DIY Murder Mystery Party

Murder Mystery Tea Party

The reason we chose a tea party, is because of the attire. There is nothing better for Girl Scouts than an excuse to dress fancy! Plus, throwing an outdoor party is always so much fun. I am obsessed with Alice & Wonderland, however wanted to save the card theme for another day. Add in a wrap up party, mystery, slumber party, lunch and dinner, and the Alice theme will have to wait. But anyways- let's get started!

There are a TON of ideas online, that are for $ or don't fit with your theme. This one is absolutely customizable and FREE! What is the point of the internet without information share. Sharing is the emphasis. My kiddos don't offer their toys to their friends for a price- Nor will I.

Tasks:

• Create Guest List - The friends you invite will play a large part of the Theme.
• Decide on Setting / Location - You will need to know where to hold the party, in order to design the game. i.e. Will it be dinner, lunch, tea, mixed etc.
• Choose Your Theme.
• Start Your Script - This is the most difficult part. Step-by-step tips below.

Scripting:

The best way to begin your script is to start with a table of contents. Mine is below. Mystery parties can loose track, and become confusing very quickly. As a host, you will want everything planned out to be interactive, and self sufficient. 

1. Setting- For our theme, the two great aunts (my youngest daughter & my Co- Leader's younger daughter) are reading their final will from their cookie fortune. We all toast with tea to kick off the party. Suddenly, the great aunts are found to be (pretend) poisoned, the will has gone missing, and the mystery begins! The younger girls turn into ghosts, and are able to run freely, and drop clues when they are needed.
2. Outline & Timeline- This part is the most essential for the party to go smooth. You may split the party into three parts, maybe five. I chose five. How many do you need?

• Determine your meal needs. If you are having dinner, is it a sit down dinner? Appetizer grab? what will you do in-between clue reveals to encourage mingling?
• Will you have a detective? I highly recommend you have someone else play the part. They will be in charge of moving from section to section. You will not be able to do this if you are taking care of your guests. It is also fun for one of the reliable guests to play this part. 
• How many clues will you drop? If you are going to be extremely detailed with clues, ensure that they are enough for your guests to figure out the murderer. If you are creating the clues for children, as I am, it is as easy as one clue suggesting each of the suspect, and the final clue adding higher emphasis of guilt, leaving the murderer with the clearest guilt and an extra clue than the others.
  
  
  
  

3. Characters - Give each of your guests a funny persona for the theme. List their names, give them occupations, accents/ where they are from, a quirk. This will keep the party entertaining, and interactive. Some examples below.

• Daisy is from Texas, and explores the world to make scientific discoveries. Daisy recently discovered a pollen which does AMAZING things! However, she will not share her discovery with anyone until they invest a ‘simple’ $2.5 Billion.
• Georgia lives in the woods of Oregon. She talks very quickly, and refuses to give anyone eye contact for longer than 5 seconds. She has a farm filled with llamas and peacocks.
• Beth owns a wonderful bakery which she will announce the new name of at the party. She is famously known for her cupcake, inside of a donut, inside of a cake. She is always inventing new baked goods. When she gets an idea, she shouts, “Oh my!”, and runs off to write it down- whether she is in the middle of a conversation or not.
• Frankie is an attorney from Louisiana. She is most famously known for representing the World's Cutest Dog Boo, in taking ownership of his humans. 

4. Choose your suspects, randomly with the use of apps, straws, or simply choose them. If you do not have the RSVP counts, select three, and at least 4 or more backups. Give them each a motive. 

5. Invites- You can get so creative with these! Send a free evite, from evite.com, or create a custom invite on your own. Check out the zazzle app for affordable custom invites- I am in love with their giant selections.

This is also where your set the theme, and give the guests their personas. You are much more likely to get an RSVP with a fun, and excited guest.

