Harry Potter Inspired Magical Children's Birthday Party

Our son requested a magic themed party for his 5th birthday. Initially I had thought of hiring a magician or perhaps coercing my husband to do some tricks for the children, but nothing was coming together. Still, I was up for the challenge. I love Harry Potter and though my son is too young to have read the books and our children don't watch tv, I was still inspired to include my favorite (and age appropriate ) bits and pieces from the novels. In the end, the party was a great success. He (and I) couldn't have been happier :)

The Invitation

The invitation is based upon one of the party activities- and should look like a magic potion book. It was really fun to send out this invitation because people were really curious about what activities we would be doing at the party. To make the invitations,  I bought a box of blank,  colored  card stock and a bag of card stock scraps (yes, I paid for a bag of scraps - don't tell my husband ! ). I cut the scraps into triangular shapes to make the corners and ovals for the center medallion, glued them on and and decorated it with glitter glue. On the inside, we found an ink stamp at the craft store that had all the pertinent  info,  we just had to fill in the specifics.

 For the envelope, we used an owl paper punch and punched through the empty envelope so that there was an owl shape in both the front and flap of the envelope. Once we  inserted the colorful card into it, the owl really stood out.

* A quick note: I found these fantastic Harry Potter / Hogwarts Express  Train Ticket  Invitations on Etsy and also found templates for the Hogwarts Acceptance Letter / Invite online that were both super cool, but perhaps more appropriate for older children. Check them out if you get a chance.

The Party
We had the party at out home with stations set up for the four activities on the docket that day:


#1 - Cape Fitting:
Upon arriving, each child was asked to select the cape of their choice and was then assisted with putting it on. To make the capes, I kept it simple. I chose three different colors of velvet fabric (dark blue, dark purple and light purple) and cut them into small cape sized rectangles. I found glue backed velcro circles, attaching a set to each cape. Easy, quick and no sewing involved since I left the edges raw.

#2 - Magic Wand Selection and Decoration:
Prior to the party, my children and I wandered the back yard and found all the wands we would need for the party. We looked under various types of trees, finding sturdy, dry sticks and branches. Some already had the bark cracked off, others needed it removed. At the party, we made a station placing the "wands" in a mason jar, and put out tempura paints, glitter glue, ribbons, water, paintbrushes, and lots of paper towels. Remember to make an area where the wands can dry.


#3 - Magic Potion Book Creation
This is a project that I found at Oriental Trading Company. They sell the kits and supplies on their website, though you could perhaps source out your own supplies if you wished.  The 'books' are really cardboard boxes with magnetic flap closures / lids.

A finished potion book. We used fabric pens to not only decorate the front but to also add "pages" to the top, side and bottom.

*Before the party - I cut and glued  the colorful foam covers on the books (placing a rubber band around them to hold the foam on until dry). We made the books a variety of colors so there would be something for everyone. Also ahead of time, I cut various colored triangles for the corners and ovals for the medallions though I did not affix them to the books.

Stacks of potion book boxes with covers pre-glued, and stacks of colorful triangles and medallions. Cups of fabric pens were placed around the table at each station along with bottles of glue

At the party, let the children choose their book and glue on the corners and center medallion in the color of their choice, with Elmer's Glue. Use fabric puffy pens / glitter puffy paint pens to decorate the books. We had made an example and placed it out on the table so that the children (and parents) could see how the finished project should look. Again, remember to make a place for them to dry.

For the Boxes
We found (age appropriate) magic wand spells on a Harry Potter website  and made a small sheet of them rolled into a scroll and tied with a ribbon to place in their magic potion boxes.

We also found old skeleton keys on Ebay, cleaned them up with soap and water and let the children choose one for their potion book.

Scrolls of magic wand spells tied with orange ribbon and skeleton keys

 #4 - Magic Potions
Out last activity was to make magic potions. Before the party we made jars of "potions" using water, food coloring, glitter and essential oils to make Elf Magic, Star Dust and Fairy Dust.  We then made separate bowls of Unicorn fur (cut fibers from leopard fabric), lavender flowers, glitter and Dragon Scales (something we found in the spice aisle that resembled scales). We made a tray of all the potion supplies and gave each child two cobalt bottles. They were able to mix all the ingredients to their liking which was great fun. Just have paper towels on hand!

