Cinderella Bridal Shower

 

 

My bestest friend from college, Julie is getting married! Whoo-hoo! I am so very excited for her, especially since I helped set her up with her fiancé, Wayne. Julie has loved Cinderella since she was a little girl and before she was even engaged (she might not have even had a boyfriend at the time....) but  I decided that when the day came for her to get married,I would throw her a beautiful Cinderella themed bridal shower.

 Cinderella's Glass Slippers (filled with Sixlets candy)

This tray of party favors and candy is one of my favorite things at the party. I just think the mice and treat bags turned out SO CUTE!

 

 

I am so happy with how everything turned out for this party. It was so cute and fun and exactly what I envisioned. My friends Adrienne and Amy helped me set up the party, and Adrienne helped with a lot of the party details too.

 

I'm waiting to get all my pictures back from Amy, who always takes great pictures of my parties. But I was so excited about this, that I couldn't wait to post SOMETHING! I'll do some follow up posts with all the décor, how-to's of how and what I did, recipes and everything else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clementines and a little celery stick make an adorable pumpkin! I think I would make these for a Halloween party too.

 

The food was beautiful and delicious! The main protein dish were Ham Cup Omelets, you can find the recipe here http://berriesofwisdom.blogspot.com/2015/04/mini-ham-cup-omelets.html. Stay tuned and I will post how-to's and recipes from this shower!

 

 

Interesting Facts about Uranus....In the Bathroom

Husband and I built our dream home last fall. We moved in mid-December, so we've now been in it almost 3 months!!! It was a crazy, fun, exciting, and sometimes stressful adventure! We also got rid of (most) all of our furniture and décor and started fresh in the new house. Also, fun, exciting, and sometimes stressful (i.e. expensive...). I will post most of the rooms we have done, but I am going to start here with the bathroom. And not even the master bath or anything, but our main level bathroom. I know, I'm weird.

The reason I'm posting this room first is because I think I am clever and funny (Ha ha.) I saw the sign below in a Jimmy Johns bathroom. I thought it was very funny. Because it talks about Uranus, the planet, and its in the bathroom. And even though it only ever mentions Uranus, the planet, I can't help but think of something else that sounds similar and is funny and immature bathroom humor....

My bathroom is decorated in yellow and gray chevron. I wanted the bathroom to be cute, fun, and done in bright colors since the tile, counters, and walls are very light and neutral.

The bathroom set is from Wal-mart. Seriously. I went to every nice home, linen, and décor store and looked online too and then stumbled upon this at good, ole Wal-mart. It was cheap too.  

All that was missing from my fun, bright bathroom was a cute sign with interesting facts about Uranus in coordinating colors.

Size 16x20

(Sorry some of these are not the best quality photos)

 I found Joyful Art Designs shop on Etsy and asked her if she could make the original sign from Jimmy Johns but cute for me. You can find her for yourself at:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/JoyfulArtDesigns.

She designed a digital print for me in a 16x20 size. I uploaded the digital copy she sent me to my local Costco and I had it printed on a nice canvas. It turned out way better than I ever thought it would. I have now discovered a great new way to create my own unique wall art. (I was originally going to get it printed on nice paper and get it framed, but I couldn't find a yellow 16x20 wall frame like my brain originally envisioned. )

I get a lot of compliments and chuckles for my Interesting Facts about Uranus wall sign. Its a great conversation starter during the parties we have too, so I wanted to share it. Have fun with this and learn something new about the seventh planet from the Sun.

Digital Art designed by: Olivia Snyder, Joyful Art Designs

 https://www.etsy.com/shop/JoyfulArtDesigns

https://www.facebook.com/JoyfulArtDesigns



Grandpa's 75th Surprise Rock n' Roll Birthday Party

Last year my Grandpa Paul turned 75 years old! My family and I decided to throw him a huge surprise party for the occasion. Not only was the party itself a surprise, but we also had all his out-of-state kids and most out-of-state grandkids fly in to surprise him just by being here for him! This was the first time in 20 years that all 7 of his kids were in the same place, at the same time together! It was so awesome and I'm so grateful to all those who helped make it possible.

