Elmo Birthday Party

My baby girl is 2!!! How did that even happen?!?! When people tell you to cherish every moment because children grow up so quickly, I don't think I ever realized just how true that statement was until I had a child of my own! In celebration of the big day, we held a big, Elmo-themed party for family and friends in my mom's backyard. Here are some of the fun pics and projects created for the party...

The cake table, complete with delicious Elmo cake, party hats, piñata, favor bags and candy boxes

My sweet, birthday girl! I created an iron-on transfer that was placed onto a shirt she already had and added a cute little fabric flower for extra flair!

My husband won me this ginormous Elmo at Cedar Point when we were dating, so I decided to use it to welcome guests to the party!

Looove this Elmo wreath! Check out the tutorial to make one for yourself HERE!

A family friend created this absolutely adorable Elmo cake, which was devoured by party guests!

If I had a nickel for every white and orange circle I cut out in preparation for this party...haha! I added them to red bags I found at the Dollar Tree for favor bags...

...and these birthday hats, which were regular hats found at the Dollar Tree and covered in red construction paper...

...and this game of "Pin the Nose on the Elmo"...

...and these red cups!!!

Party City sells this adorable, pull-string, Elmo piñata---way more appropriate for a two-year-old's party than the typical whack-and-grab type!

The kiddos had a great time taking turns pulling the strings, beginning with the youngest first!

Chowing down on her birthday grub and modeling her Elmo hair clip, made using felt and pinking shears, google eyes and black, paint pen.

Love this little munchkin sooooo much! Bring on the terrible two's!!!!!

Elmo Birthday Wreath

In honor of my sweet munchkin's 2nd birthday party that we celebrated on Saturday (her big day is Tuesday, July 1st), I would love to be able to post complete party decòr and all of the themed paraphernalia used...but, quite frankly, I am just too stinking tired.! I promise I will post everything soon, but for now...enjoy the Elmo wreath I created to welcome guests to her (obviously) Elmo-themed party!

Materials:

-1 1/2 rolls of red mesh ribbon

-wire wreath form

-GIANT google eyes

-orange felt

-10-12" of black ribbon (enough that it reaches from one side of the wreath to the other with some slack to form the mouth)

-wooden number (mine was 2", although I now wish I had used a larger size)

-washi tape

-leftover black ribbon or a 6" piece of ribbon

-glue gun/sticks

Instructions:

1. Weave mesh ribbon through the wreath form. Check out this awesome tutorial to see how!

2. Hot glue google eyes to the top of the wreath

3. Cut orange felt into a large circle and hot glue below the eyes, overlapping them slightly to get the "Elmo" effect

4. Glue long piece of ribbon on both ends and stretch from one end of the wreath (toward the bottom) to the other, giving some slack in the middle to make it look like a smile.

5. Wrap wooden number in washi tape and add a bow to the top. Glue the number to the wreath.

Happy 2nd birthday to my sweet Claire! Stay tuned for a birthday giveaway rolling out tomorrow!!!

Burlap Bunny Wreath

How is it even possible that Easter is in 3 days?!?! While I have not slacked on creating lots-o-stuff for the Easter holiday, I am finally getting around to posting them, now that the month has (hopefully) died down a bit! Up first...a cute, burlap, bunny wreath! Here's how I created it:

Materials:

-burlap ribbon (about 20 feet)

-wire wreath form

-scissors

-pink tulle

-wire (mine was a very thin gauge, as that's what I had on hand, but I would recommend a thicker wire)

-wire cutters

-Scotch tape

Instructions:

1. Weave a burlap ribbon through the wire wreath, as shown in this tutorial.

2. Bend and fold a piece of ribbon 20" long, as shown in the pictures below.

3. Thread wire through the point of the folded ribbon and twist to secure, as shown in the pictures below

4. Place wire the entire length of the ribbon down its center. Thread wire through the bottom of the folded ribbon (pictured below) and twist/secure, leaving a tail of about 4" of wire at the end.

5. Repeat the process of threading wire through another piece of 20" ribbon.

6. Wrap the extra wire from both pieces of folded ribbon around the wreath about 8" apart (creating bunny ears). Keep in mind the ears may be floppy, so you will need to reinforce with tape when hanging.

