Get creative, it's time for prom!

Once again, I must state emphatically: “I am not a girly-girl!” I’m not one of those gals who sat home waiting for Mr. Right to ask her to the senior prom. In fact, I was so fed up with school by the time my senior prom rolled around, I ditched. I’m one of those folks who gets sort of bored easily (uh oh, can we say ADD?) and so I tend to get antsy as things reach their end point. When something’s over, it’s over. Just put it out of its misery and move onto the next exciting adventure. I’m really not for dragging things out, if I can help it.

However, it’s prom season, as my good friend Miguel the DJ informs me every time I try to book him for another graduation party. For him, prom season starts in March! Ca-ray-zee. If I remember back to my school days (and I admit, this was some time ago), the prom was always the last big thing of the year, before finals and graduation. I have images of it happening in the late spring, like mid to end of May -- but then, my brain could be addled by time.

Which brings me to the point of this blog: creative prom attire!

This morning when I signed onto my AOL account I was immediately drawn to one of their front page news items. (Although I’m an avid Gmailer, I have an old account with AOL that I still check every morning. I can’t help but get sucked in by the “rag mag” quality that AOL’s front page has embraced for the past few years; it’s all gossip, all the time -- which I find fascinating!) The article was about a senior who had made her dress entirely out of cardboard.

Evidently this creative young lady has been making her prom dress since her sophomore year. Her first was a dress entirely made out of Doritos bags! I love her spunk. High school is such a hard age, where looking good and fitting in often take precedence over Calculus and Biology class. Finding a young gal who embraces her own fearless creativity as readily as she does is refreshing. What strikes me the most is how incredibly fashionable the dresses are. Her soda pop top dress from her junior year is actually quite stunning - and from a distance looks like haute couture (well, at least my version of haute couture, which is limited to old Madonna outfits and Oscar dresses).

My other favorite imaginative prom outlet is the “Stuck at the Prom” competition held by Duck Brand tape every year. If you haven’t ever checked out the site, it’s a must see. The clothes these kids design, in hopes of winning a college scholarship, are off the hook! There’s everything from ruffley gowns that look like they belong on the set of “Gone with the Wind,” to skin tight mini dresses that make you think twice about ditching your black leather. I believe this contest started in 2001, and from the looks of the amazing gallery, the kids just get more inspired every year. Still, it’s fun to look back to the dawn of the duct tape revolution, when the colors were limited to drab old silver, black, and red!

The thing about it is, it takes guts to wear something that’s a bit off, even more guts to wear something you’ve designed yourself, and even more guts still to wear something designed out of a household object. I suppose shows like Project Runway have helped to ease the stigma of the “homemade” dress a bit, but we still live in a society that is ruled by the labels we wear - and no matter how you slice it, a Dorito bag and a roll of duct tape are not Abercrombie and Fitch.

So I applaud you Marua Pozek, from Missouri, you and all the other talented, creative, and daring kids out there who are finding fun and interesting ways to attire themselves for the prom. May you dance the night away -- without any wardrobe malfunctions!

Earth Day Birthday!

Recently, I had a kid request a “Love Our Mother Earth” party theme. I thought it was a totally fun idea, and with Earth Day just around the corner, I thought I’d share some of the ideas we came up with! My little client was way into recycling -- to the point where she knew the different kinds of plastics that could be recycled or not! Needless to say, I was impressed, and wanted to make sure I created a party that left as small a “footprint” as possible. My goal: no more garbage than could fit into a paper grocery bag.

We started with invitations that were printed on paper bags. They not only sported a little poem about saving the Earth, but also listed seven fun things to do with the bag, including wrapping the birthday girl’s present inside.

For decor, we lucked out because we had just done an eco-friendly Bar Mitzvah and had a ton of really cool moss products in a variety of shapes, including bowls, balls, and funky little bubble-shaped patties. At the food table, I chose to go with metal water bottles with the kids’ names on them instead of glasses or paper cups; the kids got to take the bottles home with them as part of their goodie. It also made for a terrific opening activity of decorating them with stickers and permanent markers. I also had three dispensers for drinks: water, milk, and lemonade.

My sister Freda also made an amazing manzanita branch “tree” to use as a centerpiece (although it ended up being so tall I had to place it on the ground). To add a bit of whimsy, Freda made little birds’ nests out of moss, and placed a Cadbury egg in each one for the kids to eat.