6. Clues- Easy as pie! 

• Draw maps of the area, and on the back side make notes that the suspect would have made. 
• Make a check out to the suspect from the "victim" that has been returned or cancelled, along with a bank note describing why. Perhaps the victim no longer wants to help, or support the suspect.
• An email from or between suspects threatening to continue operation [Code Name Here] or else.
• A letter from the suspect to the victim, with a threat for some kind of action.

7. Last but not least- The Murderer!

• Get creative in your own way. Who will the murderer be? Will you pass them a script to read dramatically once they are revealed? Will they take a glorious bow? Choose your best actor among the suspects, someone who will not spill the beans and set the party to a halt. Maybe they find a note on their cup that they are the murderer?

That is all for now :) I hope you are able to host the best, and most AMAZING mystery party of your own. 

If you have any questions, post them below & don't forget to follow me on Pinterest!

-TSM

End of Year Scout Party!

What Am I Planning You Ask?

Why- Nothing better than a ...

We have had SO many fun activities this year with the Girl Scouts. To name a few : 

• Learning the Roles Women Play
• Internet Safety From a Terrific Female Officer
• Cookie Sales!
• Pumpkin Patch Trip
• Winter Getaway at the Mountains- Ice Skating, Snow Shoeing, Sledding & S'mores
• Daddy Daughter Game
• Earned Cooking Badges
• Veterans Parade
• Babysitter Training
• Court Legislation Learning Visit
• Be a Vet for the Day

And More...

So the end of year is on the way! We are going to have the most AMAZING Murder Mystery Tea Party.

The challenges are that most of the resources online cost money, provide little to no guide, and or are not appropriate for children.

So- I wrote my own! It was not all that difficult either! Stay tuned for a DIY Murder Mystery Party!

More Amazing Idea Apps

I'm currently enjoying the disaster of the cable company moving our internet a month ahead of time… so bare with me while I post from my phone.

I am enjoying some great apps for home decorating and ideas that I wanted to add more on from my last post.

Redecorating and deciding what to keep and what to trash is no easy task ;). We decided on all new furniture for the whole first floor, leaving me with two offices, kithen, dining room, living room, and a small entry way to design. 

This is also the time where my things will fully merge with his. And some will get "lost" in the move… oops! 

So I find myself in a FLOOD of ideas and learning, from what goes with dark cherry floors, dark cabinets, do we repaint, etc.

Here are some of my LOVES and the organization I am loving to narrow down the field.

How will I decorate my white fireplace mantel? I like the mirror, probably some candles with a vase, but I need color pops. 

We have definately settled on a statement chair, and coordinating pillows with a darker couch.

2 kids and 2 dogs, I could never have white couches like this.

Which makes finding an idea hard- because with so much dark, without the color, most of what I find looks like above. How do I filter out all the ideas you ask?

• While looking online & through apps, keep in mind what is realistic.

• Find elements in the images that are similar to your home, a mantle, a corner, wood, carpet, cabinets etc. that you have in your own home.

• Stay organized! Sure each app has it's idea saver, but when you need to see them all at once, you don't want to print and waste all of that precious and expensive ink. Screen Shot! Pin to your Pinterest albums, find one area that works best for you. 

Meanwhile, here are the amazing apps I live for ideas.

[ Houzz ] I've mentioned it before, but I am in love.

[ Old Kings Lane ]

[ Joss & Main ]

[ Wayfair ] Don't forget their Facebook page- their ideas are stunning!

[ Restoration Hardware ] I love this store. It is on the pricey side, but everything is gorgeous. I redid my bedroom last winter with their amazing bedroom spreads. I will note that after falling in love with a quilt set of theirs, anything close to it at all that stores ran in the same price range. I checked target to Bed Bath Beyond, so the price isn't too outlandish.

[ Crate & Barrel ] From sofas, to kitchen requirements… this place amazed me. I used to joke that they only carried CB boxes on their commercials because their products were ugly, but wow was I surprised when I stepped in the store last week. Love love love. They have come a long way. 

