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06/28

DIY Rocket Popsicle Piñata

Jessica’s kids birthdays are close to July 4th, plus we love to celebrate America, so it’s always a really busy time of year and we are in the party mode. This year, we’re celebrating with all things red, white and blue. A party just isn’t a party with young kids without the joy of hitting a piñata. We couldn’t find the perfect (and affordable) red, white and blue piñata, so we made one with the iconic patriotic popsicle in mind. It’s DIY rocket popsicle piñata! It only took a couple hours from start to finish, so you still have time!

Materials:

Red, white and blue tissue paper
Scissors
Pinata, frappuccino shaped
Glue stick, or
Strips of cardboard
Packaging tape

Directions:

Step 1: Remove all existing tissue paper from the pinata. We found a frappuccino shaped piñata at Walmart for less than $15, left the cardboard shape and stripped it of all pink and white tissue paper. Remember to fill the piñata with goodies before you cover it with new fringe.

Step 2: Cut strips of red, white and blue tissue paper.

Step 3: Cut fringe on each strip of tissue paper.

Step 4: With 12 inch strips of cardboard scraps (about 3-4 inches thick), position them from the lid of the piñata frappuccino shape, and angle them up. This is hard to explain, and sorry for our poor photos, but the 4 cardboard scraps will be used to made a little square (or for lack of better words, nipple) on top of the popsicle, to look like the real thing. We used packaging tape to keep it in place. We added the white cardboard tube on the bottom of dry cleaner hangers to create that indention affect along the side of the piñata, but it didn’t really work, so don’t worry about that!

Step 5: Starting from the bottom, glue the fringe onto the cardboard. We found it’s best to do two layers of fringe on each layer. You can glue the strips of fringe on top of each other before gluing onto the pinata.

Step 6: Continue layer by layer, blue on the bottom, then white and finally red. Cut a piece of cardboard the shape of a popsicle stick, and with an X-acto knife, cut a slit on the bottom of the popsicle. Insert the cardboard popsicle stick. Hang and have fun!

Enjoy…and then grab a real Rocket popsicle from the freezer to ring in this 4th of July!

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Filed Under: diy, diy, holiday, holiday, lifestyle, party Tagged: july 4th, kid, party, patriotic, pinata, red, white and blue

03/01

DIY String Art: Bright Red Balloon

Let It Go.

Those are three short words that make up a powerful phrase. There are so many different things that come to mind when we hear or say those words;

Disney’s Frozen
parenting
grieving a loved one
holding on to the past
living a life of fear
anger/resentment for a person (or people)
holding on to what could have been
expectations that others put on us
trying to control situations and outcomes
our plan for our lives (because God has a better one)

Oh my goodness, we could go on and on. One thing we know for sure is that it’s easier to say Let It Go than to actually do it, but we’re working on it. Now that we have our own DIY string art with a bright red balloon and those three little words under it, it’s top of mind. If we can practice letting go a little bit everyday, my will we soar!

Read the tutorial at Momtastic. It’s awesome DIY art because you don’t need a hammer or nails!

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Filed Under: diy, gifts, lifestyle Tagged: balloon, corkboard, diy, inspiration, let it go, red, string art

11/02

Voting Idea for Kids: DIY Ballot Voting Booth

What an election circus it’s been this year?! We’re happy to see it end. Our ballots are in. We will be tuning in to see the results on Election Day!

Our kids have been hearing about the election from every direction. They are too young to cast their vote on Nov. 8, but with an election at school, they still feel like they are part of a voting process, at their level.

Their school ballot has really fun issues. Oh, to be a kid again where the word donut is actually on the ballot. Bravo to the creative moms that created the ballot ‘issues,’ and the idea of this mock election at school.

ELECTION BALLOT FOR KIDS

Dessert
the school will vote on the best dessert, and the there will be a party with the winning dessert served
Donut vs. Cupcake

Charity
$100 will be given to the charity chosen
Toys for Tots vs. Make a Wish

School Theme Song
the song will be played at all sporting events for the year
Can’t Stop the Feeling, Justin Timberlake vs. Hands Clap, Fitz and the Tantrums

Election week is full of activities. First, the kids will spend some time completing this sentence, “If I were President, I would…” Those papers will line the school hallways, then go home to parents, which is sure to be a priceless document to hold on to forever. Next, the kids will register to vote during lunch. Finally, on Nov. 8 the kids will cast their votes, just like America. Their voice will be heard.