My favorite item was a handmade birthday banner that Freda fashioned from paper bags. I printed out backwards letters for her on full-sheet sticker labels. She cut those out and put them on the back of fun patterned scrapbook papers. Once cut out, she glued those to the paper bags and simply strung the bags by hole-punching the tops and stringing a silky ribbon through the holes. When all was said and done, nothing was thrown away, not even the scraps from the letters (we used those for another project)!

Once all the kids arrived, we played some funny recycle games.

Pass the “water bottle”

We actually ended up playing with those long boxes that tin foil comes in because we had them on hand, but I would have normally used a water bottle. The object of the game is to pass the item from person to person without using your hands, but instead a series of other body parts. All you need is a recyclable item and a bunch of kids. Here’s how you play:

1. Split the group into teams of 5 or 6 and have them line up in their teams, one behind the other.
2. Hand the first person in line an item (bottle, tin foil box -- nothing sharp). They place the item under their chin, and then do not touch it with their hands.
3. On “Go!” the first person in line passes the item to the second person in line from chin to chin. No hands should be used if you can help it. The second person passes it to the third, and so on, until it reaches the last person.
4. When the last person receives the item, they run to the front of the line. Once there, they transfer the item to the next body part: between their elbows.
5. Play continues with players passing the item using the following body parts:

First - chin

Second - elbows

Third - wrists

Fourth - pinkies

Fifth - knees

Sixth - ankles

Seventh - feet

6. Once the first person in line makes it back to the front, that team is done, and they sit down. First entire team to sit down and put their hands in the air is declared the winner.

We also had a recycle relay race, which you can find here on our main website!

We then took a break to make “Grow Buddies.” And truth be told, the kids could have worked on them all day! It’s a pretty simple craft at its heart, but the great thing about it is that you can get as detailed and inventive as possible. To make your own Grow Buddy, you’ll need the following items:

1. Nylon stockings
2. Soil (I used sphagnum moss) or sawdust
3. Grass seed
4. Rubber bands
5. Soup can (or the like; just make sure there are no sharp edges!)
6. Decorating supplies (duct tape, googly eyes, felt, trims, buttons, jewels, bottle caps, pipe cleaners, you name it!)
7. Hot glue gun and sticks (always have adult supervision)
8. Scissors

1. Cut a piece of stocking about 8 inches up from the toe (make sure you have a toe at the end) or use one whole knee-high stocking.
2. Open the stocking up and pour about 2 tablespoons of seed into the toe.
3. Fill the stocking with soil to the size head you want (about the size of a good sized potato).
4. Tie off the end of the stocking as tight as you can.
5. Use rubber bands to make nose and ears.
6. Decorate your head with eyes, mouth, etc.
7. Decorate the tin can to look like a body; use pipe cleaners for arms and duct tape for clothing -- go to town and get super creative!
8. Dunk your Grow Buddy’s head in water and let it absorb a good amount.
9. Fill the decorated can with water and rest your head on top, with the bottom of the head touching the water.
10. Make sure to keep refilling your can with water over the coming days and weeks.
11. In about 1 to 2 weeks, you’ll start seeing grass hair growing at the top of your Grow Buddy’s head. Let it grow as long as you like. Give it haircuts or tie the grass in bows for that “Pebbles and Bam Bam” look.

By then, it was time to sing “Happy Birthday” -- but instead of a cake, my birthday gal opted for a sweet treat that celebrated land and sea. I made tiny glass flower pots with pudding “dirt,” and little glass bowls filled with blue Jell-O to represent the ocean. The recipe is really simple!

“Dirt” pudding

You’ll need chocolate pudding, Cool Whip, Oreo cookies, and gummy worms.

1. Follow the standard directions to make your pudding. At the end of the mixing time, add 1 cup of Cool Whip and mix thoroughly.
2. Spoon into cups and place in the fridge to set.
3. For the dirt, take a bag of Oreo cookies and place them in a food processor. Grind them up until they take on a dirt-like look (you can use vanilla cookies for a more sandy look).
4. Right before you are ready to serve the treat, place a couple spoonfuls of cookie “dirt” on top.
5. Insert a gummy worm so that he looks like he’s crawling out from the dirt.
6. Yum!

Edible ocean

You’ll need blue Jell-O, Cool Whip, and gummy fish, plus a sharp knife (adults only).

1. Prepare the Jell-O as directed, and pour into little cups or bowls.
2. Place in fridge and let set.
3. Right before you are ready to serve, add a thin spoonful of Cool Whip and spread across the top of the Jell-O.
4. Use the knife to make a small slit in the top of the Jell-O.
5. Insert a gummy fish into the Jell-O with the head facing up, so it looks like Flipper peeking out from the waves.
6. Double yum!

