Imagine transforming your backyard into a carnival of laughter, with the kids running round and playing all day. Throwing a backyard party full of DIY outdoor games will be the center of unforgettable memories for your kids, grandkiddos, and their friends. All you need is a bit of crafty inspiration to put your creativity to good use.

Obstacle Course

Get creative and construct a custom obstacle course! Bring your grandkids’ favorite movie or TV show to life, or conjure a world where the kids have to save the medieval castle from the dragon.

Decoupage cardboard boxes for a tunnel the kids must crawl through. Spray paint cones that match the theme. Use a blanket to represent a river the kids must jump over. There are endless possibilities to customize a fun obstacle course.

Giant Tic-Tac-Toe

Turning one of the oldest and most universally known games into a giant outdoor version brings an exciting twist to any backyard party. Giant Tic-Tac-Toe keeps the simplicity and strategy of the traditional game but scales it up for more interactive fun.

Use nine hula-hoops or large fabric squares to construct the grid. Then, find the designated items that’ll act as Xs and Os. It could be anything from painted plastic plates to beach balls with different patterns.

You can also set up the game as a tournament for the kids. Every win will take them further to the championship and a grand prize.

Gaga Ball

Gaga Ball is a fast-paced, high-energy game that’s like a friendlier version of dodgeball. Players confined to a pit must hit a small ball at or below their opponents’ knees to eliminate them from the game.

People don’t adore the sport solely because of the physical and mental benefits of Gaga Ball. It’s especially favorable because it’s easy to set up on your own!

The plastic barriers are simple and safe to arrange on grass, concrete, or plush mats. All you need next is a soft foam ball and some spirited players.

Tarp Toss

Tarp toss is a homemade spin on classic carnival games. Players stand at a designated distance from the tarp and take turns throwing bean bags or balls through the cutouts to score points. Your job is to create the game board.

Begin by cutting shapes (circles, squares, triangles) into your tarp to serve as the targets. Around each cutout, use a permanent marker to assign point values based on the difficulty. Secure the tarp between trees or wooden posts using ropes or bungee cords.

The last thing you’ll need is bean bags for the kids to toss. This game is a bit of a challenge, but it’s also thrilling since the kids get to test their aim and accuracy.

Never let a backyard party for kids be boring ever again! Creating any of these DIY outdoor games for your backyard party will keep the kiddos excited and telling everyone at school how they had the best party EVER!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

The post 4 Outdoor Games You Can DIY for a Backyard Party appeared first on Manda Panda Projects.

Take an adorable Christmas highland cow rice paper print, and a thrift store wooden sled and make it over into a gorgeous statement piece of DIY Christmas Decor. This Highland Cow Thrift Store Sled is one makeover you’re not gonna want to miss!

Apparently, making over a sled with Digital Deco Designs each Christmas has officially become a tradition, now that I’ve done it 3 years in a row!

The first year I made a Dollar Tree sled into a Vintage Santa Sled, and the second year I made the same DT sled into a Cardinal Sled. This year it’s a little different because instead of the flat DT sled, I used a 3D Thrift Store sled and Christmas Highland cow!

The print I ended up going with was “Charlie” which I thought was just perfect for this project since I knew that I would be using the full image rather than cutting it up.

I have the digital download subscription, so I download and print them onto rice paper at home from my regular printer, but she offers print and ship as well for those that may not have a printer. Either way, once you start Mod Podging rice paper, you can’t stop!

This is Day 5 of our 3rd Annual Manda Panda Countdown to Craftmas where I go live on Facebook every day from 12/1-12/24 with a new Christmas Crafty idea. Make sure to check back for Day 6!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Supplies Needed to Make a Highland Cow Thrift Store Sled Makeover

• Thrifted wooden sled
• Digital Deco Designs “Charlie” print
• Gold glitter branches
• Faux pine and holly berry greenery
• Rusty Bells
• Twine
• Red Fabric
• Gold tulle
• White paint
• Antique wax
• Mod Podge
• Hot glue gun

How to Makeover a Thrift Store Christmas Sled with a Highland Cow Printable

I made this Thrift Store Christmas Sled on video, so you can WATCH it or click on the picture right below.

Watch the video here

This sled was perfect for this craft since the metal parts were already a dark red that matched PERFECTLY with the rice paper print that I chose.

So all I had to do was paint the wooden parts all white, and leave the metal part red.

Next, I Mod Podged the rice paper to the top of the wood sled.

I then sanded off all the excess rice paper using my handy Gator sander which is perfect for getting in small spaces.

I grunged up all the outer edges of the sled and rice paper using Antique Wax, to give it a more distressed look. To do this, I took a stencil brush, and stipled it on all around the edge.

Next, I cut some faux greenery and berries and glued it to the top of the sled, making it symmetrical on each side.

I added in a small piece of gold glitter branch on each side for extra sparkle.

For the center, I made simple bow with gold glitter tulle and red homespun fabric. I then tied a shoestring twine bow, and added rusty bells dangling on each end.

I finished it off by gluing one big rusty bell to the center of the bow.

I tied a piece of twine to the top of the sled, because I was originally going to hang this on my front door, but because the sled is 3D it hung all wonky and stuck out from the door/wall.

I think this Christmas Thrift Store Sled looks much better leaning up against something like you see in the pic below, or you can even set it right on the table or floor laying down.

I am so in love with this Thrift Store Christmas Sled Makeover!

How absolutely adorable does this Highland Cow Thrift Store Sled look with the Tin Can Snowman we made in The CRafterparty?

Are you going to makeover a Thrift Store Sled this Christmas? Shoot…are you gonna make anything for Christmas?! If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your Tiered Trays, DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations.

