Re-post: Easter Egg Fireflies

This is the cutest thing ever. I had to share. I have an entire bag of these plastic eggs leftover from Easter. What a great summer craft for summer outdoor parties.
Cottage, Camping, Canada Day...

Image source: http://www.ohdeedoh.com

 Image source: http://www.ohdeedoh.com

Put them in the garden, and turn them on at night to suprise the kids.Yellow ones can be bumble bees, pink ones can be lady bugs, blue or green for dragonflies. You could make a whole slew of different kinds of bugs, as well as the standard lightning bugs.

Materials:

• plastic easter eggs (the ones that open)
• stickers or googly eyes
• pipe cleaners
• duct tape (for wings)

For detailed instructions, click here

Re-post: Balloon Garland

 Image source: http://blogs.babycenter.com/life_and_home/balloon-garlands-so-easy-its-crazy/

I love this super easy and fun balloon garland. Another great example of how a simple inexpensive item can be transformed into something fantastic. And this project is super easy. All you need are balloons and ribbon.
Check out the instructions here

Green Parties & Weddings

Image source: http://www.greenlivingonline.com

Here's a great source for tips to green up your next party or weddding: Green Living Online
Sign up for newsletters sent to your email inbox for great tips.

Some great suggestions to help make events more ecofriendly:

• use biodegradable plates and utensils (usually made from corn)
• look for 100% recycled paper products and make sure to recycle/compost them
• green up your lootbags/guest favours-use a re-usable, biodegradable bag or container

The site also lists suggestions for loot bag filler such as organic lollipops or candy, smencils (smelly pencil crayons made from recycled newspaper), small toys from Plan Toys. For the container itself, here are some ideas I like-a cloth lunch bag, a pencil case, a sand bucket, a photo box/keepsake box. Try to find something that can be re-purposed.

I find ecofriendly toys to be a bit expensive, so pick one or two really great items.

For weddings: there are tips on every category from the ring to the honeymoon. You can find the wedding article here 
My suggestions:

• serve organic, free range or local menu items
• use items for centerpieces that can be re-used or re purposed
• use flowers that are in season
• buy a second hand dress, one from a charity shop or at least re-sell yours when you are done
• consider renting dresses (brides or bridesmaids)
• look for guest favours that are practical, organic or donate to a charity in your guest's name
• consider paring down your guest list-reduce your carbon footprint and save money at the same time

Hope you find these tips helpful, check out Green Living for more great suggestions.

Re-Post: Cake Pops

Just the other day I was eying some cake pops in the display case at Starbucks wondering how difficult/easy they are to make. Then I came across this tutorial

Image source: http://aubreyandlindsay.blogspot.com/

 

TimBits! Of course- the perfect size. You can buy the sticks and sprinkles at Bulk Barn. TimBits aren't too pricey, you can get 20 for $1.99 and if it saves loads of time and stress, then it's worth it to me. I am thinking about dipping the donuts in melted white and dark chocolate rather the icing-I don't want them to be super sweet.  I like them as an alternative to cupcakes at birthday parties. If I use timbits, I can offer flavour choices-plain, sour cream, chocolate, etc. I'll have to try it out and see how they go.

http://aubreyandlindsay.blogspot.com/2011/05/5-minute-cake-pop.html

Re-post: No Sew Felt Bunting

I mentioned recently that I was thinking about making felt bunting banners that could be re-used again and again.  This morning I came across a great tutorial from Style at Home, you can find it here

The instructions look really easy- I am thinking about upgrading the twine to some thin satin ribbon and maybe adding some decorative stitching.

Update

Starting today, I will be taking two courses online-Tools & Fundamentals of Advertising and Creating Executing Dynamic Advertising Programs. These two courses make up a certificate in Adversting. Should be interesting. My long term goals are to achieve additional certificates in Public Relations, Marketing, and Project Management. I would love to achieve PMP certification, but that is a very long term goal. I'll take it one certificate at a time, and see where that takes me. 

Hopefully I'll be able to juggle everything and continue to write a least one post per week. 

Re-post:Tissue Paper Pom-Pom Tutorial

 Image source: http://www.chatelaine.com

I love pom-poms. They're easy to make, cheap and look fantastic. Here's a great tutorial from Chatelaine. Here-the main purpose is a present topper-I love this idea, but the photoshoot also demonstrates them as a hanging ornament.

 

 Image source: http://www.chatelaine.com

Great way to dress up a room or backyard for a party, or even all the time. I see lots of photos with pom-poms in baby and children's rooms.
I picture them hanging from trees during a backyard event-a wedding, a shower, anniversary or birthday.Tissue paper is available in so many colours and patterns now, it's so easy to co-ordinate colours to match any event or room. Small price tag, big impact.

Growing Reptile Egg

This post is a bit silly, but kind of fun. I had an extra "growing reptile egg" leftover from some lootbags, and I thought it might be fun to take pictures of the process. The instructions are to put the egg in a container of water- the reptile will slowly hatch out of the egg, to fully emerge in about 48 hours.

Day 1: 1 pm

Day 1: 10 pm. Starting to crack a bit.

Day 2: 10 am

Day 2: 10 pm

Day 3: 10 am

Day 3: 9 pm I removed the shell at this point.

Day 4: 9 am.  Fully grown.

The package says you can move the reptile to a bigger container, and it will grow to fit the size. I tried this, but saw no difference in size. The alligator ended up palm sized, about 3 inches in length. I did find it was slimy, I washed it off. The whole process is actually quite fun (for me anyway), not bad for a $1.25 toy.

Re-post: Paperbag Butterfly Wreath

 

Image source:  http://www.bumpsmitten.com/2011/04/diy-tutorial-butterfly-wreath.html

Isn't this wreath fantastic? It's made from brown paper bags, old book pages and coloured paper. I love it .I love the upcycling of paper bags and old books. For extra credit, select literary quotes and cut the butterfly shapes around the words,so you'll still be able to read them.

For instructions on how to make this wreath, check out the tutorial on Bump Smitten here

I just discovered Bump Smitten-a site dedicated to baby showers. But even if you are not planning a baby shower, there are tons of ideas you can use for any other kind of party. For example-an old fashioned ice cream social. Great theme for birthdays, wedding showers, baby showers, family get togethers, etc.
I'll be adding this site to my list of must read blogs.