Designs By Prickly Pear: 2014

When I started the Frozen Sing Along Contest I had no idea how hard it was going to be to choose a winner! So many great videos were submitted and I had such a great time watching all of them. I originally was only going to post the top three videos but decided to post the top video in several categories, and of course, the winner!

Let's start with the top category videos!

Top boy - there were several brothers who tried to help their sisters out, but this one knew every word!

Top Prickly Pear dress - even wrinkly this dress looks cute and the little star wearing it looks even cuter!

Best moves - this kid had me cracking up.......she was mimicking all of Elsa's moves :)

Moves like Elsa

Best singing without music - thoroughly impressed by the memories of these kids!

Singing without music

Best edited video - this mama spent some time making this video! Awesome editing!

And now for the winner.......there are lots of things I love about this video. First of all the dress is mama made which I love, second, I love all of the arm movements :)

All category winners get 50% off any Frozen themed order and the winner gets a Frozen dress of their choice!

What do you do when your favorite six, almost seven year old, is Frozen obsessed and wants to have a fun birthday party with all of her friends? You plan the ultimate Frozen party of course! This is where my sister, and I, her indentured servant, found ourselves a few months ago. This predicament was further enhanced by the virtual scarcity of all things Frozen. So, off to Pinterest we went and soon we were inundated with Frozen party ideas! You can check out the board I created for Grace's Frozen Party here.

First things first, the invitation. My sister googled "Frozen party invitations" and found this amazing invite by Bachmanville Photography and fell in love.

We figured we could totally recreate that! Grace had an Elsa pajama dress and this dress that I made for her when the movie premiered so we figured we were set!

Only problem, Grace lives in the desert, not a stitch of snow to be found. Solution? The amazing "Let It Snow" brush and action set by Pretty Presets which can be found here. Next problem, no Olaf to pose with and of course none to be found anywhere. In order to buy the Olaf my sister had to buy the whole Frozen castle. Grace didn't object :)

Here is the end result.

I think it turned out really cute and I personally love the expression on Graces face :)

In a moment of temporary insanity I told my sister, "hey, why don't I make every girl that comes a Frozen dress?" Note to self, don't make that mistake again. Luckily it's a pretty simple design and one that I can whip up pretty quickly. 11 dresses later and I'm still alive.

I made Graces slightly different than the others and added a hand beaded snowflake. The necklace is from Boobah's Boutique.

So, invitations-check, dresses for all the girls-check.

What's a party without some food and what's a Frozen party without Frozen names for all your food! Quick, easy, and kid friendly was the name of the game. Here's what my sister came up with:

Arendelles finest sandwiches, aka sub sandwiches

Oaken trading post pizza

Sven's antlers and snow dip. Aka pretzels and ranch

Olaf noses....or rather baby carrots....not sure how the carrots missed out on the photo taking fun

Melted snow- this one really threw the kids for a loop. Took them forever to figure it out......so I may need to investigate the science curriculum at the school (the food pics were taken before the party hence no liquid in the containers!)

Elsa punch- a mix of blue Hawaiian punch and Sprite....it was delicious!

Elsa's flurry-the cupcake tower that my mom and I decorated with beads, white branches and rock candy

The decor was another beast in and of itself! Luckily my brother in law is an art teacher and was able to whip up a flurry of large snowflakes which were strategically placed around the house

My sister scored a few Frozen posters!

That castle that my sister had to buy just for the Olaf turned out to be the perfect centerpiece. My sister used every creative bone in her body to come up with the front door sign

And finally the dresses I made topped off the decor!

Food- check

Decorations- check

Next on the list, activities! Grace loves loves loves the Bibiddy bobiddy boutique so we knew that a nail and makeup station would be a hit!

After getting all dolled up the girls headed back inside to have their pictures taken. An extra table cover and some snowflakes made for the perfect backdrop. The girls were told to give me their best pose :)

The group shot is a personal favorite

After pictures it was time for the Olaf creation station. Each girl was given marshmallows, frosting, mini chocolate chips, and mini carrot decorations to build their Olaf. Olaf was then quickly devoured!

Next up was pin the nose on Olaf! That artist brother in law of mine drew an Olaf on a poster board and noses were cut out of orange construction paper

By the end there was no shortage of noses! It was then time to pass the Frozen heart ala hot potato style!

While the girls were inside passing the heart I hid eggs outside. Graces birthday was on Easter Sunday so her party was the Saturday before Easter and it seemed like the perfect fit!

Each girl was given an Olaf bag to collect their eggs in and off they went!

Fun activities- check and double check

After the egg hunt it was time for cupcakes! Grace put on the lace crown I made for her and loved having everyone sing to her

Afterwards it was present time! There were plenty of thank you's and hugs to go around and a mischievous older brother who just couldn't resist harassing his little sister and her friends!