Vintage Pattern Party Dress

I love to collect vintage patterns, especially girl's party dresses. This was the perfect combo for my daughter's third birthday. The piping defined the seam lines and it tied with a bow in the back.

A Princess Party without all the Poof

I fought it and fought it and fought it - my daughter finally took interest in everything Disney, especially the Princesses. For her 3rd birthday, she wanted a Princess Party. My challenge was to not be the wicked witch but somehow meet her in the middle. We came up with a "Royal Tea Party" theme which included crowns, tea, cupcakes and I made her a dress that passed the "twirl test".
Instead of goodie-bags, I made a custom felt crown for each child. In addition, I had a bowl of jewels that were backed with Velcro so that they could customize their crown. The crowns were fastened with a ribbon so that each guest could size them as needed.

For decorations, I cut triangles from craft paper, trimmed the top edge with scallop scissors, punched 2 holes and then threaded the ribbon through. No sewing needed! The princess element was the crown & Snow White images stamped on various triangles.
The adults munched on tea cakes and scones displayed on a custom tiered dessert stand. Tea and juice boxes were served as beverages and everyone had a royal time!

DIY Tiered Dessert Stand

Throwing a tea party means having adequate serving supplies to display those dainty bits of food. Knowing that I would probably not host another tea party until my daughter's next princess party, I opted to make my own. I collected 3 glass plates and 2 glass candleholders from the local thrift store. In under $10 I found just the right pieces.
In order to frill it up, I used paper doilies on the backs of each plate as stencils. Use small bits of double-stick tape to hold the doilies in place. A large cardboard box makes an excellent contained area for spray painting. Lightly spray around the open areas of the doily being careful not to over-saturate the paint or it will run. When the paint dries, stack up the plates and candle holders. I used a heavy-duty double-stick padded tape between the layers so that nothing toppled when the guests pulled treats from the stand.

Where I Shove my Stuff

Take a peek into my crafty storage solutions on Craftzine's blog entry today!

Photo Valentine Envelope

Photo mailers are functional, yet so dull, especially when sending pics for a special occasion. In an effort to create a protective barrier that also looks great, I came up with this simple & quick solution. I am a sucker for thicker-weight scrapbooking paper. The only problem is, I don't scrapbook so I'm stuck with large pads of beautiful paper.
To mail 5x7" pics, I used 12x12" sheets. Place the photos in the middle of the sheet and fold around all 4 sides. Don't get too technical, just eyeball it.
Next, cut the sides as shown using the fold lines as a guide. Fold the sides in first, then the top and bottom tabs. Punch holes in the top and bottom tabs, thread ribbon through and tie. You can add a custom tag to the thread as well. I used the paper scraps and cut the edges with decorative shears. Now you're ready to put the finished piece in a mailing envelope and send!

Love is in the Hair

I wanted to come up with a way to create a Valentine accessory that wasn't your typical brooch, bracelet or earring. I started with a red headband and added the pink rick-rack for the foundation. Next I designed the bird silhouette and wing pieces and cut them out of wool felt. I love the idea of incorporating the heart shape between the two open wings. I joined both sides with the pink contrasting embroidery floss. Once the bird was slightly stuffed and ready to attach to the base, I decided it needed more texture and another element to frame it. I cut some additional felt in feather-like shapes and also attached it with the pink floss.
Download the pattern to make your own Lovebird Headband!

Get Your Heart On...

Valentine's Day is just around the corner and I can already feel my sweet tooth calling. I wanted to find a craft that was cheap, unique, fun and something my preschooler could help out with. Craftzine.com recently featured an article on molded crayon hearts and immediately I knew this was the very project I was looking for. 

One rainy Saturday we took a trip to S.C.R.A.P. and loaded up a bag full of broken, misfit crayons. The challenging part was stripping all of the paper off the crayons. I still have multi-colored remnants beneath my nails. Target was selling the mini heart silicone muffin pans (which get pretty wrecked after this craft,  I must say). We spent quite some time sorting the crayon bits by color, then chopping them into pea-size bits and filling the muffin pan. It took 15 minutes per batch at an oven temp of 275°F. DON'T try to transport the pan before the melted crayon is set. I spent another afternoon tediously scraping dripped red crayon off the linoleum floor. Oops!

The colored cardstock paper was also found at S.C.R.A.P. ($3.00 for the bag 'o crayons and a thick stack of cardstock!). I designed the type and graphics in Illustrator and then ran the cards through my home printer. Note the "I'm a crayon!" detail. Didn't want her classmates to think they were getting a swirly, tasty treat and take a little bite. The bottom edge was cut with scallop-edge scissors for the finishing touch.