If you’ve got a million projects on your crafting ‘to-do’ list like I do, than you need my FREE Craft Project Planner so you can plan to make *all the things*! When you sign up for the craft planner, I’ll also send you lot’s of fun, easy, and budget friendly ideas for you to fill it up with!

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

Love this Highland Cow Thrift Store Sled Makeover? Make sure to PIN it for later!

The post Highland Cow Thrift Store Sled Makeover appeared first on Manda Panda Projects.

Make a gorgeous DIY Lemon Birdcage “Family” Sign with some wood shims and a cute decoupage napkin. This easy to make DIY home decor won’t break the bank and its cute as can be too!

I have a confession. My name is Amanda and I am addicted to napkins.

So much so, that I started a Big Pack of Craftkins, napkins for crafting club!

The Big Pack of Craftkins is my quarterly variety pack of 18 individual adorable napkins sent straight to your door, so that you never have to waste your money on entire packs of napkins for crafting again.

Then you won’t have the problem that I have and have packs and packs of extra napkins that you used ONE to craft with and have 39 leftover!

Don’t worry if you don’t have the exact napkin I am using in this project, use what you have and if you need some help then get on the waitlist for my napkin subscription.

This Lemon Birdcage “Family” sign can totally be made with a napkin that you have in your stash. So raid your craft area and let’s get to napkin craftin’!

If you want to see a whoollleeee bunch of other napkin crafting ideas, check out these other 47 crafts we made with them and tell me your fave!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Supplies Needed to Make a Lemon Birdcage Napkin “Family” Sign

• Lemon Birdcage Napkin (From my Big Pack of Craftkins subscription)
• 8″ wood shims
• Rectangular wood background
• 4 x 4 wood square
• Small wood “family” word cutout
• Mod Podge
• Burlap
• Ceramic Sunflower Beads
• Twine
• Yellow paint – I use Golden Sunset
• Green paint
• Small white flowers
• Antique Wax
• Boxwood greenery
• Hot glue gun

How to Make a Lemon Birdcage Napkin “Family” Sign

I made this Lemon Birdcage “Family” Sign on video. So you can WATCH the tutorial by clicking below.

Watch the video HERE

First, you need to paint your entire background all yellow and stain your shims with Antique Wax. I used 8 shims total.

Then glue your shims to the yellow background, alternating thick end with thin end of the shims.

Next, separate the layers of your napkin so that you are left with the single top ply, and then Mod Podge it to your 4 x 4 wood square.

Sand off the excess napkin with your Gator sander or sanding sponge.

To give it a more finished look, glue twine around the edge of the napkin square.

Next, paint the word “family” yellow, and the small heart green to match the napkin.

Glue a strip of burlap under the napkin onto the wood shims, and glue the word “family” on top.

Add some boxwood greenery and small white flowers to each side of the word for extra decoration.

Last but not least, make a Sunflower bead hanger, and glue to to the top to hang. I reinforced the hanger by gluing a strip of ribbon over each end.

And there she is! All done and looking cute as can be.

Remember, you could make this with any napkin, it doesn’t have to be the same one! But if you need some help finding cute napkins to craft with, make sure you get on the Big Pack of Craftkins waitlist!

Are you going to make a Lemon Birdcage Napkin “Family” Sign? If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your Tiered Trays, DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations.

If you’ve got a million projects on your crafting ‘to-do’ list like I do, than you need my FREE Craft Project Planner so you can plan to make *all the things*! When you sign up for the craft planner, I’ll also send you lot’s of fun, easy, and budget friendly ideas for you to fill it up with!

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

Love this Lemon Birdcage Napkin “Family” Sign? Make sure to PIN it for later!

The post Lemon Birdcage Napkin “Family” Sign appeared first on Manda Panda Projects.

DIY your own Edward Scissorhands Halloween costumes using only thrift store clothes and not only will you have the best handmade costumes out there, but you’ll save a ton of money in the process too! As soon as they see that iconic black belted suit and wild black hair they’ll think they are seeing the real Edward!

I have this thing with DIY’ing costumes from classic movies that I watched ENDLESSLY as a kid. In 2021 we made DIY Beetlejuice (and Lydia) costumes, and 2022 was even better…..EDWARD SCISSORHANDS!! (Before Beetlejuice in 2019 we made epic Pennywise ones- both the old AND the new clown!)

I’m not gonna lie, my kiddos were not thrilled about any of my ideas when I first proposed them. In fact, I believe their responses were “Who the heck is Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands?!”

But after a few movie nights, not only were they on board, but they were as excited as me.

Now, I always like for the 3 of us to dress up and coordinate together, and in the past I have been forced to get pretty creative with how to do that.

First it was Beetlejuice and Lydia, and this year its Edward and Kim (Winona Ryder). But that’s only TWO characters? And I didn’t want the Twins to dress exactly the same!

*Side note: How funny is it that BOTH movies have Winona as one of the characters that I dress up as?!

My solution was to do TWO different movie versions of each character! So for Edward we made one version with the classic black belted suit that he has on when Peg first found him in the mansion.

The other one was the oversize grey pants, white tailored shirt and suspenders.

Fair warning, there are a LOT of pics in this post! My hopes is that if you want to make these DIY Edward Scissorhands Halloween Costumes that you’ll have as much info here as possible to do it as easily as possible!

Now you may not have the exact items that I used to make these Edward Scissorhands costumes, but hopefully with this inspiration you can find things that are similar and can make do.

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

How to Shop for DIY Edward Scissorhands Costumes

The best way to find what you need is to save a bunch of Google images to your phone so that you have them as reference photos to take with you thrifting.

Now don’t go saving photos of other peoples DIY Edward Scissorhands costumes, save photos from the actual movie so that your inspiration is coming straight form the source and you can get as close to the real deal as possible. My main inspiration came from the movie photos above (Kim is below).

