DIY Spider-man Birthday Party

My super sweet nephew just turned 4! I really wanted to do something special for him, but with a new home and a new baby on my plate I knew I couldn't do too much. Luckily, I am a Pinterest fiend and a craft goddess! I crafted up this handy dandy, super cute and SUPER CHEAP birthday party in just my spare time (hahaha, get it, spare time!? That fictional thing that they speak of in mythical mom legends!). The little guy is a big fan of Spider-Man so I knew 3 things:

1. Red and blue decor would fit the theme perfectly. 
2. Webs and spiders could substitute licensed products to cut costs.
3. This was gonna be a LOT of fun!

The first thing I started working on was a tissue paper tassle garland. Because I had some red and blue tissue paper in my crafty mess (I'm sure that's what my fiancé calls it), this actually didn't take one red cent from my budget. However, you could get the tissue paper for $1 each at a dollar store. I got about 25 feet of garland from one package each red and blue (20 sheets) and strung it on some $1 twine.

 

Next, I got started on the cake table backdrop. I found some really cute sky lines and city scapes on Pinterest that I decided to take a stab at. So from a $2 foam board, a few different sized and shaped boxes I found around the house (cereal boxes, food packages, etc), a few sheets of tissue paper and some colored card stock I created this.

 

I just used a sharp knife to cut the foam board and placed pieces of yellow card stock strategically to create windows. I then wrapped the boxes in tissue paper and placed black card stock shapes for the windows and voila!

Now you're wondering, "What about those little spiders!?" Those my friend consist of lollipops, pipe cleaners, yet again red tissue paper and oggly googly eyes. I cut the tissue paper into squares and wrapped the top of the lollipop. I then cut the pipe cleaners in half and used 4 of the pieces to create the spider legs. I did this by wrapping them tightly around the area where I'd twisted the tissue paper then bending them to look spider leg-like. Finally, a dot of hot glue to affix the eyes and we've got arachnids!

 

Here's a pic of the spidey pops without the tissue paper wrapping. It's really up to you. 

 

These little guys doubled as decor and favors. Gotta love a 2-fer!! Additionally, I wrapped some cookie packs in colored card stock to resemble candy bars. On each I drew a number 4 for my big guy and surrounded if with Spidey's signature webs. Adorbs if I do say so myself! For those not so artistically inclined, Google a nice free printable to use. 

I know, I know, the next question is probably "What good are favors without treat bags?" Well, here you go! You'll need to get some solid colored red paper bags, a fine point black Sharpie, some white cardstock and a ruler. I started with a large plus sign, followed by an X. From there I started in the middle drawing curved lines connecting to the straight lines and worked my way out to the edges. Finally, I drew large ovals in the white cardstock and cut them diagonally to create the eyes. Some of mine were off shape so I took the Sharpie and traced around the edges of the eyes.

 

Stuff with some great favors and a little blue tissue paper and the party is on!!

I almost forgot the spidey masks! We opted out of party hats for a Spider-man mask to add to the effect for our theme superhero theme. For these I used felt sheets that I purchased from Michael's, a Sharpie and yarn. I actually did purchase elastic cording but instead of guesstimating the sizes of the children's heads, I went with yarn that could be tied to fit. With the felt positioned in the portrait position, I folded the top corner down to the bottom, cut in half and then repeated this step on the now half sheets of felt. I then just rounded off each corner with scissors, folded it in half (side to side fold) and cut about an inch long triangle for the nose (of course, rounding off points). I eyeballed where to cut out eyeholes and on either side cut a small slit where I tied a piece of yarn. That's it!

Here's my nephew looking very pleased in his mask. Right behind him you'll find my little assistant also known as my super helpful daughter Brynn and my Fiancé in a not so successful photo bomb attempt!

Therefore, my total to make this party look spidey-tastic took all of about 3 days of my sons midday nap time (2-3 hrs depending on his mood) and approximately $25!

