Hats Off To A Happy New Year !

We don’t do a lot for New Year’s Eve and haven’t gone out for it in years. Still, I do like to make it festive and while I don’t switch out all of my holiday decor, I did re-do my Christmas table for New Year’s.

As a blogger for Oriental Trading Company, I had a great opportunity to have some fun with some of their party planning products, and to plan a party of my choice.  I went with a black and white Parisian theme, perfect for New Year’s Eve.

Centerpiece:

For the centerpiece, I decided to make a New Year’s Hat ( similar to the Snowman hat I did for Christmas) using a coffee can and scrapbook paper.

For this you will need:

• Empty Coffee Can
• Scrapbook paper ( Black and White Paper Pack, OTC)
• Paper Straws ( Black and White Stripe, OTC)
• Glittered cardstock
• Mirrored Cardstock
• Die cut letters
• Adhesive
• Embellishments

Measure and cut paper to fit around the can. Adhere with strong adhesive ( I used a strong double sided tape). Cut a larger circle from the glittered cardstock for the brim and hot glue the bottom of the can to the brim.

Once your basic “hat” is constructed, embellish however you like! I used some leftover ribbon, pipe cleaners, and a button. I used more paper from the stack  along with mirror cardstock and my Silhouette to make the signs that went into my hat.

In keeping with the hat theme, I made these mini top hat table decorations. You could also make these wearable by gluing to a headband.

Mini Top Hats:

• Heavy Cardstock
• Hot Glue
• Embellishments

I found the pattern here: Mini Top Hat Tutorial and cut the pieces out of silver glitter cardstock

To finish off the mini top hats, I added bows made from ribbon leftover from Christmas and little pennants I made on my computer and adhered with the striped paper straws I used in the centerpiece:

I also made little party hats out of these polka dot treat cones from OTC:

 

I used some leftover tinsel garland to embellish. The galvanized pails are also from OTC and were perfect for holding napkins  and utensils (both from Oriental Trading Company). I used some Paris themed washi tape and gold vinyl to decorate the pails.

And even though no one in my house will actually eat the black eyed peas, since they’re a symbol of good luck for New Years ( and they matched my color theme) I used them to weigh down my buckets.

Wishing you all a safe and happy New Year’s Eve . Thanks for being part of the fun here at The Answer Is Chocolate in 2014, and looking forward to new adventures in 2015!

Oriental Trading Company products used in this post ( I was provided with products used in this post but ideas and opinions are mine)

• Black and White Paper Pack
• Black and White Striped Straws
• Galvanized Buckets
• Paris Washi Tape
• Black and White Napkins

Halloween: French Gothic Coffin Boxes

A couple of years ago I had so much fun altering these little coffin shaped boxes I found at Michaels. Darn if they don’t keep stocking them and darn if I don’t keep finding ways to play with them.

It helps ( or doesn’t help depending on whether you’re Mr. Chocolate) that I love digging through clearance aisles and 50-60% off bins which is where I found the embellishments that inspired this project.

The metal Fleur de Lis and Crown pieces were in the $1.50-$3 bins and were 60% off when I found them. On a previous hunting expedition, I’d found the Jolee’s Boutique embellishments on sale. 

We went to France several years ago and while there we toured the Catacombs which are not for the faint of heart but an amazing piece of history. The ornate metal embellishments brought back memories of that trip and the coffin boxes brought back memories of the Catacombs so voila. Gothic Coffin Boxes. Welcome to my brain.

I left a couple of the boxes unpainted and painted the others black. Using the boxes as a template, traced around them and cut out coordinating papers and Mod Podge’d them onto the boxes.

I love it when  a plan goes awry. I intended to use the polka dot paper on the BACKS of each coffin and oops…one made it on the front. Oh well. Lemons / lemonade.

You can’t really see it but I crumpled the skull and bones paper before applying so it would be a little wrinkly. And for once, I was patient and let the boxes dry overnight so the paper would be good and stiff when I sanded the edges.
TIP: Package of emery boards from the Dollar store work great for this

I glued the metal embellishments to the front and added the Jolee’s embellishments as shown. Edged the boxes with torn pieces of  coordinating washi tape.

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