DIY Photo Booth!

It has been an awesome November! I had a great Thanksgiving and an even more wonderful family vacation after turkey day.  I am excited that as of tomorrow I can officially have a "red-cup" from starbucks, and that I can now truly not be annoyed by the sound of Christmas music everywhere! Whoo Hoo! So with Christmas and Holidays upon us I will have much to post the next few weeks.  Before I do though, I thought I would share some of my Thanksgiving pics! 
 I think I have started a new tradition in my family...a Photo Booth!  My family and friends had so much fun with this, and I got some priceless photos!  It was super easy to do too!  I simply bought a tension rod from target in the drapery section. I then purchased a single panel black drape.  

I hung the drape in the entry way of my house. The front door gets a lot of light int eh afternoon and I knew it would be the best place so my subjects would be well lit.  This was a great shot of my daughter!

I gathered fun props like fake mustaches and hats! I made sure to get every family and even took some not so silly shots!  

My littlest one loved the mustaches!

These two were having way too much fun!

This is something that you must do at your next party! It was such a crowd pleaser and think of all the fun photos you can give as great gifts!

For my tables decor I decided to keep it super simple and very inexpensive...after all I did have 25 turkey eaters! I went with the simple wine cork place cards at the tables

Aren't the name cards adorable? I got them from Hostess with the Mostess, they were a free printable offered if you made a donation to a charity for military wives.

For the centerpieces I took empty wine bottles and filled them with Wheat and sprays of orange and yellow mums. I used the bottle label printable from HWTM to dress up the bottle.  Overall very simple and it only cost me the price of the flowers.  I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Thanks for letting me share my new traditions!

Thankful for Turkey's: My go at Turkey Cake Pops!

On the eve of Thanksgiving I am thinking of all I have to be grateful for...

My short list goes as follows:

My family, My health, My loves, My passion

pretty much covers everything

Every year I say I am just going to "go easy" and not over-do anything for Thanksgiving.... hahah!

Did I say that?! 

Nope not gonna happen, especially when I have been dying to make "Bakerellas" Turkey cake pops for about a month now.   I toggled back and forth about making them for my many guest for Thanksgiving, I mean the first ones didn't turn out the greatest.  Seeing as I can not , will not fail at them again I rolled up my sleeves and got'er done as they say! I am so glad I did. They turned out fantastic, and I must say scrumptious.  You wanna see them, don't you?

ok...I will share 

Not so bad, eh? I was actually very impressed with myself! You can do it too! Come one you know you want to try to make the reindeer ones...

I will just leave you with this one, 

and a very warm wish for a wonderful Thanksgiving to you and yours tomorrow!

GOBBLE GOBBLE!!

To Die for Creamed Corn

As you know I host Thanksgiving for a ton of people each year.  It seems word has got out and every year there are new faces joining the tables.  It's my all time favorite holiday, and I love having all my family and friends around at one time to catch up with.  A couple years ago my Mother in-law brought creamed corn.  Now some people are not a fan, but this creamed corn was gone in about two seconds! So I thought I would share the recipe with you today because it is so delicious and super easy to make.  You will look so gourmet if you have this dish or bring it with you!

Annie's Thanksgiving Creamed Corn- Serves 8

{recipe adapted from Gulliver's Creamed Corn}

Ingredients:
-2 packages (20oz.) Frozen Kernel Corn
-8oz. (1/2 pt.) Whipping Cream
-8 oz. (1/2 pt.) Homogenized Milk (can use 2%, I do every time)
-1 tsp. Salt
-6 tsp. Sugar
-Pinch of White or Cayenne Pepper (I always add a little more)
-2 Tbsp. Melted Butter
-2 Tbsp. Four


Method:
Combine all ingredients except last two in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer 5 minutes.  Blend butter with flour, add to the corn, mix well and remove from heat.


Variation:
Put finished corn in a heat proof casserole, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and place under broiler till evenly browned.


Enjoy!!

Come One, Come All, 4th Birthday Carnival!!

My Daughter celebrated her 4th birthday this past weekend...Carnival Style! We have been planning this party for over a month and it was so much fun! I have tons of pictures to share so get comfy and scroll on!

These invites were designed by my brother, special for her party! I printed them on 4x6 photo paper and made a coordinating envelope liner  and "No Gifts" tag.

Speaking of " No Gifts" instead of her friends bringing her a birthday gift, we asked that they bring a dollar or two to clip to her "Birthday Charity Tree"! The donations went to a local Mission for Thanksgiving Dinner! We raised over $150 !!! Such generous friends and family!

 Friends filled out the popcorn tag and clipped money to it, then hung on the tree! Aren't these tags adorable?! All of my printables were designed specifically for this party by Gywnn of Gywnn Wasson Designs!  She was amazing to work with! I just love her style!

Along with the tags there was also a Tent Tree Topper! So cute!

My favorite part: The Dessert Table!

 Guests enjoyed mini-vanilla cupcakes, this cute tent cupcake holder was from Oriental Trading.

Yummy white chocolate dipped marshmallows! These were a big hit!

I used the free downloadable flag cake bunting from TomKat Studios for her cake!

