Pumpkin Face Game

I needed a pumpkin face game for this weekend's party, since my son is bent on carving a pumpkin.  He is 4.  So I figured I'd put together this cute little guy for the little ones.  It's a lot safer and less messy than handing them carving tools or paint.

Materials:
     Orange and blue tempera paint
     Black foam board
     Orange glitter
     Metallic Marker
     Print out of something fun to say ("Spooktastic!" in Spinstee font)
     Vinyl sheet

I used orange tempera paint to free hand a pumpkin onto black foam board.  Then I traced the word spooktastic! onto the board with a pen to make a mark, then filled it in with a metallic gold pen:

Then I drew some eyes and mouths on the back side of the vinyl paper and cut them out.

While the paint was still wet, I sprinkled some orange glitter onto it and mixed a little blue tempera paint with the orange one to make brown for the stem and ridges.

Super fun and super easy!  Go make one.  :)

xoxo
Catherine
METAMORPHOSIS MONDAY

Broom Favor Tutorial

Right in the middle of the Halloween Launch party (Sunday) and the Minnie Mouse birthday (Next Saturday) I am planning, is the halloween celebration at my son's school.  I am in charge of the favors.  These little brooms are loosely based on this pinterest link: http://scrapbookgirl.typepad.com/.a/6a00e54efec67b8833017744b7199a970d-popup

I'm the first to admit that theirs is much more sophisticated than my little crooked brooms, but I think mine turned out pretty cute, and I used just plain scissors instead of a diecut machine.

Here is what I did:

First I cut 4 sheets of tissue in half, then in quarters.  Made a pile

Then I folded the paper in half and cut a half circle.  Folded the half circle in half, then in quarters, than in eighths.

Now I cut the wider part of the circle into an upside down "v".  Unfolded the paper like in the picture and cut a slit right in the middle.

Now with the help of some string, I tie a lollipop in the wrap.  And...

Voila..

I glued a round label with the name of each child and teachers to the broom handle.

treat labels by

I hope the kids will like them.  :)

METAMORPHOSIS MONDAY

CRU Events Launch Party

I just got the signs for the CRU Events launch party.  It's been so much fun putting this event together!!!  If you live in the Houston area, do stop by on Sunday the 28th of October.  Dress the little ones in their costumes.  There will be lots of fun games, crafts, entertainment -- and of course, TREATS!!!! I will post pictures of the event for those of you that cannot make it.  :)

Halloween water bottle label design

I finished the design for the water bottles for the Halloween Launch of Cru Events coming up on the 28th.  I am very pleased as to how it turned out.

Remember my little witch from the previous post ?

This is super easy to do on any half decent photo editing program.  I use Pixelmator.  First I downloaded the free chalkboard background from here.  Downloaded some fun fonts:  Spinstee, Calligraphic Frames and Sketchblock.  And followed the super easy tutorial from this awesome site:  http://foolishfire.com/2012/09/13/700/

Go make one.  It is that easy!  :)

Glam Halloween Banner

The glam halloween banner I've created for the launch of Cru Events has turned out awesome.  I thought I'd share my creative process with you guys as I had so much fun with it...

The whole thing starts with drawings.  My banners usually have 7 dedicated drawings.  For this particular banner I created a witch, a broom, a cluster of mushrooms, a magic potion, an awesome shoe, and the stylized words Eek and Boo.

 At this point I color them with different media and clean them up a little using a photo editing tool ( I use pixelmator)

 Now they are ready to be printed into high weight card stock and then trimmed to size.

These bits are now pearlized with sheen spray and touched up with a little glitter to up the glam factor. Meanwhile, I cut and glue and pull my hair out trying to get these frames put together...

My wonderful and super meticulous friend, Kim, helped me out while our 4 year olds played together in the next room.  She is a sport!

Here are some detail shots:

And... TADA!!! The  Finished Product:

If you are curious about my product line, please visit my Etsy shop at:  Catherine Hopkins Designs Inc
METAMORPHOSIS MONDAY

Harvest Moon Easy Croc Pot Meal

Today marks the first cooler night here in Houston and it is also a Harvest Moon night so I want to welcome it with the sweet and warm fragrance of a slow cooked meal.  Here is a general recipe (I'm not a lab cook, my measurements are just approximations):

1 pork tenderloin
1 bag small yukon gold potatoes (they remind me of little moons)
1 bag baby carrots
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
1 pk of onion lipton soup
a drizzle of molasses (it adds a depth of flavor that everyone will love)
a bunch of rosemary (fresh from the garden)
a little cracked pepper (no salt is needed because of the lipton soup)

Put it all in a slow cooker for about 8 hrs.  The pork will come apart, but that's part of the fun.

Enjoy,
Catherine

Pirate Birthday Party

A Pirate Birthday Party is quintessential for a little boy.  Last year my then soon to be 3 year old was into Disney's Jake and The Neverland Pirates.  I thought easy peasy! Well, since the cartoon was so new, there was no party supplies out in the market yet.  I set off to make this party on my own from scratch.  So much fun!!!

I added a little swirl of glitter to the invitation to spark the imagination of the kids.  It would be the pixie dust they would use to fly them to the party.

The party was meant to be outside, but right before the guests arrived we had rain so I quickly moved the ship table indoors so they could "sail to Neverland" while they dined before moving on to outside.

In the Menu:  Fish and Chips with a side of fruit cut up in the shape of Jolly Rogers, Ships, and Treasure Chests.  I designed all labels and decorations.

As we approach Neverland, the crew stops by Hook's quarters.

... Where they notice the picture of his Nemesis: The Birthday Boy

Details...

The kids snatch the map of Neverland and start their great adventure... ( I created stations within my back yard for every part of the map)

At this point, pixie dust should be sprinkled onto their feet...

I put together this little terrarium as a place for tinker to hide her treasure.  At the party it was placed next to a large mirror with a trunk full of neverland related costumes for the kids to change into.  (Sorry, I try not to put pictures of kids other than my own in the blog!)

So here is my little rascal.  Behind him is Pixie Hollow, where we had an awesome treasure hunt!

Each child received a personalized loot bag for the treasure hunt.

Here is Pirate's Cove.  It served as a stage for the entertainment.  We had a singer come and hang out with the kids for 45 minutes putting on a show where the kids were the main characters.  Super fun!  The inflatable ships were filled with water balloons for a sea worthy battle at the end.

At Mermaid's Den we had some fun games and sand craft for the kids.

Indian Cove - I put some pirate and peter pan books in there with a cute little lantern. The kids were in and out of this thing like clowns coming out of a tiny car at the circus. Super fun!

The Sweets Table

I did coat all of the paper decorations with mod podge to make it water resistant.

I think the coconut and straws made a cool addition to the favors table.  :)

Coloring books and crayons covered in see through paper were sent home with the little guests.

And to complete the experience I sent these cute rice crispies pirates to school.  

Metamorphosis Monday

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