Category Archives: birthdays

A Birthday Skirt

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One of my February goals was to make my daughter a skirt or dress.

I settled on a skirt since that seemed to be an easier project.

Half the coverage, half the work, right?

I followed the instructions from the sewing blog MADE and I think the skirt turned out fairly well for a first try. I didn’t bother making a tutorial because, “about this, and cut about that much,” didn’t seem like real effective directions.

We added the pink leggings since this outfit would have been a bit chilly to wear to recess without them. She is proudly accessorizing with her school birthday crown (and a pterodactyl).

And what did this sweet munchkin tell me immediately after putting on this skirt which I worked on for over an hour and which made me extremely proud to make?

“Thank you Mommy. I love you. Thank you for working so hard on this for me?”

Nope.

It was…

“Now make me a dress please.”

“I’m 1…2….Free!”

Celebration List – It’s a Printable!

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I am the world’s worst person when it comes to remembering birthdays or anniversaries.

My entire family and group of friends are all nodding their head in agreement right now.

I have two friends who I have known since birth and I only know that their birthdays are at the beginning of November. The 6th? The 12th? The 14th?

I don’t even know my sister-in-laws anniversary. I know it was sometime in the summer since I was wearing a sleeveless dress at the ceremony –  July? August?

Sad. I know.

Well friends, I’m going to remedy that situation in 2012.

I created a celebrations page which allows me to write down everyone’s birthday and have them all in one place. Yes, this is something that could be on a computer but I wanted a hard copy to keep by the fridge. After all, I go by the fridge 16 – 20 times a day, I’m bound to see it.

For those of you who have a birthday on the 29th, 30th, or 31st let’s just get your feelings out there. Yes, I had to combine some dates in order for all 365 days to appear. That’s just the way it is. Would you have preferred I take them off completely :)?

If you’d like a copy of this 2 sided document, click here.

Please consider becoming a follower of Big D & Me if you decide to download

Now to friends & family – EMAIL ME YOUR BIRTHDAY & ANNIVERSARY INFO NOW!

Tuesday To Do Party Todays Creative Blog

Pet Peeve

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I am a party pooper and I don’t care.

In fact, I wish more moms felt the way I do.

I have a pet peeve which goes against my love for crafting.

I hate gift bags, goody bags, and here’s a bunch of crap bags.

I know it’s expected now at birthday parties and showers but I just struggle with it. The goody bags at my kids’ parties are probably the worst around – a lollipop, stickers, and a tattoo – and the tattoo is only if I really like the kid.

Goodie bags are expected at parties now and I have learned to deal with that.

What I cannot deal with are the expectations for goody bags at school.

Preschool at that.

My daughter’s preschool sent out a message stating that bags would be placed in each students cubby “in case we were going to bring treats to share with our friends.”

They are two. They don’t need any extra goodies. A costume day and fall festival was more than enough to celebrate Halloween.

I refused to prepare any treats. We went to school empty handed.

This is the goody bag my daughter came home with.

Let’s just take a peek at what was inside.

Nice haul for a five hour school day, huh.

This bag was from one kid.

Here are the contents of the bag:

Impressive but ridiculous.

Isn’t anyone else tired of plastic trinkets littering their car and the “I get something” expectation that now comes with going to a party.

Now we are going to have the expectation at school.

I stand firm by my decision to not bring anything.

Plus, some of the goody bag contents were not labeled so no one else knows I didn’t participate. – ha!

Care Bear Bingo

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I don’t know about you but last night I ate about twenty mini candy bars.

If anything, I am underestimating.

I spent the rest of the night complaining about my aching stomach while my husband looked on with a, “Why are you surprised by this…. this happens every year,” look.

Later in the week I’ll post some of our Halloween pictures but for now I have this for you.

Care Bear Bingo!

I am going to a birthday party for a little girl turning four with my two youngest this weekend. The birthday girl is very into Care Bears so I decided I would make her a Care Bear bingo game.

The set consists of 5 cards and 25 calling cards.

The game is a preschool version of bingo with only sixteen spaces instead of the usual twenty-five. Fewer spaces for the younger kids tends to work better.

I also printed off two copies of the calling cards, cut them apart, and placed them in a small box for a memory game.


In order to download the bingo game, please click on the bingo board above. The PDF document should come up. From there, print.

If you decide to print, please consider becoming a follower of Big D & Me.

If you are interested in other printable bingo games please look in my “Printables” section at the top. I am also selling a Thanksgiving bingo game in my etsy shop.

Hopefully this is the first of many girly bingo sets!

Todays Creative Blog Tuesday To Do Party Weekend Bloggy Reading

CARS Bingo & Party

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When Alex turned 5 four years ago he requested a CARS party.

It was tons of fun and fairly easy to put together.

Since it was a race car party we needed a race track cake. The track is made of black sugar crystals while the side boards are cardboard. We made the “start” and “finish” signs and placed some of his hot wheels on the cake.

Race Car Birthday Cake

The first activity of the party was to take some Crayola Air-Dry Clay and use it to form their own race cars. This activity didn’t turn out as well as I would have liked. Some of the kids were not satisfied with their creations and complained since it didn’t look like Lightning McQueen.

While the clay didn’t go over so well, the bean bag toss was a huge hit. We took a large piece of wood, cut 5 holes in them, and modged podged some large CARS stickers on with various point values underneath. HUGE HIT with the 5 year old crowd.

