Surprise Lego Party

What do you get a person who can buy anything for himself and does? After many texts and emails back and forth, my brother's girlfriend and I decided to throw my brother a surprise birthday party. He's a big kid at heart and is an avid Lego collector so we thought he would get a kick out of a Lego themed party. Who says themed parties are only for kids?

My brother was definitely surprised we put this all together for him. He had come over the night before and we had nothing out that made him think something was going on. The morning of the party, we hustled to get everything ready in time. I'm lucky to come from a large extended family so got a lot of help preparing and setting up. My cousins came over early and helped bake cupcakes from scratch. My mom and aunts made some of the side dishes and prepped the fruit plate. My cousin Q helped make the food signs that very morning. It was a whole family effort.

Lego Party Dessert Table:

My brother has so many Lego sets that he left some at our place. We used these as part of the dessert table display:

• Lego Carousel (retired set)
• Lego Ferris Wheel (retired set)
• Lego Mini Modular

I made my brother a personalized birthday card from Tinyprints with pictures of Gabby and him together over the years. He absolutely adores Gabby. I could probably say that he may have more pictures with Gabby than I do. We wanted to give him an annual pass to Legoland but didn't want to actually buy it too early in case he doesn't have time to go right away. So my husband designed this 4x6 gift certificate and we placed it inside the card. We incorporated the Lego surgeon mini-figure since it is his profession. When he opened his card, he thought this was a real certificate from Legoland. 

We thought it would be fun to do a few easy games that everyone could play. 

Game 1: Guess How Many Legos are in this Vase:

Game 2: Guess How Many Legos are in this Mini-Modular Set:



Game 3: Lego Memory Game:

I laid out and labeled 25 Lego pieces on a board. Everyone had a few minutes to memorize as many pieces as they could and whoever could jot down as many as they remember wins. I even had a hard time remembering all 25 pieces and I made the game!

The winners of the games received a party favor bag filled with mini M&M's or peanut M&M's along with a Lego mini figure from this Lego Birthday Party Pack. I also gave a bag to some of the people who helped with the party as a thank you.


Lego Party Favor Bags:

I purchased a set of 13 gift bags in primary colors from Michaels for $3.60 ($5.99 plus 40% off coupon). Using this free Lego font, I printed and punched out 2" circles and affixed them to the bag using pop dots to make the bags look like Lego bricks.

Lego Party Favor: Mini M&M's in Ikea Spice Jars:   

Lego Party Favor: Peanut M&M's in a Clear Blue Box:   

I also wanted to do a little something for everyone to take home so transformed Kit Kats into a micro Lego box. I used red double-sided tape to place square Lego Bricks all around my Martha Stewart cake stand. You could try regular Scotch double-sided tape but it may not be as strong and tacky as the craft double sided red tape. That stuff is amazing and easy to remove from the cake stand.

DIY Lego Kit Kat Party Favor on Lego Brick Cake Stand:

DIY Lego Kit Kat Party Favor on Lego Brick Cake Stand (Another View):

As for food, we served dim sum, salad, spring rolls, Asian-style chicken wings as well as a variety of desserts. We borrowed Gabby's Duplos to make this utensil holder.

DIY Lego Utensil Holder:

Fruit Platter with Lego Food Sign:

Girl Scout Cookies with Lego Food Sign:

Rainbow Cupcakes with Lego Cupcake Toppers:

Mini Rainbow Cupcakes:

Jumbo Marshmallow Lego Heads:

I was lucky enough to come across jumbo marshmallows so used those as the base of the Lego head. I cut large marshmallows cut into thirds for the nub on top of the head and they stuck on easily. The Wilton Candy Melts were the perfect shade of yellow for Lego heads. The candy melts taste like vanilla flavored chocolate and melted quickly and are so easy to use. At first I bought Wilton Edible Food Write Pens, but they didn't work on candy melts. I was able to draw on one Lego head and that was it. Frustrated, I bought this AmeriColor Gourmet Food Writer Pen from Amazon and they worked well. It felt like writing with a Sharpie - dark and smooth.    


