Clothespins, clothespins everywhere. And a Sale!

Posted on May 7, 2013 by queenvanna

My craft “storage” room is a disaster.  I know, everyone’s craft storage room is a disaster. ;)   At the end of my show-season last Christmas, I flung all my totes and boxes in the room to prep for the holiodays at my house and now it’s like a game of tetris.  Move this box, slide this over, that’s not gonna fit there, owww my foot.  I do have a very specific place for my inventory so that it is safe and away from the sun and dust.  The other day I waded in that room to get a few orders together and decided it was time to empty a little shoe-box sized tote or two.  I’ve listed a handful of different patterned clothespins in larger sets for a lower price than usual.  They’re already made and absolutely adorable, but I’m tired of looking that them.  YOU can buy them and look at them, use them, clip things.  Click on the pictures to take you to the listings:

I’m down to the last couple of sets of these – they’re a popular pattern.

I use a set of these in my kitchen for school noticed, cereal bags and magnets on my fridge!

and as always, houndstooth is where it’s at.  And there’s plenty more, so c’mon over to my little shop and see if something catches your eye.  I ship almost every day, I don’t wait around on orders, it’s time to get this stuff moving again!  Thank you!!

Click me to visit QueenvannaCreations.etsy.com

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Sesame Magic – Opening Day at Sesame Place

Posted on May 6, 2013 by queenvanna
Maybe it was because it was Opening day, or maybe it was because I worry in my heart that Big Girl is going to look at me one day soon and be like “Mom, I’m all grown out of this stuff now,” but everything seemed extra-magical and special that Saturday at Sesame Place.
A little girl, maybe 4 years old sat next to me before the evening parade. She had a new Abby Caddaby plushy from one of the gift shops that she was very happy to show me (probably because I was wearing my Abby visor and puffs.) She asked, “Do you think she’s real?” I answered, “Of course I do, she’s right in your hands! And we’ll see her in the parade!” I swear that little girl was planted there to have that conversation with me. Sesame magic has always been really-real to me.

(She was a chatty little one, she engaged all of us.)

On the long drive home, I thought more about Sesame magic and how it might seem to my girls.  When I was 5, my favorite Sesame Street bit was Bert, doing the “er-er-pigeon”.  How could he dance like that, how could see his shoes?  How does that work?  Like how it is that no matter how crowded the park is, what part of the line we are in, this girl gets whatever horse she wants every. single. time.

…how a couple years ago the girls decided they wanted to catch an Abby poof that launches from one of the floats in the parade and since then, we’ve caught at least one for each girl every time we’ve visited.  This time we caught three, and shared one with our little friend.  She was speechless, for a second.

This time it seemed like the staff at Sesame Place was extra magical, too.  The girl at Ernie’s bed bounce played tag with the big kids when it was their turn.  It was cool to give the kids a little structure and focus instead of aimlessly bouncing (which is fine, too, but you know…).

(I think Little Girl took this pic, it was on their camera)

A whole gang of workers played Red Light Green Light and Duck Duck Goose before the evening parade – it was WONDERFUL.  Rather than just sitting and asking every 32 seconds when the parade would start, everybody got a chance to stay busy.  The time went by quickly.

The girls were lucky enough to be chosen to dance in the parade too.  I SWEAR there is no trick to this, they just get picked.  Like, fairly often.  There must be something about them that catches the dancers’ eyes.

There’s a link here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlNQstRP7ig

There was a bit of a free-for-all when some streamers popped out into the crowd towards the end, lots of little kids ran into the parade path.  The dancers motioned to hold back the floats and everyone got back to their parents.  Big and Little Girl hadn’t moved from our spot, they know after all this time not step into the parade.  The “kid” that chose them to dance saw them standing there once the parade started up again and handed them a scoop of the streamers.  A simple gesture, but I think that was magic to my girls.

That look on Big Girl’s face, I want that magic forever.

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Opening Day at Sesame Place!

Posted on April 30, 2013 by queenvanna

(Part 1.  Of 2.  Maybe 3.  Ok, I’ll try to keep it to 2.)

Where??  Where do I begin??  We were all up and nearly ready to go at 5:30a for the trip to Pennsylvania!  We were at Sesame Place right on time and ready to go!!  Little girl had to go to the Vapor Trail – It’s right there by the gate and it’s the first year she’s old enough AND big enough to go on by herself.  And she did!

