Fiesta Series- Decorations

Today's fiesta theme is decorations! One of my favorite parts of throwing a party is decorating around the house to correspond with the theme. I usually focus most on the dining room, where the guests eat dinner and desserts.

For starters, in the dining room I hung up little pink lanterns (purchased from Michael's) on the light fixture.

In the corner of the room, I hung up my fiesta banner.

Here is what the final table setting looked like:

 

Down the center of the table was an orange table runner, which was topped with large colorful tissue paper flowers.

 

At each end of the table runner was a pink maraca. I sprinkled sombrero confetti (purchased from iparty) all along the table runner.

At each guest's spot I placed a colorful plate and a corresponding glass, a fiesta napkin, their place card, a menu, and utensils.

Finally, I moved this adorable light-up cactus into the kitchen.

Other fiesta series posts:
- Kickoff
- DIY Banner
- Ruffle Place Cards

Fiesta Series- Ruffle Place Cards!

For this project, you will need crepe paper, white card stock, a hot glue gun, scissors, and Sharpies.

Start by cutting each piece of card stock into three pieces, and fold each piece in half so it stands up like a tent. Then, cut three pieces of different colored crepe paper. Fold each piece in half and cut slits in the top half of the strip. Glue the bottom of each strip to the bottom of the tent.

Repeat for as many place cards as you need.

Finally, write the names of each guest on a place card using a Sharpie.

 

 

To finish, prop each card up at the party table in front of the guest's seat.

 



Fiesta Series- DIY Banner

This DIY fiesta banner is time consuming, but turns out adorable and is worth making if you are hosting a Mexican party. You will need cardboard, scissors, colorful crepe paper, a hot glue gun, 10 pieces of straw, a pencil, yarn, cardstock, a glue stick, and construction paper.

Start by cutting out five Mexican donkeys from cardboard (I cut out more but eventually realized I didn't need all of them).

Next, cover each donkey with layers of crepe paper. First, cut a strip and fold it in half. Then, make slits in the top half of the strip and glue the other half to the donkey.

Now take two pieces of a normal plastic drinking straw about 1.5 to 2 inches long and hot glue them to the back of each donkey. This is how the donkeys will string onto the yarn.

Cut 6 triangles out of construction paper, preferably the same colors as your crepe paper.

Next, draw or print out the letters that spell "fiesta" on cardstock. Cut them out and glue one letter onto each triangle.

I laminated the triangles, but that is completely optional. Then, punch a hole in the top two corners of each triangle. Thread the triangles and donkeys onto yarn (I used orange yarn), starting with a triangle and alternating between the letters and the donkeys. Finally, suspend the banner in the party space and enjoy!

Fiesta Series- Kickoff!

For my end of the school year party, I threw a Mexican fiesta to celebrate the beginning of summer! It was a hit and everybody had a great time. So, to share my ideas, I am going to do a fiesta series. The next five posts will be about all kinds of fiesta details- from DIYs to food to decorations. Enjoy!

Image from here

DIY Makeup Brush Holder (+ How to Clean the Brushes)!

Before I made this project, I kept my makeup brushes piled up in a drawer. Now, they are all in perfect view so I can choose which ones to use. I'm not sure where I first heard about this idea, but I've seen it various places across the web.

For this simple organizer, you will need a clear container (I used a crystal bowl), a bag of filler beads (can be purchased at craft stores), and your brushes!

All you have to do is pour the beads into the bowl, and then stick your brushes in!

The beads keep the brushes standing up straight. And there you go- a (very) simple makeup brush holder!

If you use your makeup brushes regularly, you should also wash them regularly to keep them clean and free of bacteria. I clean mine about once a week. To do this, I bring them into the bathroom and rub soap through the bristles. Then, I ring the brush out and place it on a tissue to dry overnight.

*Have a fantastic week!*

DIY Flip Flop Wreath

Today I have a special summer project for you! After being inspired by Pinterest (of course), I decided to make my own flip flop wreath! I created a spring wreath in March, and I realized the other day that I still had it hanging on my bedroom door. So, I decided to make a more seasonal one to hang up. Here is my Pinspiration:

You can find these pins here, here, here, and here.
Follow me on Pinterest here.

For this project, you will need a medium-sized wreath form, six pairs of flip flops (the smallest size available- mine were XXS), a roll of duck tape that matches one of the flip flops, a hot glue gun, and a bouquet of fake flowers (all the same type).

To start off, wrap the entire wreath form in duck tape.

 

Next, cut six flowers off of the bouquet. Cut as close to the flower as possible.

Select one flip flop from each pair, making sure they are all either left or right shoes (I used right). Then, hot glue gun a flower to each of the six flip flops.

Finally, arrange all of the shoes equally around the wreath and hot glue them down. Secure some tulle for hanging the wreath up.

And there you go... a flip flop wreath!

Zoku Popsicles

My friend recently purchased a Zoku Duo Quick Pop Maker which you can find here on Amazon. I went over to her house today, and we made some delicious popsicles!

The Zoku maker is an insulated box that has spaces carved out for popsicles. Surrounding the popsicle holes is a metal material that helps freeze the popsicles quickly (the maker always stays in the freezer). To make the popsicles, you create a mix of blended fruit or fruit juice and water, and pour it into the Zoku maker. You can also add chunks of fruit. In less than 10 minutes, the popsicles are frozen and ready to eat!

 

 

For our first set, we made orange juice and lemonade popsicles. We used juice concentrate, but fruit juice would work too.

To begin, we combined about a spoonful each of orange juice and lemonade along with some water. You only need to make a little bit of the mixture for 2 popsicles.

Next, we placed the reusable plastic popsicle sticks in the slots that are designated for them.

Then we poured the mixture into the maker.

 

After filling, we placed the it in the freezer.

In seven minutes, the popsicles were ready!

To remove the popsicles, you twist a green handle around the stick. Then, you lift out the popsicle. You place it back in the maker, undo the green handle, and then take the popsicle out using the stick. This video demonstrates how.

YUM! For our second batch, we blended pineapple, water, and a little bit of sugar.

Then, we poured the mixture into the Zoku, and repeated the whole process again.

Voila!

The pineapple popsicles were delicious, but the orange juice and lemonade ones were kind of sour. The Zoku maker is such a cool idea, works really well, creates (pretty) healthy snacks, and is so fun to use! I'm definitely going to consider purchasing one.