Craft challenge in a frame

A sweet friend of the family had this 95th birthday card framed along with a description of her sign. She also had a small oval frame with a photo of herself taken on her 95th birthday. She wanted the two combined somehow and wasn't tied to that particular frame or even to using the actual birthday card.

Before:

Using those guidelines I went to work:
1. spray-painted the frame red
2. broke the glass from the frame
3. found a font I loved and printed out a big "95" to use as stencils
4. typeset the description along with a "Happy Birthday" message
5. robbed my own frame collection to find a usable piece of glass
6. backed the piece with fabric she gave me from her personal collection (so I know she loves it!)
7. cut the "95" out of gold paper
8. arranged everything beneath the glass
9. super-glued the smaller frame on top it all
10. wrapped it up to present to her as a 97th birthday gift!

After:

fluffy fancy flowers!

We had a loose garden theme for my daughter's birthday party this year. We made some tissue paper flowers a la Martha (with some additional inspiration from this blog) to hang above the table and we served dirt cake instead of our usual cupcakes. Can you spot the one where I forgot to round the edges?

I also made some small ones and put those in vases on the mantel. The garland was one of my earliest sewing projects and it makes me happy every single birthday I use it.

After the party I transplanted the flowers to the dress-up corner in the basement because I couldn't stand to just toss them into the recycle bin!

princess party tablecloth

One thing I always beeline for in antique shops is the stacks of linens. I am curious about old quilts, interested in embroidery, amused by aprons, and always on the hunt for a tablecloth for my big old dining room table.

This fabulous find is a girly pink with a metallic gold and silver pattern on the sides! Since I have two daughter, one who is very girly and one who has yet to voice an opinion on such matters, I can easily envision this being put to good use come birthday party time.

It even had the original tag still on it! Love the vintage style illustration!

the mermaid party

The mermaid dolls were created in conjunction with the mermaid-themed party requested by the now-4-year-old daughter. I posted about my terrific thrift finds earlier. In case you couldn't quite imagine what a tablecloth, a giant wad of blue fabric, and a pile of seashells was going to turn out to be, I am sharing some photos!

Fabric turned ocean for dolls turned wave decor:



The table in all its birthday finery:



Detail of the cupcakes:



We made our own toppers by scanning artwork, sizing it to be slightly larger dimensions than our large circle hole punch, arranging several on a single page, and then printing out the sheets. Admittedly this is easier for me because I have graphic design software. Then we punched out the circles and hot glued toothpicks on the back. The possibilities of what could be printed and punched are endless!

thrifting treasures

For the upcoming mermaid party: ocean tablecloth & fabric + white seashells

For a future project: wreath base. Take a look at these wreath projects that I  admired in the past and have yet to make!

family crafting for a birthday

Every now and then I manage to get the whole family involved in my craft-fests. Here's my hubby and my daughter working on a birthday gift for a special someone who turns 80 today!

An up-cycled jar, a painted lid, and bits of paper containing memories, compliments, and original art creates a simple gift everyone in our family could be involved in creating!

Cucake conundrum

So I wanted to top the birthday cupcakes with something cute. Bright butterflies or festive flowers or some such thing. Do you think the bakery aisle offered anything other than crusty pastel roses? No. So I perused etsy.com and saw that many crafters out there have made their very own cupcake toppers (See? The item I desire even has an official name!).

Then the thought came to me: I'll just make my own! We've got toothpicks and heaven knows I've got craft supplies!

1. Paper punch
A cool UICA poster I saved from Library bulletin board discards.

2. Teeny tents
I learned the ways of x-acto knives and self-healing mats while in school for graphic design. Now they're crafting buddies!

3. Spray adhesive
Another graphic design friend. Yes, this was in the dark in the driveway. I had to keep moving to keep the motion sensor light on. When you've got an idea and a deadline you don't always wait!

4. Hot glue
Basic assembly with toothpicks.

5. Tah-dah!

Garlands revealed!

 

6 yards stretched across the living room wall nicely.

 

Next year I think I'll add another in here for a fun circus tent effect!

Friday night garland!

Last night my partner in craft and I had a sew-fest. Of our three intended garlands, only one is complete. But I must take the blame since my single happy birthday garland evolved into two 6-yard multi-purpose creations. I had a fabulous time and was SO happy to see a vision of mine become reality. I find it thrilling to make something that only previously existed in my head. I suppose I do this at work but this is much more fun since it is just for me and no one has edits!

Baby triangles awaiting trimming, flipping, ironing.

I think I am going to use these skinny scraps in an Easter basket. Won't eggs look charming nestled in there?

My dear friend who encourages me in my artistic endeavors with a can-do spirit and supplies the sewing machine know-how.

Rearranging the order with my toes. 6 yards was longer than either of us had envisioned!

A garland is born!

You want to see it hanging up don't you? Well, you're just going to have to wait! The birthday party is next weekend so I am sure it will be well documented after that.

Birthday garland!

So the next project on my radar is some festive re-usable garland. I want to craft some up before Julia's birthday party. I have visions of yellow and pink and butterflies but I can be easily influenced by other temptations in the delicious fabric store so I am not making any promises.

I first saw some how-to instructions in Amanda Blake Soule's book (apparently I am her big fan!), Handmade Home. I've also since fallen in love with the website whipup.net, which very helpfully offers a round-up of different garland ideas all in one amazing list. I am attracted to number 17 because it's easy and because it's scallops instead of triangles, which I think looks pretty. Number 27 from The Purl Bee is crazy fun too! Lots of shapes and I adore how they zig-zagged it across the ceiling in this lovely photo.

Of course the original idea was triangles spelling "Happy Birthday" that can be draped across the fireplace. And I should probably do that one first. I have a feeling this is something I could seriously get carried away with! Doesn't every room need a garland?