Pom Pom Shooters - Bored Jar Activity #1

Padawan #2 and I tried some activities from our bored jar today! The first one we pulled was tag which wasn't going to work as I can hardly walk let alone run! So we put that back in for when padawan #1 gets backs from holidaying with her friend!
The next one we pulled was "Make a marshmallow shooter". This caused the little one some confusion but he enjoyed trying to guess what it was as I got out the necessary supplies - which are:
paper cups
balloons
scissors
masking tape
pom poms or marshmallows
Our first attempt didn't work as we were using cheap plastic cups which are far too flimsy. We've moved onto some better quality paper cups but still fell foul! So I thought up a way to solve this problem which hopefully will help you if you get the same problem!
Get 2 paper cups and cut the bottom off 1 about 1cm down. Cut the second cup about 2cm down.

Now put the taller cup over the top of the shorter one. Use a pair of scissors to cut flaps in the taller cup down to where it meets the shorter one.

Once you've done this all the way round, fold each flap inside the cups.

Now tape the flaps down using small pieces of masking tape.

Make sure you push them down firmly so no sticky bits are exposed.

Now cut the rounded end off a balloon - about 1cm should do it. Tie the tail end (the bit you blow into to blow it up). Stretch the balloon over the end of the cup.

We put ours over the bottom but you could put them over the top if it will stretch (probably depends on the size of the balloon).

Now secure the balloon with tape around the outside.

Add in some pom poms or marshmallows and fire away!!

Honestly, these are so much fun!! The two of us giggled for ages as we fired them across the bed, hitting the light and the window a few times!

We hope you enjoy making these as much as we did!
I'll be back soon with a tutorial on making a CD hovercraft!
Padawan #2 has also set up his own blog and Facebook book with stories he is writing about his best pal Niguel, an adorably cute crocheted dinosaur. He would be absolutely over the moon if you popped along to have a look at both his blog The Niguel Chronicles and his Facebook page Niguel Inc.
Take Care
Until next time
Suz and the Party Padawans xx

Farm and Tractor Party Round Up

Do you have a little one who is obsessed with tractors? My nephew is and he knows all the names of the different kinds too!
Today I have brought together a collection of some of my favourite tractor and farm themed parties I found on the internet.
First up from Kara's Party Ideas is this Down on the farm party.

I love the use of egg boxes to hold cupcakes and create a Farmers Market treat table. This party also uses lots of straw which is obviously just perfect for a farm party.
Again from Kara's Party Ideas is this farm yard party using lots of animals! I love this cake and have seen quite a few similar ones around (including one my sister-in-law made with piggies!).

I also love the use of the red gingham and I think it immediately makes you think farm.
Here's another party uses the red gingham from Birds Party.

I also love the barn boxes and milk cartons with cow print! How adorable! I also love the rosette table decoration and picket fence in this picture.

 Speaking of picket fences - they look so sweet!

You could make some fencing from lollipop sticks or card quite easily or if your little one has a farm set you could use some of that.
You could also use their tractor toys and other farm toys in the decoration if they'll let you! If they're a bit protective of their favourite toys then maybe get some new ones for them (second hand from charity shops?) and use them as decoration for the party first. Here are a few ideas...

John Deere is probably one of the more well known tractor "brands". In my village we have a John Deere shop with loads of tractors out front - my nephew loves to go past when he visits!! So if you have a tractor loving littly then I'm sure they'll love a John Deere themed party with lots of green and yellow.

And how about having a go at making your own tractor using large cardboard boxes?! Would be great for photos of the kids at the party too.

Well, that's it for this weeks round up. If you would like some party inspiration you can have a look at my Farm and Tractor Party Pinterest board.
Till next time, take care
Suz and the Party Padawans x

Keep the kids busy this summer with an "I'm Bored Jar"

I have been getting a little addicted to Pinterest lately! Anyone else have this problem?!
Anyway, one of my latest things I've been using it for is to find things for the kids to do over the summer. I think anyone with kids has heard "Mum, I'm bored" way too many times and if you work from home I'm sure it's worse as you're always there with them.
So after more than a week of researching ideas I have come up with my own set of ideas to put in our "I'm Bored Jar" and you can download a PDF I put together too.

My Bored Jar is geared to older kids as my youngest are 11 and 12 and it's also the kind of things I think my kids will like and I would like to try out with them. There are a couple of blank pages for you to add your own ideas and page of links to specific activities, posts with lists of activities and my Pinterest board with lots of pins to inspire you.
I haven't included too many chores in my jar as I think this would put my kids off (and they have chores they are expected to do anyway). I'm also going to draw up some rules with them for using the jar - for example: if they don't like the 1st activity they pick they can choose 1 more but then they have to do one of the two or find something else to do. If they can't do what they pick straight away because the weather isn't suitable or we don't have the things they need for it then that one gets put aside for another day when we can do it and they a free pick. You can decide on rules if you want to or just use the jar as something to inspired the kids to find things to do.
I'd love to hear your ideas for great boredom buster activities for kids so feel free to share any thoughts and suggestions in the comments.
Over the holidays I will post about the things the kids and I have done with little tutorials for some of the activities.
Take care
Suz and the Party Padawans
xx

Win, win, win!!! Competition Time!

