It's an Art Party!!

My niece Sofia loves art and decided, very fittingly, that she wanted an Art Party for her 8th Birthday.  Since my sister in law is expecting baby No. 3 and little Gracie's been kicking her butt (24/7 morning sickness, anyone??) I said I'd help as much as possible.  Of course, I resorted to Pinterest for ideas and gave them my own twist.  To keep cost low I used things I already had, made many of the decorations myself and simplified the menu (no kid needs 50 different food choices for a 3 hour party!).

For the mantle I made some simple Pennant Flags with cardstock and spelled "PAINT" with Vintage Sign Letters I already owned.

With the leftover triangles from the flags (I hate throwing stuff away), I made "Sofia's Art Studio" Color Wheel for the front door.

I thought it would be cute for her to have a Guestbook so I quickly painted a rainbow on one of the canvas panels I made for the kids to paint (more on those in a bit), and laid out a few markers.  Instant Guestbook!

For the table, I purchased some White Kraft Paper (some Arts & Crafts stores will sell this by the yard) and a couple rolls of Gift Wrap that went with the theme.  I covered the table in white and created a table runner with the decorative paper.  I also covered a cardboard box with the same paper to create different levels.  I got the cups, plates, and napkins from Amazon and the "Add-On" feature made them crazy cheap!

The backdrop was made with twisted crepe paper in rainbow colors.  Just make sure you twist the same number of times every time to achieve an even effect.  Yeah, I'm a little anal like that...I also like to count how many times I pump each balloon so they are all roughly the same size!!

As far as food goes we also kept it fairly simple.   Rainbow fruit and veggie platter, jello in assorted flavors arranged on the table, popcorn, and chips with guacamole and salsa. Oh, and the super cute (and yummy) pretzel sticks dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles.

For the table, I purchased some White Kraft Paper (some Arts & Crafts stores will sell this by the yard) and a couple rolls of Gift Wrap that went with the theme.  I covered the table in white and created a table runner with the decorative paper.  I also covered a cardboard box with the same paper to create different levels.  I got the cups, plates, and napkins from Amazon and the "Add-On" feature made them crazy cheap!

The backdrop was made with twisted crepe paper in rainbow colors.  Just make sure you twist the same number of times every time to achieve an even effect.  Yeah, I'm a little anal like that...I also like to count how many times I pump each balloon so they are all roughly the same size!!

As far as food goes we also kept it fairly simple.   Rainbow fruit and veggie platter, jello in assorted flavors arranged on the table, popcorn, and chips with guacamole and salsa. Oh, and the super cute (and yummy) pretzel sticks dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles.

For the table, I purchased some White Kraft Paper (some Arts & Crafts stores will sell this by the yard) and a couple rolls of Gift Wrap that went with the theme.  I covered the table in white and created a table runner with the decorative paper.  I also covered a cardboard box with the same paper to create different levels.  I got the cups, plates, and napkins from Amazon and the "Add-On" feature made them crazy cheap!

The backdrop was made with twisted crepe paper in rainbow colors.  Just make sure you twist the same number of times every time to achieve an even effect.  Yeah, I'm a little anal like that...I also like to count how many times I pump each balloon so they are all roughly the same size!!

As far as food goes we also kept it fairly simple.   Rainbow fruit and veggie platter, jello in assorted flavors arranged on the table, popcorn, and chips with guacamole and salsa. Oh, and the super cute (and yummy) pretzel sticks dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles.

For the table, I purchased some White Kraft Paper (some Arts & Crafts stores will sell this by the yard) and a couple rolls of Gift Wrap that went with the theme.  I covered the table in white and created a table runner with the decorative paper.  I also covered a cardboard box with the same paper to create different levels.  I got the cups, plates, and napkins from Amazon and the "Add-On" feature made them crazy cheap!

The backdrop was made with twisted crepe paper in rainbow colors.  Just make sure you twist the same number of times every time to achieve an even effect.  Yeah, I'm a little anal like that...I also like to count how many times I pump each balloon so they are all roughly the same size!!

As far as food goes we also kept it fairly simple.   Rainbow fruit and veggie platter, jello in assorted flavors arranged on the table, popcorn, and chips with guacamole and salsa. Oh, and the super cute (and yummy) pretzel sticks dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles.