I Exist...I Think!

So, I'm here...or at least I think I am. I'm operating on 2 hours of mom sleep. You know, that sleep that's not really sleep because you're constantly subconsciously listening for your daughter to roll out of bed and fall on one of the many toys you told her to put away before bed, but she didn't. The rest of the night, I'm up either nursing my son or prodding and repositioning my fiancé to reduce the amount of snore that I have to endure.

Such is life, and I couldn't ask for a better one. We all want more, if we're smart, but the key to really being happy is finding joy in what you have, just a little bit each day. At the end, you'll better appreciate the blessings if you can find the silver lining in the set backs. But, I digress. Today I'm in a mental space where I feel like I need to share who I am in order to remember who I am. As a mother, we tend to disappear in our families. It could be worse, I could get lost in the mall parking lot again... However, it is so important that we rediscover ourselves because discovery is key to identity, and identity is key to self fulfillment and happiness.
 

Not too long ago, I had a conversation with a fellow mom. She asked me about my fiancé and how many children we share. When I told her that we have a daughter and a newborn son, she responded in a way which I felt was extremely odd. "Ah, a rich man's family," she replied. This was so strange to me because I am neither rich nor a man. I'm no dummy, I understand a figure of speech when it's thrown my way, but help me out here. How can we embrace ourselves when we are constantly immersed in misogyny and stereotypes? Ok, ok I know I just got a little deep.
 

My point here is to share with you how and why I exist, and it does not include a box that I've been placed in. I exist, and therefore I am... I am a woman, I am a fiancé, I am a mother. I am a creative soul, I am a self proclaimed craft goddess and an all around amazing person. I exist to make the world a better place for those both directly and indirectly affected by both my greatness and my mistakes. Yes, I make mistakes and I admit to them, but my awesomeness totally overshadows them. How, you ask? Because I acknowledge who I am and who I am not. I have found my happiness in myself and I am able to elevate myself above the stress and the pettiness and the judgements of this world. Mot avoiding them however, but embracing them. And though I can embrace these things, I do not internalize them. Nothing defines me, except for me. I am me, I exist...well I think, don't judge me, I'm tired!!

Good Mom, Bad Mom, Real Mom

Before I became a mother, I often thought of how good a mom I would be...or how bad. If I would stay at home or if I would be a trail blazing rock mom like June Ambrose. I guess in reality, just like any first time mother, I had no freakin clue! The biggest comfort for me was that I had a plan. I decided that I was going to work until a certain date and I would have everything in place before she came. I had all the books on "What To Do When Your Baby Bump Jumps" and "So Your Carrying A Baby Dragon" or whatever these things are called... I say all this to setup for what ultimately hit me, REALITY! Little did I know that due dates are merely cute fluffy roundabout things doctors make up for parents-to-be, and those books I never had a chance to read one...still. After giving birth to my daughter two weeks early with a half finished nursery and stack of unread help I realized something, reality is a bitch! No matter what the fantasy that we create in our minds or the plans that we make to ensure that everything goes perfectly, there's always that big guy in the sky laughing right before he shows us his will. I had to accept that this motherhood thing was something that I could never be completely prepared for; not mentally, spiritually, financially or emotionally. In my Kevin Hart voice, I wasn't ready! Today I look back at that journey and I remind myself of the little reality checks that we take for granted in life. The mountains and molehills that cause us to stagger or stumble, the life that goes on while we grasp at straws and cry out for control. Reality, she's a bitch, but she's also been my best friend. The realities of motherhood have brought me to a place of clarity that I cannot imagine coming from any other experience. The reality that however good, bad or indifferently I chose to behave as a mom, I am still responsible for the total life of a beautiful little half pint! So now, five years into this journey I've accepted fully that whether I am good at it or not, I am the whole entire world to some awesome little creep! I am her best friend. I am the one she looks at to know how to react, what to say, where to go.  I am a mom and that is enough.