A "Jawsome" Shark-Themed 4th Birthday Party

Well, it's about time that I wrap up my posts about the Little Man's 4th birthday bash, so here's the overview. I don't even know where he came up with the idea for a shark-theme, but it seemed to come out of left field. There are a few things out there that can be purchased for a shark-party but I wasn't interested in buying online and then having to pay shipping. That's why it's a good thing that this mama is creative!

Decorations:
Out in the front yard, I placed three shark fins and a warning sign that read "CAUTION SHARK SIGHTING." Then, on the front door, guests were once again cautioned with a sign reading "DANGER ENTER AT OWN RISK." I used shark stencils for both of the signs and everything was made out of cardboard.

{Land sharks!}

{Don't say you weren't warned...}

To set the indoor underwater scene, we had three kinds of window paint, two of which were homemade. This one was on the dining room sliding door, and I don't recommend it for window paint. This paint recipe was also used in the dining room, and it worked beautifully for making blue waves and multi-colored sharks (which I used these stencils to create). In the living room, I used a blue window paint pen that I had purchased from Oriental Trading to make waves on all the windows. Then, I taped undersea animals to the windows. These were classroom decor left over from my teaching days, so they were two-sided and laminated, which was perfect.

I also made some blue zigzag steamers (directions here) and taped them up in the entry to the dining room and in the hallway so they were visible when guests walked in the front door. These are perhaps the simplest, quickest, and cheapest party decorations ever! And they make a big impact. It felt very much like we were under the waves.

{You can see the streamers in the background.}

Hanging from the dining room chandelier were 3 friendly jellyfish that the kids helped me to create.

I used a roll of blue cello wrap from Dollar Tree to make a table runner, secured with blue painters tape (again, from Dollar Tree). The excess I cut off and taped to my folding card table. Then, I tossed a few sea shells onto both table coverings. (As a bonus, this didn't get messy, so I just removed the tape after the party, and rolled it back up to re-use for something else.)

{See the window paint in the background?}

The thank-you gifts did double duty as decorations. I just displayed some small containers of homemade blue glitter play dough and fish shaped cookie cutters (from Jo-Ann) until it was time to send them home with the party guests. I had made small round labels to fit the containers (which came in a ten-pack at Dollar Tree). Using Microsoft Word, I made them to say "Logan's 4th Birthday" (Logan's curved on top, and 4th Birthday curved around the bottom of the circle, with a shark photo in the middle). I ended up making 3 batches of play dough, and each batch was enough to fill 6 of the plastic containers.

{Cute and inexpensive party favors!}

Games/Activities:
I decided since it was a nice day and we had kids ranging from infant to age seven, that I should keep this pretty simple and outdoor-centered. So, we turned on the sprinkler, set up the water table, and made sure there were plenty of toys in the sandbox.

I had made a game that I called "Shark Bait," which some kids played with a hula hoop and my homemade fishy "beanbags."

{DIY Game for a Shark Party}

We also had a bubble station which included homemade bubble solution in cake pans and pie tins and lots of wands.

My favorite thing, though, was the shark photo prop that I had made from cardboard. I took all of the kids' pictures inside of his mouth and then used them to make the thank you cards. It was totally "jawsome!"

{A "Jawsome" Photo Prop!}

Food:
For the main course, it was a build-your-own-shark-sandwich bar. I had found a 3-piece cookie cutter set on clearance at Walmart for $2.50 a few month ago. It included a shark, a dolphin (which I have not yet used), and a fish. The shark was too big for regular sandwich bread, but I was able to fit it onto a tortilla twice. Then, I bought turkey from the deli and used the shark cutter on that. The deli cheese was too small for me to use the shark cutter, so instead, I made lots of cheese fish. This way, people could build their sandwiches however they liked, and using tortillas was pretty smart because there was less waste than if I had used bread.

{Build-a-Shark-Sandwich Platter}

The shark watermelon turned out very well and made a huge impact. It wasn't too difficult, but it was pretty messy. It took around 45 minutes to carve, which is deceptively longer than the short YouTube video where I found the directions. I then used this website for backup since I could only watch the video so many times before getting frustrated by the lack of information. Anyway, I would probably make another carved watermelon again because it was worth it. It just might not be for everyone!

