Dreaming of Summer: Sandbox Centerpiece

It's been a while since I've posted.  I've been busy getting some stuff done in our house and working on a special gift for my mom's birthday.  The important thing is that I'm back and ready to blog.

This is a post that I've had in my back pocket for a while. Ok, since August.  I have to warn you that it does have a summery feel to it.  I'm not trying to tease you, I just thought it would be appropriate to share a warm weather idea so that we can all dream of summer again.  Plus, I didn't want to wait until next summer to share the idea.

Ok, so back to the details of this project.  My fuzzin (fake cousin) and his wife, had a little baby boy named Issie.  As soon as I got the call that the baby was born and that it was a boy, I started brainstorming on centerpiece ideas for the bris (religious circumcision ceremony).  They only needed one centerpiece for the buffet table so it needed to be substantial. 

I decided to create a sandbox centerpiece.  Michael's was having their summer clearance sale and the timing couldn't be better! I found a great basket that looked like a sandbox.  I spray painted wood letters and spelled out the baby's name on the side of the basket.  I added a few other decorative wood details that I found at Michael's.  I filled the basket with crumpled newspaper.  Doing so ensured that I would only need a small amount of sand.  I then lined the basket with Press n' Seal wrap to keep the sand from seeping through the cracks in the basket.  Since this was going to be a centerpiece place next to food, I dediced not to use sand and opted for graham cracker crumbs instead.  They're cleaner and really did end up looking like sand.  I arranged some sand toys in the graham cracker crumbs and even sprinkled some on the toys to make it look a little more realistic.  All in all, it was a very simple DIY centerpiece.  You can create something similar for a birthday party, baby naming or summer party.

Have you planned a sandbox themed party?  How have your incorporated the theme into the decor? 

Happy crafting,
Ali

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Paint Can Centerpieces

My husband and I recently had a little boy, his name is Max and he is amazing!  Long before the little guy was born I started thinking about the centerpieces for his bris (religious circumcision ceremony). By long before, I mean at my 14 week ultrasound when the technician told me there was a 50% chance that we were having a boy. I had a bunch of ideas but had trouble settling on one.  I wanted to incorporate his name as well as the details of his birth (height, weight, time of birth).  I finally landed on the idea when searching through a commercial packaging catalogue...custom paint cans!!!

We designed a label to wrap around the can.  Doing so allowed us to personalize the paint cans with information about our little boy.  We branded the product with his name and incorporated the birth date and time on the bar code, our names as the distributors and where Max was made!  We also included his weight as the weight of the product.

We held the bris at our home and did a buffet style breakfast.  So we only needed one centerpiece for the buffet table.  To create impact, we piled 4 paint cans (3 as a base with one on top) and placed blue hydrangeas in the top can.

This can be used as a centerpiece for any party and would be great for an art themed party.  It can be used as packaging for loot bags or for welcome gifts for a wedding (great for an artsy couple). 

We learned a few things while assembling these paint cans and I'd like to share our learnings with you:

1. If you're using the paint cans as vases, make sure to test that they're water tight.  The paint cans you get at craft stores are often decorative and not water tight.  If they're not watertight, just slip a low vase into the paint can.
2. Use a scrapbooking punch to cut the holes for the handles (we cut a little slit from the top of the hole up so that we could slide the handle through).
3. When designing the label, measure where the hole is and print drafts before you take the labels to print.  Make sure everything lines up correctly.
4. Leave enough room on the label for a slight overlap (about 0.25 inches should be fine).
5. Consider printing your labels at Costco.  We managed to print 5 labels on one sheet (3' x 4') for $20, which is a fraction of the cost of the printing centers.  They even did the cuts for free.   Just save the file as an image and you'll be good to go.

Happy Crafting,
Allison

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