Easy Shimmery Star Confetti Earrings

     I made these earrings on the spur of the moment when I realized I didn't have any sufficiently sparkly earrings for my New Year's Eve outfit.  They took me probably about ten minutes to make, and that was with me exercising some caution because my nails were still wet.  If you do some jewelry making, you probably already have most of the supplies on hand, but if not, try finding some friends who would enjoy making these earrings and go in on the craft together to reduce the cost to individuals.

Materials:

*Ear wires
*Jump rings
*Jewelry chain
*Star shaped confetti
*Sewing needle
*Jewelry pliers

Directions:

*Pick out the confetti pieces that you would like to use for your earrings.  If the confetti pieces do not already have holes in them, use the needle to poke a hole in each confetti piece so that you'll be able to attach them to the earrings.

*Using pliers, open the loop at the bottom of one of the ear wires and slide on a piece of confetti and a length of chain.  I wasn't sure how long I wanted the earrings to be, so I attached the whole chain and trimmed it down once I was almost done with the earring.

*Use jump rings to attach stars at intervals of your choosing along the wire.

*Once you've figured out where you want your earrings to end, if you haven't done so already, use the pliers to open the chain link below the final link you want included and remove excess chain.

*Add your final confetti piece and then repeat the relevant steps above to complete your second earring.

New Year's Confetti Popper

     Here's a great way to use up some of the tissue paper left over from opening presents this holiday season.

Materials:
*Tissue paper
*Toilet paper tube
*X-acto knife
*Pencil
*Wrapping paper or more tissue paper
*Twist ties (optional)
*Ribbon
*Scissors
*All purpose adhesive
*Tape

Directions:
*Cut long, thin segments from tissue paper in your chosen colors.  You won't need a ton of tissue paper, especially if you're using lots of colors, so by taking a thin strip from the edge you can still reuse the rest of the tissue for gift packaging if you'd like.

*Cut long fringes into the bottom of the tissue paper.

*Cut horizontally across the fringes to create confetti.

*Repeat the above process until you have enough confetti to fill the toilet paper tube.

*Take the tube and draw a line around the middle of the tube.

*Using your X-acto knife, cut most of the way along the line you drew.  You don't want to cut the tube in half or so much so that you lose structural integrity, but you need only leave a very small amount of cardboard intact to achieve this.

*Stuff the tube with the confetti and then glue tissue paper to the ends to keep the confetti from falling out.

*Wrap the tube in either tissue paper or very thin wrapping paper.  If the paper is too thick, it won't tear when you're trying to break open the popper.

*Tie off the ends.  I used twist ties first and then covered them with ribbons, but you could go straight to the ribbons if you'd like.

Mini Mask Cake Toppers

     For my birthday cake, I wanted it to represent both the masquerade and The Shining themes.  I added the notorious phrase "redrum" in red lettering, sprinkles for confetti, and topped it off with some mini masks I made.  Brian did the icing.  It's not perfect, but then again we're mathematicians, not cake decorators and on the whole I'm pleased with the way it came out.  If you're hosting a masquerade of your own, these mini masks make for excellent cake or cupcake toppers.

Materials:
*Cardstock in a variety of colors
*Scissors
*X-acto knife
*Pencil
*Toothpicks
*All purpose adhesive
*Rhinestones, stickers, and other embellishments

Directions:
*Shrink mask template to the desired size and cut out.
*Trace the mask template onto the cardstock and cut out.
*Glue the mini mask to a toothpick and let dry.
*Add embellishments.  I used the eye hole cut outs for feathers, plus some rhinestones, beads, and stickers.  Now they're ready for your next cake decorating endeavor.

Paper Masks

     Planning on hosting your own masquerade?  Have some paper masks available for your partygoers to decorate.  This craft is relatively inexpensive and fun for all ages.

Materials:
*Cardstock in various colors
*Thin dowels
*Duct tape
*Pencil
*Scissors
*X-acto knife
*All purpose adhesive
*Rhinestones, sticker gems, and other embellishments of your choice
*Paint
*Paintbrush

Direction:
*Draw or print out a mask template that is the right size to fit your party guests.
*Cut out the mask template and trace it onto cardstock, then cut out.  Make enough mask shapes so that each of your guests will be able to make a mask.
*Trim dowels so that they are about a foot in length.  You can either paint them or leave them plain.
*If your mask makers are at an age where attaching the dowels properly might be tricky for them, you can do this step in advance.  Simply cut off a small strip of duct tape and tape the dowel to the back of the mask.
*I made paper feathers for the party using my Silhouette CAMEO.  If you want paper feathers, there are a number of templates available online that you can use, but if you're cutting by hand, this could be a time consuming endeavor.  However, if you have no objections to using real feathers, buying a bag of those would probably require a lot less effort on your part.
*For the paper roses I made, I used a similar technique to the one described in this post.  Instead of wrapping them around a stem, I rolled up one of the petals and glued the others around that.  Once I was finished, I snipped off the very bottom of the rose to give a flat surface that I could apply the glue to, but you have to be careful not to snip off too much or your flower will fall apart.  If you want to use flowers and paper flowers seem like too much work, you can find fabric flowers at your local craft store.  Even the bunches of artificial flowers from your local dollar store might work, for an inexpensive alternative.
*On the day of the party, set out the masks and the various embellishments.  Make sure to have plenty of glue on hand.  Let everyone decorate to their heart's content!  I was impressed by how creative my guests were, especially since they had only a little while to come up with their designs.

Brian and me with the masks I made for us.  Mine is glittery white with blue feathers to represent the snow and cold of the Overlook Hotel.  I used a red rose of mine because Wendy's actions are largely driven by her love for her family.  Brian's is red with fiery feathers because [spoiler alert] in the book and in Stephen King's miniseries, Jack meets a fiery demise.  The black rose is for the death and destruction and the evil of the hotel.  With modified flowers, though, these masks could work well for a fire and ice themed masquerade.

Some of your partygoers may prefer minimalist masks, like this one.  Props to kid brother, though, for taping his mask to his drink.  I never would have thought of doing that.

Dad with his mask.  I think this is the first year I've managed to get him to participate in one of my birthday party crafts.

Jacob with his mask.

Katie designed her mask to match her dress.

Mom with her mask

Of course Brian had to photobomb his mom.

Ayesha with her mask, with Katie photobombing in the background.

Prateek with his mask.