Michelle Barneck - 70/264 - A Little Tipsy

Disney Countdown

November 14, 2012 By Michelle Barneck 10 Comments

A Disney trip is definitely something to look forward to so we created a fun countdown to turn up the excitement, but also help prepare us for the trip. I saw this fun Disney countdown and put my own spin on it.

DISNEY COUNTDOWN

Each chain link on the Disney countdown had an activity for the day. You can download the printable Disney countdown activity list here.

Color a Disney picture
Which 3 characters do you most want to meet?
Make Disney characters out of playdough
Play Disney scene it
Choose a light up toy for parades & fireworks
Sing your favorite Disney song
Write a letter to your favorite Disney character
Play Disney games on the computer
Dress like pirates and dance to yo ho a pirate’s life for me & the jake & the neverland pirates theme song
Make mickey oreos
Find the hidden mickeys around the house (cut them out with my cricut and hung them around the basement)
Make a Disney water bottle
Watch Disney videos on you tube
Play Disneyland or rush on xbox Kinect
Make tags for the stroller and luggage
Name the 3 rides you are most looking forward to.
Make mickey mousse.
Have a Disney Pajama party and watch a Disney movie.
What should we do if we get lost? Make tattoos with phone number.
Make mickey pancakes

The kids loved having fun activities everyday and I loved that it kept me on task to get some trip preparations done in advance. This really did create a great atmosphere in our home before leaving on our trip!

Inspired by:
Mickey Mousse We used Oreo pudding and added the chocolate mickey on top.
Mickey Oreos We used Nerds for buttons.

Wednesdays through January

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Sesame Street Birthday Party

November 13, 2012 By Michelle Barneck 12 Comments

My little guy has a big thing for Elmo and Cookie Monster. So when birthday time rolled around it was an easy choice to do a Sesame Street birthday party. The primary colors were great and I had a blast adding faces to everything I could.

Elmo loves his crayons so we set up a coloring table and a bubble machine to entertain the guests while everyone arrived. I had no idea what a hit the bubble machine would be!

Each games prize coordinated with the character. Pin the nose on Elmo gave goldfish crackers (like Elmo’s pet Dorothy) in a fish bowl. Oscar’s trash toss players received gummy worms (like his pet Slimey). Ernie’s duck pond players kept their rubber ducky and also got silly straw or punch ball depending on what number their duck said on the bottom.

Each guest got also took home Sesame Street character playdough, Cookie Monster’s cookies, an Elmo book and Sesame Street character bubbles.

Hints for creating a budget friendly yet swanky Sesame Street party:

HINT #1 Use your (or your friends) craft cutter to your advantage!

This is the first party I have done with my Cricut mini and it was a huge help! Choose from TONS of Cricut Cartridges! I used the Cricut Sesame Street – Friends Cartridge to make:

Lincoln Street sign (Sans Serif font)
Playdough, bubble and drink Sesame Street character faces
Cookie Monster Shirts – heat transfer on blue shirts
Dorothy on fish bowls

I used other cricut shapes like scallops, circles, and labels to make:

Lincoln is Two banner
Sesame Street character faces (Scallop-Snowflke from Best images of 2009 cartridge)
Food, game, and prize labels (DnceTeam Label from Twinkle Toes cartridge with Sesame Street Elmo’s Party font)

Want to know my other secret weapon?

HINT #2 Discount stores! Shopping smart at budget friendly stores for your party does not have to look well…cheap.

Dollar Tree supplies:

Playdough
Elmo Books
Bubbles
Mondo drinks
Cookie Monster juice
Clear fruit & veggie platters
Silly Straws
Punch balls

Wal-mart supplies:

Bubble machine
Chips Ahoy individual packs
Crayons
Cupcakes (ordered cupcakes with blue grass tip frosting and finished myself with candy melts and chocolate chips for eyes and a chips ahoy mini cookie)

Ikea:

Mini canister “fish bowls”
Oscar’s trash bucket

HINT #3 Tie it all together with a fun color scheme or pattern. We stuck with primary colors and tied all the areas together using red polka dot wrapping paper. It was 50% off in the Christmas section at Hobby Lobby and cost me $4. I think it took the party to another level.

HINT #4 You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Be inspired by other parties with similar themes and put your own spin on it.

I was inspired by many other parties as you can see on my Perfect Party Pinterest board. Here are the references I used specifically…

Ernie’s Duck Pond and Oscar’s Trash Toss

Cookie Monster Cupcakes

Fruit and Veggie Sesame Street Character Faces

Sesame Street Character Faces on take homes

Chocolate covered Elmo Oreos

Scallop Sesame Street Character Heads

Dorothy Fish Bowls

Good luck planning your own Sesame Street Party!

I’d love to see it!

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DIY Scarf {Cascading Ruffle Infinity Scarf}

November 9, 2012 By Michelle Barneck 12 Comments

Who doesn’t love a cozy cute scarf?! It can not only keep you warm on chilly days, but it can add that extra oomph to an otherwise blah outfit.

Wanna know the best part about this cascading ruffle infinity scarf? It came from this…

a dollar store t-shirt. And it’s so easy nearly anyone can make it. Literally, I just bought a sewing machine and this was my first project! Trust, it is simple.

So what do you need to make a scarf from a shirt?

SUPPLIES:

T-shirt
Scissors
Pins
Coordinating thread
Sewing machine

1. Cut the sleeves, collar and side seams off the shirt leaving the bottom hem intact. You’ll have two main pieces. Cut each piece in half down the center.

2. Place the left piece of each shirt half on top of the right piece with the outsides of the shirt facing in. Align the neck and arm holes and cut the neck area to be straight across. Pin the neck area together for each half.

3. Take the two “strips” you’ve created and now pin the bottom hem area together with the inside of the shirt strips facing out. It will now be one big long strip pinned together.

4. Sew all the strips together where pinned using a straight stitch and backstitch on each end. Trim any excess material on the inside of the seam.

5. You now have one long strip. You could stop here if you want a long thin super versatile scarf.

Cute, but not exactly what I was looking for. I wanted a chunky scarf with lots of texture.

I was inspired by Amanda’s Scarf and decided I wanted a mix between that and a cashmere infinity scarf I purchased at a boutique.

Continuing on with the how-to…

6. Sew a long basting stitch down the length of each side in about an inch and a half from the edge. (I used a stitch length of 5 and tension of 4.) This will gather the fabric slightly. Be sure to leave a good amount of thread on each end.

7. Holding the bottom thread carefully pull the top thread while pushing the fabric down to create more gathers and ruffling. Careful not to break the thread. Do this from each end toward the center until you get the desired look. Tie the string in a knot on each end so they won’t come loose during the next step.

8. Pin the last two ends together and sew with a straight stitch to form the infinity scarf circle.

Put it on and act like it’s a fancy boutique number and enjoy the fact that only you know it cost you $1.

Oh and did I mention that my my scarf is in a Craft Wars type competition over on Buzzfeed? If you like my scarf I would love your vote!

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$75 Pick Your Plum Giveaway

November 8, 2012 By Michelle Barneck 76 Comments

I am excited today to team up with one of my favorite deal sites for an awesome giveaway. I’m sure you’ve heard of Pick Your Plum, but just in case, each day they have a new deal on crafting, fashion, baking, or home decor item. The thing is they have limited amounts, so you have to get it before your neighbor does.