DIY Circus Animal Drink Stirrers

2017 is off to a wild start, huh? Call me psychic, but I see a lot of drinking in our future. It's best that we get prepared and start crafting the cutest barware, starting right here with these circus animal drink stirrers. These party animals are sure to brighten up your day, no matter what's going on. As a bonus, they're so easy to make that you can create a set for yourself, and a few additional sets to give your friends as gifts. These are easy enough to make on your own, but I had the assistance of my handy fiancé. If you've got a guy (or gal!) in your life, this could be a fun bonding experience and a cool thing to whip out at parties. You'll excitedly proclaim "we made these!" as all your friends ooh and ahh. It'll be magical. Ok, enough talk already. Let's get to crafting, shall we? ;)

*Contains affiliate links

You will need: 

Plastic circus animals (here)
Clear plastic stir sticks (here)
Glossy acrylic paint (similar here)
Drill (here)
11/64 inch drill bit (here)
Slip joint pliers (here)
E6000 glue (here)
Electric tape (here)
 

Step 1: Take your circus animal and place the drill bit against it at desired depth. Put a small piece of tape at the stop point to make sure you don't drill too far.

Step 2: Using your slip joint pliers, hold the circus animal steady.

Step 3: Slowly and carefully drill a hole in the middle of your circus animal until you hit the tape marker. Repeat for all your animals.

Here's a little behind the scenes sneak peek of my fiancé in action. He's so handy and I'm so lucky to have him! All I did was briefly explain what I needed. He led me to the garage (his version of my studio), searched around his workbench and collected a few supplies. Then we did one drink stirrer as a test and bam! It came out perfectly :)

Step 4: Paint your circus animals using glossy acrylic paint. You can also use spray paint (which would be faster and probably better coverage), but I'm in NYC and it's freakin freezing outside haha.

It took me about 2-3 coats of paint to cover them. I did one overall coat, then a thicker coat on each side. Finally, I did touch-up where I covered any missed spots, or anywhere that I accidentally touched.

This reminds me of that scene in The Lion King where all the animals gather at Pride Rock to see Simba for the first time. But the much more colorful version. The circle of life.

Step 5: Assemble your stir stick by putting the smaller side into the hole you drilled. It should be a fairly tight fit and not even need glue! If you prefer them to be in more permanently, put a tiny dab of E600 glue on your stir stick before assembling. Let dry according to directions. 

And now you're ready for a day at the circus! I think these stirrers would make a perfect gift for friends, along with a couple of cute drinking glasses. I'm also trying to stop myself from bringing some to work so that I can have a party with my morning cup of tea ;) So what day you think of these drink stirrers? How do you plan to use them?

Rock Candy Christmas Tree Cake Topper

No one knows exactly why rock candy has gotten so popular, but I have some theories. 1, it's gorgeous and it's like glitter candy on a stick. 2, it tastes delicious. 3, it's a classy addition to any cocktail. But really I think its popularity is due to 4, its uncanny resemblance to a Christmas tree. Yes, you read that right. No, I'm not crazy. It's like Christmas in disguise, a tree hiding in the ordinary candy we all love. Subliminal messaging at its finest. And somehow no one noticed. We went around all these years blind to the fact that Christmas was right under our noses, disguised as something as ordinary and unassuming as rocks.

Full disclosure: this post was supposed to go live around Christmas time, but I wanted to give it the cake it deserved. Since I'm not really ready to give up on Christmas quite yet, and it's pretty darn cold here, I'm posting it now. Let's call this a winter tutorial and suddenly it's right on time ;)

One of the things I like most about this project is that it's like a magical glittering Christmas forest! Plus there are so many color options out there for rock candy, so you can match any decor.

You will need:

Rock Candy (here)
Toothpicks
Scissors (here)
Glue Gun
Glitter Paper (similar here)
Star Punch (similar here)
Nail File

Directions:

Using scissors, carefully cut the sticks off your rock candy, leaving about 1/4 inch of wood. I recommend cutting while holding it up off the table and twirling the stick to prevent pieces of candy from breaking off.

Ta-da! A perfect little tree in the making.

Use the star punch to cut the glitter paper. I picked neutral colors that would enhance the colors of my trees without clashing with them.

Cut a toothpick in half, then use the nail file to sand the edge smooth.

Using your glue gun, stick the star and toothpick onto your tree. I recommend gluing the toothpick to a large and covered crevice of the rock candy to create a strong but hidden base. Use varying lengths to keep it interesting.  

