Anniversary Gift Basket & Boquet! (perfect gift for any man!) DIY

The hubby and I have been married for 2 years! 

Gosh, I can almost not believe it! It honestly feels like just yesterday I walked down that isle towards him. 

Well this year, we decided to keep it low key, and just spend the day together as a family. We actually went to a local museum and spent the entire day there just the two of us! It was perfect!

Anyways... of course I can't not make anything for him, so I put together this MAN BASKET for him. 

I included some of his favorite things, such as:

 Arizona Sweet Tea

Hunting items (face cover, vest and scent a way items)

Candy

Slippers

Slim Jim

 

 

I wrote out how long we have been married for, in years, months, weeks and days. I attached it to a basket from the Dollar Tree with twist ties. 

It was simple and he loved it because it was from the heart and full of some of his favorite things!

I also made him a Marriage Doesn't Suck bouquet! Because we are MINT TO BE! Corny but so cute, right?! ☺♥

His most favorite suckers around this time of the year are the caramel apple suckers. So I bought a huge bag of them and a piece of floral foam from the Dollar Tree. I also bought a giant bag of Wint-O-Green Life Savers, and Andes mints (more favorites of his) and used an old giant pickle jar that I had washed an put aside for a random DIY. 

 

I stuck the suckers into the floral foam that I duct taped to the lid of the pickle jar. I fanned them out so look somewhat like a bouquet. I then took the mints (both kinds) and mixed them up inside of the jar. I placed the lid on and taped on my homemade signs.

 

I wrote out 

"TO A MARRIAGE THAT DOESN'T SUCK!" 

and 

"BECAUSE WE ARE MINT TO BE!"

I had these waiting for my amazing husband this morning when he woke up, and he loves them! Not to mention I love them too because I also get to snack on them! hehe

I know that some men can be hard to get gifts for, or to make things for. This is perfect because you can fill it with their favorite items and use their favorite mints and candies! It was fairly cheap and very easy to make!

Please post pictures of your creations in the comments below if you make this. I would love to see them! You can also tag #CVA on Instagram!

Now I am going to spend the rest of the evening with my hubby ♥

DIY Easter Center Pieces

I purchased everything for this project at the Dollar Tree!

The supplies I used are:

-Peeps & other marshmallow Easter animals

-Fake flowers (orange, white and pink) ((2 bundles of each))

-4 Easter themed buckets

-a pack of kabob skewers

-ribbon (stripes and egg print)

-clear party favor bags

-2 bags of jelly beans

-1 bag of yellow Easter grass

-4 round floral foams (2 packs)

oh! and scissors!

For a total of $24 

(to make 4 centerpieces!)

 

Step 1: Place a round floral foam in the bottom of each bucket.

Step 2: fill the rest of the bucket up to the rim with Easter grass.

Step 3: Sort the flowers into 4 piles to make sure they are all even and matching.

Step 4: Cut off the thick steps to the flowers (the ones that hold the bunches together)

Step 5: Start placing your flower in each bucket by pushing the stems into the floral foam. You may need to trim the stems down a little depending on the look you are going for. I trimmed all my stems way down because I wanted the flower to be low and look like they were almost pouring out of the buckets.

Step 6: After all your flowers are placed in, trim any Easter grass that is hanging out over the sides.

Step 7: Fluff the flowers and maybe reposition any that you want to.

Step 8: Step back and look at the beautiful centerpieces you just created.

           Now onto the next part of the center pieces.. the edible part!
   

You will need to use your peeps, jellybeans, bags and skewers now.

Step 1: Take a kabob skewer and start sliding on peeps, marshmallow animals and jellybeans. Until it is about 3/4 full. 

Helpful tip: I used Pam and sprayed each skewers first, it made it easier to slide on.

Here is a picture of some of the candy kabobs that I made...

Step 2: Carefully wrap each candy kabob in a clear party favor bag and use the twisty ties that came with the bags to secure it.

Step 3: Place each kabob into the floral foam between the flowers to add a fun little edible touch to your already beautiful center pieces.

I also ended up adding a few styrofoam Easter eggs on kabob sticks that I bought from the dollar tree as well. It was just a last minute touch sort of thing that jumped into my mind this morning. (the 1st picture in this post has them photographed in it)

Now your beautiful masterpieces are ready for display!

And a perk of using fake flowers... all I have to do next Easter is just replace the candy kabobs! SCORE!

DIY Pinata

We have a family tradition every Easter, where we have a pinata! We start with the youngest child, and each take about 3-4 swings at it. Well this year I really wanted to challenge myself and make the pinata. So that is just what I did!

