A first birthday party for JJ

JJ's first birthday party was Saturday. I did not sew a stitch for it. I had big plans to make him a shirt, or a softie or... something. But you know, it didn't happen, and I am OK with that. He had a perfectly cute party without something hand-sewn by Mama. I did a few crafty touches, made a lot of food, cleaned my house (with a huge huge helping hand from my mother-in-law) and called it a day. Parties are a lot of work. Yes? We can agree on this? Every time we have one, a couple hours before the party, I think to myself, I am never doing this again.  But then once everything comes together, and all the people are there, of course, it all seems worth it.

I was a lovely time. I'm just having issues lately about what's too much. Don't mind me.

Anyway, thought I'd share a few photos.

I found the "My First Birthday" shirt at Marshall's a few days before the party, and for $5, I was sold. It was cute. It took one thing off my to-do list. Check, check.

I did a photo timeline, strung on twine, around the basement, where we held the party. I found the mini colored clothespins at Jo-Anns, and they were really cute. I used about 45 photos -- almost all of the clothespins! I loved how this looked, and at the end of the party, I told everyone they could take a photo or two as a party favor.

I made the cake the day before, using the recipe from my inspiration post. I made two layer cakes, so the cake ended up pretty enormous. But he really only ate the little section right on the top of one side. I really wanted to make him a cake from scratch and really REALLY wanted to see him make a mess with it. Mission accomplished there.

For the adults, we got a chocolate peanut-butter cake from Pinwheel Bakery in Ferndale, and it was so delicious. I highly recommend. This thing was gone in an instant!

One fun thing we did was have everyone complete a time capsule for JJ to open on his 18th birthday. This was a big hit. Now the only issue... keeping track of the responses for 17 years!

For the door, I did a fairly simple wreath. Yarn wrapped a wreath form and then stuck these adorable mini-pinwheels into one side to make a cute arrangement. I stuck a "Happy Birthday" sticker on top because I ran out of time to do what I really wanted, which was make a little flag banner that said those words. Ah well. I think it's pretty cute.

I am a bit in disbelief that my baby is one. It's bittersweet. Babyhood is the best. And this little guy... he is the sweetest, most cuddly little one. It's been a most fabulous year with him, it really has.

First birthday party inspiration and ideas

I work a 3-day workweek these days. I go to the office Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. Those three days are a whirlwind. My work tunnel. I emerge from that tunnel each Wednesday with many things needing my attention on the home front and in my personal life, and of course, in my sewing nook. I spend the next days digging out, getting things back in order and attempting to rediscover my creativity and balance... And then I do it all again.

And so, here I am, emerging from my tunnel this week with a big deadline headed my way. JJ's first birthday party is Saturday.

Here's what I've actually accomplished: I've been dutifully collecting ideas on Pinterest. And I ordered the cake for the adults. Now it's on to finalizing plans and getting things done! First, I thought I'd show you some of the things I found that I want to try. Don't know that I'll get to all of these, but they're my inspiration for the party, for sure. Wanna see?

Original source: etsy.

 I can't decide what kind of applique shirt to make, or whether to make one at all. This one, with the "O-N-E" spelled out in nice big letters, is cute. I'd love it to say "JJ" somewhere. And another idea we had was to make one that says, "Cake, please!" That's be cute, but maybe too many letters to deal with in applique.

Original source.

 I want to keep the decorations simple. (Ha. Famous last words.) I love the ballons tied onto the highchair here. Sweet. Simple.

Maybe something cute like this for the door. Probably the last priority though.

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Cute banner with month-by-month photos of the first year, marked with clothespins. This I really want to do. I've been taking his photo each month, and I've printed out a bunch of them to display. So this one should be on the to-do list for sure.

Original source.

I die of cuteness with this one. Definitely doing this. Who comes up with these ideas? Thank you internet for being so awesome!

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For food, these ham and cheese sliders with poppy-seed sauce looked so mouth-watering, I decided I must try them. They're something you can assemble before the party and then cook once guests arrive. So they'll be nice and warm and won't make my kitchen a big mess. Yay! I will do some turkey and provolone too, for the swiss-haters (i.e.: myself.)

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Both sets of grandparents are bringing a side-dish to pass. So my only other worry are some nibbles. Pita and hummus, cheese and crackers and I think these cute fruit kabobs. Kid-friendly, you know?

Original source.

As for JJ's smash cake, I want to do something simple. Small chocolate layer cake with a little confetti sounds about right.

Original source.

All I really want.... is this photo opp! Luke didn't really tear into his smash cake. He just gingerly touched its sides and then got weirded-out by the feeling of frosting on his finger tips. He's still a dainty eater, so I guess this was just our first clue. But JJ has a much more, um, voracious appetite. I have high hopes, little one! Please. give mama that messy show she craves!

