Halloween Bash

This Saturday, Mr. B and I hosted our second annual Halloween bash at a new bar in our neighborhood.  I love having an excuse to dress in costume!  

Last year, we hosted the party at our condo, which allowed me to have fun getting crafty with decorations and other party elements (sadly, these details went undocumented).  On a happy note, the 2010 was such a success that we had to expand beyond our 850-square-foot love nest and move the party elsewhere!  

Since we didn't have a dedicated room for this year's party, I didn't go all-out with decorations.  However, I did create these simple prize bags for the winners of our informal contest.  I used Apple's Chalkduster font in all caps and a few stamps I picked up from a $1 bin at Michael's last year.  The fill-in ballot for "most likely to . . . " forced guests to use their creativity!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Honky Tonk Party Favors

Check out these totally silly party favors I made for my friend's hubby Hap's 29th birthday.  She gave me very loose guidelines:  a sweet treat to match the theme of his BBQ birthday dinner.

During a stroll down Walgreens' candy aisle, I found Boston Baked Beans on mega sale.  Baked beans go with BBQ, right?! (right?!)  After trips to four Walgreens stores, I had enough boxes for the favors.  (note:  Before this project, I had never actually tasted BBB.  Only after I finished the favors did I break into an extra box and realize how gross they taste.  Interesting that all four Walgreens checkout employees got VERY excited when they learned they were only 19 cents/box.  Thankfully some people like these little creatures!)  I digress . . . 

Doctoring up these boxes was simple.  I made a label to change "Boston" to "Potter's" with a tagline of "A Texas Original Since 1982" (Hap is from Texas and was born in '82) and affixed it with double stick tape.  I printed a "happy birthday" message on Paper Source's paper bag card stock and used a 3-inch circle punch to create a tag.  After finishing the tag with an eyelet, I attached it to the box with twine.

Happy Birthday, Hap!  Last birthday before fatherhood!  :-)

Marathon Party Favors

I love marathon Sunday in Chicago.  The energy in the city is unlike any other day of the year.  This year, Mr. B and I met Jen, Tiffany and Andy at the halfway point and ran the second 13.1 with our friends.  These warriors already had 13.1 miles on their legs, so we tried to be as motivating and supportive as possible.  After the race, my dear friend Mary hosted a post-party to honor Jessica's completion of her first marathon.  Mary asked me to bring a party favor, so I created mini running bibs and medals to celebrate Jessica's accomplishment.

These favors were extremely easy to make!  First, I covered the labels of mini Gatorade bottles with computer paper.  I then printed running "bibs" on card stock and affixed them to mini Gatorade bottles with double-stick tape.  I left the edges loose and poked mini safety pins through all four corners, just like an actual running bib.  Finally, I used ribbon, chocolate coins and a glue gun to create the medals.  I am pleased with the end product!    

A BIG congratulations to Jessica, Jen, Tiffany, Andy and all of our other friends who conquered the 2011 Chicago Marathon!  You guys rock!!!