Paper Fruit Pouches

These are really cute paper pouches to serve your guests in. A few simple folds of paper and you're ready to roll 'em out. For the how-to click here.

"For each cup, start with one sheet each of glassine and parchment paper. Cut whichever sheet will form the inside of the cup to 9 1/2 inches square; cut the other to 10 inches square. Center the small sheet on top of the large sheet, and attach in center with a piece of double-sided tape."

Lollipop Balloons

Materials: balloons, cellophane, dowels, paintbrush, scissors, black tape, white paint, string

This is an adorable idea I found online which is absolutely simple in execution as well - lollipop balloons.

What you can use 'em for you ask? Try a Candyland theme or a Willy Wonka theme or a Sweet factory theme to name a few.

Children will love it! 

Make Your Own Hobbyhorse

As promised this is my post on teaching you how to make those cute hobbyhorses I made recently. 

Here we go. 

Kids just love running around and pretending to be one thing or another. One say they are superheroes, the next cowboys and cowgirls and the next Bob the Builder of Dora or Little Einstein and the list goes on and on and on. Their life is filled with  imaginary adventures. So I thought, why not use that to my advantage and create a birthday activity out of it.

I did. And the children LOVED it.

So here’s how you, if you have pony themed or just want to give something fun to your kid to play with, make hobbyhorses just like I did for My Little Pony Birthday.

You will need:

- A wooden stick or pipe (I cut it to 3 feet according to the children’s height)

- Poly-fil

- Socks (medium or large)

- Felt or fabric paper (I used fabric paper)

- Yarn for hair (I used fabric paper as hair)

- Scissors

- Glue

- Needle (should you choose to make the hair out of yarn)

- Jute or yarn string

Here’s how: (I’ll use reference images from the internet since I didn’t take any while  I was fussing over mine)

Step 1: Fill the sock with poly-fil, put it all that you can. Stuff, stuff, stuff. 

Step 2: Now start cutting your accessories; eyes, nose, bridle, harness and hair out of felt/fabric paper. I kept the size of my bridle and harness 1” in width and measured the length according the horses head size.

Step 3: Glue the ears on the head, pinching them in first to make it look more real. You can also sew them in. 

Step 4: Glue the eyes and the nose in place. 

Step 5: wrap the bridle felt/fabric paper around the mouth and glue it in place. 

Step 6: Hair. There are different ways you can do this. If you are doing it with yarn, be ready for a tedious task. I found the easiest visual tutorial for you here. I just used 1/2" wide strips of fabric paper or felt and glued them on the top of the head, fanning them out.

Step 7: Add the harness connecting it to the bridle by merely gluing it together.

Step 8: Take the wooden dowel  or pipe (whichever your choice), make a ridge around it at about 1 foot.






































Step 9: Insert it into the sock opening, pushing it as far as the sock ankle. Now fill in the rest of the sock leaving about 2" at the end empty.



Step 10: Tie the end of the sock securely with a string of yarn exactly where the notch is.

And now giddy up!

Have fun with colours and techniques. Like this - 

or this -

or these -

Until next time. YEE HAW!

Make Gradation Push Pops yourself

I saw these superbly deliciously innovative push pops by Bake At 350 and I thought of sharing the secret to make these instantaneously with all of you.

I'll give you a quick rundown here for those of you who don't want to jump another page, for the rest, may the source be with you.

