Tuesday, January 25, 2011

40 rocks!


A lot of folks consider their 40th birthday a bummer.  After all, the big box store partyware is black and says “Over the Hill”.  I’m not quite there yet, but I’m close enough (just turned 35 a few weeks ago!) that I have a lot of friends and family that hit that milestone last year.  I’ve heard enough from folks “on the other side” that 40 is something to celebrate, not be sad about!

My sister turned 40 last summer (sorry for outing you, sis!) and my mom found some fun ideas online about celebrating the big four-oh.  One of them was a centerpiece with 40 suckers in it and a little label that says “40 sucks”.  It turned out super cute (way to go, Mom!).

I wanted to replicate the idea for some girlfriends that were turning 40, but I wanted promote that turning 40 was fabulous, not sucky.  So I put my own spin on it!  This is a super easy craft for anyone to try!
Here’s a tutorial on how to make your own “39 sucks, 40 rocks” centerpiece.  Remember, this could work for almost any milestone birthday – 30, 50, etc.!

39 sucks but 40 rocks copy
MATERIALS:
1. Small vase. (Tip - I recommend a cylindrical like I used on my first one in the brown/green photo above or more of a true cube with completely flat sides. I learned on this one that a curved cube like the one used here was challenging when it came to getting the labels to lay flat.)

2. 39 suckers of any kind. If you have a larger vase you might want to pick larger suckers to fill the space more (like Blow Pops or Tootsie Pops – you could even change yours to be 39 blows!). Dum Dums are great in smaller vases.

3. 40 rocks. Craft stores like Michael’s or box stores like Walmart and Target carry polished river rocks in their dried floral area.  Tip - get the larger rocks – the ones that are bigger than a quarter.  Forty rocks really isn’t very many, particularly if you have a larger vase!

4. Paper and craft materials to make the little “labels”.  This can be made digitally and printed or with letter stickers and cute paper – whatever you prefer.

5. You may also want to have a clear plastic cup available if your vase is large.  This will act as a vessel to hold the suckers and fill some of the void so you don’t need extra rocks.

INSTRUCTIONS:

Start by making your “labels”. I made mine using Photoshop Elements and digital scrapbooking supplies from Paislee Press and Krystal Hartley.  It would be just as cute with scrapbook paper and letter stickers.  The first one I made (the brown one above) I used my Cricut to diecut the letters/ numbers instead.  You can even handwrite it!  You’ll want to make sure you measure your vase to know how much room you have and cut them to size.

Temporarily tape your labels, one on each side of the vase.  The rocks will hold them in the final product, but you don’t want them to get all wonky while you fill it.  I didn’t want to permanently adhere the labels in case the guest of honor wanted to reuse the vase in their home décor.  Since they rocks just hold them in place, they can be easily removed later.


If you are using a plastic cup to fill up some of your vase, insert it now.  You may want to weight it or use some double sided tape for the bottom to keep it in place.
Fill the vase with rocks (around the cup).  Make sure to spread them out – flat ones work best if you are filling around a cup.  Make certain your labels stay put.

Remove the tape and adjust the labels as necessary.

Place the suckers in the vase – you can put them in the inner cup or if you aren’t using one, just prop them in the rocks.

Then all you have left is to party!

Collage copy

Linking up:
Today's Creative Bloghandmade projects
Pure Joy Events Party Tutorial Contest

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10 comments:

Kelly said...

Awesome idea, I can't wait to make this for someone! I would love to create one of these for my mom on her next birthday :)
-Kelly

Heather said...

Thanks, Kelly! We are glad you like it! It's fun because it can act as party decor AND a gift for the guest of honor! We'd love to see what you create!

Emily Carter said...

I love the sentiment! Great idea.

G and H said...

Thanks, Emily! I'd had enough with the "Over the Hill" stuff. :)

Christine {Pure Joy} said...

Love this idea. My husband is turning 40 this year (and I'm not far behind), so this would be great!

Heather Vo said...

It is such an easy project, Christine. And easy to customize with your own style. I'd love to see how it turns out if you make one!

Christine {Pure Joy} said...

Thanks for linking it up to our contest!

Anonymous said...

I might consider upgrading the "40 rocks" from suckers to rock candy.

andieclark said...

That's a nice idea and I really like what you did with those lollipops! How I want some sweets but since I just recently had dental implants in Los Angeles, I think I would pass this time.

Zarah said...

Thanks so much for this! I wanted to make this, but the other ones I'd seen - the 40 sucks ones - felt so... harsh. This is just perfect and I pretty much stole your design, too. I probably won't show it online, but if I do, I'll definitely link back. And even IRL I'll give you credit, promise. :)

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