No Where to store Box

Last year for Christmas I got the ultimate gift... a karaoke machine <3 But, due to the lack of storage at our place it has sat on the floor of my room, where it is known to collect stuff on top.

With no where else to put it it has stayed there; but it always seemed to make the room look even more cluttered. So I decided to "cover" it up.

See how busy the box itself is? There's no way you can not see it. lol

And After...

With this quick easy fix it is now cute; which makes me want to look at it more; which then makes me want to bust out my machine <3

It was really easy to do; you just need:

Wrapping Paper
Scissors
Tape (I used regular Scotch tape but a clear packaging tape would hold best)

Just wrap it like you would a gift; only make sure to leave it so the box can still open. You might need to do some extra cutting and manipulating to accomplish this but just play around with it and remember that if you don't like how it came out you can always "open your present" and start again ;P

After you have it how you want it; if using packaging tape I recommend putting tape on all of the corners and edges so that the paper will last longer and not tear as easily (which I will do once I get more tape).

Karaoke Time

This past Sunday we threw a little get together for our Little Sister's B-day. It wasn't anything big, just the family getting together to do what we do best; which is embarrass ourselves. ;P

Since we're "adults" now and don't have all the money in the world to do the things we wish we could. Parties are one of the things I try to get the biggest bang for my buck. Depending on who's putting together the event we will divide up what to bring to save a little extra cash, because lets face it... we all need that little extra bit.

But, when throwing a party to ME decor and ambiance is what sets the tone and mood for the event. You don't have to spend a lot of money to do this though if you use a little creativity, and even the smallest of events can feel special :)

Since my Little Sister is a BIG karaoke fan, I knew that I'd do a karaoke themed party. All of the decorations I used were from previous parties I've thrown over the years (I have 1 to 2 boxes of party supplies that have supplies I've used or made. I really love to throw parties ;))

In the dining room area (above) we hung cassette tapes (from my 80's party) and Cd's (from a previous karaoke party). Both were painted or spray painted to match the color scheme of the event. We bought the cassette tapes online for a reasonable price but you can try craigslist or ask friends if they have any. The Cd's were ones we had lying around the house that we no longer used so I gave them new life ;) And of course a Happy Birthday banner; which I purchased at the dollar store long ago. A very great investment if you really like celebrating birthdays.

This is the view from the dining room into the living room.

(Sorry about my head; I got this picture from a friend and I loved the decor angle)

The walls in the living room we covered with records and music notes. The records were from my 80's party (my friend had some she never used, so we spray painted some of them) and the notes I bought from Party City a couple of years ago (they're 4.99 for an 18 pk). The KARAOKE TIME! is foam letters that I cut out to match the Cd's I painted in the previous picture. We used streamer to make the staff lines and put the notes on top and BAM we have an awesome backdrop for pictures :)

And above is the cake I baked. It's a little weird since one of my circle pans was rusted (so I had to use a square one) but I think we did a good job of making it work and it was as colorful as everything else :) 

I didn't spend any money on decorations since everything I used was stuff I already had but I think the impact it made really made it feel like a party. I should have got more pictures of the decor (the notes and records covered all the walls) but I think you can kinda see how the result looked. This was just one of the many parties I have thrown over the years but I have had fun planning all the details because it really does make a big difference. I hope to show y'all more party decor ideas and I might even bust out some old pictures of some other ones I have done. If you have any questions on decorating ideas, especially themes (I love a good theme party) even on a budget send me a message and I'll try my best to help out :) Just know that to make a big impact presentation really is key. You don't have to spend a lot of money, but putting in the time and energy to put up all the decor is what really matters. Good Luck and I hope this gave you some party inspiration :) For more information on how the day went and my outfit click here

Witch Hat

Wanted a cute witch hat so I could dress up to watch the movie Hocus Pocus with my nephews and niece and found this very easy DIY tutorial :) Was so easy to do that I made 7 hats in different sizes and colors to decorate with my family. She shows you one way she decorates her hats for decor but I thought it would still make a cool wearable one too.

Here's the before shot :) We had a lot of different things to decorate with as to give them options. We had foam stickers, googly eyes, felt, ribbon, pipe cleaners, puffy balls, rhinestones, Halloween buttons and fabric paint to name a few but you can pretty much use anything :) Kids really seem to like fabric paint. It was everywhere by the end of decorating so be sure the cover your work surfaces beforehand.

These are the ones the kids decorated. 

 Here's the one my Mom decorated. She made the spider out of puffy balls and pipe cleaners

One side of my Big Sister's hat

And the other side. It came out really cute. The candies on the side are actually buttons

 And here's mine :) Not sure if you can tell but I Really like googly eyes. I stitched on the spider web and the band is made of pipe cleaners braided together. I was upset that my sister's came out cuter but I still like mine too :)

Afterwards we watched the movie and I made my sister take pictures of my outfit and hat which led into a big fun photo shoot. I'll leave you with one picture, but you can check out my blog for more.



Camera Phone picture so kinda blurry, also all sweaty from trying to do a jumping picture. lol

If you decide to make your own hat I'd love to see a picture.... Send them my way :) Bye! Bye!

 

Giraffe Homecoming Mum

I was planning some cute DIY Halloween stuff for my first posts but our computer had other plans and deleted all the stuff on our desktop :( So here's another project I just finished instead :)

My little sister and I finished up the homecoming mum we were making for her yesterday. I didn't take pictures of the whole process but it's pretty easy so I will give a small overview on what we did.

She really likes giraffes so we incorporated that into her mum to make it more her. We attached the giraffe print ribbon to the end of the blue ribbon with a small dot of hot glue every 1 to 2 inches. We did it as we went but don't put too much glue because when it hardens it's hard to shape. Then fold and gather and shape it around the base little by little.

Here's the finished base with the flower attached. Be sure to add lots of hot glue on the base when you add on the flower. The one we made last year, the flower started to come off the day she wore it  :(

Then take another base to add the rest of your ribbons on. I usually put all the bigger ribbons and plain ones on the bottom and then the ones we like most in the front. You can't really see but there are some ribbons under that layer (forgot to take a picture). Then add another layer, I try to keep the coloring even since I'm ocd like that. lol

You can continue layering depending on how big you want it, but I do recommend using another circle base for every 2 to 3 layers, otherwise there will be a significant gap between the top of the bases when you put them together which can make it easier to come apart. We added a few more ribbons and some cute dangley stuff :)

After we finished with all the in between layers we added the main front "ribbons" (the pink ones are actually foam that we cut to look like ribbon) and glued on the center, which can be decorated as you like whether it be something related to your mascot/school, school activity you're in or just something that you like. The giraffe we used came plain but we added the bow and "necklace" to make her look cuter.

Add the pin on the back to wear and finish with any extra finishing touches. We added some stars because we both have a love for stars. Then BAM! It's ready to be shown off. You can also make something like this for a baby or bridal shower for the guest of honor to wear.

 

If there is anything you aren't sure about or need any additional advice don't hesitate to ask. I'd also love to see any pictures of mums y'all have made. So send them over :)