Alice in Wonderland Inspired Teacup Thank You Cards

     I've been meaning to send out thank you cards for my bridal shower for a few weeks now.  I wanted cards that were in some way reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, but also that were not a ridiculous amount of effort to make.  These teacup cards are what I came up with.  While I'm using them as thank you cards, these could be great for many other occasions as well.

Materials:

*Floral scrapbooking paper
*Scissors
*Pencil

Directions:

*Print out a copy of the teacup template given below, or draw a teacup template of your own.  Make sure to size the template such that it will fit inside your envelopes.  I apologize for the blurriness of the teacup handle.  I had made a handle that was more vertical and had to rotate it using Paint Shop Pro to get it to fit on the cup correctly, so that's why the handle ended up so blurry.

*Fold your sheet of scrapbooking paper in half lengthwise, right sides facing inward.

*Place your template such that the top of the teacup rests against the fold and trace around the teacup.

*Cut out the teacup shape, making sure to cut through both layers of paper at once.  I was able to cut out the inside of the handle using scissors, but if you have an X-acto knife, you may find it easier to use that.

*Fold your paper back along the crease you created, so that the right sides face outward.

DIY Wedding Invites with the Foil Quill

     As some of you know, Brian and I are getting married this May.  When it came to the invites, we decided to make them ourselves.  To aid us with the invites, we picked up a machine called the Foil Quill, which adds shiny foil to your cards.  In this video tutorial, we'll show you the method we developed for using the Foil Quill to add some shine to our invites.

Here's what the front and back of the invites look like, as well as the RSVP card.

     Check out the video tutorial below to see how we used the Foil Quill to make our invites shine.

     Although I don't go through the design process in this video, if you want to find the clip art I used for the back of the card and the RSVP card, I ordered it from Etsy.  The three packs I used are Alice in Wonderland Clipart, Tea & Macaroons, and Autumn in Wonderland.

Bat Wing Boots

     Looking for a way to add a touch of Halloween to your wardrobe?  Try adding some felt bat wings to a pair of lace up boots.  I used these for my Dark Alice Halloween costume last year, but will probably pull them out again this fall to wear on days when I could use a little Halloween spirit.

Me wearing the bat wing boots as part of my Dark Alice Halloween costume

Materials:

*Lace up boots
*Black felt
*Black or silver thread
*Metallic marker or chalk
*Scissors
*Hole punch that can punch through felt (or a sufficiently sharp pair of scissors)

Directions:

*Trace two copies of the template given below onto black felt.  Don't trace the veins.  Those are there as a visual guide.

*Stitch on veins.  You may want to use black thread for a more natural look or silver or purple for more visible veins.

*Mark out where you would like the holes for the laces to be.  Make sure they align with your particular boots.

*Punch or cut out holes for the laces.

*Lace the wings into the boots.

"Drink Me" and "Pixie Dust" Pendant Necklaces

    Add a subtle touch of Wonderland or Neverland to your style with these necklaces.

Materials:

*Small vial
*Glitter (blue for "drink me" or olive green for "pixie dust")
*Twine
*Glue
*Labels (see this post for instructions on making aged labels)

Directions:

*Fill a vial most of the way with glitter.

*Glue the cork to the vial.

*Glue on a label.  (See this post for instructions on making an aged label.)

*Wrap twine around the neck of the vial to form the necklace part.  Make sure to use enough twine that the necklace can slip over your head easily.

Book Pendant Necklace

     Show your love of books with these adorable book pendant necklaces.

Materials:

*Mini book (see this tutorial on one technique for making mini books)
*Jump ring
*Jewelry chain
*Jewelry clasp
*Pliers
*Sewing needle

Directions:

*Create or procure your mini book (see this tutorial for one technique for making mini books).

*Carefully poke a hole in the spine of the book toward the top of the spine.

*Open a jump ring and slide it through the hole you have created.

*Add the book pendant to the jewelry chain and close the jump ring around the chain.

*Add clasps to the ends of the jewelry chain.

Alice in Wonderland Tea Party

     Here is the Alice in Wonderland tea party post I've been promising.  Brian and I held this tea party at the end of last summer, so you won't see the jumbo mushrooms or roses anywhere around.  I didn't end up making those until October, but they would have fit in well with this party.  Here are some tips for throwing a bash of your own.  Check out my Alice in Wonderland birthday party post for some additional decor and dessert ideas.