 Everyone was given an empty  goody bag to load up their creations at the end of the party (some of which were still wet - so brown paper grocery bags could work too) .

This was a super fun and pretty easy party to put together. We hope it inspires you to create a magical party of your own!

Blessingways: Celebrating the Mother To Be

It seems that everywhere I go these days, I find a glowing woman resting had hands atop a round, round belly, walking with a waddle that signifies a change to come - soon. I assume many of these women have spent the last few months preparing for the arrival of there soon to be born babies and perhaps some have had baby showers thrown in their honor. Baby showers are a fun and often silly, light hearted celebration of the baby to be born. The games, gifts and conversation are all centered upon who he or she will be,  what they will do. However, the baby shower doesn't acknowledge the change that the woman is going through, becoming a mother for the first time , or a mother to more than one (or two...), hence the Blessingway Ceremony.

The Blessingway is a rite of passage marking the magnificent transition occurring in a woman's life when she becomes a mother. It is a ceremony for the mother and attended by the women she is the closest to (sorry co-workers and random associates). Some women like to include their partners in the pre-baby celebrations, and that's wonderful and encouraged, but the Blessingway is a woman only event-  invite the guys and children to the after party.

There is no formula for a Blessingway, though there are some elements that are often included. You can pick and choose the elements that speak to you and tailor a celebration that fits your style, wants and needs. Though this is not a religious ceremony and has nothing to do with belief systems, religious denominations and the like. IN this ceremony, you are creating a sacred space in which to celebrate and honor the mother to be in her rite of passage to motherhood and to support her in what ever she needs during your ceremony time. Here I will discuss the various elements and options for a Blessingway, but remember, you can be as creative as you want.

Creating a Blessingway Ceremony:


The Guest List
As noted above, this is a ceremony for only the closest friends and family. Lap babies are usually ok  but older children should only attend if they can remain quiet and seated for a long period of time. Men, younger children and other friends can attend the "after party".

Sacred Space
It is usually a good idea to include the mother to be in the preparations for the ceremony, though it is usually hosted by a midwife or trusted friend / family member. It can be held in her home or that of a friend, though public spaces are probably not the best choice. Choose a location will everyone will be comfortable, since the ceremony can last anywhere from 1- 3 hours. The women will be seated in a circle, with the mother to be at the head of the circle. Make sure you have seating appropriate for all attending (age, health, pregnant, etc). Fill the space with candles, flowers, scents, or anything that makes the space both celebratory and sacred. Some women like to make an alter. If this is her desire, make sure you have the appropriate space and supplies, including a box or something for her to take it home in, if the Blessingway is not held in her home.

Warming Up
As the guests arrive, finger foods and tea, wine or other beverages are offered to allow everyone to arrive and get acquainted before the ceremony begins. Because the ceremony can take some time, try to keep the  meet and greet time to a minimum.

The Ceremony

Creating the Circle
You are creating sacred space and the way that you do that can be done in  a variety of ways. Some women like to enter under a tunnel of their friends interlaced arms, as if being birthed into the circle. Some women just prefer to have everyone head into the living room and form the circle without the tunnel. Once seated, you may call in the directions, if you are comfortable with that, asking the spirits to help you form and protect your sacred space during the course of the ceremony . The directions are hailed giving an attribute to each that in relation to women and birth. For example:

Spirit of the East - of new beginnings, spring, babies, new love, the new role of the mother to be, shedding her past self and emerging a new woman.

Spirit of the South - of passion and fire, of birth, strength, desire

Spirit of the West - of water and the womb

Spirit of the oath - of  ancient wisdom, ancestors, thousands of years of women giving birth

during this time you can cleanse each women around the circle with sage, or  a spritz of flower water etc.

Honoring your Connections and Each other
The host will ask each guest to take turns around the circle speaking to their relationship with the mother to be, how they met, how long they have known each other etc. It is fun to their the stories that connect each woman to the mother.

Wishes
Often the guests are asked to bring a bead or a stone, pendent, or other trinket that will be made into something later. In  turn, each woman takes a turn around the circle making a wish for the mother, the new baby and/ or  the family, infusing that wish into their object. For example you might wish for a quick birth, a healthy baby, an easy labor, a good sleeper, rest and private time for the new family. The objects can be turned in to necklaces, bracelets,  set into stepping stones or placed upon an alter after the ceremony is over. We have done stepping stones for each of our children and made them at the after party pot luck so that the children could participate.

