Easy Cowboy Cactus Decor

You find yourself planning a child's birthday party  or other event and wanting some great stand out decor pieces that will set the theme for your party so that you don't have to do so many decorations. You search every party and dollar store in a 50 mile radius of your home. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. All you can find are ridiculously expensive and cheaply made items that you simply cannot force yourself to purchase.  If you are doing any type of cowboy/cowgirl or wild west themed party look no farther for simple decor ideas. Over the next week ideas a plenty will be flowing for your next western themes bash. So take notes, try what you like and find some party inspiration your little (or big) ones will love. 

First things first- DIY Cardboard Cactus

Needed Items:

• Cardboard pieces-Use a cardboard box
• Paint
• Pink tissue paper
• Scissors or Exacto Knife
• Pencil

Directions:

• Find a large cardboard box and break it down so that it will lie flat on the ground. 

• Using your pencil trace the shape of a cactus on the largest side of the box that does not have flaps

• Cut out the cactus.

• Paint with different colors of green, brown, and tan paint.

• Use Pink tissue paper to make small cactus flowers to glue to the cactus. Just crinkle up the paper and attach.

Pirate Sea Monster Mural

As I'm sure you can tell by know I love pirate activities. This can be done as part of a pirate activity or at the beginning or end of a pirate party as you are waiting for guests to arrive or for them to leave. Find a large roll of butcher paper and create a simple mural. If you are not artistic you can most likely find things to trace. Draw out a mural that is large enough to take up a full length table or be placed on the floor as shown here. Leave markers, crayons, or colored pencils out and let children/adults find a place and begin to color. Once everyone has colored a small piece your artwork is complete. This works as a great ice breaker activity for adults, and a great time filler for kids. Obviously you can do this with any theme you would like. It doesn't have to be strictly for pirates.

Magical Sleeping or Pixie Dust

Magical Pixie or Sleeping Dust

Every child I have ever known has loved anything magical. This magical sand is no exception. This has many uses and can be changed to fit your needs. The labels here are for a sleeping dust that you could use on Christmas Eve, on Tooth Fairy nights, or for a party as Magical pixie dust. Just change the labels  as needed. 

You will need simple glass containers from around the house, labels, and edible powders from your kitchen. I used Sugar, Powdered Sugar, Jello, and sprinkles. That way if/when the kids do happen to eat it it will taste sweet rather than turning into a weird flour paste in their mouths.

You can use colored jello and mix two colors to achieve a desired color. Red and blue mixed here made a purple powder. 

If you are using multiple jars like this give each child a ziploc bag or another container and then give them a bit of each as you would like and have them mix it all together to make whatever magical potion you'll be making.

Make your own Ocean In A Bottle

Ocean in a Bottle

I have found that most often the most simple of activities and games are what kids love the best. This is one of those cases. Make an ocean in a bottle for a pirate, mermaid, or ocean themed party or to just experiment with how waves work. Kids love to play with this and look at the oil water and how it moves. 

The how to is from TLC family- I've included the link at the bottom. The green pictures are the one I made myself. Have fun!

What You'll Need:

• Clear soda bottle
• Funnel
• Water
• Cooking oil
• Blue food coloring
• Glitter

Step 1: Using a funnel, pour 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of oil into a soda bottle.

Step 2: Put the lid on tightly, and shake the bottle vigorously to mix the substances.

Step 3: After shaking, put the bottle down and let it sit for a few minutes. What happens to the oil and water after you mix them?

Step 4: To turn your experiment into an ocean display, remove the top and add enough water to fill the bottle 2/3 full.

Step 5: Add a few drops of food coloring and some glitter, and shake the bottle gently to mix in the color.

Step 6: Fill the rest of the bottle almost to the top with oil.

Step 7: Put the top back on tightly, and gently tilt the bottle back and forth to create an ocean wave effect.

http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/science-experiments-for-kids10.htm

Boy Room Ideas

There are so many things that you can do with boys bedrooms. For the moment I'm more into more relaxed colors then bright reds, blues, and yellows so I loved this nursery decor. I also really like that it can grow with the boy and be changed a little bit to fit as he grows older rather than redoing the entire room. 

A sanded oar placed on the wall above the bulletin adds interest.

The bulletin board can be used to display baby shower letters, or anything you'd like for a young child and later be used to display art projects.

Baby feet were stamped in an ink pad and then placed in a frame to show how small little feet can be. First baby booties placed over the frame add visual interest and let you display them until little hands start to touch and destroy. :)

View from a child's eyes. Neutral colored walls and furniture allow you to do what you want to with other colors and accessories in the room as your child grows.

Pirates-Message In A Bottle

Message in a Bottle

Message In A Bottle for a Pirate or Ocean Party

For some reason it seems people of all ages enjoy pirate parties especially when the theme is done right. To use a message in a bottle for your party you can do a few things. 

Party Invitation:
The first is to purchase small plastic bottles and print the invitation on paper that is then rolled up and put in the bottle. Then deliver.

Treasure/Scavenger Hunt:
Place all of your clues in bottles and as the children find them they can take turns opening the bottle to see what the next clue will be.

Activity:
Have the children make their own message in a bottle. You'll need bottles of some kind, tan or brown paper, and sand and shells if you wish. The paper can be crumpled up before or after it has been made this gives it more of an old pirate look to it. If you'd like to add sand and shells it just adds a little extra something. 

You could also have the children make their own treasure map to go inside of the bottle.

Message in a Bottle for Pirate or Ocean Party

DIY Valentine Nut Wreath

I realize that nuts are not the first thing that come to mind for Valentines Day but sometimes the most unlikely things are just what you need.

There are probably several ways you could do this project so fine tune it as you'd like to fit your needs. 

Supplies I used:

• Cardboard-cut into the shape of a heart-I used part of a cardboard box.
• Walnuts-halved and hollowed out
• Red paint
• Glue
• Ribbon

Directions:

• Find a large piece of cardboard and cut it into the shape you would like. 
• Hollow out your walnuts and paint them the desired color.
• Glue the walnuts in a pattern around your heart. I placed mine back to back and then placed a layer down the middle.
• Hang with ribbon or twine.