The Tablescape

     The tablecloth was an old one I sewed for my Alice in Wonderland birthday party a few years back.  The "flowers with faces" centerpiece was also from that party.  Check out this post to see how to make it.  The mini teacups came from Goodwill.  I had planned on getting mismatched teacups because that seemed more fitting for a Mad Tea Party, but when Brian found a set of mini teacups for me, I couldn't resist.  It's hard to tell from this picture, but the teacups are resting on the coffee filter doilies.  See this post for making the coffee filter doilies and this post for dyeing them.
     For the dessert stand, I placed a fancy looking goblet between two nice-ish plates.  I didn't use any sort of adhesive to hold them together, which meant the arrangement was a little more precarious than I would have preferred, although things seemed to work out just fine.  If you have accident prone guests, I would recommend going with something less breakable, though.

Food

     These mosaic sandwiches are pretty and fun to eat.  Prepare your favorite tea sandwich filling and place between two slices of bread.  Cut off the edges, if you'd like.  Cut slices of cucumbers and radishes (or other colorful veggies of your choice) and place atop the sandwiches.  Cut sandwiches into triangles.

     For dessert, macaroons can make a tasty treat.  I can't remember which recipe I used, so use whichever one sounds best to you.  You'll want to keep an eye on the macaroons, though, as some ovens cook faster than others.  When using the recipe I found, I originally tried cooking the macaroons for the amount of time the recipe called for, which left the macaroons a little singed on the bottom.  For successive batches, I put them in for less and less time, but they still ended up a little dark.

     Why not finish your tea party with these "painting the roses red" cream cheese candies?  I used this recipe, with some slight modifications.  I replaced the mint extract with vanilla extract because I'm not too much of a mint person.  I also ended up having to use more confectioner's sugar than the recipe called for, although I didn't record how much more I used.  I live in a really humid environment, so if you live in a drier climate, the original amount of confectioner's sugar may work just fine.
     Once you've prepared the mixture and are satisfied with the consistency, separate the mixture into two equal pieces.  Combine one with some red food coloring, while leaving the other as it is.  Using a silicone rose mold, add red and white mixtures to the mold to create your roses.  Leave uncovered to dry.  Store in a sealed container.

Costumes

     Add some extra wonder to your tea party by encouraging your guests to come as their favorite Wonderland characters.  Looking for some Alice costume ideas?  See this post for a DIY Alice hair bow and this post for how to make your own pinafore apron.  Need a hat for your Hatter?  Check out this post and this post.  Some ears for the Cheshire Cat?  See this post.  Don't have someone to be the White Rabbit?  Add a White Rabbit plushie (see this post).

Giant Paper Roses

     What could be more fitting for a Wonderland tea party than giant paper roses?  I made these black ones for my Gothic Alice look, but red or white (or red and white) would work well if you're going for a classic Wonderland look.  This craft was inspired by this post from Martha Stewart's website.

Me as Gothic Alice with one of the giant roses in the background.

Materials:

*Long wooden dowel, at least 1/4" thick
*Green paint
*Green duct tape
*Poster paper in the color or colors of your choice (that's what I used, although crepe paper or other papers may be better suited for this project)
*Pencil

Directions:

*Paint the dowel green.  Let dry.

*Print out the templates given below.

*Trace and cut out 5 of the teardrop shaped petals and 15 of the heart shaped petals.

*Curl one of the teardrop shaped petals and tape it onto the dowel.

*Curl a second teardrop shaped petals and tape it to the dowel as well.

*Curl and tape the remaining teardrop shaped petals.

*Curl and tape the heart shaped petals.  For those petals, you'll also want to curl the top edge down a bit to give it a more petal-like appearance.

Paper Mache Mushroom

     Spring may still be weeks away, but it's not too soon to start planning spring crafts.  For the next few weeks, I'll be posting a series of crafts culminating in a Wonderland tea party.  While I used this oversized mushroom for Halloween rather than for a tea party, an oversized mushroom or two could add some whimsy to any Wonderland themed bash.

Materials:

*Tall oatmeal canister or two
*Scrap cardboard
*Newspaper
*Paper mache mixture of your choice (mine was just watered down glue, but there are other recipes out there that might work better)
*Paint in red and white or colors of your choice
*Paintbrush
*Duct tape
*All purpose adhesive
*Heavy rock (optional)

Directions:

*Place a heavy rock at the bottom of the oatmeal container.  This will weigh it down so that it will be less likely to tip over.

