I’m still in disbelief that I am the mother of a 7-year-old second-grader. I think part of it stems from the fact that I am helping to plan my 20th high school reunion, and the person who is leading the effort was my best friend in second grade. So I’ve been remembering all the fun we had, and it doesn’t seem possible that my child is already making those kinds of memories.

Parker originally wanted to have a LEGO Star Wars-themed sleep-over party, with just two friends. He then changed his mind, so we said he could invite a few more friends just for an afternoon. And then two friends asked if they could bring siblings, so altogether we had eight kids.

First, the invitations: (altered a bit to remove our real address etc)

I scanned the instruction manual from a LEGO set to make this invitation, but later realized you can dowload PDFs of many different manuals from the LEGO website, so I could’ve saved myself a step. Using Photoshop, I created the “Parker Seven Years” piece to match the LEGO Star Wars logo. I can’t find where I got the LEGO-like font, but here is one that appears to be close or the same.

I looked at one of my son’s LEGO boxes to mimic the words on the left-hand side, which specify the age-range, how many pieces, etc, and replaced it with the date of the party, location, etc.

I might have gotten a little carried away with the goodie bags. I made personalized drawstring bags, using my Silhouette machine to cut out the iron-on letters. For the boys, I used a free font called Star Jedi for the letters, and a free dingbat font called Famous Spaceships for the tie fighter silhouette.  

Inside, I put a small bag of LEGOs (we bought Parker a few used Star Wars LEGO sets from eBay, and they came with a large bag of random pieces), a box of crayons and personalized stickers. I made the crayon boxes using the image from invitation, and after some trial-and-error, printed and cut them out using my Silhouette. Once I figured it out, it was pretty amazing to just fold up the boxes (the Silhouette cuts dashed lines for fold lines, so you don’t even have to score the sides, etc.) and glue them together.

I also used the Silhouette to make the stickers.  The mini-fig images are from a downloadable poster at the LEGO website. I opened the poster in Photoshop, and then cut and pasted each image into a new document, and then (just to make things more complicated) re-colored the backgrounds. (Actually very easy, just use the ‘magic wand’ tool to select the background and either fill with a new color or adjust the hue/saturation). I printed them on full-sheet labels and used the Silhouette to cut around each sticker (but not through the label backing). The only downside to this method is that with the Silhouette, there are wide areas around the margins of the paper where you can’t place images to print and cut, so it does waste some of the label sheets. But, the end result is pretty impressive. I see a lot more sticker-making in my future!

When the guests arrived, we sent them to find their bags, which we had hidden around the yard. They then sat at our big outdoor table, and we told them their mission was to build a spaceship using every piece of LEGOs in their bags. This proved to be more involved than we anticipated. Quite a bit of time went by and they were all still quietly working away. In fact, we had to stop them because the pizza we ordered for lunch arrived.

After lunch, we gave them handmade light sabers. I had seen all the pool-noodle variations on other blogs, but I really wanted something that would light up. (which turned out to be kind of dumb, since it was so bright and sunny that you couldn’t tell these lit up at all! But they are really cool at night.)



Here are the basic supplies I used: small flashlights, some kind of thick translucent paper (drafting film?), clear packing tape, silver duct tape, colored transparent file folder dividers.

You’ll notice I have two different kinds of flashlights. The smaller, silver flashlight on the left is an LED flashlight. I found a pack of four of them at Home Depot more than a month before the party for about $5, and was thrilled. (at the time, I was anticipating only having to make 3 light sabers). By the time the guest list had expanded, Hurricane Irene had happened, and thus both Home Depot and Lowes had almost no flashlights left, except super-exepensive versions.

I finally found the larger flashlights on the right at Walmart, I think for about $3 each, the night before the party.

The first step was cutting a circle out of the file folder divider and taping it over the top of the flashlight lens, to make the light beam take on a slight color. Next, roll up a piece of vellum/drafting film, tape it together with a long piece of packing tape and then tape the tube to the flashlight.

The translucent paper I used was in an 18X24 sheet. My father-in-law gave me a whole stack of it when his office closed years ago and it has been sitting under my bed, waiting for the right project! After some experimentation with size, I determined that rolling a 6X18″ inch piece lengthwise made for a sturdy-enough tube that was still translucent enough to let the light shine through.

