A Sweet Celebration - 1st Birthday Party

My niece's first birthday was a sweet celebration indeed. With a candy theme and a baby with those cheeks, how could it not be!

My SIL and I had a blast DIYing this party, from the pom poms hanging from the ceiling to the amazing party hats that she created.

We made custom printables to adorn the delicious desserts that the party's theme was centered around.

And aren't these hats amazing? They were created using scrapbook paper, cardboard cutouts sprayed with Krylon's glitter spray paint and tissue paper.

And of course the birthday girl had her very own blinged out version!

She rocked it, no?

You might remember this highchair transformation that I blogged about here, 'A Truly High Chair'. It remains one of my most favorite things I've transformed.

The first time I ever did a photo booth was for my son's first birthday, 'A Carnival 1st Birthday', and I don't think our family could ever have a party without one now.

And by family, I mean the dogs, too.

I hope this has inspired you in some way for your next party. If so, please take a moment and leave me a comment. They are always greatly appreciated!

Happy Monday,

#Winning! Wednesday - Another Fun Freebie

It's #Winning! Wednesday. Do you know what that means? It means I have a freebie to share with you. This one is courtesy of the folks at My Memories and I think this is one of the things that makes them so awesome - You don't even have to have the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software to use it! It's just free. Who even does that?!

BUT, if you did have the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software you could make your own and much, much more. See I told you guys this wasn't just scrapbooking software. And each free download below contains not only the ready to print and assemble bag but also all of the papers and elements that went into making these printable gift bags. The printable creations that can be made from these pieces are limitless!! So, if you're ready to take the plunge (and I mean for less than $30 bucks, why not?) you can do so by clicking the banner below. Be sure to use the code: STMMMS78265 for $10 off.




Use Code: STMMMS78265

The Mad Hatter's Hat Cake I made for the birthday girl

Ok! On to the free stuff!

Since I hosted my giveaway by introducing you all the awesome invitation making abilities (See Post Here) of the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software, I thought what better way to use this freebie than to create a gift bag for the birthday girl. I think it was the perfect way to package a gift for a Mad Tea Party and I love how it turned out!

Soooo do you want your own? Here ya go! Just click on the pic to download the bag of your choice - or download them both!

Just click, download, save, print, then assemble!

Just click, download, save, print, then assemble!

If you enjoyed these freebies leave me a comment letting me know and be sure to join me each #Winning! Wednesday for more. For even more freebies, like My Memories on Facebook for their Friday Freebies.

Hurry! Each freebie is only available for a limited time!

Modern Horror Movie Trivia ~ Day 28

1. In the beginning of Stephen Kings The Mist what is the painting a depiction of?

There are many paintings on the walls that are actually movie poster depictions, such the one to his far left for The Thing. It has been erroneously reported that this is the painting David is working on during opening credits, when in fact it is the image of the Gunslinger from Stephen King's Dark Tower series.

Stephen King draws inspiration from all avenues but he is well known for taking his own life events and incorporating them into a horrific story. The mist is based on an experience he had near his home when severe storm rolled through his home town, the next day while at the supermarket with his son he imagined a winged creature flying through the store.


2. In the 2001 horror movie Session 9 where does Simon say he lives?

Simon is the dark alter personality that patient Mary Hobbs other personalities are reticent to talk about. Mary has been undergoing therapy sessions at the asylum and most personalities share freely. By the end of the film, you hear Simon explain to the doctor that he resides in the weak and wounded.

The Danvers Insane Asylum, which is the setting for Session 9 is rumored to be the birthplace for the lobotomy and may have been the inspiration for Arkham Asylum from the Batman comic strips.


3. In the movie Hard Candy what is the drink that Hayley spikes for Jeff?

Central to her plan to make Jeff pay for his alleged pedophilia Hayley must drug him. She does so by explaining that she never drinks anything she did not pour herself and proceeds to make them both a screwdriver.

Unlike most movies today, Hard Candy only contains nine minutes of music in the entire film. The remainder of the background noise consists of heavy breathing and other ambient sounds.

