Party Time

It cuts like butter (pronounced buttAH). Now that’s a phrase I enjoy using. Enjoy it for a few reasons, but mostly because of its use of the word butter. Mmm. Butter. Everything’s better with butter. And bacon. Everything’s better with butter and bacon.

Ok, and maybe some chocolate. Everything’s better with butter, bacon and chocolate. I mean Brussels sprouts could even be tolerable enough to swallow if they were covered in butter and bacon and followed by a chaser of chocolate. Right?

But I digress. There’s really nothing celebratory about Brussels sprouts. Well, unless you happen to be a sprouts farmer from Belgium and had had an exceptionally productive growing season. Then maybe. But only then.

It cuts like butter is really the best way to describe the New Heavy Duty Circle Punch from EK Tools. Can I just tell you how giddy I am to have this way diverse device in my punch drawer? Yep. Giddy. It slices. It dices. It can cut through a steel nail and in the next swipe slice a delicate tomato into sliver like pieces.

No wait. Sorry. Wrong spiel. Been watching way too much late night TV. Obviously.

Anyhow, the New Heavy Duty Circle Punch from EK Tools WILL punch with the greatest of ease through chipboard, lightweight metal, acrylic, leather, multiple layers of cardstock and much, much more. Just like butter.

Tried it. Liked it. Giddy about it.

A month or so ago I began running creative loops in my head about making a silverware caddy. Something that would be neutral in color and easy to decorate with corresponding thematic party elements. I kept coming back to the idea of linked metal canisters; a canister for each utensil type and each made of metal so that different thematic magnets could be attached for maximum versatility. Genius, right?

But my genius had a flaw. How to link the canisters together. Hmmm.

Then a box arrived and when I opened it I could hear the angels singing “Halleluiah”; for there in the bottom of the box, buried beneath yards of brown packing paper, was this diverse devise that could punch metal and would solve my linkage problem.





Now finally, I could put an end to what had become an exasperating creative quest in my head. Thank goodness! I was beginning to run out of ibuprofen.

So the following set of pictures is how I constructed a silverware caddy from three 1 quart canisters I bought at my local crafts store. Hope you like it : ).






Here’s what’s needed: circle punch, canisters, wire and wire cutters (just pretend you see these in the picture).





The first step is to punch a hole in one of the canisters. Do this by inserting the canister into the punch, just to the left of the seam, until it stops and squeeze.





Next, punch a second hole just above the first. Line the first hole up with the centering notch located on the end of the punch.





It should look like this when both holes have been done. Do the same steps to a second canister.





Now, thread a folded length of wire through both punched canisters and twist to secure. Trim to desired length and make sure sharp ends are facing the canister wall.





Hold the third canister up to the two attached ones. Mark where they touch on both edges and punch holes as described above using markings for placement.





Thread folded wire lengths though holes and twist to secure. Trim ends and tuck toward canister wall.





Done! That was fast and easy. Now, on to the decorating.

Here are the supplies I used for embellishing my caddy. The black squares are magnets btw. You could use magnet tape or try recycling the advertising magnets that get delivered with your pizza. I just used what I had on hand.





Assemble the decorative strips by layering pattern paper, cardstock and embossed stickers. Use removable double sided tape to attach the paper strips to the canisters. There’s enough stickiness to hold things but not enough to make a mess when you want to take the paper off.





Adhere magnet material of choice to sticker backs.





Embellish canisters with themed magnets.





Just think of the possibilities. Any and all stickers (within a reasonable size) could be used and the best part is that they are so easy to switch out. Keep themed sets in plastic bags nestled in the canisters themselves. Built in storage. What’s not to love!

And here’s another option, something a bit more polished … ribbon with utensil name tags. Pretty, huh?





Is your mind racing with ideas yet? Hope so! I know I’ve already got some thoughts for Halloween and Christmas looping around in my brain.

Um. Note to self: add ibuprofen to the shopping list.

So have some fun creating caddies and magnets. Most of all have fun using the New Heavy Duty Circle Punch!

But be careful, it could be addicting. Just like butter. And bacon.

And (insert angels singing) chocolate covered bacon!

Happy crafting dear reader!

~ Elizabeth (ekb)

 Are we there yet? Those four little words have the ominous potential of striking car bound parents with bouts of high blood pressure and serious contemplation of jumping from moving vehicles. And I’m pretty sure that everyone reading this blog entry has been on either the receiving or giving end of that recapitulated phrase. Yep. One hundred percent sure.

