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Lego Themed Party

June 10, 2012

I shared last week that I was putting together a Lego Themed Party for my son Dylan’s 9th Birthday. We had the party Sunday evening, and then took off camping Monday morning, so I’m just now getting the pictures put together.

These Lego Men heads were really easy to make. I dipped marshmallows in yellow Wilton melts, added to black sprinkles for eyes and drew on a smile with edible markers.

It was a warm Cali evening, so I served refreshing pineapple lemonade (equal parts Lemonade + Pineapple Fanta). I attached my lego face decals to the bottles for a custom touch (P.S. they are now available on my etsy shop).

The cake was a very simple Lego Man Head. And I got a fun Lego Picture App for my iphone and printed out an Legoized Photo of Dylan. We took pictures of all the kids and plan to send them a Legoized Photo of themselves with the thank yous.

For the favors, the kids took home lego brick candy and jars of yellow slime (and I will share that recipe soon, because it was a hit).

We snacked on mini Lego pepperoni pizzas, Lego crackers and cheese (I cut circles of cheddar and attached them to the cracker with spray cheese), Lego sugar cookies with buttercream icing and only yellow Reese’s Pieces, chocolate Lego bricks (I ordered this chocolate mold from amazon and used yellow Wilton melts, and I also served veggies and dip and meat balls (because that’s what Dyl wanted).

I was really disappointed with my pictures, but the day was a little rushed and I wasn’t ready early enough to take pictures before the guests arrived. Oh well, Dylan had a great time and I think he felt special (that was my goal).

Oh, we played some great Lego themed games as well, I’ll post those very soon.

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Campfire Orange Cinnamon Rolls

June 7, 2012

This week has been extra crazy. To make a long story short. I flew to Colorado very early Friday morning on an unexpected trip. Flew back to LAX Sunday around noon, drove 2 hours home and threw together Dylan’s Lego Party. The party went well, but I was frazzled and didn’t get the pictures I wanted. Oh well, Dyl seemed to have a good time and that’s what really matters. I’ll be sharing the party this week. Then, Monday morning we headed out on a 3 day camping trip to the beach. Oh, and Lon’s parents arrived while I was in Colorado too. Needless to say I am exhausted. But, we are home and the laundry is done, so I have a spare moment to share something fun we made while camping.

I have to credit pinterest, once again. I had seen these chocolate cakes made in hollowed out oranges and thought they looked fantastic. Then, a couple days later I came across an even easier version that used canned cinnamon rolls. I thought this seemed like even less prep and mess, I decided to give them a go.

Campfire Orange Cinnamon Rolls
1 can of 8 cinnamon rolls
8 oranges
Aluminum Foil

I hollowed out our oranges. It was a bit of a messy juicy job, but why not when you are outside. I cut a 2 ” circle out of the top and then used a spoon to scoop out the orange. We filled a bowl with the orange flesh and the kids munched on it. Then we simply stuck one cinnamon roll in each orange, put the cap back on, and then wrapped them in foil. We wrapped from the bottom up, so that the excess foil could be bunched up into a little handle. Then we put to right into the coals. They took about 12 mins to bake, but it really depends out your fire. While they were still piping hot, we put a little drizzle of the frosting included in the can on top of the cinnamon roll.

The orange totally protects the bread from the heat. The roll was perfectly orange infused and super moist. Even though the outside of the orange was charred and black, the inside was perfection.

And I just had to share these pictures of Olivia eating in the great outdoors. She is a total disaster and is absolutely cute.

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Thrifting Thursday: Vintage Calendar Tea Towel

May 31, 2012

This is one of those posts that I hope not too many people read. I hope readers just look at the pictures, Because this post will reveal my age. Argh!

I recently picked up this vintage calendar tea towel at an antique mall. I bought it because it is a calendar from the year both Lonnie and I were born in. I’ll go ahead and let you do the math on that one. Let’s just say I’m not pleased that I am this close to being 40.

I also really loved the bird and flower images and the color combination on the towel. My plan is to make it into a little curtain for Riley, my vintage trailer. The door has a small window, and I thought that this would be the perfect size.

I got this towel for $4.00. I have a little tip for you. It was priced at $5.00 (which isn’t bad at all), but most antique stores and malls will move a little on their prices. I figure it doesn’t hurt to ask if the seller will come down. I asked, and they said she would give a 20% discount. Hey, a dollar’s a dollar.

How do you feel about asking for discounts? Are you like me and figure it can’t hurt to try, or would you rather save yourself the embarrassment and just pay full price?

