Party Favor Planning

Party favors are always so fun to plan, but can sometimes be a little stressful.  Nobody wants to worry about favors when you're already planning a party.  Here are four simple things to think about when deciding what your guests will take home.


First, you need to think of what kind of budget you have. I usually like to spend just a few dollars on each person. When you multiply it by the amount of kids at the party, it will add up fast! The cheaper the better.

Second, think of what kind of theme you are using for your party. Is there a particular color scheme? A specific logo? It's always nice to tie everything together so the party isn't a big hodgepodge of things. Unless, that is the theme you are going for.

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Third, what is the age of the person receiving the favor? What is appropriate for their age? Also, if it's for friends of your child, I like to ask myself "Would I want my child to bring home this favor?"

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Fourth, packaging always makes any gift or favor a little more appealing. Sometimes kids won't appreciate the hard work you put into decorating a paper bag to look like a spaceship. If the kids are young, keep it simple. It's mostly likely going to get tossed anyways.  But if the favor is for an older person, have some fun with homemade bows and wrapping paper.

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So, whatever type of party you are planning, there is a simple, inexpensive favor to go along with it. What type of party, and favors, are you planning next?

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Madagascar 3 Party Favors

Recently, my son celebrated his 6th birthday by having a Madagascar 3 party. One thing I enjoy about planning parties, is planning the favors that will be handed out. It's so easy to spend a small fortune on each person receiving the favor, but that's just not sensible.

Since Madagascar 3 is all about animals, it was going to be an easy theme to stick to.  I went to Party City and purchased some individual animals for $.40.  I also found some animal tattoos and threw in a balloon for fun.  I knew the plot of the movie was about the animals joining the circus.  I went to Kroger and found a box of 12 bags of Circus Animal cookies for $5.

This was an all boy party so I wasn't going to make lots of fancy bows.  I just used some curling ribbon and cellophane bags that I already had.

The favors were very fun, simply packaged, and cheap.  I spent less than $3 per person.

Check back in later this week for steps to make the perfect party favor!

Pasta Salad

I recently found this recipe on Pinterest and knew I wanted to try it. I made a few changes to fit my family's taste, but it is still so delicious.

Cook a box of tricolor rotini according to the box directions.

Gather a container of feta cheese, chopped red onion, sliced black olives...

...and some bottled italian dressing.

Mix everything together and chill.

Serve with a panini sandwich (I made Italian paninis) for a simple summer meal.

Pasta Salad
1 box of tricolor rotinia pasta
1 cup feta cheese
small can sliced black olives, drained
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup Italian dressing

Cook pasta according to box directions.  Drain and cool.  Mix all ingredients into pasta.  Chill at least 1 hour.

Father's Day Challenge Completed

I recently wrote a post about a Father's Day Challenge. Did you complete it?

I spent all week thinking about and really finding the little things about why I love my husband.  It was challenging to find 100 different things, but I did it.  Each one of those things is why my husband is special.  I know God made him just for me.

So, here is my list.  Feel free to use it to inspire your own, but please don't copy it exactly.  Even if you didn't make it for Father's Day, it's nice to show your husband how much you care.

I love you, Craig.  Thank you so much for being a terrific father and a great husband!!!

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Why I Blog

Recently, Facebook sent me an email offering me $50 of ad space for my Cars and Ribbons page for free!  I deleted it and thought nothing more.  Then, I got the email again and it said I still had the offer available.  As I looked more into it and did some research, the ad space would simply put my page out there in Facebook land and I could possibly get some more 'Like's' or followers.

I kept debating back and forth, is this something worth doing?  Do I want that many more followers?  How big do I want this to get?

Then, I read this post from my friends blog Crafty Texas Girls.  It was all about Facebook and advertising and paying them, etc.  It revealed even more things that I was absolutely not aware of.  All of my questions were suddenly answered.

I do NOT want $50 of free ad space from Facebook.  In fact, I'm not trying to become this huge blogger that everyone is talking about.  No, I'm just sharing yummy recipes, easy crafts, and inspiring others to try something new.  If I get more followers by doing this, that's great!

I've always encouraged my readers to tell someone about my Cars and Ribbons blog and I've asked friends to become followers on Facebook.  However, whether they decide to take those steps or not, I'm still going to write about whatever creative idea comes to mind.  I may not post every single day or even every week, but please know what I do is simply out of love and for the fun of learning.

So, if you are one of my followers through my craft blog Cars and Ribbons, my family blog The Suburban Kelley's, my Facebook pages, or my Pinterest boards, thank you soooo much!  YOU have inspired this post.

An Organized Home

I have been in an organizing frenzy lately. I just feel like revamping every room and closet in my house to make it look more organized and clutter free. But it takes time and, sometimes, it takes money. But in the end, the look and feel of an organized home is all worth it!

I have a long hallway in between my kids rooms. I've always wanted to use that wall to display their different papers and artwork that they would bring home. I saw this wonderful idea and loved it! It's a storage frame with a hinged door. Just open the door and stick in the artwork.

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I saw this beautiful organized pantry and wanted the same look.  Everything is placed in a clear labeled jar or container.  What doesn't fit in containers, goes into a basket.  Plus, check out the wall behind the shelve.  Love!

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I plan our family meals weekly and wanted to find a cute way to display the menu.  This is so simple, so inexpensive, and will fit right inside my walk-in pantry.  The hardest part will be picking out the paper from all the options that are out there!

 

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Old, boring laundry rooms are a thing of the past!  Now, I see all sorts of laundry rooms with beautiful paint colors, pictures, inspiring signs, and of course, lots of baskets and bins for organizing.  My laundry room is small and you have to walk through it to get to the garage.  It's time for me to make it look more appealing.  I can't wait to get started on this project.

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I tend to forget what nail polish colors I have. This results in dried out, clumpy polish or two bottles of the exact same color. This is a great way to display all your polish and find what you are looking for very easily. I want to hang something like this in my walk-in closet.

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For more organizing ideas, check out my Pinterest board. What are you going to organize in your home or office?

Father's Day Challenge

Father's Day is less than a week away. Wait, what? FATHER'S DAY IS LESS THAN A WEEK AWAY!!!! I don't know about you, but the men in my life are always so hard to shop for. I never know what to get them. If there's ever something they need, they just go buy it themselves.

So, I have to be very creative in my gift choices. I have my husband, father, and father-in-law to think about. Hmmm....

One thing I did have made for my husband was this cute personalized book. I just uploaded his picture, decided on the storyline, and the site does the rest.

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But I didn't want that to be his only gift. I was reading through some blogs and came across a great idea on A Little R & R.  She found the idea on another blog, Buildeth Her House.  It's a homemade list called 100 Reasons Why I Love My Husband.

Now, writing a list like this may sound easy at first, but can you really think of 100 different reasons that you love your husband?  This will cause you to be creative and really reflect on all the wonderful things about your husband.

I'm going to buy my hubby a couple other things, but I'm going to work on making my own list this week and link it to the two previous blogs.  As a surprise, I'll show this to my husband and hopefully, get it printed and framed.  Are you up for the challenge too? What are you doing for the special men in your life?

YouTube Break Part 1

Do you ever spend some time watching YouTube?  I love when I can find something that cracks me up or lifts my spirit. This is one of my favorite songs and no matter how many times I watch this video, I always laugh at the little boy.



I just saw this video all over Facebook. It's amazing how far technology has come to influence a person's creativity and how they are going to propose to someone. You may shed a tear with this video.

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Please let me know if there are any positive videos, funny or sentimental, that you'd like to share.