When you are at the thrift store, keep an open mind! Remember that things can be cut, sewn, dyed, torn, pieced together and altered to make it what you need! I’m not gonna lie, for these DIY Edward Scissorhands costumes, I ABSOLUTELY lucked out on what I found.

Justice was the “original” Edward Scissorhands, with the black belted leather suit so his was pretty easy to shop for, but not so easy to construct. I think I bought out EVERY black belt from EVERY thrift store in a 3 mile radius to make this!

I wanted it to be as close as possible, so I did purchase some buckles and metal studs on Amazon that I could add to the suit to give it more metal, just like Edward has in the movie.

Maddox was even simpler to shop for and super easy to make. Everything was a bit big on him, but thats totally ok because Edwards clothes in the movie are big as well.

For myself, I found the perfect white dress. Who cares that it didn’t quite fit? I only had to wear it for a night!

Here is the inspiration:

And here is what I found:

For the wigs, I had to spring for new ones on Amazon because I just wasn’t able to find anything thrifting. I got 2 “Midnight Feign” Wigs for the Edwards, and then styled them up from there.

I got a “Beth” from Yellowstone wig for myself (Kim). And I am using this one for my Barbie Costume this year as well, so I am getting my moneys worth.

How to make your own DIY Edward Scissorhands Costumes from Thrift Store Materials

Let me show you how I pulled this all together. This post of course will not be a step-by-step tutorial because the items that I used you most likely will not be able to find at your local thrift stores. But use this as inspiration and for ideas of how YOU can make your own DIY Edward Scissorhands and Kim costumes for Halloween!

Original Black Leather Belted Suit

This one is NOT for the faint of heart. Now I know why these go for $150 online! But it was so worth it in the end.

My biggest question was how the heck was he going to get in and out of this suit once the belts were all glued on? I determined that he would need to put it on with his arms through it, and the back open the way that you would put a hospital gown on. It was way too long too, so I just chopped about 8 inches off the bottom (Justice is TINY).

I wanted it to come up to his neck in the front, so I actually turned the shirt around backwards and made the front of the shirt be the back of the suit. I cut the front open and made it so that it could close using velcro. This worked FABULOUSLY!

I started with the biggest most metal belts that I had. I needed one to be the main focus that Edward has right around his midsection, so I chose the thickest one and luckily for me that one came on and off and was stretchy around his waist (the one on the left) so we took that one on and off with the costume and didn’t have to glue it.

Then I just glued all the rest of those bad boys on using E6000 and Hot Glue.

I took the thinnest belts that I had and glued those around the collar, making them open and close in the back with velcro as well, so that he didn’t choke.

I found the pants were easier to do while he was IN the pants, so that I could determine how tight I needed them to be, so that he could get them on and off. Be REALLY careful with the hot glue gun if you do this! There were definitely a few minor burns in the process #whoops.

I used E6000 as well since thats a much more permanent hold, and then held them in place with binder clips until that completely dried in 24 hours.

I glued on the metal rings and studs all over once everything was dried.

Now for the shoulder straps. I wrapped them around the chest belts and glued them in place, and then glued them over the shoulders and connected them to the same belts on his back.

On the back they criss crossed and connected with velcro and not glue, so he could get the shirt on and off (there is a pic of Justice from the back down below). Basically we had to velcro this shirt in place once it was all said and done.

In the movie, Edward has these pleather patches, so I purchased some Faux Leather from Dollar Tree and added one to the neck/chest…

And to the pants….

He even had this weird crotch patch that we strapped onto him as well LOL!

After several days and lots of patience, here is the completed Black Pleather Belted Edwards Scissorhands Suit!

As you can see I added some chains and pleather to the arms along with some more belts. And as much metal as I could possibly glue on here!

PS: He is wearing MY boots that are huge

You have got to see his Sassy stance from the back LOL…

Thats pretty much all the DIYing involved to make this original Black Belted Leather Edward Scissorhands suit. Like I said, a lot of work but totally #WorthIt. Now for the Grey pants and white shirt with suspenders!

Grey Pants and White Shirt With Suspenders Edwards Scissorhands

Maddox’s DIY Edward Scissorhands costume was far easier to make than Justice’s.

I had him get dressed in what I bought, and determined all I had to do was make the black leather suit show from under his white shirt, and cut his suspenders and add some safety pins to keep them together (remember Edward accidentally cut them getting dressed).

I used E6000 glue to secure the belts around the collar of this black sweater, and used binder clips to hold them in place until it dried. The belts are cut in the back, and I added velcro to open and close so that he could easily get in and out of the shirt and so that it didn’t choke him of course.

Here I just cut the suspenders and then put them back together using safety pins.

Thats about all we had to do to accomplish the Grey Pants and White Shirt with Suspenders look!

DIY Edwards Scissorhands Gloves

I definitely combined a few elements here to make these and I’m not gonna lie, this was THE most time consuming and painful part of the whole process. So much so that I almost made only one glove for each twin! In the end, I don’t know how to half-a** anything so I ended up doing both but it took HOURS and I say HOURS.

I’ll do my best to show and explain, but I would recommend buying costume prop hands if you can afford it! This is something I really should have recorded so you could SEE how to do, because I just don’t think these steps will be enough to actually make these, but I’ll try!

I found a template on YouTube that I paid $1 for (thank you to the CosPlay fans!) and that def cut down on the thinking portion. I cut the templates out of cardstock, and then cut and glued jumbo popsicle sticks to them to make them stiff. Then covered the popsicle sticks with more cardstock, sandwiching them inside.

I then painted them with Silver Metallic paint.

I traced the handles of my scissors onto cardboard and cut them out, a total of 3 for each hand. I used different pairs of scissors for different shapes for more authenticity.