{This toothy fellow put in an appearance.}

I also served grapes, colorful Goldfish crackers, and the new Goldfish Puffs, which were kind of like fish-shaped cheese balls. All of that was simple and very kid-friendly. For the beverage, I mixed up some lemonade and added a few drops of neon blue food coloring. It was obviously a teensy bit green-ish, but the idea of ocean water was clear and nobody complained.

The Cake:
I had originally though to make a cute shark-shaped cake like this one, but then I decided to go easy on myself and just make cupcakes for the kids. (I always make the kids' birthday cakes because I am way too cheap to pay someone else to do it!) Cupcakes were perfect, anyway, since they are pre-portioned and you don't need plates or forks, which makes it easy for kids' parties.

I made a double-batch of my favorite white cake and included some blue food coloring in the batter. Then, I mixed up some buttercream frosting, which I also tinted blue. I baked the cupcakes in some blue and white chevron cupcake liners that I found at Michaels (Note: This is a good resource for inexpensive decorative cupcake liners. They are often in the $1 section, and when those go on clearance, it's a super deal!) because I thought this was reminiscent of both waves and shark teeth.

To top off the cupcakes, I added a gummi shark to each. These came from Meijer and I had gotten them on sale, two packages for $5. (I used more than one package, but less than two to top all 24 cupcakes.)

{They taste as good as they look.}

I don't usually buy disposable plates or cups for parties, so we just used our IKEA plates and cups. I did, however, pick up a package of blue napkins from Dollar Tree and stamp them with sharks to customize them for this party. Simple, cheap, and totally necessary!

{It's so easy to customize napkins for any theme!}

While this party did not cost tons of money, I did start begin making things about 3 weeks in advance, starting with my shark photo-prop. Overall, I was pleased with how things turned out. I had one very happy little boy, and I think all of his friends enjoyed his "jawsome" party, too!

Photo Thank-You Cards for a Shark-Themed Birthday Party

After making fill-in-the-blank style photo-thank-you cards for the past few birthday parties, I think I have it almost down to a science. The only part that nearly threw me was that when Mia was this age she was able to start helping to personalize the notes by signing her name. Logan, on the other hand, can't write his name and to be honest, I'm not even sure if he knows what letter it starts with! Luckily, I was inspired by my friend Liz who had her son color a homemade shark birthday card, and I realized that Logan could do the same thing for his thank-you cards. (By the way, Liz, I have your card sitting right in front of me, so it's coming soon!)

{Card views from the outside (top) and inside (bottom)}

Materials:

• blue card stock (8 1/2" x 11")
• paper trimmer
• word processing software/printer
• pinking shears
• scrapbooking adheseive (or glue stick)
• markers/crayons/colored pencils
• pen

Directions:

1. At the party, take a picture of each guest. We used the shark photo prop that I had made for this.
2. Have photos printed. Note: My 4" x 6" prints were ordered from Snapfish.
3. To get two cards per piece of card stock, fold a sheet in half, hamburger style. Then, use a paper trimmer to cut along the crease. Now you have two cards. Again, fold each one in half like a hamburger.
4. Check to see that the photo fits inside the card, trimming as needed. Next, use scrapbooking adhesive (or a glue stick) to adhere the photo to the inner left part of the card.
5. While the card is still open, use your pinking shears to cut a "bite" out of the top left corner of the card. Make sure that this won't cut out anybody's face, of course. If desired, use a pen to add the date below the photo.
6. For the fill-in-the-blank thank-you templates, use word processing software like Microsoft Word. Mine is in portrait layout and I was able to fit four per page. I chose to keep this simple, but still fun by including some invented words (or, as I like to call them, "mommyisms.") The wording reads:

Dear ______________________­­­_____,                        

     Thanks for helping me celebrate my                                       

“jawsome” 4^th birthday! Thanks also for                         

the  ____________________________                                           

________________________________                                           

________________________________.                                                 

It’s “fintastically” fun!                                                       

Your friend,                                                                                        

Logan                                                

There was also a photo of a shark that I found online and inserted to the left of Logan's name, but I can't get it to show up here. After printing these out, I trim them to size with my paper trimmer and then use pinking shears to make decorative shark "bites" along the top and bottom edges. Lastly, affix the fill-in-the-blank template to the inside of the card, to the right of the photo. Depending upon the age of the birthday boy (or girl) you can either fill this in or let him (or her) help.