So cute! That white one marches to the beat of its own drum though....

Once they're all done, carefully nestle your rock candy trees into your cake. You can keep it simple with just a few for a pop of color, or create your own little forest.

These are super cute for a winter birthday party or holiday gathering with friends. They really would fit in well all winter, especially if you put a different shape at the top of the tree. Maybe a heart for Valentine's day?!

And that's all there is to it folks. Once you're done, you can probably still eat the rock candy. Ya know, if you don't mind eating around the glue and paper ;)

I hope you enjoyed Cathy's crazy/amazing idea of the week. If you create your own toppers using this tutorial, I have to see it! Tag me on instagram and your picture might get featured. So what do you think? Do you see trees in your rock candy now? Let me know in the comments below!

2016: The Year in Review

Wow, so 2016 is over, huh? It seems like it was a pretty crazy year for everyone, and people didn't exactly hide their desire for it to go away once and for all. For me, 2016 was an ok year. It had its ups and downs, but I'm pretty glad it's over. I'm ready for a fresh start, so even though technically the only thing that changed is one little number, it feels like anything is possible. Let's hop into our time machine now and travel back through my memory as I look at the year in review.

2016 has been one crazy ride. I moved into my house on New Year’s Eve last year, so I essentially started the new year in a brand new place. Its our first home and we are loving it so far.

It’s also been my first full year being engaged and planning a wedding. That hasn’t exactly been fun or easy. It’s not really affordable, and so it’s been a struggle to try to have the wedding of my dreams on a shoestring budget. The budget has grown and it’s overwhelming!

I started this blog to chronicle my life as I planned my wedding and decorated my home. However, it’s become so much more than that. I have big plans for this little blog, and pretty soon you’ll start seeing what’s been going on behind the scenes.

The topic changed, but the reason behind starting it is the same. I’ve always wanted to start my own business. I’ve always wanted a creative outlet. And I’ve always wanted to flexibility to be home with my kids when I have them. I’m hoping with this little blog, I can do all those things and more. I am hoping that I can show what I am truly capable of, proving to myself that I can achieve anything. I already kinda feel like I can (thanks mom and dad!) but I want to show that it’s not all unjustified confidence. I want to put my money where my mouth is.

This blog helped me to do so much I never was able to. For starters, I broke my toe taking pictures for the blog. Breaking a bone is something I have never done before, and frankly, I hope I never (ever) do it again. It’s also encouraged me to learn things that I’ve always wanted to be better at, like photography. It’s challenged me to find out what I am and what I like without being influenced by what others are doing. Which, surprisingly, is really hard! And it’s also encouraged me to focus on bettering myself and not focusing on where I am in relation to others. We are all on our own journeys, and if we focus on our goals, there’s no reason why we can’t catch up (or surpass!) the people we are admiring.

Let's take a look at 2016 month by month.

January: On Dec 30, 2015 we closed on our house, so we spent New Year's Eve moving in. It was exhausting and thrilling at the same time. Most of January was spent unpacking, purchasing furniture, and trying to settle in.

February: In February, I started looking into starting a blog. I suddenly had a 3 hour commute round trip, so I had a LOT of time to spend on Pinterest. I'm not sure how I started looking into blogging, but once I did I became addicted and realized I needed to start one. I had always wanted to start blogging, but it finally seemed like the time was right.

March & April: Most of March and April was spent behind the scenes as I started creating my blog and coming up with content. I decided to go with SquareSpace because their interface was the easiest for me to use. I wanted something that I could edit easily myself and was relatively simple.

May: In May my blog finally went live! I didn't know what exactly my blog would be about, so I wrote about home organization tips, DIY's and party planning. I made my first and most popular DIY tutorial, a donut party platter with sprinkles. I also did my first party post, for my Sugar Sweet 27th Birthday Party. I created the most blog posts this month, a whopping 11 posts!

June: In June things quieted WAY down and I wrote my first holiday blog post, Fourth of July on a Budget. I also enrolled in Blog to Biz Hive by Melyssa Griffin and began working on creating a business for my blog. There was a lot of soul searching during June as I tried to decide what my blog should be about. I decided to forego the lifestyle category and instead focus on DIY's and party planning! I also had my Disney-themed engagement party in mid-June.

