My Five Favorite Pins This Week

I posted about my addiction to Pinterest last week (wondering what Pinterest is? Find out here!), and despite seeking help (read: trying to distract myself by doing something more productive), my obsession is still going strong.  Since I'm determined to get everyone as hooked on it as I am, here are my five favorite pins this week:

#1: It's time to plant that garden again, so why not add some whimsy by using old rain boots as planters?  {Pin via Amy via Iwona Estera from Rosy Posy}

#2: This play kitchen is so cute, it's hard to believe it was DIYed from cardboard! {Pin via Stacy of KSW via Kristin Hayes from Family Fun}

#3:  I love this idea for a kid's gallery wall in what could be dead space in the hallway between bedrooms.  {Pin via Stacy of KSW via Kristal Flentge from A Soft Place to Land}

#4:  Make rainy days tons more fun with this DIY doorway puppet theater. {Pin via luvinthemommyhood via Beth Stedman from Little Lovables}

#5:  These oversized, fabric-covered bulletin boards have me swooning! {My pin via Effortless Style}

So there you have my Five Favorite Pins this week.  If you'd like to check out my boards on Pinterest, you can find them HERE.  If you're already on Pinterest, I'd love to follow you so post a comment here with a link to your boards so I can check them out.  And if you're not already a member and need an invite, post your e-mail address and I'll send you one.

Happy Pinning!

DINOSAUR DUNG: My Original Poem over at GottaBook

Just in case you haven’t heard—Gregory Pincus is featuring 30 Poets in 30 Days over at his blog GottaBook during National Poetry Month again this year. Today, I’m the featured poet. I sent Gregory several poems from my unpublished collection titled Docile Fossil. He chose to post Dinosaur Dung, a humorous rhyming poem. I recommend you stop by for a visit at GottaBook and read all the previously unpublished poems written by many well-known poets. Here is a list of the authors whose poems have already been posted at GottaBook: Marilyn Singer, Janet Wong, Joseph Bruchac, Avis Harley, April Halprin Wayland, Graham Denton, George Ella Lyon, Tracie Vaughn Zimmer, Jaime Adoff, Susan Marie Swanson, and Douglas Florian.

Here are a few poems from my collection Docile Fossil that I posted previously at Wild Rose Reader. How Come? is a poem of address and Dragonfly and Pterodactyl’s Wish are mask poems.

How Come?

Woolly mammoth

Big
Behemoth
Prehistoric pachyderm,
What did you in,
You hairy hulk?
A teeny tiny
Infinitesimal
Microscopic
Deadly germ?
A miniscule bacterium?
Hmmm?

Elephant is still extant…

Hippo, rhino, tiny ant,
Kinkajou and caribou…
Gnat and gnu are living, too.

How come you
And mastodon
Are D-E-A-D
Dead and gone?

T. Rex: A Glutton for Punishment

Oh! T. Rex was a greedy beast.

Each and every day he’d feast
On steamy stegosaurus stew,
Toasted pterodactyl, two
Tons of brontosaurus steak
And slurp up nearly half a lake
With all its prehistoric fishes—
Which he considered most delicious.
No vegetarian dinosaur,
He ate his brother’s posterior.
Digestive track on overload,
And belly bulging, T. Rex strode.
He searched the forest, thunder-toed,
For allosaurus a la mode
With heaps of whipped triceratopping,
Which he gobbled up. Then flopping
Down beneath a tree to rest,
Groaned and moaned and beat his chest.
He had to pause and take a break
Because he had a tummy ache.

Dragonfly

Long, long ago

before dinosaurs
roamed the land
I flew through prehistoric skies,
my glassy wings glistening in sunlight.

Long, long ago

I printed my image
in mud,
then melted into Earth’s memory.

Now

you can see me
stenciled on the stony pages
of time.

Pterodactyl’s Wish

I’m pterodactyl. I’m extinct.

I’m just a fossil now…
A relic of Earth’s ancient past.
I wish that I knew how
To break these rocky bonds
Which keep me trapped in days of yore
So I could flap my stony wings
And fly again once more.

Wild Rose Reader National Poetry Month Posts with My Original Poems

MINNOW MUSIC: An Original Mask Poem (This post includes some of my other animal mask poems too.)

A Passel of Space Poems

GOING BUGGY!: Original Insect Poems

TWOSOMES: Love Poems from the Animal Kingdom…and Some Original Cuddly Creature Couplets

Rhyming Acrostics

How to Throw the Ultimate Sesame Street Party! {Part 2}

Sunny days, sweeping the clouds away....

I've had that song stuck in my since I posted part one of How To Throw the Ultimate Sesame Street Party last week and why wouldn't I?  Visions of Cookie Monster and Big Bird and Oscar have been dancing in my head ever since.  I guess I should get used to it since it's time for part two!

My last post covered invitations, decorations and food, but what are you going to do with all of those Bert & Ernie lovers once the party starts?  I love this "Pin the Nose on Elmo" game that Melissa from Honey Scrap made for just 50 cents using poster board and construction paper.

There were two great activities at the party thrown by Libby from Libby's Little Addiction - make-your-own Sesame puppets, using foam cut out with scalloped circle punches, googly eyes, popsicle sticks and pom poms:

And this super cute "Toss Oscar in the Garbage Can" game:

Libby painted clothespins to look like Oscar (and even included a little Slimey worm!) and decorated paper bags to look like garbage cans.  Genius!