Lego Birthday Cake with Fondant Lego Bricks: 

This was a fun and fairly easy party to put together since there are so many things you can do with Legos. You can even narrow it down and do Lego Star Wars, Lego Superheroes, Lego Pirates of the Caribbean, etc. The possibilities are endless.

DIY Fleece Throw Pillows

My cousin, Q, wanted a couple of throw pillows for her bedroom chairs so she brought over the supplies and I did the sewing. I was a little nervous to ruin her materials because it was only my second attempt at sewing. What we came to realize is that Q can't cut in a straight line and I can't sew in a straight line. Overall, we were pretty happy that it actually turned out looking like a pillow. 

DIY Fleece Throw Pillows:

We had some scrap material leftover so we made a little bed for Gabby's Fisher Price dollhouse. Now they can be snugly and warm for the winter. 

DIY Birthday Card Keepsake Book Tutorial

I came across this link on Pinterest and wanted to do something similar with all of Gabby's second birthday cards. Instead of having a pile of loose greeting cards, I was able to bind a neat notebook that's also easy to store.

Materials Needed:

• Greeting Cards
• PVC Glue (I still had a tub I bought for $8 four years ago from Paper Source, but it's $10 now). 
• 2" Wide Book Cloth Tape in Blossom (10 foot tape roll is $6.50 from Paper Source)
• 3-4 Large Binder Clips or Clamps
• 3-4 Craft Sticks or Cardboard
• Medium Sized Needle
• Pink Embroidery Floss
• 1 Foam Brush 
• Scissors
• Bone Folder (Optional)

Some of the supplies. Didn't end up needing any of the scrap paper.

Gabby's Birthday Cards: The card on top is from us and will be the front cover of her book. 

Sort and Clip the Cards:

I took the advice from the original poster and sorted the cards so short and tall cards are mixed in together. You don't want two short cards next to each other and create a big gap in the spine of your book. Use the biggest two cards to serve as the cover and last page of your book.

This next step is optional since the original poster didn't do this and her book seems just fine. I took it a step further and "bound" all the cards together. I wanted extra security so nothing fell out over time. The glue I used was four years old so might not be that great anymore. 

I found the shortest card in the stack and used that as a guide as to where to poke two holes in all the cards. Using a medium sized needle, I poked holes in all the cards in the same spot. 

Sewing the Cards Together:

Using about 4-5 strands of thread from the embroidery floss, I started with the bottom of the last page of the book and threaded the needle into the card. I looped the thread through the inside of the card and out the through the top hole. Then I placed the next card on top and threaded it through the top of that card, looped through the inside and out the bottom hole. Do that again for the third card - in through the bottom hole, loop inside and back out the top hole. Now I was able to slip the needle back through the previous card to tie it together. 

Cards Sewn Together: 

Since the edge of the back cover isn't tied to anything, I took the loose string from the front cover and tied it to one from the back cover. Trim the excess strings. I left about an inch but you can cut it shorter if you want. It doesn't matter too much since it will be covered with the spine anyways.

Gabby received a couple of cards that opened from the top so I cut it and just stacked them in with the rest without sewing. The glue should be strong enough to keep them in place. 

Prepping the Cards Before Gluing: 

The cards are still a bit floppy so I secured them together with large binder clips before gluing. Make sure you protect your cards from indentation by putting either craft sticks or cardboard underneath the clips. Now that the cards are secure, I applied a generous layer of PVC glue along the spine. Enough to get all the edges of the cards coated without it being a drippy mess. 

After the Glue is Dry:

It took a few hours for the glue to dry for me. It may vary for you so make sure the glue is completely dry before you move on. 

Adding the Spine:

Next, I measured and cut a piece of book cloth tape to the same length as my longest card. To make a crisp edge on the spine, I used a bone folder to make folding lines on the book cloth tape. You could use the edge of a craft stick to make the crease and that should work too.

The glue that is on the book cloth tape isn't that tacky so I dabbled the PVC glue all over the tape before putting it on the cards. 

The Finished Birthday Card Keepsake Book Project:

The Back:

I may go back and make a book for Gabby's first birthday as well. The only problem is she doesn't have a card from us. I never thought we would really be keeping all these cards so I didn't bother giving her one. From now on, I think I'll put together one of these books. It'll be a neat keepsake of all her birthdays, maybe even combine a few years together. 