Plus, I’m also pretty sure a Road Trip is not an "official" Road Trip until that phrase has been recited at least five times (ten times if you’re driving through the state of Texas). It’s in the definition. Look it up.

For us living in the great state of Texas the last part of July and early August is the season of migration. With temperatures hitting the triple digits and untapped entertainment options dwindling, parents begin to panic as they realize they still have a few weeks left to keep children occupied and off the streets. Their solution? Leave the state.

I’ve been on many Road Trips in my life. The most mind-numbing monotonous ones were the trips through the Nevada desert on the way to my grandfather’s house in southeastern Idaho. Forest green Oldsmobile, vinyl seats, AM radio and no AC. I sweat just thinking about it now.

And what made those trips even more insufferable was my mother’s compulsion to drive the entire sixteen hours and making just two stops which, if you do the math, averages out to only one stop every five hours. Basically it meant that you’d better not drink anything, even though you lacked enough saliva to swallow, or you’d be sitting crossed legged for hours. Can you say miserable?

So by the time we’d arrive in Parker, we’d fall out of the card dehydrated, severely windblown from hanging our heads out the window to cool off and desperate for the WC. One year I couldn’t make it to the next pit stop and with all the creativity a frantic mother could muster, I found relief in a frying pan.

Yeah, that image brings up a few questions ... like why were we traveling with a frying pan in the first place? And was it retired after that incident? I can only hope.

But not all our family Road Trips were that morose.

The Summer of ’73 was filled with motoring merriment.

And adventure.

My mom and I were the first to arrive over-seas that year. We spent a few weeks traveling in Switzerland on our own and then met up with my brother and aunt. The four of us headed to Amsterdam in search of a vehicle to purchase. Yep, my mom with two teenagers and a three-year old in tow bought a vehicle. In a foreign land. Just for the summer.

It was 1973. You could do things like that back then. I sweat just thinking about it now.

For $700 we scored a bluish green VW bus complete with red-checkered curtains and a maple leaf bumper sticker. It looked something like this.




Unfortunately the only picture we had of it has gone missing. But thankfully the memories of our six week journey in that bus have not disappeared. We all still belly laugh over those times.

Like how driving it was a team effort. My mom wasn’t brawny enough to clutch and shift the gears at the same time so my brother and aunt had to do that for her. It was like synchronized swimming and until they got the hang of it, it was a lot of fun to witness.

Or how whenever the bus needed to be backed up into anything, my mother would put it into neutral and my brother would get out and push it into place. No one had explained to her that in order to engage reverse you had to push down on the gear shift as you moved it. Can you imagine watching this scene play out on the streets of Oslo? High-larry-us!

They kept up this routine until my dad arrived a few weeks later and with all the strength he had to keep a straight face, showed my mom how to put it in reverse. Needless to say, he gave my mom a lot of ribbing over this for many years.

We ate in that bus. We slept in that bus. We argued over directions in that bus. We celebrated birthdays (I turned four that year) and picked goose feathers from my aunt’s hair in that bus.

But most importantly, we discovered the magnificence and history of Europe for the first time as a family in that bus. It was a time for solidifying relationships and creating lasting memories. Memories that have become all the more meaningful because of the short time we had with my dad.

You can’t get that kind of adventure and bonding in a plane. It only happens during those fatiguing and sometimes irksome hours cooped up in car. When there’s nothing else to do but sing silly songs, play seventy straight rounds of “I Spy” and find license plates from all fifty states.

Now that’s a Road Trip.

So with thoughts of Road Trips, past and future in mind, I got to thinking about how they could become more festive and have a more party-like atmosphere to them. I mean, it’s easy to be excited the first day of the trip. It’s day two and three that become the true test of one’s stamina. Those are the times when you need “to get the party started” and get everyone enthusiastic again.

You need a Party-in-the-Car.

Now to me, there are four basic elements to a party: theme, decorations, entertainment and music and, of course, food.

And as with any party you have at home, these four areas should be addressed in the car. So let’s do that. And as we go along, I’m going to show you what I came up with.


Theme

Choose a theme that’s centered on what you are traveling to do such as beach, camping, barnyard fun, family tree (for family reunions) or detective/mystery (for historic sites). Here at momsminivan.com there is a great plan laid out for a pirate themed car trip.

I thought a beach theme would be fun to explore. Plus, it helped that I found a few really cute inspiration items to use in the dollar bins at my favorite store with the big red bull’s eye.


Decorations

Now the obvious is that you can’t go overboard with decorations in a car. There is after all limited space and most importantly, the driver’s view should not in any way be obstructed. So what can you do to decorate? Here are some ideas. 

