The Blackberry Vine: January 2012

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

100 Legos for 100 Days of School

Our school celebrates the 100th day of the school year tomorrow.

Of course, weeks ago, they sent out reminders that this day was coming.

They sent out suggestions for items to bring. They sent out emails, notes in their weekly newsletters and even a blurb or two from the sweet principal in her weekly correspondence. Basically, no excuses...

If you've followed for very long you know this is not the first time that I we've waited until the last (or almost last) minute. Actually, I think I'm more creative when something has to be done NOW. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.)

So, we're going to dinner last night and trying to think of something (yes, we are actually planning TWO whole days before it HAS to be there!) different from last year for Jack's 100 day project. (CLICK HERE to see last year's project.)

Pennies...been there, done that. Pictures...momma likes, but will take some time...printing 100 small pictures and arranging them to spell Jack or 100...cute but time consuming. The oldest pipes up, "how about Legos." Ahhh, Legos. Now that something we have a crazy amount of...this should be easy! We have lots of the white 3 x 2 blocks left over from the Lego Mini Figure Board. And by "lots" I mean 61. No problem. Surely in the 9 drawers and 6 other boxes I could come up with 39 more white 3 x 2 blocks. Make that 8. You read correctly, 8. Out of thousands and thousands pieces of Lego...I found 8. I'll do the math for you...we need 100. We have 69. We're short 31 stinkin' pieces of Lego. Really?!? Oh, and it's 7:30 in the evening. Enter super-husband! He was on board for the whole Lego idea and decided to make it a reality by cruising to the mall (his favorite place..)

By 10 o'clock he was not only back from the Lego store, but he also had put together the 100 day project. I think he did an awesome job!!! We're so lucky to have him for our husband and daddy!

Hope your 100 day projects have gone (will go) smoothly!

Smiles!

May share this 100 day project with some of the fun parties in our sidebar =>

Monday, January 30, 2012

Tuesday To Do #47 and #46 List Makers

Hello sweet bloggy friends!

It's Tuesday To Do Party time again!

I'm so glad you're here!

Before we get to last week's features, I have something to tell you...

The Pretty Packages Party is (FINALLY) making a comeback!

The party will be up and running by Wednesday evening...hope to see you there will your gorgeous gifts!!!

Speaking of gifts, y'all gave me a wonderful gift this past weekend. Looking at all of your amazing posts was such fun! Everyone should be featured!!!

(But we are not a 4 year old's soccer team...we don't all get a trophy just for signing up!!)

Anyway, I guess I must have parties on the brain...check out last week's List Makers:

Check out this amazing Science party Peggy threw over at Hello. My name is Mommy.

VixenMade's Adorable Circus Party!!

Sweet Ballerina Party from Love Sweet Love

Insane Kahlua Brownie recipe from My Judy the Foodie

If you were on this week's To Do List, then please feel free to grab a LIST MAKER button:

TUESDAY TO DO
FEATURED BUTTON

Now on the the party...

Link up your creations! Sewing, crafting, cooking, tips, photography, tablescapes, parties, scrapbooking, collectibles...it all works. Please save your items for sell, your giveaways and your own parties for those specific blog parties. You're the best!

(Borrowed these little rules from the Shabby Nest...she's got it going on!)

1. Become a follower of The Blackberry Vine and "LIKE" The Blackberry Vine on Facebook.

2. Link directly to your post and not just to your blog.

3. Grab the TUESDAY TO DO BUTTON from the sidebar, and link back to the Blackberry Vine. (Yes, it can be a little time-consuming, but it's the sweet blogger thing to do!)

4. Please visit other participants and leave them some comment love. Comment, comment, comment!!!

I reserve the right to remove posts that are not in keeping with the spirit of Tuesday To-Do including but not limited to those that link to your shop, your giveaway or your linky party, and those that do not link back to the Blackberry Vine. Thanks for playing fair!!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Nerf Party

Are you ready to check out our Nerf party?

It is full of photos, so grab a cup of coffee, (a Twinkie,) and settle in...this is a long one!

