Color the snow

Most of you have probably heard about filling spray bottles with water and food coloring on a snowy day. You take the kids and make colors in the snow. I wanted to have a little more control with the paint, so I decided to use eye wash bottles (they have smaller openings than dish soap and ketchup bottles.)

I didn't get any pictures of the kids playing with the paint, as I was too busy making sure they painted only the snow.... but I did have a wonder idea for my high school friends who recently got engaged. So what turned out to be playtime for the kids, actually turned out to be playtime for me too (BTW, the inconsistant lighting is due to the fact that I was taking photos in the eveing as the sun was setting.)

I think this would be similar to the idea of drawing on chalk and taking photos, so I'm kind of wondering, if we will get enough snow again for me to do more artwork. I'd like to try something like this!

Stepping Out of Comfort

I'm a fairytale enthusiast, I'm not a fan of bittersweet endings, horror movies, or event natural disaster movies. Chuck had it's series finale Friday, to which I'm unsatisfied with the final scene: because it's bittersweet. Last week, I had a friend ask me for ideas on planning her birthday party, which of course, I was more than obliged to help with.

Then she told me the theme. My stomach turned in a knot. SAW. Yep, the horror movie of the physco Jigsaw, and his weird twisted ways of torturing people. I did my best from not ever seeing any movie like it, so I read the synopsis on Wikipedia . I couldn't stop my stomach from turning, I felt so uncomfortable even reading it.

BUT. This would prove to be an ultimate challenge for me. Pushing myself out of the comfortable zone and being creative for someone else. One more step to becoming an event planner!

The biggest problem she had was coming up with games to play. So I thought I would share with you the two games I came up with, and see you all could contribute more ideas!


GAME 1

Supplies:

Barbie Doll (Ken)
A symbolic hacksaw (you can get a mini minder saw at hobby stores, or home improvement stores)
A symbolic pistol
Bowls, or "Drawing Bags"
Index Cards
Marker

Object: Find their team's item and the hidden doll or out live the other team.


Prep:

Count enough index cards (1 per every two guests), and mark an X on just one. Place in one of the drawing bags, and set aside.

With remaining index cards, separate into two piles. On one pile, write riddles or trivia questions. On the other, write out 'loses' (i.e. Your arm is chopped off: tie arm behind back, or acid poured on eyes or in mouth ; blindfolded or must be silent).  Place in another drawing bag.

Hide the saw, the gun, and the doll.


To play:

Separate into two teams, team one will team Adam, the other team Lawrence. Team Adam's object will be to find the pistol, and Lawrence is to find the saw. Ask one riddle/trivia to one of the teams, they have 30 secs to look for their item (more on that later).  If they fail, one of their teammates must die (cannot play anymore). To determine which teammate dies, have the team draw cards from the drawing bag. The person with the X bites the dust!

If the team answers a question correctly, they get 30 secs to search (you may want to adjust the time according to how well the items are hidden. ) for their item. But every time they do get question correct, one teammate must suffer a loss. Again, with the bag containing the 'X' is drawn by each teammate. The one who receives the "X" must draw from the loss bag. Whatever the card says, is what happens to that player.


When the team finds their item, they can then search for the doll (to set him free or kill him)

The end of the game will either be

a) when all players of one team is gone

b) When one team finds their item, and the doll.


GAME 2

This is a pretty simple game, popular at Halloween, but added twist.

Supplies

handcuffs with keys
blindfolds
timer
Bowls with sensory items (skinned grapes; eyeballs. stewed tomatoes; chopped organs, etc)

Hand cuff together and blindfold two players.  Set one of the bowls in front of them, and drop the keys inside. Tell them they must look for the key and unlock the cuffs before the timer runs out.


It may not be my cup of tea, but I actually do think these games would be fun, and might include them in a Halloween party one day. It was nice to get out of my comfort zone, but I'm still not planning on seeing a horror movie anytime soon.

Why it's the greatest love story. EVER.

Everyone has a favorite. There's no doubt about that. I know why people would argue about why Beauty and The Beast is my favorite story....and why Disney is my favorite version. It came out during my childhood. It was nominated for best picture; it's every one's favorite. I am very much like the character Belle (in interests, not looks). But really; it's not any of that.
I was not planning to have a Beauty and the Beast Themed Wedding, until I saw these invitations. It was probably my biggest splurge aside from the food. Aren't they just beautiful?