Jami from Freckled Laundry made this cookie-tastic pinata out of a paper bag and crepe paper for just $1!  You could probably make all of the characters using her simple tutorial.

I found another fun and inexpensive idea over on And Everything Sweet, where Kate set up a fake tattoo parlor for her daughter Olivia's birthday. {Psst- you can get 72 temporary Sesame Street tattoos for $7 at Oriental Trading!}

She also made this amazing photo stand where the kiddos could take a turn being Ernie.

Once the food has been eaten and the games are done, it's time for cake!  The Hudson Street sign on this one from Jenny Cookies is too cute.

Effi from Le Petit Party used fondant characters on her son's cake.

Over on And Everything Sweet, that term was an understatement when it came to Olivia's confection, which featured a huge cupcake on top!

But who says you have to have a cake?  You can keep it simple like Melissa from Honey Scrap, who made an Elmo out of cupcakes. 

Unfortunately, after the candles have been blown out, it can only mean one thing - the party's over.  But don't send your guests home empty handed!  Cookies shaped like the birthday boy or girl's age and initial (this party brought to you by the letter "H" and the number "2") are a fun favor, like these from Jenny Cookies:

And the character pails from Olivia's party on And Everything Sweet would also be fab.

I don't know where they're from but they look like they'd be pretty simple to DIY.

That's not what party goers at Olivia's party received, though.  Elmo inspired the actual favors:

Much to some parents' chagrin, when they left with his two favorite things - crayons and a real goldfish!

Want to do something similar but simpler?  These chocolate-covered Oreo Goldfish pops from Domesticated Lady will probably go over a little better with the 'rents.

And while we're making Elmo's picks edible, why not tackle crayons too?

Jenn from Parties by Hardie shows you how to make edible crayons (hint: they're pretzel rods dipped in chocolate):

And there's also a free printable for the wrappers!

So there you have it - what to do, what to eat and what to give out at your Sesame Street birthday bash.  Hmmmm, it seems like I'm forgetting something.  What could it be?  Of course!  What to wear!

There are tons of adorable Sesame Street outfits, shirts and dresses on Etsy and elsewhere but I'll leave you with two of my favorite ideas.  I adore these darling appliqued shirts from Peanut and Pumpkin Design.

How cute are the names and ages on the back?

Sara can make almost any character and you can pair the shirts with tutus, jeans or whatever. 

And if you're feeling a little crafty yourself, give these hats from Crafts by Amanda a go.  The how to is super simple.

Come to think of it, they'd make cute favors too!

So there you have it - How to Throw the Ultimate Sesame Street Party!  I hope you've enjoyed these posts.  If you have some Sesame ideas you want to share, post them in the comments and I'll include them in the future.  And stay tuned for our next "Ultimate Party" post on rock star bashes!  If you have something that ties into this theme that you think I should include, shoot me an e-mail at afomft@gmail.com.

Images: Honey Scrap, Libby's Little Addiction, And Everything Sweet, Freckled Laundry, Jenny Cookies, Le Petit Party, Domesticated Lady, Parties by Hardie, Peanut and Pumpkin Design & Crafts by Amanda

Rhyming Acrostics

Every now and then, I like to challenge myself by writing acrostics that rhyme. Here are some of the rhyming acrostics that I’ve written to date:

Changes suits to suit

His locus. Abracadabra! Hocus-pocus! He’s

A clever

Master of disguise…a trickster who can fool the

Eyes! This

Lizard with a fashion flair takes his wardrobe

Everywhere. Predators don’t stop

Or stare.

No one even knows he’s there.

Fiery flowers bloom

In the night:

Roses, carnations…chrysanthemums, too,

Emerald green, red,

White, and blue. Silvery fountains spill

Out of the sky.

Rockets of gold sizzle and sigh.

Kaleidoscope colors cascading in space,

Showering glitter all over the place.

Cans of people,

Automobiles

Roaring down roads on

Silver-capped wheels.

Claw-handed critter

Races sideways, skitters

Across the sea-washed land…

Beachcombing in the sand.

Dawn, dressed in a bright blue robe

And golden slippers,

Yawns awake. Stars scurry away.

Breaking into song, birds

Rouse the sun,

Eager to start

A new day. Morning bounds out of bed with delight,

Kicking off the dark cover of night.

Silent sidekick, shape shifter who

Hides in the darkness…

A copycat mimicking everything you

Do. Sunny day playmate frolics in the light.

Oh, where, oh,

Where does it go at night?

Words

Hushed

In soft velvet

Sounds

Patter into your

Ear

Revealing deep secrets that no one

Should hear.

Here are two slightly different versions of a MARCH acrostic that I wrote recently:

Melting snow, mellower days,
A brighter sun with warmer rays,
Robins
Chirping. Beat the drum.
Hallelujah! Spring has come!

Melting snow, mellower days,
A brighter sun with warmer rays,
Robins
Chirping. Let’s all cheer.
Hallelujah! Spring is here!

Why not try writing a rhyming acrostic yourself? If you do, leave it in the comments and I’ll post it later this week.

FYI: I’ll be sharing the “twosomes” that people wrote and have submitted to Wild Rose Reader tomorrow.

Reminder: Wild Rose Reader’s poetry prize for the second week of National Poetry Month is Twosomes: Love Poems from the Animal Kingdom, which was written by Marilyn Singer and illustrated by Lee Wildish.

Click here to read my brief review of Twosomes—and some of my own “cuddle creature couplets.