4. In the first installation of the Saw movies what started the timer on the reverse bear trap that Amanda was wearing?

The jigsaw video left for Amanda left no doubt about the status of her head once the timer ran out. She is told where to find the key to stop the timer, what she is not told is that the timer is not activated until she stands from her chair to retrieve the key.

There is a video short referred to on the internet as Saw .5 that was used to pitch the idea to studios and actors. The original full-length film depicted David as the one in the reverse bear trap but in the end, it was this Saw movie short that became the official scene.



Source: http://www.squidoo.com/horrormovietrivia

Classic Horror Movie Trivia ~ Day 26

1. Village of the Damned is an adaptation of what famous novel?

Filmed in the UK in 1960 and is a horror film about mutant children based on the novel, The Midwich Cuckoos.

This film was originally planned as an American release but MGM decided the virgin birth spin was too inflammatory for American production. Of course, the movie was an instant hit with creepy children possessing mental abilities and a cold nature. Once the movie was printed and released for American audiences there was one notable difference from the UK print, the children's glowing eyes.


2. Night of the Living Dead was originally a black and white horror film created in the late 60's, how many times has the movie been colorized?

At three different occasions labs have created a colorized version of this classic zombie flick, 1986, 1987 and 2004 were the respective dates with a fourth revision planned for 2009 which will take the 2D movie colorize it and present it in 3D.

Surprisingly there was little criticism about this grisly movie after its release. The main problem critic Robert Ebert had was the theater policies of the time that allowed children as young as five or six to purchase a ticket. In an age where graphic video games, cartoons and television did not exist this must have been quite a shock for young children.


3. Upon what real life serial killer was the movie Psycho based on?

Ed Gein was a serial killer and grave robber from Wisconsin in the 1950's. He admitted to killing two women, whose heads were later found in his home. The most significant correlation between him and Norman Bates is probably the similarities in their mothers. Both are portrayed as teaching their sons that all women were prostitutes and immoral.

In the now famous shower scene from Psycho in which Norman takes his first victim, Marion Crane, chocolate was used to simulate blood. This was a common enough occurrence during the era of black and white horror films.


4. Was the Texas Chainsaw Massacre a real event?

No, despite the opening credits that state what you are about to see is true, the movie was a fiction based loosely on true-life serial killers Ed Gein and Elmer Wayne Henley.

The idea to be intentionally misleading at the outset of this film was to highlight the many lies being told by the federal government at the time. Hooper, one of the writers on the film felt that Vietnam, Watergate and the oil crisis were gross intentional misinformation presented by the government and his characters highlighted the fact that he felt man was the real monster.

These classic horror films have indeed stood the test of time. To this day, you can still feel the horror even though they lack the detail of today's Technicolor movies. That in and of itself is a testament to the fact that these are indeed great films that changed the horror genre forever.



Source: http://www.squidoo.com/horrormovietrivia

Based on True Events Horror Movie Trivia ~ Day 24

1. What real life water related drama did the filmmakers of Open Water, Chris Kentis and Laura Lau survive just three days after the DVD release of the movie?

Chris and Laura were in Thailand with their 7-year-old daughter when the devastating tsunami hit the island. Over 200,000 people perished in the storm but Chris, Laura and their daughter survived.

Interestingly enough this is one horror/thriller based on a true story that is close to the actual tale. Tom and Aileen Lonergan disappeared during a scuba diving expedition off the Great Barrier Reef and it was two days before the couple was noticed missing. Another little tidbit is the fact that filmmakers used real sharks as opposed to mechanical variations normally used in these types of films.


2. In the Serpent and the Rainbow, what is the name of the zombie-making drug?

The drug named in the film is tetrodotoxin, a drug that can make a living person appear dead. The way the movie depicts the administration of the drug, by blowing it into the victims face is more consistent with a mind-altering drug known as scopolamine.

Interestingly enough the author of the non-fiction book on which the film is based hated the movie. He commented at one time that he went to Borneo to escape the hysteria.


3. The Exorcism of Emily rose declares what specific time to be the devils hour? And why?

Three am is called the devils hour in an evil attempt to mock the Holy Trinity and in direct opposition to the time it is thought Jesus died on the cross, many scholars put it at three pm.