Now since this party had a huge guest list we needed large space for it. Also, we had a large span of ages at this party-from babies an kids (all the great-grandkids had to be there), teenagers, young adults, and all the way up to 75 year old Grandpa! We had to have activities for everyone. We choice a fun bowling alley for this party, there was something there for everyone. They had a big private room that we decorated and had the surprise in. It was perfect for the surprising of Grandpa and for gifts and all the fun party action in. The little kids could go play all the arcade games when they got bored. The adults had plenty of pitchers of beer. We had the private room for two hours, then we all did a few games of bowling. Then after bowling, the adults went to the bar/lounge area of the bowling alley for some awesome birthday karaoke! It was perfect, something for every age and size!

DRESS UP TIME



This was a fun and easy party theme to dress up for! We just told everyone to dress like a rock star or to at least wear their favorite concert or band t-shirt. Even those people that normally would never dress up for a party got in the spirit. I picked up a Pink Floyd t-shirt for my Grandpa so he'd have something to wear when he got there too.



ROCK N' ROLL TABLE CENTERPEICES

I made different guitars with my Cricut paper cutter and glued them on sticks and put them in mason jars full of candy. I also made some 'Rock On' and  'Rock n Roll' signs to put on sticks in jars too.

 I put packs of Pop Rocks Candy all the tables too for décor and a yummy treat. Get it: Pop ROCKS (like rock n' roll....)

And Rock candy in mason jars also. Get it: ROCK candy.... I tried to tie the Rock n' Roll into my candy and treats where I could. I had glow stick necklaces all over the tables too for the kids (and most of the adults) to wear.

 CUPCAKES

These were delicious and adorable! I barely got a picture of them before we ate them all! I love my cake lady, she's amazing! She did Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd (Darkside of the Moon), guitars, and a record with the '75' in the middle on top of the cupcakes. They turned out great!

 My cakes are made by Sprinklebelle Cakes, she's in West Jordan, UT. Check out here webpage here: http://sprinklebellecakes.com/

And check out some of her other cakes she has made for my parties here:

Teddy Bear Picnic Cake

http://www.berriesofwisdom.blogspot.com/2014/09/teddy-bear-picnic.html

Very Hungry Caterpillar Cake

http://berriesofwisdom.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-very-hungry-caterpillar-party-food.html

Pink Lemonade Cake

http://berriesofwisdom.blogspot.com/2014/05/pink-lemonade-birthday-party.html

THE BIG SURPRISE!!

 Grandpa was VERY surprised when he walked in the room! My Aunt Desiree, his youngest daughter, told him she was taking him bowling for his birthday with free passes she got from work. It was a great story and worked out splendidly! However, I'm always a little worried when a big surprise on someone who is getting a little older is in involved...But my grandpa is awesome!

PHOTO BOOTH WALL (AND PHOTO PROPS)



It was very important to us to have a fun way to get lots of photos of everyone. Since so many people came in from out of town and this was also a huge family reunion because it'd been so long since we had all been together in the same place at the same time, we really wanted lots of pictures. I bought a big backdrop of a concert stage from Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Star-Backdrop-Banner-Background/dp/B004N4XZY2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424912858&sr=8-1&keywords=concert+photo+background. It was only $10 and everyone loved taking photos in front of it. I also had lots of props for the pictures too. I got rock n' roll sunglasses and blow-up instruments

and microphones. I brought tons of fun hats that I already had from my hat bin (yes, I have a huge bin full of just hats that I use all too often....) I'm so glad we had the photo wall set up because we now have great pictures of us forever.

 Grandpa and all 7 of his kids together

 Even my baby had her own rock n' roll style t-shirt

Grandpa and some of his Grandkids

We did a little 'Roast' of my Grandpa also where we got up and told funny stories of him. It was really fun and everyone's stories were so different. He opened presents then we headed out to the bowling lanes, and ended the night with some karaoke. It was a great night!

The day following the party my Aunt Desi's good friend who is a photographer came over and took some nice family photos of us. It really was a huge deal that we were all together. My grandpa has 7 kids, 5 of them in Utah, one in Washington and one in New Hampshire. The out-of-towners visit often, but never at the same time. So this was the first time in 20 years they were all together. It was so great to get together for the party and then again for some nice photos the next day without our blue wigs and band t-shirts.



These photos were done by Missy Allen and her husband http://www.photosbytheallens.com/ 

You can check out some of their other work here.

 

 

 

 

Removing Command Hooks (when the pull tab thing breaks!!)

I love Command hooks, they are very handy. However, after I put away my Christmas decorations last year and while I was taking my Command hooks off the wall, only 1 out of 4 of them came off properly. The tab/strip thing that you pull came off of 3 of them while I was pulling.

