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Angry Birds Birthday Party {Part 5 of 5}

Making a Playable Angry Birds Cake

From the moment I saw this playable Angry Birds cake I knew that a) Zoë would LOVE it and b) she would want an Angry Birds themed birthday party. I was more than happy to oblige. I had visions of grand cakes and flying birds, but what we made turned out a bit differently.

I found this AMAZING step-by-step playable cake tutorial (thank goodness!). My cake making skills are fairly pathetic and I had never made or worked with fondant before, and the tutorial was a life saver. I ordered a plain sheet cake frosted green from the grocery store to use as the base. I honestly didn't think anyone would even eat the cake after it got destroyed by the birds. (I was completely wrong.)

A few nights before the party I stayed up late making fondant birds. All in all I'd say they turned out pretty good! They aren't going to win any awards for beauty, but for a first attempt they weren't bad! Making figures out of fondant is very much like playing with sticky playdough. If you do plan on making birds of your own I have one tip: Keep them in the refrigerator (or freezer) until right before you launch them. Once they get warm they get soft and will smoosh when you try to fling them.

Remember my vision of a glorious intricate cake? Instead I let Zoë build/design the cake with me. Honestly, I like it better. She was so excited to help decorate her birthday cake and it turned out exactly the way she wanted it to, just as it should.

Zoë had a blast knocking down her cake and everyone ate it! In fact, the kids took great pleasure in choosing the exact mangled piece they wanted with a bird or pig or piece of candy bar on the side. Who knew?

So there you have it. Everything you ever need to know about hosting your own Angry Birds birthday party. If you ever do decide to throw one of your own, I would love to see pictures!

Angry Birds Birthday Party {Part 4 of 5}

Party Games

A party is not a party without a pinata. Or in our case a pig-nata. Get it? Hehehehe. Not surprisingly, you can't find Angry Birds pinatas at the party supply store, so I figured I would try my hand at making one.

How To Make and Angry Birds Pinata

I used this great tutorial to make the pinata. Click on over for the step by step instructions. Basically, you dip paper strips in a flour/water mixture. Place on balloon. Let it dry overnight and repeat.

I will say this. Four layers of paper mache made a very *cough* robust *cough* pinata. I may have heard comments like "Is this thing made out of cement?" while children were trying to set the candy free. Three layers is plenty.

Here is a handy little tip for you. If you hang your pinata in the garage to dry and it gets cold at night, the balloon will expand and ruin your lovely round shaped paper mache. Try to keep it in a place where the temperature won't fluctuate too much.

After I had my round-ish pinanta, I got to work on the paint. I put on two coats of green paint then duplicated the same steps I used to make faces on the playground balls. I didn't bother sealing the face with glaze since it was going to be smashed with a baseball bat. Ta-Da!

Game #2 - Pig Bowling

I thought the kids might needs something else to do while they waited for their turn at the giant slingshot, so I came up with pig bowling. I used one of the pig balls as the bowling ball to knock down the colorful pins made from 2 liter bottles. They were super easy to make. You can find the tutorial here.

Angry Birds Birthday Party {Part 3 of 5}

How To Build a Giant Slingshot

Before I begin, I would like to clarify that these are instructions for making a permanent slingshot. Make sure you really want to commit before moving forward with this project. You cannot modify these instructions safely to make a temporary slingshot. But come on, who doesn't want a giant slingshot in their backyard? You can play life-size Angry Birds games forever! You can see a video of ours HERE.

Frame Supplies:

(1) 5' section of 1" galvanized steel pipe threaded on at least one end
(2) 1' sections of galvanized steel pipe, threaded on both ends
(2) 2' sections of galvanized steel pipe, threaded on both ends
(1) 1" galvanized steel pipe T
(2) 1" galvanized steel pipe 90 degree elbows
(2) 1" galvanized stell pipe threaded end caps 
(1) 40-50 lb. pag of quick drying cement (ideally fence post mix) 

Frame Instructions:

1. Dig 6" diameter hole (ideally with a post hole digger) roughly 2' to 2.5' deep.
2. Insert 5' pipe, leaving 2.5' - 3' above ground. (It really depends on the height of your bird launchers.) Make sure that the threaded end is ON TOP if your pipe is only threaded on one end. 
3. Cement in the pipe per the instructions on the quick drying cement. (Let this dry for a couple hours.)
4. Screw T connector on top of the pipe sticking out of the ground.
5. Screw two 1' sections of pipe into the open ends of the T connector so that they are perpendicular to the 5' pipe.
6. Screw the two 90 degree elbows into the ends of the 1' pipe sections, leaving the openings facing up.
7. Screw the two 2' sections of pipe into the elbow openings so that they are parallel to the original 5' post.
8. Screw the two end caps on to the two 2' sections of pipe.

* Girly addition to the instructions: Spray paint the slingshot brown so that a) it will look like wood, and b) the giant freaking slingshot in your backyard will blend into the scenery a bit more. 

Now on to phase two of the slingshot instructions, creating the pocket (the red part where the ball goes).

Pocket Supplies:
(1) Cheap camping chair
25 feet of surgical tubing
(1) 1/2" Grommeting kit 
(1) Lighter
Black electrical tape or duct tape 
Screwdriver and a good pair of scissors 


 
Pocket Instructions: 

1. Use the screwdriver to disassemble the camping chair and remove the canvas.
2. Cut the back off of the canvas seat so that you are left with the seat with grommets in all four corners.
3. Cut the handle off of the carrying bag included with the camping chair. 
4. Use the grommeting kit to install two 1/2" grommets roughly 4" from center on the seat of the chair.
5. Insert the ends of the rope handle removed from the carrying bag through the two grommets. Tie knots to keep them from coming back out. This will create a launching handle.
6. Cut four roughly 4' sections of surgical tubing. Fold each piece of tubing in half and attach them to all four corners of the frame as shown in the picture at the top of this post. Secure the tubing to the frame with electrical or duct tape to keep it from slipping.

7. Insert the other end of each piece of surgical tubing through the high strength grommets that came in the four corners of the camping chair. Tie them in knots to keep them from slipping out.

You are now ready to launch away! If you do end up making a giant slingshot, I would love to see a picture.

One item to note: We tried using yoga bands instead of surgical tubing and while they are easier for children to pull, they didn't provide nearly enough launching power to knock down the cardboard boxes.

Angry Birds Birthday Party {Part 2 of 5}

Angry Birds (and Pigs) Ball Tutorial

The Angry Birds (and pig) balls were the hit of the party. I am so pleased with how they turned out. I had originally intended to make birds in every color, but I found red and green balls at the grocery store for $1.00 which was much better than the $15 price tag of the balls I found at Target and online in white, black, yellow and blue. I found the larger red and green balls at Target for $2.50.

You will need the following supplies:
Dry eraser marker, acryllic paint, primer, paint brushes, black paint pens and sealant (not shown).

Step One: Draw on the face with a dry eraser marker. You can wipe off the marker if you make a mistake, but only if you do it immediately. I tried to correct one face after letting it dry for about five minutes and not even a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser could remove it. I used these free printable Angry Birds balloon faces from The Party Animal as a guide.

Step Two: Fill in the outline with two coats of primer. I put on three coats in the eye area so that none of the ball color would show through.

Step Three: 
Paint on the face. I found it helpful to use multiple brushes so that I could start on a second color while the other brush was drying.

Step Four:
Once the paint is dry, outline the face and add details with the black paint marker. 

Step Five:
Paint a thick coat of sealant on your finished face. This will help protect the paint when you launch the ball. I used Triple Thick Glaze by DecoArt. 

Now repeat about a dozen times. When you are finished you will have....

Something to note: We found that the smaller balls were not heavy enough to knock down the cardboard structures unless they were 8-10 feet away from the slingshot. We tried a heavier kick ball and it worked great but it would really hurt if you got hit with it. 

Angry Birds Birthday Party {Part 1 of 5}

Angry Birds is sweeping the world. It is one of the most fun and addictive games ever created. I remember the first time I saw/heard my husband playing Angry Birds on his phone. My first thought was, "What on earth is that bizarre noise?" Kelly explained the game to me and I was convinced he had lost his mind and was wasting hours of his life.