*If one canister isn't tall enough, tape two oatmeal containers together to form your mushroom's stem.

*Cut out a cardboard circle as large as you would like your mushroom to be at its widest point.

*Glue or tape the cardboard circle to the oatmeal container.

*Cut off a strip of cardboard that is several inches longer than the diameter of the circle.  Curve it to form an arch and then tape the ends of the arch to either side of the circle.

*Add wadded up newspaper to form the mushroom top shape.

*Cover the top of the mushroom with strips of duct tape.

*Next comes to paper mache part.  I just mixed some glue with water, dunked strips of newspaper into the mixture, and then plastered the strips of newspaper to the mushroom.  The strips I used were way too big, so the surface of my mushroom ended up being rougher than I would have liked, so I would recommend using smaller strips.  Let dry.

*Paint your mushroom.  It might be a good idea to spray paint the whole mushroom white and then, once the white paint has dried, paint the top of the mushroom whatever color you would like.

My Halloween 2018 Party and New Halloween Trophies

     This past Saturday Brian and I held out annual Halloween party.  We had a ton of fun and we hope all of our guests did as well.  Here's a recap of our party, including two new crafting and activity ideas.
     Usually I devote a section to food, but Brian and I were too busy to do any food crafting this time around.  We went with pizza and pretzel sticks and our friends Ayesha and Ken brought cookies and ice cream, so there was still plenty to eat.  However, if you're looking for something a bit spookier, check out last year's post for some ghoulish goodies.

Outdoor Decor

     Here's what the front door looked like.  We got a hanger for the Wayton Manor sign so we didn't have to hang it off the mailbox this year.  My spooky doorbell suffered a fall earlier this season which messed up the speaker, but Brian managed to fix it, so it was back in working order for the party.  My jack-o'lantern lights got dashed around during last October's wind storm, but they returned this year, minus the one jack o'lantern that split in two when the wind bashed the door against it.  I also put up my "knock if you dare" door hanger, which I downloaded as a PDF from Family Fun years ago and have not been able to find online in the years since.

     My little cemetery was the core outdoor decoration.  Five of the tombstones are handmade, and you can find the tutorials here, here, here, and here.  The other stones are from Target and Dollar Tree.  The fencing and the zombie fog accessory are also from Target.  The bat gate posts are from Dollar Tree, although I painted them black, so if you see them in store, they won't look quite like this.  My cemetery angel is also hiding out in the back there.  The haunted hedge eyes, which are peeking out from behind the bat tombstone, I got from Target years ago.  The "Haunted: Keep Out!" tape I picked up from A.C. Moore years ago.

     Here's the "Beware of Werewolf" setup again.  It has become a Halloween staple.

     We also had a new display this year, although I almost didn't get a chance to put it out because it was raining at the beginning of the party.  I decided to do a gothic take on Alice in Wonderland, what I call Alice in Halloweenland.  To accompany my costume, I decided to make some decorations, including clay mushrooms, skeleton flamingos, a giant paper mache mushroom (tutorial to come), and oversized roses (tutorial to come).  Unfortunately I don't have anywhere to store all of the oversized props, so this one is probably a one time display.

Indoor Decorations

     If you've been following my blog for a while now, many of these decorations may look familiar to you, although the arrangement is a little different from what I've done in the past in many instances.  For one thing, I moved the haunted mirror and the lenticulars to the wall.  I also reframed some of the lenticulars to give them a more uniform appearance and brought out one that had been sitting in storage because I didn't have a frame for it.  The lenticulars came from Dollar Tree except for the vampire couple on either side of the mirror.  Those two were from Rite Aid, although I got all of the lenticulars years ago, so I don't know if anywhere sells those exact ones anymore.

     Here's an overview of the living room.  My sister loves Stephen King, so I brought out my framed Stephen King DVD cover wall art once again.  You'll also see my spooky sign in the background.

     This was another little spooky setup I had.  The figurines and ghostly grove came from A.C. Moore years ago.  The "Beware" sign I got from Target a while back.  The spooky radio Brian picked up for me from Joann earlier this month.

