Skip to content

Tag: Meghann

Minion Mayhem

Published by Meghann Holcomb on March 15, 2018

When my youngest son asked for a Minion birthday party, I knew we were going to need to come up with some fun things to make this a really fun party.  It all started with the invites.

Kathy and I spent an afternoon making these invitations and they were a huge hit with the kids.

Since we were holding the party at our house, I decided that the best way to maximize our space was to use centers.  The kids were in 1st grade this was also a concept they were familiar with.  So food in one room, activities spaced out and the kids kind of rotated through.

One center was a create your own minion, which we used toilet paper tubes for. 

Another was our Box of Shame and minion cut-out picture taking center.  The kids had a ball with that.

      

We set up a Pin-the-Eyeball-on-the-Minion game.

                                

And we had the big kids help out doing fake tattoos, taking pictures and generally helping out.

We also had a lot of fun coming up with food names for everything.

My hardest task was the cupcakes!  The cake part was fine, but the decorating was way harder than I had figured on and my frosting came out all weird.  Don’t look too close.  The kids thought they were awesome though!

We also put together a few favors to had out at the end.

The minion mix was especially fun, we included little candy eyeballs in the mix!

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the News

Published by Meghann Holcomb on February 26, 2018

The other day I was scrolling through Instagram (oh, come on, we all do it!) and happened to watch an Instagram story by the Kensington Royal.   It’s an Instagram devoted to stories about the younger royals.  Yes, yes,  I know.  I love stories about the Royal family.   I’ll blame that on my mom.  This story happened to feature the Commonwealth Fashion Exchange.

Now, why am I talking about a fashion show put on by the Royal family in London?  In this case, it’s because of their commitment and focus on environmentally friendly practices and handcrafts that brings it to my attention.

The Commonwealth Secretary-General and Eco Age (a marketing firm focused on sustainability) paired together designers and people around the Commonwealth to show the human potential of fashion.  53 countries were represented, with handcrafts and materials from those countries used in the finished products.

One of my favorite looks came from a collaboration between a New Zealand fashion designer and heritage artisans from the Cook Islands.  They used techniques in the fabric that they use in marriage quilts, which are made by families for brides.  The mixture of the old and new of so many of the pieces was really amazing.

The other reason I wanted to highlight this particular party was the use of so many sustainable items in the party itself.  They reused plinths from old BBC sets to put the mannequins on.  The mannequins had paper flower headdresses and those were made from recycled materials.  The mannequins themselves were made of sugar cane, which is biodegradable.

I enjoyed seeing an event with such a focus on a sustainable future!

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away

Published by Meghann Holcomb on February 22, 2018

This is Jared.

Jared is my husband, our 3d printing guru, and our own personal Kylo Ren.

In our house, Star Wars is a big deal.  Not just “we like Star Wars movies”.  More like–my boys want a Star Wars themed bedroom, my husband made his own Kylo Ren costume and we went on a Star Wars themed cruise a few years ago–big deal.  So it was only a matter of time before we were throwing Star Wars themed birthday parties.

This is Cedric.

His birthday falls in December, and a few years ago, just before the premiere of the brand new, much anticipated Star Wars movie.   And so, our first Star Wars themed party was born!

We booked his party at a local eat-in-theater, Chunky’s.  It’s a great venue for a kids party because you can really do as much or as little as you want.  They provide the food and cake, and obviously, the movie.  We decided to decorate up a bit and have some fun gift bags to take home.

One of the things we decided to do was provide an activity for the kids while they waited for food and the movie to begin.  We spent some time making these paper mache Death Stars that the kids could then decorate.

The party proved so successful, that Cedric, now turning 11 wanted to have a party to see The Last Jedi!  I made invites for the party with cutouts and stamping items.

This time I got my husband, Jared, involved in the project and he helped model and print out lights saber handles to make favors.

These were a huge hit with the kids at the party and fun to make!

It’s not every birthday party that has it’s own Kylo Ren.

 

 

A Crafty Birthday Story

A Crafty Birthday Story

Published by Kathy Kaczor on February 1, 2018

I designed a few fun wreaths to make with a wreath form, stamped accessories, ribbon, and some clothespins. These wreaths were a hot trend in some of the crafty Facebook groups I belonged to. I held a few classes to teach others how to make these wreaths. One of those classes was on my birthday!

Meghann and I loaded up my car with all the supplies to teach the class and we headed out. Having a December birthday means the odds are good that there will be snow. I had a lot of childhood birthday fun canceled due to weather. Now that I’m an adult I get to make my own choices regarding weather and thought we’d be fine if we took the drive slowly.

We got to the Tobin Bridge and the car was acting off. I pulled off the road at the top of the bridge and got into a space where the work vehicles usually park. I thought perhaps a nice policeman might drive by and check on why there was a car where it should not be but that did not happen. We had a flat tire. The car was pretty new and I wasn’t sure where all the things were but I managed to find the jack, lug wrench, and spare tire. I got everything changed and we were on the way again. We’d left early enough that even with our mishap we were at class at the start time although I was pretty damp.

Class went really well and the ladies who came out loved their wreaths:

 

After class, Meghann and I went for pizza at one of my favorite pizza places, Town Spa.

Kathy

 

 

Nobody here but us Chickens

Published by Kathy Kaczor on December 16, 2017

After years of planning out events for fun, we took the leap and took some official event planning classes. After getting our certificates we’re making it official and launching our own event planning business.

We’ve love a themed event and throw at least six a year just for the fun of it. We’re also not above being a little silly and we often have thematic head wear. Here we are ready for a Halloween craft fair:

Together, we have planned everything from small family dinners and birthday parties for all ages to non-profit fundraising events, wedding showers, and even a museum exhibit with reception. Here we are poking out of one of the photo op spots at the museum exhibit:

Why The Crafty Coop? Many moons ago we attended a fundraiser with our husbands and needed a team name.  As a joke we used The Sacrificial Chickens and the name stuck.  We now use chickens for everything!

What are you going to see here on our blog?  Updates on what we’re working on, party planning tips and tricks, pictures from some of our past events, and items from our Etsy shop!  We hope you will follow us on our new adventure and visit us here and on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.

Want some help planning an amazing event? Want some fun favors you’re not going to find on the shelf of a big box store? Need some hand made goodies for an event? Get in touch!

Meghann & Kathy