Big Girl went to see the characters first, because it was Opening Day they were out in full force waiting to meet everyone – she got to visit with some old favorites and some she hasn’t had a chance to pose with before!  BARKLEY!!
Prairie Dawn!
Oscar!
 
We had no idea how busy the day would be, so we wanted to ride some rides before the lines had a chance to grow.  Big Girl could’ve ridden Elmo’s Blastoff all day. 
The most fun part of this ride is that they love to scream their heads off.  They don’t HAVE to, they just do.
Another ride Little Girl could FINALLY ride by herself – Elmo’s Flyin’ Fish!
We had a special chance to see some friends and have some snacks, all Sesame themed, of course!
 
I decided that mom and dad should have some character pictures this go-’round, too.  The girls were pretty psyched that I let them touch my camera.  They did a pretty good job!
 
and my new favorite family portrait:
Sesame Place is all about celebrating – families, friends and fun!  The park’s new sticker campaign allows the Sesame Place team to celebrate their guests every day.  Some people are at the park for their birthday, while others are celebrating their first roller coaster ride, visit to the park, last night’s Phillies win, or even just a sunny day.  Every guest and every moment at Sesame Place is worthy of a celebration.  Tell us the reason for your smile and get your sticker today!  (Available at the Welcome Center.)  We were celebrating “a quick vacation from school”
It’s great being a big kid at Sesame Place!
(and we’re planning to do a lot more celebrating this summer!)
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American Girl / Sesame Crossover

Posted on April 23, 2013 by queenvanna

Worlds are colliding over here!  The girls have been playing a whole lot with their American Girl dolls lately, and when I found some mini-visors at the craft store I knew what I had to do.  (Thanks for the tip, April!)  The real-people have Sesame character visors, now the little ladies need some, too!

I have  huge pile of every color foam now, so it was not hard to whip these together

and the little ladies seem to like them!

The foam is not terribly forgiving with handcutting, you can see any of the times you move your scissors for rounded edges so I was a little frustrated at first.  I work in a scrapbook store so I have access to all kinds of cutting tools and found that the diecut machine had the perfect sized circles for eyeballs and the pupils.

I put the Elmo eyes on a little staggered and above the edge of the visor and the result was adorable, his eyes are a little wonky and give him some extra character.

Abby Cadabby has an extra layer to her eyes and has handcut eyelids and lashes.  She’s my favorite to make because she has added diminsion.  And freckles.

This is the first Cookie Monster one I’ve made.

and of course, Bert rocks.

They’re ready for a party!

I have a green one to make an Oscar, and a purple for The Count.  I hope I can find more of the visors to make more for their friends!

Now we’re ALL ready for Sesame Place Opening day!  (I noticed SP has revamped their website in the past day or 2 and it’s easier to find a few things – check it out! )  I’m especially interested in the different/new special dining possibilities – Big Bird’s Backyard BBQ dinner sounds extra fun – a different location from the usual Dine-with-Me experience, and Cookie’s Country Breakfast?  How cute is that?  Personally, I prefer to do breakfasts with my family – there’s always plenty of variety, I’m almost positive my kinda-picky eaters will find something to fill up on and make it worth extra $.  And if you’re in to the characters (like we are) is awesome to get that extra bit of quality time and pictures with them before you get all sweaty/crazy haired/splashed on the water rides.  Now I just have to decide which ones to sign up for!

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QueenvannaCreations, hard at work…

Posted on April 22, 2013 by queenvanna

Was it last year?  I decided I wanted to try and get 100 perpetual calendars in my etsy shop.  The closest I got was about 70, then I sold a LOT of them and my number went way down.  Right now I’m at 61.

I’m also working on using what I have.  I’ve got papers picked for probably 61 MORE calendars.  An then 61 more.  The girls are back in school after vacation starting today and I’m ready to roll.  Or paste, you know.

My favorites right now include Wine Bottles

(so grown up!)

and artsy paint swirls

I think either would be great for Mother’s Day or maybe the artsy one would work as an end-of-the-year teacher gift.  There will be many more possibilities to come!

