Sunday, December 14, 2008

Pinwheels as party flowers (and favors)


I found directions for making paper pinwheels on line at Heather Bailey's site and wanted to see if I could make them be "flowers" for our little cafe, which could also serve as party favors for the girls.

The pattern is approaching the double-sided paper a little nervously... as was I - the exacto knife and I have not been friends in the past.
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No fingers were maimed in the making of these wheels (that happened with the vegetable peeler later in the week)
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paper + hole punch + eyelet tool = pinwheel goodness
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next step? painting dowel rods and wrapping them in ribbon, making the spools, attaching the flower through a hole drilled with... a power tool. Once again, no body parts were harmed (this surprises me, it really does).
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Also I am silly and didn't take a photo of all of them finished, in little parfait glasses. Doh.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Combo Birthday Cake

When you have two kids born within 2 weeks of each other (albeit 4 years apart) party planning becomes difficult. Add to that the fact that Christmas is right around the corner (and Thanksgiving just behind us) and what you get is a combo party for the family to celebrate. We usually do something different for the kid celebrations, and this year was no exception. SweetGirl got a trip downtown to a fancy restaurant and American Girl Place along with a weekend full of friend fun with our good friends from the South.

In the end we came up with an "American Girl Cafe meets Ratatouille" themed party, which SweetGirl aptly named "Gusteau's American Cafe" (Ratatouille movie fans will understand why).

It was a little difficult trying to figure out how to fit an American Girl theme into a Ratatouille theme, so we went with a Mia character and Remy sitting by a Gluten-free toque.
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Mia (who looks like a little Mii character on the Nintendo Wii)
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Remy and his toque
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The fondant is marshmallow fondant, the figures are all made out of fondant (supported by toothpicks). It was a late night the evening before but well worth it to see the joy on their faces when we brought the cake out!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Another Apron

Another apron, this time as a little side gift for SweetGirl's teacher who enjoys cooking and loves ladybugs.
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Monday, November 17, 2008

Apron Goodness

A while ago I purchased an apron that I really liked, save for a few minor quirks that I thought could have been handled differently. Using this apron and looking at it for about a year now, the quirks became really annoying and so I decided to make my own with the modifications I wanted. The result is a very similar style apron, but with a more functional, covering bib portion (the original is tiny, it doesn't protect from many of my kitchen messes). This is also fully reversible, which I am told is a function the other style of apron had (just not the one I ordered).

Here is the finished product (this is the one-day project I mentioned earlier), modeled on my lovely lamp*
One side:
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The other side:
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I am pleased with the way it turned out, the skirt part is still fun but the top portion provides more coverage to protect clothes better. I made this as a gift for a friend, and am currently making another. Not bad for my first go at making a pattern.

* This lamp has a story. I had gone to IKEA one day, with the intent of buying paper lamps. I picked up J from the train station (SweetGirl had made the trip with me to the store) and we chatted about our days. He asked what kind of lamp I bought, to which I answered DUNNO. He looked at me curiously and asked again what kind of lamp I bought, A DUNNO. This exchange lasted for a few moments, with J getting more and more exasperated - "What do you mean you don't know what kind of lamp you bought? YOU WERE JUST THERE!!" He got so mad at me, he was furiously unpacking the car when he found the lamp box, emblazoned in bold black letters: DUNNO. Silly Swedish marketing names :)

Friday, November 7, 2008

The Little Blue Dress


My first go at trying a pattern from a Japanese sewing book. It was so much easier than a traditional pattern and it turned out pretty well. I eventually made a whole slew of them as holiday gifts for my nieces. My favorite touch are the little puff sleeves - so cute!