DIY Butterfly Thank You Cards

To follow up on yesterday's birthday party recap, I wanted to share the Thank You cards we sent out. I could have made my own cards but found a box of 50 Hallmark ones at Walmart for $8. You really can't beat the price - not to mention how much extra work is saves.

The box came with two designs. For the colorful one, I simply glued on some of the leftover butterflies I had already punched out. For the green card, I punched out some scalloped circles and used dimensional pop-ups to give them some depth.

Three Variations of the Thank You Cards:

Gabby saw me writing the cards so wanted to help. I let her stamp some with her fingerprint. I drew in antennas to make a butterfly.


Gabby's Butterfly Fingerprint Art: 

Mommy's Little Helper:

It didn't last very long though. Gabby quickly got bored and took off playing just after a few cards. 


My Little Jokester:

Enjoy your weekend. Thanks for stopping by!

Gabby's Second Birthday: Pastel Garden Butterflies

Gabby turned two a month ago and I finally have a chance to share the pics. For my baby shower and Gabby's first birthday, we had 100 guests so I wanted to do something low-key and a lot smaller for her second birthday. Somehow we still ended up with 40 guests, tons of food and a lot of crafts. My cousin, Q, and I kept finding new crafting projects to do.

Maybe I'll post more details of what I did if anyone is interested.  If you would like any printables, leave me a comment or send me an email.

Get ready for a long post.

DIY Birthday Banner with Pastel Tulle Ties:

Dessert Table:

DIY Personalized M&M Party Favors:

Toppings for the Ice Cream Bar:

DIY Cupcake Toppers on Mini Lemon Bites (from Costco):

DIY Butterfly-Shaped Rice Krispy Treats and White Chocolate Covered Oreo Pops:

Birthday Cake with DIY Pennant Banner:

DIY Welcome Wreath I made using my Cricut Expression:

DIY Butterfly Wands I made to go with Butterfly Wings for the girls:

DIY Butterfly Strings and Tissue/Tulle Pom Poms:

Last Minute Centerpieces with White and Yellow Daisies, Chrysanthemums in a Bubble Bowl:

DIY Food Signs for our Mexican Feast:

Birthday Girl's DIY Chair Banner:

With the Birthday Girl:

Gabby eating fondant and liking it. She's definitely my child.

Blowing Bubbles. 

Overall, we had a fun afternoon with great friends and family. I'm not sure if Gabby really understood what a birthday is but she sure is enjoying all the new toys.

DIY Craft Stick Picture Puzzle Tutorial

Here is another quick and easy project that's been floating around on Pinterest. You can take any photo, printed image or wording and turn it into a simple puzzle for young toddlers. Gabby is two and just starting to figure out how to "solve" a jigsaw puzzle. She definitely likes seeing our faces and being able to play with the sticks.

Materials Needed:

• Photo or Any Printed Image or Wording
• Wide Craft Sticks ($2 for a pack of 60 at Target or $0.03/stick)
• Any Craft Glue or Double Sided Tape
• Exacto Knife or Scissors

Total Cost of Project: Under $0.25 for the craft sticks. Photo was printed using a free coupon from Shutterfly. I already had glue, tape and an Exacto knife on hand.

My supplies ready to go:

Use a craft glue stick and run it all over the back of the photo, then use double sided tape along the top and bottom just to reinforce it (this is optional because the glue stick seems to hold the photo just fine). Line the craft sticks side by side then lay down the photo on top. Press and smooth the photo on the sticks. Use an exacto knife to cut between the sticks using the grooves of the sticks as a guide. 

If you don't have an exacto knife, you can pre-cut the photo or image using scissors based on the stick's width, then glue. You may not be able to lay out the photo very straight on the sticks but it will work too. 

The finished project: I ended up tossing the far right section of the picture since the original picture wasn't centered anyways.

Craft sticks are so versatile. You can use them to build houses, make puppet sticks or use them to count. This could also be an interesting way to do a greeting card or write messages. So many things you can do.