Fling the Sock

 I'm not sure what this game is about but it 

involves grandkids and friends, a sock, 

some bare feet, 

laying on the ground and swinging a 

sock at your playmates.

 All I know now is that now I have a sock

in one of my trees.

A lovely match to the ropes hanging in

my trees and the tree climbing boards nailed to

my trees and the trampolines and swings in my yard.

Ah....so what's one sock. It kinda looks like a bird.

Puzzle Boards for Parties

Here's some Puzzle Boards we've done in the last month.

They were used at parties in place of lighting

candles for a Candle Lighting Ceremony.

Each board has a little tab in the upper corner that 

is the first piece removed. Then it's easier to

remove the subsequent puzzle pieces without

having to work too hard at getting the next 

piece. We don't want to make things difficult for

the people standing up there in front of all

the other guests!

Underneath is another photo that is gradually

revealed. 

These boards sit just fine on a standard easel.

I've made the picture large here... if you click on it...

 so you can view the pieces and see how it is made 

with foamcore, paint and glitter. Glitter, of course.

That's our middle name. 

I'm Marlyss Glitter Hollyer and Stacey is

Stacey Glitter Dunagin.

Well...not really...but it should be.

Violin Font and other Fun Cutout Names

We're still makin' and shippin' foamcore cutout names.

Here's some recent ones.

One of my favorites was the one for "AMY".

That font is called "Carmencita".

I think it really looks good with music and 

especially with violins. It has the same 

swirly design that is on violins.

"Noah" is in the "Team Spirit" font. We use

that one often.

"Michaela" is in "Elephant Bells"...probably

the single most all-time popular font we own.

Twilight, Tv and Tunes....Big Props for Centerpieces.

What are we up to?

Up to our eye balls in big props.

Big props for extra large elevated centerpieces.

All based on hobbies and likes of the 

Bar Mitzvah girl.

We've got this big cube for Twilight plus big

pictures of the Twilight cast. 

What would a music centerpiece be without Mtv,

and ipod and a guitar and a big note for the 

reverse side.  The brown paper circle is our "template"

that's the size the upper base is for all these 

big 3' props.

Also, a two sided TV with 

Family Guy on one side.

Plus...there's more..like tennis,

friends, camp, vacations, etc.

They're all being shipped out for the 

final assembly to be done by a 

party decorator in another state.

All except my buddy there Jake.

He's staying here.

I just grabbed him to stand in

the photo to show scale.

I especially liked the Twilight one. It would

be fun to do a whole party with just 

that theme alone.

Enchanted fairy and castle centerpieces and signs

Here's some Party Setup pictures from behind the scenes.

Here's the BEFORE.

Nice room....classic beige and brown....12 foot ceilings.

Here's the AFTER.

Light and airy....soft and beautiful pastel colors for the fairies 

and castles and rainbow centerpieces.

Here's Stacey working on the sign for behind the area 

with the D.J. 

Some things just need to be done at the party...especially

all those lights that poked thru the sign into the front side

and also were taped on the back and twinkled thru the 

foamcore in a soft twinkling glow effect.

I should have taken a movie so you could see the lights twinkling.

Here's the flower on the way to the party.

It was a relief to get it on the pole and be done

with it's care and nurturing!

We were so lucky to have a bright and sunny

day to deliver and setup these items.  You never

know with February and this weekend the

east coast was hit with snow and we didn't get

a drop. Lucky Michigan.

It would have still worked out....with lots of

plastic bags covering everything. 

But life was so much easier without

plowing thru the snow.

Here's the candle lighting swirl centerpiece that

you can only see a bit of in the AFTER picture.

Here's the sweet Sign In Board with little elfin Ellery.

Can you tell I just loved this party?

Clouds. Fairies. Rainbows. Stars.

Castles.  Carriages. Roses.

Sweet.   Soft.   Beautiful.

Football Tailgate Centerpiece and Sign

1. Take an octagon base and wrap it in

navy blue and sparkly iridescent orange

ribbon.

2. Make a goal post and football and a

team helmet in foamcore.

3. Insert the helmet into the base & the

football in the goal post with round

wooden tooth picks.

4. Add some mylar poufs and voila!

A football centerpiece!

I like and understand 

FOOTBALL CENTERPIECES 

better than I understand real football!

But I love our guy Jeff who plays football.

 He's a cool kid.

But these football centerpieces aren't for him.

They're shipping out tomorrow to another state.

Those crazy snowmobilers.

What do 'ya want to bet it was a guy that made these 

tracks on our ice?

Probably under thirty.

Saw a hole in the ice and just knew he could make

it over it.

Looks like he has a little trouble on one side of

the puddle.

It also looks like he only did it once.

Maybe he learned from his mistake...or...

maybe he went looking for another puddle?

Luckily the water is only about a foot deep

at this spot in the wildlife area of our lake

at this time of year.

But I somehow have the feeling the

depth might not even have mattered

to this wildlife snowmobiler.

