Cheap Mario Block Decorations Explained!

I live on a budget and when doing things, if I can make it, I try to.  If I can make it cheaply, that encourages me further!

A picture from last week's blog showing the blocks in action.

These guys were really easy to make and cost about 2.00 for three!  Now, I do warn that this post is going to be picture heavy and text light!  :)

My first step was to pick up these take out container style boxes from dollar tree.  As you can see you get three for a dollar.  I also picked up a black Sharpe marker!  Then I took the stickers off and folded the tops down so that they resembled boxes.

The next step was to draw horizontal lines across the box and on the bottom (since it would be seen by people as well).  Then you make your bricks (I have a video better showing this!)  Many people suggested that I cut the tops off instead of folding them down and fill them with some kind of "filling" (I was thinking foam or something sturdy) and then put chocolate coins inside so that when they are hit from the bottom you can get a reward.  I did not try this with them this time, but I think it's a cool idea!

Once again pardon the poor filming quality!  I don't have a video camera specifically for filming these sorts of things so I use my camera or my phone!

Halloooweeen Fun (I know...super late!)

Well, October was insane because of Halloween and now November is going crazy due to getting gifts made (I really love making people Christmas gifts since that way they have a more personal touch).  This year our annual Halloween party was themed video games.

Mike and I at the party.  He was shy guy from Mario and I was Cooking Mama!

We put a fair amount of time into the party this year (last year we did as well, but a busted toilet and a landlord not wanting to replace it immediately put the kabosh on it) and got some really cool decorations and           snacks going.  We wanted everything to have a video game theme!

The Mario Tree Kitchen

So for each room we decorated, we made a little card that we taped to the wall with the level number and name!  We also tried to make each of our snacks we provided have little tie ins to different video games as well!

Gluten Free Heart cookies based on Legend of Neil based on Zelda

The party was a riot!  We had several "celebrities" and very awesome people show up!  Even Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask (who was a magician!) came and partied with us!

A long view of the "spider cave" dining room the day after!

Our guests list varied from zombie survivor  ninja, geisha  viking, lemmings, the fine folks of castlevania, a ninja turtle, some League of Legends folks, the game master, Link and Navi, and so many more!  I really loved getting to see everyone's creativity and the costumes they put together!

A full view of the snack table about half way through the night!  We had some wonderful snacks brought by our guests as well!

I think my favorite thing about the party was getting to dress up in a costume and hang out with a group of people I really like and love!  Sure, I loved decorating the house up and putting together the goodie bags, but the people are always what makes it worth it!

Pac Man power ball cookies.

It was also really neat that Mike got to participate in the planning of this too.  To be honest, this was more in his field of specialty.  I didn't grow up around video games, but he did.  He helped me tie in a bunch of old school video game references!  (He also helped me really want to make a costume to be Celes from FF6, but I ran out of time :( )  It really was fun to get to have him teach me about this part of his childhood and to hear memories from playing all these games!

First half of baskets with the bottle we were trying to fill!

Now, the best part of the party was being able to raise money for a good cause: a local pregnancy center!  We put together some nifty baskets (some video game themed and some not) and raffled them off for $1.00 tickets.  That little bottle was full by the end of the night and I think a new tradition was born at our parties!  Not only were the baskets fun to plan and put together, but we were able to make a difference and help a good organization while having a night of fun with friends!

The Second half of the gift baskets...these ones were video game themed!

Everyone seemed to love the baskets and the one on the top left of this picture was highly desired for the hand made 8 bit video game magnets!  All in all, we had an awesome party, with awesome people, and were able to do some awesome things!  (Like my use of awesome?)  On actual Halloween night, the weather was kind of icky, so we went to a friends apartment complex and handed out candy with them!  Mike dressed up as a creepy crow creature and I dressed up as an old woman.  I didn't really take a good picture of myself in my full costume but you can see the make up I did to make myself look older :) and my acting was good enough to make a speeding car feel guilty and slow down!  (That was amazing. I even took the opportunity to shake my walking stick at them since there were kids around and they were going way too fast!)

A picture from my phone of old lady me.

We had a fun night of handing out candy, drinking cider, and making sukiyaki (sukiyaki somewhere along the way became our traditional halloween dish :P)!  And that was our Halloween party!  In the next week or so, there will be a tutorial up for making those mario blocks!