Planter Redo: 2 Minutes, $2 and Too Cute!

Islanders, I have an update and, if you know me, you know it's major.

I have a plant.  A live plant.  It's alive.

Come on.  Is that not major news for me?  Ok, wait.  I have had a plant that I've kept alive for over a month.  It's actually growing.  Are you impressed yet?  NO?!  Well, you should be.

I killed a cactus garden.  I killed a durable house plant.  Heck, I've killed an air plant.

Sometimes, I go to stores later in the evening because I enjoy browsing the aisles solo.  I take my time strolling while everyone else is trying to get in and get out.  A little over a month ago, I went to Walmart and picked up a succulent.  They were on sale and I figured I'd give it a try.  

For weeks, I left it in the ugly little store bought pot... ya know the black ones with the holes in the bottom.  Yes, that little ugly pot.  I left it in there.  I just knew it wouldn't last long so, I didn't get my hopes up.  I sat it on the coffee table next to the artificial plant.  Well, after about 4 weeks.  I noticed something.  

My little baby plant had new green coming in.  Could it be?  Did I not kill it?!   Did it actually grow?  OMG!

I became increasingly more excited as the days progressed... don't worry, it wasn't the same excitement that watered a cactus every other day... I've learned that lesson.  It definitely was not THAT kind of excitement.  It was more of the excitement to buy a new little pot for my plant.  I still wasn't sure of the level of commitment.  I wanted something cute but cheap that would also fit my family room decor.

The kid and I found a cute little pot in the Target garden section.  It was plastic and cream and, the best part, it only cost $1.  I decided to get it.  It was a buck.  What did  I have to lose?  From Target, the kid and I headed to Dollar Tree and I was shocked to see DT had potting soil!  I hurried home and transferred my little plant into her new home. Yep, it's a 'her.'  She's one tough cookie.  Peliona.  That's her name.  Peliona is Spanish slang for a girl who likes to argue or fight.  I had an idea.  I grabbed a few permanent markers.  I drew lips.  I drew lashes.  I drew Peliona.

I took a pencil for an idea of the lash line and used it as a guide to draw lashes.

I love how the plant became her hair.  Munch pointed out that it resembled pig tails.

I tend to agree!  Ok, so here's the best part:

I found a similar vase online for $28!  Doesn't that make it even better?! 

2 MINUTES.  2 DOLLARS.  TOO CUTE!

I was able to spend $2 and use markers I had on hand to create a super cute vase! Target had a black vase too.  How cute would it be to use a chalk marker for seasonal or party decor with cute messages... a row of them with individual letters on each (SPRING or CREATE)... photo adhered with ModPodge... the possibilities are endless!

Minnie Favor Bag Ideas and A FREE Printable!

Last week's Wordless Wednesday post was a sneak peek into the fabulous first birthday party hosted for god baby 'Lani.

I know.  I had to face reality  Yes, time flew by.  Yes, she is adorable.  And, the worst part, yes.  She is one whole year old.  You may recall the baby shower. 

I was event support.  I took a backseat and awaited assignments to complete for the shower... I was in a total 'however I can be of assistance is fine with me' state of mind.  You can read more about it here. 

Well, after a year of growing and loving and learning my sweet god baby, I knew I had to do something to help.  I also knew I couldn't wait for direction.  I asked what Mrs.  Lucy had in mind for favor bags.  She had a vision of polka dots and ears.  So, I got to work.  I know Mrs. Lucy is all about the details and the bling so, I was determined to meet and exceed her expectations.  Here's what I came up with:

I used black paper bags from Michael's as the base.  I found a roll of the paper on sale (I was just there and they have rolls of paper in pink and green on sale... and I moved 900 miles away from where I purchased it).  You could totally use any paper or wrapping paper.

I traced the bag and cut a square to fit the front of the bag.  I glued it down and lined the top of the square with pearls.  Next came the ears!  I used my 2-inch paper punch to create ears for the bags.  I glued them to the top corners before embellishing the bags with the tags and small bows.
  

I love how the bags turned out; they were a party feature item!  They were like sending a piece of the party details home with each of the guests.

The tags were awesome too.  Check them out:

Guess what? There's a bonus! I made some for you too!  Simply print the collage of tags as a 4x6 photo.  That's 6 tags for next-to-nothing!

Before I got started, I knew favors would help and were important.  We filled the cute bags with crayons, coloring books (Disney coloring books are at Dollar Tree), and these custom cookies made with her name:

Aren't they adorable?!  I love how the favor bags helped to tie everything together.  The best part?  Mrs. Lucy was pleased with the results and allowed me to help in other ways.  I've got party deets coming soon!  For now, let's enjoy the easy and fabulous favor bags :)

We've got ears, say cheers!  

An UN-costume: The Spider Princess.

I love holiday decor at thrift stores.  It's unique and whimsy.  It's quirky and, my favorite part, it's cheap!  On a trip to Goodwill awhile back, I found a flimsy web with a cute spider on it.  I also found a cute striped dress on clearance for $1.49 (50% off of $2.98).  I thought the two would make for a cute party outfit/costume.

