Mickey Mouse Birthday

Every year I take the “go big or go home” challenge to planning my son’s birthday. Yes, I understand he just turned 3, lol. But really I have a reason. Here's some of the back story, when I planned his First birthday "Smurfday" (see the pictures here), I was a stay at home mom. I took my time and made it a very DIY event, especially since this was prior to the Smurf movie release and just simply there was nothing much I could purchase. For his Seconded birthday, I failed!! I was going to SDSU full time and I graduated the day before his birthday, so planning was not my priority. 

In order to make up for that last fail, with the help of Pinterest, and Felicia ( DIY for Mommies) as a sound board, I was able to make reasonable and achievable plans for his Third birthday.

We took Max to Disneyland for the first time this year, so it was only appropriate to have a Mickey and Friends themed party, "Mickey's Clubhouse."  Okay, so now I’m a full time Employee (Social Worker, part time photographer & blogger) and a full time Mommy, so I had to do this little by little. We made it work.

Granted that not everything turned out as desired…but does it ever? Max and his friends had a great time. 

 Here are a few of my favorite things from the birthday with links to my inspirations!

Here is the birthday boy. He is wearing his birthday ears he got while we visited Disneyland. The cake was inspired by a cake we saw at t local bakery, but being so crafty (frugal) I could not shell out the $250 for a cake. With the help of my mom, a retired Pastry Chef and my sister, who recently took a fondant class, we made this cake for a total of $30.00 which includes the purchase of the whole Clubhouse gang and candles (Dollar Tree).

The scene setter in the back is from Party City, and it wasn’t that expensive and it made a great addition to the cake table.

We also had a small dessert/candy table. It included Cupcakes, a may shift “Toodles” lollipop holder Mickey cookies (thanks to a dear friend) and some licorice, rice krispie treats and just yellow and red gummies. (Inspiration here)

Mickey Cookies, made by a good friend!!

Cupcakes, just regular white cupcakes (from the box) with wilton chocolate (candy melts) for ears.

The Minnie Cookies, I bought at Walmart. They are the Pillsbury ready to bake cookies. They are awesome.

Oreo Mickeys, as found on Pinterest.

And the Rice Krispy Treats also thanks to Pinterest.

*Items, before cutely placed on tables*

For Centerpieces, I used Mickey ceramic piggy banks that I found at a local Swap meet. They were rather inexpensive and a handy keepsake. I also purchased the Mickey boxes pictured above, found them in Mexico. I just had to paint them and add the buttons, to make them resemble the party invitations. Also, pictured above is an unfinished “Toodles” lollipop holder and a Mickey centerpiece.

We also had Mickey lollipops made of Chocolate. I bought that mold on one of my trips to Mexico, but I'm sure you can find them online. 

Black Linens, black chair covers, big red chair bows, and red, yellow, black balloons. 

We also made foam letters, was originally intended like the "Disney Junior" logo, but black and red worked an completed our look. The great thing is they are so light that a little bit of rolled tape and a push, then TADA, done!

To make it a little more festive, without requiring all the children to wear Mickey outfits, I made Mickey ears for all the children.

(learn how to make your own ears here)

But let's not forget, our main course…well Hot Diggity Dog! We had Hot Dogs!! 

We bought this bad boy from Walmart… and it was a hit. We had bacon wrapped hot dogs, regular hot dogs and chili dogs!!!

I got the hot dog holders from the Dollar Spot at Target.

Water bottle labels, look online cause it adds to any event! I've seen them done with just festive duct tape if you don't want to spend much time.

Birthday Boy and Piñata :

Max had a wonderful time, which is what really matters.

Mommy and Daddy with Birthday Boy…

I’m glad it’s over, but I'm ready to plan next year’s grand event… not sure what the theme is yet, but I’m brainstorming.

Sharpie Mug?

Great idea, just needing a little tweaking. I'll give you what we learned in this DIY process.

