Family Reunion Times Two Part 1

For months now I have felt strongly that I need to organize a family reunion. We used to have them yearly on both sides of my parent's family. However, as the family grew and children had children, that went away.

It has been about 4 years since my mothers side of the family has had a reunion. We did have an afternoon at the park a few years ago on my dad's side but I was so busy getting out DVDs and taking video that I didn't' get to visit much.

I scheduled a building in a central location to most of the family and scheduled it for the whole day. I am having my mothers side of the family come in the morning for a pot luck breakfast and my dad's side of the family coming for a pot luck luncheon.

We are playing the same game at both events. I have been buying and making prizes for months.

I found these cute rubber stamps at a second hand store the other day and they said exactly what I was feeling so I bought them and today, I made little cards with the sayings stamped on both sides of the card.

I bought the paper for $.50 used. You can go to a printing shop and speak to the manager about buying the paper that is left over after they cut them for cards, invites etc. I got this whole stack for fifty cents and just clipped it with scissors into little cards.

Once they were cut, I used the stamps I bought to stamp each side of the card. Once side says, "May the joy of Family and Friends be your greatest gift this year." And, the other says, "The simplest things remind us of all that we have to be grateful for."

I then used scrapbooking chalk or pigment brush pads to color the edge of the cards. It is easy to use as you just rub it along the edge of the paper and it highlights the paper. I remember my sister using eye shadow years ago to do the same thing. These pads make the job quick and easy. They come in many different colors. I have a small collection compared to my scrapping sister but even if you only have one or two main colors, it really makes the page stand out.

A few days ago, my daughter and her friend wanted to make suckers. I had the stuff out as I was planning on making the suckers as a favor for the reunions. We set out making the suckers. I have to say, I LOVE the new sucker molds. I will be buying them all!!!!! They are so much easier and quicker to use than the old metal clip type. You just spray them with Pam or another non-stick cooking spray and wipe it off gently with a paper towel leaving a thin layer.

You just drop the sticks in the mold and you are ready. We made hearts, "I love you" in sign language, and flowers. We probably made about 8 to 10 batches and they picked the flavors and coloring. We sent a few bouquets home with them and bagged the rest for the reunion. We wrote the flavor on the bagged sucker with a "Sharpie" (of course would I use any other marker?) and we were ready for the cards.

I thought about punching the cards with a heart hole and tying them to the stick but the strings get tangled and it is much more work and sometimes the string pulls through the hole so I just taped the cards onto the bagged suckers. If you remember, I use the craft bags from WalMart bead section as they are zip-lock and are $1 for 100 or so. Much easier to use than the type that need to be tied on.

The suckers look cute and are tasty as well. I thought these would be a great favor for a baby shower as I have little feet molds. I thought the flowers would be great for a wedding shower or wedding favor. They are great "Thank You" gifts when tied up with ribbon.They could also be a great fund raiser option at a bake sale or a yard sale.

The funniest thing happened. I didn't count the suckers or the cards when I was making them. I laughed out loud when I realized I had the exact amount of cards to suckers. I made the same amount of both without knowing. I figured that was a good sign I had made the right amount for the reunions.

I'll let you know how the reunion goes and how we worked out the games etc. It should be a good day but a busy one for me.