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Microphone Craft Party Activity

July 11, 2013 by girlinspired 2 Comments

One more detail from the Princess and the Popstar Party today – a craft activity for the kiddos – making their own Pop Star Microphone! All of the party guests took a turn sitting down at the craft table to decorate a microphone.  This craft is so straightforward, it hardly needs explaining, but I know I always appreciate new ideas for party activities, so here goes…

Make a Microphone craft - party activity

Make a Microphone craft - party activity

We collected empty toilet paper rolls over the weeks leading up to the party.  A few days beforehand, I let the girls sit down and paint all the toilet paper rolls with acrylic paints.  I predicted after last year’s seashell painting activity that acrylic paints and princess clothes probably wouldn’t get along, so we did all the painting stuff ahead of time.  After the paint had dried, I crumpled aluminum foil into tight balls (this was surprisingly time-consuming)  and hot glued them around the rim of the toilet paper rolls.

Make a Microphone craft - party activity

For the party, we set out the prepped microphones, some glitter glue, and a variety of sticker jewels.  The kids loved it!

Make a Microphone craft - party activity

My niece was totally cracking me up – such a natural with the star glasses and her microphone!!

Make a Microphone craft - party activity

More Princess and the Popstar Party Details

Lace Princess Crowns - DIY

DIY Disco Ball Pinata

Princess and the PopStar Birthday Party

Princess Dress Sewing Pattern for Girls

Filed Under: Crafting, Parties Tagged With: kid crafts, party activities, princess and the popstar

DIY Disco Ball Pinata

July 3, 2013 by girlinspired 9 Comments

how to make a Disco Ball Pinata

No doubt that a DIY disco ball pinata is an essential at any dance/popstar super cool type party, right?  I felt the same way when we went to the birthday party of our favorite preschool teacher’s little gal!  Dorothy had a dance party with two awesome disco balls, so after scouting out the uber cool aunt that made the pinatas, I slid into the seat next to her to get the full scoop.  She was so sweet to tell me how to make them and even sweeter to let me share her secrets with you!  So, here you are – the DIY Disco Ball Pinata instructions.

You start with a cheapy beach ball from the drugstore and blow it up nice and full.  Then, paper mache your heart out.  I used strips of newspaper dipped in a flour, water, Mod Podge mixture (just dump a little of each in a bowl and mix it up – I think the ratio’s pretty flexible, but maybe a cup of water, 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup Mod Podge).  I did three layer of paper mache over the beach ball – letting each layer dry completely between.  It held quite a bit of weight in toys/candy and the kids got several turns each before it finally came open, so don’t go too crazy with a million paper mache layers.  Leave a hole for deflating and removing the beach ball and filling with goodies (if you dare let the kids break it open).  Once the ball has been removed and you’ve filled the pinata, insert a hanging device – I lucked out by having a child’s skirt hanger – one of the kind with the circular hook at the top that goes over another hanger – know what I’m talking about?  I gently bent the ends to get it in the hole and then that circular hook at the top was perfect for tying the rope to later to hang the whole thing.  So, once you have your hanging device, lay a little plastic wrap over the opening and then add a few more layers of paper mache around the opening to seal it up.

how to make a Disco Ball Pinata

Now, it’s ready to be transformed into a disco ball.  The special trick is stainless steel-look contact paper – I used less than one roll and got the contact paper from Home Depot.  I’m not going to lie – this is a total pain and took a solid four hours of continuous work with the help of two kids (who actually were quite a big help on this one!!)  The back of the contact paper has gridlines which made it easy to cut 1″x 1″ squares – a zillion of them!  

how to make a Disco Ball Pinata

Balance the ball on its end and draw a horizontal line all the way around the center of the pinata.  Begin in the center and peel and stick your contact paper squares all the way around.  The contact paper has little brush strokes on it, so I rotated these every other square.  With your first line in place, work up and down from the center until you cover the entire ball.  And that’s it!  When you finish, you’ll beg your child not to break the thing open, but seeing as how they helped you pick out and stuff all the toys and candy inside, they will say no, and you’ll cry a little.  But it WILL be super cool and all the kids will love it, so there’s that.  

how to make a Disco Ball Pinata

Princess and the PopStar Birthday Party

disco ball pinata

It’s been over a week since the party and the shell is still sitting on my desk – can’t bring myself to toss all that flashy work!!  Think you’ll make one?

