Pretty Parties

Decorate your Turkey Day Plate

2010-11-17T15:19:00.000-06:00

The Idea Room has a fun idea for Thanksgiving Day and keeping the kids happy at the table while we dine.

Check is out HERE.

Turtle Burgers

2010-06-17T19:41:00.000-05:00

A reader just sent me this idea: Turtle Burgers!

Take a ground beef patty, top with cheese and weave some bacon on top for the shell. Add some hot dogs for head, arms, legs, and tail. Place on an oven rack, cover loosely with foil, and bake for 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees.

Kind of creepy, but probably fun for the kids!

Thanks Patrick!

Cupcake Stand

2010-05-03T13:46:00.000-05:00

Or a stand to hold any sort of goodies.

This will be really easy to make, and is easy to coordinate with any sort of color scheme you're working with!

HERE is a link to the tutorial (in case you haven't figured it out already).

mmmmm......s'mores

2010-03-09T17:01:00.000-06:00

One of my all time favorite treats. Best over an open fire, but not too shabby in the microwave. I wonder if this gadget would improve it all that much?

Find it HERE

Closets

2010-03-06T14:53:00.000-06:00

We're tossing around the idea of having the girls share a room. One of the problems I forsee in this is closet space. Between the two of them, they already have more shoes than everyone else in the house combined. This looks nice though...

Dyeing Pasta

2010-02-15T18:27:00.000-06:00

I hosted a little Valentine's Day party for some of the kids' friends last Thursday. I was trying to come up with some crafts and decided that they could make pasta necklaces. But, I wanted to take it a step further and make the pasta fun colors so I dyed it.

It was fun, and might be great for a quick craft.

Just add about 2 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol (I bet vinegar would work too), and drops of food coloring to a ziploc bag. I used about 3-4 drops of food coloring and my pasta still turned out fairly pastel so you might want to add more. Add 3 or 4 handfuls of the pasta you choose and let it sit for a few hours. I let the "red" go overnight in hopes of it developing a more deep color, but alas, that didn't work. I just ended up with a coral color (which was suppose to be pink) and a pink color (which was suppose to be red). Smoosh the liquid in the bag around every hour or so to make sure the pasta all gets it's fair shair of coloring.

Notes about stringing necklaces:

Don't use yarn. It's not stiff enough to go through the noodles. Twine would probably work better.

Record Bowls

2010-02-03T15:37:00.000-06:00

This looks like a fun and easy craft to do. I don't have any records, so I'd have to run to Goodwill (or my Dad's collection...which he might not agree with). I know vinyl is definitely not food safe, but you could put a polyurethane finish on it if you wanted to serve food in these bowls. Or just line them with plastic wrap when you use them.

Here is a good tutorial.

A Super Superbowl Layout

2010-02-02T09:05:00.000-06:00

I suppose I'll still watch the big game even though the Vikings won't be making an appearance. The Colts are, afterall, my 2nd favorite team to watch. Will someone please set this up for me? Details HERE.

Easy Wall Art!

2010-01-22T14:06:00.000-06:00

I really really want to do this. She made these using those decorative rubber door mats. "She" being the lady that runs "Frugal Home Ideas"...a blog about...you guessed it, frugal home ideas. Click HERE to get the full details of how she did it.

Here's my problems:

I don't know where in my house I'd put something like this
It's winter and I hear spray painting in the cold is not good
I don't have a rubber doormat and don't want to buy one because I'm even more frugal than this lady. If you have one you don't want anymore...let me know.

Cool Headboards

2010-01-15T06:00:00.001-06:00

This makes me wish Austin were really into baseball.

And this would be cool if there was an aquatic theme to the room.

And no, the fishbowls are not full of fish (or water for that matter).

Both of these ideas (and others) were found here.

Heart Wreath - Homemade

2010-01-13T07:53:00.000-06:00

I still have my Christmas wreath hanging on my front door. It's still there because I use the front door once a day to get the mail. I don't see it on my way out, and then on my way in I have lots of mail to hold and tell myself I'll take the wreath down after I drop off the mail. But, after I put the mail down Austin is ready with 101 questions ranging from "what's in the mail" to "where is a human's brain". Seriously. So, the Christmas wreath remains. But I saw this one online today and I think it would be really cute.

It's from The Idea Room (in case you couldn't tell from the picture). It seems very easy, the only problem is that it requires cutting a gagillion 3 inch circles from felt. My hand hurts just thinking about it. But, you can go HERE and get the tutorial. And if you want to cut an extra bunch of circles for me, I'd love you forever.

p.s.--Meggan, if you read this, this has you written all over it!

Pretty Christmas trees

2009-12-16T11:52:00.000-06:00

Our tree really has no theme. When we had our first christmas together Rob really wanted silver and blue ornaments with white lights and that is what we did. Every year since then more and more of the blue and silver ornaments have been broken and the tree is instead becoming covered with ornaments we have given each other, or the kids. Someday, I would love to have a beautiful christmas tree that is really gorgeous to look at. Better Homes and Gardens (the website) has tons of ideas for me, but this one stuck out. Totally different than anything I'd ever plan, but I like it:

Advent Calendars

2009-12-10T07:19:00.000-06:00

I've always wanted an Advent Calendar. When I was younger, we'd go hang out at my cousin's house and they each had an Advent Calendar where each day they got to pull up a little door to reveal a chocolate treat during the month of December. I've wanted one ever since. It got me thinking about what's available these days in the ways of Advent Calendars. There's some cute stuff out there.