Creating Cars from Air-Dry Clay
Bean Bag Toss

Another favorite outdoor activity was “The Big Race.” Alex and I decorated 2 diaper boxes and turned them into cars. Alex put race numbers on them as well as headlights and wheels. Two at at a time the kids raced around the yard usually laughing the entire time. The plastic helmets I bought added to the excitement.

“The Big Race”
Little Brother wants to play too

After running around the backyard the kids were ready for an inside activity. I made the CARS Bingo cards, laminated them, and created call cards. I went a little over board and created 15 individual cards. All of the kids loved the bingo game and played several rounds.

CARS Bingo Game
It’s a Printable!

Would you like a copy of the CARS BINGO game?

Please go here & print a copy.

Please consider becoming a follower of Big D and Me if you decide to download the game

Having difficulty downloading? Contact me and I’ll email you a copy.

Todays Creative BlogTuesday To Do Party A Crafty Soiree Weekend Bloggy Reading

Killer Cake & Entry Way

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Finally, the last installment of Andrew’s Lego party.

Go here for part 1 (lego bingo) and here for part 2 (lego party boards).

Andrew decided he wanted a “Killer the Croc” cake. Actually Killer the Croc was a third choice since I vetoed the first two choices in the name of difficulty. I need to watch a few more episodes of “Cake Boss” in order to tackle those particular mini figures.

So, who is Killer the Croc you ask? Apparently, he’s a bad guy from the Batman Legos.

Step 1: I made 2 sheet cakes and placed them next to each other. I then iced over both cakes and outlined the shape of Killer the Croc with a toothpick. With the outline already drawn, it was easy to know where to cut the cake.

Andrew wanted a strawberry and vanilla cake. Ask and you shall receive!

Step 2: Spread the colored icing for his body and his pants.

Step 3: Add white icing for his mouth

Step 4: Add red icing for the eyes

Step 5: Use a thin icing point and outline the eyes, teeth, and muscles? scales? in black

When Andrew saw the cake before the party he said,”This is my best party ever.” Now that’s a pretty good review even before the party started.

I put together a simple Lego display guests saw when they first entered our house. The boys created the “6” and chose the minifigures to display. I copied a picture of Killer the Croc, and gave him a word bubble which said, “Andrew, we love you to pieces.”

I’m pretty sure we will have another Lego party in our future so I hope to use some of these ideas again.


Todays Creative Blog

Lego Mini Figure Party Boards

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For Andrew’s Lego party we created large wooden character boards.

During the party we took pictures of each guest behind the boards. When Andrew sent a thank you card in the mail, each guest also received a photo of himself as a Lego mini figure.

Below you can see Andrew is “Jay” from the Lego Ninjago sets.

On the back side of the boards are different characters I painted for our Halloween party. Since we already had the boards cut, it was a simple tracing and painting process to complete this set.

Below – “Penguin” from Batman Lego sets

Steps to Create Lego Party Boards:

1) cut board into desired size

2) use a tracer to copy image directly onto board

3) cut out head section

4) paint

5) cut large blocks for legs so the structure will stand up.

“Batman and Robin” mini figures

Below: The large board slides into the ground blocks in order for the structure to stand.

In case you missed it, we also played Lego Bingo – go here for a copy.

One more Lego party post coming soon!

Todays Creative Blog

The DIY Show Off Katie's Nesting Spot The Shabby Nest

Lego Bingo

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For Andrew’s 6th birthday party we had wonderful plans…

Early May is typically hot in Texas so we planned on taking the kids to the park to use water balloons and play.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Except…that it turned out to be forty degrees outside and raining.

Therefore, the night before the party, Derek and I scrambled for new inside activities.

One of the activities we decided on was Lego Bingo. Derek created the board template and  I inserted the Lego mini figures.

The game was actually a huge hit with the kids. The winner of each game received 2 silly bands while everyone else received one.

The Game includes: 9 different bingo boards & 42 call cards (Cuts these cards apart and use to call out mini figures)

If you would like a copy of the Lego bingo here it is – Lego-Bingo.

If you decide to print, please consider becoming a follower of Big D & Me.

I’ll share more of the party soon – check back for more Lego party ideas!

Todays Creative BlogTidy Mom Chic on a Shoestring Decorating 504 Main

Lego Man Cake

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Alex had a Lego party for his 9th birthday. Derek suggested making a Lego brick for the cake but I quickly dismissed that suggestion since it did not seem like a challenge. Alex provided me with this figure as inspiration for the cake. So I went for it and think it turned out all right.

Step 1: You need: 2 boxed cake mixes, frosting dye, and 5 large containers of frosting. No, I don’t even consider making my own frosting.

Step 2 – Place both cakes side by side and then carve out the general Lego man shape. Follow up with an initial layer of frosting. Place the cake in the fridge – it’s easier to put the next layer of frosting if the first layer is more solid.

Step 3 – Create the bodysuit? armor? training clothes? with orange icing. I used clear icing bags and a basic frosting tip for the rest of the icing.

Step 4 – Use gray icing for the equipment and part of helmet. I started questioning my cake decorating abilities at about this point – hmmm… 2 hours till the party, I wonder if the grocery store could make a lego brick cake in such short notice?

Step 5 – Using a wider icing tip I created the white sections of the helmet

Step 6 – The first attempt at making “Lego skin” was too pink (very bad in the eyes of a 9 year old boy) so I tried again and got a brown color. Good enough.

Step 7 – I added the black icing sections.

Step 8 – I added the red sections and called it done.

There were certain parts of the cake I wasn’t thrilled with but Alex was excited with the cake and that’s all that counts in the long run.