July 2017 Th!nk Magazine – Gaining a Heavenly Perspective

Wow! I can’t believe it’s already July. How have you been? What have you been up to? Well, for us here at Th!nk, we’ve been busy celebrating our 4th year anniversary and putting a lot of work into this edition! We hope you enjoy it!

This month’s theme is on having a heavenly perspective. We can often get caught up in the things of the world, but we need to realize that those things will fade away. The only thing that truly matters is our relationship with Jesus. When having a heavenly perspective, we focus our attention on our future in heaven. Read on to see how in more practical ways!

Advertisement

July 2014 Party Palooza

Party Palooza

We did this page a long time ago. We hope you enjoy it and are inspired. If you have any themes or ideas for the next Party Palooza, please email us, we could definitely use it. The theme this month is Summer. Some of these ideas could work for a regular pool day or a get together.

 

Snacks:

Watermelon: I know this is not an original idea, but fresh watermelon is really tasty for all parties, especially if it’s a pool party and they’re also fun. You could have a watermelon seed spitting contest if you don’t mind having the seeds everywhere. I remember having one of those a long time ago. We spit seeds over the fence into someone’s yard. I don’t think they were too happy about it.

Delicious Ice Cubes: In our August magazine, we have a recipe on how to make delicious tasting ice cubes. I definitely recommend making these. They make a great snack or tasty flavorer in a drink. Please email us if you would like us to send you the recipe.

Seasoned Popcorn: Pop a bag of popcorn and go through your spices cabinet. Mix and test different seasonings and spices to create the perfect flavor for your popcorn. You could also use Parmesan cheese(the grated topping kind) or Kraft macaroni cheese from your pantry or fridge. I like to mix parmesan topping with a small amount of spices. It tastes really good if you like spice.

 

Dessert:

Watermelon Cupcakes: For my 12th Birthday, I decided to go with watermelon looking cupcakes since my favorite colors are green and pink. I had a fun and easy time making these cupcakes. All you do is prepare a store-bought mix of cupcakes(it could be plain or a green mix) and put them in a green cupcake liner(or another color if you would like). Then you put them in the oven for the baking time it says on the box. Next, you let them cool and then frost them. Then you can pipe your pink cupcake icing(or make your own with food coloring) on your cupcakes and top with mini chocolate chips to look like watermelon seeds.

Cookie Mix Brownies: Follow the recipe on any kind of cookie package. Instead of putting them into balls, put them in a brownie pan so that the mix looks like a cake. Bake for the time on the package, you my need to cook it longer or shorter. Let it cool and then eat. It tastes a little differently than brownies; light and airy.

Oreo Cupcakes: For my birthday party this year, I decided to go with Oreo cupcakes because I loved how you made them. Place a Oreo on the bottom of your cupcake liner. Mix up a package of any chocolate cake mix. Place your mix on top of the Oreo but in the liner. Cook for the amount it says on the box. Make or use a cream cheese frosting and fold in finely chopped Oreos. Put the icing on your cupcakes and you have a delicious Oreo cupcake. If you wanted to, you could put a mini Oreo on the top for extra decoration. As you can see, for almost all my birthday [parties I put my cupcakes in the shape of the age I’m turning.

Pool Games:

Pool Foursquare/Volleyball: Make your own pool foursquare court. All you need is two long ropes, some chairs or objects to hold it, and a giant beach ball. This game is just like foursquare but in the water so it’s like volleyball foursquare. You put the ropes so that they intersect each other over the pool. Playing this game is a lot of fun and also a workout for those who are on the deeper sides. I think it’s a great game to play at your next pool party.

Keep Away: This is a fun game we played at my graduation party. Since there were mixed genders, we decided to play boys against girls. Basically the boys tried to keep the ball away from the girls, and once the girls got the ball, they tried to keep it away from the boys. You do this by throwing or passing the ball to the people on your team. This game works for all ages and will definitely keep you busy for a few hours. It was a lot more fun than I thought it would be.

Inflatable Saturn: This is a great activity for a pool party. It’s a giant blow up Saturn! It was so much fun but difficult at the same time. You try to balance on it for as long as you can, but the problem is that it’s very challenging. You can get your own giant Saturn at http://www.walmart.com/ip/Aviva-Saturn-Pool-Rocker/15937532 . It’s great for any age, any gender. The boys at my brother’s birthday party also had a blast playing on this.

Permission from Maddie Freisz and Cheyenne Seiler

Permission from Maddie Freisz and Cheyenne Seiler

Crafts:

Fabulous Flip flops: These are really fun and cute flip-flops that you can decorate with fabric. All you need is a pair of flip-flops, fabric in strips(14-22 for each shoe is about right) and fabric scissors. What you do is take your fabric, cut it, and wrap it around your flip-flop. Then you tie it like you would tie your shoes. Continue doing this with each fabric strip until you like how it looks. I have to admit, the shoes are uncomfortable at first, but once you wear them a couple of times, they break through and feel better.

Soda Can Decorations: In September’s magazine, we showed you how to reuse soda cans to make a really cool table decoration. All you do is paint a clean soda can with your favorite acrylic paint and let it dry. We can send you the original page if you would like the proper directions. You can place fake flowers, real flowers, pens or even this month’s craft in it.

Party Planning Page

photo by Salvatore Vuono and freedigitalphotos.net

Party Planning Page

This is a new page that we just started this month. We will usually do one every June and September since all of the authors either have a birthday in June or September. If you have any ideas for June’s page, we would be glad to hear them. Just email us at: thinkauthors@gmail.com

How to throw your own fun sleepover

Mix our ideas for an exciting sleepover.

Remember to ask an adult first and to always wash your hands before cooking.

Invitations-Evite- Have you ever tried using evite? Basically all you do is create a card online and then email it to your guests. It’s really easy and they have a lot of great cards for any occasion. Go to http://www.evite.com if you are interested in making one for your next party.

Decorations-Make Chains- Cut strips of paper(you can use colored also)-1 by 7 inch is good. Tape the ends of the first strip together- making a ring of paper. Loop the second strip of paper through the first ring and tape. Keep doing the same thing until you get your desired length.-Decorate balloons- Before blowing up your balloons, use a sharpie and write words of your choice on them. The words could be ‘celebrate’, ‘party’, or ‘congrats’.Whatever you like. Then, blow the balloons up and tie them.

Food, drinks, and dessert – Make Your Own Pizza-You Will Need: bread rolls,tomato paste or pesto, grated cheese, and various toppings(Ham, pineapple, or any others)-What You Do- Give each guest a bread roll and a plate to work on. Cut the bread roll in half and use the flattest side for toppings. Spread on the bread roll tomato paste or pesto, sprinkle grated cheese on top, then add any kind of toppings. Put your pizzas on a baking sheet.Ask an adult to help you cook your pizzas at 400 degrees F for 10-15 minutes(or unless the cheese is melted).Enjoy your pizza!-Make your own chocolate fondue- Microwave chocolate in a microwave safe bowl until it is melted all the way(or you could melt the chocolate in other ways).Prepare ingredients to be dipped in the chocolate such as strawberries, marshmallows,bananas,etc. Next, take skewers or forks and put a strawberry or another favorite on it. Then, stick it in the chocolate and enjoy. You may want to be careful when dipping into the chocolate, it could fall in.-Make your own ice cubes-Have you read last month’s recipe page? If not, it was about making your own flavored ice cubes. I think that would be a great idea for a drink. If you did not receive the recipe and you would like to learn how to make the ice cubes, just email the Th!nk authors.

Crafts-Make your own Sleep Mask-You will need: One 8 by 11 size felt in your favorite design; One 8 by 11 sticky back felt in solid color; elastic band long enough to connect with the mask around the head; fabric markers; sticky back jewels; scissors-What You Do- Use scissors to cut the decorative felt in size needed for each guest.Cut solid color felt one quarter inch smaller to fit inside the other felt piece.Peel adhesive backing and stick to decorative felt. Stitch ends of elastic at opposite sides of mask. Let your guests personalize with markers and sticky back jewels. -Make your own friendship bracelet- For my birthday a couple years ago, I got ‘The Friendship Bracelet Maker’ from a friend. I have really enjoyed making bracelets using it.The bracelets are really simple and easy to make. I would recommend this item as a gift for others or fun activity for yourself/friends.

Games-Make your own Bowling Alley- You will need: 10 plastic water bottles(same size and empty), a tennis ball or a small ball, Dry rice or popping corn, string or masking tape, pen and paper.-What you do- Fill each bottle halfway with dry rice or popping corn and put the cap on tightly. Line up the pins in a triangle shape(like in bowling). Use the masking tape or string along the floor to mark out your alley. Write player’s names on paper so that you’re ready to record their scores. Play bowling(the rules are the same as in real bowling or you can make up your own rules).-Play Hide-n-seek with a twist-Everyone knows how to play hide-n-seek but this version has a twist. There is still a person who is “it” as in the regular hide-n-seek. But the goal of the game is to scare the person who is “it”. So the person who scares “it” the best wins and gets to be “it” in the next round.

Party favors– Candy Buffet-You will need: Different types of candy; Clear glasses to hold the candy;Cups for your guests to take home;(optional)sharpie to write names on the cups;-What you do-Pour candy into the clear glasses. Display the candy for your guests. When guests are leaving let them pick out candy to take home. Put the candy in the cups. You could write their name on their cup. Be creative with what and where you put the candy.- Picture Frame- What you need: writing utensils; paper; container; photo frames for each person; stickers; markers;What you do: If your guests all know each other really well, this is a great idea. Have everyone write their name on a piece of paper and fold into a container. Have each guest draw out a name that isn’t theirs. The name that they draw will be the person they decorate a photo frame for. After each person has decorated a frame for their friend. Take turns giving the frame you decorated to the person whose name you drew. Enjoy your photo frame to take home as a party favor.