• Take catalogs when you are in the stores. You will find better ideas here, than from pricy and advertisement ridden magazines.

On that note, I will end with some more amazing images. 

-> Don't forget to follow me on Pinterest

- That's Sew Mommy

Love the chairs.

Ottoman obsession. 

Not in love with the Spanish feel, but it looks great.

Mantle, yes, white couches, I wish.

Curtains, lighting, tables oh My! Love it all.

A great example of Houzz, and how easy it is to use.

Found this beauty on Pinterest. 

That's all for now! Ciao.

DIY Chalkboard Coming Soon!

Coming Soon! DIY Chalkboard. Promise!

Great Apps for New Home

Yes,

I have been missing! Here is what happened, very happy story. We have been living in a condo, arguing for two years on where to live. City, or country, types of homes, etc.

One day my Mother and I decided to browse an up and coming town, and THERE IT WAS! One week later, the papers were signed, and I have less than a month to paint, and pack, and move into my dream home.

I finished the chalk board calendar, just have been way too busy to get to it. The amount of papers to send in these days is almost violating, if I might say.

Now I am extremely obsessed with Pinterest, as if I wasn't before..... I was. I am. Follow me on Pinterest!

So much on my mind!

• How will I keep this big house clean?
• When will we finish the basement?
• What colors shall we paint?
• We need more furniture, what store should we go to? What theme will we use?
• Will we build a fire pit, a brick or stone patio, where in the yard?

I could go on forever. The good news is that the entire home is already painted a great beige color, and the front and back are completely landscaped. 

I'll spill the details. from top left, to right, on down in that order. Wood floors, cabinets, under that all counters but laundry room, carpet for upper floors. Master tile, flooring for laundry room, tile for back-splash in kitchen, counter for laundry, paint color, and white swatch for comparison.

We went with a brushed nickle and chrome mixture for finishes, double oven for my bread :), ah I just cannot wait. 

Here are my home tips for the week- Use technology organized and to your advantage!

Apps:

• Pinterest- Stay organized! Be detailed in your boards, from curtains to living room, etc. This app is dangerous though beware; well only in the sense that it is similar to the craft store and ending up with a craft list the size of a dinosaur. However, it is SO easy to simply add the tons of amazing things you find to another board, and move on- within seconds.
• Houzz- Great for ideas. Pinterest gives many more DIY and how to, yet the homes on here are astonishing. One thing I always keep in mind, is to ask, is it doable, or a lottery winning type of home. I look for homes with similar layouts, floors, counter or cabinet colors, and save the ones that do for my decorating ideas. This also allows for some paint identifiers, and some pricing on object in images.
• Home Depot- The big list for move in is appliances, yard, and house tools that you will need. This app has a great scanning feature for planning, when walking through the store, scan everything you love. Compare later. There are also so many more options online, and this app will list pricing on everything. Right now, they also have free shipping.
• Color Snap- If you are really into the colors or world around you, download this app, snap pictures wherever you go, and it will tell you the Sherwin Williams color that matches.
• Color Visualizer- This is also by Sherwin Williams, take a picture of your room, draw lines around the furniture, and choose the wall color. I like this idea for testing furniture at the stores with the color you may already have.
• Homestyler- Select a room, snap a pic or load it, and play around with furniture in the space.
• Zillow Digs- Note, this is not the Zillow real estate, yet similar to Houzz, and much more realistic in the fact that it is not for the millionaire's mansion. I am playing around with this one, and so far, all is good. More on voting, than saving to an idea book.

Well I could go on for hours, but I will save more details for later.

TSM

P.S. Follow me on Pinterest! ( Just click below)

I am a MoMo

Who am I?

I myself do not know. Perhaps I can describe my roll.

It all started about three years ago, at the peak of my career. Let me also say that this was the low of my love life; I had found my utmost inner hatred in men. I had dated the charming ; turned to scum the minute they shed their true layers.