We also served meringue cookies as “clouds” to represent the sky, but we bought those from Trader Joe’s!

All in all, we were able to keep to our goal, and the only real garbage we made was from the Cadbury Egg wrappers and the packaging from the birthday presents. So in my mind, mission accomplished!

Happy Earth Day Birthday, everyone!

Tragedy at the Earth Day party

I’ll be the first to admit (and I’ve done so on this blog before!) that I am not a very good cook. I sometimes think I could give the folks on “Worst Chefs in America” a run for their money. But I should also say that this in no way stops me from trying...

Case in point: my Earth Day party.

Local TV series “Eye on the Bay” contacted us about filming one of our little parties for the show. After some discussion, my team thought that our Earth Day party would be a perfect fit. Soon we were planning some special touches to make the party even more memorable. Normally we don’t do food; I leave that to the experts. (And with good reason -- no one wants some poor child choking down a half-burnt grilled cheese sandwich, no matter what cute shape it’s been trimmed into!) But for some reason I got a flash of inspiration: instead of cake, let’s do three tiny treats representing earth, sea, and sky! Ahhh, brilliant me. I was feeling very puffed up, since I normally don’t even have any ideas for food beyond fun names for them. I’m just not a foodie!

So there I was, puffed up and full of my fabulous vision. For earth, I decided to do a chocolate pudding mixed with Cool Whip and topped with Oreo cookie crumbles, a gummy worm, and a lollipop flower. For sky, my husband Scott suggested fluffy “cloud” meringue cookies. (To his credit, Scott made a sample batch, but the yield was too small and the prep time was too long. Thankfully Trader Joe’s carries tubs of perfect little puffs, so we went with those.) And finally for sea we’d have blue Jell-O. I recalled an image I had seen years ago in a magazine: a fish bowl filled with light blue Jell-O and gummy fish. Perfect! The only issue was that I didn’t know how to make it... but how hard could mixing up some Jell-O and throwing in a gummy fish be?

What is it they say about pride goeth before the fall? Get ready to hear a very loud thump, y’all.

Somewhere in the recesses of my memory, I remembered that if you wanted to suspend something in Jell-O, and not have it sink to the bottom like a dead weight, you had to do the Jell-O in layers. I was planning on visiting my folks between my Friday and Sunday parties (the “Eye on the Bay” shoot was that Sunday), so I decided to make the Jell-O Thursday night. The first layer went off without a hitch. I had very cute bowl-shaped votive candle holders that were the perfect size for small, individual fish bowls. I filled them halfway Thursday night, and set them in the fridge to harden. The next morning I inserted one nice, plump gummy fish into each bowl, and added more Jell-O. All was good -- or so I thought.

The tragedy struck Saturday morning when I opened the fridge to grab milk for my morning tea. I found twelve bloated, white-rimmed, disintegrating fish staring back at me! It was like the biblical ten plagues -- you know the part where the river turns to blood and the fish all float to the surface, dead and disgusting? I had a mini fish apocalypse on my hands! This was not good -- I was leaving for my parents’ in an hour, and I had to do something fast. My first thought was that maybe I could get away with it, that maybe it was like that oxidation that happens with chocolate when it gets hot and then cold; it looks terrible, but still tastes good. I figured I’d better dump out one fish bowl and check it.

One flick of the spoon and I knew I was doomed. The toxic mess that spilled out onto my plate nearly caused me to gag up my morning tea. The fish was slimy and gross, and no kid in their right might would consume it.

Thankfully I had a few more boxes of Jell-O on hand, so I mixed up another batch to replace the putrefied ones. I figured that right before I served them at the party, I’d cut a slit in the top of the Jell-O and insert a gummy fish, maybe even having his head stick out, like Flipper used to do. The fish wouldn’t have time to go bad if the desserts were served immediately after their addition.

The funny thing was that two days before, my sister Freda posted a Facebook link to the exact photo of the Jell-O goldfish bowl that had inspired me in the first place. It was a Martha Stewart recipe, which should have been a red flag because nothing I’ve ever made of hers has been as simple as it seemed. At the time, I couldn’t figure out how to get to the recipe from the link, but after the carnage in my fridge I went back and searched for it. It was completely off the hook and used flat soda. And there, on the bottom, it instructed you to wait until you were going to serve the dish and insert the fish just before, and to make sure to serve it within six hours of doing so. So there it was! The smoking fish... or should that be “smoked fish?”

