Wordless Wednesday: When the presents have all been opened

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Let the Fairly Odd Times Roll...

My two little girls have birthdays coming up very soon. I have been getting the party plans together, but still haven't sent out the invitations. Yikes! 

In all fairness, I ended up with less time than I originally thought I would have to plan the party. My girls' birthdays are the 8th and the 10th of April, which falls during Holy Week this year. In my mind, I had the party date set for the weekend after Easter. Family members, it turns out, have plans that weekend, and wouldn't be able to come. So... I chopped off two weeks of the planning cushion and set the date for the weekend before Easter. Talk about scramble time!

A bowling party was requested, as was the theme "Fairly Odd Parents," which is a cartoon on Nickelodeon. I got to work right away, and reserved the date at the bowling alley. Check. I sent out a "save the date" email to the invitees to buy a little more time to get the invitations together. Check. Then I scoured the web looking for ideas to pull the theme together, cutting and pasting the thoughts into a document. Check.

Armed with ideas, I found myself ready for my Tackle it Tuesday: create and send the party invitations.

Mimicking the Fairy Godparents rule book "Da Rules," I fashioned the invitation to be "Da Rules" for having a good time at the birthday party, with the party information details being the rules. A little Fairly Odd Parents clip art was added to help explain the theme. Check.

Okay, so I was well on my way to getting these things on their merry little way to the party invitees. Shucks! I didn't have envelopes to fit those bad boys! After checking prices online at the office supply stores for envelopes fitting the measurements of the invitations (which came 100 per box), I decided to attempt making my own. Wrapping heavier grade paper around an invitation, I created the pattern and made the few that I needed. Check. (Afterwards, I found a lot of internet sites providing printable templates and more ideas to create your own envelopes.)

The next task that needed to be completed was sealing the envelopes. A little scrapbooking adhesive tape closed the envelope, but it needed some flair. Hmmmm. I didn't have any Fairly Odd Parents stickers, so instead, I found shiny gold stars to use. I added a straight black line, and voila! A fairy godparent wand! Check.

The last thing to do is get these to the post office. So, I'm off to do that now. Since the envelopes are homemade (nonstandard), I want to make sure I have adequate postage on them. After all that work, I want to be sure the invitations actually make it to their intended destinations!

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Wordless Wednesday: Cupcake Message

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Wordless Wednesday: She likes it, she really likes it!

I love how her mouth looks just like Spongebob's mouth!

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Tackle It Tuesday: My little part of the Gala

My oldest daughter is in first grade at a small Catholic elementary school. Every year, a Gala is held as a fundraiser for the school. This year, the Gala planners challenged each grade to put together a basket to be auctioned off at the event; and each grade was given a theme. The theme for my daughter's class was "Harrisburg - Our Capital City". 

J. T. Williams, View of Harrisburg, Penn. (Baltimore, 1855). Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Initially, I was planning on donating a print of the Harrisburg picture above (I had this on hand already). But soon, the challenge of the theme took hold, and a TACKLE formed in my mind. What else could I get to make the first grade's basket a hot item at the Gala?

I talked to my friend, Toni, over at The Shopping Adventures of Cheapo McFrugalpants. And together, we came up with a list of possibilities.

I called a frame shop where I've previously had pictures framed to inquire about the possibility of donating a percent-off gift certificate, which could be used to frame the print I was donating. The proprietor was happy to work something out, and agreed to make such a donation. Score!

I also sent out a few emails to local businesses who might be willing to make a donation to their downtown "neighbors." A local theater was kind enough to donate two gift certificates, each with a $50 value. Wow-wee!

A friend and neighbor of mine recently published a cookbook called Settings. It features recipes and anecdotes from Harrisburg and the surrounding area. I thought this would be a perfect addition to the basket! I called her up to buy one, and she actually provided one at no charge as a donation! What a wonderful and generous person! She even signed it upon request.

Things were going so well, that I wished I had started earlier. The Gala is mid-March, and time is running out. I am still planning on picking up a gift certificate to a restaurant that is unique to the city. Whether or not I can get that as a donation is yet undetermined. Wish me luck! But I am happy with the progress I made, and thankful for the generous benefactors out there!

"Cheers" (also known as: alcohol!) was the theme my husband's group (school development board) was given for the basket they're putting together. Everyone is sending in bottles of wine for that one. In addition to the bottle of wine he already took in, I am contemplating sending in some additional item for that theme. Wine glass charms? Homemade jalapeno/apricot jelly (goes great with cream cheese over crackers!)? Any other thoughts?

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