Ok, this is where things got complicated. The boys make these things called “Paper Claws”, you will have to Google how to make them, but they worked perfectly! They slip right onto your fingers and they have a little slit in them that you can slide the “Scissorhands” into to hold them.

So I painted them silver as well. I also dry brushed some black and white to make it look more like actual old metal.

Then just slide the popsicle stick/cardstock “Scissors” into the claws like so.

See how it just slides right onto your finger!

I then glued the cardboard scissor handles to the tops.

And then started gluing them onto a pair of plain black winter gloves. The easiest way to do this was to put the glove on, and then put hot glue in the claw and stick your hand in to get it nice and snug. Again, be careful not to burn yourself!

They are starting to look like the actual Scissorhands!

The last thing I did was take some of the Dollar Tree black faux leather and paint it silver and add to the top of the glove with some silver studs.

DIY Edward Scissorhands Face Makeup

This was pretty easy to accomplish. I got the absolute lightest fairest foundation I could find in the Wet n’ Wild cheapo brand, it was called “Porcelain”.

Then for the scars, I used a kids glue stick and took it and mashed it up into a thick paste, and then applied it onto their faces in lines. I tried liquid latex too, but the glue stick worked MUCH better.

The foundation glided right over it leaving a scar look underneath.

I used some dark purple eye shadow around the eyes all the way up to the eyebrows to give the look of the dark sunken eyes.

The completed Handmade Edward Scissorhands Halloween Costumes

Here they are! BOTH DIY Edwards Scissorhands versions!

You can’t see the scars until you are up close but boy do they look cool!

This was the 2nd year that we entered a Costume Contest at the El Cajon Halloween Haunt Fest!

And we won THIRD PLACE! $25! It wasn’t first place like we won with our Beetlejuice Costumes, but hey, at least we won! Honestly EVERYONE was telling us we should have won first! This random bride girl (don’t even know who she was!?) won second (we were totally better), and a Handmade Instapot won 1st. She was pretty cool, she deserved her win!

We were a total HIT! Random strangers were literally stopping us and asking if they could take the boys pictures like they were little celebrities!

We had such a blast this Halloween! I didn’t think I could ever top the DIY Pennywise or DIY Beetlejuice ones, but we did. I truly did amaze myself! This year…Aloha Barbie in a Box and Aloha Ken (*coming soon*)

Are you going to hand make your Edward Scissorhands Halloween Costumes this year? Shoot…are you gonna make your Halloween costumes at all?! If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your Tiered Trays, DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations!

If you’ve got a million projects on your crafting ‘to-do’ list like I do, than you need my FREE Craft Project Planner so you can plan to make *all the things*! When you sign up for the craft planner, I’ll also send you lot’s of fun, easy, and budget friendly ideas for you to fill it up with!

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

Love these DIY Edward Scissorhands Halloween Costumes? Make sure to PIN them for Halloween!

The post DIY Edward Scissorhands Halloween Costumes appeared first on Manda Panda Projects.

With a cheap Thrift Store book and some spooky Halloween rice paper, you can create a DIY Halloween Spellbook to add to your holiday decor! Decoupage and Gold Rub n’ buff works wonders for this Thrift Store Flip!

I’ve seen them floating around Pinterest for YEARS, but I’ve never made one until now……a Halloween Spellbook! And mine is better than all those Pinterest ones because I made it with cute and spooky rice paper from Digital Deco Designs. #JusSayin’

The particular print that I chose for this Thrift Store Book flip is “Spell Book 1“, but don’t worry there is a Spell Book 2, 3, 4, and 5. In fact there is a whole Halloween Spell Book BUNDLE!

If you are not familiar with Digital Deco Designs, I’m gonna need you to go check her site out stat. She makes gorgeous rice paper printables that you can either download and print at home, or you can have them printed and shipped to you.

I have a printer, so I download and print them onto rice paper at home, but either way, once you start Mod Podging rice paper, you can’t stop!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Supplies Needed to Make a Thrift Store Halloween Spellbook

• Digital Deco Designs “Spell Book 1” (You can get the entire bundle here)
• Thrift Store Book
• Black Chalk Paint
• Antique Gold Rub n’ Buff
• Tissue Paper
• Fake Spiders
• Tim Holtz Mica Spray – Antiqued Bronze
• Faux Spiderwebs (Optional)
• Mod Podge
• Hot glue gun
• Water Pen

How to Makeover a Thrift Store Book into a Halloween Spellbook

I made over this Thrift Store Book with Digital Deco Designs rice paper on video, so you can WATCH it or click on the picture right below.

Watch the full video here

First, can we talk about the name of the book I picked out? Tantric Coconuts? LOL!! I am not sure at all what it’s about, but it ain’t gonna be good!

First things first, take the paper cover off of your book (You really want a hard cover to give the full Spellbook effect).

Then take a large piece of tissue paper and crumple it up reallllllllll good, and then uncrumple it up so that it’s all wrinkled. Now Mod Podge that baby all over the front and back cover of the book. Don’t worry about wrinkles, you WANT them!

Wrap the tissue paper around the edges of the book and Mod Podge them to the inside cover like you see here. There is no rhyme or reason to this just get the whole book covered with the crumpled tissue paper.

Then paint the entire thing black, right over top of the tissue paper. This will create the look of the textured book cover. I painted the inside cover as well for uniformity since it may be displayed slightly open if it’s standing up.

Using your hot glue gun, carefully spell out S-P-E-L-L-S. You have to go nice and slow and steady to get the “writing” even. It won’t look like much until we break out the Rub n’ Buff, but just trust the process.

The same way that I did the word “SPELLS”, I did a spiderweb in the bottom left cover of the Halloween Spellbook.

Next, I took my Spell Book 1 rice paper and chose which pieces I wanted to use. I went with the smaller images in the corners, and used a water pen to tear them out.