I found the plastic popcorn bucket at the dollar store and filled with Cracker Jacks, I also found the gumball dispenser there! 

I had so much fun making this Dot Topiary! Look for a tutorial later this week!

More mini cupcakes on a red plate stand I made! I followed Jenni's tutorial from  "A Well Crafted Party",  I made two of them and it was so easy! It also only cost me Four dollars, and since they are red I can use them for Christmas!

For food we served: Mini Corn Dogs, Hot Dogs, Mac n'Cheese cups, Fruit Cups, & Cherry Lemonade!

For Entertainment we had the kids decorate their own party hat & make sand art jars! We also had face painting, a balloon artist, and some traditional carnival games like Can Toss, Duck Pond, and Bean Bag Toss! All were purchased at Party City, with the exception of the sand jars, I just saved up baby food jars and spray painted the lids red.

I also ordered this photo banner from oriental Trading! It was a huge hit! 

Every Guest took home a personal bag of cotton candy as a favor! It was such a great party! Hope you enjoyed the pictures! I am beat!

Wine Cork Turkey Placecards (photo tutorial)

As promised here is my Wine Cork Turkey Photo Tutorial! They are so much fun to make! I first saw this idea in Parents Magazine {November 2009 issue}, I decided to re-create and put my spin on them. You can too!

Materials needed:
Wine Corks, Yarn, Red & Yellow felt, Bobby Pins, Google Eyes, Feathers, & Tacky or Hot Glue

Steps 1-4: glue corks, wind up yarn for head, cut out waddle & glue

Step 6: Glue head and Waddle to the corks, head should sit partly on-top of front cork

Steps 6 & 7: Cut out yellow beak, glue and let dry. The glue feathers to back of corks

Step 8: glue on eyes and beak, can use wooden balls for eyes for more natural look

Step 9 & 10: Glue Bobby Pins on bottom for feet & insert toothpick tag for name

All done and ready for your table!!!

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you make some please send me pics! I would love to see how they turned out!

Thanksgiving Table Inspiration

This is about the time I start making my placecards for my Thanksgiving tables.  Yes I said tables, My hubby and I host Thanksgiving every year for our families, usually around 20 to 25 turkey craving people show up at my door! We of course make everyone participate by bringing something, and we "fry" our turkey's so it takes less time! I thought I would share some placecard ideas I have been seeing around lately...

{photo: SugarFoot Designs}
Come back Monday for a DIY tutorial on how to make these cute wine cork turkeys!

{check out Tip Junkie for these great ideas above}

{ Disney's Family Fun website has these cute kids crafts and more!}

{ I love the simpleness of this place card found at Home Made Simple}

Organization is key!

I am busy, busy, busy, planning my daughters 4th "Carnival" birthday party! One of the things I have discovered is that when you have two kiddos and lots to do, lists don't help that much.  I am the type of person that needs to see the whole picture! So I created this nifty little "Party Planning Sheet", and a "Been there, DONE that checklist" which I am sharing with you for free!  

All you have to do is...

1. If you are not a follower of this blog, become one. You can do this by clicking on the followers sign on the leftside  of the blog. 

2. Leave a comment here with your  FOLLOWER IDENTITY and your email address requesting the Free Printables. Or you can email me at Sugarfootdesigns@gmail.com

3. I will then email you the files! Feel free to change the font or make changes to personalize for you!


Enjoy!

Gratitude brings the sweetest dreams

Halloween is behind us, and November is upon us-Whoopie!  I have to say that November is my favorite month.  I usually shy away from favorites. Don't really have a favorite color, letter, number, or precious stone.  Any precious stone will do! The one thing I do have is my unending love of November.  Growing up in the Colorado mountains it was because the air was cooler, trees changed color, snow came, and fires at night kept us warm.  I thought for sure when I left Colorado, and moved to California, that November would be replaced with July or a summery favorite. Even in sunny Southern California I find myself still waking up on the first morning of November with a sense of giddy.  I mean, what is greater than fried turkey, lots of pie, glorious sunny days, friends and family sharing a meal, football, cool evening walks, and the gratitude that overflows.  

Leather Journals from Kate's Paperie

I have always felt that November brings out the best in people, they share more, they care more, and maybe it's because they feel they are supposed to during this month.  I don't really know, but it doesn't matter, because the end result is good for all. That is why I wanted to share a tradition of sorts with you. As a busy mom, usually a working mom, I find myself caught up in my days, my weeks, whatever is "next".  
I once read that if you write down even just two things you were grateful for at the end of the day, you would feel lighter, and more peaceful before you fall asleep.  So everynight before I go to sleep I think of two or more things that I was grateful for during the course of that day or night. Sometimes I write them down in a journal, sometimes I just quietly think about them.  For me it is simple, maybe it's that my 4 year old played with my 7 month old for 20 glorius minutes and I got to read the paper and drink a cup of coffee, or even just that the checkout lady at the grocery store looked me in the eye and said what beautiful, happy girls I have...sometimes you need to be reminded...So it's not just the gratitude for the big things, like health, sercurity, and love, but it's also about being present in each day, even if your on auto pilot till 10 p.m.  November is the perfect month to start this tradition! 
I hope you will join me!