7. For the front of the card, print out simple coloring page shark designs. I can't seem to find the image I used, but just do a search for something like "shark images for coloring." I pasted my image into Microsoft Word and scaled it so that I could fit six per page, in landscape format. Then, I used word art to "Thank You!" below each shark. I trimmed and adhered these to the front of each card and then Logan colored the shark pictures.

I love the idea of taking the theme all the way through the party and wrapping it up with a thank-you card. Adding photos is a little something extras that makes for fun souvenirs. These cards were not difficult to make, (once I did the advanced planning and creation of the shark photo prop!) and they were perfectly personalized to the theme of Logan's "jawsome" 4th birthday party. For more themed party thank-you card ideas, see my previous posts about the Care Bears party thank-yous and the Cars-themed party thank-yous and the Fancy Nancy party thank-yous.

Homemade Photo Prop for a Shark Birthday Party

This was the first project I started making for Logan's shark-themed birthday party, and once I saw this fellow swimming on my kitchen floor, I knew that I was track for a pretty "jawsome" birthday for my favorite little boy! (This was good news because scrounging up the appropriate amount of cardboard had been somewhat challenging, so once again, it pays to plan ahead, folks.) I found inspiration for this project here, but as always, I tried to figure out how to do it myself for as cheaply as possible. Note: While this project cost me next to nothing, (Proof positive: the best things in life are free!) it did take about 3 hours to complete, and that actually shows that I am getting faster at these cardboard constructions as I make more and more of them.

Materials:

• corrugated cardboard
• scissors
• pencil
• ruler
• tape: clear packaging, masking, Scotch
• Sharpies: black and red
• paint brushes
• white acrylic paint
• gray primer
• two white plastic bottle caps
• hot glue gun
• 2 blue plastic table covers

Directions:

1. First, I cut apart two of the largest boxes I could find to produce flat sections to work with.
2. Then, I laid them out and found the center with my ruler and pencil. I sketched out the shark's head, followed by the fins and tail section.
3. Next, I cut out the different parts of the shark's body, using scissors. I also used my scissors to cut out the inner part of the open shark's mouth.
4. I taped each section to the next, using lots of clear packaging tape. This was on the back (printed side) of each box piece, meaning that the front of my shark was plain brown cardboard.
5. I laid a vinyl tablecloth (used only for crafts) on my dining table and then painted the shark using gray primer that we already had on hand. A large foam paint brush worked very well for this, and since I got such great coverage, I only applied one coat. (This right here saved me lots of time. Normally when I make this sort of party prop, I need to do at minimum, two coats of acrylic paint.) I let this dry completely before moving on.
6. For the teeth, I used white acrylic paint and a smaller paint brush.
7. Afterward, I used a red Sharpie marker to draw in the gum line around the teeth. I followed that with a black Sharpie marker, which I also used for all of the outlining to make the shark look more finished.
8. The finishing touches were the eyes. I took two white bottle caps from apple juice containers and used the black Sharpie to make slit-like pupils. Then, I hot-glued each one to the top of the shark's head.
9. For the background, I used two blue plastic table covers from Dollar Tree. (So if you're keeping track, this project cost me a total of $2.12.) I folded them both in half and then I used lots of rolled masking tape to adhere the shark on top of the two table covers, which were held together with Scotch tape. After it was taped down, I cut away the inside of the shark's mouth so that there was no blue backdrop in that part. 
10. Displaying the photo booth was the hardest part to figure out. Luckily, Brett was able to help with the logistics. After trying several types of tape, we settled on clear packaging tape (and plenty of it!) to secure the layers of plastic table cover to the top of our mantel. (Failed attempts included Scotch tape, blue painter's tape from Dollar Tree, and masking tape.) I added some red table cover (left over from a previous party) to the inside of the mouth area by taping it to the fake fire place with Scotch tape.
11. The kids, and some brave adults, too, were then able to stand or kneel behind the backdrop, put their faces inside the shark's mouth, and let me take pictures (which were for the thank you cards). It stayed up for many days before I decided to take it down, and I think it was picture perfect.

