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Monday, July 19, 2010

Birthday Banner

One of the smaller details…all the pieces for the birthday banner were cut out the other night.  Using multiple Cricut cartridges and Design Studio, I designed all the pieces to make a banner to span the the clubhouse entrance.  When it is all put together it will say: Welcome to Amelia’s Grotto.  I still need to tie ribbons and put it all together, but here are the pieces.

IMG_0024 IMG_0025IMG_0029

The Finished Wrap – Part 2

The plan for the boy’s wraps was to line the edge with orange ribbon [like seen on the girl’s wrap]…but I got some “weird” looks from moms of boys…so the brainstorming started.

I decided to skip the initial ribbon idea [even though I have 5 yards of beautiful grograin ribbon thanks to a friend] and create an appliqué to apply to the wrap. 

Here’s the appliqué that I made by hand…

AppliqueI cut the pieces from two layers of felt.  Then hand stitched the eyes, mouth, and other details. [I apologize for photo quality…this one was taken on my phone].

The Steam-a-Seam came in super handy again.  I put it on the back of the starfish, ironed it to the towel….voila…no need for pins as I set out to accomplish my very first appliqué.

And this is how they turned out…not bad for the first time sewing virgin!

IMG_0026Now with the most ambitious birthday party project completely finished and cleaned up [It was a little sad to put the sewing machine away], it’s on to the other smaller details.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The Finished Wrap – Part 1

OK…so sewing got tables for quite a while…was working on other projects…and I really didn’t have any sewing mojo!  So, today I broke out the machine again [and broke my first needle – Does that make me a pro now?] and finished sewing the 5 wraps for the girls.

The green trim was definitely giving me problems…lots of problems.  PSA - For a major novice sewer, tiny trim is a bitch!

So, I grabbed a towel and a piece of the trim and high-tailed it to Joann’s in hopes that the “sewing” lady was working.  I needed help [sure, I could have just skipped the trim…but it was friggin’ adorable and the princess  actually said, “Don’t give up Mommy, it’s so pretty!”]…and she was the only one  I could think of that might have a solution.  She suggested Steam-a-Seam…worked wonders [Chris might not like the appearance of his beloved iron, but it worked!].

After the trim, came the hand sewing of ribbon fish.  A bow would have been much easier and faster [and I might be cursing myself later tonight as I work on the other 4] but the fish is so much cuter.

“Sew” what do you think:

IMG_0025IMG_0027IMG_0028Color is a little off in the last picture, but you at least get the idea how tiny that trim actually is!  

Sunday, July 4, 2010

The Octopus Stand-In

Once it was determined that the princess party…which morphed into a Little Mermaid party…which then morphed into an “Under the Sea” party, I stalking internet sites for ideas. And I knew when I saw this, that we had to have it:

octopus Then I saw the price!!!Holy Moly…this is one expensive piece of cardboard! Some sites had it for as much as $50…and even though I found it for as low as $29.99, I still was not going to pay for it!

So, a dishwasher box morphed into my version of the octopus stand-in late last night. I finished it today [how’s that for a 4th of July project!]. The final touch won’t be added until the morning of the party [the brown part at the bottom will be “hidden” with ocean bottom [crumpled tissue paper & hot glue].

Here are a few photos:IMG_0026-2Just getting started.

IMG_0029-2 After adding the rest of the sea creatures.

IMG_0026-2 (2) After adding the seaweed and the bubbles. Isn’t my husband a sport?