Then I played the game.

I was just going to play ONE level. Fast forward fifteen minutes to me buying Angry Birds for MY phone because Kelly wouldn't share with me anymore. RUDE! Before I knew it, it was 2am, my eyes were bloodshot from staring at the screen, and my cell phone was almost dead. LOL!

It's not just Kelly and I that like to play Angry Birds. Both of our girls love the game. Heck, when we are stuck on a level we usually hand our phones over to Zoë so she can beat it for us. (I still refuse to buy the Mighty Eagle. That is totally cheating in my book.) Our new favorite is Angry Birds Rio. We love the monkeys. :)

Last winter I stumbled across a YouTube video of a playable Angry Birds cake. As soon as Zoë saw the cake she started asking for an Angry Birds themed birthday party. Done and done! As we watched the video (over and over) the wheels in my mind started turning. I was determined to make it her best birthday yet and I think I succeeded. 

There was so much planning and preparation that went into this party. Instead of writing up one loooooooong post, today I am going to focus on the dessert table.

Nothing says birthday party like a table full of sugar. Zoë and I made a playable Angry Birds cake (more on that another day) but I wanted to have cupcakes on hand in case the cake got completely destroyed. Surprisingly (at least to me) almost everyone wanted mangled cake so we had over a dozen cupcakes left over!

Just in case the cake and four dozen cupcakes weren't enough, I ordered giant Angry Birds cookies. We handed them out as party favors at the end of the party. I am not a fan of goodie bags filled with candy or teeny tiny toys that immediately get lost. I'll take a big ol' cookie instead over a bag of candy any day. The children agreed.

Stay tuned for more party details and tutorials on how to create your own Life Size Angry Birds game. Speaking of which, have you seen the video of our game in action yet? Take a peek!

Coming Soon! Angry Birds and Pig Playground Balls Tutorial

How to Build a Giant Slingshot

More Party Games

And of course, how to make a playable cake.

Party Credits:
Angry Birds Party Printables by Simply Styled Home
Photography by Jen Martin Studios
Cupcake Toppers by Two Sugar Babies
Sugar Cookies by The Cookie Jar

{New in the Shop} Angry Birds Party Printables!

I am so SO excited to announce the grand opening of Simply Styled Home on Etsy! I bet you can guess what my first listing is...

Angry Birds Party Printables!

{Sneak Peek!} Angry Birds Party

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! Seattle is finally getting some sunshine, so I am a happy girl.

The best part of the weekend had to be getting the pictures back from Zoë's Angry Birds birthday party. I had so much fun planning the party and I can't wait to share all the details with you! Next week is going to be Angry Bird's week on ye olde blog. Expect lots of pictures and tutorials. Basically, everything you need to create your own Angry Birds party. (Giant slingshot permanently cemented into your backyard, optional.)

Here is a sneak peek to hold you over until then.

Chore Motivation

I had to do a lot of chores growing up. And by a lot, I mean most of them. My mom had multiple neck surgeries and wasn't able to do much around the house. I was a cleaning professional long before I reached junior high. I even did laundry. 

I hated taking care of the house. Loathed it. I swore that I would never make my children do chores because it was a miserable job. I was adamant that kids should be kids. Kids should enjoy every moment of childhood and have fun.

While I would never put my children in charge of maintaining the cleanliness of our entire house, my tune has changed quite a bit. Why? I have seen what happens to children that don't have chores and other responsibilities around the home. I have watched those children grow up to become completely clueless adults that not only do not know how to clean properly decently and exist on ramen noodles while waiting for the toilet paper fairy to magically replace the roll for them.

Benefits of Giving Kids Chores

• You are teaching them responsibility.
• You are teaching them to take pride in a job well done.
• You are teaching them to be self-sufficient. (HUGE!)
• They will learn to take care of their belongings.
• They will learn to take initiative.
• They will feel like part of the family team.

I recently hit the chore-motivation mother load at Target. I orginally bought these little beauties as a potty training reward but quickly realized they could be used for so much more. 