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Counting Down to Sesame Place

Posted on April 21, 2013 by queenvanna

When we have a special event coming up, I like to add to the aniticipation by making a special countdown or have some other way to get psyched about it (like children need any more ways to get psyched!).  In the past for Sesame Place I’ve made visors:

cookies

cakeballs

scrapbooks

we’ve got t-shirts

(even Daddy gets in on the action!)

and I’m sure there are a few other odds n ends I’m forgetting.

This year, being a Sesame Place Blog Ambassador, I feel like I have to step up my game some!!  Suggestions are welcome, any and all ideas will be entertained, you can help us get in to the spirit!!  (Though if *I* get any more in to the spirit, I might explode into a puff of confetti streamers like in the Neighborhood Street Party!)

Opening day is next weekend, Saturday 4/27/13!

Be the first to arrive at Sesame Place at 10:00 a.m. and enjoy a character celebration followed by red carpet meet and greets with all of your Sesame Street friends! Plus, take advantage of an exclusive opportunity to meet and greet with Sesame Street’s pet dog, Barkley! We are celebrating our guests on Opening Day, be one of first 500 guests to visit Mr. Hooper’s Emporium and receive a special gift!

Don’t forget to check out upcoming CONCERTS and special DINING opportunities, somebody come and play!

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10 More Days!

Posted on April 17, 2013 by queenvanna

Our “Official” Countdown is on!!  There are only 10 more days til Sesame Place opens for the season!  I still have a contest to win a 4 pack of Single-Day tickets going on <–click that to get to the entry page!  All done, we have a winner!

I made us a scrapbook page to count down – we’ll take out a tag every day until the BIG DAY!!  Once we’re done, it’ll fit nicely into our family scrapbook.

We’re going for Opening day on 4/27 and we are planning to stay over and visit again on 4/28 to make a weekend of it.  It’s almost time!!!  I’ve been looking at the other events they have coming up, too and when we will go back over the summer.  Help me decide, it’s hard! =D

There are concerts: Calliou, Imagination Movers, Max and Ruby, Laurie Berkner, Angelina Ballerina and A Carebears Dance party – and that’s SO FAR, there’s still a whole lot of summer that’s not scheduled!

Dining with the Characters – Cinco de Mayo with Rosita, A Mother’s Day Celebration (which sounds AWESOME, too bad I’ll be out of town or we’d TOTALLY be doing that), Super Grover’s Superhero Party, A Memorial Day BBQ, Oscar’s very Grouchy Birthday Party, and on and on and on, click this to see what is going on when you might be available!

Fireworks 3 times this season, and lots of things to be announced.  Can we move to Sesame Place?  I should check on that.

Sesame Place is also having a contest to be the GRAND MARSHALL of the Opening Day parade – CAN YOU IMAGINE???  Click it to go there and enter!  (all done, thank you!)

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What to Say in Difficult Times.

Posted on April 16, 2013 by queenvanna

I have some fun and ridiculous things to share, but I’m gonna give it another day or 2.  Living in CT, I am right in between New York City and Boston.  I love going to Boston, and like everyone else, I’m at a loss for words regarding the tragedy yesterday.  I have barely been able to tear myself away from news sources and Twitter when I have spare moments.  The girls are on Spring Break this week so I’m glad I have a distraction.  We have been shopping for summer clothes and to the library and out to lunch and are operating very much as Business As Usual in their lives.  I haven’t told them anything about this since we are not personally effected in our family but Scholastic Inc has had some really good articles about how to talk to children about difficult topics.  They’ve been an interesting resource for some other subjects lately for me, too.  If you’re interested, I recommend you check it out. (click this)

Boston Marathon Explosion

Take it for whatever it is, but I didn’t tell them anything about Newtown when that tragedy happened either.  My girls are in primary school, Little Girl is in first grade, like the children lost.  Their teachers are young and dynamic, just like several of the ones who were lost that day.  They didn’t need to know such things could happen, being so young I cannot break the innocence they have.  For heaven’s sake, when they have “Lockdown Drills” at school, Little Girl thinks they’re in case a bear gets in her school.  She doesn’t know yet that people can be so horrible.  When they asked why I picked them up unexpectedly that day, I told them grown-up things had happened that had made me very very sad and since having them with me is what makes my heart happy, I needed them close to me.  That worked for them, thankfully.