Oh, and look! The first project is underway!

1-2-3 Sew Craft Tote

My best friend turns 32 today. We've known each other since we were 18. That's 14 years, apparently. Fourteen years! We've seen one another grow up, fall in love, get married and start careers. We've supported one another spiritually. We've run half-marathons together. We've done a lot of laughing together. And I've received too many hand-made gifts from her to count. She's a knitter, and a fine one, and at least once a year for the last seven or eight years, she's gifted me some wonderfully hand-knit item. It was about time I returned the favor!



I saw this craft tote tutorial in the book 1-2-3 Sew and decided it'd be great for her to carry her knitting supplies around. The fabrics are from Amy Butler's new "Lark" line of fabric. They're home dec weight. The tutorial calls for canvas, so right away, I had a problem. But it was not too hard to solve. I lined all the outer pieces, the inside bottom piece and the compartment dividers all with fusible fleece. That seemed to do the trick, and the bag sits up nicely and holds its shape.

 I did have to go back and readjust my seams on the lining pieces multiply times, because when I went to fit it inside the shell, it was bunching up. I don't know why -- I swear I cut accurately this time. But what can you do? Taking the seams in a bit here and there worked well, and for the most part, the inside lays nicely in the shell. I love all the divided areas, perfect for stashing different crafting tools!

It also has three divided pockets in the front, for extra storage options. And while the tutorial called for straps made out of webbing, I decided to make my own from the fabric. They also have a bit of fleece inside. Saved me a trip to the store more than anything, but I think they're cute, too.

This bag took me about a week to make, but only because my sewing time is so limited to little bursts here and there. It was a very straight-forward project. A great first project to try from his new book!

Happy birthday, Kelly! Hope you love it!

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Reporting in from my pre-birthday Pinterest-induced coma

Sorry I've been a bad blogger this week. I'm having some sort of blogging block. I have a few things that have not been blogged about, but I'm not sure I want to blog them because I'm sort of unhappy with how they turned out. Two tutorials I want to write up, but I need to tweak both of them and re-make the item to work out the kinks. Le sigh!

I also have one work-in-progress that I can't show until it's totally done because it's a gift. So next week, hopefully.

While making it, I sewed through my finger nail. OW.

I've also been busy getting ready for JJ's first birthday. Admittedly, I am way behind. I feel like a bad mama. I did an Evite instead of a regular invitation (horror of horrors), and the party so far is relatively unplanned. I went on Pinterest for some inspiration, and of course, found plenty. But is it just me, or is Pinterest and blog-land almost coma-inducing in its creativity and inspiration? It's easy to get caught up in it and think your party just can't go on without a clever theme and coordinating color scheme, 12 different handmade decorations, tons of mouth-watering home-cooked food, of course a perfectly executed and personalized smash cake, a hand-sewn birthday outfit (which you better photograph as you make step-by-step and then write up a tutorial!), a crafty birthday wreath for the front door, a cupcake tower with personalized toppers and cake pops in the shape of your baby's head.... And on and on. And if you don't do all that, you don't really love your baby, do you. DO YOU?!?!?!

I'm trying to sort through what I actually want to do and what is realistic to do and what is just too much.

The party is in nine days.

So far... I'm pretty sure I'm making ham and cheese sliders. And that's all I've got.

Gah.

Anyway, just wanted to check in. Thanks for reading and hopefully I'll be back with something prettier to look at and read about soon!

A potholder for a friend

I made this extra-large potholder for a friend this week. On New Year's Day, hanging at her house, she brought out a Calaphon Dutch oven and an indoor grill pan, both of which she was no longer using. She said I could have them. I was thrilled because those are two pans missing from own kitchen. Score!

I decided to make her something to thank her and landed on this potholder thanks to a new email rolling into my inbox each day. It's called the Sew Can She Newsletter. They deliver one sewing tutorial to you each day. Free! Not bad, right? The tutorials come from all over blog land, and you can submit your own to be considered. It's just another easy way to find inspiration and tutorials you might otherwise miss. So last week, the email include a potholder tutorial that used this exact same coffee cup fabric! I had it in my stash awaiting some sort of inspiration, so I took it as a sign and whipped this up. I didn't use fusible thread, as the tutorial calls for, but that's a good idea I'll have to look into. And I just did some straight-line quilting with a zig-zag stitch thrown in.

Hope my friend loves it! The finished size is about a 10-inch square, which is really large. Nice for use as a counter-top hot pad, too!

Oh and hop over to the blog Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy! Stacey is gearing up for a year-long Sewing for Boys sew along! Fun! They featured one of my Henry Shirt posts this week. Thanks for the invite, Stacey!