Here is How I did it... 

For the base of your Pinata, You will need....

The picture below explains each step I took, but I will briefly explain them again right now. To start off I took my 2 sheets of cardboard and  drew out the shape of pinata I wanted. Since it was for our family Easter party, I chose a Bunny.  (step 1)

After I sketched out the bunny shape, I used a razor blade and cut out 2 identical copies of the bunny. (step 2)

My sheets of cardboard were a little too small for the size of bunny I wanted, so I used a 3rd sheet of cardboard to cut out the tips of the bunnies ears, then I just taped them to the bunny head. (steps 3 & 4)

I then took my 4th piece of cardboard and cut it into 5 long strips. I then used my hand and made them rounded to form the edges of my pinata. (steps 5 & 6) Sorry but I did not get a great picture of me taping on the edges, I tried my best to explain it. The edges are what makes your pinata a little more 3D. (like my step 6. picture below)

After the base of your pinata is completed. Now its onto the messy but fun part!

Paper Mache!

You will need flour, water and a mixing bowl. As well as old newspapers or an old phone book like I used.  

(click on the picture of the steps below to make it bigger, and to read each step)

I did one coat at a time, and let it dry for just about 24 hours before putting on the next coat. 

I ended up doing a total of 3 coats of paper mache on this pinata. And I think it was pretty strong. But next time I might do about 5 coats because we had some really strong kids hitting it this year. Even though it lasted pretty long and roughly through about 12 kids, I would like it to last a little bit longer next time.

After you do your desired amounts of paper mache, and they are completely dry, now its onto the really fun part.. decorating and completing your pinata.

For this part, you will need tissue paper, glue (I used modge podge) and scissors.

(CLICK ON THE PICTURES TO MAKE THEM BIGGER)

I also didn't get any picture of my layering the tissue paper on because my hands were covered in glue and I didn't want to touch my camera with gluey hands. I also ended up getting so caught up in this project that it left my mind. But again, I tried to explain it the best I could. I plan on making another pinata soon, my nephew wants one, so I am planning on video taping that process and uploading to my YouTube channel. and of course I will share that on here as well! hopefully getting it done next weekend!

For the finishing touch I made a blindfold out of a piece of black scrap fabric that I had laying around, and I used my sewing machine to sew on a cute Easter ribbon that I bought from the local dollar store. We made a new rule this year, that ages 5 and up had to wear a blindfold because last year that was no blindfold rule and it was way too easy to destroy!

UPDATE: (4-20-14) Here is a picture of my adorable nephew taking his turn. He had a huge smile on the entire time and he also liked it so much, that he asked me to make him on for just him. (That's my project for next weekend. ha!)

I really hope you enjoyed this short yet long tutorial; and I really hope it was helpful in walking you through a DIY Pinata.

If you make a pinata of your own, please share a picture, I would love to see it!

Look out for a video tutorial coming soon!

Beer Birthday Cake!

The 21st birthday cake that I made for my cousin. ☺

 First off... HAPPY BIRTHDAY MYLES!

Second...

This cake was extrememly easy to make...

Here are the steps that I did:

1. Buy beer (30 pack)

2. Buy candy, decorations, wrapping paper, ribbon, scissors, tape, cardboard, and anything else you want to use to decorate it.

3. Cut 3 pieces of cardboard into circles. One with a 1.5 foot diameter, one with about 1 foot diameter, and the third one about a half of food diameter.

(I honestly didn't measure them... I just started cutting...) HA! ☺

4. Wrap the cardboard circles in wrapping paper to make them pretty.

5. Start with the biggest circle and cover it in beer cans.... in the shape of a circle. When that layer is done, move onto step 6.

6. Next Place the middle sized circle on top of that layer and cover that in beer cans.

7. Place the smallest circle on top of that layer and cover them in the last couple of cans.

8. Take some ribbon and tie a large piece around each layer of cans. (to hold them together.) I also tied a large ribbon from top to bottom of the cake to hold the layers together.

9. Decorate your cake with any items that you want to add to it. I did lotto tickets, candy, and cigars. 

10. TAH-DAH! It's time to deliver the cake!

I love this project because it is so fun and it always gets fun reactions from people. I also love it because you can do it for so many different occasions. Birthdays... graduations (college of course!)... valentines day... anniversary's... or simply just for fun! :) Next time I make one of these I will try to film it . ☺

Please share your Can Cakes with me! I would love to see them!