Our local Goodwill also has a Halloween section.  The section has costumes, party supplies and decor.  I was able to get a faux cob web (complete with two spiders) set for $1.99.

We cut a piece and wrapped it around her ponytail with the spiders.

I thought to make a necklace and I had cobwebs to spare but the efforts of the un-costume mean that you don't focus on details like that.

We created a custom lip color using a matte deep mauve and remnants of a pink color.  It gave a really nice mauve shade and the final goodwill accessory topped it off.

SPIDER WEB SHADES!

I thought to buy a ribbon but I remembered we had a sash from when she was a flower girl in my bro's wedding as a toddler



Can you see that gremlin smile in the lower right?  that little orange sash is the one we flipped (bow to the front).  The sash made the perfect addition to the party dress and OMG!

Munch looked chic and fun.

The above facial exudes how we really feel about spiders but it's also because I think she's so cute it's scary!

Munch said she wouldn't wear this to trick-or-treat but it would be great for a day at school, a person passing out candy or a party goer.  She then proceeded to ask if we could have a Halloween party.  I said no.  WHAT?! Don't look at me like that.  The year of the UN-costume means she doesn't have to get all dressed up and I don't have to go all out.  No party, no discussion... and I don't feel bad about it.  Anyhoo, she loved the dress and she especially loved the hair.

If the hair was paired with all black clothes and had white cobwebs to drape over her clothes with more spiders or insects that glowed in the dark, I think Munch would've wanted to wear it in a "cooler" setting.  Hmmm, cool.  Do the real cool moms say cool? I don't know but I'll check and I'll let you know.

I think she looks great.  I think the UN-costume in this case is a great way to take any little black dress, or any party dress for that matter, and, with the addition of cobwebs to the hair, a few plastic spiders and spider-inspired eye wear, make a fabulous costume!

An Un-Costume: The Lemon.

Do you recall the cute head piece we created for the pumpkin un-costume?

Do you recall the $2.98 dress we bought from Goodwill for the pineapple un-costume?

We combined the two to create a lemon costume.

Repeat the steps for the leaves that we shared yesterday.  Add a yellow dress and, if you want, you can carry a box of the lemon head candies as a purse or wallet.  I'd suggest painting your face yellow and going all in but -- well -- that would be too much effort for the UN-costume.  In our case, Munch got a lot of compliments while we were taking photos around town.

That little girl in the middle of that big mural had passersby stopping to compliment her costume.

We kept the cheeks and lip really pink and added the head piece.  If you've got time, you can glue a fake lemon to the leaves head piece.  Whatever you do,

Wear it.  

Own it.  

Be sweet...

...with a little bite!

An UN-costume: The Pumpkin.

I came up with the idea for the pumpkin un-costume and I almost forgot Munch was a pumpkin for her second Halloween.  She was super cute... that is, when she wasn't snatching the hat off of her head.

For the pumpkin un-costume, we used 2 pieces of green felt and a few pipe cleaners to create the head piece and the shirt clip.  The shirt was a $1 find at Goodwill.  She paired it with a pair of jeans and sandals she already had on hand.  

Oh, I almost forgot the sandals were purchased from Goodwill earlier in the summer because she fell in love with them (they were brand new with tags and they were priced at only $3!).

To make your leaves:

1.  Cut 3 large leaves.

2.  Glue them in layers atop an alligator hair clip.

3.  Create spirals using the pipe cleaners by wrapping them around your fingers.

4.  Glue the pipe cleaners to the leaves wherever you see fit.

4.  Use the remaining felt to make smaller leaves.  Repeat the steps for the smaller clothing clip. Adhere to the top of your outfit as an accent.

For the face makeup, you'll need black eyeliner, black paint and *optional* black lipstick.

1.  Use the eyeliner to draw triangles around the eyes and to elongate the smile lines on the sides of the mouth.

2.  Use the paint to fill the eye triangles. 

3.  Use the paint (as we did) or the lipstick to fill the jack-o-lantern smile.

VOILA!  You've turned into a pumpkin!

Munch liked this costume so much!  She said she may consider wearing it to the school fall festival.  Hol' up.  Y'all gon' act like that's not major... a middle schooler would actually wear it to a school function *like* with friends.

I knew she liked it when she was dancing.  Heck, she even created a pumpkin pose.

HAHAHA!!! That face!  Her hands are supposed to be the ground as her pumpkin head rests on it - HAHA!!!  Anyhoo, I love how simple and easy this costume is to create.  Pair it with anything orange, make a quick and cheap headpiece, and rock it with a dramatic eye and black lip.  How cute for an adult costume too, right?!  I also love that we only paid $1 for the shirt on sale at Goodwill.  

If you don't have anything orange, don't be shy to visit your local thrift store!

Wait until you see how we re-used the greenery head piece to create another cute and easy costume tomorrow!