Monkey Party - The Party!

A month's worth of creative work comes together on the big day.  

SO.  MUCH.  FUN!  And lots of pics : )

Entry & Favor/Activity Table

Monkey Party - Food Table & Monkey Cake

I have mentioned that the printables for this party just kept on coming and coming.  I made the whole set in My Memories, which is really user-friendly and fun to create with!  If you want to rev up your own parties, this is one way to do it!  Check out the coupon code in the sidebar to get My Memories at a great discount : )

For the food table, I created several printables...

Juice Box Wrappers, which I intentionally made smaller than the height of the box, so that I could economically fit three to a page.  I printed these on regular printer paper, instead of cardstock, so that they would wrap around easier.  So simple - print, cut, wrap, secure with scotch tape.  

 FYI, I found that it was easier to pull up the bottom end of the straw on the back, to slip the edge of the wrapper under.  With the top of the straw still firmly attached, I was able to wiggle the wrappers in and keep it intact.  Due to the size of my wrappers, I could do this without having to take all the straws completely off and retape them.

Sticker Labels - Little Man had requested Pringles for his birthday buffet, so I bought the single packs on sale and then made a label that I printed on adhesive paper.  I used some scrapbook tools to cut them out in ovals, and then each Pringle cup had a coordinating sticker to cover the top.  

I was hoping this label would cover the entire top, but I couldn't get that to happen unless I split the file into two pages.  Full sheet adhesive labels aren't cheap either, so I tried to be okay with that bright red border of the Pringle cup ; )

I also made Napkin Rings!

And Cupcake Toppers, of course.  

Easter Egg Hunt Signs w/ Printables

I'm whipping together some last-minute decor for our preschool's Easter Egg Hunt & Party.  You know, because I have nothing else to do.  Really I'm just a crafting maniac these days, and even though I only have two days to do this party, I'm still taking it on!  These little Egg Hunt signs came out so cute I had to share them with you right away : )

I am using this set of Easter party printables to make banners and decorations.  The full set of printables is free right now at Shindig Parties To Go, and they are really sweet!

I had seen some Egg Hunt signs on Pinterest, or somewhere...probably Pinterest.  Anyhoo, I thought they were darling and decided to use the full page patterned paper from this printable set to make up my own.  I google-searched for egg hunt signs and came up with some slogans first. 

Then I opened the patterned paper as a photo in My Memories, and added a scalloped mat and some words.  I added the egg and chick graphic in Picnik, and cut out mini bunnies from the printable set to put on the others, with foam tape so they are 3-d off the surface (does that make sense?).

So, once I had my files, I printed them on cardstock and trimmed the edges.

Then I used crepe paper streamers to make ruffles around the border.  I did this on the backside, scrunching up a few inches at a time and holding with regular scotch tape.  This was faster for me than ruffling all the streamers on the sewing machine and then gluing them on.  It held great and would be covered up anyway, so that's how I did it.  Here is one from the back...

And what it looks like from the front - I had maybe 2/3rds of the streamer off the edge.

Then I cut pieces of Dollar Tree foamboard (about 1/4" thick) to the same size as the cardstock sign.  I happened to have a piece of this laying around.  Exacto knife works great for this.

Luckily, I had lots of already-spray-painted dowels leftover 

from Baby Shower Centerpieces.  I hot glued one to the back, and then 

added some packing tape over top for more stability.

Then I just hot glued the ruffled sign to the front.  That's it!  They poke down into the ground like a little plant stake.  I also made the two full-page printables from the set into the same kind of sign, except used two dowels since they were larger and needed more support.  

I can put these in pots of flowers.

Here are the little ones for the yard...

Oh heck.  Aren't they cute?!  I'm tempted to make "Bunny Trail" and "Jelly Bean Patch" signs, too, but I'm on a time constraint and gotta move on to banners.

Here you go...
Print as an 8x10
I don't know why two of them are sidways here, but they will still print the same.

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Monkey Party - Banners & Birthday Wreath

Remember the post I did about ways to use those cheap plastic party tablecloths?  You can find it here if you missed it.  For this party I decided to try to replicate those beautiful scrap fabric banners that I've seen all over Pinterest.  Ones like this...

Using actual fabric to make a lot of these for a party would have been too expensive.  But $1 party tablecloths?  Totally doable!  I started by cutting three different colored tablecloths in half - this way I saved half for use as actual tablecloths, and the other half I made into party decor.  I'm telling you, that $3 went a lonnnng way!

I used my quilt mat and rotary cutter to cut them into 1 1/2" strips, about 14" long.  If you fold the tablecloth, you can easily trim a teeny bit off the end to make a straight starting point, and then cut through all the layers at once.  They are thin and cut like butter, but it's actually easier to cut several layers together this way.  Maybe this isn't the best for a rotary blade, but it's what I do.  I read you can sharpen your rotary cutter by running it across aluminum foil?  Anyway, here are my piles of strips - I did lime green, light blue, and royal blue.

I chose to skip the knotting each piece on the way the fabric ones look like they are assembled, mainly because I didn't have that much time.  I think you could though.  The material is pretty easy to work with.  What I did was fold each strip in half and run them through my sewing machine, feeding one right after another so that they are all connected across the fold with the open ends hanging down.

Seems like it would take a long time to do all this, but it really didn't.  And I love the result!  I used these plastic banners on the screen porch and front porch and was able to pin them up in advance of the party.  Rain won't hurt them!  They flutter wonderfully in the breeze, too.

For INside, I did the same technique, except with cut sections of crepe paper streamers.  I then went back and notched the ends of each one.  These took more time, because each section had to be cut one at a time off the roll.  I think I prefer the plastic ones because they go together faster and are more durable to use in or out, plus save for another party in the future.

Here is what the crepe ones look like...I put these across the kitchen and living room windows and across the mantel, along with printable party banners on cardstock.

The amazing part was that those half tablecloth pieces made enough banners for the whole screen porch, the front porch, and I still had leftover strips!  I used those to make an impromptu birthday wreath for the front door.

For the wreath, I had a straw form that I wrapped double layered strips around, securing on the backside with straight pins.

Once the form was completely covered, I tied more strips on one section, leaving the ends free in the front.  I filled in with some curly gift ribbon, and attached a few of the party printables with straight pins.  These were the same as the cupcake toppers, except printed larger.

The adorable paper monkey that totally makes this wreath, is a free printable from here.  It doesn't look like the file is there, but if you hover your cursor over "print this simple design," you can click and print it yourself.  I used brown kraft paper, then pinned it on the back with straight pins.

This wreath was so easy and went together in about 15 minutes.  I hadn't planned on it, but I'm so glad I made it!  I think it's my favorite piece from the entire celebration : )  Again, you can use those $1 party tablecloths for so many creative things!

One more post to share with how I prepped the food table with all the printables I made, and then finally photos of the big day!

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**You can now see ALL the Monkey Party posts with the links below**

Monkey Party Planning 

 Monkey Party Activity: Pin the Tail on the Monkey 

 Monkey Party Activity: Banana Hunt 

Monkey Party Activity: Feed the Monkey  

Monkey Party Activity: Bendable Monkey Craft  

Monkey Favors: Doodle Pads & Crayon Rolls 

Monkey Favors: Ears Headbands & Tail Belts 

Ears & Tails Tutorial w/ Printable Pattern 

Food Table & Monkey Cake 

Monkey Party Day!