If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I’m a psycho party planner and that I’ve been excited about an Alice in Wonderland tea party for one of Daphne’s birthdays. I didn’t think the theme fit for her 1st or 2nd party, so I’ve been researching and planning for her 3rd birthday, which is now less than 3 months away. Ack!

According to my spreadsheet (what, doesn’t everyone have a party planning spreadsheet? lol!) I should be in full party mode… stalking thrift stores for mismatched china, sewing costumes, designing invitations and centerpieces. Basically getting the handmade stuff out of the way, so I can focus on edibles, favors, paper goods, flowers as we get closer to the big day.

Just a few problems- I just haven’t felt like myself lately and have no desire to make anything. Sad but true. I’m like that little blob/pea in the old Zoloft commercials. Sigh. Also our guest list is growing. Daphne has more little friends to invite. And I know it’s going to be 100 degrees in August and the idea of making costumes and wearing hats and all that makes me hot just thinking about it. We’re going with Plan B. A big ice cream social party. More on that later.

So, instead of wasting months of Alice in Wonderland research, I thought I’d pass it along. Especially since it’s a popular party theme this year. Hope it helps someone!

Invitations- Love these from Etsy seller Viva La Violette.

And the best part? The text can be flipped so it’s only viewable through the “looking glass.” Awesome. A few more ideas… Print your own custom playing cards with the party info from mpix.com. Any leftover cards can be part of your decor. Free Alice in Wonderland Photoshop brushes are available here, if you want to design your own card.

Decor- Here’s the easy part… thrift store mismatched china cups (and if they break, who cares?!), paper lanterns, cards, croquet sets, “painted flowers.” Love this pic with the teacup wands.  And this one with the card house.  I had planned on doing my giant teacup in the center of the table with red and white roses (either real or felt) and maybe a playing card tucked in here and there.   This giant teacup:

And completely off topic, but why didn’t I pull that giant weed before I took this pic?   I need to clone that out in Photoshop.

Party hats and masks- I planned on doing a variety… Alice headbands, White rabbit ears (bunny ears from the Target $1 at Easter), Cheshire cat smile masks.  And I loved this Threadbanger tutorial for the Mad Hatter’s hat.

The birthday girl’s outfit- There are lots of options on Etsy.  I was going to do a blue peasant top and white apron/shorts set.  Or something like this from Lil Blue Boo with some Japanese fabric.

Activities- Since I knew it would be horribly hot, I purchased an indoor foam croquet set at Tuesday Morning for $7.  I had also thought about decorating foam teapot frames.

Cakes and cupcakes- I didn’t think too much about cakes, since I hate make them, but I did have a few cupcake ideas.  The latest What’s New Cupcake? book has instructions for a skunk/squirrel cupcake using the s shaped breakfast cookies as tails that I thought would be perfect for a Cheshire cat cupcake.   And these cupcakes from Flickr are amazing.

Treat bags- flamingo suckers from Oriental Trading, Alice stickers from Etsy, cheapy playing cards, Alice sticker book from Amazon.

I’m sure there more ideas in my Flickr faves and my Etsy faves, so feel free to browse around.

Happy party planning!

Daphne got invited to her first non-family birthday party. Her little friend, who I talked about a few posts back, is turning 3. And yeah, Daphne still talks about him all the time. I admit, I have no idea what to buy little boys. Little boys just aren’t on my radar for crafting and gift purchases. I have a lot of catching up to do, especially since I’ll need to start collecting great ideas for my little nephew Oliver.

Knowing that the birthday boy’s mom is very creative and likes crafty things (and would probably appreciate a handmade gift), I decided to make him a car caddy from Homemade by Jill’s tutorial. I’d fill it with Hot Wheels and tuck a few car stickers and Hot Wheels coloring books into the gift bag too. 3 year olds like Hot Wheels, right? Gosh, I hope so.

Here’s the interior:

And the exterior, all folded up and ready to go:

Here’s what I did differently than Jill, and a few things I wouldn’t do again. First, I didn’t use duck cloth for the interior. I had duck cloth, bright red, staring me in the face on the table. I just didn’t want the super blue denim, the red, black, yellow and white to look like it came from an early 90’s Gymboree outfit. If you know what I mean. So I used some Heather Ross cotton. I like the look, but it was way too light and flimsy. So I decided to fix that problem by using a thin fusible fleece on the back. Nice idea, but the fusible fleece puckers where I’ve folded the caddy. Crapola. I notice it, but I don’t think it will be a big deal to the gift recipient. So, don’t do what I did.. just use a thicker fabric to begin with.

