Tuesday, December 4, 2012

3rd Annual Elf Party

20121201-IMG_8272_600

Saturday night was our 3rd Annual Elf Party at our house. The movie Elf is one of our favorite Christmas movies and we watch it every December. The last two years we’ve had dinner + movie parties with friends to make it a fun tradition.

Last year I made treat bags with the help of print & cut using my Silhouette digital cutter. This year I wanted to go bigger and make Elf Party t-shirts for our guests. So I set to work a couple of weeks ago and purchased the blank t-shirts. I found a graphic of Buddy the Elf online, and I opened it up inside my Silhouette Studio software and traced the outline. Then I used the font Bebas and typed out one of my favorite Elf quotes.
Elf_Silhouette_screenshot

I moved the text out of the cut zone and cut out the Elf outline, using Silhouette’s Flocked Heat Transfer Sheet in red. I loaded it into the machine with the opaque side up, or shiny colorful side down.
20121125-IMG_8178_600

After it’s been cut and I removed it from the machine, I peeled away the extraneous parts of the flocking.
20121125-IMG_8182_600

Here it is, colorful side up with the clear shiny sheet on top, ready for ironing onto the t-shirt!
20121125-IMG_8183_600

Before you start putting designs on the blank t-shirts, you should wash, dry, and iron them. That way the shirts won’t shrink and ruin the designs. Put the iron setting on about 300 degrees, or the cotton setting. Then place the design where you want it on the shirt, and put a piece of pressing cloth on top. Press down for 45-60 seconds. Then peel away the shiny sheet to reveal the flocking. If the design hasn’t totally adhered to the shirt, iron some more until the shiny sheet peels away. Here you can see the design on the t-shirt. The flocking material gives it a velvet texture.
20121125-IMG_8187_600

Next, I cut out the text on cardstock and removed the letters to create a template. You can use adhesive vinyl, freezer paper, or contact paper also.
20121125-IMG_8185_600

I position the template where I want the text on my t-shirt, and I use a foam brush to apply fabric ink to it.
20121125-IMG_8190_600

Make sure you put a piece of cardboard inside the shirt, underneath where you’re applying the fabric ink, so that it doesn’t seep through to the back of the shirt! After the ink is dry, press on it with an iron again to set the ink.

And here they are!
20121201-IMG_8220_600

I mixed cyan and yellow inks to get the green ink.
20121201-IMG_8224_600

I also bought some blank kraft Moleskine notebooks and stamped snowflakes on them using the Peace Be Still stamp set from Papertrey Ink. I stamped the “The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear” quote from Elf using red ink on top of the snowflakes. The stamp is from the Stylish Sentiments: Holiday stamp set from Papertrey Ink.
20121201-IMG_8237_600

I put candies into glassine bags and sealed them with washi tapes.
20121201-IMG_8235_600

The notebooks, treats, and holiday cards went into a cute felt bag for our guests to take home.
20121201-IMG_8232_600

20121201-IMG_8230_600

We cooked Spring Vegetable Pasta, a recipe from America’s Test Kitchen.
20121201-IMG_8241_600

And Thai Chicken Risotto from Cooking Light.
20121201-IMG_8243_600

Some mingling right before dinner.
20121201-IMG_8249_600

Elf dinner with our guests.
20121201-IMG_8254_600

I was so thrilled when I showed the t-shirts to everyone that they decided to all change into the shirts for the evening!

Todd made a spice cake with cream cheese frosting for dessert.
20121201-IMG_8257_600

And Victoria brought a homemade pumpkin pie.
20121201-IMG_8261_600

Mmm. Any party with TWO desserts is a success in my book!
20121201-IMG_8263_600

We had fun watching Elf again with our friends! The 3rd Annual Elf Party was a success and we can’t wait to think of new party favors and party plans for next year! :)
20121201-IMG_8266_600

16 comments:

  1. I love this idea, and all your goodies too. Thanks for sharing. I've never hosted a party like this so I'm pinning this post for future reference :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a wonderfully thoughtful & creative way to watch a movie! Believe it or not, but I've never actually seen the film ... it's being shown this weekend on one of the TV channels over here, so I may just watch it & think of you & your friends whilst doing so.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I like reading your blog. Reading your blog is my favorite!

    T-shirts = totally cool!

    Merry Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! You throw a fun party! Way cute, the shirts, the goodie bags, the Elf movie theme - awesome all around.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The shirts turned out wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  6. how fun is this! i LOVE your shirts - i totally want one!! :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cracking me up! Looks like a lot of fun! Those salads look delish!

    ReplyDelete
  8. love the shirts! looks like a lot of fun. love the goodie bags!

    ReplyDelete
  9. so cute! love the shirts!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great job on the shirts and gifts and well just the whole party. Your shirt is different? Did you not have time to make yourself one ( : Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I ran out of time to make a shirt for myself. Mine is one that Todd bought for me last year, with the "Santa, I know him!" quote from Elf.

      Delete
  11. OMG what FUN! Love the tshirts and goodie bags. You are so darn creative.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Elf has been on TV a couple of times this week and I think of you each time. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. As one of the proud recipients on those T-shirts and goodies, I can say Christine is among the most creative party hostesses I've ever met. And the party was as fun as it looks!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow, what a fun time for your guests. The T-shirts are so cute. Great gift bags with goodies. And the meal and desserts look absolutely yummy. You are such a great hostess.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I LOVE your darling shirts, I'm not surprised that everyone wanted to put them on right away.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by! I love to hear from you!

[feedly mini]