MY FAVORITE THINGS: PART 5: Porch Swings

I love these porch swings. I have 9 at the moment. My oldest one is over 15 years old. I take good care of it and don't leave it out in the rain. I got it at the Renaissance Festival and paid about $85 for it. It's pink but most of the rest of them are green.

My favorite one I got on Ebay for around $60. The bar at the top is wider and it is very closely woven in a soft cotton yarn. It is extremely comfortable. I liked it so much I bought a second one from the same guy.

I got one at a garage sale for $5. I threw it out. It tangled and no one ever liked to sit in it.

I bought 2 nylon ones at an art fair. They have clips to make it a chair or if you un-clip it, it becomes more like a hammock. Those are the ones that take alot of abuse....as well as being the site of lots of fun as seen here. Also, since they are nylon the rain doesn't affect them much.

I bought this air swing on Ebay too. It drove me crazy figuring out how to put it together. We have it hanging from a tree limb and it's fun to bang your feet against the tree to get you swinging. I had rocks around the base of the tree but I removed them just in case some wild ones fell off the swing. Some young folks think the swings are more a jungle gym apparatus than a swing.

I just love these swings. If I have a back ache, it helps. If I'm sleepy, they put me right to sleep.

I love reading in them or just sitting and having coffee. Or, we have a foot bumping game called "kaboom" we play.

I like them so much that I screwed a bolt into a stud in my work room ceiling so I could hang a swing in there in the winter.

If you don't own a soft swing you're missing a quick & easy retreat to your inner being.

Super Hero party sign

Here's a fun sign that went in the D.J. area.

In my scouting the interweb for an exciting and new font that

would work for a comic theme, I found one.

It's called "Damn Noisy Kids"....really...it is. You can check it out and you too can have it on your computer.

I'm going to put it in the same file as another of my favorites fonts called "Feast of Flesh".

If the goal is to make an interesting font easy to remember the name, I do think the originator has accomplished his/her mission, don't you?

Big foamcore GUMBALL machine for a Bat Mitzvah

Here's another really fun centerpiece from a 50's party.

Stacey made this really big and three dimensional faux gumball machine....well, sorta faux...there were some real gumballs in the bottom tray. (But they were hot glued in.)

The centerpiece had a hole in the bottom side and it slid onto the pole.

I've seen actual little gumball machines that would make great placecards or giveaways to match with this really big foamcore gumball machine.

This centerpiece was over 4 ft. tall. It was non-eye blocking for a dinner table because it was so tall but it would also work in other places in the room...like for a Welcome Sign or on the Sweet Table.

I think it would work for a candy theme too.

How about a picture of the party person inside with the all gumballs...like they were looking out at you and trapped inside the gumball machine....okay...am I getting carried away?

MY FAVORITE THINGS: PART 3: Plastic Safety People

I LOVE THIS GUY!

Believe me....he works. People do slow down.

I have 2 of them and I put one on each side of the street when the kids are riding their bikes around in the street since we don't have sidewalks.

If traffic is particularly busy or I'm feeling annoyed by the cars, I'll put them IN the street and kinda close together. A car has to slow way down to pass between them.

It amazes me how well they work.

I've had these
Step2 KidAlert guys for well over 5 years. I leave them outside in the winter in a side storage area and they've really hung in there. Must be some sturdy plastic.

They really are one of my favorite things because I am the Safety Patrol and I like easy solutions to annoying problems!

45 rpm RECORD Centerpiece...the 50's Rock!

Pull out those old 45's and make a cute retro centerpiece from them.

Add a record needle, some stars and musical notes and don't forget that "thingy"...what is that called??...that thing you put into the middle of the record to make it fit into the record player. If you've played 45's you know what I mean. If you only know about ipods, then you think I'm crazy.

Some things from the 50's are just the best....ipods might be cool but records looked cooler....sorry...just my opinion.

And if I put an ipod centerpiece next to this one....mmmm.....which do you think would have the most pizzazz? Of course the records!

Sunset moments

I was outside with my son-in-law and we were standing in awe of this view in our yard.

I had to run and grab my camera.

It was changing fast.

It was such a beautiful brief moment that I had to try and see if I could capture it so I could save it and hold it in my hand longer.

Ahhhhh.......Thank you.

Here's another one. July 2009.

Almost wickedly violent looking...yet calm and peaceful.

Stunningly beautiful.

Guitar Centerpiece "Over the Top"

We make lots of guitar centerpieces but not always quite like this one.

Most often they are foamcore electric guitars instead of foamcore acoustic guitars like this one....but this was for a 50's themed party in the fun colors of fushia, orange, lime and turquoise and black and white checks.

Stacey cut out over a thousand little black squares to checkerboard all the centerpiece bases for both the elevated poles and the new 8 sided bases she engineered for the "low on the table" look centerpieces. These new bases have a rounded feel yet they allow for items to be securely placed all around them. I'll be posting a picture of those soon. They are great looking and versatile for applications more than just checkerboard designs.