Candles
Some mothers like to ask that each guest also bring a candle for her to light during her labor, letting her have the strength and love of the women in her life as a glowing reminder in her birthing experience. If you wish, you can also bless with candles with a wish, or just simply set them aside for her.

Transition
To signify the transition of woman to mother or mother again, the women in the circle brush and restyle the mother to be's hair differently than what it was when she arrived, or by brushing an adorning her with a flower wreath, ribbons of other accoutrements.

Next, she is seated in a chair and given an herbal footpath,  one or two women massaging her feet in the hot water. When she is done and her feet are dried, they are then rubbed with cornmeal, a symbol of fertility. This last part is usually done by either the next women to give birth, or anyone wanting to have a child, though, anyone is welcome to do it.

Making a Web
Lastly, a ball of yarn is presented to the mother, who winds it around her wrist (and without cutting it) passes it to the woman next to her, who winds it around her wrist and passes it until everyone in the circle is connected to the one piece of yarn. This ritual is symbolic of our connectedness as women. We are giving her our strength and support as she journeys into birth and motherhood. When the "web" is complete (and this is a little tricky), you cut the yarn on either side of you and tie the piece around your wrist  into a bracelet. It is said that the yarn may loosen and perhaps even fall off of the guests wrists when their friend goes into labor (though I've never experienced it).

Closing the Circle
To end the ceremony, you can dismiss the directions (if you called  them in the beginning) thanking each one for the attributes they offer, or just simply thank the guests for participating in such a special gathering.

The After Party
Food and refreshments are served afterward to give everyone a chance to settle back into "normal" life again. Spouses and children may attend, or this can be an opportune moment to allow guest who can't stay for the whole event, to slip out quietly.

These are just a few ideas to help you create a  special gathering for the wonderful women and mothers in your life. Many books have been written on the topic to offer further ideas, though most have these main elements, with other elements added. I hope that you will honor the women in your life with such a special celebration.

Blessed Be!

Earth Friendly Kid's Crafts: Part 2 - Kaleidoscopes

In my first Earth Day post, we made Wooly Bear caterpillars out of re-purposed egg cartons. In this post, we'll be making homemade kaleidoscopes out of toilet paper or paper towel rolls. It's fun project for older children (my 1 1/2 year old just tore it apart every time she got her hands on it - but the five year old loved it) and they can assemble it with minimal parental assistance.

Earth Friendly Kid's Crafts: Part 2 - Home Made Kaleidoscopes: 


You Will Need: 
One cardboard  toilet paper or paper towel tube  (sans paper)

1 sheet wrapping paper, construction paper etc.

1 piece aluminum foil

1 small circle of construction paper

1 piece wax paper

1 piece plastic wrap

hole punch

tape

scissors

2 rubber bands

small handful of beads, sequins, pom-poms etc.

To Assemble:


Cut a piece of wrapping paper or other decorative  paper and cover  the tube of cardboard, securing  it with tape.

Cut a small circle of construction paper just slightly larger than the opening of the tube and punch a hole in the center. This will become your eye piece. Tape it over one end of the tube.

Next, measure a length of aluminum foil just slightly shorter than the tube. Lay it out flat on a table, gently folding it into three even sections. Gently open the sections into the shape of a triangle, taping it in place. This will be your "mirror".  Slide it carefully into the tube taking care not to cram it in there. If you are having trouble fitting it, take it out , and make a smaller one.

Once the foil triangle is in, cut a small piece of plastic wrap and secure it over the open end with a rubber band, pushing it down slightly in the center to make a pouch. Fill the pouch with your beads, sequins and pom-poms. Cover the pouch with a small piece of wax paper securing it with a second rubber band.

                                         Viola! You have made your very own kaleidoscope!

Happy Earth Day - again!

Earth Friendly Kid's Crafts: Part 1 - Egg Carton Caterpillars

This Sunday, April 22, 2012 is Earth Day, and what a better way to celebrate than to create some earth friendly craft projects with our children. This will be a two - part post each containing one project that can be a quick 10 to 15 minute project delivering immediate self- satisfaction, or drawn out to a 45 minute project, depending on how much time you have, need or want to fill - all using things you can find in your recycling bin, or just lying around the house.

Earth Friendly Kid's Crafts: Part 1 - Egg Carton Caterpillars:

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear

Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair

Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't a bear

Was He?