For Example:

This can be found on Etsy here.

Or, this one:

But, then I have to actually find 25 mini gifts to stash in it. But, if Rob wanted to buy this for me and fill it for me, I'd take it. Found here

And one more, but once again, someone needs to prefill this baby for me:

Found here

In the meantime, I'll just help the kids widdle away at their Christmas chains

Snow Party

2009-12-08T15:15:00.000-06:00

It's snowing today. I've heard anywhere from 2-6 inches so who knows what we'll end up with, but it's put me in the mood for snowy treats.

I would love it if someone came to my house and set up this display for me. I don't want to have a party because I want to lay around in my PJs and watch movies under a cozy blanket, but I want this pretty display at my fingertips to graze from.

Details of this party are found here.

Easy Homemade Gift Bows

2009-11-28T18:04:00.000-06:00

I think this is brilliant! I almost always use newspaper or some other recycled good to wrap presents around my house because I think for something that is going to be ripped to shreds, traditional gift wrap is ridiculously overpriced. And now, I will have the knowledge on how to add my own homemade bow to my weirdly wrapped packages.

See the full tutorial here. It looks really easy! I need to go buy a stapler.

Funny Pilgrim Napkin Rings

2009-11-21T14:38:00.000-06:00

I don't know why I think these are so funny.

But, I do. I have no idea who those kids are, but I know my own kids would get a kick out seeing themselves dressed up like that. It'd be really cute way to set the Thanksgiving Day table and let everyone know where to sit! Find the directions here.

Chicken Party!

2009-11-19T10:42:00.000-06:00

Look what Kerry pulled together! It was a brilliant chicken themed party! And, like she said, a lot of these decorations could be used for any sort of Farm party. I love the mason jars with the labels. Very cute for a kids' Barnyard Bash! Check it out!

Turkey Treats!

2009-11-18T12:38:00.000-06:00

Kerry came across these on the internet someplace and we both thought they were very cute.

Go here for full directions. The creative genius behind them claims they are easy to make. Moon pies, candy corn, nutter butters, frosting, and tiny candies. That's what you'll need.

Then you can gobble them up! (I'm here all week folks, shows are at 8!)

I'll take three!

2009-11-14T09:22:00.001-06:00

Each one of my children needs this clock in their room.

That's a really small picture.

Anyway, this clock is called the Teach Me Time clock. That's all well and good that it tries to teach the lil'uns the time, but why I really need this clock is a completely selfish reason.

On the left, the clock glows an orange color during the night. But, get this! The parent can set the clock to glow green at whatever time in the morning you want. You just teach your kids that when the clock turns green, it is okay to wake up mommy and daddy (and cross your fingers they listen).

My kids have secret meetings right before bedtime. I haven't caught them in the act yet, but I'm convinced that they meet each night before bedtime to decide which one is going to wake up before 6am.

I'd like to grab three of these clocks and set for...say....10am.

Thanksgiving Finger Puppets

2009-11-12T19:27:00.000-06:00

Before I get into this next post, I have decided something. "Pretty Parties" is now going to become something else. There are just far too many cool things out there to limit myself to parties. This is now going to become "Tracy's Picks" or something of the sort. Where I just let the world know about fun things I've found on the internet and where you can find them. I'll get around to changing the name and header and all that business eventually, but until then, just pretend....

Now, onto bigger (actually smaller) and better things! Finger puppets!

How cute are these?

My girls would love these. Just today we were hanging out at a friends house who had some cute little finger puppets and they were a hit! I'm not sure what sort of story I could make up with the Thanksgiving set, but it's never too early for a lesson about Pocahontas and John Smith, right? Were they even Pilgrims?

Doesn't matter. These are cute. You can order your very own set atEtsy from WeeKnit. And, if you're not into concocting stories about the Santa Maria's passengers, check out their other little finger goodies.

I'm going to get these for Rob. He's pretty much memorized this movie and I'm sure his finger puppet rendition would be nothing short of amazing.

Pilgrim Hat Cookies

2009-11-09T20:32:00.000-06:00

Super cute and super easy! Chocolate Wafer cookie, Reeses peanut butter cup, and orange frosting. Voila!

Monster Bash

2009-11-03T07:21:00.000-06:00

I know Halloween is over, but use this opportunity to stock up for next year (at great prices!), or stock up for a Monster Party for any time of the year!

These are all decorations bought from this year's Target Halloween line. But, I think the colors are bright enough to be used for a fun "Monster" birthday party any time of the year!

Meatloaf Madness!

2009-10-29T08:24:00.001-05:00

I don't like meatloaf. To be fair, the last time I had it was in college so maybe my taste buds would appreciate it more now. Everyone's response to this is "Yeah, but you haven't tried MY meatloaf". It has nothing to do with the recipe, it has everything to do with the texture.

If I came across this meatloaf on the dinner table, I'm not sure if I'd be more inclined to try it, or to immediately vomit.

Isn't that awful? Awfully creative!

A friend just sent me the link to this (Thanks, Amy), the recipe can be found at Not Martha.

Creepy Cider

2009-10-28T10:42:00.000-05:00

When I first saw this, I wasn't sure what it was, but I loved it!

It's on Martha Stewart in case you want to replicate it.

Skeleton Veggie Tray

2009-10-27T08:39:00.001-05:00

I wonder if my kids would be more apt to eating veggies if I arranged them like this:

I found this picture at Kraft Kitchens.