Cherry pie birthday cake

Today's my hub's birthday. He's been joking for as long as I've known him -- about 13 years now -- that he thought he'd die when he was 31. It's an unnerving joke, but that's him. It started to bother me a little bit in recent years. What if he was right and somehow knew he'd never make it to 32? It's a ridiculous assumption, but he was so steadfast about it that I couldn't help but get freaked out when he'd bring it up. Luckily, today I can say what was always the case -- that was a load of BS! Today my babe turns 32.

We're planning to celebrate later today with family, pizza and cake. Or rather, cakes, as in, I'm going to make individual chocolate lava cakes later today. We also might go to a local soul food restaurant for lunch, so it's going to be quite the day on the old digestive system.

I thought I'd take the chance to share the cake I made last year. My hubs isn't that big on regular old birthday cake, hence the lava cake plans. What he really loves in cherry pie. I've bought him cherry pies on previous birthdays, but last year I got all creative and made him this.

Why yes, that's a cherry pie cake!

Probably never shared it last year because my photos are a little blurry. Bad lighting will do that! But looking back, I have decided it's blog worthy. Because wow does that ever look like a pie! It's a regular cake mix made in a round pan, topped with a jar of super delicious Michigan-made cherry pie filling and then covered with a fake lattice pie crust top made with slightly-brown tinted frosting.

Around here, adults don't get to blow the candles out on their own anymore. But I think that's OK.

Happy birthday, baby! I love you!

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.

Original source.

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!

Original source.

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.)

Original source.

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!

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 few sweet things

My super talented and sweet friend Jen gave me a belated birthday present this week -- this adorable pin cushion! Ain't it dandy? It's the perfect small size, and such cute colors. They remind me of her. And I love how you can prop it upright since it's made out of a frame.

She said she found a tutorial for making these somewhere but can't remember where. Thank you to whoever that genius is! If you'd like to make your own, it's simply a matter of painting a cute frame a sweet color, wrapping a piece of sweet fabric around a piece of cardboard, filling it with batting and then smooshing it through the frame, with the glass acting as the holder-inner. (That's a word, right?) Make sense?

She also made Luke these...

 

 ... fabric letters! So sweet. I will soon be making a similar one for Jack. The question is whether to spell out "Jack" or "J.J"  I don't even know what I call my own kid! 

Thanks for all the sweetness, Jen!

And one more thanks. A very, very sweet one indeed. 

The quiet, sweet moments before I handed Luke over for his open-heart surgery, three years ago.

 Thanks to all the doctors, nurses, cardiologists and countless others, and most of all to our fabulous surgeon, Dr. Ohye, who three years ago this Sunday ensured my baby would live. On July 24, 2008, Luke had a  open-heart surgery to fix three heart defects -- . coarctation of the aorta, ventricular septal defect and an atrial septal defect. Modern medicine is amazing. A few decades ago, he would have surely died from those heart issues, likely in infancy. It i s so hard to fathom. Thanks to advancements in pediatric cardiac surgery, he now has as good a chance at a long, healthy life as anyone. That day was the toughest day of my life, and also a day I'm so very grateful for. I'll be thinking about it tomorrow. And about the kids who aren't as lucky as Luke, those who have congenital heart defects that require multiple surgeries or lifelong health struggles. For the parents who weren't as lucky as me, and who have lost their babies. CHDs kill more kids each year than all childhood cancers combined. Isn't that astonishing? And sad? I think so. 

So, tomorrow will be a sweet day, remembering how lucky we are. We really truly are so so lucky.

Superhero third birthday party!

For Luke's birthday, I'd long imagined a "Superhero" theme. I don't know why, he doesn't even like superheros. Or know a single superhero by name. To be honest, I think it started when I sewed him a "Super Luke" cape a few months ago. I've been meaning to blog about it ever since, but I never had a photo of it I liked.

 Ug, I still don't like it! This one was taken a couple of months ago, and I suppose I should just snap a new one already. Oh well. So, I made him this cape with a big "L" in it, and he loved it. He had been having a lot of fun "flying" around the house. I thought it would be a cute idea for a party. Then I envisioned all his friends wearing their own special little capes. And my brain almost exploded with the thought of all that cuteness, and I had to make it so.

So. This is how I spent last week, leading up to the party on Sunday. 

Making eight capes!

I know that seems ambitious, but these were really so easy. I'd call them 10-minute capes.

The key was finding this fabric. It's a knit, and it doesn't curl up after it's been cut. It's a thin, cheap, polyester that was like $8 a yard a Jo-Ann. Enter a 50% off coupon and I had enough fabric to make all the capes for about $10.

Since it didn't fray, all I did was cut each cape out, and sew the top down to create a encasement for the ribbon ties. At one point, I wanted to make cotton ties, but duh, ribbon is easier! So ribbon it was. It was my first time sewing with polyester, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it might be. It's slippery and all that, but I just took it slow. I used a ballpoint needle and a stretch stitch -- first times for both.

Then I slipped the ribbons through and sewed them into place along the sides. For the letters, I printed them off my computer, and traced them backwards onto Wonder Under, which had been already fused onto the wrong side of my fabrics. After that it was as simple as cutting them out and ironing them on.

Times eight. I worked on these little by little all week and finished the last about an hour before the party started. I am such a deadline oriented task-finisher.

Speaking of last minute.... this wreath was totally that. I had started this wreath for something else, so it was already wrapped in the red fabric with the blue ribbon embellishment. About 10 minutes before guests were to arrive, I realized I had a few extra cupcake toppers and hot-glued them into place.

Yay for last minute inspiration!

The cupcake toppers I made by hand using scrapbook paper, glue, scissors and print outs of the words "L:uke!" 3!" Pow!" and Boom!" from my computer. Oh, and toothpicks. They took a while, but they made for a cute superhero cupcake display.

The cupcakes were store bought about four hours before the party when I realized there was no way in hell I'd ever get everything done, and I needed to give up the desire for homemade. $47 well spent.

The kids did a superhero craft -- they made little superhero masks. I cut the masks out of white felt, hot glued elastic on and bought an array of decorations. Fabric markers, foam stickers and little sticky gems.

I think the kids really liked this.

I liked how it occupied them for a whole 10 minutes!

Here's Luke's buddy Henry in his superhero getup. It was so cute to see the kids all dressed up. Have I said cute enough times yet in this post? Cute.

Cute? Cute!

After they were superherofied in their capes and masks, we played a superhero game -- Superhero Teddy Bear Search and Rescue! This was a ridiculous idea I had to tie a bunch of stuffed animals in our trees and tell the kids that THEY ARE IN TROUBLE! They need a superhero to rescue them!

 Here they all are, waiting to be rescued!

This was a very cute 60 seconds to watch. Cute, cute, cute. 

Last on my crafty to-do list was this shirt. Just some simple applique! I did the hand-embroidery in yellow around the outside of the blue shape. Hard to see. Cute? Yes! But not that look on his face. I don't remember why he was sad at this point, because really, the day was a blast.

Or more like.... BLAST!

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