(And if you have an extra second...will you LIKE me on Facebook? I finally added a Facebook page for Blackberry Vine (after much insistence by others.) It would make my day if I had a few "LIKES" under my belt!)

When the guests arrived, (SEE THE INVITE HERE,) they received their dart pouches and safety goggles.

Find more info on the pouches HERE.

If they didn't have a gun, we had extras at the welcome table, too.

Oh, don't want to forget the sign in sheet. We always have one at drop-off parties.

Parents sign in their kids with their contact numbers.

Usually, there is never a problem, but it gives everyone peace of mind.

There was also a cute little banner in this room...see it HERE!

Since it is Winter and we're in TEXAS, we never know if we can play outside or not. The day started off pretty cool, so we set up all of our games inside.

To warm up their marksmanship skills, we had different stations set up.

They rotated through them in groups of 2 or 3, then it was just a free for all.

This tin can challenge was probably one of the favorites.

We had helpers placed strategically through out the party to help with setting the stations back up.

Many times I noticed the boys helping set the cans back up themselves!

Shooting army men off the wall takes some serious skills!

The target test was not as exciting....

Shooting the monster's eyeballs (ping pong balls hanging from thin wires) was a blast!

Thanks to Uncle David for sitting behind the box and retrieving the darts!

So I snagged this picture from my MIL's collection of photos from the day. For whatever reason, I didn't get a picture of this station. It was a hula hoop hanging from the bridge above. We would swing it gently back & forth and they had to shoot through it.

Simple decorations.

Pizza, salad, fruit & drinks were served to our hungry guests.

Then it was cake time!

(and ice cream...the boys don't think it's a party with out the ice cream, too!)

To see more about the cake CLICK HERE!

Once we got everyone all hopped up on sugar, we sent them outside with guns!!!

(Nerf guns of course...this is Texas, but seriously...they're only 6!!)

Forts made from refrigerator boxes.

Having fun!

We don't want our picture taken!!!

When the parents came back to retrieve their children, we passed out these little party favors...dollar store Nerf guns and Twinkies. Yes, that right...Twinkies.

If you haven't heard, Hostess has filed bankruptcy for a 2nd time.

My children, along with most of the guests, had never even HEARD of a Twinkie.

I thought I'd do my part to save the company and to enlighten the children.

When was the last time YOU had a Twinkie?!!?

Smiles!

May link up our fun Nerf Party to some of the super fun parties in the side bar=>

Monday, January 23, 2012

Tuesday To Do #46 and #45 List Makers

It's Tuesday To Do time again!

I'm so thrilled you stopped by!

Check out these great projects from last week's List Makers:

Beautiful Bathroom Makeover by Casa de Luna

AMAZING tutorial for Kick Pleat Valances from Sew Passionate

Lindsey's Yummy Snickerdoodle Cupcake recipe

Adorable wedding details from Life as a Pepin

If you were on this week's To Do List, then please feel free to grab a LIST MAKER button:

TUESDAY TO DO
FEATURED BUTTON

Now on the the party...

(Borrowed these little rules from the Shabby Nest...she's got it going on!)

1. Become a follower of The Blackberry Vine.

Nerf Birthday Cake

Here's the cake from our Nerf Party.

As always I used classic French buttercream to frost it...so good!

Since I HAD to have the darts, the only way to make them (with any accuracy) was with fondant. CLICK HERE for the recipe I used.

The kids all wanted a dart, but most decided they didn't taste that good.

(There was one or two little sugar-aholics, that wanted more and more...poor mommas!)

I agree, I think fondant is completely unappetizing.

Beautiful cakes, but it tastes horrible!

Smiles!

May share this Nerf Dart Birthday Cake with some of the parties in the side bar =>

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Nerf Dart Pouches

Our Nerf Party this weekend was a blast!

There's a few things I thought I'd share.

First, are the Nerf Dart Pouches I made.

My inspiration came from Just Deanna.

To see her amazing tutorial, CLICK HERE.

Instead of using rings for the belt closure, I used velcro. Also, I used 1" cotton twill trim as the belt on some because 1.) it was cheaper and 2.) there was not enough of the woven belt trim. Both worked great. Actually, the cheaper cotton twill probably worked the best as it was not fraying as much as the webbing. Using velcro for the closure probably helped with the fraying as well.