Well, we call them Wooly Bears, but no matter what you call those fuzzy little orange and black stripped caterpillars, they are not only fun to find crawling around outside, but also make a great earth- friendly craft for even the youngest children. 

You will need: 

1 egg carton (you can use a half dozen carton if only making one or two caterpillars)

non-toxic  yellow and black tempura paints

1 black or brown pipe cleaner

other embellishments (optional)

scissors

How to make them:
Using your scissors, cut a length of egg carton 3 eggs long and 1 wide for each caterpillar. Place the carton convex side up. Choose an end to be your "face" and poke two holes in the carton for the antennae. Paint the first section black, the second yellow, and the third black again  to create a stripped effect. Once the paint is dry, cut your pipe cleaner into two short pieces and feed one piece per hole, through the carton, bending the end up on the underside of the egg carton to secure it. Your caterpillar is now ready for hours of play, or years of being a seasonal decoration. Of course, if you wish to bedazzle your caterpillar or add goggly eyes, have at it !
 Happy Earth Day!

Instant Children's Garden

For years I have wanted to create an herb garden for my children, somewhere  they can not only dig in the dirt, but also where they can be a part of the entire process from seed to table. Each spring, I have high ambitions to finally create that garden, but get overwhelmed by the prospect of either digging, amending, fencing and planting a garden, or building a raised bed, especially with two very young children in tow. This year, however, we found the perfect solution. You'll have to forgive me for forgetting the name, but we found this wonderful instant raised bed garden at our local nursery. It is made from a plastic PVC snap together frame which slides inside of a black fabric sack. It assembles in literally five minutes and comes in various sizes. The wonderful thing, aside from immediate satisfaction, is that you can put it anywhere, reuse it year after year, and it's not permanent., so you can take it with you, move it, etc.

We chose a 72" long x 26" wide x 14' high model. It is the perfect height and width for  the children to both see over and reach across, being able to access the entire garden. It took five bags of soil to fill, and viola! we had a garden!  We chose a mixture of child friendly, edible, culinary and medicinal plant starts and seeds, planting half the garden with the starts, the other with the seeds. The planting went quickly and the children enjoying digging holes for the starts and sprinkling the seeds (though my idea of rows didn't quite work out). We'll have to see where everything ended up as the seedlings grow. Initially, we didn't fence it, but discovered that the cats had found it a few days in, so we installed a cheap but effective (and removable) fence.

After only two weeks, we had sprouts! It's now been three or four weeks since we planted and everything is really growing beautifully. The children are so excited to see the fruits of their labor already. We have big plans for out plants, some for use in recipes, some for medicine, some just for fun. We've listed the plants we chose below, and some ideas for other child-friendly plants you could use in your garden. We would have loved to plant all of them, but ran out of space. Oh well, there's always next year !

So get planting! We'll be posting the progress of our garden and the ideas, projects, medicines and recipes that we create with the bounty of our garden.

Here are the plants we chose:

Lavender              Thyme                     Oregano                 Catnip                 bare root Echinacea (purpurea)

Lemon Balm        Strawflower            Statice                    Hyssop              Calendula     Edible flower mix

Borage                Spearmint (planted elsewhere)                Chamomile


Other ideas:
Rosemary           Peppermint               Pineapple sage              Lemon Verbena           Comfrey

Sage                   Cilantro                     Dill                 Parsley             Strawberries

Children's Handmade Felt Toolbelt

When our son was two and one half he became completely and utterly fascinated by construction; the process, workers, tools, trucks and equipment. Every aspect of building compelled him. We took him to construction sites to watch, gave him a small arsenal of tools and dump trucks and were given a workbench for him to create his own building projects. The one thing that we couldn't find for him was a tool belt . No one seemed to make tool belts so small or made of  appropriate materials for young children. So we seized the opportunity for a project and created our own. My son was able to help me through the entire project from start to finish. He was completely thrilled when we were finished and was quite proud that he was able to help make, what became once of his favorite construction pieces.

Here's what you'll need:

brown paper grocery bag
1/2 yard felt
fat quarters or scraps of various colored felt (different from the 1/2 yard felt color)
velcro strips
thread
scissors


How to create your own felt tool belt:

1.) Take your child's waist measurement and take an additional measurement of approximately how long you want the tool belt to be (including pockets for the tools). You don't  want the pockets to hit their knees.