All in all, I’m pretty thankful for the way everything played out. If I hadn’t been going to my folks’, I wouldn’t have done the project early. If I hadn’t done the project early, I wouldn’t have had the time to rectify the situation. As it was, everything worked out just fine, as it always does. However, I will say that from now on, I’m definitely leaving the foodstuff to the experts!

Enferma! ("Sick!")

Every February my husband and I escape to a little place in Mexico called Punta de Mita. It’s become a sort of refuge for us: a place where we can escape for a brief time, and even though we are still connected to our businesses through the internet, we actually take time away from work to enjoy friends, food, and the great outdoors.

This year we invited my husband’s oldest brother and sister in-law to join us in what we hoped would be an exciting change of pace for them. Things were definitely exciting, but I’m not sure we will ever have the pleasure of having my in-laws grace our Mexican home again, especially since our home became basically an infirmary for five full days.

As you may have already guessed, my entire family: Scott, my brother in-law Tom, and his wife Terry all came down with some incredibly virulent Mexican flu. A flu that I can only describe as terrifying!

It started the night after we’d had an amazing tour of the La Cruz farmer’s market, a place where local merchants converge to share food, music, festivities, and handmade goods. It’s an amazing market simply bursting with color, smells, and flavors. It makes one swoon.

The first hint that something was wrong started with Tom.

Poor Tom, he was such a trooper. At first he just chalked it up to too many tastes for an older guy’s system. He refused to be brought down, and (I’m embarrassed to admit it now) I didn’t even know he was sick that first day. He hid it really well! However, that evening everything came crashing down.

I was awoken in the middle of the night by what I thought was an earthquake. The bed my husband I were sharing was literally shaking. Poor Scott had chills, but not just any ordinary chills -- these were major tremors. Tremors that shook his entire body and everything within its wake (or should I say “quake?”). Thinking he just had a bug, I piled on every blanket I could find. But because we were in Mexico, our blankets were numbered. So I also gathered every towel, robe, and sweatshirt I could find, piling it upon him until he looked like a Goodwill clearance table.

The next morning, upon surveying the varying stages of decline within my family members, I consulted my dear friend Ana. Ana is this amazing woman who lives in Punta De Mita, and literally is the heart of the community. One look at Scott and she jumped into action, calling in the local town doctor.

I simply must describe the visage that walked through the door to attend to my nearly comatose husband. I can only describe him as “soap opera handsome.” 5 foot 10, dark wavy hair, muscular build under his white doctor’s coat. Just call him El Doctoro Dreamy! Seriously, he could give Patrick Dempsy a run for his pesos! He entered my home carrying what I can only describe as a tackle box filled with every imaginable hospital implement.

He took one look at Scott and shook his head. “This is a very sick man,” he said in perfect English. “We need to get him started on an I.V. right away.”

The first thing that popped into my head, of course, was a war-torn-looking ambulance and a trip to Puerto Vallarta. But the doctor just placed his toolbox on the bed and said, “I’ll be right back.”

The next scene was bizarre, and something you would never witness in the States, unless you were in some place like the backwoods of Appalachia or the barren tundra of Alaska. The elevator opened, and there’s the doctor with an I.V. stand. He swiftly wheeled the stand in place, and within 10 minutes had mixed up a bright yellow mixture of vitamins, Valium, and antibiotics. I can only assume that my Kaiser doctors back in the States would be pulling their hair out had they seen this. Although we were not in a “sterile” environment, the good doctor did wear gloves and a mask, and used only items that were vacuum packed and hermetically sealed.

With amazing skill and dexterity he inserted the I.V. and then set about checking in with the rest of my family. Two hours later he returned to take out the I.V. and check on the family again. This time he brought a bevy of medications, and meticulously went through each one’s administrations with me, until he was sure I got it. Over the next few days, he would return to check on my husband no less than four times. Have you ever heard of an American Doctor even making one house call, let alone six?!

Now, this is not intended to be a blog about the terrors of travel. It’s meant to be a story of how incredible the people of Mexico are, and how amazingly well they took care of my family when I was powerless to do so myself. Not only did the Doctoro take amazing care of us, but friends, family, and staff from local restaurants and hotels all came to our aid. People brought soup and plain tortillas, well wishes, and prayers... It was overwhelming.