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Lego Themed Party Prep

Well, I feel like I need to explain why I’ve been so sparse with blogging lately. Real life is just super busy. This is the last week of school, so I’m pretty much without my hubby. Lon’s got something going every night and the kids have got concerts and assemblies every other day. Then on top of all that I decided to have Dylan’s birthday party this weekend. Oh, and one more thing, Lon’s parents are arriving Saturday evening (so, I have to have my house mother-in-law clean). No, I just remembered there’s one more thing, right after the birthday party, we’re going camping for 3 days the very next morning. So, I’m party prepping, cleaning, cooking and packing for camping, and doing all the end of school year fun. Is your life super busy too?

I thought I’d share a couple of the party treats I’ve been working on today.

We’re having a Lego themed party for my little lego lover. The color scheme is grey and yellow. So, I made a couple buntings in grey and yellow. I have a feeling I’ll be able to use these again and again.

I also made lego blow outs. I found these on etsy, but they just weren’t in the colors I wanted 🙁 So I bought some Thomas the Train ones (because the blower was yellow), took off the Thomas decal and glued on my lego blocks.

And the third is my absolute favorite. These Lego men heads are the party favors. I saw these adorable jars on pinterest and loved the idea. But, then I thought, why not just fill the jars with something yellow. At first I thought candy, then I considered play dough, but in the end I made some fabulous YELLOW SLIME! I’ll share the recipe soon. It’s that super fun kind that makes rude noises when you squeeze it. Slime seemed more appropriate for 9 year old boys. And all I had to do is paint the lids yellow and draw a face on the jar with a black sharpie.

I’ve got a whole board of pinterest ideas for this Lego themed party. Party planning is much easier with pinterest. How did we do it before?

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Lime Coconut Shortbread

May 25, 2012

You put the lime in the coconut…. Sorry I couldn’t help myself. I’m a sucker for shortbread – I love all that butter. These shortbread have a bright summery taste with the zest of lime and rich flavor of coconut.

Lime Coconut Shortbread
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup cold butter (cut into 1/2″ cubes)
zest of 2 limes
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. vanilla

This is a quick cookie to whip up. I did all the mixing in the food processor.

Start by putting the coconut, vanilla, powdered sugar and lime zest in the food processor. Pulse until the coconut is chopped up quite fine. Add the flour and pulse again. Put all the butter in and pulse until the dough starts to come together. It will probably be quite dry and crumbly. Add one tbsp. of fresh lime juice and pulse one more time. The dough should come together now, if it doesn’t add a tsp. of lime juice at a time more.

Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for about an hour in the fridge.

Roll out the dough on a well floured surface to about 1/4″ thick. Cut out desired shapes. Chill again for 20 mins. Bake in a 350 F oven until the edges turn ever so slightly brown. Cool on racks.

The icing is simply the juice of one of two limes (depending on how juicy they are), the zest of one lime, and about 1 cup of powdered sugar. Mix well to make a thick glaze. Top each cooled cookies with about 1 tsp. of the glaze and spread it out to the sides. While the they are still wet, sprinkle with a little shredded coconut.

I served these and a couple other treats at O + P’s second DIY workshop this Wednesday evening. We made painted wooden spoons. It was a nice evening, with great company. I’ll keep you posted on the next event. Hope you can make it. What should O + P’s next DIY workshop craft be? Any suggestions?

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Thrifting Thursday: School Chair

May 24, 2012

I had to share this cute find. I got this little metal and wood school chair at a garage sale recently. I had walked to the store with Olivia to get some milk, and on the way back I spotting the sale. I decided to walk by. This chair caught my eye. I got it for $3. So, I carried it with one hand and pushed the stroller with the other about 7 blocks home. I’m sure I was an interesting sight.

I really bought it with no purpose in mind. I just thought it was too cute to pass up and especially at only $3.

Do ever buy things just because? No reason or purpose in mind – just because it’s a dang good deal.

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Painting Laminate Furniture

May 23, 2012

I shared earlier that I was going to attempt to paint a piece of laminate furniture. In my thriftiness, I decided that it couldn’t hurt to try. I did a lot of research on what products to use. I’m really happy with the results, so I’ll share how I achieved them.

First of all, if you want a great finished look, there are some steps you can’t short cut. Definitely take apart the piece of furniture as much as possible. When I took mine totally apart, I ended up with 15 piece to paint. But, then you don’t end up with cracks and crevises that you are trying to get paint into. It worked out to be easier, I only have flat pieces to work with. The second thing you should short cut is sanding. There is not replacement for it. I used a power sander and had all the pieced sanded in less then 30 mins. There was some water damage on mine too, so this allowed me to smooth out any bubbles or imperfections. When you are done sanding, make sure to dust off all the surfaces really well with a tack cloth or damp rag.

