DIY Ribbon Wands

If you saw my post about Momo's party you may have noticed the ribbon wands that I made for party favors. They were super easy to make! The hardest part was deciding on what color ribbons to use!

I found the tutorial via The Ribbon Wand Shop. The only change I made was I used 3ft of ribbon versus 4ft. and the ribbon was still really long and pretty! My girlfriend helped me out by sealing the edges with glue to keep the ribbon from fraying.

Now, if I were to make these again for 3-5 year olds I think I would use a smaller dowel - one that was just large enough for a small hand to wrap around. Possibly 4-5" (versus the 12" that I used.). Why? The ribbon wands quickly turned into ribbon SWORDS. How on earth I didn't see that one coming I have no idea!

It was a fun project and I look forward to making these again for another occasion! 

For more homemade projects or gift ideas check out "this & that" and "Tip Junkie."

Bubble Birthday

Happy Belated Birthday to Momo!

Momo turned four this month. While her birthday was on a Monday we didn't tell her because we weren't celebrating it for another week (and I wasn't ready to be asked a million times a day, for seven days "When's my party?!?") The plan was to have a bubble themed birthday party in the park, but Mother Nature wasn't having it!

Oh dear. And this was the first time EVER that I would be throwing a party with NO structure - no crafts, no games, no pinata....no nothing! Just bubbles and cake!  (Pretty ballsy of me, I know!)  I figured with the party being outside the kids would be content running around in the grass blowing bubbles, playing on the playground, etc. But nooooooooo. The rain was coming. For sure.

So....against my own wishes I held the party at our small apartment. Yes. Crazy. And we were expecting about 12 kids and their moms. *Breathe in. Breathe out.*

But guess what? It all worked out okay.....even in a small space, with no structure everyone had a great time! Unfortunately I didn't take nearly as many pics as I would have liked. Thank goodness that my BFF took some (and helped with the pizza.....and the favors.....and the balloons..... THANKS BFF!)

 There was some pre-party dancing (Momo always dances to the Black Eyed Peas!):

A little glitter in the hair:

 

CAKE (from Costco, of course): 

 

Lots of playing indoors due to the rain and mud outdoors:

Did I mention mud?

I didn't realize till after the fact that I never even took a picture of the "bubble bar" outside (under the overhang). Darn! :( But here's a pic of the party favors. Homemade bubble solution and ribbon wands:

Even if it didn't turn out the way I envisioned it Momo had a GREAT time...and that's what counts! :) When I asked what was the most favorite part of her party she said, "BUBBLES!" 

Happy birthday, Momo! :)

Mama's a Mess + 4 Crazy Kings =

SO MUCH FUN!

I have stayed quiet about this (and it was HARD!) but now I'm spilling the beans! 

Recently I had the opportunity to meet one of my most favorite bloggers EVER, Kim from 4 Crazy Kings. I've  often made reference to her blog as she is my go-to gal for kid's crafts! Well, Kim and her family came to Hawaii for vacation and I jumped at the chance to meet them!

How did it go? You tell me:

In other words, IT WAS AWESOME! 

Although it was our first time meeting in person I truly felt as if we were two long lost friends reunited! I couldn't get enough of her and her family and hope they come back soon!

The girls got along wonderfully as well! Here are the two little ones, Em & Momo:

And here are he two older ones, Kailani and Lulu:

We met up at the Dole Plantation and walked around the grounds so the mamas (and papa!) could talk and the girls could cut loose. We went into the "World's Largest Maze" and tried to find all the hidden booths:

They found the "Fish" booth....as you can see by Momo making fish lips!

We didn't find them all of them but we had a lot of fun trying! 

We talked so much that we shut the place down. Seriously. We were *this* close to getting kicked out. The announcement over the intercom stated that the plantation had closed (30 minutes prior) and to exit out the front! I think they were speaking to us directly. HA! 


A fun time had by all!

A note to Kim, Papa King and the girls..... "COME BACK SOON!"  :)

Stop by Kim's blog for a few more pictures!

Wordless Wednesday - Bathing Suits Optional!

No bathing suit? 

No problem!

Just swim with your clothes on (which is a better alternative to swimming in the nude!)

 

  

For more Wordless Wednesday check out 5 Minutes for Mom!

Checking in.....

Been awhile since I posted (yet again!) We've had back-to-back visitors since mid-January and now my BFF (best friend forever) is here from Korea with her beautiful family! So lots of sight-seeing, shopping and beach days to come with not so much blogging and sewing till they go!

But that doesn't mean no crafting! My sweet (and a little bit crazy) Momo had a birthday yesterday and turned the big FOUR! CRAZY! Her party (I like to say "playdate with cake" as I'm trying to keep it simple) isn't for a few more days so we didn't tell her....so shhhhhhhh!

Meanwhile I am working on some favors. Here's a sneak peek of them half way done. Any guesses to what it might be?

Will post a picture of the finished product with the tutorial on how to do it!