How To Make Yo-Yo Balloons

Ever heard of a Yo-yo balloon before? As one would suspect by the name, it's a balloon that you play with like a yo-yo. I often see them at small fairs and parties. It's a great outdoor activity for the summer and keeps the kids entertained. Yo-yo balloons are easy and inexpensive to make. They're perfect for entertaining a large crowd and make nice favors as well.

You can also purchase pre-made yo-yo balloons. The only difference is the balloons are striped and you have pre-cut rubber bands with finger loops. That's really the only thing that separates making vs. buying. Simple directions below.

Supplies:
water balloons
large thick rubber bands
balloon pump - optional

Cut a large rubber band to make a string. It should measure about 10- 12 inches. Tie a loop on one end for it to fit a child's finger (refer to picture).

Fill the water balloon with water until it's roughly the size of a golf ball. Now fill with air until the balloon is the size of an orange. Tie shut.

Tie the rubber band onto the balloon. Done.


Have Fun!

Don Pedro Chicken Recipe

As promised, here's the recipe for Don Pedro Chicken. We served this at the Star Wars birthday party. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to take a close up picture of the chicken. My aunt however, snapped a shot of the table and I figured this was better than nothing. You'll also notice on the table there's the Chinese cabbage salad and the spam musubi. See, I give you all my best recipes. There's also a fabulous crab macaroni salad on the table which I'll save for another time. But until then, here's the Don Pedro recipe. Enjoy.

Don Pedro Chicken Recipe

Prep time: 15 min. (plus marinating time)

5lbs skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 cup shoyu (soy sauce)
1½ Tbsp miso (red or white or mixture of both)
1 cup sugar
1½ Tbsp smooth peanut butter
6 cloves garlic, minced
6 slices of chopped ginger
2 Tbsp mirin (rice wine)
½ cup green onions, sliced
1½ Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds

1. Combine all ingredients in a marinating dish.
2. Marinade chicken overnight
3. Grill chicken till done.

Craft Project: Table Centerpieces

A couple weeks ago I mentioned I was busy at work making tissue flowers for table centerpieces. Above is a picture of all my hard work. They worked out perfect for the event. I made the centerpieces for long rectangle tables. And maybe it's just me but I find long rectangle tables are always the trickiest. Round tables on the other hand are easy. You create one tall centerpiece and it's done. But with long tables you have to fill the space. Anyone else feel this way? Anyhow, below are simple directions on how I made the arrangements.

Supplies:
Tissue Flowers
Glass Vases - I purchased mine at Target but you can find them at Michaels, dollar store, etc.
Curly Willow branches - I purchased mine through a local wholesale florist shop but you can also find them at craft stores or the farmers market. They're very common.
Glass half marbles
Washi paper - any decorative paper will work
Removable Glue dots
Hot Glue

1. Cut paper to size. Wrap around vase and adhere with glue dots. The reason I used the glue dots was so I could remove the paper after and reuse the vases.

2. Cut four branches to desired length. Arrange branches, hold in place, drop glass marbles into vase to hold branches in place. This will also prevent the vases from tipping over.

3. Hot glue one tissue flower to each branch. For each vase I used four tissue flowers. It added just enough color. Done.

I was able to take this single picture amongst the craziness of setting up. Sorry it's not that good. To lengthen the table and add color I used Hallmark's textured gold wrapping paper. No one even knew it was wrapping paper, it looks that good. I placed to vases on each table. With the remaining washi paper, I used a sakura flower punch and sprinkled the flowers along the gold runner.

*Side note - Last week I mentioned I would be sharing a chicken recipe, I'll be posting about it Wednesday.

Let them Eat Star Wars Cake

The talented Aunt Susan has done it again! She made the perfect cake for Evan's Star Wars themed birthday party. Evan specifically requested the cartoon version of Obi-Wan Kenobi on his cake with blue lightsabers. Most artists will tell you people are the hardest images to draw. So considering she created Obi-Wan with icing, I think it's pretty amazing. And if you're curious, the cake was vanilla with chocolate filling, another request by Evan.

Image from Cartoon Network

This is the image Aunt Susan used to create the cake.

How to Make a Lightsaber

This had to be my favorite activity at the party, make your own lightsaber. All the boys had fun making and customizing their own lightsabers. It was fun to see what each child made. Some went with traditional handles while others decorated theirs with lots of colors and stickers. My son came up with the idea of making a dual lightsaber (picture above). I thought this was very clever. I think he's inherited my craftyness, what do you think?


Supplies:
toilet paper rolls
twisty balloons - make sure they are new, old balloons are weak and pop easily
markers and stickers - for decoration
balloon pump


Have children decorate toilet paper rolls with markers and stickers. While the kids are doing this, I recommend blowing up the balloons. Leave about an inch of the balloon unfilled. This will prevent the balloons from popping while the kids are playing with them.

Stuff the balloon into the lightsaber handle. Depending on the size of the balloon you may want to add a little glue inside the handle. For these ones I didn't need glue at all. Done.

It's inevitable that a balloon or two will pop so I recommend making a few extra.

Jedi Games

*Have children duel with their lightsabers standing on one leg. The child that can last the longest on one leg wins.

*Make an obstacle course out of whatever you have at your house. We used soccer cones and training ladders (the kind that lay flat on the ground). You could use chairs in replace of cones, get creative. Have children run through the course with the lightsaber in one hand. You could time them for more of a challenge.

*Pop bubbles with lightsabers. I recommend using a bubble machine if possible. This would be a good game for toddlers.