Newspaper Birthday Crown

I made a birthday crown for my kid's 3rd birthday & it looked so amazing on his head during his birthday party. I made it 'red' to match his Red Birthday Shirt.

I saved some ceiling decors from his 2nd birthday which I used for this birthday crown. Also, his birthday party theme was from PBS kids. So I used some stickers related to the theme.

What you'll Need

Newspaper - 1 sheet (4 pages)
Stapler
Cello-tape
Ribbon (I saved the one I got with a blanket )
Glue
Cut outs / Photos / Feathers / Stickers / Sequins - To decorate

How to make

1. Open the newspaper and start rolling from one corner (diagonally)
2. Adjust the height of the crown while rolling (let the crown be of smaller height for kids and more for adults)
3. Place the crown around the head to know the size of the crown and staple the edges. If required, put some cello-tape over the staple to avoid hurting the head.
4. Wind the ribbon all - around the crown overlapping, so that the newspaper is not visible anywhere. 
5. Glue the edges of the ribbon to the newspaper at the back side of the crown.
6. Decorate however you want.
7. Newspaper birthday crown is ready for the party.

Note

1. These crowns are so easy to make that they can be made for all the kids at the party with specific colors and designs for boys and girls to match the theme.
2. These crowns can also be made for Christmas parties, New year parties or any family get-together (at-least for the kids)

The Birthday Boy at the party with his Birthday Crown 

Bottle Gourd (Suraikaai) Curry / Kootu

Ingredients

Bottle Gourd (Suraikaai) - 1 (small)
Toor dhal / Moong dhal / Channa dhal - 1 handful
Garlic - 3 pods
Hing - 1 tsp
Green Chillies - 2 (slit lengthwise)
Onion (chopped) - 1 handful
Tomato - 1 (chopped)
Turmeric - 1/4 tbsp
Salt - To taste
Seasoning
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard + Urad dhal - 1/2 tbsp
Red Chillies - 2
Curry leaves - 5 Nos.

Method

1. Peel the skin of bottle gourd and cut them into bite sized cubes. (No need to remove the seeds. They will be soft and get cooked easily.)
2. Add the bottle gourd pieces, dhal, garlic, hing, green chillies, onion, tomato, turmeric and salt to a pressure cooker.
3. For curry, add water just to cover the ingredients. For kootu, add 1/2 cup less water.
4. Cook on HIGH until the first whistle.
5. Now, turn the stove onto MEDIUM heat and cook for 7 - 10 min.(We want the dhal to be well cooked and mushy but the bottle gourd pieces need to be cooked just right.)
6. Using a "matthu" mash the pressure cooker contents for about 5 sec.
7. Do the seasoning and add to the cooker.
8. Serve with white rice / chappathi / idly / dosa / paratha.

Note

1. If you have a big bottle gourd, use 1/2 or 1/3rd at a time. The remaining bottle gourd stays good in the refrigerator. This can be used another week.
2. The taste of the curry / kootu changes with the dhal used. The curry tastes best with toor dhal.
3. Bottle gourd gives a sweet taste to the curry. So add chillies accordingly.
4. While mashing the cooker contents, I take utmost care not to mash the bottle gourd pieces but the dhal alone.