I attribute this to my transformation from naive and insecure farm-town gal, to shove it and love what you see- small time (Denver will NEVER be big) city gal.This is what showed me WHO I was.

So there I was... browsing the limited shops for coffee when he was sitting outside... 10 days into Denver himself... and he sat straight up. You would have believed that it what the *miracle muse* of confidence puppeteering him. He asked to buy me coffee, and of course I was a [beesh] see words for biatch on Google.

There he was, the dream man. Let me skip forward to today....3 years now his beautiful two daughters came into my life. They have a "mom" lowercase intended....

So what I mean to get across is that I don't go to church every Sunday, nor do I call a church home. I however, am very close, and protective, with my Christian relationship with God. I pray every day. At a young age I began praying for the *perfect* man and *children*.

Here I am, we are buying a home, my hobbies on hold, the next steps are planned as marriage.

I am a very blessed woman. I spend my days now, given up my career, raising two gorgeous little girls. They need so much love, and I needed children to love. I am a stay at home Mom. I struggle because I am younger than the other Moms.

I struggle because I am a parent without a title.

I struggle because their extended family sees me as temporary- that one day it will all be 'fixed'.

I LOVE my Daughters. I will never leave their side. I frankly, don't give a flying shit what they think. I will sew them dresses, blankets, play games with them, teach them to paint, and continue to LOVE them regardless of who's belly they came from.

Yes,

The ultimate fight of YOU cannot parent or discipline them in any way, stupid, comes up daily. I will point out that this is only EVER an issue when some behavior is negative because it will always be my fault. Everyone will point towards me as the downside. Heaven FORBID that they have two loving stable parent in their life. I am always going to be the 'reason'.

At the end of the day, we have so much fun. So much love. I taught them to read, write, stand up to bullies, get into gifted math, I lead their scout troop. These don't matter.

Ask a child, what do they remember? They are silly moments like eating cake, or learning how to bake bread, or cleaning a mess and not telling Daddy that we spilled a gallon of paint.

I hurt. I love. I feel sad and sometimes I often cry tears of happiness when they do something so full of pride.

Who am I?

I am MOMO - a name they gave me meaning half the title (Mo)(m) twice the work... MOMO.

I am a Mom, raising children, taking them to school every day, making every inch of their meals, and bread, from scratch. I do homework with them, I tuck them in. I nag them about table manners, and how to take care of their hair. I teach them how to make friends, always do better, stand up for what is right, and disagree with room colors I REALLY dislike. I am here to hold them when they do not understand or are sad.  I pick up the pieces of what 'is pushed' on them, AKA supposed to be their family structure.

I am a MOMO a mother of sorts.

On The Way & Yay!

Well hello ya'll. 

Wanted to take a moment and say that I will have more posts soon. 

I'll make it brief- I am a student, and my teacher accidentally put my A as an F! Then he resigned.... the main problem... because grade changes go through the teacher! So the chair of the department overturned the grade, which is a time consuming process that rarely happens (I prayed so hard). It was a long and stressful process.  My quilt has evolved a lot, and I have much more footage being edited to upload.

1. Here comes side projects! I am working on a DIY chalkboard & calendar. EEEk yay!

2. The next tutorial will be on finishing touches of the Nerdy Owl quilt. Yay!

Talk to ya'll soon.

Lot's of love, and best regards!!

TSM <3 font="">

Youtube Commercial!

Fun Video - Great For Ideas!

What Do You Think? Comment Below!

Dinner Rolls in 30 Minutes.

I just HAVE to share this recipe with you! It is so delicious, easy, and does not take a lot of baking skills. For all future references, it is also in the Mom Stuff section.

 I made these last night, when my daughter asked for hamburgers, and we were out of bread. They are so 'buttery' without the butter. The crust does not harden, and they are so, so soft. Also, this recipe is almost fool-proof, I have played around with it for years!