While we were at Target, Zoë also found a pee-wee dolphin Pillow Pet. Pillow Pets have taken over our house. Am I the only one? My girls LOVE their pillow pets. Every one of them. Now the evil geniuses at Pillow Pet have created pee-wees, teeny tiny versions of the originals. My girls (of course) saw them and wanted babies for their pillow pets. Both of their rooms are filled with stuffed animals and I am trying not to buy them gifts unless it is a) their birthday or b) Christmas. If they would like something else, they can earn the money and buy it themselves.

Enter super-fantastic star sticker chart. I decided that Zoë could earn her baby dolphin Pillow Pet by filling up the entire grid with stars. 25 to be exact. She did it in one day. How you ask? She got one star for each room of the house she vacuumed. She got one star for making her bed. One star for being patient with her sister. One star for unloading the silverware from the dishwasher. One star for cleaning the kitchen floor. You get the idea. Some tasks were larger than others, but all were equally appreciated by me. Now she is half way to filling up her second chart so that she can choose something out of the prize basket.

Genius, yes?

You're welcome.

Garden Spa Baby Shower

Last year I had the pleasure of hosting a baby shower for one of my dearest friends, Emily. We have been friends since high school and it is no wonder why. She is such a fun, crafty, down-to-earth, kind, hard working, all around wonderful person. She deserved a fabulous shower.

Did I mention hard-working? Ah, yes... Emily owns Tiny Belle's Boutique and has been up to her eyeballs in tulle and ribbon for the past year. I wanted to give her an afternoon of pampering and relaxation. When her mom, Doann, offered her gorgeous backyard for the shower and I jumped at the opportunity. It was the perfect setting for Emily's Garden Spa themed baby shower.

There were a few things I planned to make this baby shower extra special. It can be hard for mommies to relax with little ones in tow, despite their best efforts, which is why I hired a sitter for the shower. I wanted everyone to be able to sit back and enjoy themselves, especially their massages. Yep, I hired massage therapists to give everyone mini-massages during the baby shower. Nothing says relaxation like a massage. My friend Angela (the über talented photographer responsible for these pictures) recommended a massage school in the area. They had come to her MOPS group and given massages earlier in the year. Massage schools are a wonderful (and much less expensive) option if you are considering something like this for your next event. Instead of shower games, I set up a manicure station to go along with the massages. 

You simply cannot have a spa baby shower without pampering bath products. Each guest took home lavender scented lotion, sugar scrub, bath salts, bath cubes, lip balm and sachets. I designed all of the labels for the favors as well as the signs you see scattered about. I even made most of the favors with lavender from my yard. (Go, me!)

Let's not forget the dessert buffet. There were three expectant mommies in attendance. We had to have treats! Again, Angela, photographer extraordinaire came to my rescue with her recommendation of A Little Taste of Heaven. They made an assortment of delicious desserts for me. Everyone was raving about them during the shower, especially the little lavender Frazier cookies. Mmmmmmm! In keeping with the lavender garden theme, we served Lavender Lemonade. It sounds strange but was quite good. I do have one suggestion though if you are making this for a large group of people. Instead of using fresh squeezed lemons, add the lavender to lemonade concentrate. LOL!

Instead of gifts, we had a wishing tree at the baby shower where people could write their wishes for Baby Stella and Emily (and attach a gift card if they wished.) I thought this was a nice touch considering that this is Emily's third baby girl and has just about everything she needs already. 

Party Credits:
Tablescape Styling and Party Designs: Simply Styled Home
Photography: Angela Parris of Stillpoint Photography
Flowers: Emily's Mom, Doann
Desserts: A Little Taste of Heaven by Lora Brewster
Massage Therapists: NW Noetic School of Massage
Sugar Scrub Cubes & Whipped Sugar Scrub: Bungalow Bath & Body

Life-Size Angry Birds Game

My husband and I created a life-sized Angry Birds game for our daughter's birthday party this year. I will write up a complete post with all the details once I receive the photos from my amazing photographer. (I had to have my hands free to launch birds after all.) Until then, here is the game in action!