Birthday Party Creations

This year Audrey decided on a Pirate Girl theme for her birthday party.  It makes sense if you know the song - They Might Be Giants Here Come the One, Two Threes "Pirate Girls Nine".  We sing it in the car all the time and it's one of our favorites.  As soon as she said it I knew just how to do a cake for her.  I had had done one several years ago for Matt's birthday.  (Yes, we like Pirates that much at our house.)

Then I got really creative.  These are just a few things I did for the party.  I loved how things turned out and the kids told me they had fun.  That's high praise.  Lucky for me it was fairly low key - cake, ice cream, and one game at the park.  The kids took care of the rest of the fun.  I think I'm going to make this a tradition.

 What Pirate Girl would be complete without an eye patch?

 The clues for the scavenger hunt, written in Pirate, of course.  It was a photo scavenger hunt since most the kids couldn't read.  I read them the clues they found, but the picture gave them a better idea of what they were looking for.

 The treasure chest for the end of the scavenger hunt.  I found this idea online and it was one of the simplist and best ideas.  It took me 3 minutes and if the kids tear it up, big deal.  The treasure inside were jeweled ring pops to continue with our theme.  Oh, and the kids shreaded it to get to the candy.

 The base for the cake.  I think some who saw it still aren't sure just how I did it, so now you know.

 The cake was a simple 9x13 chocolate cake with chocolate frosting covered with gold and jewels.

 An upclose look at those delicious jewels.  Yes, those are jewel shaped Gushers in there, too.   I thought it was a little weird addition, but the kids loved them.  And if you ever need kids to do something, chocolate coins are a HUGE hit!

 The final product.

I had to stick my hand in there to show you it's a functioning lid to the chest.  Just don't let it flop back, you'll smudge the frosting.

 This is the only project I didn't get to finish in time for the party.  It would have looked so cute strung up between the posts on the pavillion at the park.  (Too bad we didn't get to use the pavillion either.  We were the 3rd birthday party at the park that night.)

A close up of the fabric.  It matches the pillowcase I made for the birthdays at our house (probably excluding the one boy, since it's pink).  I loved how it turned out, I just have to wait another 8 months before we can use it. 

The best part of this birthday is that I managed to pull it off for under $100.  Hooray for homemade!

Birthdays

Grown-ups are sometimes hard to shop for and can be even harder to make something for.  So, when I found this pattern online, I snatched it up.  But the site I bought it from never sent me the pattern, so I made my own.  This is 100% my design.  And if the recipient likes them, they are totally reusable.  I love how they turned out and how economical they are.  (I won't give that away since they were gifts.)  I love it when things turn out.  Now I need one.

New Tradition

I'm starting a new tradition in my house.  I made a pillowcase for the girls to use on their birthday.  It's a silly little thing to make them feel special on their special day.  Some families have a special plate, we have a pillowcase.  I wonder if something like this would sell on etsy? 

I'm planning on making a matching reusable birthday banner, too, but we'll see what comes of this week.

Baby Boy

I have a hard time deciding what to make for little boys sometimes and what fabrics to choose.  I recently received these items for my own baby and have really enjoyed them and gotten comments on how cute they are.  (Thanks, Brooke!)  So I decided to make them for a friend who was having a little boy.  My friend has a ton of sewing and crafting talent although she is very modest.  But I love what she comes up with, including her own pattern for things.  I am inspired by her, so I used what I've learned from her and created the above car seat cover and car seat blanket.  I'm really only brave enough to create flat patterns, but I loved how they turned out.  And I got to make and use bias strips for binding, which is my recent obsession - ask anyone who has received a baby present from me lately.  Anyway, I'm glad they turned out well, and they really weren't difficult.  And I liked the fabric and have heard she does, too.  Bonus!  This is definitely something I can repeat.

One Last Project

I always think of something I want done before I leave town.  Usually it's not this easy and it gets left behind.  There hasn't been much time for projects with a new baby, so this had been waiting for a spare moment.  The binki holder was super easy, but much needed.  I ordered the clasps from the Sassy Paci Botique a little ribbon and voila!  It's nice to have something cute to attach to these enormous binkis that both my kids have used.

The barrettes were done this summer but I don't think I have posted a picture so far.  They look really cute in Audrey's hair. 



Sewing Up A Storm

The end of the year always has a lot of projects in store for me. This year was no exception. I have had to slow myself down though because I can't cut out fabric on the floor like I usually do.

 

This was a jumper I made for Audrey to match the adorable Puddle Jumpers Shoes my Mom picked up for me. They are so cute. And since Audrey still has trouble pronouncing "squirrel" it was too funny not to make her a squirrel jumper. She looks great in it.

I told myself that I wasn't going to get around to doing a Christmas dress for Audrey this year.  I knew what I still had on my plate and with a baby on the way anytime now, I was sure I wouldn't get around.  But then I felt bad and visions of what I could create kept me awake at night even when my bladder wasn't.  So, I went to fabric store and picked up all the supplies for $16.  Not a bad price for a Christmas dress!  I took it as a sign and started sewing.  It is a compilation of 3 different patterns.  It was an experiment that worked.  That doesn't happen to me often.  And I got to learn how to make a couple different kinds of flowers.  Only one of them made it into the final dress.  Since her favorite colors are now dark pink, brown and black I managed to talk her into this fabric combination.  Luckily I have a little girl who enjoys picking out things at the fabric store.

This was a really fun project! It was almost totally done on my new serger! I found instructions on how to make a baby hat out of an old sweater. However, loving my sweaters as I do, I was unwilling to part with any of them. So, I purchased a sweater dress from a local discount store and made 3 hats out of it. Then I added pom-poms out of matching yarn. It was a very productive hour and a half!

This I just finished today. These are the blankets I have made for the new baby. Audrey still sleeps with the blankets that I made for her. Now that this is done and Christmas has only to be wrapped I can relax and wait for the baby.

There are two other projects that I have completed in the last month. However, they are Christmas gifts, so I'll post after they are unwrapped.

Whew! What a busy 2 months!


Becoming 'Belle'

A huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders... the Halloween costume is finished!  I am so happy with how it turned out!  It was not the easiest time I've had, seeing as my girl is so skinny I had to do quite a bit of tailoring.  It was my first time using a McCalls pattern and it was a little more complicated than Simplicity patterns.  The only problem was the sleeve.  I couldn't figure it out, so I scrapped it and made my own.  The pattern didn't have the second row of ruffles or the shawl around the top, but I've seen a lot Belle lately (we got the movie) and I thought it made it look more like the 'real' dress.

I made Audrey try it on and be my mannequin while I did the ruffling and pinned the hem.  It was a lot for a three-year-old to do.  But the pay off came when I had been finished for about ten minutes.  She had this gleam in her eye as she studied it (ala Project Runway) and said "It just needs one more thing."  Then she proceeded to pick out necklaces and bracelets to go with it for the next 20 minutes.  It made all the hard work worth it!

Bonus:  I got to use my new serger!  It's really fast and it scares me a little.