July: Some of my favorite blog posts happened in July. I started with my Nautical Notecard Banner Tutorial, which I came up with on the fly at Michael's and ended up really loving. Then, I had my first party supply haul post from Michael's using their fun tropical themed stuff. And one of my favorites to date, my TGIF 90's-Themed Slumber Party. This was seriously the most fun ever to plan, and I loved hunting for 90's themed supplies. Plus I got to eat the lunchables and candy after the shoot, so that was pretty epic.

August: The end of July and beginning of August were AMAZING because I got to go to Greece for the first time! It inspired me to write a post on What Greece Taught me About Being a Great Hostess. It was also a great excuse to show off some of my photos from Greece, including the amazing purple and yellow mermaid dream home I found there by accident. Once I got back, I posted another fun tutorial on a DIY Pineapple Garland that's so easy to make. I also created a blog post & amazing freebie on How to Plan a Pinterest Worthy Party. This guide shows you how to plan a great party that's gorgeous, and the guide itself is super pretty as well! I was so happy with how it turned out.

September: On September 2, I had my most emotional day ever. It started with being teary-eyed as I excitedly realized that in a year I'd be walking down the aisle and marrying my fiancé. Then, I spent the afternoon working on some fun new blog posts. I was standing on a chair while taking some overhead shots, and Humpty Dumpty went tumbling down. I spent the rest of the day in the ER, then spent the rest of the MONTH unable to walk with a fractured toe. That was not fun! This seriously made all my plans come to a screeching halt. I couldn't go up 2 flights of stairs to the attic, so I couldn't really do any DIY or party blog posts. However, I did my first collaboration with Paperless Post for How to Plan a Summertime Christmas Party, which was so much fun to do! And, I spent the rest of the month researching proper equipment so that I would never hurt myself taking photos again.

October: By early October, I was able to get back into the swing of things. I wore a walking cast and was finally able to move around on my own. I dove right into Halloween (one of my favorite holidays!) and spent a day decorating my house while hobbling around in my walking cast (the Boot, as I called it). I utilized one of my favorite websites, Oriental Trading, to create two awesome Halloween tutorials. The first was DIY Faux Pinatas using inexpensive papier mache pumpkins and some streamers. The second was a Colorful Halloween Party that featured spiderwebs, black and white striped plates, and a whole lot of colorful paper fans. Plus, this party had ME in the photos! I'm working on being more present in my work next year, so that you guys can start to recognize me as the face of my blog. October was also the first month that I started using Instagram daily and I was able to increase my engagement.

November: In November, after finally getting to walk around in normal shoes once again, we went full-on Thanksgiving here on the blog. I started with 9 Tutorials to Help you Build the Best Thanksgiving, featuring some of my favorite colorful Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving ideas from around the web. I created a colorful and classy disposable Friendsgiving Tablescape that's sure to wow your guests, and a DIY Colorful Leaf Garland that's so easy to do. After YEARS of using Pinterest, I finally got 1k followers at the end of November! I remember having about 300 or so at the ER in September when I fractured my toe, so this was HUGE.

December: Ah, good old December. This is always a SUPER busy month for me, since I have my sister's birthday (Dec 13), my mom's (Dec 16), and my fiancé's (Dec 23) followed by Christmas. This left me with practically no time for blog posts! I was, however, pretty active over on Instagram. I was really bummed because I had some amazing DIY projects I wanted to do, but I did some other great blog posts. I started with How to Save Time and Money on Holiday Gatherings, a guest post on the Crazy Busy Happy Life blog. We also rounded up some fun and colorful DIY Christmas Ornament tutorials and discussed How to Mix and Match Party Supplies using gorgeous tableware from Target. I also created my very first Gift Guide for hostesses, and it's filled with some great stuff that any hostess would love. By this point, I own pretty much half the items on the list, so I mean it when I say it ;) We closed out December with a Last Minute Dollar Store New Year's Eve Party.

So, what does 2017 have to bring? A free 4-week party planning e-course is coming to the blog soon, along with virtual party planning services! I also have plans to open up a shop, and there may be a redesign happening as well. So what's the new blog name going to be?! Well a girl can't reveal all her secrets, but I can tell you that it's going to be amazing. Be sure to follow me on Instagram, where I'll be sharing updates, sneak peeks, and behind the scenes photos and videos!

Welcome 2017- I'm ready for you!

Last Minute Dollar Store New Year's Eve Party

New Year's Eve is just 2 days away. There's barely enough time to shop Amazon Prime, so you've got to do something different. How about checking out your local dollar store? They've got everything you need to throw a really cool party on a budget. Don't believe me? Check out the loot I got from my local dollar store!