{Say, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"}

{You can't say I never post photos of myself!}

DIY Shark Party Game

In trying to come up with party activities for Logan's shark-themed 4th birthday, I was reminded of a magnetic fishing game with sock fish that I had seen on Pinterest. (The link no longer works so I can't show it to you. Sorry.) However, I had also pinned this idea for making a feed-the-shark-beanbag-toss game. I decided to combine the two ideas and this is what I came up with for a young-child-friendly version.

Aside from being an inexpensive party activity, this Shark Bait game was a great way to re-purpose some items that were no longer functioning as intended (but that I was still reluctant to throw away they still could be used for something.) While my sewing skills are not the greatest (which I have previously admitted to here and here), this was still a simple project to pull together with items I already had around the house.

Materials for "Beanbag" Fish:

• old, mismatched socks (Make sure they do not have any holes.)
• buttons (2 per fish)
• thread
• scissors
• rice
• rubber bands (1 per fish)
• puffy paint

 Directions for Making "Beanbag" Fish:

1. Sew two buttons near the toe end of a sock to make eyes. Tip: I found the rolling the socks up made it easier to reach inside the sock in order to get the needle to pass through without getting the thread hopelessly tangled.
2. Add rice to the sock until it is filled up to the heel. Tip: If you don't have rice, use whatever you have on hand; dry beans would work. I've even used beads or small pasta for things like this. Tip: I used a spoon to fill my socks.
3. Secure the "beanbag" by wrapping a rubber band tightly around the heel end of the sock. This should leave you with a "tail" with a length determined by the height of the sock. Ankle socks are, of course, shorter, so you will be done shaping your fish. You may, however, wish to trim the tail-ends of longer socks. Tip: To make it look more tail-like, I held the two sides of the open end together and then used scissors to cut an inverted "V" through both pieces of material.
4. Add a mouth to the fish. I used puffy paint in assorted colors and then left the "beanbags" upside down to allow the paint to dry. Tip: My current favorite material for placing crafts on to dry: cereal box liners. Paint won't stick to it while drying, unlike newspaper, and you can re-use it. And, it's free, unlike wax paper.

Materials for "Chum Bucket":

• large empty container/can
• blue construction paper (2 sheets)
• paper trimmer
• black ink pad
• foam alphabet stamps
• shark stencils
• black Sharpie marker
• glue

Directions for Making "Chum Bucket":

1. First find a large container and make sure it is clean and dry. (I re-used the same cocoa canister that had been made into a drum a few months ago, but a coffee can would also work.)
2. Then, measure the paper to fit around your container. (My ultra-professional method for this? I wrapped the paper around the can, and then used my fingernail to make an indentation to show where the bottom would need to be cut, since the paper was too tall.)
3. Trim the first piece of paper using the paper trimmer, then use it as a guide to cut the second piece to the same size.
4. Stamp "SHARK BAIT" with foam alphabet stamps onto one piece of the construction paper.
5. Use shark stencils to draw a shark on either side of the wording. Fill in the sharks with black Sharpie. (I used the Mako and Blue shark stencils for this.)
6. Glue the blank piece of paper onto your container first. Then, layer the stamped piece over it so that the entire container is covered.
7. Place the "beanbag" fish into the "chum bucket" and get ready to play "Shark Bait."

 How to Play "Shark Bait":

1. You will need: a hula hoop, your chum bucket, and your "beanbag" fish.
2. Lay the hula hoop on the ground to make a "shark pool."
3. Have children stand back and toss the "bait" into the "pool." (Younger kids will stand closer, obviously.)