I found it easiest to roll the paper into a tube roughly the diameter I wanted, and then check it against the flashlight, rather than try to roll it around the edge of the flashlight. To reduce the wrinkles in the tape, I cut a long piece of tape, rolled up the tube, placed one long edge of the tape on the loose edge of the paper and then sort of rolled the whole thing gently on the counter to get the tape to stick the rest of the way. (that probably makes no sense, but basically: don’t try to smooth the tape out with your hands, place it gently in place and then roll the tube on the counter to get it to stick).

Once the tube was securely taped to the flashlight, I covered the handle and a few inches of the paper with the silver duct tape. In retrospect, I should’ve covered the bottom few inches of the paper tube with packing tape as well for extra stability.

Unlike this picture above (which was taken AFTER the party), I did not want the kids to be bashing each other with the light sabers because I was afraid the paper tubes would bend and I didn’t want them to possibly get paper cuts from the edge of the tubes. (I was imagining someone getting poked in the eye). So, we bought a bunch of helium balloons, anchored to the ground with rocks and ribbon, and let the kids loose to battle the “droid army” in the back yard.

That proved to be great fun, though the boys were quite a bit rougher than I expected (I’m sure my husband was not at all surprised), and several balloons were quickly popped and several light sabers bent. I brought out the duct tape, though and did some quick repairs.

Two days before the party, I read this list of classic party games at One Charming Party, and immediately decided I would do the “hot potato present opening” game. One of my party pet peeves is the feeding frenzy that happens when kids crowd around the birthday boy or girl. I know, I know, it is human nature and they’re just excited, but I didn’t want to have to spend time nagging them to move back, etc. So, I had the kids sit in a circle, and we played “Pass C3PO.” I downloaded the Star Wars theme music, and when the music stopped, whoever was holding C3PO got to give Parker his gift.

The cake. Finally, the cake. This is my food editor husband’s job every year, and every year, he does not disappoint.

This is a clone trooper helmet, made by photocopying and enlarging an image and using that to cut out the shapes. The base layer is a yellow cake, and the parts that protrude from that are made from brownies. The entire thing is covered in fondant.

I’ve been a terrible blogger lately, in large part because we recently bought a very dilapidated summer cabin on a pond, and have spending every spare moment on not-very-fun DIY projects. But, the transformation has been amazing. In the first nine days, we went from this: (well, most of the furniture and stuff had been removed by the time we got it, but still…)

To this:

Can you believe that floor was hiding under old linoleum and carpet? We just cleaned it well and polyurethaned it.

And, we have my son’s 7th birthday party coming up on Saturday, so I am scrambling to get all my little crafty projects done for that.  I hope to have lots to share next week, including a give-away, so stay tuned!
In the meantime, I was at Petco this week _ and was startled to see Martha Stewart products.  For a second, I thought maybe she had branched out to craft supplies for pets. I wasn’t so much surpised by the  by the plush doggie beds, etc… but by this:

REALLY? Martha Stewart brand dog waste bags?
Though I guess I should not poke fun. I was there to buy a cat pheremone diffuser. Yes. It’s like a plug-in air freshener, except it emits cat pheremones. We’re having a little issue with our blind cat, Tangerine, not using her litterbox. (Nothing to do with her being blind… she used it without trouble for the first six months we had her.) Her vet recommended this diffuser, which is supposed to calm your cats and get them to use their litterboxes. We’ll see.
Good thing she’s so cute. (with her belly shaved for her inconclusive-yet-expensive ultrasound, trying to stowaway in a bag of clothes I was taking to the camp)

I recently wrote an article for AP about Liesl Gibson and her book, “Oliver + S: Little Things to Sew,” featuring the bucket hat I’ve made a few times this summer. Liesl was extremely nice and very interesting to talk to. Here’s a link to my story, which includes a link to download the hat pattern and instructions:
AP article: Oliver + S Bucket Hats

And here are some photos of the hats I made to go with the story. That’s my adorable niece modeling for me. The blue hat reverses to the blue spaceship print, the green reverses to the orange robot print and the yellow reverses to the red and white hippo print. For the yellow/red version, I pressed a bit of the yellow lining to the outside edge of the brim and it sort of looks like piping. Of course, that means the yellow lining is a bit skewed, but that might be something worth trying again, maybe making the lining brim piece a bit bigger so it could wrap around to the front.

