Treat your daughter (and yourself) to a Dragonfly Designs jewelry party

When it comes to birthday parties, I'm usually an all-or-nothing kind of party planner. When I outsource the birthday party, the party place (mini golf, laser tag, trampoline park, wherever it may be) does it all; all I provide is the birthday cake and party favors.   When I host it at home, I do everything -- the food, crafts, favors and activities.  I consider myself pretty good with simple crafts -- but I never realized how much difference hiring a professional to oversee the party activities would make to a home birthday party, until Dragonfly Designs hosted a jewelry making party for The Pea's 12th birthday.  Owner Stacee and her assistant will come to your home, bring all the materials your guests need to create beautiful custom jewelry, do all the setup, supervise the whole activity, and clean up afterwards.  Stacee has been hosting these parties since 2005, and she has been creating jewelry all her life, so she's the perfect person to help your daughter and her guests create amazing works of art.  Keep reading below and see for yourself!

To start things off, each guest made a simple beaded bracelet.  A table was laid out with a variety of beads in every shape and color, charms, metal spacers, feathers, and other trinkets.  Each girl was given a stack of little bowls and told to help themselves to whatever they wanted to use for their bracelet.

Check out the amazing variety of beads, charms and spacers we had to choose from!  It's kind of like Ali Baba's Treasure Cave of Beads.  That's one huge advantage a Dragonfly Designs party has over doing it all by yourself.  It would cost a small fortune to assemble the quantity, quality and variety of beads to match this collection -- and you'd have a LOT of beads left over after the party was done.

Stacee and her assistants helped the girls every step of the way.  They gave each guest a length of stringing wire with a clasp already attached to one end.  They gave advice on selecting beads of complimentary shape, size and color.  They taught more complicated beading techniques for the girls who wanted more than just a single-string bead bracelet.  They provided idea boards filled with finished projects to inspire the girls and see just what kinds of creations were possible.

Each guest even received a laminated instruction card to help them figure out how long their bracelets should be.  

Once each guest had finished stringing the beads for their bracelet, they gave their project to Stacee or her assistant, who finished the bracelet off by adding the other half of the clasp and crimping the ends.  That way, each bracelet (and subsequent piece of jewelry) came out perfectly, with no random bits of wire sticking out.  

(Check out 3Po enjoying himself immensely.  The boys were a bit shy at first, declaring the whole thing to be "too girly", but when Stacee said that they could make keychains, and when I reminded them that Mother's Day was coming up, they decided to join in.  The funny thing was that both boys ended up making bracelets for themselves!)

Once their first bracelet was done, Stacee let them make more beaded jewelry.  They could choose to make a necklace, earrings, hair comb, bookmark, keychain, zipper pull, you name it.  The girls (along with 3Po and Jammy) really went to town, putting all their imagination and creativity to work.  Everyone was absorbed in the process, and the 2 hours really flew by.  As one girl told me, "I could do this all day!".

The end results were AMAZING.  The girls made hair clips, earrings, necklaces, hair combs and bracelets.  I loved the fact that each and every creation was unique. Everyone used different beads, some girls added charms, some added feathers.  Because Stacy started and finished each piece, each piece looked really professional.  Again, that's something I could never do on my own!

Each guest was given a beautiful organza pouch to store their creations.

I can't stress enough how EASY the whole thing was.  Stacee and her assistant literally did EVERYTHING. They worked nonstop for those 2 hours, starting off jewelry pieces, finishing off jewelry pieces, wiring up special beads to make charms or accent pieces, returning unused beads to their containers, giving advice, answering questions... like I said, nonstop.  And by handing over the activity portion of the party, I was able to see to all the other details of the party: food, drinks, greeting latecomer guests, showing guests where the restroom was, all the other things that make a party run smoothly.... without having to disturb the activity flow!  I was able to walk around, admire everyone's work, and actually enjoy the party.

Ha... you didn't think I'd actually be able to resist trying my hand at jewelry making myself, did you?  As soon as I saw that table full of awesome beads, I found myself itching to making something.  I made a double strand necklace, and Stacee used a wire-wrapping technique to transform a large metallic bead into a charm.  It was beautiful, and I can't wait to wear it!