That's actually all I had planned for this game. No scoring system or anything too complicated or too challenging, just simple fun for preschoolers. Now, some of our bigger party guests decided to make it more challenging for school-age kids by holding the hula hoop up in the air and creating a moving target for others to pitch through, and that made it far more interesting to them.

One last note: I suggest that you make this an outdoor game. We had one "beanbag" burst open before the party and that meant that I had rice all over my living room, and while having rice all over my house is not something I am unfamiliar with (for fun things to do with rice check out my posts here and here), it was not exactly what I had in mind for our party game. Fortunately, the weather cooperated, and we were able to play outdoors on the day of the party.

DIY Shark Party Decor: Warning Signs and Land Sharks

Logan's 4th birthday party turned out to be pretty "jawsome" and these homemade decorations helped set the tone right as guests were arriving. I was inspired by these signs that I saw online. So, I set out to make my own, using my cheap, go-to-party-decor material: cardboard. After the past couple of birthday parties -- Care Bears for Mia's 6th and Cars for Logan's 3rd -- I have decided that I can make just about anything out of cardboard! So, these signs and shark fins were not very difficult or time-consuming for me, and I was able to make them almost entirely with items I already had at home. (The only thing I had to purchase was another small bottle of yellow acrylic paint, which I believe was 53 cents at Wal-mart.)

{CAUTION: Shark Sighting!}

Materials for Fins:

• corrugated cardboard
• pencil
• scissors
• gray primer (or paint)
• large foam paintbrush
• Styrofoam tray (to hold paint)
• cereal box liner (to protect work surface)
• wooden skewers (2 per fin)

Directions for Making Fins:

1. Draw a shark fin onto the cardboard and cut it out. (I made three because odd numbers always make sense from a design perspective.)
2. Lay the cut-out on a flat surface. (Mine was the dining table protected by the cereal box liner.)
3. Cover the first side with gray primer (Paint would work as well, but Brett pointed out that we had primer already. Score! I didn't need to mix paints or buy any extra. This provided very good coverage, quickly and easily.) Let the primer/paint dry completely before moving the fin.
4. Now, flip it over and paint the other side. Again, let it dry completely, or you will end up with smudged paint. (Note: I also painted the outside edges of the fin, as best as I could. This is best left until the end of the painting process.)
5. Insert two skewers into the bottoms of each fin. These will fit directly into the spaces of the corrugated cardboard. Mine were placed about two inches from the outside edges. Tip: I found it tricky to insert the blunt ends into the cardboard, so I first expanded the openings by sticking in the sharp end of each skewer. Then, I removed the skewers, and flipped them around so that the sharp ends were pointed down. 
6. Stick skewers into the ground to make the sharks "swim" in your lawn. The skewers may end up poking up through the tops of the fins, so push them down and re-adjust as needed until they look the way that you want.

Materials for Warning Signs:

• corrugated cardboard
• pencil
• ruler
• scissors
• shark stencil
• black Sharpie marker
• yellow acrylic paint
• large foam paintbrush
• Styrofoam tray (to hold paint)
• cereal box liner (to protect work surface)
• 2 wooden skewers (for yard sign)
• masking tape (for hanging on door) 

Directions for Making Warning Signs:

1. Using a ruler for assistance, draw a rectangle shape from a piece of cardboard, to the dimensions that you would like. (Note: I decided on smaller signs than I have made in the past, for Logan's 2nd birthday which had a construction theme. This made things go faster, which was perfect, in my opinion. My "DANGER" sign is just 9" x 9" and my "CAUTION" sign is about 8 1/2" by 10 1/2".) Cut out your sign. Repeat as desired.
2. Protect work surface (and clothing) and then cover sign/s with yellow acrylic paint. Let dry, and add a second coat.
3. Using a ruler and a black Sharpie marker, create a black border for each sign. (On the "CAUTION" sign, this is set in about 1/2" and on the "DANGER" sign, it's only about 1/4".) 
4. Decide on the placement of the shark for each sign. Set the stencil down and then trace around the inside with your black marker. Fill in the entire shark outline. (Note: I used the Great White shark stencil from the set.)
5. Add your lettering. I chose to hand-letter the signs, but you could also use black letter stickers as a time-saver. I suggest using a ruler and a pencil to lightly block these in. First create a space for each word with a lightly-penciled line to show the tops of the letter and a lightly-penciled line to show the bottoms of the letters. I had three such lines for each sign. Then, find the approximate center of each word or grouping of words, and pencil in that central letter. Work your way out toward each side. Once the lettering looks the way you like (Remember, it doesn't need to be perfect! Mine certainly aren't.), go over it with black Sharpie. You can make corrections as you go. When in doubt, make the letters thicker. Note: The "CAUTION" sign also has some waves that I drew by hand so that the shark appears to be swimming near the top of the water.
6. Post your warning signs. I used masking tape to hang the "DANGER" sign on the front door. For the "CAUTION" sign, I used two wooden skewers, inserted with the same method as mentioned above for the shark fins. Then, I stuck it into the front yard near the "shark sighting" area with the three visible fins. 

Hanging Jellyfish Craft

To prepare for Logan's shark themed 4th birthday party, I decided that we needed a few hanging decorations and these jellyfish were perfect. The inspiration came from here and we made a few changes. The first was that I didn't have any bowls to use so I had to buy some. The original directions used paper bowls and watercolor paints which is lovely, but I found that Styrofoam bowls were cheaper so that is what we got. Since watercolors weren't an option with Styrofoam, we used acrylic paints instead. I loved the idea this person had for using up ribbon scraps, and I expanded it by adding the bubble wrap. I think this gives them some extra jellyfishy-ness, and it's a cute way to re-use some packaging material we had laying around.

This was a fun little project that both kids were able to help with by choosing the color scheme and then painting the bowls and bubble wrap accordingly. They also helped picked the ribbons to include, because believe it or not, I am such a ribbon junkie that we actually had to reject some in order to make it all fit and not look too cluttered. (Please tell me I am not the only person who can't go to Michaels without digging through their ribbon bin to see what there is!) Here is how we made our happy jellyfish, just in time for a celebration under-the-sea.

{A trio of friendly jellyfish.}

Materials:

• Styrofoam bowls
• acrylic paint/s in your color choices
• bubble wrap
• Styrofoam trays (to hold paint)
• foam paint brushes
• scissors
• googly eyes
• tacky glue
• assorted ribbon scraps
• masking tape
• fishing line (for hanging)

Directions:

1. First, I laid some bubble wrap, textured side up, and a bowl (Styrofoam or paper), upside down, at each work surface. I poured some paint onto a Styrofoam tray (You could also use a plate or bowl.) and then we used paintbrushes to apply acrylic paints. Foam paintbrushes worked well for this. Tip: Before starting, protect clothing and work surfaces as acrylic paints will stain. My kids wear old t-shirts of mine and Logan's is especially large on him, so I close it at the back of the neck with a clothespin. To cover the tabletop, we used cereal box liners, one per person. (Note: If you are concerned about bacteria from meat packaging, first run your Styrofoam trays through the dishwasher on the top rack. It will sterilize them without damaging the Styrofoam!) Allow paint to dry completely.
2. Using scissors, I cut the painted bubble wrap into strips, lengthwise. I cut each piece so that there were 6 strips, each one about 3/4 - 1 inch wide.
3. Then, I adhered the strips of bubble wrap to the inside of the bowls using tacky glue. We spaced our out so that they were somewhat even, although it does not need to be perfect by any means. Tip: We found it best to apply glue to the smooth side of the bubble wrap.
4. Next, we grouped together a variety of ribbons including: grosgrain, sheer, curling, yarn, wired, raffia, rickrack, whatever we had on hand, trimming them to the desired lengths (not all the same length). After the kids made their final choices, (red for Logan's, pink/purple for Mia's, and blue for mine), I bundled the ribbons together with masking tape and then affixed the bundles to the undersides of the bowls. I also used scissors to curl the curling ribbon and make adjustments to the lengths of ribbons as needed.
5. They added googly eyes to each jellyfish using tacky glue. 
   