I made this kitty from the Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Toys to Sew and Love book, with some modifications, for my cousin’s baby, due to arrive in September. That white (actually pale, pale green) piece on the face is supposed to be the top of the head, and the eyes and nose are supposed to be placed much lower. But when I did that, it just looked weird. Like an alien, actually. (It doesn’t help that the pattern calls for much larger, almond shaped eyes). Maybe I stretched the head out when stuffing it, or sewed it on at a weird angle. My original eyes were gray and blue. My husband suggested that it needed some white. When I pointed out that cats’ eyes don’t have white, he reasonably enough pointed out that real cats don’t wear dresses either. Such a stickler!
So, I ripped everything off, sewed the head on at a slightly different angle and made the point of the white fabric the center of the face. I think she’s quite cute!

While I had the pattern out, I cut out pieces to make a second kitty, though I’m not sure I like it enough to finish. But, I did try a different way of attaching and stuffing the limbs. The book calls for making all the limbs, stuffing them, and then hand-sewing them to the body. I find that very cumbersome, and I worry that they won’t hold up to a kid yanking on them. I have a Simplicity baby doll pattern that I’ve used a bunch of times to make stuffed animals, (including the famous Huckle) and it calls for this technique:
Make the limbs, leaving the tops open, and a 1-2 inch section open along one side for stuffing later. Turn them right-side-out. Baste the arms to right side of the belly/front piece.

Pin the back piece, right side down, onto the front piece (if the body is big enough, you can do the legs at the same time in the previous step, but since this pattern had a small body and large limbs, I did it in two stages). Sew along each side of the body, leaving the top (neck) and bottom (where the legs will go) open.

Pull the ends of the arms through the neck to give yourself a bit more room in between the body pieces. Pin tops of the legs to the bottom of the belly piece, with the legs pointing into the body, in between the belly and back pieces. Sew across the bottom.

Pull everything through the neck, and Voila! the limbs are securely sewed onto the body. You can then stuff them and the only hand-sewing needed is to close up the small openings in the side seams.
(You still have to sew the head on by hand).

Here’s a little peek at another Christmas gift I made recently. Details posted at my holiday blog. Leave me a comment or send me an email if you don’t have that address.

Beth at Remarkably Domestic recently tagged me for this post. If you aren’t familiar with her blog, please check it out! I started reading it last year for her her hilarious posts about working her way through the Martha Stewart Encyclopedia of Crafts and have been hooked ever since.

OK, here are my quickly compiled highlights:

Most Beautiful Post: Last Minute Valentine

I’m taking my cue from Beth a bit and highlighting a sentimental post. Since I don’t really write much about my personal life, or showcase photos of anything other than craft projects, this is the best I could come up with _ a craft project that highlights a sweet drawing my son made for me.

Most Popular Post: A Busytown Birthday

This post by far drives more traffic to my blog than any other. Sadly, we just sold the Busytown building set at a yardsale last weekend, it’s all LEGOs all the time here now. But at least the stuffed Huckle is still around.

Most Controversial Post: More Silhouette Shirts
I don’t think any of my posts have generated any real controversy, but this one includes a picture I took of Sarah Palin, who is nothing if not controversial.

Most Helpful Post: Valentine Pocket Warmers

I have no idea if anyone has actually made any of these, but I think it could be very helpful for someone looking to make a bunch of small gifts quickly and cheaply (17 cents worth of flannel per hand warmer!)

A Post Whose Success Surprised Me: Travel Game Folios

This project got featured on a few other websites, which was surprising given that it was a last-minute, thrown together idea. To be honest, battleship ended up being a bit too complicated for my 6-year-old, and he ended up drawing on the OUTSIDE of the folder as well as the wipe-off surface, but it did keep him occupied through several long meals while we were on vacation.

A Post That Didn’t Get the Attention it Deserved: Have a HOLLY jolly Christmas

I really enjoyed coming up with a bunch of different ways to turn children’s artwork into Christmas gifts, beyond the usual “make wrapping paper” idea.

The Post I’m Most Proud of: Find your way to better vacation souvenirs

This was my very first post! It still amazes me that somehow since then, people in every state and 140 other countries have found their way here. Appropriately enough, that first post is about using maps to decorate.