 

So, those 3 Command strips hung there for about 10 months until last month while cleaning and packing for a big move for our family, I decided they needed to come off. And they did. All I needed was:

 

 

 

*A Blow-dryer

and

*Dental Floss

 

 

 

Put the dental floss between the hook and wall, on top. Hold blow-dryer to it, you'll heat up the tab part. Slowly pull the floss down while blow drying. Then BAM!!! No more command hook stuck to the wall. Easy-peasy.

 

 

 

Halloween Water Bottle Pumpkin

 

I made these super cute Water Bottle Pumpkins for my daughter's dance class for a Halloween treat. I figured that they would already get enough sugar and sweets from everyone else, so why not some cute, flavored water.

Easy, cheap, and cute. All I needed was water bottles with the labels peeled off, a black sharpie, orange-colored drink mix singles packets, ribbon (I used green, like a green stem of a pumpkin) and a hole punch.

 

Now even though these were super easy, it was a little bit time-consuming to draw all the faces on the water bottles. I do have a little bit of OCD tendencies, so I had a hard time when the faces were crooked. Just give yourself a little bit of time, about an hour or so.

 

 

Punch a hole in the top of the drink mix packet, tie it around the top of the bottle with the ribbon, and hand out to the kiddos, or even adults, at any party or gathering.

 

 

 And after the drink mix is added to the water, you will have a very cute, orange pumpkin.

 

 

 

P.S. I made these little pumpkins for a Cinderella Bridal Shower http://berriesofwisdom.blogspot.com/2015/03/cinderella-bridal-shower.html, they were so cute and fun! I will make them again for a Halloween party so I wanted to post them here too.

Peeled clementines and a little celery stick. So easy and so cute! They were a big hit.

 

 

 

 

 

Elf on the Shelf brings Gifts, Treats, and Fun

We had fun with our Elf on the Shelf last Christmas season. And sometimes (not everyday! don't worry) our Elf liked to bring a fun gift, toy, treat, etc. The gifts usually provided a fun winter activity for me and my daughter and also made very useful props for the Elf. (Sorry about my poor quality of photos)

The following are Elf on the Shelf ideas involving gifts, toys, and treats the Elf brings along. An Elf on the Shelf  'shopping list' is also listed along with the photos.

For some fun and creative Elf on the Shelf ideas that just use things that you have laying around the house, follow this link: http://berriesofwisdom.blogspot.com/2014/09/elf-on-shelf.html

And for some quick and easy last minute Elf on the Shelf ideas, follow this link: http://berriesofwisdom.blogspot.com/2014/09/quick-and-easy-elf-on-shelf.html

To Buy: A bag of Christmas M&Ms

Naughty little Elf getting into the bag of M&Ms. The hardest part of all this was my kids wanting to snack on the candy all day, but didn't want to touch the Elf.

 NAUGHTY ELF IN CANDY BAG

 

 

To Buy: A Christmas paint box and book to color.

(Or a box and crayons and coloring book would work too)

The next few days my daughter had fun painting lots of winter schemes in her new book. 

 ARTISTIC ELF, THE PAINTER

 

 

To Buy: A new Christmas storybook

(or you could get some books from the library, with a note to return them for him when you're done enjoying the stories)

My daughter loved her new book, I think we read it every night before bed or nap up until Christmas!

 READING ELF

 

 

To Buy: Christmas Sticker

This naughty Elf got stickers all over himself! My daughter loves stickers. This sticker book was a lot of fun for months to follow (it had over 600 stickers!) and provided many quiet moments in the car and at church.

 STICKY ELF

 

 

To Buy: An advent calendar. Actually 2 advent calendars.

One calendar for the Elf, he opens all the windows and eats all the chocolate. A second advent calendar for my daughter for the remainder of the season. And this elf idea was used on the first of December.

ELF EATS CHOCOLATE FOR DAYS

 

To Buy: Kiddie safety scissors

The Elf made snowflakes and was holding the new safety scissors. The next day my daughter and I made her first paper snowflakes, it was a fun winter activity. Also, my daughter uses the scissors weekly and is working on her fine-motor skills.

 CRAFTY ELF-MAKING SNOWFLAKES

 

 

To Buy: Candy Canes

The Elf left a note to find the hidden candy canes. There were candy canes hidden all over the house; taped near the stockings, in the doorways, on the fridge, in the blinds, etc. It was so fun for my daughter to find the candy canes throughout the day (and even some the following days too)