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September

• Decide what the theme of your party will be. This will greatly help when you buy decorations.

• Get thee to a party shop and find confetti and stickers. These are really handy for background "Happy Birthday" signs and banners! They can also be used as decorations on small packages, birthday bags and on centerpieces for the table! Also get thee to a craft store, and buy some multi-colored quilling paper (this is thinly cut strips of a fairly heavy paper). These can be made into paper chains to drape across the ceiling of your scene.

• Also while in the craft store, try to find the acid-free paper art sheets that are used for various cut and paste projects. They come in multi-colored designs, and many have clowns, ducks, and other things people associate with children. These papers can be used as wallpaper and wrapping paper.

• You will also need a cake. One easy method is to cut sections of dowels for the cake base. Attach bottom of dowel temporarily to another smaller dowel with a bit of caulking. Apply dimensional paint as icing, smoothing the top. Find a sticker that will fit on top, and apply. Hide the edges of the sticker with decorative swirls of paint. If you are feeling brave, there are applicator tools (from the Embossart and Plaid companies) available that will allow you to decorate just like a professional. Of course, nothing says you *have* to have a traditional cake. Experiment with crayola model magic, make teddy bears, Hobby Hollies, princesses (use a scale railroad figurine for the doll in the middle), etc. Find a cake decorating book (like Wilton's) for ideas.

• You have to have games when you have a party! What was your favorite game? Try to pick something that has an immediate visual recognition for those who will look at your scene...things like "Pin the tail on the Donkey" and Pinatas come to mind. A pinata can be easily fashioned from crayola model magic in any shape, then covered in pieces of fringed tissue paper. A donkey picture can be found in a child's coloring book, colored, reduced at the printers into the correct poster size, and tails can be made from little teardrop shaped papers. Of course, this might be a "video" party...these are becoming increasingly popular. Cut an appropriate piece of stock wood out in the shape of a video tape. Sand, paint with gesso, let dry and paint with a glossy black paint. Look through your junk mail. Occasionally you will find a video store advertising their products with little pictures of the VCR tapes...at this point you say "BINGO!". These pictures can be cut out and applied to your little black box...walla, one VCR tape. Um, you do have a VCR to play it on, right? If you don't, you could also make a block of wood into the box body of the VCR in the same way you made the tape, and search the ads for a front picture of a VCR. If it is too big you could have one reduced to fit. As a last resort, go to your local electronics store and get a few brochures whilst ignoring the salesman who thinks you are ripe for the picking. Glue picture onto the front of your box!

• Do you have balloons? No respecting birthday party would go without balloons. If you go into the local cake supply shop, you can usually find premade balloons already in the right size. If you don't have one of these types of stores, buy a bunch of plastic grapes. Take the little plastic spheres off...look familiar? Just paint and add to your scene.

• How about hats? Look for small stickers. Stick one to a piece of construction paper. Draw band lines on either side. Cut out, wrap bands back around and glue edges together. If the paper won't bend properly, just form around a dowel.

• Finally, how are you set for treat bags? You can make these out of paper (you might want to buy one to see how they are constructed). If there is room, put a sticker on the front. Inside the bag, put candies (fimo or beads), small toys (perhaps a find at a bead store, or from a gumball machine). Perhaps have the bag "spilling out" somewhere where you can see just how hard mom worked before the little heath...I mean the little angels arrived for the party!

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