For the table, I purchased some White Kraft Paper (some Arts & Crafts stores will sell this by the yard) and a couple rolls of Gift Wrap that went with the theme.  I covered the table in white and created a table runner with the decorative paper.  I also covered a cardboard box with the same paper to create different levels.  I got the cups, plates, and napkins from Amazon and the "Add-On" feature made them crazy cheap!

The backdrop was made with twisted crepe paper in rainbow colors.  Just make sure you twist the same number of times every time to achieve an even effect.  Yeah, I'm a little anal like that...I also like to count how many times I pump each balloon so they are all roughly the same size!!

As far as food goes we also kept it fairly simple.   Rainbow fruit and veggie platter, jello in assorted flavors arranged on the table, popcorn, and chips with guacamole and salsa. Oh, and the super cute (and yummy) pretzel sticks dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles.

For the table, I purchased some White Kraft Paper (some Arts & Crafts stores will sell this by the yard) and a couple rolls of Gift Wrap that went with the theme.  I covered the table in white and created a table runner with the decorative paper.  I also covered a cardboard box with the same paper to create different levels.  I got the cups, plates, and napkins from Amazon and the "Add-On" feature made them crazy cheap!

The backdrop was made with twisted crepe paper in rainbow colors.  Just make sure you twist the same number of times every time to achieve an even effect.  Yeah, I'm a little anal like that...I also like to count how many times I pump each balloon so they are all roughly the same size!!

As far as food goes we also kept it fairly simple.   Rainbow fruit and veggie platter, jello in assorted flavors arranged on the table, popcorn, and chips with guacamole and salsa. Oh, and the super cute (and yummy) pretzel sticks dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles.

For the table, I purchased some White Kraft Paper (some Arts & Crafts stores will sell this by the yard) and a couple rolls of Gift Wrap that went with the theme.  I covered the table in white and created a table runner with the decorative paper.  I also covered a cardboard box with the same paper to create different levels.  I got the cups, plates, and napkins from Amazon and the "Add-On" feature made them crazy cheap!

The backdrop was made with twisted crepe paper in rainbow colors.  Just make sure you twist the same number of times every time to achieve an even effect.  Yeah, I'm a little anal like that...I also like to count how many times I pump each balloon so they are all roughly the same size!!

As far as food goes we also kept it fairly simple.   Rainbow fruit and veggie platter, jello in assorted flavors arranged on the table, popcorn, and chips with guacamole and salsa. Oh, and the super cute (and yummy) pretzel sticks dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles.

For the table, I purchased some White Kraft Paper (some Arts & Crafts stores will sell this by the yard) and a couple rolls of Gift Wrap that went with the theme.  I covered the table in white and created a table runner with the decorative paper.  I also covered a cardboard box with the same paper to create different levels.  I got the cups, plates, and napkins from Amazon and the "Add-On" feature made them crazy cheap!

The backdrop was made with twisted crepe paper in rainbow colors.  Just make sure you twist the same number of times every time to achieve an even effect.  Yeah, I'm a little anal like that...I also like to count how many times I pump each balloon so they are all roughly the same size!!

As far as food goes we also kept it fairly simple.   Rainbow fruit and veggie platter, jello in assorted flavors arranged on the table, popcorn, and chips with guacamole and salsa. Oh, and the super cute (and yummy) pretzel sticks dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles.

Dario's Comic Book Handmade Wallet

A while back I found this tutorial on craftster and based on that I've made a few wallets before. For the first one, I followed the instructions to the tee but after that I've made some changes here and there. These are just wallets made using paper and packaging tape and they are very durable. My first one lived for a few years before it finally fell apart.

My nephew, Dario, is 5 years old he's been obsessed with the Post Office lately and wanted to receive something with "his name on it" so my sister asked if I could mail him a letter. I wanted to send him something a little more fun than a simple letter but light enough to mail to Ecuador and that it wouldn't cost me a small fortune.

That's where the wallet came in: fun, small, you can still mail it flat...perfect! And I even threw in some cash and a few fake credit cards for him! Can you say, "Best Aunt Ever"??

It was made with pages from a comic book that I got free from work. I made another super cute wallet for Isaiah using the same book but I made it at work so I couldn't take pictures of that one. Maybe I'll take my camera with me one of these days and I'll take a picture.

Anyway, I think it's time to stop talking and show you Dario's wallet, even if it's only a couple images.

Votives

These is a very simple but cute project.
All you need is a glass votive (mine came with an uscented candle but you can get the candles separately)and some nice paper.
Cut the paper to size and glue it onto the votive and do the same for the matchbook.