Tools That Make it Easy::

• Kitchen-aid Standing Mixer- Mine is soft pink and I just cannot survive without it. I use mine for everything, including baked goods, and mashed potatoes.
• Pyrex or Glass Baking Dishes - I have renounced my metal dishes, sort of, and now I only use metal pans for my cupcakes and cakes. The glass dishes, in my opinion, avoid over browning your bakes goods. 

      

Ingredients::                         

• 1 Cup + 1 TBS Warn Water ( NOT HOT )
• 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 2 Envelopes/ TBS Rapid Rise Dry Yeast
• 1 & 1/2 Tsp Salt
• 1 Egg
• 3 & 1/2 Cup All Purpose Flour
• 2 Tsp Baking Powder

Instructions::

1.     Heat oven to 400 degrees. ( Make sure it is fully preheated)

2.     In Standing Mixer (or large bowl if you do not have one) put the warm water, sugar. Stir and let it dissolve. 

3.     Once the sugar has dissolved, stir in the oil, and yeast, then let rise until it looks very puffy (about 15 minutes max).

4.     Using the hook for the mixer, add in the egg, salt, and baking powder. Then, slowly add in the flour, I like to do about a cup at a time. (Hand stir with large spoons if you have no mixer. You will also need to knead the dough thoroughly without it)

5.     Continue to let the dough knead in the mixer until you see an even consistency, and the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. 

6.     Flour your hands and roll the dough into small balls (golf ball sized bakes for 10 minutes, tennis ball sized bakes for 20) Let rise for a couple of minutes in a warm area. I open my preheated oven, and let them rest on the door for about 10 minutes. Also, I take a stick of butter, and rub it across my glass baking dish. Use any non-stick method you prefer, but mine is easy :) You can really play around with the sizes and times to bake. Personally, I NEVER rely on a timer when cooking and baking. Many people have different altitudes, and that means that the baking time can be extremely off! Watch for a golden brown coloring, they do not harden, but they can under cook.

7.     When finished baking, cut, or pull them apart after 5 minutes. Lay them on a dish or rack to cool, then serve :)

Enjoy these AMAZING rolls, & until next time!

Checkout my easy applique tutorial!

So,

I am in the middle of my applique project. I am putting together my 'cut-n-paste' easy to do version for ya'll. I found myself at JA's fabric store for their amazing New Year's sale. I was racing through the aisles and bumped my cart into these ladies from Missouri, and of course I asked.

     "Have you been to the Missouri Star Quilting Shop?!" They had, small world. I sent them back with a promise to share, that their biggest fan is in Colorado :) .

I also have a new blogger best friend, named Judy. Make sure to check out her blog in my Blogger Buddies tab to the right. I cannot wait until my buddy list grows! 

After staring at all of these fat quarters I purchased, I found myself flooded. Then, I resolved it! Here is the next...

* End your overwhelming project idea flood!*

            -When you get stuck, overwhelmed, or frazzled; take out your computer, tablet, pieces of paper, etc. Draw! Draw! Draw! I call it my, "Design Time".

            :: My Recommended Programs::

- Windows 8 - Fresh Paint ( Free )

- Ipad / Iphone- @Draw ( Free ) <---love comment----love--="">

-  Paper - There are times that a pencil is all I need. 

1. Lay out your measurements! This helps me so much. Once I know what size I need, and cut into the fabric, it is up-hill from there! 

2. Design your ideas. Don't get too technical, but once you see them, you can simplify, and match colors from there. 

3. Organize your space! Check out Judy's tip here & Click it to visit her blog too! 

4. Don't forget to applique :) My favorite. It gives the quilt such a PB look. If you simply cannot cut out triangles or squares, Applique like it's nobody's business.

Remember. My applique tutorial will be out this week, but if you need help now, I am just a comment, or email away.

thatssewmommy@gmail.com

Happy New Years!