Father/Daughter Masquerade Ball

 My daughter's elementary school hosted a Father/Daughter Masquerade Ball on Saturday night. For 3 consecutive days prior to the dance day, the weather was in the mid-90's and windy. By the time party time rolled around, the wind died down and the air had cooled.

 Dads and their little girls came dressed in their finest with masks. I designed the French/Marie Antoinette inspired decor and had a team of amazing women to help bring my ideas to life on a minuscule budget.

 We made paper doily garland strung with pink twine in the school lobby. The dessert table was ready for the goodies to be brought out later in the evening.

 It's difficult to make a school lobby elegant but with some white craft paper, white organza and pink lace from WalMart,  I think we did a pretty good job!

 We made tissue flowers that were inspired by these found on the Ruche blog. I handed off the construction to another mom who didn't quite make the flowers tall enough as I was hoping for so we just taped the extras onto the wall for some height.

 Hubby and daughter ready to dance and enjoy their date night together! I tried to stay away from them as much as possible so they could enjoy this special time together.

 We had a terrific strolling magician to entertain those who needed a dancing break.

 This is the outside lunch area. It is usually filled with ugly lunch tables (that were pushed to the sides and adorned with pink tablecloths, so we added beautiful chandeliers! We tied them with ribbon and added fake crystal swags, chain covers and battery operated candles. The posts were covered with pink plastic table cloths and balloon draped. The tulle puffs and twinkle fairy lights added to the magical ballroom feel.

 We had cotillion dance instructors come and teach everyone the waltz, Cha-Cha and swing. Sheridan loved to twirl.

 I love the way my daughter is looking at her dad in this picture!

 For dessert, we had a local bakery make mini cupcakes, Dulce de Leche cake, cream puffs and strawberries.

 Everyone had a great time dancing and enjoying each other's company.

 The dads also enjoyed watching the little ones dancing on stage!

I hope we have another one next year!

Earth Day Party

 One of the reasons I had an Earth Day party was because of this gorgeous Lorax party from Gwynn Wasson Designs. I just had to make those Truffala Trees! I used the branches from our own birch tree that we had to cut down from a tree that died.

 I ordered these adorable Lorax cake pops from So Sweet Pops on Etsy.

 The printables including the invitations, Earth Day sign, banner, water bottle labels and napkins rings came from Composed Design also on Etsy.

 For snacks, the guests enjoyed cupcakes, veggies and dip and strawberries.

 The favors were adorable Lorax cookies from Fun Favors from, you guessed it, Etsy!

 On the back of this is also a packet of flower seeds.

 I used Bare plates made from sugar cane and made Lorax mustaches for the straws for the Izze drinks.

 The first craft we did was to make tote bags out of old t-shirts. Since I taught the girls how to sew last year, this went pretty quickly. We just cut off the arms of the shirt, make a bigger neck hole and sew up the bottom-Viola! A new tote for the beach, pool, library books or grocery store.

 Next, the girls planted their own Meyer Spruce sapling that I purchased from The Green World Project.  I bought pots from the Dollar Tree (no pun intended) and gave them a coat of primer so the acrylic paint would stick to the pot.

 The girls had a great time decorating their pots.

 It was time to take a break, so we headed over to the snack table where the girls decided to try on the mustaches.

 The last project was to make bird feeders out of gallon milk jugs.

These were super easy to make and can easily be deorated as well.

 The second reason for the party is that my daughter has caught the gardening bug and I couldn't be happier. On Saturday, we attended our community's Earth and Arbor Day celebration. In the community garden where residents can rent plots, Sheridan was invited to weave a natural tapestry out of cloth and plant material. This adds beauty to the garden as well as much needed items for the birds to build their fluffy nests.

 Sheridan also won a strawberry plant and

learned how to make accessories out of old t-shirts.

 There was even a Recycled art contest and

this is "The Lady of the Sierra Mist".

 Our city gave away 1000 deciduious, evergreen and fruit trees. First, we had to go on a scavenger hunt and visit all of the booths to answer some questions. When our map was complete, we went to choose our tree. Sheridan really wanted an apple tree (her favorite fruit) but they went fast. So we got the last pear tree (my favorite fruit).

 We came home with-1 pear tree, strawberry plant, a potted tomato and sunflower seed, Dianthus plant, wearable art and a big bag of mulch...all for FREE!

This week, Sheridan's school is celebrating Earth week and on Friday, her class is walking to the movie theater to see "Chimpanzees".

What are you doing to celebrate the Earth this week?