When all was said and done, and my husband was up and around again, we paid a visit to the doctor at his farmacia so we could settle up the bill. (Did you notice he gave us care and treatment without charging us up front? I hope you’re taking notes, Kaiser.) When all was said and done, we paid about $300 US for everything: house calls, treatment, medicine, and true concern included.

Obviously, I’m not advocating getting sick when in a foreign country or out of one’s own element. In fact, I’d strongly suggest one try to stay as healthy as possible whenever one can! But, if you have to get sick away from home, Punta de Mita sure seems the place to do it. I can only hope that visitors to our country would be treated so well!

"Get me a Molina!"

I am one of those bosses who is blessed with an amazing team of talented, hard-working, respectful, and dedicated employees who actually seem to like the work they do with me. Oh sure, every now and then they drive me crazy (as I’m sure I do them!), but my workforce is like a family in that way, with every member playing a significant role in the family tree. It’s a very special team, and I am grateful for all they bring to my company.

Case in point: the Molina girls.

Before I extol the virtues of these amazing sisters, let me give you some background.

Six years ago I was donating my time at Saint Anthony’s. Every year we help out with a Christmas party for the kids. I supply all the fun games and Saint Anthony’s supplies the labor, usually in the form of volunteers from Skyline College. That’s where I met Jennifer for the first time. A while later, I was doing a big luau party and we were short on staffing. I called my friend Doug at Saint Anthony’s, and asked if he had any recommendations from his fantastic volunteers list. He sent me Jen.

Jen, admiring Freda’s Baby Umi

Jen turned out to be awesome. She worked hard: climbing ladders, hauling boxes, setting up a fancy drinks bar... She was great. She took direction well and jumped right into the fray without holding back. She asked great questions and took initiative. We chatted about her being a sophomore and how people sometimes mistook her for Hillary Duff (who she did resemble at the time). I automatically moved her to the top of my first-call assistant list.

About a week later I was in Sunnyvale, doing a big craft table for a computer company’s picnic. Jen was on board, but she arrived late. I was concerned and worried, until about 10 minutes before the event when I looked up to see her smiling face. “Sorry! Traffic was horrible, and Sacred Heart Cathedral dismissed us late today,” she said. I looked at her sideways. “Sacred Heart?” I said, a bit mystified. “I thought you were a sophomore in college?” She started laughing. “No Sophie,” she said as she slipped into her red staff apron, “I’m a sophomore in high school.”

I nearly fell over.

Here was this amazingly poised, confident, mature, young woman. A young lady heads and tails above some of my assistants in their 20s and 30s even, and she barely had her driver’s license! I was floored.

Needless to say, Jen joined our ranks and became a recurring face on the Sophie’s Stress-Free Soirées team. She was quickly placed in rotation and garnered respect from every member of the team, even though she was less than half their age!

About two years into her employ, we once again found ourselves short handed for a large event, and Jen suggested her younger sister Annette. We were given the warning that Annette was a hard worker, but extremely shy. That didn’t really concern me at the time, because I really just needed a solid folks who could help set up a large party. And so, the second Molina came aboard. To say that she was yet another blessing from above is an understatement. She took to the job like a duck to water, and that “shy” personality that we had been warned about never actually showed her face. Within a month she was exchanging barbs with my husband Scott -- not an easy thing to do!

Annette also gets in on a little monkey business

Annette, or “Molinita,” as she is fondly called, is a powerhouse and can basically do anything. She’s saved me when I’ve had horrible technical failures on a job (as I recalled in a previous post), stayed up with me organizing a 16-foot truck at 1:00 a.m. in La Jolla, ran events for me when I was accidentally double-booked, and helped me carry over 20 boxes through a ¼ mile labyrinth... and that’s just the beginning.

The thing about J-Mo and Molinita is that they are more than just employees, they are family.
We’ve shared some amazing times together. There are laughs, like the time that Jen referred to herself as “small, but productive” There are tears, when their family was affected by the San Bruno gas explosion. There’s been pride, as they both excel and succeed in their own lives. And there are rivalries, too -- football season turns our sweet little J-Mo into a trash-talking Niners fan!

In some ways it’s gotta be tough to be a new employee. The bar has been set really high. Often Scott will be heard saying, “You know, the new gal (or guy) was good -- but she’s no Molina.”

Paper Cup Lambs! (Video)

Spring is (kinda) here (depending on what the weather's like where you live!), and you and your kids can help celebrate its return by making a flock of these adorable Paper Cup Lambs! These sheep are sooo cute you can't make just one! They're also a great craft for a range of ages, since the steps and the materials are easy for little ones to grasp. Take a look at my how-to video above, or if you want our text step-by-step, click here!