Now decoupage them wherever you want to place them on your Halloween Spellbook. I put the skull, coffin, and candle part in the bottom right hand corner.

I Mod Podged the spooky Witch on the left hand side towards the middle.

And I put the last two on the top and bottom of the book spine. Once the papers were all decoupaged on, I took some black paint, and brushed around the edges of each of the designs, so that it kind of blended in with the black of the book.

Time for the spiders! I glued one on the book spine along with the Spell Book rice papers.

I glued 3 more spiders on the front cover. I also added 3 random glue dots on the right side, just for extra decoration.

THIS is where the magic happens! The Rub n’ Buff! I use my finger because I think it is easiest to apply, and I just rub it LIGHTLY all over the book, so that anything that is raised is highlighted gold.

I went over the word SPELLS, the spiders, the spider web, the glue dots, the raised wrinkles of the tissue paper…….ALL.OF.IT.

It’s really hard to tell in this next pic, but the pages shimmer! I sprayed them with Tim Holtz Mica Spray, in “Antiqued Bronze”. In person it really sets this Spellbook over the top, the pics just don’t do it justice.

This is totally optional, and I didn’t do this until I put my Halloween Spellbook over on my bookcase area to decorate, but you can add some faux spiderwebs for an extra fun and spooky effect.

This thrift store book is no longer recognizable! Tantric Coconuts who? LOL!

I put this one right on my bookcase area by my big picture window and it was the perfect piece to complete the Fall-O-Ween look I was going for.

Are you going to makeover a Thrift Store Book into a spooky Spellbook for Halloween? Shoot…are you gonna makeover anything at all?! If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your Tiered Trays, DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations.

If you’ve got a million projects on your crafting ‘to-do’ list like I do, than you need my FREE Craft Project Planner so you can plan to make *all the things*! When you sign up for the craft planner, I’ll also send you lot’s of fun, easy, and budget friendly ideas for you to fill it up with!

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

Love this Thrift Store Halloween Spellbook? Make sure to PIN it for later!

The post Thrift Store Halloween Spellbook appeared first on Manda Panda Projects.

If you find an ordinary clock at your local thrift store don’t pass it by for what it IS, but buy it for what it COULD be! This Sunflower Thrift Store Clock makeover is one affordable thrift flip that you’re not gonna want to miss!

For the longest time, I have been telling Cathy from Digital Deco Designs that she needs to make more Sunflower designs. I am obsessed with her one and only Sunflower paper “The Victoria”, so much so, that she told me I’m banned from using it anymore LOL!

Well she FINALLY made some new sunflower prints and boy did she absolutely rock ’em! There’s an entire Sunflower Bundle that is Out.Of.This.World.

The particular print that I chose for this Thrift Store Clock Makeover is “Bee a Sunflower 1“, but don’t worry I used a different one “Bee a Sunflower 2” to make a Thrift Store Framed Sign. So you’ll have inspo for both of the “Bee a Sunflower” prints!

If you are not familiar with Digital Deco Designs you are MISSING out with a capital M! She makes gorgeous rice paper printables that you can either download and print at home, or you can have them printed and shipped to you.

I have a printer, so I download and print them onto rice paper at home, but either way, once you start Mod Podging rice paper, you can’t stop!

As for this Thrift Store Clock Makeover, I have this one spot on my Sunflower Gallery Wall that I am just not fully happy with. It has a small sunflower on it, but it needed something different. The second I saw this boring old generic clock I knew exactly what to do!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Supplies Needed to Makeover a Thrift Store Clock into a Sunflower Clock

• Digital Deco Designs “Bee a Sunflower” (You can get the entire bundle here)
• Thrift Store Clock (If you can’t find one get a generic Amazon one)
• Black Chalk Paint
• Antique Gold Rub n’ Buff
• Vinyl Small 1/2 inch lines OR Black Paint Pen (for the tick marks)
• Mod Podge
• Hot glue gun

How to Makeover a Thrift Store Sunflower Clock

I made over this Thrift Store Clock with Digital Deco Designs rice paper on video, so you can WATCH it or click on the picture right below.

Watch the full video here

I was worried about taking the clock apart and then getting it back together, but it was actually super easy. Just unscrew the back, pull it off, take off the hands and set them aside, and then you are left with the round face of the clock.

Mod Podge the “Bee a Sunflower 1” rice paper print to the round wood clock face, and then sand the excess paper off the edges.

My paper was a little bit thinner then the round surface, so I just took some of the excess paper and covered the left and right side where the paper didn’t reach. Once it’s all said and done you can’t tell at all it just looks like that’s how it’s made!

Next, paint the entire wooden outer part of the clock all black.

You can tape off the glass if you are worried about getting paint on it, but I just rubbed Vaseline around it. That way if the black paint touched it, it would wipe right off.

Now for the best part….the Rub n’ Buff! Use your finger and rub it all along the outer rim, and on the little lip on the back part of it. If you have a different clock, then rub it on any of the parts that pop out or stick up to accent it.

Lastly, use small black strips of vinyl, or a black paint pen to draw the tick marks. I only did 12, 3, 6, and 9, but you can do all of the hours if you want. This clock is solely for decoration, so I’m not worried about being able to actually tell time.

Poke the clock hands through the center of the rice paper, and then put this bad boy back together!

NOW the clock looks way better then it did! What a gorgeous transformation. This was the most boring and generic clock EVER, and after this thrift store makeover it’s not a beautiful statement piece.

I put this one right up on mu Sunflower Gallery Wall and it was the perfect piece to complete it!

Are you going to makeover a Thrift Store Clock into something fabulous like this Sunflower Clock? Shoot…are you gonna makeover anything at all?! If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your Tiered Trays, DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations.

