Chalkboard of The Month Club

For my friend's birthday I thought it would be fun to give her a gift that keeps on giving. 

 

I put together a chalkboard for her and made her this birthday card.

 

I found this great frame at Goodwill.  I liked the wood grain of it so I sanded it a little to distress it and called it good.  I popped out the glass and print that was in it.

I went to Home Depot with an intention to buy and mdf board and paint it with chalkboard paint.  But, when I got there, what to my wondering eyes did appear?  Chalkboard mdf.  Shut up!   It was 1/4 inch thick and 2' x 4'.  The nice guy at Home Depot cut three 16 x 20 pieces for me from the sheet.  SCORE!

For her birthday I drew a birthday design.  I will update it monthly for holidays, other birthdays, quotes or whatever she chooses. 

A couple of weeks later she was getting ready for her daughter's birthday so I drew this one:

 I'll keep you posted as we go through the year.  I'm making one for myself as well! 

Week Long Birthday Celebration

I wanted to send my best friend a fun birthday gift this year.  I'm guessing she doesn't spend much on herself these days so I wanted her to have the opportunity to go shopping and buy a few things herself.

I decided to get her five gift cards and spread out the celebration for a week.

 

I printed this card up.

Then these tags to go on the gift cards.  I bought her gift cards to Target, Sonic, Papa John's, Ulta and Charming Charlie.

I cut envelopes out of patterned paper.

Then I mailed them all off. 

What five gift cards would you have wanted?

70th Birthday Gift

My dad turned 70 this year. 

A few weeks before his birthday I emailed all of the family and asked people to email me something they love about him. 

I thought of putting them together in a book but knew it would end up sitting on the shelf. 

My husband came up with the idea for a collage.  So, I created a document that said, "70 Reasons Why We Love Bruce" with little talk bubbles.  I got almost double the responses but included at least one from each person then printed the total list for him. 

I printed the document 12 X 16, matted it, framed it and shipped it off.

I wasn't able to be there for his party but I was told there was laughter and tears as he read through each one. 

It was a great reminder, as I saw all of the responses coming in, of how wonderful a man he is and just how much he gives to others.  I hope he treasures it.

 

I know many of you have asked for the template and I sent it out to a few.  But, my hard drive has since crashed and I no longer have the file.  I'm sorry I can no longer share it.

Fun Mail

I sent out a few boxes of candy last week via the post. 

Remember the U.S. Postal Service? 

Yeah, they're still around. 

And there's nothing more exciting {maybe it's just me} than opening up that mailbox and finding some good mail in there.

I slapped some mailing labels and stamps on the front of the box.  I doodled on my labels.  Then I wrote messages on the back with a Sharpie.

The best part???  The weight is right on the box.  You don't even need a postage scale.  If it is under 13 ounces you can slap a stamp on it and send it first class. 



Rainbow Birthday Party

My daughter turned three just a few days after my son's birthday.  Since I threw him his own party, I threw her one as well.  We invited five friends over for her "party" {glorified play date}.  I kept it simple but wanted to share a few tidbits of the party with you.

I cut rainbows out of card stock for her invitations and stuffed them into blue envelopes.  Again, I only had to make five and one to keep.

I copied Design Mom and made a rainbow balloon banner.  Click here to see Gabrielle's and her instructions on how to make it.  It was quick and easy.  I used smaller balloons than she did as I hung mine in the kitchen.

I filled the mantle with rainbows they've drawn and created in the past, some pinwheels and some rainbow crepe paper.

I frosted leftover cupcakes from my son's party {don't worry, I froze them so they tasted fresh...not that anyone actually tasted them...they just lick the frosting off} with blue frosting.  I added a couple of white clouds with a round tip.  Then I added strips of rainbow sour candy.  Cute, simple and perfect for our theme.

The party was in the afternoon so I just served juice, fruit and cupcakes. 

 

The kids strung fruit loops and made "rainbow" necklaces.

We played several games like Duck, Duck, Goose, Hot Potato, and Cranium Hullabaloo. 

Last I let them play with water beads.   I bought all of the colors of the rainbow from Wal-Mart.  You can find them in the floral department.  Just soak them for a good 4-6 hours and they provide all sorts of sensory fun.  Here they are in rainbow order.

That didn't last long. 

Everyone went home with a Hello Kitty Rainbow bag with goodies like markers, Skittles, a pinwheel from the Dollar Tree, bubbles, crayons, a punching balloon and a candy stick.  She lucked out that those bags had rainbows on them.  This momma wouldn't have bought them, otherwise. 