Of course, the kids need a proper voting booth, so we went to work.

This is so easy, and took less than 1 hour.

Materials:

Duct tape, red, white and blue
Large box
X-acto knife
Silhouette America electronic cutting machine

Directions:

Find a big box at your local Home Depot, or appliance center dumpster.

Line the front and back of the box with red and white strips of duct tape.

Line the sides of the box with strips of blue duct tape.

Fold over pieces of the white duct tape, and cut out stars. Use double-sided tape to stick the stars on the blue sides of the box.

Use an X-acto knife to cut a slit in the front for kids to drop their ballots.

Add the letter VOTE to the front of the box. We used our Silhouette America electronic cutting machine to cut the letters.

Now, get the kids to VOTE.

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Filed Under: diy, diy, kid, lifestyle, party Tagged: america, ballot booth, diy, duct tape, election, kid, red, vote, white and blue

12/14

DIY Merry & Bright Ornament

‘Twas the week before Christmas, and all through blogging land,
bloggers were hustling with super glue in their hand.

Ornaments were hung on the tree with care,
but one was missing from bloggers who hope to put one of their own there.

We knew in a moment, it must be #swapthatdiy time,
For those who read our first one, it was a sublime.

Lifestyle, DIY, food and fashion – not one of them the same,
A Joyful Riot, Pretty Life Girls, DIY Candy, Cut, Cut, Craft!, A Bubbly Life, The Bold Adobe, The Sweetest Occasion, Tell Love and Party and One Little Minute Blog – we called them each by name!

Happy ornament making to all, and to all a good night.

It’s our 2^nd official DIY swap, and it’s a good one. We made Merry & Bright ornaments to brighten up the sisters of A Joyful Riot holidays. We couldn’t do a Merry without a Bright, so we sent all three. Our ornaments were inspired by big, 36” balloons by Big Ass Balloons, so the ornaments are meant to be 36” balloons with the string of tassels.

Merry Christmas, Malissa and Machelle, and everyone who participated.

Materials:

Bulb ornament, less than $1
Gold mylar
White tissue paper
Red acrylic paint
Paintbrush
Hot glue and hot glue gun
Red embroidery string
Red craft/jewelry wire, Michaels
Drill

Directions:

Drill two small holes on the top of the ornament, one of each side of the top of the ornament.

Trace or free-hand the word Merry & Bright on the ornaments, then paint the words with a small paintbrush and red paint.

Fill the ornaments with confetti {we cut small squares of the gold mylar and hole-punched tissue paper for white confetti}. There is a natural static that occurs, so some of the confetti will stick to the sides of the ornament.

Cut a piece of string about 1 foot long for the tassel string. We made little tassels from the white tissue paper and gold mylar. We tied each mini tassel to the string with a knot, one above the other. Once all the tassels were in a row, we dabbed a bit of super glue on top each one, to keep them in a straight line.

Cut a 4-inch piece of the red wire and string it through the two holes on top of the ornament. To add a touch of cuteness, make a bow out of the red wire, and wrap additional wire around center of the bow to keep it in place.

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Filed Under: diy, holiday, lifestyle, most fabulous posts Tagged: 36 inch balloons, balloon ornaments, christmas, christmas ornament, christmas tree, confetti, diy, Gift, gift swap, idea swap, merry and bright, ornament, red, swapthatdiy

12/11

Joyful Holiday Photo Shoot

peppermint-diy-tray-red-white-joy-holiday-party-christmas-table-silver-tree

We just realized we never shared one of our first and favorite photo shoots on the blog. It’s a favorite because we were able to work with our friend and photographer, Meredith Moran Photography, and because amongst all the pretty red and white details, our children were running around in the background at our parents house. It was a lot of chaos, but also a lot of laughter, and if you can laugh in the midst of the chaos, that can be a good thing.

We hope you make the DIY peppermint tray this Christmas season and find the time experience pure joy, just like the marquee lights by Saddleshoe Designs reminds us to do.