Needless to say, Bay Area peeps, I highly recommend Dragonfly Designs for your daughter's birthday party.  Or yours (see photo above.. yes, grownups love making jewelry too!).  Or for your best friend's baby shower.  Or bridal shower.  Or for that school auction party you were thinking of hosting.   I could go on and on about their summer camps and classes, but that's the subject of another post.  Or two.  Stay tuned.

One of The Pea's friends pretty much summed up the whole experience when she said:

Best. Party. Ever.

Go check out Dragonfly Designs!


Disclosure: Dragonfly Designs hosted a complimentary party for my daughter. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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The Art of Silliness Review and Giveaway

We'll be taking a few long trips over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, and now that my kids are older, I've stopped stressing out about occupying their time.  Well, sort of.  They're old enough to amuse themselves on a 6-hour car trip or 12-hour plane ride -- the problem is, their preferred form of amusement is likely to involve a screen and batteries.

It's not that I'm against videogames or any form of electronic entertainment, it's just that for trips that long, I don't think it's healthy to be staring at a screen the whole time!  So I have to make sure they balance their time between watching movies or playing electronic games and reading a book, drawing, solving a crossword puzzle or just staring out the window and daydreaming.  Come to think of it, I probably need to do that for myself as well!  My kids aren't the only ones known to stare at a screen for hours on end :)

One book that's going to make it easier for me to do just that is illustrator Carla Sonheim's new book, The Art of Silliness, which goes on sale tomorrow, November 6.  It's an activity book that lets everyone rediscover their creative side through fun doodles and drawings.  Each page has a different creative drawing challenge.  Some test your motor skills, like drawing a bicycle without lifting your pencil from paper, or drawing something with your non-dominant hand.  Some test your memory, like  drawing something from memory, or drawing something with your eyes closed.  Some test your imagination, like finishing a doodle or blob.

I loved drawing as a child, so this book was perfect for me.  My kids also like to draw, so we are all enjoying the book.  3Po wants everyone to do the activities on separate sheets of paper instead of drawing directly in the book, so we can keep doing each activity forever :)

What a great way to rediscover your creativity and spend some quality time with your kids! Something tells me that for this holiday trip, our journey might be almost as fun as our destination.


About the book
THE ART OF SILLINESS offers dozens of fun, engaging ideas and activities that will encourage all readers to rediscover the childlike joys of letting the imagination – and pencil – roam freely. Whether you want to jumpstart, rediscover or further your creative pursuits, this book will help you flex your creative muscles. From drawing upside down to imagining new worlds, THE ART OF SILLINESS will inspire everyone to get in touch with their creative side.
Examples include:

“Draw a dog pretending to be a horse pretending to be a chicken.”
“Scribble all over these two pages for five minutes straight.”
“Draw five bicycles from your imagination, using only one line.”


Win The Art of Silliness
One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will receive a copy of Carla Sondheim's The Art of Silliness.


Required Entry
Leave a comment on this post and tell me how you or your kids like to pass the time in a plane or car.

Extra Entries
For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following. Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry with a way to verify the entry (i.e. tweet link, blog post link, Facebook id, Twitter id, etc.).

1)  Follow Bonggamom Finds on Blogger (1 entry)

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I entered the Art of Silliness giveaway!

6) Follow @bonggafinds on Twitter and tweet this, up to once a day (1 entry per day):
RT @bonggafinds Enter to win The Art of Silliness drawing and doodle book ! Giveaway ends Nov. 26 at http://ow.ly/f2e8J  #giveaways

The Rules
This giveaway ends at 11:59PM PST on November 26, 2012; I will draw a winner at random on November 27 and post their name after they confirm acceptance. Continental US residents only. For additional giveaway rules, click here.

Disclosure: I received an advance copy of the book to review courtesy of the Penguin Group. Giveaway prize was also provided by the Penguin Group.  Product information (in italics) is provided by the Penguin Group.. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Last-minute Gift Ideas: Erin Condren Life Planners

Every holiday season my mom, an office manager, would receive all sorts of calendars and planners and organizers from clients. I hated them all because they were so ugly! Fortunately nowadays there's a much wider range of choices for organization tools. Case in point: the calendars and organizers on Erin Condren's online store look so stylish and chic, each one is practically a work of art. I was invited to choose from a Life Planner from her collection, and I fell in love with this one:
It's her classic "Taffy" design, and it's going to keep me organized in style all year long. I can't wait to receive it -- and once I do, I'll tell you all about it!