7. Tie pink tulle into a bow and thread wire through the back of it. Wrap the wire around the wreath so that the bow sits at the bottom of a rabbit ear.

8. Hang up the wreath and reinforce the ears with tape (place on the wire behind each of the ears so that it does not show) so that they stay up.

My favorite element of this wreath is that, once Easter is over, the ears can come off and flowers, ribbon, bows, etc. can be added for a beautiful spring wreath to last you through the remainder of the season! How cool is that?!?!

Here's hoping the Easter bunny brings you everything your heart desires!

Autism Awareness Rag Wreath

April brings the promise of Spring...flowers that have waited all year to bloom, children's laughter when it is finally warm enough to play outside, enjoying friends and family at Eastertime, just to name a few. For myself, and for the incredible families and staff members I have the pleasure of working with, it brings awareness to a cause very near and dear to our hearts...Autism Awareness month! As a special education teacher in an Autism Support classroom, I can say with complete confindence that it is, by far, the most challenging job I have ever held. With that being said, I also find it to be the most unbelievably rewarding and fulfilling job a girl could ever ask for, as it creates in me such a sense of pride in the progress my students continue to make, in spite of the obstacles they encounter every minute of every day. Going into teaching, I assumed I would be doing exactly that...teaching; however, I find myself humbled each day in how much these students teach me and will take those life lessons with me into the future.

Here is my first (of a few) projects to celebrate Autism Awareness, along with how to make one of your own...

Materials:

-wire clotheshanger

-puzzle piece fabric (to learn the reason for the puzzle pieces, check this out!) I used about 1/2 a yard in total

-scissors or a rotary cutter and mat

-wooden puzzle pieces (most thrift stores sell them very inexpensively)

-acrylic paints (I used red, yellow, blue, and green to go along with the color scheme)

-black ribbon

-glue gun/glue sticks

Instructions:

1. Using a rotary cutter or scissors, cut strips that are 1" in width (typically, once a small cut is made, the fabric can be ripped the remainder of the way)

2. Cut long strips into 4" strips.

3. Bend the wire hanger into a circular shape for the wreath form.

4. Double each strip of fabric and place under the wire hanger (as shown in the picture)

5. Thred the open ends of the strip through the folded end and pull to form a knot (pictured below)

6. Continue to repeat step 5 with 4" strips until the wire hanger is covered

7. Paint 16 wooden puzzle pieces using acrylic paint (I made four of each color)

8. Once the puzzle pieces have dried, use hot glue to place 12 of them around the wreath)

9. Cut ribbon into 2-6" pieces and 1-8" piece. Hot glue one puzzle piece to the end of each 6" ribbon and two pieces at the end of the 8' piece.

Interested in a wreath you can make with your child? Check this out! For more information on Autism, please check out the Autism Speaks website, an incredible resource that I would highly recommend!

Clothespin Wreath and Christmas Card Holder

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is receiving Christmas cards, particularly picture cards that allow me to see friends and family who are far away and admire how much their children have grown and changed from last year to this year. Unfortunately, after I'm done admiring these cards, they get shoved into a basket with a gazillion others, never to be seen or heard from again! Until now...Using washi tape (my new fave), clothespins and a wire, coat hanger, ribbon, and a lil' bling, I created a wreath that doubles as a Christmas card holder. 'Tis the season to be crafty!!!

Here's how you, too, can make one:

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Materials:

• Wire, clothes hanger
• Needle-nosed pliers
• Clothespins (I used a little over 60 of them)
• Washi tape 
• Scissors
• Ribbon
• Sticky-backed gems

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Directions:

1. Place a piece of washi tape top across the flat side of a clothespin. Trim any excess at the ends of the clothespins.

2. Fold excess tape over the sides of the clothespins

3. Shape wire. Clothes hanger into circular shape. Use pliers if needed.

4. After all clothespins are covered, place them onto the open end of the wire hanger through the wire loop in the middle with the side of the clothespin that opens facing upward. I used two patterns of washi tape and alternated them amongst clothespins

5. Using pliers, bend the open end of the wire hanger inward and wrap around the other side. Add sticky-backed gems to the ends of every other clothespin.

6. Wrap ribbon around the ends of the wire hanger and hook. Tie a bow in the front.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM HOYBY CRAFTS!!!!!