Before

Now this is where I took a shortcut, I decided to use spray paint to save me some time. It ended up only costing about $4 more for the primer and about $3 more for the yellow paint. So, I thought it was worth it.

There is no substitute for sanding.

First I primed everything with Zinsser Cover Stain Oil-Base Primer Primer (purchased at Home Depot). It is oil based and bonds fantastically and dries super fast. When the primer was good and dry I put on the first coat of yellow paint, I used Rust-oleum Painter’s Touch Gloss in Warm Yellow. It took two coats of the yellow to get good coverage. I learned from my dad to put on a light coat and then go back and do another coat. Putting it on thick to start with does not work as well.

Then there was just the puzzle of putting it back together. Taking a picture beforehand was helpful. It really looks like a new piece of furniture. I’m so happy with the results. I hope to get the rest of the room together later this week, so I can share it with you.

To see this cute cabinet in the finished bathroom, click here.

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Grey and Yellow Bathroom Inspiration

May 22, 2012

Yesterday I shared some of the mess, today is a little prettier. I put together a little inspiration board for the bathroom I am re-doing. It’s just a jumping off point of some ideas, objects, colors and patterns I like for this room.

1. Vintage style yellow towels.

2. A yellow piece of furniture (via pinterest).

3. Kind wish I was brave enough to paint our claw foot tub (via pinterest).

4. Definitely some yellow chevron fabric, maybe curtains.

5. Cute storage for TP, towels, etc.

6. Some of these cute striped accessories.

7. A striped turkish towel or two.

8. More chevron.

9. This will definitely need to go in the room.

How do you feel about this color combo? If you had a claw foot tub, would you paint the outside of it yellow?

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Bathroom Face Lift – the mess

May 21, 2012

This is one of the those posts that isn’t pretty. I wanted to show you some of the behind the scenes, not just the pretty finished outcome. Take a look at my mess.

The “used to be cute” cabinet.

This weekend I took on a huge job, well technically a couple big jobs. The kids/guest bathroom was in desperate need of a face lift. We hadn’t painted it since we moved in almost 9 years ago. In the room we have a tall, used to be cute, cabinet that provides much needed storage. The cabinet had seen better days. It’s a piece of laminate furniture, and with water damage from messy kids, it was pretty dang ugly.

Ugly, peeling, water damaged laminate.

Remembering that we are on one teacher’s salary, I knew I needed to be thrifty with this makeover. So, I decided to paint the cabinet. I did a lot of research on what products to use. And I’m really quite happy with the results (I will share my how-to this week).

A lot of sanding and painting this weekend.

I also knew the room had to be painted. I took a huge risk (well risk for me) and considered painting all the bead board and chair railing the same color as the walls. I love wainscoting painted white, but I felt it looked a little more country and cottagey for my taste right now. I think painting everything the same color will give the space a more modern look. I decided to use the paint left over from Dylan’s room (Benjamin Moore – smoke embers). I had just enough paint, I was definitely scraping every last drip of paint out of the can though.

Had to take out some trim and patch the wall, not so fun with lath and plaster.

Lots of mudding and then lot’s of sanding.

Should I do it, paint the wainscoting and chair rail?

Have you ever painted a piece of laminate furniture? What do you think about me painting all my wainscoting and chair rail grey as well? Are you attempting any thrifty makeovers? Please share.

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Thrifting Thursday: Ombre Owl

May 17, 2012

I’m starting a new weekly post here at Oleander and Palm. It’s called Thrifting Thursday! Every week I’ll share a thrifty find with you. I seem to hit a thrift shop, garage sale, flea market, or antique mall at least once a week. So, I’m sure I won’t have any trouble finding things to share. People often ask me, “Where do you find this stuff for that price?”, so I’m going to try share my favorite spots and what to look for.

This first thrifty find is a pretty great one. I gave him a total make over, and I’m very pleased with the results. I found this handsome little owl at Salvation Army for $2.81. He was cute as is, but I knew I wanted to add him to Denali’s owl collection (Denali and I have had a thing for owls for quite a few years now). So, why not make him a pink ombre owl?

It was really easy to do. I started by priming him, so that I would get better coverage with the pink. Then I started at the bottom first and painted about 1 1/2″ up in Martha’s Pink Flamingo craft paint. Then I added a little white paint to the pink, and painted another 1 1/2″. I kept adding a little more white each time and ended up with 5 shades of pink. I blended the lines between the colors each time so that there wasn’t a harsh line.