Back-to-School BOOT CAMP!

 

 With school starting tomorrow, I thought I would share the back-to-school BOOT CAMP parties I had for my kids last week. They turned out so cute, and the best part was I had all the prep work done far in advance, so all I had to do, was get everything out and set it up the day of the party.

The invitation was SUPER CUTE! I designed it in picasa, using clip art I got on etsy for $3. You can see her shop HERE. She has all sorts of darling things, and I asked if she could design the army boys (after purchasing the girls), and she did! 

I punched a hole in the top of the invitation, and slid a dog tag (Hobby Lobby) through, with the child's name and grade listed on the back. If the child was not home, and just hung the necklace around the door knob. It was super cute!

 

Here is the girl version.

 

Here is the boy version.

 I decided to do the same theme for both kids this year, and it made things SO MUCH EASIER!!!

I borrowed the backpacks from one of my brothers. The table cloth is from Saver's $2. The camouflage fabric is just fat quarters from Walmart for $99 each. I bought 3 pieces.

 

 When I was setting up last minute, I decided I needed something with a little height, and thought a pallet would be perfect! I called my friend Laura from Corner House. She does fabulous things with pallets. You can see them HERE and HERE. I went to the pallet yard, and got one. They were SO NICE there! It's called A. Ruttco Pallet, in Kaysville. I brought it home, and put it up, and it was perfect!

 

 Army parachute guys (Hobby Lobby)

 Tattoos (Walmart)

 Crawling Army Guys (Dollar Tree)

 Army Gummies (Zurchers) & Little Debbies

 Berets & Canteens (Smith and Edwards $.99)

Remember my post about marshmallow guns? When we made them as a family, I decided they would be fun for a party for my kids. You can find the instructions HERE. The boys put their guns together, shredded the labels, and started blowing them all over the basement. Who would have thought?

 They looked so cute in their berets! They put their guns together in all sorts of weird ways, and a few of them lost pieces, so I was lucky to have a few spares on hand.

 They had a riot, and stayed outside for almost 1 1/2 h ours. This was the easiest party ever!

Girly BOOT CAMP

I let my daughter set this one up. Didn't she do a great job?!?

 Pink spray painted army guys.

Masks made from 2-liter bottles and duct tape.

Army dolls (Dollar Tree) I got some camouflage fabric from Hobby Lobby, and remade the dresses, using the original dress pattern. 

See the bags full of beads? I got a large ugly necklace from Saver's for $2, took it apart, and the girls made bracelets out of the beads. They turned out super cut!

 Army Gummies (Zurchers) Little Debbies. 

 I am a believer in not making nice food for kids parties. I don't think they appreciate it, and I like saving myself the work.

 The girls were much more calm when they put their guns together. No one lost any pieces.

 See the pouches around their waists? I made them using cheap camo fabric from Walmart, and stitching yarn on to go over one shoulder.

 The girls liked the guns almost as much as the boys did.

The parties were both so much fun. The boys told me it was, "The most fun party ever!!!" 

If anyone wants tutorials on the marshmallow pouches, or the 2-liter eye wear, or anything else, let me know, and I will post them for you. I just don't want to be redundant in my posts :)

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

Back-to-School Party segment and links!

I love back to school parties, and shared a few of the parties I have hosted in the past on Studio 5 yesterday. Here's the clip.

Again, I have to say, I LOVE Studio 5! Are you getting tired of me saying this? I love everyone, my producer, the camera men, the fabulous hosts - Brooke and Darin are fantastic, and super talented! I also love the other contributors I see and/or meet when I go. I feel so lucky! 

Thank you Studio 5 for allowing me to visit the set, and share my stuff!

Here are links to the back-to-school parties I hosted last year.

READING & BOOKS

Reading and Books craft edition

HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS

And, a little teaser of what I am doing this year...

The theme for both kids parties this year is 

Back-to-School BOOT CAMP

Be sure and check back for party details - coming soon!

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

Books and Reading Party {Back to School Party} Part 2, The Crafts

As promised in my last post about my daughter's back to school party with a reading/book theme that you can see here, the crafts are outlined below. It was dark by the time they finished, and the photos were not so great last night, so I snapped a few this morning.

Here is a little teaser of the cuteness...


Let's start with the invitations, shall we?

I found the template for the library card here.

I thought I was being so crafty, then it occurred to me that my daughter may have never even seen a library card, as things are digital now days. I asked her, and she said she had seen one once in an old book. I thought I was being so clever. Well, I guess the mom's will appreciate it :)

Now, on to my favorite craft of the night!!! The bird cages. I found the basic idea here.

BIRD CAGES

I knew I wanted them to be on a pedestal and wanted them to be painted, but I had a terrible time finding wooden disks big enough to work. I asked my dad what to do, and
HE OFFERED TO MAKE THEM FOR ME!
Am I lucky or what???

Actually, my mom and dad both ended up making them for me. Aren't my parents so cute! This is them a few weeks ago at my cousin's Big Fat Greek wedding.

Thanks guys! You're the best! I wrangle my mom into projects all the time, but I never expected my dad to offer to help, and I am so glad he did!

Anyhow... I glued the disks to the candlesticks with E600 craft glue.

I had one waiting on a paper plate at each girls place, along with a paint brush. They painted them first, then moved onto other crafts while waiting for them to dry. Once they were dry, the girls made the cages, by sticking a brad through 3 strips of book pages (pre-cut). I stapled them in place. I thought it was the best option for hooking paper to wood. I just used a regular stapler.

The girls chose their paper to wrap around the bottom. I had two colors pre-cut for them to choose from. Preparation is key when hosting a craft night.

These are the papers I chose. I got them at Ben Frankilin. I only used three sheets of paper for everything. (Excluding the beaks and legs. I used one orange bookmark from the next craft.)

Again, preparation is key. I had all the shaped traced onto paper, and just handed them to the girls to cut out.

I thought the little birdies turned out so cute :)

They all turned out so darling, and the girls were very happy with themselves. My daughter's cage (pink) flew off the deck while taking pics, and landed upside down. It made the cage kind of wonky, but I like it!

BOOK MARKS

I only used 3 papers for this as well, and one pack of pebbles. I LOVE this paper, and the pebbles together. I got them all at Ben Franklin.

They didn't come together, but matched perfectly!

Again... everything was pre-cut. The girls just had to pick out that they wanted, trim away the excess, and glue everything together.

The base of the bookmark was sandwiched in between two circles, and glued, then the pebble was stuck on top. These were really easy, and didn't take long at all.

I LOVE THESE!
The girls were super excited to make them, and they were easy as well.

HAIR CLIPS

I got these great fabric stickers at Ben Franklin. They were with the rest of the paper. They were PERFECT, and the girls were proud of themselves after they made them. They are $5.99 per package, but if you use a coupon, it is more reasonable.

This is how it started... The girls got to pick a sticker, bobby pin, and a piece of felt.

They attached the bobby pin to the felt.

Stuck the sticker on top.

Used SHARP good scissors to cut around the fabric sticker, and there you have it. Most of them put them right in their hair right after they finished.

PINWHEELS

These are the papers I used. Again, only three sheets of paper (double sided), and I cut them into 4ths, and had them ready. They were easy to make too, but I had to attach them with the pins for the girls.

They had fun with them though. :) I love the colors.

I had two more crafts in mind, but we ran out of time. I will save them for another craft night. This was 2 hrs, and I am so glad I got to have these cute girls in my house. Lucky me.

Here they all are. Darling!

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

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