Feeling tropical?

(by Kelly)

A few weeks ago I went to a luau party with some girlfriends.  It was a great way to take our minds off of the cold with some laughter & relaxation.  Who can let the -30 windchill get them down when you are surrounded by good friends?  I HIGHLY suggest throwing a tropical party in the middle of winter.  A perfect escape. 

This also was a great excuse to sport my pink peacock caftan.  Not enough reasons in this world to wear it.  My good friend Linsdey and I say we are going to grow old together, wear caftans and drink wine.  Until then, my caftan makes rare appearances at theme-parties. 

I needed a Lei to complete my ensemble for the evening.  I ran to the local party supply store and oh my...was I disappointed.  Not only was everything junk, but it was way over-priced.  Even the expensive ones were not what I was looking for.  Sure, I could have walked out with one and called it a day, but that's just not how I roll.  I knew I could do better.  My caftan deserved something pretty.  So...

Off to the craft store.  I knew I could create the look I had floating around in my head.  I browsed the fake flower section and found the perfect colors.  Everything was 40% off, I picked two bunches of flowers and spent less than $5.  I went home to create.

Here are my pieces...



I started to pull the flowers off the stems to lay them out in the order I was seeing in my head. 



I used Illusion Cord to string through the center of the flowers, but you could use any string (I would double it, personally) or a thin elastic would work too. 



This took like 10 minutes.  If that. 

Done!



I even had enough left over for a bracelet and a cute little flower for my hair...



So, don't get taken by the ones at the party store.  If you have a few minutes & some string, you can make your own.  For far less money and you can create the exact look you are going for. 

I had so much fun at the party that I forgot to take pictures of the completed look.  Oh well.  I will gladly leave you with a picture of my kids from our little get-away I mentioned in my last blog.  See how sunny and tropical it is up here?  See how much my boys like to look at the camera?  Ha!  Thanks for stopping by!  Enjoy!