A "Pop"pin Out Party

Since my daughter's due date was the day before Thanksgiving, the monthly dinner girls decided THEY would plan the December monthly dinner. Little did we all know, Miss Jenna arrived 2 weeks early, but the plan was already in place, so we stuck with it.  This dinner party was so much fun and no stress for me!  Some super creative ideas the girls came up with as they hosted a She's
"Popped" Popcorn inspired dinner party.  Here's a photo of my little girl... (isn't she a cutie!)

I am a HUGE popcorn lover, so this theme fit perfectly with my likes. I also "popped" Jenna out after only 3  1/2 hours of labor and only 25 minutes after walking in the hospital, so the theme truly did fit my experience!

Decor:  The table was set with a white tablecloth and popcorn related centerpieces. The main centerpiece was a popcorn ceramic bucket that I received as a gift years ago.  The girls filled it with tissue paper and then popped popcorn on top.  They placed a scalloped vase on each side tied with a red ribbon and filled with popcorn kernels and a tea-light.

At each place setting, the girls used a piece of red and white striped scrapbook paper as a place mat, a red napkin, and a typed menu.

The place card was these super cute popcorn bags filled with popcorn!  Yummy and cute!  The bags were purchased at Michaels.

A side table was set up with two huge bowls of popcorn and salt shakers filled with various toppings.  The four seasonings were cinnamon and sugar, cocoa, Parmesan cheese with Italian salad dressing powder mix, and the cheese packet from a Macaroni and Cheese box.  My favorite was the Italian seasoning...so yummy!  The girls placed favor bags for guests to try out different kinds.  We realized quickly that the toppings didn't stick without butter, so we melted some butter to sprinkle over before adding the seasoning.

Added decor:  The girls had a small baby shower for me a few weeks ago, and each guest made a onesie for Jenna.  Iron-on material was adhered to the back of fabrics and the girls cut out the designs of their choice for the onesie.  My girlfriend, Michelle, the host of the shower, then sewed around the edges to finish each one and make it so they could be washed and not fall off.  She brought these to the monthly dinner and we hung them up as added decor.  I absolutely LOVE this idea for a shower, and I cannot wait for Jenna to wear these cute onesies!

Menu:  The menu was also popcorn inspired. We started with a green salad with "baby" tomatoes. Instead of croutons, we had garlic Parmesan popcorn.  The garlic Parmesan popcorn was delicious on the salad as well as by itself.  To make it, you air pop popcorn and then mix it in a zip lock bag with Italian seasoning packet, Parmesan cheese, melted butter, and a little bit of granulated garlic powder.

For the main dish, we had popcorn crusted chicken tenders, popovers, and "un"popped corn.  The popovers really did look like giant popped popcorn, and they tasted great.

For dessert, we had Nutella "Pop" Tarts.  These were made with short dough, which is like a sugar cookie dough, but a little flakier.  Nutella was placed in the middle and a second rectangle placed on top and glazed with egg wash before baking.

Favor:  The favor was popcorn balls on a stick.  These were like Rice Krispie treats, but made with popcorn.  My friend also added M&M's and peanuts to it.  As you can see, my oldest daughter dug right in and finished it all!  The tag attached to each one read, "Thanks for "poppin" by for the party."

This was such a fun party.  The girls, especially my good friend Deanna who did all the cooking and most of the planning, created such a neat dinner and theme.  The food was delicious, and I absolutely love the creativity.  Baby Jenna and I thank you!!

Elf on the Shelf Breakfast

This is the second year our family Elf on the Shelf Jake has visited our household.  With today being December 1st, Jake's first appearance came this morning.  He greeted us this morning with a traditional Elf Breakfast, and my kids LOVED it! The ideas in this post are not my own, but they are a collection of ideas I found on Pinterest and other blogs.  Just look how excited these kiddos were when they first saw the table.