But I just loved this guitar centerpiece. It has 2 guitars on it back to back and both sides have funky musical notes and glittered stars. But I really think the checkered pole makes it pop! I've always felt that the base and/or the pole is an important element to the total look.

We have some new electric and acoustic guitars we will be adding to our website: www.guitarcenterpieces.com this summer when things slow down and I can spend some extra time playing with guitars. I'm looking forward to July....it's my favorite month of the year!

(Here's a picture of the reverse side of this centerpiece at the party location. Thanks Monica!)

Memorial Day Parade/Task Karate

What a beautiful day....and that's something to cherish in Michigan.

Planes and helicopters were flyin' over head...sirens were wailin', drums were beatin' and music was playing loudly.

It was noisy and wonderful and very crowded.

I rode my bike into town and I think that's the only way to go to a parade.

I visited some crafts and bought some homemade purple/lavender soap. I also bought a few plants...and, yup, carried them home on my bike. I had some food and followed the parade route and took lots of pictures of Stacey and boys as they looked so very cool marching down the road.

Funky City Skyline Centerpieces...maybe New York?

We just made 80 of these skyline centerpieces.

They had 4 sides but no bottom.

They had a light inside to make them glow at the party.

You could use battery closet lights...or I used puck lights from

Costco that were nice and bright led lights. A few battery operated candles also would work.

They were easy to make and easy to connect together but 80 of them sure took a whole bunch of time to cut out!

Miss Cookie

Miss Cookie...what a cute little logo person.

She was based on the party person being named Miss Cookie when she was little. Now she's bigger and this was her personalized party theme. What a cute and original idea. I didn't come up with it but I did make these centerpieces for the party and I did come up with the idea for the "Delete Cookies??" I thought it was funny.

It was a Bat Mitzvah but I think it would work for a kids party of any age. Who doesn't like cookies....especially when they are falling from trees and stacked on your head !

Wrestling Placecards & Table Numbers

We don't often get to do a wrestling themed party.

But what a fun idea.

These were the Placecards, Table Number and the Welcome Centerpiece that sat with the Bar Mitzvah Placecards.

The Placecards stood in thin slits we cut into the black foamcore table topper that was 6' long and held over 150 placecards. The larger matching figure is just there for the picture. It went next to the centerpiece on each dining table.

The crowd sign in the back held signs relating to Ross's Main Event.

We pondered the attachments for the "ropes". I went to Home Depot and found 2 ideas that I thought might work but wasn't sure. In the meantime Stacey came up with a simple solution of using black foam and they worked just great.

Wandering around Home Depot is one of the things I love doing. It's my Number Two favorite store. Number One is the Apple Store in 12 Oaks Mall. I would like to move right in there and live. My un-attainable goal is to be an Apple Genius. That'll never happen! Not even close. But I'm going to have fun trying and I keep taking those awesome and wonderful One to One classes.

Personalized free standing foamcore Guitar

That Stacey and her engineering-brain!

I love the clever back support she devised to make our foamcore centerpiece guitars

self-supporting and sturdy.

Yet they ship completely flat for safe and compact shipping.

Also, they are a snap to quickly open the back support and setup.

I love the guitars tipped at an angle...much more artistic than standing soldier-like....

and especially more readable when there is a name added.

Chanel handbag for a Big Sign In Board...and Mother's Day!

Here's My Mother.
She popped over to have her picture taken with the
lovely roses my brother had sent her.

I made her work.

Well...not too hard.

I'm always lookin' for models to hold
pictures of our things to get a scale in the picture.
This is a really big purse/handbag that I was shipping
out today. (It's going to sit on a easel for a fashion sign in board.)

Wouldn't she have been surprised if I said: "Mom, I got you a
Chanel bag for Mother's Day" and then I gave her this. I think she may
have hit me.

Grauman's Theater Night Sign

Not everything we do lately is pink.

Here's a very rich looking theater sign in black and gold that could be

adapted to a Broadway themed party too.

Black and gold has always been one of my favorite color combinations.

Adding a little red or burgundy makes it even richer in my opinion.

This sign stood on a pole but I could also see it hanging and with

lights inserted into the faux glitter "bulbs".

3 Dimensional Party Name in Pink "Emma"

How 'bout this BIG NAME!

It's going to sit on a Placecard Table I've heard.

I've also heard that "Emma" is now the Number 1

most popular girls name...surpassing the reigning "Emily".

I'm shipping it out this week and shipping was very reasonable because even though it was big, it wasn't very heavy.

Wouldn't it be so pretty on a bed of pink tulling with maybe some roses or gerbera daisies scattered around the base.....mmmmmmm.....we're doin' alot of pink this year.