2.) Cut a brown paper grocery bag open so that it lies flat in a long rectangle. We'll use this to make a pattern. On the paper mark your dimensions then draw the shape of the tool belt including pockets. We placed two pockets in front and one in the center back. I cut the belt and back of the pockets in one piece. You can attach the front of the pockets later. It will be much easier to do it this way than to make the pocket separately and attach that to the belt.

This is the tool belt laid out flat

3.) Once you are happy with your design, cut it out and try it on your child for size and pocket placement.

The front of the tool belt with pockets on either side and "Button" closure. The velcro is underneath the buttons.

The back of the tool belt with the back (red) pocket. You can see the back of the front pockets too (blue).

The tool belt on my son. Still fits after four years! 

4.) When the pattern is perfect, use it to cut your fabric using the half yard of felt.

5.) Choose some felt, any color you like, for the front of the pocket, and sew it to the back of the pocket.

5.) Now it's time to decorate! We traced some of my son's wooden tools on various colored felt, making sure they fit before sewing them on. Add "buttons" and other embellishments.

6.) On the inside of the one side , and the outside of the opposite side, sew the velcro.

Viola ! You have your very own felt tool belt!

Making Hand Dipped Taper Candles with Children

Between the cold, wet winter days that have us cooped up in the house and the long week off from school for President's Week , I found myself  searching for a quick, easy and affordable project to keep us occupied for an afternoon. We decided to try making hand dipped parrafin candles, something I haven't done since I was a child. A quick trip to the local chain craft supply store and we were set. We bought a 1 1/2 pound block of paraffin wax, 8 feet of medium wick, and then for fun, a small package of solid candle scent  (a scented wax as opposed to an essential oil) and a solid wax coloring agent.  We chose paraffin mainly due to the cost, which was $7, though the store also carried beeswax , which would have been lovely, however, it cost almost $20 for the same amount. We then hit the local thrift store to purchase a used crockpot for melting the wax safely and were able to get one for $5.00. The total cost for the whole project was about $25.00 including the purchase of the crockpot and has given enough wax to make more candles than we'll dip any time soon! 

To get started, you will need:

Candle wax (1 1/12 - 2 lbs.) - paraffin or beeswax

Wick (8 or more feet) - medium 

Scent 

Coloring Agent 

Hanger

Paper towels

Crockpot

Candy or Candle thermometer

Cutting board

Knife

To Make the Candles:

1.) First find a safe place on your counter to place the crockpot. Make sure it is not under a cabinet (in case of fire - remember, wax is flammable), and in a place where the cord will not get pulled, thus pulling the pot of hot wax off the counter. Plug it in and turn it on to begin warming.

2.) Place the block of wax on a non-slip cutting board and chop it (carefully!) into smaller chunks. Place the chunks into the crockpot. Place a candy thermometer in the melting wax. Please check the manufacturers instructions about the appropriate temperature for  your wax. Ours had a melting point of 143 degrees. We let the temperature rise to 150 degrees then turned it off. Please be aware that if the wax gets too hot ( about 300 degrees) it can catch fire. The wax melted very quickly. 

3.) When the wax is melted, add your color and scent as per the manufacturers instructions.

4.) Cut a long length of wick and fold it in half (so that you can dip two candles at the same time). 

5.) Place a hanger on a cabinet pull that will hold your cooling candles then put some paper towels under it to catch drips of hot wax.

6.) Dip the wick into the wax covering about 3/4 of the wick. We found that when the temperature was higher at 150 degrees, you had to dip the wick quickly and let it really cool before dipping it again. However, as the wax cools, reaching the melting point and falling just below it, you will get much more wax sticking to your wick. We did turn the heat back on when the temperature reached 135 degrees, let it reach 150 degrees again, then turned it off and let it cool. 

7.) Let the candles cool between dips by hanging  them on the hanger. Cut a second length of wick and begin dipping that one so that you can rotate between the pairs. Dip your candles until you are satisfied with the size. Ours got a little lumpy on the ends. You could probably roll the lumpy ends into a nice uniform shape while the wax is hot.

This was a fun project for both the adults and the children and gave us immediate satisfaction. We dipped four pair of candles in about 15 minutes and had some ready to burn that night for dinner; a point of pride for our son. 

Our green honeysuckle scented hand-dipped candles cooling on a hanger

The finished product!