Also, I only have 12″ squares of black felt, not long enough to span the 17″ cozy. I guess I could have pieced it together, but I didn’t want to do that. So I made a grassy area and a bridge (yes, that’s a bridge not a butterfly bandage or a squared off maxi pad). I stitched the green felt about a 1/2″ from the edge and fringed the edges with my scissors to give it a grass look. I think I like it.

On the exterior- I was trying to answer a question from my husband while I was cutting out the main denim piece and being distracted, cut it an inch too short. Crap. I solved that problem by stitching a little extra to the end to make up the difference, and tried to give it that “I meant to do it” look by just going ahead and stitching the ribbon into the seam. The ribbon was from the handle of a Cars gift bag, and as soon as I saw it, I knew I was going to do something different with the front.

The ribbon strap wraps all the way around to the back and is secured by Velcro. Since it looked like a road, I thought it would be cute to have two little cars “driving” on the front. The cars are from Jill’s original tutorial, just reduced by 50%. And I just used super strength Heat and Bond and didn’t bother stitching down the edges. I think it will hold.

And I suck at topstitching. I so want my topstitching to be perfect, and it never is. I have to remind myself that the imperfections add to the homemade charm. Yeah, that’s the ticket. I thought I was going to have a problem sewing through all the layers of denim, but my machine didn’t hesitate. I don’t even think I put in a jeans needle. And I was not sure what color to use on the topstitching. I like my topstitching to match my fabric, so I just used a denim color, but now I wish I would have used a tan or something on the interior. I know it would have shown up more on the road and denim caddy area, but it wouldn’t have been so distracting in the center. Oh well. I’m not upset enough about it to rip it all out and do it again.

Anyway, it was a great tutorial and I hope the birthday boy enjoys his gift.

I know several sites that share Etsy faves on Fridays, so I’m jumping on the bandwagon.  And since I’ve had turquoise on the brain lately (hey, it is the Pantone color of the year!!), I’m going with a color theme.

Edible butterflies from Sugar Robot. These are beautiful!

Mini Goals Chalkboard from MaryKateMcDevitt.  I need this.  I’m a compulsive list maker and prefer to write things out, rather than just keeping a list on my computer.  Much to the chagrin of my husband, who at the drop of a hat can give me a list of a dozen sites to help keep me organized.

Oh heck, how cute is this vintage jumper from FlamingJuneVintage?  It’s got a little Velma in it.

Teal Cotton Denim Pocket Skirt by outofline.  Love the pocket detail.

And finally, some Peacock Poppies Bobbie Pins by Dashley Designs.  I love this entire shop.

Besides sewing up a storm, I’ve also started a project for Daphne’s room.  I’ve had this table and chairs set for nearly three years now, with the intention of painting and reupholstering when it came time for her big girl room makeover.   It’s a cute set, mostly metal, very sturdy.  And only $20 at a garage sale.  Woot!  But I’ve struggled with how to blend the style with my style.  Right now it looks like an old-timey ice cream parlor set.  And the seat fabric, even if it wasn’t stained from the previous owners, just won’t work.

So, I’m spray painting the set a robin’s egg blue color and will reupholster the seat with a laminated cotton fabric.

Before and after:

Here’s my dilemma, fabric lovin’ friends… what should I choose to cover the seat cushion??  Her bedding will be a hodgepodge of various colors, a polka dot sheet set, all pulled together with a quilt (that I haven’t made yet) from Sandi Henderson’s Ginger Blossom fabric.

I know I can find a few laminated cotton Ginger Blossom prints that coordinate with the blue on the chairs, but I don’t want to be too matchy-matchy.  So, maybe a Nicey Jane laminated print?  I like Cherry Hop Dot, especially since Daphne has a retro, red play kitchen.  And turquoise/red is one of my favorite color combos.

Any other suggestions?  Do you think the laminated cotton will work for this project?  I’ve heard it drapes better than oilcloth.

Or does anyone want to come over and spray paint this set for me?  I hate spray painting.  Hopefully before she turns 3 I’ll get this set (and the quilt) finished.

