Puzzle Boards for Candle Lighting Ceremonies

We enjoy making puzzle boards for Bar & Bat Mitzvah candle lighting ceremonies. They have 2 large 20" x 30" photos on them and they sit nicely on a standard easel.

The bottom photo that is revealed is usually the older photo...but not always. There's no rule about that.

The top photo is cut into as many pieces as needed. We've done 7. Mostly we do 13 or 14. Again, there is no rule.

We use a small ribbon tab (see the upper right corner) to help in removing the first piece. The rest of the pieces just follow. They don't fall off because there is a tiny bit of color matched velcro on each piece to hold it in place until it's time to be removed.

The pieces can be handed off to a sibling or a dj helper or set on a small table. We've also added a back pocket on the reverse side if requested for the pieces.

We like making them. Especially when we are given such excellent photos like this one of Nathan. Isn't he such a doll!

Cut-out foamcore names for parties

One thing Stacey and I make a bunch of is cut out names. We often make them 24" or 30" wide. That size works well for 30" x 40" foam board that folks buy themselves and use for their own Sign In Boards. (We cut our foamcore Sign In Boards 32" x 42". ) Or, they are often for candlelightings with a 36" base or welcome/placecard signs or candy shoppe signs. Some are for big D.J. signs.

We use a combination of paint, glitter, cracked ice mylar and foamcore, of course! I'm still-and-always on the prowl for the best font for the job. We made the jungle pattern letters ourselves for Morgan and they were over 2ft. The leafy ones in the Shelby font were some digital alphabets we found.

I just recently discovered the difference between purchasing an "alphabet" and purchasing a "font". In case you don't know the difference either, the alphabets are just individual letters or numbers that you need to use as a pictures and you need to import them in one letter at a time. You can't type in a line of words like I'm doing here.

Here's an UPDATE to this post I did in 2009. These are some recent cut out names we've done in 2011.  Check out our website  and look on the CUT-OUT NAMES page and you'll see all sorts of names and font styles.

We love making these names and adding embellishments if requested. Our goal is to do every name in the world....and we have a long way to go.....so give us a call or drop us an email.

Artsy Guitars

We've got some NEW ARTSY GUITARS in our repertoire of guitar styles. We offer photo realistic ones, plain white ones and these more artsy ones.

They can have the party theme name on them. They can have photos of the party person or famous rock musicians. They can be in the party colors and be made into centerpieces or added to Welcome signs or Placecard Displays or Sign In Boards.

It's all about being personalized and unique and one-of-a kind.

I've got some great models to help show the size and scale. They really know how to get with the program without any prompting. They are ROCK STARS at heart!

Half in and Half out of winter

It's a funny month...March.

Still kind of winter and dibs and dabs of hints of fresh spring.

The thawing lake ice is always a happy sign of what's to come.

Half ice...winter....half moving water....spring and summer.

I always thought I should take a picture of it....now I did.

Rock Star Guitars...fancy and plain.

We love guitars over here.

Our kids love playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band and

we always have lots of our foamcore photo realistic guitars in the making to mail out for parties.

Folks are always emailing me with creative new thoughts and ways they plan to use the foamcore guitars we make and giving us new inspiration.

We now offer them from plain white unpainted ones for the hardcore do-it-yourselfer as well as complete centerpieces with all the components needed to make them a finished centerpiece for candle lightings, placecard tables, sign in boards and table centerpieces.

We especially liked this one for Jamie's candlelighting with just 3 candles for past, present and future.

A little this and a little that plus guitars

We've been doing a bit of everything lately. Always guitars but some new ideas with them and fun other themes added in.

Here's just a few bits of what's been going out.

Variety is fun but we sure do make a big mess with foamcore and glitter . What really makes the biggest mess is the styrofoam packing material. It sticks like glue to me and manages to get all over the stairs. Daisy, our calico cat, looks like she has been snowed on sometimes with all the little styro balls stuck on her fur.

Shippin' & Recyclin'

Yes, I sure do ship and I love to recycle.

Several times a week either Stacey or I visit FedEx with boxes of party decorations to go all over the United States. (I love that their doors have those stoppers on the bottom so I can prop them open.) I've also noticed that the older the gentleman is, the better the chance is...almost 100% of the time...that they will hold the doors open for me. Can't say the same is true of women....of any age. They seem too preoccupied to notice. Or maybe women don't hold doors for women?? Maybe we don't. Maybe we should. Maybe I should too the next time I'm not too preoccupied to notice.

I also love to recycle boxes. If you get a package from me you may think you're getting a big screen tv....or new cabinet....or, yes...once.....a toilet. That was a funny one....but it was such a nice and clean and perfectly sound box....I just had to use it as is. Often I reverse them and put the writing inside but sometimes they are just perfect the way they are.

