2.14.2011

Happy Valentines!

from Mrs. Predictable!!!

We kind of stick to the same things sometimes...


Robbies V-day box


class valentines




Just so you know, the caramel bits (unwrapped) have completely saved my life. If I had to unwrap the squares...I would never take on these kind of numbers!
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2.12.2011

White Chocolate Popcorn




We tried something new for Teachers' Valentine Presents this year. I had never made white chocolate popcorn before, and thought I'd give it a whirl! So easy...I suggest you try it soon.

You will need:

2 bags white choc. chips
2 large bags of m&m's (I did 1 peanut & 1 plain)
15 cups of popcorn (that is about 2.5 bags...low fat, buttered)
LARGE bowl

After popping popcorn, shake the bag so the seeds go to the bottom...then scoop the popcorn from the top. Melt the chocolate chips, then pour over popcorn in bowl. If you want, you can alternate pouring popcorn then chocolate in bowl to make it easier to mix. (some of the popcorn will crunch as you do this...I dont see a way around it) Add m&m's and stir. Spread popcorn mix out on parchment paper (on cookie sheets) and wait for it to set. Break it up and put it in a bag. (You can be creative with what you add to it...cranberries, raisins, nuts...I love the m&m's because of the cute colors)

VOILA!
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2.10.2011

Robbie's Comic Superhero Party!

Robbie's birthday marks the end of "Birthday Season" for me...phew!!! Now I have until the end of the year for it all to start again!

We had SO much fun planning and having Robbie's party. The idea took hold last fall in a flea market in San Francisco, where I grabbed a dozen vintage comic books.
 It was a bit crazy doing this party, with my 3 week old baby...but it had to be done before our lives get even more hectic.  SO...here it is!!!

The Invitation:

I really wanted to find a comic book artist to draw Robbie into the cartoon, but after trying a couple...I realized it wasn't as easy as I had hoped.  So My mom and I started searching comics in our nights hanging out with new baby, and found this old comic...perfect for my plan! (Read Carefully!)

Decorations and Activities:

my front door welcome sign...of course

This little number made decorating really easy!  It was a life saver, the kids loved the bounce-house/slide combo...and it really wasnt too bad to rent! (The colors were great for the party!)
 
 We really wanted the kids to just run around and play, but we knew we needed a couple of organized activities...like a pinata!  I contemplated making one because i couldnt find any shapes that i liked...but in the end we just bought a star and glued the villains on it!


















As if my Mom didnt have enough to do while she was taking care of my 3 older kids, helping me with the baby and cleaning...I gave her a little project!  She painted this queen size sheet to be a backdrop for the kids!






Villain balloons.  We staked villain balloons all over the yard for the kids to aim their nerf guns at.  Just one more little thing to keep kids busy.







FOOD TABLE:

We tried to keep the food simple.  Cheetohs, Jello, Hot Dogs, PB & J's and gatorade!



I punched out comic book pictures for jello toppers.



More comic book strips for drink labels.

OK...In a bored moment, i printed off pages of comic books and cut out hot dog bun holders.  Then I hand folded the corners!  I know, I could have bought the normal red and white ones...but, sometimes when I have an idea...there is no stopping me!



I had seen these cones around, and thought it would be a fun way to serve their cheetohs.
Comic book sandwich wrappers...those vintage comic books sure came in handy!


The Cake:

As you probably know by now, Rob and I kind of have a tradition to make the cake together the night before the party.  I was thinking simple...but he had other plans.  As soon as he saw a similar superhero layer cake online, he was sold.  So...4 hours later, our cake emerged looking like this:







Favors:

During the party, we made sure each of the kids got their picture taken in front of the backdrop.











I made foam-core signs to hold in the pictures...BAM!  KA-ZAM! POW!
We let the kids pick the sign they wanted.




During the party, I printed out the pictures of the kids and put them in these frames.



I found unfinished frames at Michaels.  Painted them black, decoupaged pages from the comic books on each one and finished them by inking the edges and putting a varnish over the whole thing.  I am kind of in love with the frames myself.  It was fun to pick out pages that would look cool from the comic book.







 Overall, SO MUCH FUN!!! Robbie LOVED it!  We had fun...and like I said, my birthday season is at an end. 

So of course tonight I stayed up all night doing Valentines for the kids...on to the next thing i guess!!!

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