If you’ve got a million projects on your crafting ‘to-do’ list like I do, than you need my FREE Craft Project Planner so you can plan to make *all the things*! When you sign up for the craft planner, I’ll also send you lot’s of fun, easy, and budget friendly ideas for you to fill it up with!

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

Love this Sunflower Thrift Store Clock Makeover? Make sure to PIN it for later!

The post Sunflower Thrift Store Clock Makeover appeared first on Manda Panda Projects.

As fabulous as birthday parties can be for friends and family, they are always super stressful as well. Making sure the parties go off with a bang is a lot of work upfront. So, what does it take to ensure that you can cope with the challenges of organizing a birthday party? Here’s a few tips that I swear by!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Start as Soon as Possible

Lots of people wait until the last moment to prepare for a massive birthday party. Worst. Idea. Ever. Trust me! Party planning is one of THE most stressful jobs, so if you wanna pull this off you better not rush. One of the biggest mistakes many people make, especially those attending the birthday party, is that last-minute rush to get something. This goes for those attending the party too, you don’t want to be struggling to find the right birthday cards or locate the right presents and it’s far better to leave yourself plenty of extra time. When we get started as soon as possible, it allows us that breathing space. 

It also means you can take advantage of early bird discounts and deals if you are looking to book venues or services. One of the biggest reasons we procrastinate is because we underestimate just how much is involved, but when we get started planning details, there are a number of different things that we must keep track of, and the overwhelm sets in. Start early, and you will not regret it. I have a fabulous Party Planning checklist to help out with just this thing!

Set Realistic Expectations

As far as planning a party is concerned, we want to give our kids or loved ones the event they deserve, but it’s so important to manage expectations, especially when it comes to the budget. Make a list of all the expenses that you expect, whether it’s decorations, entertainment, drinks, and so forth, and then you need to prioritize them based on your preferences. When it comes to an event like a party, there are so many things that we can splurge on, but if you’re like me, then you want to save a buck everywhere you can.

There are PLENTY of ways to save money, but my fave is making our own invitations and baking our own cakes. It also helps to borrow items from friends or family when you can. I’ll never forget when I saved $100 bucks on table and chairs by recruiting friends and family to bring some before the party. It’s so important that before you start letting your finances run away with you, you find a realistic balance.

Don’t Stress Over Every Little Thing

One of the biggest issues we have in planning a perfect party is that we think it’s got to be perfect. Things will never go exactly as planned, and we should be prepared to adapt or improvise if something changes at the last minute. “Done is better then perfect”, is my motto! You may think it’s ideal to have an outdoor party, but if the weather goes bad, you will need to have a backup plan to take everything inside. The same goes if there are extra guests that turn up unannounced (this almost always happens). Having some extra food and drinks available, or at least be prepared to run out in hot second, it will make a big difference. And don’t forget about spillages, it’s always worth having enough cleaning equipment on hand to counteract the damage, especially with kids!

My point it is that you’ve got to be adaptable and stop stressing over every little thing, or else you’ll drive yourself cray After all, the party will be over and done within a matter of hours, so is it worth obsessing over? (Don’t answer that LOL!)

Learn the Art of Delegation

Delegating is one of those things that we need to learn as soon as possible. This is especially true when it comes to planning and preparing for a birthday party. We think that we need to have control over every little thing, but it is going to make for a far more stress-free time when you ask for help from friends or family members who are willing to get involved. Throughout the course of the party, there’s always going to be people asking if they can help, and I know it may feel awkward to accept the help, but take advantage of it. People are HAPPY to to help and a little bit of help form various people can add up to BIG help.

You can also delegate to family members during the planning process, even before the party has started. You could ask people to help set up, pick up supplies, or send out invitations. There is a lot a lot to do when trying to get a party ready, and if we’re feeling the pressure weeks before the big day, this is where delegating will always make life easier. It also allows you to focus on the things that only YOU can do (like DIY those decorations!). When planning ahead it’s important to make sure you have a complete list of things to do, but also a list of people that can do these things, will always make life easier for you.

Think About Guests Unique Needs

This is something that we’ve all got to consider these days because there are a lot of children with nut allergies and specific dietary needs. There’s also, of course, the potential for accessibility issues. If one of your child’s friends has a wheelchair, they’re going to need to get into the venue, and it’s important to make sure that the venue is wheelchair-friendly or, at the very least, accessible for them. It’s important to make sure that nobody feels excluded, and it can be so tough when we have young kids who feel singled out already because they’ve got allergies and can’t have a specific type of food or birthday cake. Asking parents ahead of time is key when planning the menu and the venue for your party.

Lots of parents don’t think about dietary requirements until the very last second because they don’t have any dietary needs themselves. It’s one of those little things, but it’s such a small touch that will make the biggest difference.

Prioritize Fun!

It sounds very simple, but a birthday party is meant to be a celebration rather than a chore (sometimes we forget this when in the planning phase). There’s a lot you need to think about to make sure the event goes off without a hitch, but don’t forget to have FUN. Yes, planning a party can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. Don’t forget to enjoy yourself and stop worrying about what others expect of you. There’s a lot of pressure in doing kids’ birthday parties because you may feel like you need to better than the party that Suzie had. Or heck, better than your LAST party! The fact is that when it comes to planning a party for our kids, this can be a very stressful thing that happens every single year. The reality is that they are only going to remember the amazing memories you made for them!

When your kids are young enough, all they want to do is have fun, and as simple as this sounds, if you start party planning with this very basic idea in mind, you will be surprised how effortless it can all be. Yes, we can have worries about finances, diets, themes, and so forth, but that’s not what’s truly important, it’s the memories that we make!

If you’re stressing out about planning your next party, than you need my FREE Party Planning Checklist so you can plan and organize*all the things*! When you sign up for the party planning checklist, I’ll also send you lot’s of fun, easy, and budget friendly ideas for your next party too!

