Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Alice in Wonderland - Part 2


Ever feel like you have fallen down the rabbit hole?  I do... at least once a day! 
When doing the Alice themed birthday party I was channeling my inner Disney.  You see, I am a Disneyland freak. It's bad. 
My poor children have Disney themed parties whether they like it or not!  Luckily they like it!
More with the party details. 

The entry.
I made a Cheshire Cat poster at my local Costco (it is very inexpensive) and cut him out.  I wanted him to look like he was in the tree.  You know- when he says we are all just a little mad.  I went out in my yard and cut a long thin branch off a tree and used dollar store fake leaves.   I stuck that on the front door and put the Cheshire Cat on the door like he was sitting in a tree. 


I used a crazy stick to make the signage and printed "this way" "that way" "yonder" "up" "down" and placed them crooked and confusing like. 



Next I made the card men.  They were very simple.  I went to the local dollar store and picked up several red and white poster boards.  I made the faces, hands and pieces out of red poster board and peach colored cardstock.  I went to home depot and bought a bag of quick curing concrete.  I also picked up some sprinkler pipe (also known as pvc pipe)  I mixed up concrete and poured it in cheap black plastic bowls from Wally world.  I put the desired length of pipe in the concrete and waited for it to harden enough that I could let go.  Not too long, I promise.  Once this was complete I taped the card men to the pipe and voila!  The queens men!
I got a whole bunch of stems of red and white roses from the good ol' dollar store and placed them in topiaries I already had.  This is the queens men painting the roses red.
We played crouqet made from one of those tacky...er...sweet yard art flamingos and a toilet plunger...yep-thats right, I said a plunger- it was new, I promise!  I bought pink wiffle balls so my house wasn't ruined. 

Next came the table.  Now this may sound crazy but I wanted to feel like I was riding the tea cup ride at Disneyland.  I got lucky and found 4 buckets at IKEA that had hearts and diamonds on them and matched my theme perfectly-and they were on clearance.  Even better.  I used the same concrete and pvc and made a canopy.  I will do a detailed post soon that explains what parts to buy from the home improvement store and ways you can use a canopy.
I got a few wysteria vines from Michaels, some boxwood vines from a local craft store that is no longer in business and some dollar store vines.  I also got paper lanterns from zurchers here.  I used fishing line (monofilament) and floral wire and tape to attach everything. 
I purchased a wh.ite tablecloth which I got here for a great price on ebay along with a few miniature tea sets (here).  Both of these items are still available on ebay.  Ebay is a great party resource if you're looking for something specific.  I went to our local thrift store and bought all the tea cups and tea pots I could find and painted them in bright colors.  They are no longer food safe once they have been painted so...don't poison your guests!

I had Alice come visit and take photos with each girl.  She is AMAZING!  She is available in Utah and a few other states and is worth every penny.  Her prices are very reasonable and she is seriously fantastic. 
The kids ate circle shaped tea sandwiches and fruit kabobs.  I cut the strawberries to look like hearts and put them on a plastic kabob stick with the other fruit.  I made my famous hot cocoa (which is really just the recipe on the Hershey's cocoa) and the girls loved it. 
Each girl left with a goody bag filled with a blue squeezit with a special tag, a heart brownie- again with a special tag, bubbles, a heart bracelet, a diamond ring, and sweetarts.  I will show you how I blinged up the treats and put it all together in my next post. 
I had a blast doing this party.  I think it was my most favorite theme because of the wacky decor, colors and all the fun projects.  











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Monday, January 23, 2012

Fall down the rabbit hole into Wonderland...


               This party was set to the scene of Alice in Wonderland. As the party guests arrive out of the rabbit hole (aka; the front door).. they are greeted by the card guys! (Tutorial post coming by Dawn, watch for it). How fascinating to be welcomed by such a scene. I'm sure all the little party guests were giddy with excitement! It's one thing for a little girl or boy to receive a fun party invitation, but to arrive at the party and feel like your part of the theme, is beyond thrilling! 