Love your babies extra hard in the upcoming days, they need to know there’s so much more love and good than not in their world.  Think about what you might need to say to answer their questions because I know eventually, mine will have some.  It’s good to be prepared.

Thinking of Boston.

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Come and Play!

Posted on April 4, 2013 by queenvanna

Giveaway: Sesame Place OPENS April 27th For Its 2013 Season -Win A Family 4 Pack of Tickets!

sesame logo
The Queenvanna Fam will be there opening day, 10a-8p and there will be all kinds of treats and surprises!

Be the first to arrive at Sesame Place on Opening Day and get the royal treatment!  Guests are the VIPs and will be treated to a character celebration followed by a meet and greet with all of your Sesame Street friends throughout the park!
Look for contest details to be the parade Grand Marshall on opening day. (CAN YOU IMAGINE??)
Be one of the first 500 guests to visit Mr. Hooper’s Emporium and receive a special gift!
*****
My family has been to Sesame place for the past 5 summers, once for Christmas and once for Halloween… and we can’t wait to come back again this year!  Sesame Place is by far our favorite theme park, even if it is quite a drive for us.  It’s an extra-special time every chance we get to see our Sesame friends and ride the rides and see the shows.  Every year is a new experience.  And this year, I get to see it all through the eyes of a Sesame Place Blog Ambassador, you’ll get to read all about our 2013 visits!
*****
We’ve done it all and we’re ready to do it again!
Riding the Sunny Day Carousel in 2008
Dancing w Mr. Noodle in 2009
Hopscotch in the Sesame Neighborhood in 2010
Watching the new Neighborhood Street Party Parade in 2011
Closing down Sesame Place’s Very Furry Christmas in 2011
Riding solo in 2012
And dancing in the Neighborhood Street Party parade at The Count’s Halloween Spooktacular!
There’s so much for kids of all ages, come and play!
Here’s your chance!
And here’s the contest!  Let’s do this, people!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: I am a Sesame Place Blog Ambassador for the 2013 season.  No monetary compensation was provided for this post.  All opinions are my own.
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Carrot in a Cake – Carrot Cake!

Posted on April 1, 2013 by queenvanna

So Easter is said and done, but I’m not ready to move on just yet.  Rather than call this an Easter cake, I’ll call it a SPRINGTIME, It’s 60 degrees outside (YAY!) cake!

I made white cake batter and tinted it orange, baked it on a cookie sheet that was roughly the size of a jelly roll pan (I don’t know what a jelly roll pan actually IS, I found a measurement online and wung it.)  SO! Orange tinted cake in a fairly large flat pan.  It took 18-20 minutes to cook and mine was not uniformly flat, it raised up in the center some, but it worked out fine for me.  I used a carrot shaped cookie cutter and cut out as many carrots as I could get.  Here starts the pictures:

I put a little chocolate cake batter in the bottom of the pan so they’d stand up nicely and lined the bottom of a long loaf pan with the carrots, pointy sides up.  Then I added the rest of the cake batter, and then maybe 3/4 of ANOTHER cake batter.  The loaf pan is LONG, it’s a LOT of cake!

I had enough batter left to make 6 little cupcakes, too.

We decided since this was a LOT of cake and we wouldn’t be able to get through it all before it went stale, we’d cut it in half and freeze part for next time we need some tasty cake!  So heeeeere’s the big carrot reveal!!

When you turn it out of the pan, the carrots are right-side-up again!

Big Girl helped decorate the top – she put a layer of chocolate glaze that slowly oozed over the sides to look a little like shiny, scrumptious mud.

Then she layered some crushed oreos on top while the glaze was still wet, and just a small handful of green sprinkles to look like grass trying to peek through.

Little Girl used a similar decorating technique on the cupcakes:

The carrot leaves were melted candy wafers put in a plastic or piping bag and squirted out on to foil to make the leafy shape.  We slit starter-holes for those, then poked em right in and added just one small bunny cupcake pic.

Not only it is ADORABLE, but everyone that’s tried it (The girls and hubs) has said YUM!!

I’m thinking this is a great springtime dessert, or for a garden or tea party.  There’s lots of ways we could decorate the top, with chocolates or candy flowers, and of course I’m pondering other  things we can “plant” inside.

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