What color are we suppose to love this year?

 Pantone...a color authority....says this is

THE COLOR of 2010.

Maybe so.

I think they just rotate colors because turquoise has

been on the outs for awhile.

It's been so "out" that I had to have a color custom

mixed up by Home Depot.

Here's my special mix.

It's more blue.

I love it, don't you?

But my pretty

bowl is a closer match to the "trendy Pantone

turquoise".  It's a glass bowl I got at an

artfair.  Do you believe I would put a

gallon of paint in it. What am I thinking!

Well....only for the picture.

I do love turquoise. I love it with lime green.

I love it with red and yellow.

I really love it with purple.

Hooray for turquoise this year.

If you want to mix up a batch yourself,

here's the numbers from the Home Depot

mix formula.

Tie-Dyed: Peace, Love and Rock 'n Roll Guitars

Love it...just love it to pieces.

First time we've done tie-dyed looking stars 

with our guitars and I'm just crazy about it.

Fun Mom to work with and she had great ideas.

Feeling of Flying

Stacey and I took "the gang" roller skating for 

a birthday celebration for Ryan.

I'm of the age I had to think....mmmm...aren't you

gettin' a little old to be roller skating???

Obviously Stacey isn't.  Here she is with that

Feeling of Flying.  I captured this moment of her as she 

swung around a curve on the rink.

I remembered that feeling of flying.

That's why I put the skates on.

Uhhh...half way around on my first pass I was

on my butt. Jake slid by and said...Grandma,

you okay? I was.  I fell on my pride.

But I gotta tell you.....a few more passes around and

 I got the Feeling of Flyin'....it was worth it.

Foamcore layered PARTY NAMES in silver and white

White on silver or silver on white?

I like both combinations.

I think I like the white on silver best.

What I really like is that big swashy "N".

Each cut-out name we make seems to have

it's own personality.

"Nyree" is in a font called "Feel".

"Taylor" is in a font called "Honey Script Semi-Bold"

Funky Shopping Fashion Girls for Party Centerpieces

I saw these funky little shopper girls at TJ MAXX.

They were made of metal and about 14" high and only $13.

I loved their attitude.

I didn't buy them but I thought....mmmmm....how cute 

they would be if they were about 24" or more and made

with foamcore and glitter....maybe even some real

fabric.  Yup...that's what I thought.

I'm keeping them in mind.

Here's a couple of ones we did that fall in that

"funky" fun category of fashion shopping girls.

PARTY IDEA: Snowy Faux Winter Walls

I'm always on the lookout for party ideas.

These snowy winter walls in J.Crew's window

in the Mall stopped me right in my tracks.

 

Look how big this wall is compared to the mannequins.

It was about 12 ft. high by about 16 ft wide.

What a simple and inexpensive idea for a 

big impact.

I can see snowflake placecards stuck in the

crevices. I can see party giveaways on the

shelves.

Paper and a staple gun and a support frame

behind it...maybe wood...maybe just foamcore.

The side view shows just how easy it was.

These other walls were carved and painted 

styrofoam.  There were deeply carved and coated with special

foam coating that made it very hard to the touch. I had

to touch them and look at the wood frame on 

the back side. It was very "stage-scenery" like.

I could see chair lift tickets strung on

a big rope draped on it.

Such different materials for each one but such 

versatile ideas for hardly any material cost. 

They both certainly made me stop & look.

Creative Christmas Trees: Paris, Fish and Feathers

Here's the last of my favorites from 

the Festival of Trees.

I can make this flower.

I know I can.

It would make a great base

for a centerpiece....

especially with some lights.

I really liked this Paris tree.

It had everything you could think of that

reminded you of Paris.

 

If you didn't already "get it", the

words were spelled right out.

This feathery tree was snowy

and elegant.

But my favorite was this one.

I can stop thinking about how

they were made.

It really knocked me out.

I don't have a fish themed party

right now...but when I do....

watch out.

 

Creative Christmas Trees: Fun for Kids

More Christmas trees from the Festival of Trees in Allen Park, Michigan.

Since this blog post is all about the cutest trees with a kid theme, who better than Snoopy to be a tree topper.

This one surprised me with a really big (and probably heavy)

doll stuck into the tree right near the top. It also had other toys like the football you can see on the left, but the doll is what caught my eye.

This one was crammed to the max with Christmas books of all sizes. What impressed me the most was the attention to the details. The pages had little corners turned over and even though it appears very full, it was artfully arranged right down to the books under the tree as well. See... it even won a ribbon. My picture doesn't do it justice. It really made you stop and look and appreciate the time and patience that went into it.

  

Okay...this one just killed me. It was over the top wild and crazy. I'm not sure I'd want it in my house but it did make me smile. It also won an award. I guess it should have won an award just for the audacity of it. You have to realize how BIG this was. That lavender guy was about 10' long. If he was real, he probably could eat a little kid....so much for being "kid friendly"!