6. Lastly, I poked two small holes in the top of each jellyfish for hanging. (I think I used a pin from my cork board for this.) For each jellyfish, I threaded fishing line through the tops of the two holes and then knotted it underneath, after I had strung the jellyfish up on my dining room chandelier. Then, I trimmed and excess fishing line and stood back to admire our friendly-faced jellyfish.

DIY Napkins for a Shark Party Theme

One of the simplest projects that I did for Logan's "jawsome" 4th birthday party was stamping the napkins to go along with the theme. It's a simple trick I've used for various kids' birthday parties over the years. I just found a package of inexpensive party napkins (Dollar Tree has them in several colors, and this is where my package of 30 for this project was purchased) and a stamp that goes along with the theme. In the past, some of my stamps didn't perfectly "match" the theme, but if I had an ice cream cone or a cupcake stamp on hand, and my kiddo approved of it, then that's all I needed.

However, in this case, I didn't have anything suitable for Logan's desired shark theme. I found a stamp an under-sea stamp set on clearance at Wal-mart a few months before the party. It was just 50 cents, so I bought it, not even sure how I would use it at the time, but knowing that for that price it would be well worth it. (This is when it pays to listen when the kids start tossing out party suggestions. Then, whenever you happen to be out shopping, take a quick cruise through the clearance section and see what is there that could be useful for your upcoming celebration.) I strongly encourage advanced planning, if like me, you don't want to spend much money on birthday parties!

After pulling out the stamp pads that I had in my craft stash, I quickly decided to go with the teal color. Paired on top of the dark blue, it made the most sense to me as a shark swimming in the water. To get the best coverage on the stamp, I lightly tapped it about 3 or 4 times on the stamp pad and then firmly and evenly pressed it down onto the napkin. I re-inked the stamp before each impression to ensure even coverage.

One important thing to note about stamping on napkins, is that you will not get perfect delineation. The ink gets absorbed into the paper a bit, so don't expect crisp results. My shark stamp actually had an eye that showed up on first impression but then quickly faded as the ink was dispersed on the napkin. To me, this was not a big deal. I still got the shark I wanted (albeit eye-less), but it might make a difference if your stamp has lots of details that you feel are important to the overall design.

{Left: freshly stamped, Right: after ink dried}

In the end, I had 30 shark party napkins that cost me a total of $1.50. I fanned them out in two areas of the counter near the food and lemonade (which I had dyed blue to go along with the theme). Big impact, small price tag, happy birthday boy. Totally "jawsome!"

Homemade Window Paint Recipe #2

First I tried this recipe, which I thought was for window paint, and then discovered that it was quite tricky to remove from windows. This in turn, led me to decide that the first recipe was really meant for glass objects, NOT windows. Then, I tried this recipe, which I believe is a true window paint recipe. The colors are less vibrant, more translucent, in fact, than the first go-round, BUT this paint is much, much easier to remove from windows!! I think we can all agree that this is crucial for window paints. This paint recipe for "Window Art Paint," also came from the website where I found the first one.

It worked great! And, now we have a shark-infested dining room window to go along with Mia's undersea scene on our sliding door. To create the sharks, I used some shark stencils that I purchased at the rainforest gift shop on our Puerto Rico trip. I just painted some blue waves above, and some green seaweed below my sharks to complete the scene. This will be perfect for Logan's upcoming shark-themed birthday party. FYI: It's gonna be "jawsome!"