You will need:

• Large "button" sprinkles
• Sour spaghetti
• Ghiradelli square chocolates
• Mini Reese's peanut butter cups, not the super tiny ones
• Frosting for "glue"

You will do:
Add some frosting to the bottom of the peanut butter cup,

1. press on an upside-down chocolate square,
2. add a bit of frosting to the sprinkle and attach to the square,
3. use a toothpick to "draw" a line of frosting from the sprinkle,
4. press on a sour spaghetti strand (you may want to trim it),
5. place these in the refrigerator to set up while you assemble the pops.
6. Press the push-pop container down onto the cake to cut to size. Slide the cake into the container (I used another push-pop "plunger," trimmed of its raised edges to press the cake down). Use a paper towel to wipe away any crumbs before piping the frosting.
7. Pipe in some frosting. Keep adding layers until you reach the top. Add a graduation cap topper.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

1 & 1/2 sticks salted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup Crisco shortening
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 lb. box powdered sugar, sifted
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup milk

Beat together the butter, shortening, and peanut butter until combined, about 3 minutes. On low speed, add in the sifted powdered sugar in three additions, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Once the sugar has been added, increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat for 1 minute.

Add in the vanilla and the milk; beat until smooth.

How to make paper spheres

I was browsing through the net as usual and I came across this module of a paper sphere that has intrigued the creative minds of Karachi for quite some time. I couldn't believe my eyes...






WHUT! I CAN MAKE THESE MYSELF??!!


And so can you, thanks to Wanessa who tells us how:

Since I wanted to use bold and trendy colors, first I thought of making them with colored cardstock, but then realized that would be expensive. So here what I did…
First I attached wrapping paper to brown paper with spray adhesive. Then I traced the module pieces using a module template and cut them out. At first it seemed like a lot of work but I can tell you it was worth it!

I bought the roll of brown paper at Walmart for $6.50 and the wrapping paper for $5.00. With the length of the wrapping paper I could trace up to 100 modules!
But here is what I figured out. This method just works for the round shapes, to make the oval, diamond, and the other shapes you will need the module to be colored on both sides, so you might want to try cardstock.

Materials:
Brown paper
Colored wrapping paper (about 8 feet)
Spray adhesive
Scissors
Damp cloth

*If you don’t want to do this process, just use colored cardstock

Instructions:
Lay down the brown paper and spray the adhesive covering about 12″ (it is better to do this little by little)
Lay the back of the wrapping paper on the brown paper over the spray adhesive, and rub the surface using a damp cloth to attach (using a damp cloth will avoid scratching the paper)
Spray more adhesive and continue the process of adhering the wrapping paper to the brown craft paper
Once both papers are attached, trace out 30 modules and cut them out. Download the module template here.

As you start putting the pieces together, you will make something looking like a flower at the bottom, using 5 module pieces to start. Here you can see the beginning of the process of putting them together.

Here's the middle process

Here's the end

 To hang the sphere I cut out some circles (cereal box cardboard) using a scrapbook punch, made a hole in the middle of the circle and the module using a needle, passed through the holes a fish line (made a triple knot an burned the end).

These are the different shapes you can make using the same module.

Using different materials will render different effects, for example if you use vellum and put light in it becomes a light fixture!

I honestly feel like Sherlock Holmes right now, mystery solved!

Be A Host The Most...

.... leave the rest to me!

But I understand, sometimes you want to it all by yourself. In which keep in mind:

Plenty of food +Plenty of favours = Plenty of fun tells us Gina

1) Plan Early 

So many of us pile 200 things on our daily to-do list that we are still working on tasks from 2010. Work through what could be an otherwise very stressful situation by sitting down in a calm and quiet place (away from the kids, of course!) and figuring out what needs to be done and when. Things you will want to tackle first include: choosing colors and a theme for the event, putting together a guest list (try to keep it small and intimate-the more folks that attend your event, the more work you will have keeping everything in order), deciding on decorations, creating a menu, and sending out invitations. If your party is going to be somewhere other than your house, venue selection is something else you want to take care of sooner than later.

By planning ahead you will allow yourself plenty of time to handle unforeseen situations and get some of the work out of the way long before the event is scheduled to take place. By doing as much pre-party work as possible, you are making it possible to relax and enjoy interacting with your guests the day of the event.

2) Be Present

Sounds easy, right? Well it is harder than it may seem. I cannot tell you how many times I have attended parties for my son’s friends where the hostess of the party did not make more than a five minute appearance throughout the entire party. This is especially a problem for moms hosting a party for smaller children (say under 7).

