Machelle, Author at A Joyful Riot

January 30, 2018

Printable Valentine Magnets & Cards

I’ve had a pack of printable magnet paper lying around for a while and was waiting for a great project! I thought that magnets that looked like flair pins would be really fun and cute and the perfect thing to hand out for a non-candy valentine option!

This was such an easy project, just took a little bit of time to cut everything out. You could just do one magnet per card to make the printable go even further.

What I love about these is that they’re great for any age! I love them, I mean, I made them for me (and to send to Malissa) but when my three year old saw them cut out, she kept saying how much she loved them! She kept laying them out and picking her favorites! This may be why I do so well with children… haha! But really, I think they’re just likable no matter what age you are. And while these definitely skew female (think Galentine’s Day!) there are plenty of boy-appropriate ones to.

Basically all my favorite clipart I’ve ever made is on these bad boys! I already decided I need to print another page because I need more to hand out and then I need a page just for me! I need more fridge magnets anyway :)

January 23, 2018

Colorful Vintage Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

This Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter’s Tea Party mixes colorful whimsy with vintage elegance for a perfect-for-all-ages dinner party.

I am thrilled to finally be sharing this fun party we put together for our brother’s 40th birthday! As an avid Alice in Wonderland fan, my brother requested a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party theme for the event. I am always excited to put together a party but with a theme like this I knew I’d have a great time thinking of ways to make it unique. It’s not exactly the most original idea, so I saw it as somewhat of a personal challenge to make it different from all the other Alice in Wonderland parties I’d seen.

While I’m pretty sure my brother enjoys all the versions of Alice in Wonderland, he particularly loves the Tim Burton version. With it’s dark whimsy, I tried to seek inspiration directly from the film and was struck by how well this poster for it matched the vision already in my head.

My dad and I had made these tables from vintage doors this summer to use for a bridal shower I hosted. (I’ll be sharing that party soon!) And I immediately thought of them for this party. The scene when Alice first visits Wonderland and is trying to fit through the door came to mind and I thought they’d be perfect. But I also knew I didn’t just want a moody, vintage look. I wanted to incorporate lots of color and fun elements since the silly side of the story is what my brother loves most. I wasn’t sure my initial idea would pan out well, but once I put the colorful kazoos and fun mixed confetti I had bought next to some vintage cups and tablecloths, I knew the idea was gold. I just loved the mix of playful and delicate.

Perhaps what I was most excited for leading up to the party, though, was that I’d finally get to use my collection of vintage stemware. I have always loved the look of mixed glasses. Especially the colored vintage kind. And I’d been slowly collecting them over the years as I found unique ones at thrift stores and estate sales. Of course, I’d grown worried as I had never had the chance to really use them yet. But once this party came up, I knew the time was finally here! And, boy….did they look beautiful all laid out together with the rest of the whimsical elements around them! ‘Drink Me’ labels on every cup were obviously necessary :)

January 16, 2018

Colorful Minimal Calendar for 2018 | Free Printable

If you love the Stendig calendar, you’ll love this free printable version that comes in color! Every month is a new fun color, instead of just black and white but features the minimal style you love.

You know I’m a sucker for the Stendig. As I explain in my last two posts about it (2017 and 2016) though, I can never seem to purchase it in time. So, I usually DIY my own (see linked posts for the how to!). This year, though I decided to do it in color!

I felt like this choice would serve two purposes: firstly, I’d feel less like I was ripping off the amazing original Stendig. Which I only felt okay doing to begin with because they always sell out and I didn’t provide it until after they did. And secondly, it really does match my office/craft room better. And I have to say, I just LOVE how it turned out!

I actually made this calendar last year, at the beginning of 2017. But, 2017 was CRAZY. That’s all I can say. Having my second baby was way more out of control than I had anticipated. My son was sick all. the. time. We’re talking a new sickness every other week and they would last for 7-10 days each. I am not exaggerating when I’d say he goes maybe 4 days of being healthy before he’s slammed with something new. (This trend is still ongoing. He’s sick as I write this and we had three different things through the month of December). There are times when I don’t even get to stop using the Nose Frida on him before I have to start using it again :( It truly is the saddest thing.

In the beginning, he was hospitalized with RSV/bronchiolitis. After already spending a week in the NICU for jaundice. Of course my heart always ached for parents who had to spend time in the hospital with their kids. But having experienced it…it truly is terrible. Words can’t really describe how awful going through that is. Hospitals and worry and sicknesses and the loneliness…it’s an honest nightmare.

Anyway, without going too much into that ordeal, let me just say that yes the year got much better but was still very hard. Otto never slept because he was always sick. And I was always sick with him, I caught everything he did. 2017 was literally the year I was awake and sick. All the time. That’s almost all I did last year!