The troop of heart card men to greet the party guests! 
The sign to help them choose the way ... that way , yonder or down... Oh BOY! 
In Wonderland, the girls were invited to Alice's Tea Party, set up like Wonderlands tea party! Dawn created a trellis over the table with Lanterns hanging down.. This is phenomenal and fun! What a hit! (again, watch for a follow up post written by Dawn with more of the details to this post!)
The table is set with real tea sets, and gold chargers with china placed atop of it! 
Up close picture of the tablescape. Great job was taken to get as close to Alice's table as possible!

Dawn will do a follow up post with more fun details of the party events, food, and favors she incorporated into this divine Alice and Wonderland theme party!





Take a dive under the Sea


      I thought a few of our first posts would be to spotlight some of the previous parties we have done. My amazingly divine friend (and co-blogger/creator) Dawn, helped her sister in lawn create an Under the sea adventure for some cute little girls!

Upon entering the party, The girls arrived through the front door where they had to prepare to go through the handmade balloon arch. They were dazzled to see the sea horses and fish hanging from the ceiling and swimming above their heads as they walked through the arch! 

The picture is shot looking through the arch at the front door! (If we receive enough demand, we will have Dawn write a tutorial for the Balloon Arch)

 The table is set for the Mermaids with Gold chargers and real plates! These little swimmers get the best! A teal blue table cloth is placed down on the table with a fish net in the center extending to the tops of the Plates. On top of that is real sand, and sand castles! Of course there are shells and starfish that washed up around the castle...These little gals really felt like they were eating under the sea with this scene. Fish were swimming above them! Fantastic idea Dawn!
What would an Under the sea Little Mermaid Party be without Ariel there? A great backdrop was set with an oceanic scene setter on the wall with a stool for Ariel to sit on draped with a fish net. Faux rocks and "under the sea type" plants and fake crabs were placed on the ocean floor. These little mermaids were ecstatic to sit on Ariels lap for a photo op! 
Party favors were made in Sand buckets with a shovel attached filled with all sorts of fun goodies and treats. You could put whatever your heart desires in them! Wrapped with cellophane and tied with  a big teal blue bow! After all, you don't want your party guests breaking into the goodies until they get home! 
A great tie up to go with the party theme! 
Great Job Dawn and (Dawns Sis-in-law)!


Sunday, January 22, 2012

Let me introduce us....

      
        Crafty and We Know It has launched! We are so excited to be a part of blogger world, blogger land, mom bloggers and all of the other bloggerism's out there. Families and husbands consume our lives, but we both have inspiration, creativity, passion and Love for what we do! 
         It may be cooking, baking, repurposing, paper crafting, 3d crafting, sewing,  parties (Oh boy, we lOVE to create and throw parties!)... So many things inspire us to be who we are, loving what we do. Fun things we come up with ... but whatever it is, we want to share with you all! 
Dawn and I are friends, but best of all neighbors, who share the same passion! We are excited to take off on this adventure together. Inspire, create, craft, bake, sew, and the list goes on.. Dawn is amazing at everything she does! I have never met anyone like Dawn! She has divine ideas! Her talent is incredible! I feel so LUCKY to have an amazing friend and partner in creativity! I have always been the crafter/creator that gets inspired to create something amazing, then blank out! I have had enough! I have oodles of craft supplies and fabric.. Just ask my Mr. Wonderful! He will tell ya.. So enough of this! I have an amazing partner that is going to team up with me to do DIVINELY AMAZING creations! (eek.. i hope she knows what she is in for... LOTS AND LOTS OF FUN! ;) 
Bear with us as we are new to this, I'm sure we will get better the more we post.. Hopefully our OCD'ness doesn't show to much in our blog... but that's not always a bad thing. right? 

Dawn 
Jan 

Please choose to be a follower! Email us at craftyandweknowit@gmail.com if you have any questions, ideas, want to be guest blogger or anything else that inspires you! We would love to hear from you!