshire Cat

This game would be pretty much just like it sounds.  Find a picture online of the Cheshire cat and cut it out.  If you want, you can take it to a copy center and have it enlarged.  Also copy several of the cat's grins (at least one per person) and cut them out. 

To play, blindfold each player and have them try and place the grin as close to the proper place on the hat as possible.

Another version of this would be to play Pin the Hat on the Mad Hatter or Pin the Watch on the White Rabbit.

Tea Party Chairs

This is the classic game of musical chairs.  You can use a bunch of mismatched chairs for extra fun.  Also use the Alice in Wonderland soundtrack for a theme touch.

"I'm Late" White Rabbit Race

Hop fast with the white rabbit in a sack relay race.  Divide the children up into two different teams.  Have each team hop down to a predetermined spot and back using a sack or pillow case.  Switch team members and have the next member hop down and back until everyone has had a turn.  The first team to finish wins. 

Caterpillar Bubble Blow

Have a bubble blowing contest.  Choose real bubble gum for big beautiful bubbles (none of the cheapy, sugar free stuff for good bubbles!)  Make sure you have rulers on hand to help measure who blows the biggest bubbles.

Or you could try this with liquid bubbles.  You can buy big bottles of bubble solution from Dollar Tree or Walmart and find lots of different sizes of string and fun implements to see who can make the most or the largest bubbles.

Tea Pot Relay Race

Find a large bucket and fill it with water.  Have another  smaller bucket a set distance away.  Find 2 equal size tea cups (preferably not breakable if someone should fall while racing.)

Split the players into two teams. Have the first player on each team scoop some water out of the first bucket and run to the other bucket.  Player pours the water into the second bucket trying to fill it.  Then he or she runs back to his team and hands of the tea cup.  The second player fills the cup and races down to empty it.  The first team to fill their second bucket wins.

Tea Bag Toss

Find several different sizes of tea cups and line them up on the ground.  Use several blocks cut from thick foam sheets to look like sugar cubes. 

Players must toss the sugar cubes into the team cups from a distance away. Each cup counts for a different score depending upon the size.  The larger the cup, the less points it's worth.  The player with the most points wins.

You could also play this with different hats as a Mad Hatter Toss game.

Queen of Heart Croquet

To be in Wonderland, you have to play Flamingo croquet.  Find a croquet set and place the "holes" around the yard for a fun game.  Dress up your sticks to look like flamingos for extra Wonderland excitement.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Wonderland Dollar Tree Finds

I spent all (school) day shopping today.  I can't believe I spent the whole time at Dollar Tree and the 2 Goodwill stores in town.  I'm excited to say that I found some really fun items that I hope are going to make my Alice in Wonderland Birthday party so fun!

I can't believe how hard it was to find tea cups though...who would have thought?  Maybe I was being incredibly picky looking for cute ones, and so I didn't have much luck, but I have a start now and a reason to go garage sale-ing this weekend.  (YEA!)

But I did find some cute items at Dollar Tree that can add some fun Wonderland excitement to my tea party.  Most of this was in the Summer Seasonal section, so if you're planning a trip to Wonderland--Run, don't walk.

There were lots of Flamingo related items such as flamingo dolls, flamingo inflatables, flamingo stirring sticks, and flamingo wall hangings.  They even had those fun flamingo yard decorations, although they were a little small.  My original plan was to purchase those and drill a hole in them to place a croquet stick on...but I'm too cheap to buy that many plastic flamingos.  So I have a new plan, but it sure would be cute and easy to just buy them that way.

If you want to have the Queen's roses at your party, Dollar Tree has both red and white roses.  It would be really cute to paint the roses half way and add a few paint brushes into the bouquet.  (Okay, I just thought of that and may have to run with the idea a little!)

Look at these cute Flower Straws they have.  You can add a few googly eyes to the top of the flowers and have the Garden of Flowers at your tea party too!

I'm hoping to have a big garden of flowers in a corner of the party...maybe near the photo shoot area.  These pinwheel flower whirly gig ornaments would be so cute mixed into the garden.

There are a lot of butterfly items right now in the party section.  I don't know if these are there always or not since they weren't in the seasonal area, you could check.  There was a set of plates, those blowout things, twirly butterflies that hang from the ceiling and more.

Dollar Tree had cute bug candy that would fit in with a garden party theme.  These would be super cute on your dessert table or even at each place setting.

I LOVE these Smarties pastel colored Gumballs.  They come in colors that would be perfect for a Wonderland party.  I can't decide if I would best use them on the dessert table or as party favors.  But I know I'm going to have to use them for something!

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Wonderland Party Invites

Help!!!

I have been working all day on these Alice in Wonderland invitations...and while I like them all in different ways, I can't pick which one will be the "Official" party invite.

If you've seen my Alice in Wonderland Pinterest idea board you'll know I've been doing ALOT of idea searching the last few days.  I found some fun party ideas and some great invitation wording.  Now it was a matter of finding the best way to display those words in the spirit of Wonderland.

This first invite is in the spirit of Alice with a blue "dress" background and white "pinafore" information area.  I even included Alice's black hair bow on the top of the invitation.

I added several different fonts in bright pastel colors to really make parts of the invite stand out.

It reads:

Don't be late for this very important date!

The Queen of Hearts hereby summons your presence at the

Mad Hatter's Tea Party
for a very merry Un-birthday Party
honoring Miss

Samantha ***
Meet in Wonderland at ****
from 7:00 to 10:00 pm on Saturday, June 18.
Don't be late like the White Rabbit!
RSVP to the Queen of Hearts at ***

The second invitation is in honor of the Mad Hatter.  I found a top hat and painted it green.  Then I printed out the information onto a tag that I stuck into the hat by cutting along the edge of the brim.

I added the date in place of the Mad Hatter's 10/6 tag and then wrote:

If you're feeling quite Mad
We'll make you right glad!
Please join us for a Birthday celebration in
 Wonderland
with Sammy ***

Go down the Rabbit's Hole to
***

on Saturday, June 18th
from 7:00 to 10:00 pm
RSVP! Questions?
Call the Queen at ***

The last invitation is in honor of the Tea Party itself.  I used my Robo to cut out a tea pot onto cute scrap paper.  I love that I can make each tea pot individual this way, just like in the movie!

I should have printed the wording actually onto the teapot and I think I will do this if I decide on this invitation, but for now, I just printed it out and glued it to the back of the teapot.

It reads:

The Mad Hatter &
Queen of Hearts
invite you to a tea party in Wonderland
to celebrate

Sammy's 11th Birthday
Go down the Rabbit's Hole to
***
on Saturday, June 18th
from 7:00 to 10:00 pm

RSVP! Questions?
Call the Queen at ***

So tell me...which one do you like the best?  I will definitely contact the birthday girl, but like most 10 year olds, I probably care more than she will.  So what do you think?  Which would you choose?

reade more... Résuméabuiyad