Tuesday, September 25, 2012

School - Fall Fashion Trends BIG SHOULDERS




Big shoulders
Big shoulders always make me think of the days of Dynasty and Dallas…and if you have no idea what I’m talking about, then you are probably under 35!
LOVE IT: Layer up your shoulder pads! Be sure to get some that you can add into every shirt and jacket. Remember the big shoulder trend refers not only to the padding, but also the details.
CAN’T DECIDE: the good news is that shoulder pads have been making a come back for several seasons…and you probably didn’t even notice! 

Photo credit: http://f00.inventorspot.com

Monday, September 17, 2012

Throw a Board Game Party With Goodwill

I am so excited to share with you today some easy craft projects you can do to create a beautiful board game party theme for a fun game night with your friends.

I recently hosted a board game party and created all of my fun decorations from supplies I found at our local Goodwill and the dollar store. The total cost spent on all of these decorations was a mere $30 and I am so proud of how this theme turned out.

I hit our local Goodwill on a half off sale day to score these three vintage board games for a total of $2.44 (for all three)! What a steal!

The first thing I did with my supplies was to create a board game banner to edge my party table. For this you will need board game paper cards, a deck of cards (optional), play money, extra wide bias tape (I found this at Michael's craft store in the sewing supplies), and a hot glue gun with glue sticks.

Using your hot glue gun, add two drops of glue on each side of the front of your board game piece and secure it to the inside front of the bias tape. For the reverse, add one drop of glue and then secure again to the opposite inside of the bias tape. Repeat this in a sequencing pattern all down your banner.


I decided to create two of these, one to edge my table and one above my table on my ledge. To secure it to your table, just use safety pins or straight pins to pin it to your tablecloth. Isn't that the cutest?
I had a lot of food to serve and not a lot of platters to use. Good thing we have those board games, right? At Goodwill, pick up three clear glass candlesticks in the same size. If you can't find them there, you can grab them at the dollar store. Using a primary spray paint color, spray paint these with your favorite color. Let them dry for an hour.

Clean off your board game with a Clorox wipe (we will be serving food on it). Invert your candlesticks upside down because we want the wide side of the candlestick to secure to the board game to create a more stable surface. On that side, apply your hot glue all along the edge and secure it to your board game on the bottom to create a base for your serving platter. Hold it secure for a couple of minutes. Repeat this process with the two other candlesticks, creating a triangle base on the bottom of your board.

Isn't this the cutest serving platter? By raising your food up, you will have more room to add platters below and create interesting levels to your food.


You can also use other board games without a stand to place your food on lower levels. Doesn't that look awesome?


To add some more interest to my table, I also created hurricanes to display the smaller board game pieces. Again, you just need clear glass candlesticks or even brass ones, that are often in abundance at Goodwill. Spray paint these your favorite color and then add glass bowls or containers on top to finish them off. If you can't find these at your store, you can also check the dollar store for small glass fishbowls and vases that can be used.

Using an epoxy glue intended for glass (I used an Elmer's epoxy glue that I picked up from my hardware store), secure the glass bowl to the top of your candlestick (just as shown above using a hot glue gun). Fill it with you favorite vintage board game pieces from the board games you bought.


I absolutely love the vintage pieces that you can find in old board games. Just remember, these hurricanes can be reused for other parties and spray painted again in whatever your party theme colors might be.

Since I was on a spray painting frenzy and I had so many great dishes to share for this party, I also created these DIY chalkboard food label frames. You can grab the tutorial for this project as well as the recipes for all of the dishes I created for this party to replicate what was created here.

Now grab your best girlfriends, have everyone bring their favorite beverage and board game (check out this list for great games to grab at Goodwill), and have a fun board game party evening that your friends will always remember!

What happens to be your favorite board game?