Prop Roque/Croquet Mallet

     Need a prop roque/croquet mallet?  The head on this design is a little small, but if you're looking for an inexpensive prop for a play or costume that doesn't have to be true to life, this may be what you need.

Materials:
*Paper tube (e.g. toilet paper, paper towel)
*Dowel
*Wood grain duct tape
*Black duct tape
*X-acto knife
*Scissors

Directions:
*Use an X-acto knife to cut "+" shape into the center of the paper tube.  The "+" shape should be about as long and wide as the dowel's diameter.
*Gently push the dowel into the "+" shape.  Once you're done, the two pieces should fit together snugly, like in the photo below:

*Remove the dowel from the tube and cover the ends of the tube with wood grain duct tape.
*Wrap wood grain duct tape around the remainder of the tube.
*Find where the hole for the dowel is and cut the same "+" shape in the tape and then push down with the dowel, like before.

*Remove the dowel and wrap that in wood grain duct tape.
*Reinsert the dowel in the hole.  I found that it stayed on fine without any adhesive, but you can always glue it down if you want to make it a little sturdier.
*Decorate the ends of the tube and part of the dowel with some black duct tape for a finishing touch.

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.

Oreo Strawberry Shortcake Bites

     Looking for a fast and easy snack for your upcoming Fourth of July celebration?  Why not try a twist on strawberry shortcake, using vanilla Oreo Thins as the "cake" for a bite sized alternative?  Check out the video below to find out how I make them.  If the embedded video doesn't work for you, you can see the video on my YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYz1934Qcfk.

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.

Paper Chandelier

     I love the aesthetic of chandeliers.  Unfortunately, in my apartment we can't really hang anything heavy from the ceiling.  My solution was to create a paper chandelier, based on the chandeliers shown in Stanley Kubrick's 1980 movie adaptation of The Shining.

Materials:
*Cardstock in black, white, yellow, and orange
*Scissors
*Pencil
*All purpose adhesive
*Twine

Directions:
*Size the below template to your desired size and print it out.

*Cut out the template pieces.  Trace 8 copies of the main chandelier piece onto black cardstock, 5 copies of each candle type onto white cardstock, 40 copies of the bigger part of the flame onto orange cardstock, and 40 copies of the smaller part of the flame onto yellow cardstock.  Cut everything out.
*Glue the two flame pieces to each of the two sides of each candle.
*Glue each candle to one of the appropriate spaces on the chandelier.  Once all the candles on a segment are glued down, glue another copy of the main chandelier piece over the side with the ends of the candles exposed.
*Once all of the segments are finished, glue them together to form the chandelier.
*Cut off two lengths of twine several inches longer than the diameter of the chandelier.  Glue (or tape) one end of the first length to the inside of the chandelier.  Glue the other end to the inside of the chandelier across the diameter from the first end.
*Glue the ends of the second string again across the diameter from one another, perpendicular to the first segment.
*Tie some twine around the intersection of the two strings and use this length of twine to hang up the chandelier.

Metallic Vase

     Turn a thrift store glass vase into a shiny centerpiece with a little spray paint.  For instructions on how to make the paper roses, see this post.

Materials:
*Vase
*Krylon Looking Glass spray paint

Directions:
*Find an old vase in need of a makeover or pick up a cheap one from a thrift store or a yard sale.  I got this one from Goodwill for $1.
*Choose a work space in a well ventilated area and cover your workstation with newspaper.

*Spray the outside of your vase, following the directions on the spray paint bottle.  If you want a more mirror-like finish, you could try painting the inside instead of the outside, although that would probably work best for a less curvy, wide necked vase.
*You'll need to apply multiple coats to get the metallic appearance.  However, some of the more transparent stages can be really neat looking too.  I wanted mine solid colored so the floral wire "stems" would be less visible, but if you don't mind translucence, you can always do a couple of coats instead of five.  You'll end up with something kind of like this:

The Shining 1940s Masquerade Party

     My favorite movie has been, since it was released as a miniseries when I was six, Stephen King's The Shining.  Yes, that's right, the 4 1/2 hour adaptation that basically only the Master of Horror himself and I think is superior to Stanley Kubrick's 1980 film.  This is not to say that Kubrick's film is bad because it isn't; it's just an entirely different story.  It is to King's novel as a "based on a true story" horror movie is to the actual events that transpired.  At any rate, I love The Shining in its various incarnations: King's movie, King's novel, and, to a lesser extent, Kubrick's film, and I thought it would be neat to host a party themed around it.  I also love masquerades and have a fondness for Glenn Miller (due to my early experiences with The Shining, I imagine), so since there's that masked ball in The Shining, I decided to couple these ideas.
     Over the next few weeks, I'll be sharing the details of how I made the various crafts for this party.  I rewatched both movies in preparation for this and you will find elements of each as well as the book throughout these posts, although there is a stronger preference for King's work in my crafts.  Think this theme is too creepy for a birthday party?  The Shining could also serve as a good theme for a Halloween soiree.  If you're more interested in the masquerade part, there'll be posts on that too.  But now, without further ado, we turn to my party.

     Here's the centerpiece I made for the party.  Brian helped me with the paper flowers (for a tutorial, see this post).  They're there because I thought that a floral centerpiece seemed fitting for a masquerade.  The "one day at a time" sign is a paper replica of the one Jack Torrance had on his desk in Stephen King's version of the movie.  Beside the vase is an invite, a replica of the one Jack finds in the hotel scrapbook, also in King's version of the movie.  The tablecloth Brian made from fabric we picked up from Joann.  I got it because it looked pretty and kind of fancy, not because it directly related to either movie.

     Here's the "art gallery" I created to take the place of the usual family portraits we have adorning our walls.  At the end of Stephen King's movie, Wendy talks about the art gallery she has opened.  I decided to use horror themed art because Kubrick's version of Wendy is a horror "addict"and because it seemed fitting.  Most of the pieces were ones either I or Brian had made in the past, but the second and third from right I made for the party.  In this pic you can also see the paper chandelier I made.  That one's based on the ones they have in Kubrick's movie.  We can't hang anything heavy from our ceiling, so basically if it can't be held up with plain old Scotch tape, it doesn't go up.  A paper chandelier was the perfect solution to this conundrum.

     If you've only seen Kubrick's movie, you won't understand the horror of this number, because in his film it's Room 237, the room in which the tub ghost resides.  Since the lady who scared the wits out of me as a child was tucked inside Room 217, that is the room number I chose for our bathroom.

     No matter which version of The Shining you're familiar with, I'm sure you'll recall the phrase "redrum."  Wendy learning the meaning of the phrase through seeing it reflected in the mirror was done in Kubrick's version of the film.  It may very well have also been in the book, although I can't remember for sure.

     There's Brian as Jack with his roque mallet.  The roque mallet is from the book.  In King's movie it's a Denver Croquet mallet and in Kubrick's movie Jack goes with an axe.  For the streamers, I used the same color scheme as the ones draped from the ceiling in the masquerade scene from King's movie.

     I wanted some classier looking tableware than the standard plastic white forks.  Believe it or not, the plastic cutlery and paper plates came from Dollar Tree.  The champagne flutes were from Party City.  They were a bit pricey, but they look nice.  We used diet ginger ale to imitate the look of champagne.

     Here we are, snacking on Brian's famous homemade pizza.

     For a party craft, we made paper masks.  It was actually pretty easy to facilitate and people seemed to have fun.  Even dad joined in.  Also, you can see my tissue paper pom poms in the background.  They felt like something you might see at a masquerade.

     Cake time!  You can't really see the decorations in this pic, but I'll have better pics in a subsequent post.