Having a two-week old newborn, I decided to go simple rather than extravagent on the decor and set up of this breakfast.  A simple red tablecloth and some party plates and napkins was all I did.  I wanted to hang red and green streamers from the ceiling and dust the tablecloth with pretend snow, but I didn't have a chance to purchase the supplies.  These kiddos are happy just to see Jake, and my son dove right in to the snowman donuts....

The snowman donuts were made with Skittles and mini chocolate chips.  I think a candy corn or a candy that would stick out a bit more would be better, but I just used what I had in the cupboard. 

The reindeer donuts were made with red M&M's, white chocolate chips, black gel icing, and pretzels. I had the square pretzels on hand, so I used those, but I think the standard-shaped pretzels would be look better.

We also had hot chocolate and mini marshmallows which is a real treat for my little ones.   Oh...and reindeer kisses (white chocolate chips).

 

Jake left a little note for each of my kids.  The note introduced him and briefly reminded them of why he was visiting our home.  I love the googly eyes added to the note.

Jake also left each of the kids a Christmas tradition...Christmas pajamas and socks. I like giving them on December 1st, so the kids can wear them all month, so this seemed like the perfect way to gift them to the kids.

Welcome to December! Here's hoping Jake helps encourage our kiddos to behave this season and beyond!!

Autumn Decor Idea

This post is a bit delayed in that the day I was going to post about this autumn decor idea, I went into labor with our third child!!  I gave birth to our beautiful daughter last Wednesday, and she has already added such joy and happiness to our family. I just love being a mom, and we have so much to be thankful for. 

Now onto this autumn decor idea...

I saw the idea for vases filled with popcorn kernels on Pinterest, but decided to add an extra something to it with the Cricut letters. I wanted to share this idea because it was so inexpensive and easy to do.  The entire thing cost me less than $12 and I finished the project in less than an hour! 

I bought the vases and candles at the Dollar Tree.  I placed a large shot glass in the bottom of the vases to lift the candle.  This also enabled me use less popcorn kernels to fill the bottom.  I tied fake fall leaves to the outside using twine.  Then finished each vase off with letters cut from my Cricut machine.  The photo does not do it justice.  It really pops (no pun intended) on my mantle.

I didn't glue anything, so that I can use these vases for future decor as well.  You may even see a future post with a Winter decor idea!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Catching Fire Fun

I am a big fan of the Hunger Games series and very excited for the release of the second movie at the end of this month.  Many of my friends are too, which made Catching Fire the perfect theme for this month's monthly dinner.

Invite:  Now that I am learning how to use PhotoShop, I am completely addicted! I made this invite and tried to use wording reflecting the theme of the novel. 

I asked guests when the RSVP'd to choose one of the twelve districts and arrive dressed in black with an accessory representative of their District.  This was easy enough for the guests to do and added a fun, creative aspect to the evening.

Entry Decor:  I again called on my husband to help create a fence similar to the electrified fence around District 12 at our front door.  It left room for guests to come in, but got the idea across.

Decor:  I set the table with a neutral colored tablecloth and symbols from the novel.  A big hit was the "Sponsor Parachute" I hung from the ceiling.  To make this, I covered a plastic basket I bought at the Dollar Tree with silver metallic tissue paper and attached a pretzel bun to the sides with grey yarn.  It hung over the dining table.

For the centerpiece, I bought a dozen white roses to represent President Snow's obsession and how it impacts Katniss in the novel. I surrounded the vase with coal to symbolize District 12.  On each side of this, I put the Hunger Games and Catching Fire novels with other symbols -- bread to represent Peeta and arrows to represent Katniss.  I made these arrows with grey felt and sticks the kids and I found on one of our walks.

My place cards were mini bows and arrows. I made these by soaking popsicle sticks in water for an hour and bending them into this shape. I then tied them with fishing line (you could use floss) to keep their shape and painted them black.  For the arrows, I cut the tops of skewers and attached the scrapbook paper.  I downloaded the Hunger Games font free here.  I used this for almost all the printed items for the dinner.