You might be surprised to find out that many of the unholy body contortions of Emily Rose were achieved by actress Jennifer Carpenter were done without visual effects. Her performance won her a Best Frightened Performance from MTV.


4. In Wolf Creek the psycho killer uses a little torture technique called "head on a stick" what event does he credit with the invention of the tactic?

After cutting Liz's fingers off her explains that during the Vietnam War, they figured out a way to extract information from captives while leaving them unable to run away. Head on a stick is a torture tactic that involves severing the spinal column.

This film is shot on location in southern Australia, an area known as arid and sunny. On the first day of shooting, it commenced raining forcing the directors to incorporate it into the movie. The interesting fact is this particular area had not received rainfall in over six years.


5. What did John Bell claim he offer Kate Batts in exchange for use of her land?

The deal they spat and shook upon included the use of the Bell's slave Samuel and a $100 loan. However, he neglects to tell the council that he charged her 20% interest, which was against the church usury law. Though he clearly broke, their law they determined is punishment was the loss of his good name, of course, Kate Batts had other plans.

This movie is inspired at least in part by the same Tennessee witch legends as the Blair witch project. Though there are many claims about this legend, such as documentation proving this was the first incidence of a human death from a spiritual entity, none of the claims can be substantiated.



Source: http://www.squidoo.com/horrormovietrivia

Star Wars Birthday Party

I really didn't intend to take so long to post this. Hopefully you're still interested. Maybe.

When I posted pictures of that epic failure of a cake last week my husband saw it on my blog and said it looked like a giant marshmallow. Hmmm. Instead of trying to turn it into Jabba the Hut (which I thought about) or tossing it into the pond (which I did) I should have just sprayed some yellow and brown food coloring on that bad boy, pretended it was always supposed to be an awesome roasted marshmallow cake and called it a day.

Luckily tragedy was avoided by creating a cake of epic proportions capable of distracting from questions like, 'what happened to that r2d2 cake you were going to make?'.

I found the greatest (and easiest) recipe for a chocolate cake. Ever. Which you can find right here. It's moist, super chocolately and absolutely ridiculous which I believe is inarguably the way to go with birthday cake. Plus, you need simple ingredients - everything is pictured above - and no one will know you used a mix. Trust me. And try not to eat the batter. It will be hard. Just keep telling yourself there are raw eggs in there. Maybe that'll work for you.

I also learned a really neat trick while baking this cake. I was using a 10" round, 3" deep cake pan which "requires" a heating core. I hate those things. Don't you? Anyway, I didn't want to use one. Partly because I'm stubborn and partly because I didn't want a gigantic hole in the center of my cake. I needed to put a larger dowel in the center of the cake to attach r2's head to, well I didn't actually get that far, but keep in mind this is all happening while I'm still delusional enough to think I can pull off this amazing cake. Anyway, the large hole down the center paired with that dowel down the center would've been a bit like toilet paper rolling around on a toilet paper holder. And no comments on how it actually turned out looking like a large roll of toilet paper either. I'm trying to tell you about a trick I learned.

Anyway, it turns out, all you have to do is insert one of those rose nails (the metal ones) in the bottom of your pan. It conducts the heat without leaving a gapping hole. How about that! I played it safe and baked the cake per the mix directions referring to the bunt pan cooking times then lowered my temp to 325° and finished baking in 5 - 10 min incriments. Checking it each time.

Find cool pics of Star Wars images and make up clever names for Star Wars inspired drinks. Create in photoshop making about 8" to 8.5" wide but be careful not to extend your images all the way to the top or bottom unless you've left a small border around it because it will get slightly cut off during printing. I did two labels per page. Have them printed on 12 point paper - glossy card stock. I had mine printed at Office Max for around $5. Remove soda labels and apply your labels with a spray adhesive. Anything else and they will fall off. Not cool.

Make your own invites. Find high res (by searching Google images) Star Wars backgrounds and add text. It's that simple. Remember, when having it printed make sure to size it like 4.75 x 6.75 or something like that so that none of your coolness gets cut off during printing. Save it as a .pdf and take it to your printers. Again, I used the 12 point or glossy card stock. Don't know how to prep for printing? Save it as a .jpeg image and let the folks at your printer's do the rest.