Swimming in wonderful new things

I've been a lucky girl this week when it comes to getting awesomeness in my mailbox or on my doorstep.

First, this.

These four books came as a Christmas present from my friend Kim. Is she way too generous or what? I could not believe it! So many projects to contemplate, my head is about to explode. Do you have any of these books? Where should I begin?! (And I should say, I do have the One Yard Wonders book already. Contemplating exchanging it, maybe for the new One Yard Wonders book, or hosting a giveaway with it. Decisions, decisions.... :) )

Then this came yesterday.

New fabric! Some solid fat quarters, because I never have enough solids in my stash, and two yard-cuts of fabric from Amy Butler's Lark collection in home-dec weight. I have a plan for that! And the top is a fat quarter collection with various fabrics. I have something in mind for those too, and it just might involve a baby girl headed my family's way in the spring. Meaning, I'm going to be an aunt! So excited!

I'm struggling to find/make the time to actually sew right now. But hopefully, all these new goodies will be a nice kick in the pants.

Has the mailman brought you anything this lovely recently?

Happy Thursday all!

The saga of the apron. And I do mean saga.

Is there an award for being the last one on Earth to finish a handmade Christmas present? If so, I win! I win!

This is the finished apron I finally gifted by mother-in-law today. Months and months ago, she mentioned that she'd like if I made her a holiday apron. We're always struggling to come up with good gifts to give her, so I was happy to have the inspiration handed to me. I knew from that point on -- maybe sometime in October -- that I'd make her her holiday apron for Christmas.

I started thinking about fabric and patterns. At Jo-Ann's one day, I put this in my cart, 40% off. McCalls 6177.

I thought that third look was it. Cute, right? Then I read the instructions and sort of freaked out. I began to worry that it was too difficult a pattern in the time I had. And then I noticed that I bought sizes 18 wide and larger. Rookie mistake. My mother-in-law is basically the same size as me. So I had to go another route.

At that point, I opened up the book One Yard Wonders for inspiration, and I decided to make the Cottage Apron.

Kind of cute, right? Kind of.... sexy? I liked this a lot, I just felt like.... Is a woman in her 60s really going to like this? It didn't seem like her. I also started questioning having straps made out of ribbons. Is that really going to hold up in the wash?

As you can see, I was second-guessing everything.

On Christmas Eve, at 10:30 p.m., my mind scrambled in a haze of last-minute present wrapping, I decided there was no way I could give her Apron A. So I set out to make another.

I had a yard of fabric in a festive print. I had red linen. I quickly cut out an apron, using another I had as a pattern. I cut straps, including one very wide and long strap to go across the middle. I hemmed all the sides, made some straps, and voila, before you could say Merry Christmas, I had a new apron!

But wait!

So I gave it to her. She said she loved it. It was all fine. Except I put the sash on way too low, so it hit around the hips, and so the sides of the back hung in a sad droopy manner. I had stitched the strap right to the top of the apron, so I told her it would be no biggie for me to take it home and move it up higher. I was disappointed that it wasn't perfect, but hey, I still think I made the right call and made an apron more suited to her. And I could fix it.

And then. And THEN.

Do you feel the drama building?

If you're squeamish... Maybe you will want to skip this next photo. Because I am sure I am about to break all sorts of blogger rules in posting this photo.

What happened AND THEN is that I brought the apron home, and when all the holiday fun cooled down, I un-stitched that baby. And then the next morning I laid it out on the floor to pin the sash back on. The clock was ticking. She was coming to babysit soon.

I walked upstairs to get more coffee. And when I came back.... I saw this.

I won't enlarge it more than that, because ew, gross! Ladies and gentlemen, that's what it looks like when your cat decides your unfinished sewing project -- a project for your mother-in-law --  looks like a great place to barf.

My husband was all: "Just wash that spot off!" Oh darling. No. That sucker had to go in the wash. Which meant it wasn't done by 11:30, when she came over to babysit. Which meant it was another week before I'd see her again to have a chance to give her her apron.

So finally finally this week, I finished her up. And presented a fully finished, non-barfy, non-teeny-bopper apron to my mother-in-law. On Jan. 10! Only 16 days after Christmas!

I had to make my husband model after his wipe-the-barf-off-the-corner comment.

 Hahaha.

Here it is on me, looking ladylike in my pajamas.

I

Moral of the story: don't leave your sewing projects near a barfy cat? Don't wait unitl 10:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve to attempt a sewing project that is actually a good fit for your recipient?

That's for you to decide. All I know is this: my mother-in-law seems pleased enough with her new apron (and yes, she knows about its sordid past) and bonus, my friend Evelyn was so taken with my first apron, she bought it from me! I am now contemplating what to make her to thank her. Irony! Whatever I decide, I'll try not to let my cat near it.

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