Sprinkles Of Charm

A Barbie Christmas Movie Night

I'm guilty....guilty of possibly bringing on the Christmas cheer too early. I usually make myself (and my kids) wait until after Thanksgiving but I couldn't resist. I decided to bring it all on this past week - the holiday candles, the Christmas music, the movies, the crafts...it's all out of the bag early this year. I'm trying it out this year to see if there is a chance we'll be tired of it by the time it rolls around. I love this season SO much - maybe stretching it out a few extra weeks can be a blessing. I brings such a feeling of love and warmth to our home - it's worth a try.

Needless to say, my girls love the Barbie movies so we made a night of it with the newest Christmas movie. Walmart had a cute pack with the movie and a free scarf...fun!  We had strawberry milkshakes complete with fun straws and topped with sprinkles and mini-presents from the craft store. These nights are such a fun tradition for us...my girls save all their little treasures and favors from them. Eventually I'd love to make a photo book full of all our movie nights. Cute movie...fun songs!

Snowmen Fun

Got the idea from here for these cute snowmen doughnuts. The original creator used clay (????) for the snowmen faces. They're so cute - it would be a shame not to get to eat them. I did a candy corn for the nose and pushed mini-chocolate chips (pointy side down) into the doughnut for the eyes and mouth.  We brought them to a neighbor family who just had a baby. Super fun for the kids to make too!

Pinterest Love & Crafts

Who else is in love with Pinterest?  I joined a while ago but never realized the potential until recently. WOW! What a fun place to get quick ideas when you need them. I have a large group of 12-13 year old girls that I do an activity for each week for our church group. The girls chose a craft night for last night and pinterest was my go to place for a few quick ideas. The girls had a ball making these darling t-shirt flowers for their hair. Thanks to this wonderful tutorial.  Look how cute they turned out (minus a few left over glue strings I needed to pull off):

 

We also made "Thankful Baskets". Each girl made one, filled it with mini-muffins and took it home to give to someone they are thankful for. I couldn't believe how cute these were - simply made out of 1 piece of 12x12 paper. Thanks a million to this tutorial:)

DIY Wheel Wall Tutorial (How to make Paper Rosettes)

Making a wall of wheels, or paper rosettes, is a great way to make a HUGE impact at a party without a lot of fuss or cost.  I bought a pack of paper and some doilies - that's it!  Here's a basic tutorial on how to make this great back drop.

You'll need;
scrapbook paper or card stock, doilies, a stapler and a glue gun

1. To make a large wheel; fold 3 sheets of paper accordion or fan style,

2. Fold each fan in half and staple edges together.

3. Next, staple all three folded fans to each other to complete your wheel.

4. For a smaller wheel you fold 1 sheet of paper into a fan. Cut it in half.

5. Fold those halves in half again and staple. You only need 2 sections to make a circle for this smaller wheel.

6. You can leave the large and small wheels plain or stack them with a doilie for added effect. I hot glued all the layers for the stacked rosettes.

7. I added my wheels to my wall by poking them through with nails. If you can't put nails in your wall, I've seen it done by using hot glue to attach them to a large poster board or foam core board.

8. Add as many as you want to the wall and layer with different sizes and papers.

I hope this helps! I'm sure I'll use this party backdrop trick again and again.