Brunch & Puppets

It has been so fun sharing iGeneration with my good friend Tara Hewlett from As Long As It's Fancy this month. Tara's Muppet party boards were smart, colorful, and are making me think that I need to bring these boards to life sometime soon.

I continued the puppet birthday fun on my actual birthday with mi amiga, Anuja. We started our morning with brunch and then headed over to Puppet Kitchen for a puppet making workshop. I wish I could spend every Sunday eating brunch and making puppets. Puppet Kitchen, known in part for building the puppets on Johnny and the Sprites, has a beautiful, little studio in an old school kitchen. We were there to make fuzzy hand monsters. I was nervous...how would we make these things? Would I need to sew?! Eek!

There were 8 of us in the workshop, the perfect amount of people to fit in the space comfortably. Our instructor was warm, encouraging, and knowledgeable. We started with pre-cut fabric, and then our instructor glued a mouth plate on for us while sharing some information about the company and all the "chefs" that work there. 

Sewing the puppet was a lot easier than I thought. The furry fabric probably helped make the stitches less noticeable.

Decorating the puppet was my favorite part. We all started with blank, furry canvases. 

It was interesting to see how each participant decorated their puppet friend and brought it to life. I absolutely recommend the workshop for anyone interested in what happens before the puppet hits the hand. Though the workshop is fun, it's probably best for kids over the age of 10, due to the stitching that's involved. I recommend taking the workshop with a side of brunch! For more information, check out their website!

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Games for Party Animals

By Tara Hewlett of As Long As It's Fancy

Miss Piggy is the ultimate fashionista.  Make sure she looks her best with a game of "Miss Piggy Bank Dress Up."  Start out with some plain piggy banks then grab some of Miss Piggy's favorite accessories such as pearl stickers for a necklace or earrings.  Lipstick and nail polish can be used as makeup or substitute paint for the same effect.  Finally, Miss Piggy loves a boa.  You can secure with a bit of hot glue.  Now you have the perfect spot to save up for your own fashionista accessories!

nail polish, lipstick, pearl stickers, piggy bank, boa

Gonzo has the most perfectly shaped nose for a game of ring toss!  Let's hang gonzo from the ceiling, grab a few rings and see which party guest has the best aim!

gonzo puppet, rings

Animal loves to play the drums, but some of our guests might have other talents.  At our music station we can make guitars, drums and tambourines.  We just need some cardboard, tacks and string for our guitar.  We need some embroidery hoops, bottle caps and tape for our tambourine.  Finally, to make Animal's favorite instrument we need some lollipop drumsticks, a coffee can and fabric.  After we're finished making and decorating our instruments we can even record our own song!

guitar, animal, tambourine, drum

Beaker wanted to join in on the musical fun as well, so he came up with a fun experiment.  He filled up a few beakers (or glasses if you want to simplify) with some water and added food coloring for fun.  With the water at different levels in each beaker he has created a range of different tones! 

beaker

And what Muppet party or Christina party would be complete without some puppet making!?  If you're feeling fancy you could head on over to FAO Schwarz before the party and have everyone make their own Muppet!  Christina is on the left sporting her signature glasses and a statue of liberty outfit to represent New York.  I am on the right with my red hair and cheerleading outfit from college!

whatnots

If you are a bit far from the famous toy store you can still make your own Muppet using paper bags or socks.  Any of these options are fun and leave all of our guests with their very own personalized Muppet!

 birds, giraffe, sock, panda

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Happy February: The ultimate Muppet birthday party

It's February! To some, February means love, snow, or presidents, but not to me. February is my birthday month, and I've teamed up with my pal Tara at As Long As It's Fancy to present the best Muppet birthday party out there.

Each Wednesday this month, we'll be posting different aspects of the party so you and yours can celebrate your favorite occasion in fancy, Muppet style. First post is up tomorrow...stay tuned!

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