My napkin rings represented the "weapons" for the Quarter Quell. For added color, I used two napkins and just folded one paper napkin to be a little smaller than the red one.

I matched the wine charms with the Districts the guests were dressing as. I downloaded the District symbols from the web and printed them on grey card stock.

Behind the dining table, I covered our family photos with quotes/images from the novel.

These were the wine bottle labels I made on Photoshop and wrapped around the wine bottles.

Menu:  I read Catching Fire a second time to get inspiration for the menu for this dinner.  They serve a lot of dishes at the parties in the Capital, but I decided to theme my menu after food the tributes ate during the Quarter Quell.  I made the menu on Photoshop and then backed it on orange card stock and placed it on each guest's plate.

The main dish was "Peeta Bread Sandwiches with Charred Tree Rat Meat."  This was pita bread sandwiches that I filled with Steak and veggies.  I used a fajita packet to season the meat, red/green peppers, onions, and tomato chunks before putting them in the pita.

As a side, I served "Speared Sweet Raw Seafood" which was really just shrimp I cooked with butter and garlic. I made the skewers into arrows to fit with the theme.

My salad was "Nightlock Berry Salad with Roasted Tree Nuts" to match food items from the novel.  This was a simple salad with feta, blueberries, and toasted almonds. I served it with Balsamic Vinaigrette.

They didn't have dessert in the Quarter Quell, but I wanted to have a cake at this dinner since it happened to be one of my guest's birthday. I made this round cake with Catching Fire flames on the side and the Catching Fire symbol on the top.  To make the symbol, I made a stencil on parchment paper from an image I found on Google.  It took a long time to cut out the parts to make the stencil and some "fill-in" spots later to make the textured wings, but I think it came out pretty good.

Favor:  I made "Sponsor Parachutes" for a favor with silver tissue paper and silver balloons.  Inside the tissue paper, I made these cute cookies...

Again, these were made with a stencil cut from a Mockingjay symbol I found online.  After I made the dough, I put the stencil on the cookie and dusted them with cocoa powder.  Then I baked them.  This is the tag I designed for the outside of the favor...

This was another fun party, and I am really looking forward to seeing the movie in a couple weeks with many of these girls.  Hope you enjoyed this post...HAPPY HUNGER GAMES!!

A Pregnant Halloween

Happy Halloween everyone!  This year, I was 8 months pregnant for Halloween with no idea what to dress as. I wanted to be comfortable and appropriate for work, but I needed something easy.  Here are a couple of ideas I came up with for VERY simple costumes.

My pumpkin belly!  Found this idea on Pinterest and it was super easy.  I bought an orange t-shirt, cut the face parts out of black felt, and hand-stitched them on.  I stitched a cute bow on as well since we are having a girl and I thought it added to the pumpkin.  Took less than an hour to put this baby (pumpkin that is) together.

Another easy costume was the Magic 8 Ball that I made for an adult party, but also wore to work on Halloween.  I cut a circle and a number 8 out of felt and hand-stitched them on a black shirt I already had.  I printed some Magic 8 ball sayings onto white card stock and made them into a necklace.  As party goers asked me questions throughout the night, I rubbed my belly and then ripped off one of the cards to hand to them.  Silly, but pretty funny.  It worked well at work with my students as well.

Student: Mrs. Casto, do you think I'd get a detention if I wrote this (points to paper) in my essay?

Magic 8 Ball:  You May Rely On It!

or 

Student: Mrs. Casto, if I score well on this small quiz will it make up for all the homework I haven't done?

Magic 8 Ball:  My sources say No!

I actually  had a lot of fun with this costume as you can see.  You could even add a green posterboard around you to look like a pool table and cut out the belly part so the black ball shows through.  Then just carry a pool stick.  Too much work for me when I only had an hour to come up with something to wear, but I think it would have been fun.

