Chieu Anh Urban's Blog, page 5

Happy New Year 2015!

I can't believe it's New Year's Eve!I woke up this morning thinking I need to start on some fun craftactivities with the girls, to prepare for our celebration.



I pulled out my craft box and found beads, bells, pipe cleaners,pencils, and New Year's toys saved from last year.Perfect!




 To make the sparkly crown, you need four pipe cleaners andsome beads.  Twist two pipe cleaners together for the base of the crown.Thread colorful beads through the remaining two pipe cleaners,and twist them around the base and make loops.Have fun with this, and create your own design. You can't go wrong.



My girls and I are calling this a noise-maker wishing wand.It's easier to manage if you thread the bells and beads first, and thenbend the pipe cleaner into a star shape - or any fun shape you wish.



Tape the end of the star to the pencil top.  Twist another pipe cleaner around the pencil to cover the taped pipe cleaner base.



Goody bags are nice to have.I filled a zip-lock sandwich bag with a noise-maker, horn, bell necklace, and bracelet.Here is a pdf of the goodie bag topper I designed, if youwould like to print it out for your treat bags.



We are ready for tonight, and had lots of fun this afternoon with the crafts. I love my daughter's "fireworks" crown.




Have a happy and safe New Year's celebration.May this be your best year yet!

Holiday Love!

Wishing a holiday filled with....








Have the happiest of holidaysfilled with love and laughter! -  Chiêu

Boo! Happy Halloween!

Wishing you a happy and safe Halloween!

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Books and Smiles for Haiti

Over the past few summers, I donated copies of my books to 
Life Connection Mission, a non-profit organization serving the poorest
children in the Western Hemisphere.  It was very heart warming to see the happy faces from the pictures,and hear about how the children enjoyed having the books.



Last fall, I started the program Books and Smiles for Haiti, and invited authors, illustrators, and our children's book community to
join me in sending more books to Haiti.  The responses were overwhelming, and the books were distributed to the children this summer.  



Some books were given to the homeless shelter; many to the preschool,
1st grade teachers, and church supported by Life Connection Mission,
to be shared with the community's children.



On one special occasion, children were invited for dinner with the goal of takingpictures to encourage people back here in the U.S. to sponsor them,and help send them to school.  The children received small gifts, and the younger ones were given picture books.  I was thrilled to have the
opportunity to sponsor a little girl close to my youngest daughter's age.





I am thankful for the generosity and kindness of our contributors, Life Connection Mission, and the amazing people who spent their summer
in Haiti for their endless hard work and dedication.








Thank you Life Connection Mission, for sharing these wonderful photos.

A Summer Frozen Party!

Ever since Frozen™ hit the big screen, it's been a favorite "everything" with
my daughter.  The songs, books, dolls, clothes - you get the picture.  It was no surprise she asked for a Frozen™ birthday celebration, and after a long 
winter this year, snowflakes were the last thing I wanted to think about.



Voila!  A Frozen™ party without a single snowflake!Instead of a snow garnished cake, I went with magical wintry breeze cupcakes.





I melted and piped white chocolate swirls and embellished themwith clear sugar sprinkles for an icy effect.  




Making these treats was fun!  The girls loved the Frozen™ ring that topped the blue frosting.



The party wand favors were a hit, and easy to make.  I hot-glued tulle pom-poms to the bottom of clear plastic tubes with a white 
fluffy pom in the center.  Fill the wands with blue and white Sixlets™ candies 
and attach a Frozen™ ring to each of them; they snap on perfectly.  The cap of the wand should be on the bottom for easy access to the candy.  




To make the pom-poms, wrap two shades of tulle around your hand
about 7 - 9 times, and tie the center.  Cut the loops and fluff them. You can find great tulle pom-pom tutorials on youtube.



I couldn't resist including summer fun party favors too, 
perfect for boys.  Fill small beach buckets with colorful chalk, 
bubbles, and shovels.  I printed and attached this Olaf picture from
the Disney™ website.  My daughter loved her summer Frozen birthday, 
and we are looking forward to catch Frozen on Broadway!

More parties: Mermaid Surprise Party, Book Launch Celebration,
Despicable Me Party

Happy 4th of July!

Wishing you a wonderful and relaxing Fourth of July celebration!

Away We Go! to Support the Asthma Dance-a-Thon

[image error]   I had the pleasure of participating in a fundraiser event to support asthma.  It was fun putting together this cheery and colorful arts and crafts
wagon for the auction.  There are some creative ideas here for school baskets
and kids with big imaginations.  I filled it with Model Magic™, Floam™, sidewalk chalk, Playdoh™ and tools, water color, markers, colored pencils, art paper, stencils, craft scissors, and a big sweet lollipop.



The children's energy were great.  We made Away We Go! themed crafts -candy airplanes, floating rafts and personalized shape key chains.



I wish I could spend everyday doing arts and crafts with kids!Theirs smiles are contagious.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

[image error] Happy Saint Patrick's Day friends!I love holiday celebrations, also because it's an opportunity 
for me bake in spirit.  With some Rolo™, 
Airheads Xtreme Bites™, and green sugar sprinkles, 
these rainbow leprechaun cupcakes are fun and festive!

A Leprechaun's Treat Bag

It's almost Saint Patrick's Day and my youngest is working on a trapto catch the little green guy.  In the meantime, we are putting together colorful treats to celebrate this festive day.To make the lucky Leprechaun goodies, fill cellophane bags with Twizzlers Rainbow Twists™, small marshmallows for clouds, Rolos™ for gold pots,and colorful M&M™candies for rainbow dust.  Have fun and enjoy!

Away We Go! Book Trailer

I'm delighted to present this awesome book trailer for Away We Go!My talented friend, Dave Swain with Cream Studio did a shapetastic jobon this fun and playful animation.  Please share with your little ones.Like me, I think they'll be tickled silly!
You may also like: Away We Go! Activities and Party Printables