Large PUNCH CUP GAME - carnival PRIZE IDEA - easy, fun, & inexpensive - Classroom - school incentive for kids

I absolutely love this game!!
Remember the bee themed library celebration 2 years ago?
 I was tasked with coming up with a large scale game that was great for all ages, inexpensive, could be delegated to a group to assemble, and easy to setup and run the day of the event. WHEW!!! I thought of so many ideas but kept coming back to this concept.

So I made a mini version and presented it to the board for approval.

Now the hard part....delegating. I'm a perfectionist and other people, well, some think glue strings are okay, don't care if it's symmetrical, and so what if it's not cut straight. Of course those things matter!!!!!!!

I purchased most of the novelty items at Party City and found some really good value packs.

Pre-cut tissue paper templates and purchased the cups, rubber bands, and foam core boards.


Just like the test version of the game, I also ran a test version of delegating with my boys. We worked out anything that might need extra instructions so I wasn't super bossy the day of assembly. I did twitch quite a bit but I think overall I handled it well. :P

Day of assembly:



Tissue paper cutters

Toy fillers



Cup cover-ers x 2

I suggested covering the cups as a two person job. One person wrap the tissue around the cup and hold tight in place and the second person add the rubber band. This worked well since it's hard to get the tissue on tight doing it one handed and I also found that the styrofoam cups crush easily.


We stored all the cups in large storage bins.

Everything done in 1 hour!!!

The only thing I couldn't delegate was attaching the cups to the boards. I wanted a pattern, perfectly straight, and exactly the same on each board. 

I put all the board on the table and started lining the cups.
Alternating color and testing placement. 5 rows of 9 on each board.


To attach I added hot glue on the bottom of each cup. 




I made 5 boards of 45.

I spent about an hour in the workroom at the library with a glue gun in hand and perfectly placed each cup. Ahhh my happy place.

Since they were all even they stacked well for storage until the day of the event. 

TIP: I used a sharp exacto knife and made a tiny X in the center of each cup so they would rip and not pull the tissue down. 

My son ran the game and had a blast!! 

The aftermath :)

I think this would be awesome for a school carnival or classroom incentive game or party. So fun and easy.


Thank you for visiting my blog. Any questions? Just ask! 

Follow me!


DIY Thanksgiving - FANCY PIE CRUST - fall leaves & colors - PUMPKIN or APPLE Pie Idea - Decorative holiday baking idea


Pumpkin pies are my favorite!! I decided to make the edges a little more colorful similar to my CARAMEL APPLE PIE and the PI PIE

I used the same premade pie dough from my POT PIE recipe. 

Pizza cutter to make the strips for the braids.

Cookie cutters for the acorns, pumpkins, and leaves.

I found this one at a bake shop and love it!

I used Wilton food coloring. Copper, Brown, Golden Yellow and "No Taste" Red. 

 Used paint brushes to apply color.

I had a tiny bit of water on the parchment paper to dilute the food coloring and to blend colors.

I painted all the cut outs and strips.

 I would suggest painting the strips last and braid right away. The thin pie dough dries out fast making the color crack when you braid.

You can see some of the cracks here at the rounded areas. It didn't look bad and no one would notice. 

I made two braids to fit around the edges.

I used a little water to attach to the pie crust.

Added all the little cutouts.

Fill with pumpkin pie mixture.

Not shown but I added foil under the acorns, pumpkins, and leaves. Since it's hanging over the edge and not supported, it will bend when you bake. To prevent that just add foil as the support.

I made one for the school, a party and Thanksgiving. So many compliments!!!



Thank you for visiting my blog. Any questions? Just ask! 

Follow me!


November FALL office decoration ideas - leaves, glitter pumpkins, & tree - easy & inexpensive - Autumn cubical fun



Well, I made a few changes and now it's a fall tree!!! 

I purchased some fall floral from Michael's and it was 80% off!!! They clearance Halloween and fall at the same time.

Changed spiders to leaves and it's now looks like November in our office.

Hot glued leaves to the trunk and branches.


Pumpkin basket to make the conference table centerpiece.

Glitter and sequin pumpkins and a few leaves. 


Leaves on the floor and glitter pumpkin.


I don't think I posted the reason I put the tree up in the first place. We had a leak from the air conditioner and the paint looks like it's sliding off the wall. Also, they removed our thermostat box leaving an ugly hole and old paint showing. Until it gets fixed this was a cute cover up. :)


Thank you for visiting my blog. Any questions? Just ask! 

Follow me!