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 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