    • Use themed vinyl window decals from the dollar store. 
    • Add a rear view mirror air freshener to set the mood through sight and smell. 
    • Tie scenic pictures of your destination to the seat backs. 
    • Secure a small embellished banner to the dashboard. 
    • Provide travelers with small lap blankets and pillows that are made with materials that reflect the party theme. Try plaid flannel or fleece for camping or patchwork quilts for historic tours (maybe you buy an inexpensive king size quilt and cut it down to individual sizes). These items will not only be functional, but will also bring a lot of color and pop to the car’s interior.

For lap blankets, I say use beach towels and try throwing some beach mats over the floor carpets to add a touch of the tropics.




I found the flip-flop rear view mirror air freshener in the auto parts section of my favorite store with the red bull’s eye and there were plenty of other fun, themey choices to select from.

The small banner was quick to make and will certainly add some festive flair to the front seat area hanging from the dashboard.






Entertainment and Music

Challenge travelers to do something other than play video games, watch DVD’s or listen to personal music players. Try to engage them in activities that will help them interact with each other and/or require that they have a common goal. 

    • Print up some fun. Download some printable games and add them to clipboards with a pencil tied on. See if you can find games that relate to your theme or destination. Try this site, this one and this one for free printables. 

    • Gather an arsenal of verbal games. Here are two places to look at for ideas on road trip games: here is one filled with classics and this one boasts a new spin on old favorites. 

    • Pack a “favor bag” for each traveler. Fill it with a small journal for travel notes or scribbling. Coloring books and crayons are always a must as well as word puzzle books, small toys and books. For a camping theme, include some small craft items like pipe cleaners that can be transformed into animals and other shapes. 

    • Pack an “everything” bag. Here is a great list of items to bring along sure to cure any small person’s boredom blues. 

    • Compile a CD of songs that revolve around your theme. Beach Boys and luau music will set the tone for a beach getaway just as old cowboy tunes would create a campfire frame of mind. You could even print out songbooks for everyone. Try playlist.com to create a sample playlist before you commit to downloading anything or test drive a certain mood at stereomood.com. And for what I suspect would be an uproarious good time, try Cari-oke. Perfect for a girls trip. 

    • Bring along some Books on CD. Again, choose those that echo your party-in-the-car theme. Most libraries have these to lend out, or try a used book store for copies you can pick up on the cheap.

I found this straw bag on clearance for less than a dollar and after adding some die-cuts and gems, it looks like a million bucks! It’s perfect for storing individual entertainment items and snacks.





Cover an inexpensive composition book for a quick and personal notebook for each traveler to use along the way.




And give your compiled CD a cute home by decorating the cover as I did here. It really should only take you about five minutes to do and how fun will it be to still have this memento in the car well after you get home and have sucked up the last hardened french fry from under the seats.





Food

Now to me a Road Trip requires mountains of not-good-for-you snacks. It’s a requirement. I like to make-believe that anything I eat in the car is caloric free and can therefore be consumed in mass quantities. But I suppose that’s not always the best food plan to follow and could be the catalyst for less than stellar behavior from the smaller people.

Too bad.

So in an effort to avoid the sugar rush that inevitably comes from convenience store noshing, pack snacks that are fiber rich. Yawn. Oops. Sorry. Did I type that out loud?

Better foods for the road are fruits and veggies, granola, trail mix with nuts and dried fruit and cookies with quantitative amounts of soluble fiber. These chocolate chip peanut butter bars look yummy. They’d be a good happy medium. Here’s a spot for some more ideas on better road trip snacking.


Now before you start questioning my spatial recognition skills dear reader, know that I understand you may not be able to fit everything mentioned above in the car. Well, here’s what I suggest. Send it on ahead. Many hotels will hold packages for you and you could certainly send something to grandma’s for her to store.

By mailing things you lessen the space you need, reduce the chances of discovery and give the travelers something to look forward to besides the hotel pool. I would think the cost of postage would be well worth the contented smiles of happy travelers imho.


Well dear reader, I hope these ideas will help you with your next Road Trip adventure. Whether that journey takes you along the highways of Europe or the back roads of the western United States, may it be filled with sweet memories, plenty of bonding experiences and the quenched desire to repeat repeatedly, “Are we there yet?”

Happy trails!

~ Elizabeth (ekb)

How do I start this post? Hmm … not really sure. My first three attempts failed with their aimless wanderings to places like my childhood backyard, the first six pages of my 2010 calendar and the land of forgotten song lyrics. Yeah, that last one was way out in left field even for me and my easily divergent mind.