I made this quilt last weekend for my cousin who is having a baby girl in September. I used a free project at the Moda Bake Shop site, and a “layer cake” (10″ squares) that my friend gave me last Christmas. This project only required 20 10X10 squares, so I have some left over for something else. This pattern really looks much better if you use fabric that has more contrast. A lot of my squares kind of fade into each other. BUT, it is for a baby, so she probably won’t be too picky. (I know, babies DO like contrast, but you know what I mean.) This was my first time sewing the binding on by machine rather than hand-stitching the back. It was not a great success. I found it very hard to catch the binding evenly on the back. But again, it’s for a baby. I also had some trouble with the free-motion stippling quilting. At one point, after I changed bobbin thread, something must’ve been off because I quilted at least half the quilt before realizing that while the front looked fine, the stitching on the back was all loose and messed up, so I had to rip it all out.

Other than that, this was a VERY easy and quick project, especially since I did not add the extra borders called for in the directions. I found that I could stack at least six layers and cut them all at once with a rotary cutter. My only quibble is that there is quite a bit of wasted fabric, and I feel like a project that calls for a specific size pre-cut of fabric should use as much as possible. So, after I finished this quilt I figured out a way to make similar blocks but using more of the fabric. With the original directions, you end up with 6-inch blocks (that end up as 5.5 inches once they’re sewn into the quilt top). With my new method, you end up with 9-inch blocks.

Here’s how I would cut the 10″ squares if I was starting over:

Technically, these ARE runway fashions, since I made some of them on the plane on our way home from France! These were for my niece, who turned six this week. She has a nice little collection of Barbie doll clothes that my great-aunt made for me and my sister when we were little, and now that I’ve made this batch, I realize how much WORK went into those clothes! I used a few different patterns that I bought when they went on sale for $1.99 at Jo-Ann’s. They are almost entirely sewn by hand, except I did make tiny machine-stitched hems on pieces of fabric BEFORE I cut out the various pattern pieces, so I would have the legs of the pants, for example, already hemmed. Hand-sewing is not my strength, though I think I found this process easier than I would have had I tried to feed such tiny scraps through my machine.

I also made my nephew, who just turned 7, a fort kit, like the one I made a few months ago. Again, I used the Silhouette machine to cut out the iron-on lettering/image for the bag. This time I used cheap flat sheets from IKEA, and some striped IKEA fabric for the bag.

Still recovering from our wonderful trip, we had an equally wonderful day today with our friends and family. I had to work this morning, but since that involved following presidential candidates along a parade route, I at least got to enjoy being outside and celebrating the 4th of July. (of course, that also meant walking all the way back to my car when the parade was over). Then headed home for a cookout with my husband’s family and several of my son’s friends and their families. My husband’s burgers and potato salad featuring his hand-cured bacon were amazing, and my contribution wasn’t bad either:

I tried to make a seven-minute frosting, which failed miserably, so at the last second I had to make some buttercream. I got the idea from Glorious Treats, who got it from 17 and Baking. It actually was not difficult, though it was time consuming. (I made the cakes a day ahead). Not in a million years would I have figured out on my own how to get that effect, but really it just involves tinting the cake layers and cutting a circle out of certain layers using a cookie cutter. I’m already looking forward to bringing some to work tomorrow!

More sewing for me! This is the Lisette Market Skirt and Top, made in the exact same fabric as pictured on the pattern envelope. Not very original of me, but the fabric was 50 percent off, and I like pink! I admit, the skirt fabric is not something I would have picked out on my own, and even when I was making the skirt, I was having second thoughts, but once it was all together I do like it.

I’m not sure how much I like the skirt and top together. It’s a bit LOUDER than my usual style. But I wore the outfit to work this week and got several compliments.

Both projects were fairly easy to sew, even though I have never made a pleated skirt before. The only part I wasn’t sure of was the twill tape used for the skirt waistband. It wasn’t clear to me whether I should be folding over the raw edges of the top of the skirt and then covering them with the tape (so both edges of the tape would be exposed on the inside), or if it was more like sewing a quilt binding, with the tape folded over. (I did the latter). I asked my husband if anything looked wrinkled when he was taking this picture, and he said no, but now I see how wrinkled the skirt is! It looks much better freshly ironed.

I made a size 8 in the skirt. My waist measurement puts me at a 10 but since this sits below the waist, I went by my hip measurement. I ended up taking in the sides even a bit more, so maybe I could’ve gone with a 6.

The top was very easy to make. I made a 6 and it fits well, though I wish I had made it a bit longer.