No one has complained yet.

I also will say by the amount of big screen tv boxes I see, there might not be a recession going on. Or....maybe there is and people are just staying home and enjoying NetFlixs?

But I love those shipping boxes. I just wish people would pass on more bubble wrap to me.
I realllllly love that. You can never have too much bubble wrap...that's what I say.

Ratty and Tattered Denim

I'm not sure why I think these pants are so worthy of a photo and a blog page. I think it has to do with the people inside them that I love. They are confident in their style.

I also think it's so funny every time I see them. They amuse me to look at them and I enjoy the happiness they seem to feel while they are wearing them.

I love their commitment to comfort.

I wonder if someone hid their jeans....would they search all over for them frantically?

Don't Mess with Stacey

Yup...don't mess with Stacey.....she can kick your butt. And, she's got the karate trophies to prove it.

She also is very inventive on new ways to make shipping centerpieces safe and compact.

Here's an example of her latest good idea on basketball hoops for centerpieces. Not only do they travel very safely this way, they are super easy for the receiver to just flip down the hoop. It makes assembly so simple anyone could do it.

Perfect vacation and The Survivors Club

I love to read but don't have nearly enough time. If I could select a great vacation, one of them would be to lock myself in a plush hotel room with a stack of good books for a week. Room service would visit 3 times a day with delicious food that always included a dessert. My room would be stocked with popcorn and orange juice and starbucks coffee for in-between. I'd stay in my bathrobe for the entire week. My room would have a jacuzzi tub too so I could alternate between reading in bed and reading in the warm tub.

One of the books I would have loved to read during my fantasy vacation would have been "The Survivors Club" by Ben Sherwood. What a really good book. It's loaded with interesting stories about people who have survived very harsh circumstances and how they feel that good things emerge from the worst experiences. Also, he talks to many authorities on the subject and shares their data in an easy to understand format.

For instance he talks about DNA Resilience alleles and how some people has long ones (very good...but only 32% of us) or short ones (17%....you might be in trouble) or one of each...most people...51% of us. His writing styles makes this kind of technical information easy to grasp and fun to understand.

Like on page 271 on the Resilience Prescription: Optimism, identify a resilient role model, develop a moral compass, practice altruism, develop acceptance and flexibility, face your fears & learn to control negative emotions, build coping skills, establish a support network, stay physically fit and laugh as much as you can.

Or....page 315...."More than any other psychological strength, adaptability determines who gets into the Survivors Club."....moving with the flow of life instead of against it.

I'd recommend this book to anyone. And, if I get to take my fantasy vacation, I'll let you know all about it when I return.

Stacey's Beautiful Quilts Part 2

Is it spring yet?

Do I have to remove the pine garland from around my front door yet? Is it spring yet?

The ground is so dirty and muddy-looking now with the snow melting and the grass so brown instead of green that I hate to remove the greenery from around my front door.

It's not so green anymore but..hey...the needles are still there so I'm keepin' it a bit longer.

Do you think I can get another month out of it??

Yeah, I think so. I think March is the appropriate month to remove such items. I think I read that somewhere in a Martha Stewart Living magazine...didn't I? (Martha would never approve of me.)

Fashion Frenzy.....more Pink Stuff.

Here's more pink stuff for a different party in various shades of pink as described in the last post. These were the top themed designs for elevated centerpieces for a Bat Mitzvah.

These designs were two sided and slid onto our clear pvc poles filled with silver shredded mylar with ribbons down the poles and poufs at the base. Girly-Girl ....that's for sure.

What I think about PINK.

WHAT I like about pink is everything.

HOW I like using it best for a party is with lots of different pinks all at the same time.

I think that pink is a difficult color.

There are about a bazillion shades of pink and when you try and use just one shade and try to match everything to that one shade (and you absolutely can't), it can look "off ". That's why I think purposefully using several shades of pink works like magic. Soft or bold... pink is still pink and nothing is more girly than pink.

Stacey's Beautiful Quilts Part 1

Before Stacey and I started working together she had more time to make some really gorgeous quilts. Quilts take math skills and Stacey has those in a big way. She could teach high school math if she wanted to and everyone in the family comes to her for math questions . She always knows the answers. Her cutie pie Jeffrey is following in her footsteps. You either have it or you don't.

I fall in the "don't" category. I've never made a quilt but I looove them. I can do math and balance a check book but I'm not even sure what calculus is and even whether I spelled it right. I am the proud holder of 2 of Stacey's quilts of family pictures. I cherish them. I always thought if I had to spend some time in the hospital I would grab one off the wall and take my whole family with me to wrap around me.

I'm going to take more pictures of Stacey's quilts and make one of those fun little animated Smileboxes. That's on my To Do list.