Caveman Cake

After deciding on the caveman theme, my son told me he wanted a caveman cake, with a real cave, made out of cake. Crickets chirped. How on earth was I going to do this? I saw exactly two cave cakes on Pinterest, and  they were not the most helpful, but one recommended using a bundt pan. What a great idea!!! I used 2 cake mixes. I added an extra two eggs per cake mix, to make sure the baked cake would not be too fluffy or crumble. I put 1 plus a little more in the bundt pan, and then filed 4 other pans with the rest of the batter. The other pans I used were the kind you use if you want to bake your tortillas in the oven for taco bowls, rather than fry them. Random, I know, but they were just the right size! I cut a piece out of the bundt cake for the cave opening, and put it upside down on an upside-down cookie sheet. I then topped it with a mini cake, and cut up two of the other mini cakes, and places around the bundt cake, to make it look like a real cave. I almost forgot to grab a picture, but snapped this last minute, right before covering it with frosting.

I used 3 cans of dark fudge frosting, and a can of salted caramel frosting to give the varying colors of, "dirt."

I decorated with malt balls, and sprinkles that I had in my cupboard.

I hadn't really envisioned how this would turn out, and I was pleasantly surprised when the finished product was so adorable, and was an actual cave! I put my foam board up to snap a few pictures. My awesome mom, who came dressed from head to toe for the party a few hours earlier, helped hold it for me. She really knows how to make things fun and funny!

My son requested caveman peg dolls, and I topped it with those, making for a perfect caveman cake!

More on the caveman peg dolls next!

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

DIY Caveman Costume

These caveman costumes were perfect for the caveman party, and once I got the idea of how to do it, and how easy and inexpensive it would be, I just had to go with it!

You need fleece throws from Walmart. They are $2.88 each. Every throw makes 4 kiddie costumes.

Scissors

Sewing machine and thread.

Unwrap your blanket. It will be folded in half hamburger style (short way). Unfold it, and fold it in half hot dog style (long way). 

Then, cut 4 equal pieces, as if you were cutting a hotdog in half, then in half again. That's how I did it. I folded it to make the cuts. This is not very scientific, haha.

After you have your four equal pieces cut, you'll need to make a cut for the one shoulder style. 

Cut just a small triangle off, leaving the top fold to go over the one shoulder. Believe me, you want it small, so it doesn't hang too low on your child. Leaving the folded portion will save you time, and having to sew the pieces together for the shoulder.

Then, simply sew a seam up each side, ending at the top on the shorter side, and about 4 inches from the top on the long side. I chain sewed mine, which made it go so fast! I think I finished all 16 of them in about an hour. I also left the stitching that came on the blanket showing. I thought it was extra cute. That's it. You are finished!Believe me when I say, that kids LOVED wearing these! 

I made some for the entire family. This is a bathroom selfie that I snapped right before the party started. I found this cute pick animal print the day before the party. The belt made it look better for a woman.

Next up... the adorable caveman cake!

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

CAVEMAN Party!

I try to come up with unique party ideas for my kids parties, and this caveman party was no exception! I think this was one of my very favorite parties I have ever hosted. The costumes were fun! The ambiance was great, the activities were unique, and the kids had a blast!

This was how it looked before the chaos ensued.

One of the things I like to do with my parties, is while kids arrive, I have themed music playing, and let the kids run around in character. This usually lasts for about 20-30 minutes. The kids love getting to act crazy, and I love them getting their wiggles out!

My husband created this playlist in Apple Music. Dinosaur Stomp was one of our favorites. The kids loved dancing and freezing to the song.

Lets talk ambience. I made a cave out of old boxes, and packaging paper. It was free. I got $3 worth of butcher paper from the craft store, to create a place for the kids to do some cave drawings. I used the fire I made for my son years ago. I created a dinosaur nest out of packaging paper and balloons stuffed with shredded paper and plastic dinosaurs. I brought in animal print and helium balloons, because kids love playing with them!

The cave was a huge hit! At one point I was worried that a few kids had gone upstairs, but they were hanging out in the cave! They had a blast!

The first activity we did after caveman dancing, was to make bear claw necklaces. I had the beads already bagged for each child. They poured them out into a styrofoam bowl. It probably took 10-15 minutes for them to complete. We ended up tying a bead on the end of the string, cause multiple kids dumped their necklaces. They really liked making the necklace, and loved wearing it when they finished!

The next thing did was a relay. They each got an egg with a dinosaur in to. I got the eggs at Walmart. They are 4 for $2, and grow when you put them in water. They walked while balancing the egg on a spoon. I thought  this would be fun for them, and it was pretty fun, except that one kid had to go potty, then another then another. it was a chain reaction, and hard to have a competition, with multiple kids missing at a time. Thats the way it is with five year olds! They had to walk, place their egg softly on the pillow, pick it up and walk back. 

Next, they got to pretend to be real cave men, and draw petroglyphs on the, "cave wall." They totally loved this! I got butcher paper, 2 yards for $1 from a local craft store. I think I got 6 yards, and it was more than enough. The kids had a blast drawing on the wall!

They are pretty talented, and more into it than I expected. We didn't even have any slip ups that ended up with crayon on the wall! My husband was worried.

Next was present time. The kids sat around the campfire in a circle, while the birthday boy opened gifts. It was such a fun setting!

After the gifts were all open, the kids each went to the dinosaur nest and picked out an egg to open. They opened them by popping the ballon.

 Inside each balloon, was paper shred from the dollar store, and a plastic dinosaur.

 It was hilarious to watch them. Some stomped on them. Some sat on them. They had a riot, and giggled a lot!

My awesome mom came all dressed up, caveman hair and all, and helped my nephews pop some balloons.

It was such a blast, and I don't feel like the kids ever got bored!

We had the cutest little cave people around!