Everyone knows that a child’s party is just as much for the parents as it is for the children. Adults want to have a good time too! So being present requires party hostesses to have things prepared ahead of time so when it comes party time, they are free to 1) Plan Early 

So many of us pile 200 things on our daily to-do list that we are still working on tasks from 2010. Work through what could be an otherwise very stressful situation by sitting down in a calm and quiet place (away from the kids, of course!) and figuring out what needs to be done and when. Things you will want to tackle first include: choosing colors and a theme for the event, putting together a guest list (try to keep it small and intimate-the more folks that attend your event, the more work you will have keeping everything in order), deciding on decorations, creating a menu, and sending out invitations. If your party is going to be somewhere other than your house, venue selection is something else you want to take care of sooner than later.

By planning ahead you will allow yourself plenty of time to handle unforeseen situations and get some of the work out of the way long before the event is scheduled to take place. By doing as much pre-party work as possible, you are making it possible to relax and enjoy interacting with your guests the day of the event.

3) Be Plentiful

Make sure you have more than enough food, drinks, favors, and games and activities scheduled for the party day. Shorting some children party favors or not having enough food is a recipe for disaster! If you are unsure, plan for extra attendees. My rule of thumb is: take the confirmed guest count and add enough for 5-10 more for everything. That means more favor bags, more soda, more snacks, more cake and more prizes. You may have to spend a little more but you can always give out extra and you can never compensate for not having enough. Besides, everyone loves party leftovers. Besides everyone loves party leftovers.

I will tell you this though, throwing a party is not easy on your own, help is definitely advised, especially from a professional, that way you don't need to worry about warm drinks and cold food, all you have to do is focus on smiling. 

Flowers, dried or fresh.

Small gatherings are so much fun to decorate! There is o much that can be done. The possibilities are numerous. For instance the following that I found at Weddingbee

This bride went all the way for her wedding and played with the concpet of dried flowers and the final product is fabulous! See for yourself.

V-Day Printables.

The cynic in me always says love is just another four letter word, but the idealist in me always shuts the bastard up with heavy amounts of chocolate. And while the fool is still gorging on some, let me quickly slip in a few adorable Valentine's Day printable that I found here and there for the forgetful/less creative/busy/lets-just-get-it-over-with ones amongst us!

The site to download this from.

The site to download this from.

 

The site to download this from.

The site for this download.

Some of these are mighty adorable. Now all you need is a printable. oh, and someone to give them cuties too <3

Have a great day!

Paper Sparklers!

A very happy new year to all my avid readers/followers. I hope you had a dandy celebration on nye. I did! 
Although, frankly speaking there is not much that can be done here, what with the abandoned trucks menacingly blocking roads, and rightly so, people here don;t know what control is. 


Anyway, enough of that, off to the fun part I go. I know I should have put this earlier so you people could use them on new years eve, but my busy schedule prevented any such post. however, it's never too late, right?


:)


Today we will learn how to make paper sparklers that are children-safe and a lot of fun for them!


You will need:

• Festive straw 

• Wooden skewers

• Vellum Paper in red, white and blue colors (we don't get any here so I used those L files instead)

• Scotch tape

• Scissors

Cut a piece of paper about 4 inches by 3 inches. Make very small fringe cuts almost all the way through as shown above, leaving about 1/2 at the top uncut.

Starting at one end of the uncut section, carefully roll the paper up as tight as possible (you'll want that end to fit into the end of a straw so make sure it's a  super tight roll!)

Stick it into the end of the straw. In all three I made with the dimensions I gave it fit perfectly, nice and tightly into the straw but you may need to snip off an inch or so at the end of your roll to make it work. You shouldn't need any tape but you can always add a small piece around the top where it meets the straw for added sturdiness.

Festive straws look great but they aren't very sturdy. Here we cut down a skewer to about the same size (just not larger) of the straw and inserted it into the middle of the straw to add structure to the inside. Use a small piece of tape at the end to keep it inside.