I came across this "pin" on Pinterest and I, probably just like you thought wow! So easy, cheap & just perfect for a gift. Well after doing a little investigating it's cute, but not so usable. "Kyoko has a blog" had a great idea! The only bummer is that if you start reading this idea is good for a desk, as a pen holder, not so much as a drinkable mug. Sharpie isn't toxic, but after washing it whatever you added to your mug will be gone.

We started with clean mugs and Sharpies, just as instructed. If you haven't begun you may wanna run out to a craft store and get some porcelain drawing markers, Pebeo Porcelaine Markers will work. Too bad we had already begun this idea before I started my research, but I found a way to save my little one's art if you wanna try it.

Time to add the art work with the tools you choose.

Next we did just as instructed, bake 30 mins at 350.

Out of the oven the colors are not as vivid and yellows & pinks have turned to a weird tan-ish color, but it was still cute, just not as cute as before.

Here's where I got lucky, in original pin after oven that was it, our mugs were done, but I happened to have a can of sealant on hand, just perfect for the project. Matte or Glossy is just for your aesthetic, but when picking out a spray finish make sure to read that it is good for porcelain projects and follow the instructions. I sprayed the mugs upside down to avoid spraying lip and inside mug, our decorations stayed on the outside so I didn't want to add anything there if I didn't have to.

After a few coats and a little drying it was done! We have (hand) washed it and guess what?! It's all still there! Great gift, just make sure to take the extra steps and give a great usable gift.

DIY Christmas Gifts

First let me start by apologizing for my absence. I may have the Facebook going for quick thoughts or fun links but I haven't got a post up in awhile. I actually have a lot I was dying to share with you guys but unfortunately I could not risk ruining the surprise for my Christmas gifts this year. But, hopefully this blog will get your brain churning for the next go around.

Here's a few awesome ideas I had stumbled upon thanks to Pinterest (btw, I am on that site to):

Today's Fabulous Finds Blog was full of cute little gifts with the perfect tag to make it all tie in. I just loved the "We 'WISK' you a Merry 'KISS'mas!" This one was cheap & cute, just perfect for my family's White Elephant Game. All you need is some scrap paper, a little plastic bag, ribbon, a wisk and some kisses. I went for a color theme so I got the Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses.

Now to my special DIY Ornament finds:

Your friends and family can't get to the beach, bring the beach to them. ;) Just felt like it was sending a piece of home to our loved ones. Check out Completely Coastal & One Art Mama Blog.  Honestly, there were a few versions I saw floating out there, but these two sites have generally what I did. I really just went off the images I saw an went for it. We had a fun family day walking along the shore collecting shells then letting my daughter sift into her bucket some of the best sand. Craft store plastic ornament made it a lot safer to ship and to handle the weight. We placed each ornament in one of my daughter plastic cups so we did not have any rolling accidents as we got started. I let her pour the sand into each with a funnel then we added the shells just right through the top. Now, this is where their instructions an mine may differ, I cut tape to place on the top part of the ornament. The very top, silver (maybe gold in your case), the part where the hook and wire is located. You may notice there are small holes where the wire goes through the top and I really didn't want the sand to escape. After taping it, I added some craft glue in a generous amount to make like a plastic coating. After it dried I painted on some more of the glue around the top rim of the plastic ornaments so when I would pop on the top it would help glue and permanently attach the top. Then used Fabri Tac Glue to hold my ribbon in place with the tag. In my case I did one side of the tag with the beach we went to, Mission Beach and on the other side the city, San Diego. 

Last but not least, for those Harry Potter fans on your list, A Golden Snitch. This was not the easiest. The ornament also required a lot more time. Each step required it's own dry time. I followed Tiny Apartment Crafts Blog's tutorial as close as I could. I also did lots of google images of the snitches. This was about as close as I could get it. Mine did not look like the blogs, but my cousin seemed to really enjoy it, so maybe your fan will to.

Remember gifts from the heart are sometimes more special. 

Happy Holidays Everyone!

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