Note: not everything in this post cost me $1, but they were all under $3 at the local dollar store. I've also linked some items on Amazon in case you can't find them at your dollar store. This post contains affiliate links.

Light up the New Year

Sometimes when you're browsing the dollar store, you'll find some cool items that can be repurposed. 

For instance, I found these really cool flashing number cake toppers, intended for kids' birthday parties, that would fit in perfectly with New Year's decor. They're meant to hold candles, but I think they look fine on their own. They'd probably look really cool with sparklers in them, but I never use sparklers (I'm scared of them!) so I'm not sure how that would work ;)

DIY Metallic Confetti Balloons

At the dollar store, I found these metallic shreds that go in gift baskets, but I thought of a much prettier use for them- confetti balloons!

You will need:
Clear Balloons
Metallic Shreds
Funnel or rolled up paper (here)
Scissors
Drink Stirrer or pen
Helium Tank or Balloon Pump

1. Take your clear balloons and give them a stretch, especially the neck.

2. Grab a few strands of the metallic shreds and roll them up. Squish them into the opening of the balloon, using the drink stirrer to carefully push them through the neck and into the balloon area. 

3. Repeat this a few times until you fill up the balloon. Remember that once it's blown up, the shreds will take up a lot less space.

4. Optional Confetti: Take a funnel or rolled up piece of paper and place it in the neck of the balloon. Cut up the shreds to create a confetti and use the drink stirrer to push them into the balloon. I used a paper funnel, so I pushed the confetti down, then used the neck of the balloon to pull the confetti into it. This was easier than trying to shove it all through the tiny hole.

5. Blow up your balloon using the helium or a balloon pump. Remember that air will escape, so it's best to blow these up on New Year's Eve, but you can pre-fill them so they're ready to go :) Then you can pop them at midnight for a fun confetti explosion!

DIY New Year's Eve Hair Accessory

This is probably THE EASIEST New Year's Eve hair accessory tutorial you'll find. All you'll need are some alligator clips and self-stick foam numbers!

To make these clips, peel the backing off the numbers and stick them onto the hair clip. Didn't I tell you it was easy?! If you want to jazz them up a little more, you can put a piece of ribbon on the alligator clip so it isn't silver, but I don't think it's necessary and I like the extra shine of the metallic silver.

New Year's Eve Accessories

We are going to step away from the DIY projects to focus on the stuff that you can purchase from the dollar store. This stuff is MUCH cheaper than what you can find at Party City or similar stores. I think these hats were $1.29 but at Party City, similar ones were $3+. 

My local dollar store also had a lot of really cool 2017 glasses. I thought these two styles were the nicest and made it obvious that it was 2017 (not 2007) so I picked 'em. Also those rhinestone ones had the nicest pink color plus they're so Y2K that I couldn't resist. They also kinda remind me of the Times Square ball drop.

I got 2 different types of noisemakers. These small streamer ones in pink and blue (above) and the traditional cone shaped ones (below). The cone ones were cheaper and came with twice as many for just a little more than the small ones. Plus they're appropriately themed! 

I also got some nice trays, cups, plates, etc. for the table, plus all the silver and multi-colored disco balls. They're cheaper than the ones on Amazon and a decent size, so that was a win! I've been wanting to do a fun color scheme for New Year's Eve for a few years now, so I'm really excited that I get to try it this year.

Have you tried any fresh color schemes for NYE? What color palette do you usually use? Let me know in the comments! And don't forget to follow my NYE board on Pinterest :)

How to Mix and Match Party Supplies

Who doesn't love going to a store and seeing a sale?! I think one of my favorites is the mix and match ones. You know, like when you go Victoria's Secret and get underwear 5 for $25. It can cost a little more than a regular pack of underwear but why do you buy that one? Choices! Everyone likes to pick and choose the items they like best. You do it for your panties, why not do it for your parties too? (See what I did there? Hah.)

This Christmas I decided to challenge myself by creating a completely unique party scheme using easy to find, store bought supplies- and you can too! I went to my local Target and picked up nearly everything in their Christmas party supplies aisle. I also added in some other items I loved, like this star banner I got from Old Navy and some napkinsI got from Marshall's (similar). I also added in some cups and stirrers I made. 

Matchy Matchy

First let's take a look at all my supplies while they hang out in their clique. 