My costume on Halloween night was family themed of course...our kids are little so we can still influence their decisions about what they want to be.  This year....Alice in Wonderland.  We borrowed the Queen of Hearts, Mad Hatter, and rabbit costume from friends.  I found my daughter's Alice dress on Craigslist.  All I had to make was the felt heart covering for my son with blue collar and the clock (which is painted foam board).  Super simple.

 

Happy Halloween!

Seven Dwarfs Dinner

I just hosted my 84th monthly dinner last night!! For 7 years, I have hosted these themed dinners for my friends.  It is hard to believe as time flies so quickly.  In honor of 7 years of dinners, I wanted to theme my dinner around the number 7.  After tossing around several ideas, I decided on the Seven Dwarfs as my theme.  This would be great for a little girl's birthday party too.  The details were neat. Check them out...

Invite: I am just learning PhotoShop, but I used it to make this simple invite.  There are a lot of cute invitation ideas out there, but I found most were focused on Snow White.  I wanted the focus of mine to be on the Seven Dwarfs.

Entry Decor:  Lucky for me, I have a great husband who always says "yes" to helping me with my crazy ideas.  I asked him if he could easily build me a mining entrance, and he went to work on it.

I borrowed these stuffed dwarfs from a fellow teacher which I used to decorate the entrance. I made the Heigh Ho signs out of cut logs. I also played the Heigh Ho song from the movie at the party entrance.

Decor:  I set the table with a yellow tablecloth, red plates, and blue napkins.  I platter of red apples was my centerpiece (and dessert), and then I lined the center of the table with mining cars and statues of the seven dwarfs.  The red "mining carts" I bought at the Dollar Tree five for a dollar.  I cut black circles out of scrapbook paper to use as wheels, and then elevated them from the table using wine corks.  I also used origami paper to make paper diamonds to set out near and inside the mining carts.

I made napkin ring holders to look like the Snow White Mirror using a Google image for the inside of the mirror and the Cricut cartridge "Happily Ever After" which had the frame. The menu was designed using a Google image that I Photoshopped out the middle to add my text.

For my place cards, I made apple cupcakes. These are really simple. I placed a plain donut on top of the cupcake before frosting it, then covered it in red icing and red sprinkles!  The stem is a Tootsie Pop cut in half and the green leaf I piped on with frosting. I made Heigh Ho flags with a dwarf on them for each guest.

I made wine charms with images of each dwarf and designed a red and a white wine label.

Menu:  I wanted to serve mini seven dwarf-related food, but not have my guests leave hungry.  For this reason, I chose to have 3 "main" dishes.  The first dish was mini wieners that I placed on cut skewers and called "Mini Meat Pickaxes". The second dish was ground beef turnovers that I shaped into diamonds, and the third dish was "Dwarf Skewers" which was just grilled chicken cut and put on toothpicks.  I served petite peas and mini carrots as my vegetable.

I also made mining carts filled with Jell-O "jewels".  I used baby food containers with scrapbook paper to create the wheels and filled them with 4 colors of Jell-O Jigglers.

Dessert: For dessert, we had a caramel apple dipping station. I used the apples from the centerpiece and cut them fresh as guests were ready.  The caramel, Oreo crumbles, nuts, coconut, and mini chocolate chips were in each "mining cart" along the table.  The sign near the toppings instructed guests to "Pick Your Poison."

Favor:  I wanted to incorporate each dwarf into the favor, so I decide to make a funny Seven Dwarfs

Survival Kit for each guest. Coming up with some of the items (and trying to keep it inexpensive) was difficult, but I did it.  The shot of Vodka to help Bashful gain confidence was the girls' favorite!
I bought the items at the Dollar Tree (eye mask, tissues, dum dums), Party City (paddles), Ralphs (sour candy, Skittles, airheads), Total Wine (vodka), and Bare Minerals (gave me the sample concealer).  Here is the prescription label I made for Doc:

This was another great dinner to add to so many other great dinners. I just love hosting these parties for my friends, and I cannot wait for another year of memories created with these amazing woman!

And of my course my daughter loved dressing up for the occasion too!