     This is how I decorated the couch.  I have tutorials for the zombie throw pillows and the eyeball throw pillow.  The "creepy cloth" came from Dollar Tree.

     Here's my potions shelf.  On this shelf you'll see my creepy rag doll, my Pet Sematary inspired potion bottles, my monster blood, my spell book (plus another spell book I made but have not blogged about yet), my gingerbread zombie, my Halloween 2017 "Best Couples Costume" trophy, more potion bottles, my nebula in a bottle, my spooky faced candle, and my 2016 "Best Couples Costume" trophy.  The skull, test tubes, beakers, and tea light candles are all from Target.  The spider web candle I got from Kohl's years ago.

     Here are my creepy dolls.  The antique haunted radio I got from Target two years ago and the haunted phone also came from Target.  They have a similar phone at Target this year, although I don't think it looks nearly as nice as this one.

     Here is the fortune telling setup, new as of this year.  Brian's mom gave me a Target gift card for my birthday, so of course I saved it to buy Halloween stuff.  The wheel of fate, candelabra, candles, and crystal ball are all from Target.  Brian usually does tarot readings at our party, so I ordered some Alice in Wonderland tarot cards from Amazon.  However, we ended up forgetting about them.

     Last up we have the bathroom, which I decorated as room 217 from The Shining once again.  I put up "redrum" on the wall and added a replica of the invite Jack finds in the Overlook scrapbook, as I have done in previous years.  I also added a paper masquerade mask, a tube of lipstick, and a floor 2 passkey, which hopefully I'll have a tutorial of for next year.  I placed the roque mallet in the bathtub again as well.

Party Hat Craft

     Several years ago I made some paper witch hats to use in a Halloween Yankee swap.  The hats had been sitting in storage for the past several years and so I decided that it might be fun to let people make wearable hair accessories by taping or gluing the hats to headbands.  I had my pom pom critters on the table with the hats and people ended up using them in their hair accessories too.  Both the witch hats and the pom pom critters are relatively easy to make, so if you're looking for a party activity, this could be a fun one.  Make a few hats and/or critters in advance (or let your partygoers craft them) and offer some glue and duct tape to attach to headbands.  The headbands make good party favors too.

Alice in Halloweenland Costume

     Brian and I went as gothic Mad Hatter and Alice for my party.  Here's how I made the pinafore apron, the bow, the White Rabbit plushie and its bag, and the Mad Hatter Hat.  The romper and heels I got from Love Culture and the socks came from Joann.  For more costume ideas, keep reading.

The Costume Contest

     Here are most of our costumes.  Brian's mom was a red hat lady, Katie was Georgie from It, Jacob was Buckethead (see below), mom was a jack-o'-lantern, and Ken was a werewolf.  As you can see, there were a lot of good costumes, but only three trophies.

     Katie won "Best Costume."

     Jacob won "Most Creative" costume.

     Brian and I won "Best Couples Costume."

Halloween Trophies

     Below are the 2018 costume contest trophies.  To make the trophies, I hot glue cat figurines to jar lids and paint the lid and the cats black. Using a nail art brush or something similarly thin, I give the cats red eyes.  I type up the trophy label, print it out, and glue it to the jar lid.

     For the couple's costume, I made the cats into Freddy Kreuger and Nancy from A Nightmare on Elm Street.  For the Nancy cat, I glued some doll hair to her head.  For the Freddy cat, I painted on the sweater and glove.  To make the hat, I punched a circle from brown cardstock.  The circle became the top of the hat.  I cut a circle around the hole and that became the brim of the hat.  I cut a thin strip of cardstock and rolled it into a cylinder, then glued the cylinder to the brim and the circle to the top of the cylinder.  That's how I made the hat.

     The "Most Creative" costume was inspired by Katie's mock Goosebumps cover.  It's supposed to be "cat got your tongue."  I cut tongue shapes from pink felt, drew a line down the middle using black pen, and glued them to the jar lid.  I then painted red "blood" over the end of the tongue and part of the lid.

     The "Best Costume" was originally supposed to be a dinosaur, but it ended up looking like a multi-finned green shark.  That's probably because I made it basically the same way I made my shark cat trophy last year.

     Hopefully you've enjoyed this glimpse into this year's Halloween party.  For more cool food and activity ideas, check out my posts from 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014, plus my The Shining and Goosebumps themed birthday parties.