Materials:

• muffin tin (you could also use bowls)
• 1/2 tablespoon powdered tempera paint
• 1 tablespoon dishwashing liquid (clear is recommended)
• spoons for mixing (optional)
• paint brushes (NOT foam)
• paint shirt/smock/old clothing
• something to protect work surface (I used cereal box liners.)
• damp and dry cloths for cleaning up spills

Directions:

1. In a muffin tin (or bowls), add powdered tempera paint and dishwashing liquid. I used green, blue, yellow, and red, which are all the colors of powdered tempera paint that we have. (Note: Clear dishwashing liquid was recommended by the site I got the recipe from. I didn't have clear, so I used green Palmolive. This worked fine for my red, blue, and green. Unsurprisingly, however, I ended up with neon green instead of a true yellow. This didn't bother me, but that is why you might want clear dish soap, depending upon what colors you are trying to produce.)
2. Mix together. Tip: I used spoons for this, but you could also use paint brushes. Note: You can also mix colors together. I decided to keep the proportions of the recipe the same, and then later mix two colors together to get a second color. For example, I mixed some yellow and red together in another muffin compartment in order to make orange.)
3. Protect area under windows. I was the only person painting today, so I just laid a cereal box liner down to catch drips. Tip: If painting with kids, I would recommend taping it to the window sill and more on the floor.
4. Paint your window. Tip: Use regular paint brushes, not foam. For whatever reason, foam paint brushes did NOT work for this. I know I normally suggest them for most all painting projects, but today I found myself pulling out the regular bristle brushes after the foam was absorbing too much of the liquid in the paints.
5. Allow paint to dry. Tip: This doesn't take too long, but it may dribble during the process. If you want the painting to look neat, just remove the drips with a dry cloth or paper towel, being careful not to smudge the rest of the painting.
6. HOW TO REMOVE PAINT? Happily, this paint cleans up very easily! To remove dried paint, simply wipe it off with a damp cloth and then follow with a dry cloth. The dishwashing liquid, I believe, is what makes this a breeze! (Note: It also makes it super easy to clean your paint brushes and muffin tin. The original directions had suggested first lining the muffin tin with aluminum foil, but I suspected that this was unnecessary. This was confirmed by the quick, simple clean-up process.)

{This actually looks cooler than the photograph shows.}

Homemade Window Paint Recipe #1

Well, we're gearing up for another birthday party, and this time my little man has requested a shark theme. (It made no sense to me, but he has stuck with the idea for a few months now, so I'm going with it.) One idea I had for decorating was the paint the windows so it would look like we were under water. On a recent rainy day, I tried out this recipe for homemade window paint, or "Goofy Glass Paint," which I found on this website. (In looking at this again, I see that in the directions it says to apply it to a glass surface, not a window per se, although this did work for us. That said, it is somewhat labor-intensive to clean up, so you may want to try the next window paint recipe that I will be posting soon.) Since it was the first time I made this paint, I reduced the quantities from 1/4 cup to 1/2 tablespoon, after noting that it essentially just called for equal amounts of white glue and liquid tempera paint. Mia enjoyed painting an under-the-sea theme on our sliding door. Good thing it fits in with the upcoming party theme, because this is not coming down any time soon!

Materials:

• white school glue
• liquid tempera paint/s
• bowl/s (1 per color)
• spoon/s (optional, for mixing)
• paint brushes
• glass item to be painted (jar, window, etc.)
• old clothes/smocks (optional)
• something to protect work area (cereal box liners worked for us)

Directions:

1. Protect work area using cereal box liners, newspaper, a vinyl table cloth, or even a drop cloth, whatever you have that is handy. Old cloths or paint shirts are also recommended.
2. Using one bowl per paint color, mix equal parts white school glue and liquid tempera paint. (Tip: I used spoons for this, but you could also use your paint brushes.)
3. Let kids paint on glass objects (or windows, like we did). Paint may dribble a bit, so having a damp cloth on hand is helpful. (Tip: It wipes up easily while it is still wet, so take care of any messes as soon as you notice them.)
4. Allow paint to dry. The directions I read said to let it set over night, but we found that it dried much quicker than this.
5. HOW TO REMOVE PAINT FROM WINDOWS? I have found two ways to do this, but neither one is ideal. The first is with a damp cloth and plenty of elbow grease. This takes some effort, but it is doable. The second method takes less effort, but it is much messier. Simply take a straight razor blade/utility knife and scrape away the dry paint. You will want to first lay down some newspaper or something to catch all the scrapings, however. NOTE: I honestly don't recommend using this paint recipe on windows. Next time around, we will paint some other glass objects!

{Fun on a rainy day...}