The inside of the invitation reads : Love has the power to transform us. Boy, does it ever. Maybe not in the way the beast transformed, but I think there is a greater transformation that happens with true love: You want to be a better person. At least, I do. I feel so unworthy of the love I've been given that each day I strive better to be more deserving of the love I've already received.

In commentary of the 2nd edition of Disney Beauty and The Beast It's explained that the writers of the story struggled for a while of deciding who the story belongs to: Belle, or the The Beast? When based off the old tale, It's clear to see the hero (or heroine as it may be) is Belle. She learns the true beauty is on the inside. Only when Beast is on his death bed that she realizes it.

As the story developed for the animators and writers at Disney, they introduced new characters (such as Mrs. Potts and Cogsworth), new scenarios (such as Gaston, and Belle's love of books), and twists (such as the enchantress an the rose). With all the changes the viewer's attachment shifted from Belle to the Beast. He learns to love, firstly, but also learns how to treat others with respect (as Belle demands this), and change his behaviors. But what I'm most attached to is something some people fail to realize about Beast.

I didn't realize until a visit to Disneyland where I finally met Belle (in her yellow gown) for the first time.  (You know that Disney does intense Character development in these cast members; they have extensive knowledge on who the character is, and how they will act). In our short conversation, I told the cast member that we (my husband and I) are newlyweds. She responded with "You know, Beast has not asked me to marry him yet."

I honestly didn't know what to say; so I scoffed "Oh he's probably just in a bad mood."

She responds "No, he's just really shy, he doesn't mean to seem so put off."

It really made me rethink the entire character in the movie. Suddenly it occurred to me that Beast was never mean, he just didn't know any other way of provoking loyalty other than fear. His demanding Belle to come down to dinner was not because he is bossy, but because he was afraid a request would end in rejection (which it did, but only because Belle did not understand the roots of his behavior either), so he only knew how to demand. I understand his character now, and I have an explanation for every irrational thing he does.

This is beast's story, not of his physical transformation, but his behavioral/emotional transformation.

The musical version transformed the story once again. Beast once again learns how to love, but this time, Belle goes through a transformation of her own. With her head filled with daydreams and fairytale pinning, Beast teaches her that real love takes work but its far better than any fairytale. At the end, when Beast lay dying on the floor, Belle sings "Home" reprise, expressing to him how he has changed her. Belle finally embraces reality as her dream and casts away her pinning for a fairytale.

This speaks volumes to me as I can relate it to my own life: Being the daydreamer and fairytale enthusiast, I only came down to reality when someone (i.e. m husband) showed me real love is better than a fairytale. Love can transform you. That's why this is the greatest love story ever. It feels real.

In the Workshop

Penguin Projects

One of my daughter's favorite things is a rubber duck. Her fourth birthday party was themed to rubber duckies, but as Christmas came she has taken on another favorite: Penguins. (Duckies are still her favorite, but she has a newer obsession).

She has a favorite pajama set, which she locates every time it's out of the dryer. By the time she started asking to wear it school, I knew I'd have to expand her penguin attire.

So this morning I did some doodling with my tri-chem pens. You only need four items to do this project:

White knit t-shirt
knit sticker
Tri chem black softlyflo paint
Tri Chem orange softlyflo paint

I started drawing a circle for the head, and an egg shape for the body. I added a little more definition to he bottom of the body. Two dots for the eyes, triangles for the wings, a triangle for the beak, and triangles for feet.

Turned out pretty cute IMO.

She's still sleeping at the moment, but I can't wait to show it to her: I'm sure she'll want to wear it to school.

The Lion's Hand

I've been thinking about doing a handprint section in my store, and I finally got down to business. I went out and purchased canvases, and started drafting ideas. This one my daughter and I made last night, and it turned out great! You can have one made by me, and your little one (correspondence by mail) just drop me some mail at meetupdiva@gmail.com or stop by my etsy store!


Of course if you want a plain jane one to do yourself, here are some sneak peeks behind how to do it!

Start with your background painted. Note that mine has little grass sprigs on the horizon.

Place the yellow hand prints off center, they need to be behind the orange, and I personally like the orange part of the mane to be centered.

Place the orange prints between the yellow, giving you a total of eight handprints.

Add the face, shading, and details, and you're done!

Love to Party!

I have to say, I love this idea of a banner. Valentine's day hits at the tail end of winter, but it takes a little bit of creativity to put both together! Now I'm dreaming of a snowflake valentines party!!!!!!! hmmm.......:0)