Day 8: DIY party hats for Kids and Adults

On the 8th day of Christmas, j. sorelle gave to you…DIY Holiday Party Hats.

Put on your party dress and get out your hot glue gun because today we have a DIY tutorial to create your own, festive party hats.

DIY christmas tree party hat

diy sparkle and shine party hat

diy frozen party hat_jsorelle

You’ll Need:

  • Cardstock
  • Scissors
  • Hot glue/hot glue gun
  • Holiday trimmings, sequins, ornaments aka party hat decor
  • Package of thin headbands {we bought the softer fabric kind to prevent massive hard-headband-headaches}

How To:

Step 1: Print this free template {thanks Oh Happy Day} on cardstock of your choice

Step 2: Cut and shape cardstock into hat form. We used a pinch of hot glue along the ‘inside seam’ just to make sure the hat was solid for our heavy decorations.

Step 3: Decorate. Add some bling and color…or in our case, add tree trimmings, tinsel, and ornaments. We used a hot glue gun to add our tinsel and tree trimmings.

Step 4: Glue to a thin headband.

Step 5: Take pictures of your party hats and send them to us – we want to see your creations.
e-mail: hello@jsorelle.com
instagram: @jsorelle3
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These hats made even a mini-photo shoot in the middle of a massive winter storm {running eye-liner and all} fun!

{images via j. sorelle}

Day 2: DIY salt and pepper shakers for the hostess

DIY salt and pepper shakers

Shake it off, Shake it off. Ok, Jessica has a minor obsession with Taylor Swift’s new song, and it’s a great motto for  Day 2 of our 12 Days of Christmas.

On the second day of Christmas j. sorelle gave to you…DIY heart-shaped salt and pepper shakers.

These DIY salt and pepper shakers make an easy, affordable and adorable hostess gift or Christmas gift. You can start and complete the project in less than an hour.

DIY salt and pepper shakers_jsorelle

You’ll Need:
Mini jam jars – You can find small jam or honey jars at your local grocery store or you can find some from the English Tea Store
Push pin like these
Clear Scotch tape
Sharpie pen
Salt & pepper

How To:
Step 1: Clean out the jars.
Step 2: Place a piece of clear tape over the lid of the jam jar and with a Sharpie, add dots in the shape you want. We chose to do a heart to go with the theme of ‘season everything with love.’

DIY salt and pepper shakers

Step 3: Poke holes through the lid on your dotted design.

DIY salt and papper shakers

Step 4: Once you poked through every dot, remove the piece of tape to see your design.
Step 5: Add salt & pepper to the shakers, package with twine or a bow and give, give, give. To make it really cute, attach a ‘season everything with love’ note to the twine.

season everything with love_DIY salt and pepper shakers

 Season everything with love this Christmas!

{images via j. sorelle}

Fall Party Ideas and Favors

fall harvest_astrobrightspapers

For us, fall is a time for football, family, crisp air, colorful leaves, scarecrows and fall harvest food such as apples, pumpkins and squash.

And, just like Anne of Green Gables, we, too, are so glad we live in a world where there are Octobers. So, we decided to celebrate all the things that make fall special…and we did it with Astrobrights Papers.

Honestly, {even with Jenna being obsessed with paper} we often overlook paper when it comes to party decor. We think about it for invitations and labels, but we forget that color paper can add creativity to every aspect of a party, from invitation to decor and table settings to favors. After our Fall Harvest party, we’ve come to the conclusion that…
1. We love Astrobrights Papers.
2. Color paper is a quick and cost-efficient way to customize and add color to any celebration.
3. Everyone needs to #ColorizeYourParty.

Here’s how you can #ColorizeYourParty for fall.

Fall #ColorizeYourParty Activity

  • Keep kids busy with a Dress Up the Scarecrows Activity. Find a scarecrow and clothing template like this, print on colorful Astrobrights Papers, then cut. The kids will feel so proud when their ‘art’ is on display too, so make sure to glue the scarecrows to a wooden popsicle stick, and stick them in a bale of hay.

DIY scarecrow dress up_astrobrights papers

DIY scarecrow dress up_astrobrights papers

scarecrow dress up_astrobrights papers

Fall #ColorizeYourParty Favors

  • Find a cute way to display the favors. We found that the best way to display our favors was a rotating card holder, of course colorized with cut-out images of harvest foods and labeled with cut-out paper letters.
  • Spread the love, and harvest food with seeds inside DIY pumpkin, apple and squash seed packets. Here’s a free seed packet template and how-to instructions are below.
  • Share the beauty of fall by printing seasonal photos of fall on white Astrobrights Papers, and add your favorite quote  to make it a piece of art.
  • Share your most delicious fall recipes with DIY pumpkin, apple and squash recipe cards designed by one of our own, Jenna. Print the fall recipe cards with this free template.