I’ve had MADE’s market skirt tutorial in my list of things to sew for quite some time.  Why did I wait?  What an easy, cute and cheap project!!! Doesn’t the seersucker just scream SPRING!?

Market Skirt

Ignore the Hair

Please ignore the crazy Princess Leia buns, they started off higher up on her head.  Crazy kid.

So, I made a few changes… I knew if the white was see-through that it would bug me, so I doubled up the hem and the pockets.  It doesn’t have the same bouncy quality as the original tutorial due to the extra weight, but that’s ok.  I also topstitched the hem.  Oh, and I didn’t make the white hem a few inches wider than the seersucker.  I didn’t want to gather it only 2 or 3 inches, so I made it the same width as the skirt pieces.  The pocket is a hybrid of MADE’s pocket pattern, with Made by Rae’s pleated pocket instructions.  Total finished length for my 2T girly- 10 inches from top of waistband to bottom of the hem.  I adjusted the length of the skirt, but not the width.  My elastic piece was only 16 or 17 inches, instead of 21, so our skirt is a little more full.

I think total cost for this skirt was around $4?  I only used about 1/4 yd seersucker, some white cotton scraps and 2 buttons.  Not bad!

Last year I made Daphne a pair of ruffle capris and I loved the way they turned out. Instead of buying a ruffle pant pattern, I just added a ruffle to a basic toddler sized elastic waist pant pattern. Worked great! Fit well through the seat and legs. I was very pleased. Here’s little D last spring:

This year I decided to go ahead and buy a pants pattern from youcanmakethis.com. I like e-patterns, since I’m not very good with keeping up with my printed patterns. Plus, I liked the idea of drafting your own pattern based on your child’s measurements, since commercial patterns seem to run huge. I chose the Easy-Fit Pants. They were very, very easy. The only problem I had was determining the size. Based on Daphne’s hip and waist measurement, I should have made a size 6 months. I knew that would never work, so I went with the size 1. They are great through the hips and leg, but the rise is too short. Didn’t think about that. Well, crap. She’ll be able to wear them, but they are definitely low rise pants.

Sorry for the crappy pics. I’m calling these her dandelion pants, even though the flowers on the fabric are mums. Mums aren’t very springy.

Modeling her new pants after bath time.

So, I’ll try the pattern again with a size 2 and might make some adjustments based on this great article from Sew Mama Sew on modifying pants patterns for kids.

And guess who is getting a hair cut this week? I’m excited to see what it will look like after being shaped up by a professional (and not hacked on by mommy’s sewing scissors).

Next sewing project (besides another pair of pants, hehe)- the Market Skirt from MADE’s tutorial. Stay tuned.

A few months ago, I added Wardrobe Refashion to my Google Reader. Wow, what an interesting site!! I’m constantly amazed at the transformations, like the plus sized ankle length maternity dress refashioned into something that Twiggy could have worn in the 60’s. Such talented people! The site has definitely encouraged me to take a second look at pieces in my closet, or things I might see while thrifting.

Last week I did a mini-refashion of my own. Remember this simple sundress from last summer?

This dress was slightly too small from day one. That’s what happens when your toddler won’t stand still to be properly measured and you are sewing while she’s asleep. But she always got compliments on it. Strangers at the mall would come up to me and ask where I bought her dress.

I didn’t want to just pack it away, so I took the remaining yardage, cut the skirt off the old dress and turned it into a Matilda Jane style halter.

Not the greatest pictures, but you get the idea. I’m just thrilled that it turned out exactly as I’d hoped. I’m 50/50 with drafting my own patterns for Daphne’s clothes. It could work, or be a complete disaster. Luckily, this works and I saved my measurements and the bodice pattern I drafted to make another.

Next thing you know, I’ll be ripping down the drapes for play clothes, Von Trapp children style.

All of a sudden whenever Daphne puts on a twirly dress she says, “Mommy, I’m a princess!!” Although we are not anti-princess, I don’t make it a point of encouraging it either. And I’ve never called her a princess. Funny how they just pick things up. Possibly from her princess-obsessed cousins.

Here’s the latest “princess” dress.

