photo props Archives - Page 4 of 6 - Ashley Hackshaw / Lil Blue Boo

Bohemian Princess Crown | a Free Printable

October 4, 2012 by Ashley Hackshaw

If I had a little girl, I would just love to host a Bohemian Princess party. We’d do a nature walk, and turn our found treasures of leaves, twigs, rocks and feathers into an art project and deck ourselves out in costume jewels. We’d braid each others’ hair and tuck daisies behind our ears. And we’d eat wild berries and cream in big bowls! In that vein, i thought it would be fun to make a little paper crown printable for all of you and your princesses. Have a Boho Princess Party of your own! [Read more…]

Paper Mache Animal Heads (A Tutorial)

April 14, 2012 by Ashley Hackshaw

Another addition to Boo’s playroom….a paper mache unicorn head! It took about 4 hours total to make….over 3 days. I love that it’s whimsical 3-dimensional artwork appropriate for a child’s room.

To make the animal head I started with newspaper and masking tape:

I crumpled up newspaper and kept wrapping it into a ball until it was the size needed and secured it with masking tape:

I made three different sized newspaper balls to make up the entire head…..

….and secured them together with tape.

I wrapped the pieces in newspaper to help secure them and used tape to contour different sections:

I formed a neck out of newspaper and attached it:

I cut a heavy piece of cardboard to be the backing for the neck (the flat piece that will lie against the wall when mounted):

The cardboard was secured with masking tape:

I use a boiled paste for my paper mache mixture. 1 part flour to 4 parts water works for best for me but you can experiment with your own mixture to see what you prefer to work with. I bring it to a boil stirring constantly until it’s a soupy mixture.

Pouring the soupy paper mache into a bowl I let it cool for about a minute and then start tearing paper towels into small pieces. I use paper towels because they are easier to sculpt.

I dipped pieces of paper towel into the mixture…..

…..and then slowly covered the entire head.

I press and sculpt the head as I go to give it the shape I want:

Once the head has been coated completely I let it completely dry overnight:

The next day, I cut out some ears…..

…..and made a horn by wrapping a sturdy piece of paper into a cone. I used masking tape to secure them into place.

I made another mixture of paper mache and used paper towel pieces to secure the horn and ears securely to the head:

Paper towels are great for sculpting….so I used pieces to create nostrils and more bone structure. It doesn’t matter what it looks like except for the basic structure because I’m adding another layer of nicer paper on top for the finish coat.

I built up layers and layers until the head looked like I wanted it to.

Then I let it dry overnight again!

After the paper mache form had ample time to dry….I took an old book and some Mod Podge and used it to cover the entire form.

I cut up the pages into small piece and just started layering them over…….

….and over…..until the form was covered entirely.

I bought a pre-cut wood plaque from Michael’s for $5.00 using my 50% off coupon and spray painted it hot pink.

The final step was to attach the unicorn head to the plaque! I used industrial glue and a staple gun to secure it. The staples are easily covered with some more paper and Mod Podge.

I can’t decide what animal to make next!

Check out the entire Project Playroom series by clicking the image below!

Boo’s Krispy Kreme Doughnut Party

February 4, 2012 by Ashley Hackshaw

Disclaimer: This post may cause cravings and/or obsessive doughnut thoughts.

Today was Boo’s big doughnut party! I put it together in about a week….only with the help of my friends and family and Krispy Kreme. We had about 4o kids and adults and the day was all about Boo! She’s been such a trooper the last 6 months with my surgery and chemotherapy…..I wanted to do something big for her.

I grew up on Krispy Kreme donuts so when Boo said she wanted a donut party for her birthday I immediately envisioned the red and green theme!

If you’ve never had a Krispy Kreme donut…..you. are. missing. out. They melt in your mouth!

Here’s Boo in her “donut shop”……with her donut hat and a hand silk screened apron. I bought the apron at Michael’s and added the “Bestest Everest” artwork specially designed by Stephanie Corfee:

I even enlarged the neon “HOT NOW” Krispy Kreme sign to make it authentic. I printed it at Staples and used spray adhesive to attach it to foam board:

Lisa helped me with all the little Krispy Kreme themed tent cards for all the food:

The doughnut table….complete with little vintage-themed mini milk bottles! I found them at Sav-on-Crafts for about $15 for a dozen!

“To-Go” bags for the guests to take a doughnut home!

The coffee station:

Krispy Kreme hats for everyone!

The food table:

Boo and Mr. LBB….I had white aprons for about 6 adults so that we would have some donut servers:

No cake….just donuts!

A few of Boo’s friends….all wearing LBB!

For some of the entertainment I spray-painted doughnuts and games onto our yard:

Hopscotch:

My little niece Sawyer playing in the doughnuts:

I was SO excited for everyone to get their favors! Gicela helped me silk screen doughnut t-shirts for all the kids and Lisa made the cute little tags:

Little favor bags with stickers and pencils…..easily made with plastic bags and stapling printed paper over the opening:

Boo’s Choose Joy tee was made by Cristy of Paperlili! Isn’t it adorable?

I love this photo of my in-laws and Boo’s cousins. Boo’s mouth is full of doughnut! My father-in-law was in doughnut shop character:

Look at all the Choose Joy bracelets at the party!

A few behind the scenes notes for planning your own party:

The awesome tower of doughnuts? I found it at the thrift store and repainted it! The platters were found at the 99 cent store and fit it perfectly!

I spray painted various frames and added chalkboards to them for table decor…..easy and inexpensive!

I made large stencils to spray paint the doughnuts and games on the grass. Hours of entertainment was added for the cost of 2 cans of paint!

A special thanks to Lisa, Gicela, Gale, and Jenn for helping me put all this together in such a short time! A VERY special thanks to our family friend Jim Morgan of Krispy Kreme for all the little details that made the party possible!!! Every little detail was just perfect….including the fresh Krispy Kreme doughnuts that we had brought in from Ontario more than an hour away. Thank you Jenn and John for picking them up for us!!!

It was a great day of hanging out with friends and family that we haven’t been able to spend time with in quite a while!

This is the best party I’ve ever had.
-Boo