8th Grade Dance Jungle Theme

For the past few weeks all of my creative energy has been put into converting the gym at my son's middle school into a jungle in preparation for the 8th grade dance.  For several years now the PTA has sponsored an 8th grade dance like no others.  They transform the gym into a scenic event.  From the invites to the decorations, no detail is left undone.  So the bar has been set pretty high.

This year, we decided on a jungle theme.  After a lot of internet searches and discussions, we came up with the decorations to help with the transformation.  Many parents were involved with helping make sure the details were in place!  We had several religious ed classes help make tissue paper flowers, several parents helped make trees, with the Dad's putting together the bases and the Mom's making the bark out of cardboard and kraft paper.  My brother helped out by getting us boxes from work!  The trees were the focal point, without them we would have had a hard time with the illusion.  My husband has been very patient with me as I tapped into his engineering skills to help create the bases for the trees and the waterfall.  With my vision and his braun and brains, the inspiration came to life!

Everything came together so well.  The outpouring of help from the parents really helped make the event spectacular.  Evening knowing in advance we would need 2000 balloons blown up didn't thwart many people!  Luckily, smart thinking parents brought air compressors to help make the job a little more manageable.  It took us 12 hours to put together, working late into the night Friday night and most of the afternoon Saturday to add the finishing touches.  The sad part was that it only took 90 minutes to have it all down and in the garbage pile at the end of the night!!  

Having a vision is one thing, having the support and help from the parents made the event successful.  I am truly grateful for the support!! At the risk of forgetting someone (please forgive me), special thanks to the following people for their support in planning/coordinating and/or providing props for the event: David Lau, Janine and Pat Ward, Anita (the invites looked great!) and Nick Vigilante, Caroline Wilkinson, TC and Tony Menolascino, Dorka Ortiz, Maria and Jerry Janoz, JeNyce and Angel Lopez, Jan Martin (thanks for organizing the chaperones), Carol Raimondi, Jamie Pecoraro, Tania Bays and Laura Calderisi.  And thanks to Cathy Jaras, Mary Byrne, Marlene and Bob Scheibl, Mary Pat and Dave Wahlgren, Jennifer Finner, Angela McGovern, Wyatt Wilkinson, Kristi French, Lisa Aubry, Judy Conness, Sherri Dryden and Wayne Waller for helping set-up and/or tear-down the decorations.

the moon, created by Maria and Jerry Janosz

the paper mache monkey

the cafe area

entry way

tiki hut, made by Janine and Pat Ward

Janine put together this whole entryway

Cafe, lead by Gina Pelosi and TC Menolascino

pictures of the kids on coconuts by Caroline WIlkinson

Palm trees were made by Laura Calderisi

picture from the stage at the whole gym; the four trees in the middle outlined the dance floor

picture with no flash

the toucan, my daughters Hannah and Stephanie helped make the animals

thanks to Nick Vigilante and Pat Ward for helping to put together the tree bases

the waterfall, made by my husband Dave

flowers made by Dorka Ortiz and Luz Chavez

close-up of the toucan

the blue macaw

ferms made by Carol Raimondi and Jamie Pecoraro

Now that the dance is over I can focus on my papercrafting again!  At least until next year when we start planning my daughter's 8th grade dance theme and party ;0)!

Hello... Retro Sketches Challenge

I really like the retro sketches challenge for this week.  I happened to have several small pieces of designer series paper so it was perfect for using up these scraps!

I love the color combination of the Sycamore Street DSP.  The Razpberry Ripple and Summer Starfruit look so sharp together.

A close-up of the flower.

Stamp Set: Tiny Tags

Colors: Razzberry Ripple, Summer Starfruit, Pool Party, Whisper White

Big Shot: Floral Fusion Sizzlet

Accessories: Pool Party Baker's Twine, Vintage Faceted Buttons, Sycamore Street DSP

Sending Kisses for Mojo Monday

I liked playing along this week for the Mojo Monday challenge.  I don't usually use so many layers so it was nice to have something that was challenging for me.  I decided to try to use up some of the More Amore designer series paper and create something I could send to my girlfriend who could use a pick me up.

Stamps: Petite Pairs

Colors: Primrose Petals, Pool Party, Razzberry Ripple, Very Vanilla

Accessories: 1-1/4" circle punch, 1-3/8" circle punch, scalloped circle punch, bitty buttons, pool party baker's twine

CupCake Birthday Card

I really like the Retro Sketches challenge for this week so I decided to use some free time to design a card.  Birthday cards seem to be in demand lately so I tried to make a card that would be somewhat unisex.  I used the vanilla embossing powder for the cupcake frosting and then reembossed with iridescent ice to make it sparkle.  It's hard to tell in the photo (still trying to figure out how to take better pictures).

Stamp Set: Create a Cupcake

Colors: Crumb Cake, Midnight Muse, Very Vanilla, Summer Starfruit, Pacific Point

Big Shot: Argyle Embossing Folder, Lots of Tags Sizzlets

Accessories: Print Poetry DSP, Cupcake Punch, Vanilla Embossing Powder, 

Iridescent Ice Embossing Powder (retired), Linen Thread

Thanks for Your Kindness

Yesterday I had time to play with my stamping toys so I decided to take a look at the Mojo Monday sketch for the week.  I liked the design so I decided to play along.  Although I love the square design, it's more practical for me to make the traditional 5.5 by 4.25 size card.  I have to say, this is the first time I have used the Little Labels Punch Pack.  I love the shapes, just haven't incorporated them into any project yet.

Stamp Sets: Secret Garden, From My Heart

Colors: Primrose Petals, Pink Pirouette, Baja Breeze, So Saffron

Big Shot: Honeycomb Embossing folder

Accessories: More Amore DSP, Core'dinations Primrose Petals Paper, 

Pink Pirouette Taffeta ribbon, Large Rhinestone, Little Labels Punch Pack

Inspiration from a Tissue Box

A colleague brought a box of tissues to a meeting we were in and as soon as I saw the box I thought of Parker's Patterns!!  I loved the color combination so I decided to recreate the box Stampin Up! style.  I took a picture of the box while in the meeting.  I have to admit, I got a few strange looks.  While I remembered to turn the volume off, I forgot to turn off the flash!  Hey, inspiration comes at all times!

Stamp Sets: Oh Hello, Madison Avenue

Colors: Crumb Cake, Pool Party, Rich Razzleberry, Whisper White

Big Shot: Floral Fusion

Accessories: Large Pearls

Flower Power

My niece's birthday is today so I made her card that is a little girly but not too girly.  I had some extra flowers cut from the Blossom Party Sizzix die so I decided to use up some of them for the card.  I haven't used the texture technique for a while so it was fun to use it again!  The square lattice embossing folder is perfect for this technique (can't remember what it is called)!  Happy Birthday Emma!

Stamp Sets: Made for You, Patterned Occasions (SAB set)
Colors: Razzberry Ripple, Primrose Petals, Basic Black, Midnight Muse, Whisper White
Big Shot: Blossom Party Die, Square Lattice Textured Embossing Folder