If you're looking for a last-minute holiday gift idea and can't wait for my review, the good news is that you can still order a Life Planner from ErinCondren.com -- along with an assortment of personalized calendars, gift labels, and other stationery -- in time for December 25. Orders placed today, December 16, will arrive by December 23 if you choose Priority Processing or Overnight Shipping.

I will be receiving a sample from this company for a future review. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Last-minute Gift Ideas: Chic Canvas prints

If you're like me, you're just waking up to the fact that the 25th is just about a week away, and you have a friend or relative or two who you totally forgot about -- until their presents for you and your kids arrived in the mail.

Here's a great last-minute gift idea: photo canvases from Chiccanvas.com. They'll take any photo you send (okay, not any photo; you want to send them photos with resolutions of 300 dpi or higher for best quality) and turn it into a canvas work of art. It's a great keepsake gift for anyone -- and no, I don't just mean photos of your kids for your grandparents. How about a photo of Yosemite Falls for a godmother who went there for the very first time this year?

The good news is, they can still deliver in time for Christmas if you act now and order by the 18th. They'll even take 25% off your holiday order if you enter holiday09 at checkout. ChicCanvas.com will be sending me a photo canvas so I can see the quality for myself; I can't wait!

I will be receiving a product sample from this company to use in a future review. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Have a Roaring Good time with The Jungle Grapevine

Alex Beard is a marvelous artist whose intricately detailed work can be found in drawings, paintings and puzzles. He recently published a children's book that draws on his memories of his childhood in the African savannah. His new book, The Jungle Grapevine, features some of his artwork and continues his mission to make art more accessible to children and to people everywhere. We were sent a copy of The Jungle Grapevine and a companion 3D elephant puzzle, and here's what we thought:

The Basics
The Jungle Grapevine is a children's picture book set in the heart of Africa, where we find jungle animals engaged in an afternoon of speculation, rumor-spreading and generally freaking each other out.

Here's what the publishers have to say about the book: In The Jungle Grapevine (Abrams, Sept. 2009), acclaimed artist and debut author Alex Beard reinterprets his memories of the African savanna's most colorful inhabitants to create a modern retelling of the classic game of telephone.

Beard also created a companion set of board games, card games and puzzles featuring the most endearing characters of The Jungle Grapevine. It's all part of his mission to demystify art, making it available to people in all ages and stages of life.

The Bongga
We really enjoyed reading The Jungle Grapevine! The story is funny and entertaining and sparked a lot of discussion about misunderstanding and overreacting. And I can't say enough about the illustrations. There's just so much to look at, my kids spent ages just leafing through the pages. The book is really high-quality, with a beautiful typeface (I can't believe I'm actually raving about a font!) and nice thick paper, and it certainly wouldn't look out of place on the shelf next to our classics like Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland.

The accompanying Jungle Grapevine puzzles and games are just as beautiful. The 3D elephant puzzle we received was the perfect complement to the book. When it arrived in the mail, I gave it a cursory glance and dismissed it as one of those cheapy balsa-wood puzzles that you can buy at your local dollar store. But upon closer inspection, it's actually a high-quality toy that's challenging to put together and beautiful enough to display. Unlike the cheapy unpainted versions, the pieces in this puzzle have been painted so the finished product looks just like the elephant in the Jungle Grapevine book.


The Blah
The illustrations in The Jungle Grapevine are so whimsical and charming, I think any parent would love to decorate their child's nursery or bedroom in a Jungle Bedroom theme. Unfortunately his Jungle Grapevine prints are way too expensive for the average Joe, and I'd love more affordable decor options besides the oversized Alphabet Flashcards. How about some Jungle Grapevine bedsheets or tshirts?


The Bottom Line
The Jungle Grapevine makes a beautiful, educational present for any child. If you're feeling generous, throw in one of the companion games or puzzles for even more jungle fun. The whole series will give children a renewed appreciation of art!

I received a sample in order to review this product, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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