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.

Way too many amazing things on Etsy lately. I need more money in my Paypal account. Ha!

Here are my recent faves:

What are you loving on Etsy, lately? Comment with a link.

I was excited to read that October is Scrap Buster month on Sew Mama Sew! And would you like to see why? I got this in the mail today:

Scraps! Glorious scraps!

Over 50 prints. Lots of Heather Bailey, Amy Butler, Michael Miller, Sandi Henderson, etc… you get the idea. My husband asked me, “You actually spent money for scraps?” (I didn’t spend that much) Why, heck yes! Now I have lots of material for appliques, fabric flowers, hair clips, pins, covered buttons, pockets, headbands. And I seriously need to make a pincushion. Can’t wait to dig in and play.

What are your favorite things to do with fabric scraps?

All of Emma’s necklaces on Glee. I’m a sucker for any retro/enameled flower type jewelry.

This print from Etsy seller Tascha. I had a tuxedo cat named Jackie and she was the best cat ever. This was before we realized I was allergic to cats. Tascha also has some great Frida Kahlo prints.

Fabric leaves from Etsy seller JaneJoss. Love, love, love these.

And this is hilarious.. stroller covers/Halloween costumes for little ones. From Etsy seller mapletree2000.

Plus any and all toddler boots. Riding boots, suede, cowboy, ankle, patent… unfortunately all of Daphne’s fall/winter shoes can’t be boots.

What are your favorite things right now?

Since my sister is pregnant, I’ve spent some time looking at baby stuff. There is so much more out there than there was just two short years ago. Figures. Even Target and Babies R Us carry cute modern crib bedding sets. So, if I had to do a new nursery, this is what I would choose. First up, Girls-

I fell in love with Amanda Peet’s nursery that was featured in Domino magazine.

I took one look at the Funny Girl movie poster and thought, “Brilliant!!” I love Funny Girl. Barbra Streisand was perfect and Omar Sharif was so dreamy. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen that movie. So, I’d balance the picture with other artwork that was meaningful to us, and various pink fabrics, pillows, etc. Eclectic and girly. Or if I wanted to stick with primary colors, an Amelie movie poster. I adore Amelie.

And for a boy? Well, boys are harder. I’m not a fan of “precious” for nurseries, so no teddy bears, animals or cute boats or planes. We had considered doing a space/robot theme if Daphne had been a boy, complete with Blik space invader wall decals. And I guess I’d stick with that. There are so many cute robots prints on Etsy, from sellers like John W Golden. This little guy is cute:

And this fabric from luckx4 is great-

And Keri Beyer’s Rocket Scientist fabric line is pretty cute too-

And since it would be a nursery, how about some cute spaceman and robot stuffies from Wee Wonderfuls?

Or a few other options for wall decals from Etsy seller, thoughtsthatstick

Too much cute stuff out there!

These might possibly be the cutest baby shoes in existence. From Etsy seller MiaJoie.

Josie Baby-

Marianna

Peep toed shoes for infants? I’m about to die from the cuteness.

As you might know, I enjoy wasting time “window shopping” on Etsy. I like to see what other crafters are doing and get some inspiration. My last actual Etsy purchase? August ‘08.

Tonight as I was looking for toddler dresses on Etsy, I came across this dress and immediately opened another tab in Firefox, so I could see how much was in my Paypal account. Oh my stinking heck, this is cute:

It’s retro (I love retro! You’ve seen my kitchen canisters and my 50’s table and chairs) and rockabilly and awesome! I can’t wait to see it on Daphne.

Check out Lover Dovers Clothing for more cute stuff.

Just a few BSG Etsy finds for your Friday.

Frak Off Sleep Mask from Jennicakes. I need this. Thanks to Chong, old friend and fellow BSG fan, for sending me the link.

Well Frak Me notepad from PigseyArt:

And for something a little less obvious, the Eye of Jupiter bag from PippsPurses: