The (7) Little Mermaid(s)

The last time I blogged I was up to my elbows in ladder stitching.  To be honest I wasn’t sure the dolls were all going to get done in time – but after a couple late nights, a couple skipped evening events and a two hour car ride to my sister’s house – I was able to put the finishing stitches in these 7 little mermaids the night before the party.

the mermaid collection VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Did you guys guess that the dolls I was working on were going to be mermaids?  Did you know the party theme would be Ariel?

The Bug is a girl after my own heart.  My sister can attest The Little Mermaid was by FAR my favorite princess growing up.  I was two years older than the Bug is now – my sister 6 years older than that – when the movie came out (that is a round about way of not reveling my age – hopefully you aren’t good at math or don’t know when the movie came out.) I never watched the movie silently – I would sing along with every song – always wondering why Disney hadn’t asked me to voice Ariel!  Again I am sure my sister will affirm that my singing was every bit as good as that of Jodi Benson's. Right Lindsay??? RIGHT???

But presumably you aren’t checking our blog to hear about the cruelty the world dealt me at such a young age.

Suffice it to say when I learned the theme I was on board (did you catch the pun? – it is a bit of a stretch.)

My sister had come across the mermaid doll in Hillary Lang’s Wee Wonderfuls.  I thought I might try winging it – but lets be honest – my sister is the free styling sister – I am the one that needs a pattern to follow!  So I took a tour of the Barnes and Nobles in my area – luckily there are three within 15 minutes of where I live because it wasn’t until the third store that I found the book.

I am so glad I got the book – at $30  I thought it was a bit pricey – but I am SO very glad to have had it to follow.  It was so much more than just the pattern and instructions – there was a great glossary/sewing technique section in the back.  You already know that I am indebted to the book for the re-introduction to the ladder stitch, but more than that, there are some useful instructions specific to doll making and to embroidering stitches.  Plus have you seen the pattern for the inch worm in this book?  SO CUTE!

That being said, the project wasn’t all rainbow fish and seashells.  Not going to lie a couple nights I had to just walk away from the project out of pure frustration.  Probably the most frustrating part was the hair piece.  The pattern calls for corduroy or velvet for the hair – I used wool felt.  I think the difference in thickness caused a little more issues when trying to reverse the pieces – specifically the bang piece.  Then once the hair got attached it felt more like a toupee to me.  But then I added the ric-rac flower piece in her hair – and the whole thing came together.

So when I finally finished the first mermaid I was so happy/relieved that even though it was late I wanted to send a picture to my sister.  I was a little delirious maybe – but I saw some blue fabric and before I knew it the stage was set.

This is the pic text I sent my sister.  I won’t mention the eye roll my husband gave me when he saw this – he had no idea how creative I could be, clearly.

Even given the frustrations - I really do like how the mermaid turned out.  The body is stuffed tightly the fin stuffed loosely, allowing the fin to bend and move giving the illusion that the mermaid is swimming. 

And then when I overheard the Bug tell her friends – with the pride overflowing – that her Aunt Shell made the mermaids – all the frustrations were washed far away!  I am SO happy to have contributed a piece of the day that made one not so little four year old SO happy – especially after all the joy she brings me.

Project mermaid – S*U*C*C*E*S*S!

~Michelle

The Mermaid Party

The big party has come and gone. The dust has settled. The decorations have come down. And I'm beginning to recover.

It all began with this sweet invitation, designed by my friend Ally.

It looks wonky because I used my mad (non-existent) Photoshop skills to "erase" the pertinent personal info.  Not that I don't want y'all calling or visiting. . . but . . . 

The Bug wanted to be The Mermaid for a day. 

I searched and searched for mermaid tail making ideas online and finally came across this one from Heather Bailey which was my inspiration.

I found both of the main fabrics on clearance at JoAnn's. Major score! The skirt is a slightly fuzzy knit with sequins sewn throughout. It shines and glitters just like water as she moves.

The tail is a sparkly satin.  I put a layer of batting in between to give it some dimension.

It's a simple gathered skirt with a yoga style fold over waist band so it should fit for a long time.

 I used green rick rack to hang little satin fish all the way around. You know, to make it feel more like water.

The favor bags included a few sea shells, some bubbles, a wand, a few snacks and this super adorable mermaid doll.

My sister is my hero.

I really wanted to make a doll for each girl but I knew I wasn't going to have time.  She came though and made seven of the cutest little mermaids you ever did see. Each one with hair and eye color to match the girl it was going home with.

I don't need to tell you these little dolls were the hit of the party do I?

Decorations were also assigned to Aunt Michelle.

She ruffled the streamers.

Yes.She.Did.

She's a sucker for an over the top party too, don't let her fool you.

And she has promised to blog about the process for both the mermaids and the streamers, so you have that to look forward to.

And here is the spread of food.

No, I did not invite an army. I just planned for one.

The table cloth is one I've been eyeing for a long time and finally bit the bullet. I love it. And I love that it's a special little thing we can pull out every year as we celebrate.

We had blue Jello in cups with little Swedish fish and this blue punch.

One little girl thought the bubbles were soap. That made me laugh.

Just sherbet Sweetie! I promise no soap.

I found some great ideas on-line at Family Fun. This little banana octopus was one of them. And the fruit in waffle cones was a Pinterest find. I thought the cones looked like shells. Is that a stretch? 

I also made a whole lot of fruity candy popcorn in pink and blue. And I do mean a whole lot.

There were shells and water drops (glass beads) scattered all over the table.

The fish dish was on Clearance at Hobby Lobby.  I almost bought them all but then reason won out. This one little guy was great for holding some Swedish fish.

In the background there are goldfish crackers with a blue dip that I made up on the fly so, no you can't have the recipe because I don't know the recipe.  But it was gone by the end of the night so it must have been good!

And another octopus.

I tried to pick foods that the Bug likes, especially on the veggie tray.

Yes, my four year old likes radishes. At least in theory. These were a bit too peppery for her.

And finally, the Pièce de résistance! 

The Hubs put on every last one of those mermaid scales (M & M's). You rock Babe!

I am not a cake decorator but I was pretty pleased with the results of this. And the Bug was giddy excited when she saw it. Though I did catch some flack that the hair was blonde and not red.  She did request an ARIEL cake after all.

After we all ate, it was present time.

We bought the Bug a bike about a month ago and that was supposed to be her early Birthday gift.

But I couldn't resist attempting to make her an Ariel princess dress.

She's been asking for one for ages.

It's a little big and a little "off". I debated even sharing it here because I don't love it. As you can see, I don't even have any good pictures of it.  But, the Bug was absolutely tickled to finally have her Ariel dress.  And now we have two possible Halloween options, right?

Except that she announced prior to her party that Jasmine is now her favorite princess.

I see Harem pants in my future.

~Lindsay