Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thanksgiving: Pie & Puzzles

Do you ever feel like you're being torn this way and that for Thanksgiving?  Everyone wants you to eat turkey and watch football at their house!  We have a large extended family - and it's hard to navigate the maze of Thanksgiving dinner plans.  So, we kept it simple.  Pie and puzzles after everything else...

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Card Creations - Beautiful Fall Colors

A creative design piece of Circle River Creations is handmade cards.  Once a scrapbooker, always a paper crafter - I love making cards.  I love only having a small canvas to work with and finding fun, unique and creative ways to use paper and other embellishments.

Below are some card creations I recently designed.  I love fall and with it fall colors!  These are a different twist on fall colors with pink added in, but I love them!

Even with cards, it's all about being creative and small things making something great!  Three simple ribbons, folded and stapled to a card adds depth and a splash of texture.  Making a collage out of stickers that may not look right standing alone - a small thing, into something great!

Be creative today!

Friday, November 9, 2012

Birthday Party: Sweet 16 Glow Party

This party was so much fun!  Brianna worked on a fabulous menu which was perfect for teenagers!  A handful of small things to eat made for a delicious platter to choose from - gorgeous, uniquely designed cake (by Brianna), fruits, meatballs, chips & salsa and mini cupcakes.  It's amazing what glows under black lights! Add tonic water to your favorite punch and you have a fluorescing beverage!
For activities, we kept it simple.  In my book, food counts as an activity!  But there was also some fun music and a dance floor covered in black light glow, a simple ring toss using glow bracelets and spray painted bottles, a canvas painting activity using neon paints (so it looks okay in the light, too!) and a make-up station that included fluorescing face paint and neon nail polish.  Simple, but fun and teenage-friendly!  
All of the guests were given glow bracelets and necklaces as well as a take home "Sweet 16" Candy gift.  We wrapped mini Mike & Ike packs in fluorescent paper and added cut out 16s to pop.
We covered the windows with cardboard and paper to keep the light out and used as many black lights as we could find.  Other small things included cutting glow sticks and splattering the inside of glass jars, using extra fluorescent paper pieces as confetti for the tables, using highlighters to write notes on the white paper, and white table clothes added to the overall glow.
A great party is all about the small things!  
Miss S, we had the best time creating this special party for you!  Happy Sweet 16!

Glowing Details

Here are the glowing details of the Sweet 16 Glow Party!  Each guest received one or tow glow bracelets and/or necklaces when they arrived.
 In addition to their glow bracelet, the guests left with these Sweet 16 Candy Bars - the Birthday Girl's favorite candy wrapped in fluorescent printer paper (it doesn't have to be expensive to pop)!
 This was a Pinterest idea made our own - cut open a glow bracelet and use as decor!
 
A party isn't a party without food.  And food can easily become part of the decorations.  It's a great way to make the most out of your budget.  Everything becomes one small piece of a great party!
Be Creative!