These parties are a family affair, and we all got dressed up! 

Be sure and check back tomorrow to see how I mad all 16 costumes for under $12! After that, I'll be sharing the caveman peg dolls I made, and the awesome cave cake!

Thanks for stoping by.

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

Soft Enough For A King (Christmas heirloom tradition)

For Christmas this year, we received the most darling package from a company called, 

Soft Enough for a King.

It came in a box, beautifully packaged. When I opened it up, I saw the sweetest Baby Jesus, a manger (that did not need to be put together - bonus), a beautiful hard bound book, and sheets of service straw to be placed in the manger when acts of service are performed. My Jesus-loving four-year-old son was with me when I opened the package, and was instantly enamored with what he saw. 

He played with baby Jesus for nearly 2 hours, in a makeshift cardboard stable, and insisted on sleeping with him that night. 

We read the story right away (3 times in a row), and he soon informed me that this is his favorite book. We have read it every day since receiving the package last week. The thing I love about the story, as a mom, is that it is right on the level a young child can understand. We have tried to read a few other nativity stories in the past, and he was easily bored. 

The pictures are charming, and the story encourages children to, be the good, do good, and help others. I wouldn't be able to tell the story as well as the book, and you can read an overview of the story and see actual vibrant yummy pages from the book HERE.

I consider this box an heirloom Christmas decoration/activity. I am thankful to have welcomed this tradition into our Christmas library this year, and hope my children will feel the true spirit of Christmas as they look for reasons to serve each other, and prepare a manger, Soft Enough for a King, this holiday season.

If you would like to purchase your own set of, Soft Enough for a King, Please visit their website at www.softenough.com. They are offering 15% off this week! These would make fantastic gifts, especially for that person who has everything.

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

Christmas Village With Cricut Explore Air

I was so very excited last week to be able to tour the Cricut headquarters in Draper Utah. They generously provided me with a Cricut Explore Air of my very own, and more than enough supplies to get me started creating! Thank you Cricut!!!

This is a pic of me, and Melissa, she runs blogger and influencer partnerships at Cricut. She is amazing, and so fun. I am looking forward to building our friendship!

I have wanted a Cricut for years, and wish I would have gotten one sooner, because it is AMAZING, truly amazing! I am dying at all the things it can do. I woke up at 4am the day after I got my machine, unable sleep because my head was spinning, full of ideas of things to make and create!

One of the ideas I have had in my head for a while now, is for a centerpiece for my kitchen table. I wanted it pretty and interesting on both sides, (no front and back) and fun for kids, since that's who will see it the most. Cricut has this most adorable clipart type printable Christmas Village! This was even more cute than what I was envisioning before I started. Don't you just love when you are pleasantly surprised and find better options than you had imagined?

Did you know you can print Cricut images out on your printer, and then put them in your Cricut machine, and it will cut them out for you? I had no idea. It is truly remarkable! So, that's what I did with the images I found. The printing and cutting details are amazing! Look at those darling clothes!

Just a quick note: In this post, I will be using links to Cricut. If you choose to click on one of my links, and end up purchasing a Cricut, I will receive monetary compensation. I'd love the support! Thanks!

I used the awesome, Cricut Design Space Ap, for this darling little village. I used the cartridge called, Snow Angel. If you get a monthly or yearly subscription to Cricut, then access to this cartridge is free! The cartridge comes with loads of characters, animals and buildings. The art work is intricate and adorable.

As I mentioned before, all I did was pull the mages I wanted from the cartridge into my project, print them off on my home printer, and put the printed papers into my Cricut to cut them out. It really was that easy!

I created a front and back mirrored version of each image, so I could tape them together after I cut them out, and they would stand up. I then filled this tray my husband made for me with white dollar store sand and rocks. I put rocks between the feet of the characters, and bottoms of the houses to get them to stand.

I love using this tray as a centerpiece for my kitchen table. Part of the fun of making this village out of paper with patterns on both sides, is that it doesn't take up much room, so creating the scene on both sides is fast and easy.

I used these darling DIY Yarn Bottle Brush Trees. They were the perfect addition, adding texture and interest. I think I like the snow angel characters the best!

Good news is Cricut has FREE SHIPPING through the end of the year, using THIS coupon!

I wish I wouldn't have waited so long to get a Cricut of my own. Check it out. It might just change your creative life!

Thanks for stopping by. 

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

DIY Yarn Bottle Brush Trees

I have been seeing these daring yarn bottle brush trees all over Pinterest lately, and fell instantly in love with them. They add warmth and texture to any winter scape, and are perfect for holiday decorating!

You'll need:

Yarn, Scissors, Craft wire (I happened to have floral wire, and it worked just fine.) Wire cutting pliers, Cork, Small Nail.

I wrapped my yarn around my fingers until I felt like I had enough, then slipped it off my fingers. I cut up each side, and laid it in the middle (near the fold, which will be the top) of a long piece of wire that was folded in half. THIS is a great example of how to do it. I did it at night, in a room without proper lighting, so I did't get great pictures of the process. In the example, they used pliers to twist the wire. That was hard for me, so I ended up just twisting the wire with my hands, and it worked great! When you end up with the wire twisted as tightly as you can, it's time to give your tree a trim. You'll have a large pile of cutoff yarn.

After you have trimmed enough off, twist the remaining bottom wire to add sturdiness, and cut it off. Choose the cork you want to use for the base. You can also just cut the wire off at the bottom of the tree, and not use a base. It will stand up on its own. I wanted my trees a little taller, so I added a cork for a base. I used a nail to poke a hole in the cork, and then put the wire base in the hole. The wire I used was not strong enough to make its own hole.

You are finished, and have a darling little tree. I love that this project doesn't cost much, and that you can customize to any color you want, to match your color scheme.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risaa