Make your own Thank You notes. They're cuter and more personal. Create a blank document in photoshop (or similar program). I wanted a 4 x 6 note so my measurements were something like 3.75 x 5.75. If you change the largest number and keep a check in the constraint proportions box, it will automatically change both number and that's the safest way to go. I added my photo on top of another red square so it would have a nice border and added text. I put his name in the bottom corner but left some space on the left for him to write his friend's name. If your child is like mine and doesn't like to write more than he has to but you're like me and you're bound and determined that he will, this is a good compromise. I didn't make him write an entire note but I did want him to write something. This way we were both happy. These I just took down to Wal-Mart and printed them myself from the self-serve printer. They were ready in 8 mins and cost me about two bucks.

We rented a waterslide so naturally I thought they should also have some pool noodles to beat each other silly with.

I made some "lightsaber" pool noodles using Chrome duct tape, black duct tape and red duct tape. An easy trick to cut duct tape into shapes, especially circles, is to put it on wax paper (the shiny side) and then make the cut. BUT make sure you put the tape on the wax paper and immediately make the cut otherwise the tape will be permanently stuck to the paper which completely defeats the purpose.

I cut pool noodles in half so one noodle equals two lightsabers. I wrapped the bottoms of the noodles in Chrome, cut black strips for the handle and cut circles for the button.

I can't lie and say I'm not disappointed that some of the things (ok, the cake!) didn't turn out exactly as I planned but something tells me that he couldn't possible have cared any less. And that's the point, really, isn't it.

It was a good party. Vader agrees.

Here are some free printables for you. If you want to use them, click on the pic to open it up then download. If you'd like more info on how I used them see my previous post, Confessions of a Chronic DIYer.

Enjoy & May the Force Be With You,



Linking up ......

Confessions of a Chronic DIYer

It's okay to ask for help.

It's okay to let someone else do it.

It's okay to buy it from someone instead of making it.

You can't do it all.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I try to take this advice. I really do. Sometimes. But, let's face it, most of the time I just completely ignore it. And the problem is I get rewarded often enough that it encourages me to keep doing it.

For example, I saw similar chocolate lollipops selling on Etsy for $25 per dozen. Twenty five dollars! That's like $2 each. Craziness. So I found some similar used molds on ebay and made my own. They were yummy, too. Success!

Then there's the printables...I've never done a printable. Ever. But I did figure out how to make banners with Photoshop a few years back when I saw what everyone who knew how to make them was going to charge me if I didn't. That all came flying back when I realized if I wanted a personalized Star Wars invite I was going to have to pay $14.00 for it....for a digital file. I just couldn't do it. Now I know the person on the other end of that $14 took the time to design it so I'm not saying it isn't worth it. But, still. I figured if I could make a banner, making a printable wouldn't be a big stretch. The guys at Office Max were quite helpful in this area, too.

And the drink labels....

The Food...

The boys' shirts...

And then there was the cake....

VIA

I wanted to make this cake. Now. I'm not crazy enough to think my cake would turn out this good. I mean, I'm not delusional. I know I'm not the Cake Boss. But I honestly believed I could make something that looked enough like R2D2 that my soon-to-be 8 year old would be impressed on his birthday.

I bought all this stuff. I fretted over the fondant because: a) I haven't worked with it enough, b) I had never put it on a cake this size before and c) that junk's expensive!

Things started out really well....

The one thing I didn't think through was the fact that I do not have one of those amazing machines that rolls out large sheets of fondant for you so I was forced to roll out a 30" diameter circle by hand. And it was when I picked up that giant fondant circle that I knew I was in trouble.

It weighed like a million pounds. I knew what would happen next and sure enough.....

Needless to say, I would've had to go with more of a Jaba the Hut look for this cake than R2D2 and we could spend the rest of the day talking about what I might've done wrong (namely, bit off more than I could chew) but, really, what good would that do?

I promptly threw this cake in the pond and signed myself up for the Fondant and Gum Paste class down at the Hobby Lobby.

The good news is, the party was a success even if the R2D2 cake wasn't. Star Wars Party post coming soon complete with recipes, free printables and lots of fun ideas for your little Jedi!