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How to make a Hunger Games Mockingjay pin out of duct tape!

Everyone in my office is completely hooked on the Hunger Games. Every single one of us has read the trilogy and is a huge fan. With the opening of the movie at hand, my brilliant sister (and artist in residence), decided to make her own Mockingjay pins out of duct tape. She gave me one as a present the other day, and I was so impressed by it that I needed to blog about it right away.

When I informed Freda that I wanted to write about it, she jumped right in and gave me the steps for making one so that I can pass on the technique to those of you who wish to make your own. One note though: this is not an easy craft! It definitely takes time and patience to make this pin. However, once the technique is learned, it can be used to make any variety of cool jewelry, not just this pin.

To make the pin you’ll need the following supplies:

1. Duct tape. Freda also used Mylar tape in her sample, but standard duct tape is fine. You will want black, and then at least 2 contrasting colors – maybe red and yellow. Freda used copper and gold Mylar tape but she doesn’t recommend it. Even though the effect is beautiful, the tape is extremely hard to work with and rips easily. However, they now make metallic silver and gold duct tape that gives you the same look.
2. Wax paper
3. Permanent markers with a good point
4. One large safety pin, or pin back (found in local craft stores)
5. Scissors
6. An image to trace (in this case, we used the Mockingjay image from the cover of the Hunger Games' first book)
7. Seed beads
8. An eye pin (used in making dangling earrings; can be found in craft stores) or thin wire (use needle nose pliers to form a little loop at the end to keep beads from slipping off)

Step 1: Place your waxed paper over the image on the cover of the book. Using your permanent marker, trace the outer perimeter of your artwork.

Step 2: Cover the backside of the traced image with black duct tape, make sure to extend past the lines a tiny bit.

Step 3: Cut along the lines. Make sure to leave a tab of wax paper, as removing the duct tape from the wax paper is tricky if you don’t have a tab.

Step 4: Remove the wax paper backing, trim the wax paper tab.

Step 5: Cover the sticky side of the duct tape with a layer of gold duct tape (sticky side to sticky side).

Step 6: Trim just inside the black duct tape pattern (cutting two sandwiched pieces of duct tape is easier than cutting sticky tape).

Step 7: Using a second piece of wax paper, trace the negative space (the black areas) around the bird on the cover art.

Step 8: Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each section -- remember to leave tabs for easy removal of the wax paper. Cut pieces one at a time (see next step); do not cut all the pieces out at once.

Step 9: Freda found it easier to cut the pieces one at a time and place them before cutting the next piece. It helped in making sure that she worked her way around the circle and had the correct piece for each section. It’s a bit like putting together a puzzle. (Remember, I told you this was a tricky project!)

Step 10: If you have really good fingers and lots of patience, you can add accent colors to the wings and body of the bird. Just repeat steps 7 through 8 for each new layer of color.

(Special note: when photographing this project, Freda realized she had not made accommodations for the wings and tail that extend past the main circle of the pin. She had to come back and place black duct tape on those overhanging pieces and then trim away the excess black tape. However, when you are doing your first tracing, if you trace around those areas to start with, that will not be an issue.)

Step 11: To make the arrow, use your 2-inch eye pin. Place seed beads on the eye pin, leaving a bit of metal pin sticking out the end.

Step 12: Wrap a square of duct tape around each end of the metal eye pin.

Step 13: Trim both ends to look like an arrow -- a point on the front and feathers at the end.

Step 14: Place a piece of black duct tape on the back of the pin so it over hangs where the arrow point and tail will land. Flip over, and place the arrow between the beak and tail, so the ends hang off the circle and connect with the duct tape. Press the ends to secure the arrow. (Personally I think a little hot glue applied to the middle of the arrow would work just as well -- but that’s just my outside opinion!) Trim excess black tape.

Step 15: Turn the pin over and secure a pin back or safety pin to the back of the pin with duct tape.

Step 16: You’re done! Enjoy your pin (you earned it).

As I said in the beginning, this is a seriously advanced pin. Freda says it took her over an hour to do, so be warned, this takes patience, time, and good scissor skills. However, the technique lends itself to lots of fun jewelry making options -- we'll be bringing you lots more duct tape jewelry in the coming weeks!

Happy Hunger Games, and may the crafting odds be ever in your favor!