May 1st Showers bring September 1st Babies?

A good friend of mine is expecting – in September – so we threw her a shower in May!  Yeah it was a little early, but there were a number of people that wouldn’t be around for the summer (college students & missionaries) so to accommodate everyone being able to come that wanted to celebrate this little life – we threw and early shower.

The new mom is in the doctoral program for linguistics at U of C – can we say smarty pants! And in general we had multiple conversations about classic children’s books – so it seemed like a good theme idea.

I had seen a number of similar “book” themed showers ideas (like here and here.)

Now I can’t take all the credit for this party, I had two co-“hosters”.  We divided up the work load; one in charge of invites and general organization, one in charge of food, and ME in charge of games. 

Decorations were simple, we just had classic children’s books around – the best part for the first time mom – all the books went home with her!  It felt good to help her start her stash – and I had fun classic book shopping with my mom (educated in such matters.)

The basic idea with the food was to get food that worked with a book title.  The above was a bit of a stretch in the classic book department (The Littlest Angel – angel food cake.)  But we had talked about having angel food cake – and I had just inherited my grandma’s angel food cake pan, so we just looked for a book about angels.

One of my co-host decorated the cake with berries in honor of the baby – whom the expectant parents refer to as “Berry” or “Baby Berry.”  It was a nice personal add.

 

Peter Rabbit – Veggies & Dip (just to prove not all the book-food ties were a stretch.)

But back to my contribution to the shower.

You may not know this about me – I LOVE GAMES.  I used to literally FORCE my sister to Family Game Night – I think she tried every excuse in the book to get out of those nights. However, I have one exception to that rule – I dislike (most) shower games.  You know melt the chocolate in the diaper – take a close pin if you say the “B” word (baby), gift BINGO – okay that one can sometimes be fun.

I had been wanting to try freezer stenciling for a while – and using pre-cut stencils of classic children’s book characters we were able to tie the craft right into the shower theme.  There is a great tutorial here – if you are interested in the “how to.”

 

It was a little involved for a shower game/activity, but the party was small and we had a couple people come late, so we had plenty of time for the craft.  And it was a pretty easy thing for people to get started on as they arrived.

I got a lot of compliments from the party guest on the “great idea.”

What I really love about this was it required as much or as little artistic talent as you had.  We had multiple pre-cut freezer paper stencils ready for those not handy with design or an Exacto knife.  But we also had a station set up for those that wanted to make their own stencils.

Only the guest of honor ended up making her own stencil, but it was a great opportunity for her to personalize a little onsie with a fun graphic beach design (the parents to be are from California originally.) I am sad that I didn’t get a picture of that one – you will have to take my word for it.

Though some people feeling a little more artistic went off reservation completely – skipping the freezer paper all together.  Did you catch the “Baby Berry” reference?

I was expecting it to be fun and for her to come away with some cute onsies – but I honestly didn’t know HOW great the stencils were going to turn out!

This one is my personal favorite – I love the color scheme! (note “Berry” is expected to be a girl – though you may have picked that up by the pink plates and flatware.)

And if you are interested in seeing the other creations, here is a little montage of all the “one”derful onsies (wah wah – sorry for the pun.)

This post is getting really long – I apologize!

But one last shower game idea (not really related to the theme – but I couldn’t resist)

“Baby Face”

Each guest got a template baby face (an oval with ears and a little curl) and then I had printed out a lot of different pictures of mom and dad.  Guests were then instructed to cut out features from mom and dad and create a picture of what Baby Berry may come out looking like.

I highly recommend this game if you enjoy ruckus laughter…

Or if you want to scare the mother to near death!

None of the creations pictured above are mine – so feel free to comment freely – especially on the make-up wearing baby on the left!

~Michelle

Ruffled Streamers

I don’t know how many of you subscribe to a lot of crafting/sewing blogs, but my sister and I are a little blog-obsessed.  My sister and I follow a lot of the same blogs, so when I saw two rolls of streamers sitting on her countertop – I said “Are you going to RUFFLE them?” (If you don’t pick up my reference check out the recent tutorial on Dana Made It for Ruffle Streamers – to kick off the Color My Summer series by Delia Creates and KoJo Designs.)  Mind you this is the MORNING of the party that I am asking her – and my sister was working on the Mermaid Cake.  So needless to say her hands were full – she looked at me with a sparkle in her eye and said “I wanted to” but with an undertone of  - but there won’t be time.

I took the hint – and the streamers – and headed up the stairs to my sisters sewing room – taking a brief detour to re-read the tutorial.

The project couldn’t have been easier.  Though I did have to refill the bobbin three times to get through one roll of streamers, so be aware you might as well fill the bobbin as full as you can.

I am glad I re-read the tutorial, because Dana did a great job of giving tips to make the process smoother, especially the tip about pulling them off straight instead of pulling them up in a spiral.  Putting the streamer roll on the ground to pull them straight worked just fine for the blue roll, but the pink roll was a bit more stubborn.  It wasn’t a perfect circle, and I was working on carpet, so every time I would pull at the pink roll, it would flop onto its side and start pulling off in a spiral.  So I came up with this solution:

I put a skewer in the center of both rolls and then propped them up on some bins my sister had in her sewing room that were high enough for the streamers to spin off the roll freely.

After that minor adjustment – it was SMOOTH sailing.  I got them done in plenty of time.  And the two streamers sewn together were enough to put up by the food table:

I like this shot because looking through them to my grandpa, makes them feel like sea weed to me.

And we hung some above the present area:

I love this picture because the Bug is dancing there on the side.

And there was still more, so we decided to hang some in the door way:

How adorable is it that the Bug ran out to greet every friend that stopped by!

Can you believe some thought we went over the top?  One parent was overheard telling her daughter not to expect something like this for her birthday.  :)

When I compare it to the parties I see on all the blogs out there – it seems normal, perhaps even tame compared to some, but perhaps to those less blog-obsessed than my sister and I, it may be a little over the top to take time to sew streamers together.

But then again you only turn 4 once!

~Michelle

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