Now, I'm not in a position, nor do I have the energy to pull off such amazing feats as the people over at PartyWishes who do the most amazing parties. I've linked to them for your viewing pleasure. Seriously, I think Disney hired her to do an Alice themed party! Whenever I need inspiration, I pull up Donna's site. When we move, one idea of hers I cannot wait to use is Backyard Movie Nights! What a wonderful way to celebrate summer and friends/family in your own home. Even if I can't manage the backyard thing, I'm putting a room together to pull it off! CANNOT WAIT!
So, back to our theme. I started a new job recently and at the same time, by body decided that a serious bought of bronchitis was just the thing to make a good first impression. I haven't had much time to play lately. My brushes have been calling; alas, I've not been able to answer. For my son's 12th birthday he wanted to see Alice in Wonderland on opening night. That we could handle. The following day, he wanted to go shopping for a top hat. Now, you can't really find the top hat our lovely Mad Hatter wears without dropping some serious cash. Being the thrifty, do-it-your-selfer I am, that wasn't happening. So we found a simple top hat and set about embellishing it ourself. The first run was less than satisfactory. However, I hope you'll agree that with a bit more effort, we really hit upon something reminiscent of the movie but still unique.
This birdy likes to travel by hat :)
Looked everywhere for Eat Me and Drink Me charms and FOUND THEM!
Yes, I did a Happy Dance! I'll admit it! :)
We made the hat pins ourselves. Bead store and 20 gage wire.
Thank you Mr. Peacock!
Get it? Tea Time?
Best button find of the search!
Alex modeling his hat for me.
My other inspiration was a recent face I got to paint. The pics aren't that great, the girl just didn't really want to pose. The face turned out pretty cool.
Here's a party I did for my son a few years ago and it was a huge hit. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of it. We didn't have a digital camera back then and they are probably in a box in storage. When we move, oh the treasures we'll pull out (after unpacking and recovery of course). I will probably be scrapbooking for the rest of my life to catch up.
Pirates are always fun. This particular party I added another element of learning. My son was probably about 9 and I thought it would be nice to include him in the process. So we sat down and I gave him a budget and a calculator. I explained that I would provide invitations and a cake and that with "his" money he would need to feed his guests and provide goodie bags.
Off to the Internet.
Pirate Party:
Treasure Map invite (we love outdoor parties, let kids play games on the equipment with some structure, but not a lot.)
Come in piratey garb (torn tshirt, vest, ripped shirt, layers, dirty is OK ~ cool!!!)
Goodie Bag (We gave ours at beginning so they could be dressed appropriately throughout the party):
swords (of course)
eye patch
bandannas (various colors, include some for girls)
craft to make your own pirate hat
big jewel rings (for both girls and boys)
ACTIVITY
make their pirate hat from the goodie bag
treasure hunt in sand for gold (spray paint rocks gold or buy gold money from party store)
scavenger hunt (something from my childhood), we broke into teams and went for a list of things. I added some good deeds to the list just for my own fun. (take out someone's trash, stuff like that)
just let the kids play, they naturally play piratey games with the swords etc.
FOOD
we grilled hot dogs and had lots of other snacks for the kids to eat. I didn't theme this part out too much, we tried to keep on budget since this was my son's first party to plan and buy for. I do tend to keep sugar off the snack list though so the kids don't get too out of control.
make a pirate ship cake or of these pirate cakes or go way simple with cupcakes and pre cut sails for each kid to decorate themselves.
pirate ship cake, I made white sails and put a skull & cross bones on them.
I made the pirate ship cake and I was actually a little disappointed initially. Then I put the sails on and WOW! It just came to life! I had quite an event getting the cake to the park though! As I walked out the front door, our front mat had been moved, as I stepped out the front door, my foot missed part of the mat and I did this total slapstick dance of "don't drop the cake" as I wiggled and wobbled down the walkway. Yes, I did fall. I fell hands out, elbows down, praying, as the cake bounced forward. It didn't smash, but it did sink. My son was so wonderful about it I could have kissed him to death that day. I smothered more frosting on trying to fix it as best I could. When he saw it, he just said, "Cool, a sunken pirate ship cake, Mom." Sometimes, you just love them more!
Just another way to share some creative ideas that may or may not have to do with face painting and probably will have something to do with parties. I've had many people suggest I go into the whole party planning thing, and I do some of that as you can see on the website. I don't necessarily want to do it full time because then the financial aspect of that being a means of supporting myself is too stressful and the fun is ruined. This way, I can share cool ideas and if it is something you'd rather pay someone else to do, hey, I'm your girl!
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