Monday, February 27, 2012

The NIGHT OWL Party


There she is! Owl P.J's and all!

Last week was my Princess Cupcake's 7th birthday party, "Night-Owl" themed!  It was so much fun!  There were 16 girls in their pajama's running around here; what more can a 7-year old princess ask for?

I love working with themes!  When it all comes together, after a few bumps in the road, I am giddy and filled with excitement.

The Details
     Theme: Night Owl Pajama
     Color Scheme: Pink and Blue
Activities: -Decorate and embellish Clipboard
-Pizza and Izze's
-Watch movie (Another Cinderella Story) & Popcorn
-Cake and Gift Opening
Favors: Clipboard, Owl Calendar & Felt Owl Clip


Here are some great photos that my Mom took for me...thanks Mom!


Pink and Blue Owl Invites

 
Entry Way

Tree with Owl Clip Favors

Cute Owl frame displaying picture the Birthday Girl!

Owl Printable from Crystal's Craft Spot

Dining room turned craft room

All set and ready to decorate


So-Ugly-It's-Cute owl

I fell in love with this owl at first sight!

Ice breaker

Clip boards done, onto pizza

One of our guests clipboards

Another cute clipboard

MOVIE TIME!

Owls just waiting to be filled with popcorn

Owl Popcorn Bags

Happy Birthday!

The embellished clipboard and owl calendar was inspired when I saw this free printable owl calendar.  I loved it but didn't want to print it out here at home, so I sent the file to my local printer and they took care of it for me.  The clipboards we found at the Dollar Tree.  The girls loved the whole craftiness to making their clipboards their own and they turned out so cute!

The felt owl clips I made after I saw this tutorial over at Less-Than-Perfect Life of Bliss.  They took me a lot longer than I had planned, but in the end I think it was totally worth it!  They turned out so amazing and the girls LOVED them!

The owl popcorn bags were quick and easy to make.  I just cut the top off the brown paper bag, added circles for eyes that I cut out with my Cricket, and a triangle for the nose.  They were definitely worth making! 

The owl cake turned out...well let's just say it didn't really turn out as well as I had hoped for.  It made me wish I would have made my own, but I was running short on time.  The guests didn't seem to mind, they ate them anyway:-)

I had my Mom, my daughter's God Mother and her daughter, and a family friend to help me during party.  I was thrilled to have them and they were so much help!

Me and my 16-year old helper in our footie P.J.'s
At the end of the night, I was happy with the way everything had turned out and the Birthday Girl was all smiles.  A SUCCESS!

Have a wonderful week!



Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie

I have my go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies; the one's I usually make because no other recipe compares.  That is still true; however, I have always wanted to make a really big cookie.  I never thought I could make a cookie like the giant cookies you see in the mall cookie kiosk.  My first thought is that they won't cook through to the middle.

All of my worries were put to rest when I found and made this recipe.  This cookie comes out perfect every time!  My hubby is a huge chocolate chip cookie addict lover, and he even makes them perfectly. 

Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie {Recipe}
Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe


1/2 cup Sugar (granulated)
1/2 cup Dark Brown sugar
1/2 cup Butter, softened
1 Egg
2 tsp Real Vanilla
1/2 tsp Baking soda (without aluminum)
1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 cup Flour
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips (I use Ghirardelli semi-sweet or dark)


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.


Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy.  Mix in the egg and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.  Fold in chocolate chips.


Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and press the cookie dough into a 9-inch circle (approximately). 
This spreads into about 11-inch cookie. 


Bake for 18-22 minutes or until the cookie is golden yet still slightly puffy in the middle.  Remove from oven and let rest in pan for 5 minutes.  Transfer to cooling rack.  Once the cookie is mostly cool, cut cookie into 16 slices with a pizza cutter.  




Of course, you can decorate it or add colorful candies if you'd like!  It is, however, perfectly delicious just like this.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Liquid Soap made from Bar Soap

Getting my daughter to use a "pea-size" amount of soap is a constant challenge.  She just keeps pumping until her little hands can't hold anymore.  Then she washes...if that is what it's called, because at this point the sink in starting to overflow with bubbles and she starts to play.  SIGH!  Needless to say, we go through hand soap (and body soap) like crazy.  It really adds up, cost wise!  I also like to buy the healthier soap, without all of the added chemicals and etc., so it is even more expensive!

When I saw that Robyn over at The Farmer's Nest had made a gallon of liquid soap from one bar of soap, I was sold.  I went out the very next day and bought a bar of soap.  I did it and it didn't work!  AHHH!  What did I do wrong?  I don't know!  But I wasn't discouraged; I tried again with a different kind of soap.  I used the bar soaps from the same line as our favorite liquid soap, Kiss my Face Kids.  When all was said and done, I was surprised that this time it worked!  YEAH!  I can't believe it, actually.  I am more than thrilled!

Here is the recipe and what I did:
Grate 7oz. of Bar Soap (I used this one), add to large pot with 2 tablespoons of Vegetable Glycerine (I used NOW) and 1 Gallon of water.  Warm it up on medium heat and stir until soap is dissolved in water.  Turn off heat and leave pan to cool and rest for 12 hours.  After 12 hours you should stir and pour into storage container and/or soap dispensers.
Note: This time my soap was a little on the thick side, so I added warm water and blended with the hand mixer. 


It turned into a family project!



Also, since the hand soap that my kids are currently using (this one) is a "foaming" one, I did some experimenting to get the perfect ratio of this homemade liquid soap for use with the foaming pump. 
Here it is:
2 Tablespoons liquid soap
1 Cup warm water
STIR to combine (don't shake!).  Add to bottle and there you have it, foaming hand soap at a fraction of the cost.

At least this way I will not have to peek in at the kids and keep repeating, "YOU ONLY NEED A SMALL AMOUNT OF SOAP!!"


Finished and ready to use.  1 gallon and almost a whole quart.
 That is more than a gallon of liquid soap for less than $7!!!  If you use it with the foaming pump, it's 150 8-oz. bottles of foaming soap.  I am doing the happy dance!
Thanks for stopping by today!

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Valentine's Day Project

With the Valentine's day quickly approaching, there are a huge amount of items in my "projects/crafts to-make" file, on my mind, and filling my to-do lists.  I have spent hours surfing Pinterest to find the perfect Valentine's for my kids to take to their classmates, to their teachers and coaches.  I have found crafts for them to do to fill some of the downtime that they have.  I was excited about so many awesome ideas that I found, but I was ecstatic when I found this Peg Family from UNCOMMON.
 

As if that is not enough, UNCOMMON provides this fabulous printable Bible Verse that makes it all come together.  This would be really charming and stylish on my entry way table!



I love doing crafts with and for my kids, of course, but sometimes it's really nice to have a "mommy-only" craft.  A glass of wine and crafting into the wee hours of the night...sounds almost like paradise.  Almost.

Happy Valentine's crafting!