Good Morning!
I'm very excited to invite you to take part in a fantastic competition to win yourself some lovely cash!
I have teamed up with The Purple Pug and lots of other fabulous bloggers and small business owner from around the world to bring you this fantastic opportunity.

You can use the Rafflecopter Form just below to enter or you can visit The Purple Pug's blog by clicking the picture above to enter from there. Good luck! x
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Mustache, Dicky Bows and Ties Father's Day Party

The Party Padawans threw this awesome surprise party for their dad last night.

Daddy had made a TV date with Theo to watch England's first World Cup match when he got home from work so as it was nearly Father's Day we decided to mark the occasion with this little party.
I quickly designed some printables and the littlest padawan cut out the beer bottle labels and party circles.

We also made some doughnuts - Theo wanted Bannoffee with coffee! Recipe at the bottom of this post.

They had the perfect nibbles for watching footy - crisps, popcorn and a selection of sweets!

And here's the recipe for our bannoffe -coffee doughnuts.

Ingredients:
100g plain flour
50g soft brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
70g banana mashed (approximately 1 banana)
100g natural youghurt (you could also use toffee or banana flavoured youghurt)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp toffee sauce
1 tsp instant coffee

Topping:
100g Chocolate
2 tbsp toffee sauce

Directions:
1. Put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Leave to stand for 5 minutes to allow the coffee to dissolve.
2. Mix again to combine the coffee. Spoon into a doughnut maker or doughnut tin.
3. Bake in oven at 180C/350F for 10 to 12 minutes or if using a doughnut maker for about 5 minutes.
4. Allow to cool on a wire rack.
5. To make the topping, melt chocolate over a bain-marie. Add toffee sauce and mix well.
6. Spread over cooled doughnuts and sprinkle with chocolate vermicelli.
7. Eat and enjoy!

That's it from us. Wishing you all a happy Father's Day
From Suz and the Party Padawans x

Father's Day Party & Gift Ideas

This is a bit last minute but I thought I would do a Father's Day round up today. I don't actually celebrate Father's Day (or Mother's Day) as my family never have but I know plenty of you do.

OK, so first up is this amazing "Beer Cake"! A bit like a nappy cake but with beer and sweets!! I found this on Pinterest but couldn't find a website for it.

You could also make it using cans of pop instead of beer.

Next are these delicious looking cakes. Yes I did say cakes.

And a party dessert table idea from Birthday Express. The colours are so fresh and even if you can't get hold of the Mustache tableware, you can use black & white to really great effect with a dash of lime green to lift it all up.

And finally for our short round up today some yummy savoury treats from Tinkerbean.

I'm sure these would be fairly easy for the kids to do themselves too.

I'm dashing off now to help one of the Party Padawans prepare for a last minute mini party tonight! Check back tomorrow for details and photos from that!
Take Care
Suz and the Party Padawans x

Avengers (And Other Random Heroes) Assemble!!

Firstly, sorry I didn't get around to doing my Saturday party round up last weekend. It was quite hectic getting everything ready for Theo's party. So today I'll share some of the photos from his super celebrations and we'll get back on track with the round up this weekend!
My idea of a red, white and blue theme was overshadowed by Theo's ideas and all the different colours of the various heroes he wanted but I still like the look of everything and most importantly he liked it!

Theo insisted on having a candy buffet again this year and like last year it was extremely popular. We had lots of different types of sweets for the children (and my husband!) to choose from.

I made some buildings from different sized boxes covered with black paper which were used to decorate the table along with some of Theo's superhero action figures. Here's Spiderman keeping an eye on our yummy blue cupcakes with edible toppers. 

I also tried my hand at icing biscuits with hero logos. I actually printed out the logos and iced onto waxed paper over the top of them rather than directly onto the biscuit. They're not perfect (I still need to practice getting the right icing consistency) but I had fun doing them I'm quite pleased with how they turned out. I do like to try these things myself when I can!!

Theo also wanted an ice cream bar this year just in case we didn't have enough sugar!! I think they just enjoyed getting free reign to add lots of sauce and toppings to the ice cream!

The final dessert was Captain America Jelly shots! And we also had fruit skewers for a bit of healthy balance!

The main part of the party was spent at the amusement park, where the boys went on rides and played crazy golf. When we came home they played computer games and just hung out. I made a target shooting game with Nienna for them to play and the also had their photos taken in front of my painted backdrop.

All in all, a good time was had by everyone and Theo coped really well throughout the day - I got lots of hugs and cuddles and a huge thank you from him for making his day special which just melted my heart! 

He was especially pleased with the special glasses I made as party favours using transfer paper. 

So that's it for family parties until August when I'll be doing the annual garden party with my friend and Nienna's birthday party. Better get started!! 

Take care

Suz and the Party Padawans xx