What I really want to tell you about is the story behind this picture.





It was our first, and subsequently only, family trip to Disney World. We had booked a week in the land of magic so to spend some serious family time together before my husband deployed over-seas. What better place to connect and create memorable moments than the happiest place on earth.

We arrived on the 4th of July just in time to throw the bags in our room and race to a “prime” viewing spot for witnessing the much acclaimed fireworks show.

My husband and I were giddy. The excitement and thrill of the upcoming pyrotechnic display blew a second wind into our souls, something we weren’t sure we possessed after the long monotonous hours just spent in the car. But somehow we found the energy to be anxiously excited.

Then the first BOOM and the air immediately filled with applause and shouts of joy. Then the second BOOM and the oohs and aahs were filled with even more amazement. But by the third POW the screams of delight were over taken by our son’s screams of despair.

So much for being the happiest place on earth.

Now at this point I must apologize to anyone reading this story that just happened to be there that evening eight years ago. I’m sorry we subjected you to the uproar of emotion.

For what my husband and I did next will certainly ensure us a spot in the Bad Parenting Hall of Fame (which I do believe is located somewhere adjacent to Epcot).

You see, we covered his ears, ignored his emphatic cries and made him watch the entire show.

Yep. The entire show.

And despite the dehydration caused by the thirty minutes of sweat induced sobbing, he returned to the hotel room no worse for wear, and to this day has no recollection of the incident.

Well, until after he reads this post and then I suppose his dad and I have some apologizing to do.

Needless to say that from that snot-filled instance on, we have been very selective in our fireworks display attendance. Over the years our son has grown more accustomed to the BOOM BOOM POW of July 4th festivities, but we still try to be conscientious of his fireworks sensitivity.

Can you say redemption points?

Speaking of points … don’t the points of a pinwheel say 4th of July to you? Yeah, I know. Another long, super stretchy segue … but I was working on a pinwheel project the other day and it got me thinking about ways to incorporate them into a 4th of July party scheme.

So I did some web searching and found a few inspiration links.

Of course Martha had some cute pinwheels to show off.




And the good people at Good Housekeeping had a fun display.





The City Cradle had some pinwheel party action going on too. Love the pearl accents!





So lots of pinwheel ideas out there to spark my party planning and here’s what I came up with, for what I hope, is your viewing pleasure.





Of course I started with some ginormous pinwheels. Stand these in a drinks bucket and let the ice do the securing for you … at least until it’s melted …. ok, there’s a flaw to this plan, but work with me.





For the pinwheel centers I turned to two of my favorite things, tulle and ribbon. I gathered both into “yo-yo’s”, layered them with loads of hot glue and topped the centers off with some stickers from the new Jolee’s Parcel line. And btw, I fell in LOVE with the sticker’s use of teal alongside the traditional red, white and blue. Loved it so much I used it as my color scheme throughout.

While I had my needle and thread out, and because it was a good excuse to finish watching season six of West Wing with my mom, I made a few, well, quite a few, more rosettes.

I attached one to this lantern I stumbled upon a few days ago. I mean, hello! Could you get any more 4th of July than that? One if by land. Two if by sea. Three if by home with me. I know. It’s THE perfect July 4th centerpiece. Score!





The rest of the West Wing rosettes I wired to lengths of tulle taped to my mantle. Yep. You read that right. I taped it to the mantle using painter’s tape. Hey, it’s blue. That’s within my color scheme. Plus it’s easy to apply and, best part, remove.





Next I turned my efforts to the “paper” goods of the party. Water bottle covers are very popular with the party people these days. So, because I want to be part of the “in” crowd, I made some bottle wraps. I did end up covering these with clear shelf liner. I thought the layer of “waterproofing” might be a perk.





I carried the pinwheel motif to the chips label tag by embellishing it with one. A length of teal tulle to tie the tag onto the bucket adds some softness as well as brings some additional color to the table.





Lastly, I wrapped three packages of Pop Rocks in tulle and topped them with a large paper pinwheel … viola, easy party favors. A simple sign displayed next to these takeaways explains the sentiment behind the gift in addition to adding color and height to the tablescape.





So with a couple of pattern paper sheets, a few yards of ribbon and tulle and a serious amount of hot glue, you too can have some pinwheel fun on the 4th of July! The BOOM BOOM POW fireworks display is optional of course.

But we’ll be there. And you can’t miss us. We’re the family wearing earmuffs.

Have a safe and fun July 4th dear reader!

~ Elizabeth (ekb)