Haha, no of course I got a lot of other stuff done. But beyond the sickness and tiredness, Otto is very attached to me and has only become more so. My daughter, who is 3, also has become less independent as she sees him cling to me. So all of this added up to make my year very overwhelming, a lot of work, and basically no time left over for myself or my projects. It was hard to get anything done. Hard is an understatement. I had about a dozen posts done and photographed before he was born and still none of them made it to the blog. I honestly felt like I didn’t have a spare few hours to write a freaking blog post.

I’m sure you noticed. The blog took a big hit, post-wise. We just couldn’t get the content up. Malissa had a really busy, trying year at work and we both struggled in other ways. We appreciate your patience with us as we navigated our year! We love A Joyful Riot, and we love sharing our projects and ideas here. We have no plans to stop and we’re thankful you’re here with us!

So anyway, back to my calendar! LOL! I used this all last year and decided that since I never shared it here, I would just update it with the correct dates and finally post it! I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. I used engineer prints through Staples to get the large size (yes you can do them in color too!) and you could go much bigger! The actual Stendig is 4 feet long and these have good enough resolution to do it that big if you so desire. I just might go that big this year :D

Grab the file of all the months below (sorry January is almost gone!), print them via whatever method you want (even small on your home printer!) and then glue them together along the top and I like to glue a thick ribbon along the top too. Then I pin it into my wall. I cut away each month as they end and save them for wrapping paper! They make super adorable wrapping paper! Get detailed instructions on how to make it in this post. Happy 2018 everyone! Can’t wait to see what this year brings, basically just hoping for sleep though haha.

January 9, 2018

How to Paint a Wood Burning Stove

If you have an old wood burning stove that you no longer use, turn it into a beautiful focal point by painting it a bright color!

A while back, I shared my craft room featuring this painted wood burning stove which is my favorite part! I’ll forever be hopelessly in love with turquoise and so, even though I considered a few other colors, I am so happy I went with my favorite! I think the bright, happy color adds just enough to this space so that not a whole lot else is required on the walls or windows around it. I’m so lucky to not only have a space with such a fun piece in it but that I can basically do whatever I want to the pieces in my space! I’ve mentioned it a few times before but my house will eventually be torn down so in the meantime I’m painting all the things!

Give a DIYer her freedom and it’ll be her first thought to paint the vintage fixtures haha. But, I really wasn’t sure exactly how to do it and I definitely learned a few things along the way. The first thing I tried did not work out. And I honestly couldn’t find any help online. I tried searching for a multitude of different things and nothing had the help I needed! Eventually I chose my own products and figured it out and I couldn’t be happier!

It wasn’t difficult at all, it just took a little trial and error with some products to get the result I needed.

January 3, 2018

Party Starters! How to Throw a Movie Night Party!

This movie night party rivals the red carpet with DIY free printable flair pins, an easy glittery star marquee light, and three amazing popcorn mix recipes to share!

We saved the last of our Party Starters! videos for last: this colorful and fun movie night party is our favorite one of them all!

We’ve all seen countless movie night inspired parties and popcorn bars in our time (and on Pinterest :D) but we have to say we love how ours turned out. Rather than just gold, red, and black we incorporated fun colors like turquoise, pink, mint, and blue. You may have noticed throughout our Party Starters themes, pink somehow made it into all of them haha! Pink is a very versatile color you know! Or if you didn’t know that, now you do :) We really love how it made each party have its own unique palette and fun vibe.

Check out our other Party Starters posts here: donut party, sprinkle themed party, and pizza party!

The movie night party was the first party we shot on our second day of shooting. The whole video with all of the projects can be found right here. The movie ticket backdrop was probably the most stand-out part and it made the whole corner ready to party! This isn’t a DIY in the video-its just super simple: hang colored tickets (we got ours at Zurchers) with tape from the ceiling to create a colorful background for your popcorn bar!

Here’s a fun behind-the-scenes look at some of the shooting crew and our set up:

For this party we show you how to make a gold glitter giant star marquee light, shrink plastic movie-themed flair pins, and three amazing popcorn mix recipes! We also gives some awesome tips for creating the best popcorn bar ever and setting up your buffet. Click through to see all the DIYs and get links to the videos and step-by-step directions!

Printable Valentine Magnets & Cards

Colorful Vintage Mad Hatter’s Tea Party

Colorful Minimal Calendar for 2018 | Free Printable

How to Paint a Wood Burning Stove

Party Starters! How to Throw a Movie Night Party!

Look Around

Subscribe