The guests were all excited that they not only got to wear the belted pouches at the party, but they also got to take them home.

Thanks again to Just Deanna for sharing her party!

To see her other great ideas, CLICK HERE.

I'll share more of the party this week!

Smiles!

May share these pouches with some of the fun parties in the side bar =>

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Nerf Foam Birthday Banner

So, the party preparations begin...

Here's the birthday banner made from craft foam sheets. It just look "Nerfish," don't ya think?

Found the stick on foam letters at the craft store so it was really a super-easy-lemon-squeezy kind of project.

Stay tuned for more Nerf party projects....

Smiles!

May link up to some of the classy parties in the side bar =>

Monday, January 16, 2012

Tuesday To Do #45 & #44 List Makers

Hello my creative bloggy friends!

It's Tuesday To Do time again!

Let's get our party started this week by checking out last week's List Makers:

Look at this pretty mirror by Simply Simplisticated!

Dishwasher Soap Biscuits (and other great tips) from the Lady With the Red Rocker,

Gluten Free A to Z shares a wonderful recipe for moisturizing salt scrub,

I'm eating dessert (and can't wait to try these Brownie Peanut Butter Cups,) with Katie from Raising Oranges!

If you were on this week's To Do List, then please feel free to grab a LIST MAKER button:

TUESDAY TO DO
FEATURED BUTTON

Now on the the party...

(Borrowed these little rules from the Shabby Nest...she's got it going on!)

1. Become a follower of The Blackberry Vine.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Chocolate Chip Brownie Cookies

Looking for a quick and yummy cookie recipe?

Well, here you go!

1 (18 oz) package brownie mix

2 eggs

1/4 cup canola oil

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup toffee bits (optional)

Mix first 3 ingredients with a wooden spoon until well combined. Stir in last two (or three) ingredients.

Drop by rounded teaspoon fulls on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 - 12 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes on cookie sheet then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Yields: About 4 dozen

Enjoy!
Smiles!

May be sharing this yummy recipe with the fun parties located in my side bar =>

Monday, January 9, 2012

Tuesday To Do Party #44 & #43 List Makers

Hi Friends!

How are those resolutions comin'?

Well, one of my resolutions is to cross off a few of the items on my To Do List!
It just keeps getting longer & longer!!!

Here are few things from last week that are on my list:

Baby Doll Diapers Tutorial from Vixen Made

Easy Peasy Grandma's Monster Spray

Button Bobbies by Five Days 5 Ways

Also, don't miss the Best of 2011 posts from

Corner House

Remodelaholic

Lavendar & Lemon Drops

If you were on this week's To Do List, then please feel free to grab a LIST MAKER button:

TUESDAY TO DO
FEATURED BUTTON

Now on the the party...

(Borrowed these little rules from the Shabby Nest...she's got it going on!)

1. Become a follower of The Blackberry Vine.

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Got Teeth?

My two boys are 7 1/2 & 6 and neither one has lost a tooth yet!

What gives?!?

Well, we finally have some loose teeth (yeah) and I'm gonna be ready with a tooth fairy pillow. (If you ~~build~~ sew it, they will come...)

Martha has a great tutorial HERE that I used....mostly.

Since I wanted to personalize the pillows, I cut my fabric (one of their old flannel baby blankets,) into 8.5" squares. This size fits in my printer. I used the freezer paper technique to get a name on the fabric that I could hand embroid. Besides that, I pretty much followed good 'ol Martha girl (except a lot less measuring, pining, etc...you get the idea!)

If you read this far (and you have a minute,) could you let me know how old your children were when they lost their first teeth?

I'm not so worried about the older one not losing teeth yet, just hoping the younger one doesn't lose one of his first!

(And just in case you might be wondering, we go to the dentist every 6 months. She says its all ok, but still...mommas are the ones that really know!)

Thanks for the input!

***UPDATE!!! Less than 10 minutes after this post, the oldest lost a tooth! Hallelujah!!***

Smiles!

May share the tooth fairy pillow with some of the fun parties in the side bar =>