I needed a springy dress/top for Daphne ASAP for Spring Mini Session promotional stuff, so I opened up my fabric stash to see what I could whip up. I don’t think I should really call it a fabric stash anymore, just a scrap bag, since I only have a few pieces of yardage left. I pulled everything out to see what could possibly work together, and I had just enough to create this little peasant top from the Portobello Pixie Claire pattern. Just shortened the peasant dress and did a square apron instead of rounded. I think it’s cute. Very storybook. Like a cross between the princess dress, and the dress the princess wore before she found out she was a princess and was still mopping the floors. I wish I had some more trims or buttons or something to “Matilda Jane” it up, but this was a total stash buster and I didn’t want to purchase anything to get it finished.

Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate for outdoor pics. Princess Daphne was freezing. Maybe another day.

If you’ve been reading along, you know I was asked to do a crafty workshop at a womens event last weekend. At first, I was all enthusiastic. Yeah! I’d love to do it! And then it hit me, what was I going to talk about? And since a Make & Take project was involved, I needed something that everyone could do, regardless of skill level, in a very short amount of time. Like my talking time and the crafting time was 40 minutes total. So I decided to focus on felt, since it was versatile and easy to work with. We discussed some different kinds of felt, I presented a lot of ideas (too many ideas probably!) for kids projects, accessories, and home decor and then finished up with a felt rose pin project for Valentine’s Day. It went over pretty well. Here are some of my favorites:

Coffee Sleeve/Cozy. Clearly the easiest project I’ve ever done. Ha!

I just felted a 100% wool sweater, cut off the sleeve cuff and slid it on a disposable coffee cup. Since the sweater was already felted, you don’t have to worry about finishing the cut edge. And the buttons were already there, so I didn’t even need to embellish. I also did a similar cozy out of a red felted sweater. A His and Hers coffee date set.

And using the same felted sweater, here’s a little nest pin from a pattern by Betz White.

I love birds, and this was another super easy project. Just cut and glue. I was under a time crunch and didn’t have the opportunity to felt my own little eggs, so I just had to use cheapo tiny plastic eggs from Hobby Lobby. I think this would make a cute spring package topper, or napkin ring. Or maybe have a little nest sitting at each place setting on your Easter table.

Same idea, just bigger. This wreath is for my mom.

Just wrapped a silk/mohair blend yarn around a foam wreath base and added the felted wool nest. Very easy!

And another really easy project, that would make a great Mom’s Day present (or for Grandma!), a custom silhouette.

The hardest part of the project was getting Daphne to stand still for a profile shot, then I just used that picture as a pattern to cut out my wool blend felt. And this pic really sucks, the reflection in the center makes the felt look like it’s faded. It’s not. I was too lazy to Photoshop it out.

And you might have noticed Daphne’s headband in the last post.

That was just a simple child’s size Goody headband with a scrap of ribbon glued to the top. I used Yoonie At Home’s Peony tutorial for the flower, and vintage enameled flower pieces and a pearl for the center.

And I needed something to wear in my hair, so here’s my headband.

The flower is from Heather Bailey’s Le Fleur Debris pattern. The center is one of my mom’s vintage clip on earrings. Black Headband- $0.75 at Forever 21. Gotta love Forever 21 for cheap headbands.

And last, but certainly not least (since I had to cut out 50 of these babies), the felt rose Make & Take project.

I’ll be glad to scan in and upload this pattern if there’s any interest. I had to draw about a million scalloped felt spirals to get a flower shape I was happy with. This is a really easy project, just roll and glue.

I did a bunch of other projects, but that’s all I can bear to look at right now. I’m on felt overload. Taking a crafty break until February, when I start sewing for Daphne.

So, my crafty friends… what are you working on?

After my last post I thought it would be nice to move on to happier crafting ideas.

How about some fun clothing ideas for your little one?

Snowglobe shirt tutorial from Lil Blue Boo. I love this. I might use a similar technique to do a fish bowl shirt for Daphne this summer. So, so, so fun!!

And also from Lil Blue Boo, a Frog Prince shirt. What a great alternative to the often tacky (sorry, I had to say it) Disney character clothing. We looked at The Princess and the Frog shirts today at Walmart and Daphne just loved the frogs.

From Samster Mommy, Painted Jeweled Onesie. Totally going to do this for Daphne.

Ruffles and Stuff, Flower Cluster applique necklace. Super cute!

And I’m completely in love with this ruffled jacket from Wonder Woman Creations.

So, my crafty friends… are you thinking about your spring projects yet? Once the weather warms up in Feb and March, Daphne will have nothing to wear. So I know I need to sew a few things. Please share your projects. I can always use more inspiration.