Again, I kept it pretty simple but it was the perfect party for a three year old.

Superhero Birthday Party

My son had a birthday a couple of weeks ago and he requested a party at home with his friends.  So that's what he got. 

He is all about superheros these days so he was happy to choose a superhero theme.  I was happy to oblige and, sticking with my "keep it simple" motto this year, I tried to keep it pretty simple.

I created the invitations and mailed them out in red envelopes. 

I found some $0.50 comic books and created comic book bunting.  I found my inspiration for this at One Charming Party.  She stitched hers between bias tape.  I went even simpler and used thin blue duck tape.  I ran out of that and finished the last two banners with blue painters tape.  It held up fine and looked great.

I took some metal signs from my son's room and set them on the mantle, then I decorated the rest of it with his superhero figures.  I told you he loves them.  He's gotten them for Christmas and birthdays for the last two years. 

I found a cute idea to have each kid make a cape over at Ambrosia Girl's Blog.  I purchased sticky back felt, like she did.  Then I cut each child's initial out.  They each decorated their "shield" with stars, diamonds and lightning bolts.  I had intentions to make quick, simple capes but when I stumbled upon these red ones at Target for $2.00 each, I knew I could check that off my list.  They were on the party goods aisle, near the bottom, under the superhero themed party supplies. 

For one of the games, I set up his Bat Cave and Joker's Fun House with all of the villains.  The kids had to shoot down the villains with little Nerf guns. 

My husband strung yarn in the hallway for laser training. 

We filled the basement with balloons.  They were a huge hit and not one toy got pulled out.  Bonus.  We stayed down there to play musical chairs, hot potato and knock down some villains. 

 

I made cupcakes with blue icing and added little toppers than I printed off to look like superhero logos.

He requested pizza so we kept the food very simple.  I like to use a party as a special excuse to buy the random things they ask for but I never buy like Koolaid Bursts.  I threw out some Cheese Puffs and fruit and called it good.  That was plenty of food for five and six year olds. 

Everyone went home with a bag of superhero themed goodies.  I found things at the dollar spot in Target and Michael's.  The superhero candy was found at Dollar Tree.  I stuffed them into blue cellophane bags tied up with a green ribbon.

Everyone had fun and he is already planning his party for next year. 

40th Birthday Bucket List Scrapbook

For my brother's 40th Birthday my sister and I came up with a unique gift idea. 

She asked family and friends to submit their ideas for a bucket list for our brother of 40 things to do after he turns 40.  Some of them were silly and some were things he could easily accomplish.  I'll share a few of them with you:

• Go visit your sister {me} in her new home town.
• Video yourself telling stories for your grandchildren.  {He is a great storyteller.}
• Take your children to Disney World.
• Pay for the person behind you in a drive through.
• Sing karaoke in public.
• Learn to play the piano.
• Swim with sharks.
• Write an account of the birth of each of your children, including your feelings and the reactions of their siblings.
• Unplug for an entire week: no skype, no cell, no internet, no tv.
• Go deep sea fishing {I think he's already done that???}
• Ride a mechanical bull.
• Sign up for an eating contest.
• Throw a coin in the Trevi Fountain.

I formatted each idea on an 8 x 8 page and she printed them and put them into a blank scrapbook for him.  He can take pictures and record along the way as he completes each item.

 She included photo corners and an acid free pen.  So, all he has to do now is work on the list and take pictures along the way!

What is on your bucket list?  

Homemade Trophy

For my brother's 40th birthday I decided to make him a homemade trophy similar to the last one I made.

I spent a few months gathering things that made me think of him like:

• a Legoman with a mohawk
• a 1984 Monte Carlo Hot Wheels car
• a basketball
• a set of dice
• a fishing pole and a big bass
• an old school boom box
• miniature tools (from the dollhouse section at Hobby Lobby)
• nuts & bolts
• a fountain (his livelihood)
• chess pieces
• an army guy
• a miniature Atari controller
• an electric guitar

These are all of the goofy things I remember about growing up with him.  He wanted to be a punk rocker.  He shaved his hair into a mohawk.  He drove a beater of a Monte Carlo to the ground.  He likes to play chess and other board games.  He plays basketball. And he loves to fish. 
I did a similar concept to the last one with a wooden base, an upside down plastic margarita glass and a bowl glued to the top of that. 

I hot glued everything onto that. Then I spray painted it gold. 

I sure hope he's proudly displaying it somewhere visible in his house!