While it's winter, what can we do?

{March 2011}

Oh so much!


Sledding anyone?


January is always a crazy beginning. From closing out the holiday season {which is always sad in its own rite} to beginning the new year, my family adds in a whole bunch of birthdays to my depleted budget. 


So, in order to save a little cash, I scoured Pinterest again. {Shocking, I know}! 
My lovely sister-in-law turned the big 3-0! {Sorry, but I had to divulge the age in order to share}.


I don't know about you, but I really actually enjoyed 30. Good things came and went in my 30th year, but a good gag gift was in order. When I found this whole "30 Sucks!" idea, I had to go with it. {And while I am an ADAMANT opponent to the phrase "sucks," the English teacher in me opted to honor the play on words}.


So, what did we make to send to Aunt Tiffy? The best gag gift ever!




Well, she LOVES popsicles. 

{From NY to CA with LOVE}

Slight problem.




We live on opposite ends of the country.




The next best thing was to use lollipops instead.


So, off to Michaels and Target I went.


I purchased a medium sized empty plastic paint "can," which I placed a small styrofoam cone into, narrow end up. I also purchased one of the large swirly lollipops, old-fashion styled. 
Because this was a thirtieth birthday, I also chose to purchase fun sticky leopard-print letters from the scrapbooking section. 

{Clear plastic paint can} - Purchased at Michaels

With green being one of Tiffany's favorite colors, I grabbed a spool of wrapping ribbon in a lime color as well. 


Onto Target.


Lollipops, lollipops, and more lollipops. I could have purchased any number of assorted lollipops, but I love Jolly Ranchers {and who knew they make lollipops these days?!} and also a bag of traditional Blow Pops. {I'm a sucker for the good old standbys - no pun intended}.


Getting all of the supplies home was easy. Sneaking it past my six and two and a half year-old helpers was another feat in and of itself. It didn't happen. Guess I have to work on my espionage-esque sneaky skills. Note to self: A goal for year 32.


Taking the plastic bucket, and placing the styrofoam cone into the center, I took the large swirly pop {with a LOVELY wooden stick - thank you!} into the center of the cone. While it became a little top heavy, I wasn't too worried. The rest of the lollipops balanced it out just fine.


I had my six year-old helper practice counting to thirty, and she pulled 30 different lollipops from the two bags, which she then proceeded to lay out onto the table. Meanwhile, the other helper was far from wanting to count. She just wanted to dig in.


After counting out the lollipops, we placed {or jammed} the sticks into the top end of the cone. It took a little doing, but we managed. Plus, it was fun to practice our counting again. 

{Our completed project}

When we finished, we took some tissue paper and covered the cone. We also added in curled segments of the lime wrapping ribbon to add some flair.


To spruce things up just a BIT more, we broke out the sticky leopard print letters and my kindergarten helper aided me in spelling out the phrases "30 Sucks! and Happy Birthday!"


While she handed me letters, I placed them accordingly onto the plastic bucket. 


*NOTE:* In hindsight, if I were to do this again, I'd definitely place the lettering on FIRST to avoid all of the lollipops toppling a hundred million times.
When we were finished, we had a fun and silly gag gift for Aunt Tiffy.