DIY seed packets_Astrobrights Papers

DIY seed packets_Astrobrights Papers

DIY seed packets_astrobrights papers

DIY seed packets_astrobrights papers

DIY recipe cards_astrobrights papers

IMG_6928

Fall #ColorizeYourParty Decor

  • Create a colorful background. Since we loved the quote “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers” so much, we wanted it to be a main focus. We used our Silhouette electronic cutting tool to cut words from the quote out of yellow Astrobrights Papers, then taped an orange piece of paper behind it for a pop of color in the background.
  • A fall party wouldn’t be complete with colorful leaves, so make sure to layer and scatter paper leaves everywhere.
  • For a full harvest effect, create a Fall Market sign. Cut out paper pumpkins, squash, apples, letters and numbers and tape them to a vintage window pane so guests feel like they enjoying a stroll through a lovely fall market.
  • Incorporate seasonal crops such as apples, pumpkins, squash, sunflowers, lanterns and bales of hay.

diy fall market sign_astrobrights papers

fall harvest party_astrobrights papers

fall harvest party_astrobrights papers

Tell us, how will you Colorize Your Party? For inspiration, check out Astrobrights Papers on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram.

Colorize your party_astrobrights papers{images via j. sorelle}

j. sorelle received products and/or payment for this post, however we love Astrobrights Papers even if they didn’t send us product, and all opinions are ours, we promise. View all of Astrobrights vibrant colors here

Sparkle Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party

OK, so maybe I jinxed our weather by adding, “throw some glitter make it rain,” to the shower invitation {as it rained the entire evening of our festivities}, but the shower/bachelorette weekend was still a blast and time spent with the ladies was rejuvenating.

Lovely shower details included homemade Margarita’s so appropriately titled, Kimbaritas {after the bride, Kimi}, homemade appetizers, stiletto cupcakes, custom water bottles, CD favors and a kissing/lipstick activity {amongst others} that created pretty artwork for the bride to keep.

And sparkly bachelorette details included DIY sequins menu {sold here}, a gold sequins runner, DIY ribbon chair covers/decor and nail polish favors and place cards for each guest.

The pretty invite by Jenna at Fleur de Lis set the tone for a fabulous, sparkly party. Now available here.

gold glitter bachelorette party invitation

margaritas_bachelorette party

margarita glasses

stiletto cupcakes_bachelorette party

custom bachelorette party water bottle labels

kimibach14-30

shower ideas

lipstick shower activity

kissing artwork_shower activity

kissing artwork and shower activity

lipstick artwork and shower activity

coup d'etat minneapolis

bachelorette party_coup de'etat

bachelorette sparkly dinner

bachelorette sequins menu

sequins menu

nail polish favors_bachelorette party

ribbon chair covers

minneapolis bachelorette party

VENDOR LOVE
Invites and Menu: Fleur de Lis
Linens: Apres Party and Tent Rental
Photography: Amy Forness Photo
Marque G sign: Saddle Shoe Signs
Dinner Venue: Coup d’etat, Minnesota {gorgeous restaurant/bar and wonderful to work with}
Shower details: courtesy of the fabulous Kelly

DIY Cosmetic Bag Party Favor

DIY cosmetic bag

How do you leave a little sparkle?

Maybe its your personality? Smile? Random, simple acts of kindness? A charming accent? Whatever it is, find it and do it because I love people who enter a room and own it, and leave me with a good feeling, or a memory when they walk out the door. I’m talking about the people I don’t forget, and leave a trace of their optimism behind with me. I have friends like this, who are special and simply amazing, and I believe they “leave a little sparkle wherever they go.” So, for a recent Bachelorette celebration for one of my bestie’s, I made cosmetic bags with this quote to go along with our Sparkle theme for the weekend. More photos of that extravaganza to come, but for now, a DIY.

You’ll Need
$3 cosmetic bags from Target {in the travel cosmetics section}
Chacopaper from Michaels
A printed quote
pen
Krylon Gold Leaf Pen from Michaels

DIY cosmetic bag

How To
Use Microsoft Word to create your quote in a favorite font.
Print your quote on a regular piece of printer paper.
Cut the quote and a piece of the Chacopaper the same size as the quote.
Layer the paper, bottom-up, starting with the ‘chalky side’ face down on the cosmetic bag {you can feel the ‘chalky’ side}, your quote and then top it off with the ‘tracing’ paper.
DIY cosmetic bag party favor
Use a black pen to firmly {without tearing} trace the quote on the tracing paper.
Once finished {or you can even get a sneak peek to see if its working if you can lift the edge without moving the paper} lift the 3 sheets of paper from your cosmetic bag and you will see a traced image of your quote. I used the white Chacopaper, so it appeared white like the photo below.
Use the Gold Leaf pen to carefully trace your ‘image’
Voila.
DIY cosmetic bag party favor

DIY cosmetic bag party favor{images via j. sorelle}