Bend the paper a little bit to give the sparklers a little poofing up

Enjoy a safe New Yea...umm...ENJOY! :D

(source)

Tis the season.

Jingle bells, jingle bells - ho, ho, ho!


Yeap, it's that time of the year when kids at the signal have started selling Santa hats, when the Emporium Mall has put an inflated Santa at their entrance, when Agha's and such have started selling christmas tree decor. There is no snow, no sleigh, no SALE and possibly no gifts, but just a reason to celebrate.


And in this spirit why get left behind.


Here are few fun decorations you can make, of course you can buy the ones in the stores but where is the fun in that, pssh.

Christmas ornament you can make with colored papers or magazine pages. 


ONE:
 The instructions:

1. Cut out 10 paper circles (any size, as long as they're all the same). Text weight paper will be easier to work with than cardstock.
2. Cut each circle along the radius.
3. Put a small piece of double-stick tape on each side of the cut near the edge of the paper.
4. Flip the circle over so the taped side is down; then pull each flap across the circle toward you and twist to form a cone. Press the taped ends down to secure. You should end up with two cones that look vaguely like a fortune cookie. Do this to each of your 10 circles.

5. String the double cones together with a needle and thread. Make sure they're gathered snugly in a ball and tie a knot. Use the trailing ends of the thread to make a loop for hanging.
Here's one made from magazine pages. If you like recycled crafts, give it a whirl.

TWO:

You'll need: 

Paper, scissors, a circular object for a template, a ruler, pencil, needle, thread, rubber band, and glue.

Instructions:

1. Cut out ten paper circles, using a jar lid or CD for a template. (My circles are 5" in diameter. I stacked sheets of computer paper and cut out several circles at once.)



2. In each circle, cut eight evenly spaced slits toward the middle, stopping about a half inch from the center point.

3. With a pointed pen or sharp pencil, curl each tab into a cone and secure with a dot of glue. If you can pull off a tightly rolled perfect point, congratulations. I was running a little low on patience and settled for "sort of pointy," which I think also looks nice.

4. Cut two small pieces from a wide rubber band. These will hold the ornament together at each end.

5. Thread a needle and knot the ends of the thread together. String on one of the rubber band pieces.

6. Push the needle through the centers of five stars with their flat sides face down. Turn over the remaining five stars so their flat sides are facing up and thread them on, followed by the second rubber band piece.5. Thread a needle and knot the ends of the thread together. String on one of the rubber band pieces.

7. With a chopstick or pencil, push down on the rubber band to compress the stars into a ball while pulling upward on the string with your other hand. The rubber should hold the stack together without requiring a knot. Adjust the paper cones as needed to make a pleasing shape.

8. Tie a loop in the thread for hanging if desired.

THREE:


Instructions:

1. Cut the paper into strips that are 3.5" long and 0.5" wide. (This makes a small ornament about 3" in diameter.) Cut 9 strips of each color. Cut two 0.75" circles. Tracing around a penny works nicely.


2. Fold the paper strips in half. A crisp fold isn't needed; just a light crease will do.

3. String a bead onto a length of thread. Then push both ends of thread through the needle so the thread is doubled.

4. Poke the needle through one of the circles to string it next to the bead. Then string on all the paper strips near one end, alternating colors. 

5. After all the paper strips are added, begin threading the opposite ends onto the string. To do this, start with the strip you put on first (the one next to the paper circle). Take its loose end and push the needle through it. Continue threading on the paper strips in order. They'll naturally begin to fan out as you go.

6. Add the second paper circle.



7. Pull the needle off the thread. Feed the bead onto one of the loose ends of thread, then tie both ends of thread in a knot to hold the bead on next to the circle. If your ornament hangs a little crooked, thread the needle again and push both ends of thread up through the underside of the bead and out through the top so both ends of thread emerge. Tie off a loop and hang that spaceship.

 


Play with the colours, be creative!