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

Love these Birthday Party Planning tips? Make sure to PIN it for later!

The post Making Sure Birthday Party Planning Doesn’t Get to You appeared first on Manda Panda Projects.

Makeover a wooden Dollar Tree Easter Egg with an unlikely theme. Sunflowers! This unique and affordable DIY Easter decor is made with a rice paper printable, and the best part is it can be made on a budget!

I know I know, you’re probably thinking “But Amanda, Sunflowers don’t really go with EASTER“? And if you know me, then you know my answer is “Sunflowers go with EVERYTHING!”

And if you don’t know me, then Hi! My name is Amanda and I have OSD. Obsessive Sunflower Disorder.

So of course the Design I ended up using for this Dollar Tree Easter Egg was the Vintage Sunflower print called “The Victoria”.

Ever since I discovered printables from Cathy at Digital Deco Designs I have been literally obsessed. I’m telling ya, go check them out for yourself and I dare you to not get addicted!

I download and print them onto rice paper at home from my regular printer, but she offers print and ship as well for those that may not have a printer. Either way, once you start Mod Podging rice paper, you can’t stop!

I love this particular print sooooooo much that I’ve used it quite a few times. My fave project being the Thrift Store Globe that I upcycled into something fun and unique!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Supplies Needed to Make a Dollar Tree Sunflower Easter Egg

• Wood Easter Egg
• Digital Deco Designs “The Victoria”
• Dollar Tree wall tiles
• Twine
• Burlap ribbon with frayed edges
• Paper Sunflowers
• Faux Sunflower Head
• Faux greenery
• White paint
• Antique wax
• Mod Podge
• Hot glue gun

How to Make a Dollar Tree Easter Egg with Sunflower Printable

I made this Dollar Tree Sunflower Easter Egg on video, so you can WATCH it or click on the picture right below.

Watch the video here

To start off, paint the bottom half of the egg white, so that the rice paper design pops once it’s Mod Podged on. There’s no need to paint the top, because you won’t see the wood through the wall tile.

Next, measure and trace out the bottom half of your egg onto the printable, cut it out and Mod Podge it to the bottom half of the egg. At this point, the bottom half should be the sunflower printable and the top half is still plain wood.

Now do the same measuring and cutting for the top half with the Dollar Tree wall tile, but paint it all white before gluing it to the top half of the wood egg.

Once it’s all glued on, brush some antique wax over the raised parts of the tile, and all around the outer edges of the egg to grunge it up and give it an older distressed feel.

Glue a strip of frayed burlap across the center of the Dollar Tree Wood Egg, to cover the spot where the rice paper printable meets the wall tile.

Add 3 small sunflowers across the burlap to jazz it up.

Finish it up by arranging some greenery with one larger sunflower head front and center.

You can’t see it here, but I added a piece of twine across the back to hang it, and secured it with hot glue and reinforced it with popsicle sticks.

I’m so incredibly in love with how this Dollar Tree Sunflower Wooden Easter Egg turned out!

Are you going to make a Dollar Tree Sunflower Egg for Easter this year? Shoot…are you gonna make anything for Easter?! If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your Tiered Trays, DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations.

If you’ve got a million projects on your crafting ‘to-do’ list like I do, than you need my FREE Craft Project Planner so you can plan to make *all the things*! When you sign up for the craft planner, I’ll also send you lot’s of fun, easy, and budget friendly ideas for you to fill it up with!

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

Love this Dollar Tree Sunflower Easter Egg? Make sure to PIN it for later!

The post Dollar Tree Sunflower Easter Egg appeared first on Manda Panda Projects.

There is nothing that I love more than a thrifted and unique piece of decor. When I saw this old globe at the thrift store I immediately knew that it was getting the makeover of a lifetime! This Sunflower Upcycled Thrift Store Globe is one project that you are NOT gonna want to miss!

I am a little bit obsessed with finding fun, different, and unique things at thrift stores and then jazzing them up to fit my style. First, it was this Thrift Store Lamp, and now this Upcycled Thrift Store Globe!

Ever since I discovered printables from Cathy at Digital Deco Designs I have been literally obsessed. I’m telling ya, go check them out for yourself and I dare you to not get addicted!

The main print I ended up going with for this gorgeous Upcycled Thrift Store Globe was the Vintage Sunflower print called “The Victoria”, which I thought was just perfect for the Vibe I was going for on this one.

I complimented it with the Black and White Hand Painted Checks, and it couldn’t go together more perfectly!

I have a printer, so I download and print them onto rice paper at home, but she offers print and ship as well for those that may not have a printer. Either way, once you start Mod Podging rice paper, you can’t stop!

This Sunflower Globe is the very definition of a Statement Piece, but it doesn’t have to be made Sunflower like mine. If you can get your hands on one of these awesome globes from your thrift store, you can make it over in any way that matches your decor or that your little heart desires!

I got way more then this uh-maz-ing globe thrifting that day, so if you’re curious what else I scored you can check out the replay where I showed the whole haul!

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Supplies Needed to Upcycle a Thrift Store Globe

• Thrift Store Globe (You can get them on Amazon but they are expensive!)
• Digital Deco Designs “The Victoria”
• Digital Deco Designs Black and White Hand Painted Checks
• Twine
• Burlap ribbon with frayed edges
• Vintage Lace
• Paper Sunflowers
• Faux Sunflower Head
• Totally Dazzled Rhinestone Applique
• Totally Dazzled Antique Gold Bows
• White paint
• Mod Podge
• Hot glue gun

How to Upcycle a Thrift Store Globe with Sunflower Printable Designs

I made over this Thrift Store Globe on video, so you can WATCH it or click on the picture right below.

