AREA FARE: TUESDAY DIY :BUDGET BIRTHDAY...

Well today I'm doing a little craft for the baby's first birthday. As I have mentioned before we are away from home (Michigan) staying in our 5th wheel in Louisiana. Kind-of a scary day-tornado watch going on-I guess its a great day to craft right!

Having limited craft resources and space makes everything more of a challenge. When we are home I literally have 3 closets full of craft supplies (my nieces love it) and other tools at my disposal. Plus, there are no cousins, friends, and grandparents to celebrate with us, so we are just doing a little family of four celebration until we can get home and do it up right!!! So I set forth with some party guidelines:

Ezzie wanted cupcakes, Roo wants to eat something, anything please, Not alot of space, simple craft a 4 year old can help with, no buying of excessive craft supplies, keep it simple and cheap! ok! Let's do it!

CRAFT ONE: MAKE A SIMPLE FLAG

these are everywhere and super cute!
You'll need:
* 3 sheets of coordinating craft paper (you can even have the kids color some paper to use) mine came from Hobby Lobby-----3 for a $1
*scissors
*glue---I used super glue because that's what I had--a glue gun would work well!
*ribbon--mine was a scalloped stretchy fabric--3 ft long--customize yours as you see fit
*pencil and flag stencil--I made a triangle stencil from a frozen beef company flyer--use what you have!

stack your paper. Cut in half. Use your triangle stencil to trace the flags. I could get three flags from one half sheet-2 from the top-1 upside down. save the scraps for another project. cut the triangles out. lay out ribbon. run a bead of glue along the back of your triangle. turn it over and press and hold it to the ribbon. repeat. I left about an inch space between my flags, but just do what looks good to you. Bang-your done. I've done this with fabric too and its so cute! PS: I do projects like this on a plastic cutting board board specifically for crafts.

gather your materials

stack and cut in half

use a stencil and trace your flags

ready with the flags

put a bead of glue on the back

have some fun

hang and enjoy

these look great in kids rooms too!

CRAFT #2: FLAG PLACE CARD

materials:
* cute paper scraps
* scissors
* glue
* white paper or cardstock
*sharpie

cut your white paper or cardstock 4"x5" and fold in half. cut some triangles from your scraps. start at the top corner of your folded card and with the glue draw a half circle to the other top corner. align your flags along the glue. Use a black sharpie or other markers to write names on the cards. Presto!

CRAFT CHALLENGE #3-CUPCAKE PLATTER

MATERIALS:
* plate
* candlestick holder/short footed glass
* glue or epoxy for glass

This is so easy-I used superglue for mine because-again-that's what I had, but an epoxy made for glass and ceramic would work best. Find a cool plate and complimentary glass or candle holder--you can find dishes at antique stores, goodwill, dollar stores-whatever-mine were clear (dinner plate and short footed glass)and both came from a dollar store. Turn your plate upside down. apply glue to the top of a clean glass or candle holder. Turn the glass/candle holder over and position it in the center of the bottom of the plate--that's the trickiest part. let it dry and your done. turn it over and put a cute doilie on it. Fill it with cupcakes, chocolates, or cookies for the party! Cheap & easy.....

get some glue, a glass and a plate

instant cupcake platter

gently hand wash and use it again...

I picked up some yellow paper plates and cups, white napkins, and a white plastic tablecloth at the dollar store too. The grand total of my project (including the glue) was just $10. Pretty crafty!