Santa round plates. Santa shaped plates. Santa letter place cards. Santa paper fan. Striped cups. Santa beverage napkins. Striped napkins. Jolly ornament. Merry Christmas stirrer from Target. Red Pom Pom stirrer and clear cups made by me.

Snowflake napkins. Snowman plate. Snowflake cups. Merry Christmas stirrer from Target. Pom Pom  stirrer, bell stirrer, and clear cups made by me.

star banner. Jolly napkins (similar). Merry Christmas stirrer from Target. Pom Pom stirrer, bell stirrer, and clear cups made by me.

Paper fan. Polka dot tablecloth. Paper ornament garland. Happy Holidays plate. Colorful writing plate. Colorful writing napkin. Holly jolly napkin. Pom Pom stirrers, bell stirrers, and clear cups made by me.

Aren't they a little boring? Nothing stands out and they feel a little cookie cutter, especially the Santa and the snowman. 

Mix it Up

Simply by trying different combinations of store items, you can create a one-of-a-kind look. So, what's the secret to successfully mixing and matching supplies? 

You need to have a plan.

In an ideal world, you'd just grab all the things you like the most, and they'd come together in perfect harmony. This, however, is the real world. Sometimes you grab your favorite items and they don't mesh together... at all. Take a look at the supplies offered and think about what you like and why. Is it the design? The color? How functional it is? Think about how all these items will fit together and see which ones work best. 

Find a focal point.

Pick the piece you like the most or the one that is the most complex first. Then, see that works best with that piece.  Since this piece will be most important and/or hardest to match, you want to make sure the other items fit in perfectly with it.

Mix patterns, neutrals and solid colors.

To avoid pattern overload, balance out complex patterned pieces with solid colors or simple patterns like stripes. These simpler pieces will enhance the look of your party by complimenting your more patterned pieces instead of competing with them. People's eyes will want a place to rest! Having too many things to look at will overwhelm your guests.

Look at the big picture.

This is a little harder to do, but super important. You have to look at how each item looks as a whole, not as individual pieces. What does that mean? Well maybe you don't like that bowl pattern as much as another one at the store, but it fits in better with your whole look. It's important to recognize that not every piece has to be your absolute favorite one, but it'll have to fit in well to give you the overall look you desire.

Don't confine yourself to one store.

To get a really interesting and unique look, browse several different stores or brands to create a one of a kind party pack. This not only gives you more options, but also allows you to find pieces you really love, instead of only finding the best that one store has to offer. To see my top shops for party supplies, check out this blog post.

Don't be afraid to break the rules.

Do you like the way 2 patterns look together, even though they're technically "clashing"? Go for it! Rules are made to be broken when it comes to decorating and sometimes it's fun to try something new and different, even if it's not the trendy or traditional way to do it. Who knows, maybe you'll create your own trend! 

Check out what you have.

think the best part of mixing and matching is being able to use what you already have. Before going shopping, take a look at your inventory and see if you can enhance what you already have by mixing in some new pieces. By doing this, you can save time and money on purchasing new items. 

Try to find some consistency or pattern in your choices.

The key to being able to successfully mix and match comes from being consistent in some way. This will prevent it from looking like you grabbed any party supplies you could find. What are some factors of consistency that will help you?

Color

One way to keep a party consistent despite different patterns is by choosing a color scheme. Maybe the thing bringing all your items together is that they all have the same 3 colors in them. Or they're all pastels, metallics, etc. Color scheme is probably the #1 way to create a cohesive look. It's also the easiest, so use that to your advantage!

Shape

The shape of an item is a great way to create visual interest, but it's also a catalyst to unintentionally creating a mismatch. If all your items are rounded, a square plate may look out of place. 

Style

If all your items are somewhat upscale, using a cheap paper plate will look totally out of place. Think about the type of event and what you want the overall look to be, and go from there! 

Quality

Know where to splurge and where to save. For example, expensive straws aren't the best use of money because they'll be tossed away, and a cheaper straw will do the trick. However, it's better to spend a little more on decent plates and utensils. You don't want anyone to have trouble cutting their food or be left with a soggy, drooping plate when it's full of food. 

Saving money.

To save money, mix in some cheaper items from the dollar store to match your more expensive designed pieces. Learn more about how to save money (and time!) on party supplies by clicking here. 

When you've got all your items together, take a look to make sure nothing sticks out like a sore thumb. If it does, you've either got to find something to bring it together or just nix it completely. 

So what do you guys think? Are you ready to try your own mix and match party? For more party ideas, be sure to check out my Pinterest!