Watch the video here

This was THE single longest live that I have ever done at a solid 3 hours. But you don’t have to watch the entire thing to get the point and see how it was made, as 2 of those hours were spent ripping and Mod Podging pieces of rice paper to the Thrift Store Globe.

The very first (and very important) first step is to paint the entire thing white, base and all. It helps to take the globe apart, but you can do that either before or after you paint. I painted the round part first, and then took it apart and painted the base.

The next part is tedious and time consuming, but it’s really very easy. Rip up a bunch of squares of rice paper approximately 5″x5″ and begin Mod Podging them to the globe in a patchwork fashion. One by one, decoupage them on until your entire Thrift Store Globe is covered in rice paper.

Now cover the the base and the side metal part with the Hand Painted Checks paper. This was a bit tricky, but I basically Mod Podged a large piece of paper on, and then sanded off the edges. This was much easier than trying to cut the paper to be the exact size and shape of the metal parts.

Once you have the whole thing covered in the rice paper (probably hours later), you’ll obviously need to put the globe back together. But then it’s time to decorate and jazz it up with some burlap, Totally Dazzled bling, and some sunflowers!

I took some burlap ribbon with frayed edges and glued it all around the “equator”, aka the center of the Thrift Store Globe.

Then I glued the on Rhinestone Applique and a couple of paper sunflowers on each side of it.

I made a super simple bow with some of the same burlap and a strip of vintage lace, and then glued a faux sunflower head right to the center before gluing that to the very top of the Upcycled Globe.

My sunflower head was wayyyyyy too bright yellow, so I grunged it up with a little Antique Wax so it went with the vibe of the rest of the globe.

Here she is in all her glory! This is quite possibly one of my very fave projects I have ever done and I have it on my Sunflower living room as we speak. It’s the perfect compliment to my new Sunflower Gallery Wall!!

If you want to see another Thrift Store Flip I did with Digital Deco Designs, check out this gorgeous Lamp Makeover!

Are you going to Upcycle a Thrift Store Globe ? Shoot…are you gonna upcycle anything at all?! If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your Tiered Trays, DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations.

If you’ve got a million projects on your crafting ‘to-do’ list like I do, than you need my FREE Craft Project Planner so you can plan to make *all the things*! When you sign up for the craft planner, I’ll also send you lot’s of fun, easy, and budget friendly ideas for you to fill it up with!

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

Love this Upcycled Thrift Store Globe? Make sure to PIN it for later!

The post Upcycled Thrift Store Globe appeared first on Manda Panda Projects.

Vintage and roses and crowns….Oh MY! This Glamentine Dollar Tree Chunky Valentine Heart craft is the perfect combination of sassy and sweet. Made with a gorgeous crafty printable, it’s the perfect addition to your romantic Valentine’s tiered tray!

I typically craft with super bright cheery vibrant colors, but every now and then I love a good soft vintage-y vibe, and you can thank Cathy from Digital Deco Designs for that!

The print that I used in this project is called Glamentine, and I think I like the name just as much as the print itself! This one was printed and shipped to me, but you can get a digital subscription to download and print at home too. The super uh-maz-ing thing about her prints are that they are done on RICE PAPER! Say Whhaaaaaaaat!?

If you love this Vintage look for Valentine’s, you’ll probably love the Vintage Pallet Board I made with a different print, that you can see next to the chunky heart below.

I actually used the leftover scraps of this paper for another cute Valentines project so it didn’t go to waste! And of course if you can’t or don’t want to use the printable, scrapbook paper works amazing for this project too! You can see scrap project with the chunky heart in the pic below.

This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a cent more!)

Supplies Needed to make a Dollar Tree Chunky Valentine Heart

• Dollar Tree chunky Heart
• GLAMENTINE print from Digital Deco Designs
• Twine
• Purpleish Pink glitter heart
• White paint
• Mod Podge

How to Make a Glamentine Dollar Tree Chunky Heart

I made this gorgeous Vintage Dollar Tree Chunky Heart on video, so you can WATCH the step by step tutorial on HERE.

Watch the video tutorial here

Start off by painting the entire Dollar Tree chunky heart all white.

Then trace the heart onto the rice paper Glamentine print, and cut it out and Mod Podge it to the front of the heart.

Take your twine, and glue the end to the back of the heart, and then wrap it around and around your heart, spreading it out on the left hand side like you see below. You may need a dab of hot glue to keep it in place, but I found if you wrap it tight enough it stays in place without it.

Make a twine circular loopy “bow” by wrapping your twine around 3 or 4 fingers several times until you have bundle, then pinching it in the middle and tying a piece of twine around the center so you are left with an “8” shape. Make 2 of those and then glue them together and spread out the loops.

Glue your “bow” to the bottom right of the heart, and add a glitter heart on top.

This Dollar Tree Chunky Valentine Heart fits perfectly on the bottom tier of my Rustic Wooden 3 Tiered Tray!

Are you going to makeover a Dollar Tree Chunky Heart for Valentine’s this year? If you do, I’d love to see it! Pop on over to our free Craftspiration Facebook group, and join in on the fun by posting a pic of your completed DIY’s and crafts. I just love to see all your creative and crafty creations!

If you’ve got a million projects on your crafting ‘to-do’ list like I do, than you need my FREE Craft Project Planner so you can plan to make *all the things*! When you sign up for the craft planner, I’ll also send you lot’s of fun, easy, and budget friendly ideas for you to fill it up with!

Free printable Craft Project Planner

Get organized, get inspired, and get crafting, with our free Craft Project Planner!

Download my free planner!

Until Next Time…

Stay Crafty San Diego!

Love this Dollar Tree Glamentine Chunky Heart for Valentine’s Day? Make sure to PIN it for later!

The post Dollar Tree Chunky Valentine Heart appeared first on Manda Panda Projects.