For more paper mache pinata ideas, you might enjoy this tutorial for Flower Pinatas.

Filed Under: Crafting, Parties Tagged With: disco ball, party activities, party decor, pinata, tutorial

Baby Shower Embellishment Station

November 29, 2012 by girlinspired 9 Comments

The embellishment station at the forest wonderland baby shower was well received by so many guests, young and old.  The goal was to provide a variety of elements for clothes decorating so that there was something for everyone. You can find all the details on fabric and patterns for the layette in this post.
I have a thing for buttons.  When my cousin and I were little girls, we’d spend hours and hours playing in our Granny’s button drawer.  I guess it made a lasting impact.  I know my cousin appreciated the extra large selection of buttons for decorating her little girl’s layette.  
 
For appliques, there were a few options for guests.  I pre-made a variety of iron-on appliques, some simple, some layered and complex.  These were popular among guests; all they needed to do was peel off the paper backing and iron them right into place on the garment.  For the more adventurous guests, I provide scraps of fabric with lite heat’n’bond already on the back.  I also provided simple and complex cardstock templates for making appliques.  Quite a few people went to town creating their own appliques.  I cut the templates using the Cindy Loo cartridge with my Cricut.  I also provided scraps of fabric without adhesive, but I don’t think this was needed.  
The cutest little tags with the cutest little safety pins for guests to tag their work.  The tags are from Martha Stewart; found them at Joanns.  Safety pins from my stash.
Oops…another button picture.  How did that get in there?
And this….possibly my favorite thing (besides the teeny tiny baby clothes) I made for the whole shower.  A felted toadstool pincushion.  It’s kinda so fuzzy and irresistable, I just want to carry it around.  I like it a lot.  But, it’s made from styrofoam, so it’s actually not all that durable.  I’m thinking on a better way; for the purpose of looking cute and holding needles at the shower though, it did just fine.

 

Filed Under: Crafting, Parties, Sewing, Sewing Ideas and Inspiration Tagged With: applique, baby clothes, baby shower, fabric, party activities

Forest Wonderland Baby Shower

November 7, 2012 by girlinspired 19 Comments

I have this incredible cousin.  Her name is Melanie and we’ve been the best of friends since we were born (just two months apart).  We know each other inside and out and grew up dreaming aloud of the day we would get married and have families.  Big dreams we had of living all together in a two-story, pink house with our own little kiddies running around, the best of friends just like us.  Over the past couple years, Mel and her husband, Mark, have prepared and planned for their first baby.  The road has been rough and finally, they are just weeks away from meeting their long-wished-for little girl.  It was such an honor to organize a baby shower to welcome my soon-to-be niece.  I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed creating the backdrop for such a special celebration. 
 
The shower was held in Mel’s beautiful backyard.  The decor was meant to be a reflection of the baby’s nursery decor, a forest wonderland of sorts with birds and owls and moss and toadstools, in pinks and greys, and whites.
 
 Remember the vintage typewriter that I painted pink?  Well, the whole rationale for bringing that beauty home was to set it on a secretary desk (which I also snatched from my antique guy and gave it the paint/distress treatment) to stage a “Wishes for the Baby” area for this shower.  Guests were able to write wishes on little tags and then I bound all of them together on a jump ring for a cute, little keepsake!
 
Melanie’s best friends, Keri and Erin, prepared a complete Vegetarian brunch for the shower – everything looked outrageously beautiful all set out and it tasted wonderful.  My sole contribution to the food table was a spread of lemon creme crepes, which my sweet mom made for me, so that I just had to fill them the morning of the shower.  I had a little fun with the dessert table, making a swirled flower cake to accompany the most delicious chocolate, peanut butter cake made by Melanie’s friend, Kerry.  For a little flare, I molded some cute owl pops and placed them in moss containers.  And I did up just a few cupcakes, with toasted coconut nests and cute, royal icing baby birds (thank you for the idea, Martha).  Oh, and some itty bitty eclairs, of course!  To round out the custardy, chocolatey goodness on the table.
 
 
 
 The most exciting part of planning this shower was creating the baby layette embellishment station.  I sewed my little heart out making tiny dresses and pants, skirts and bibs, burp cloths and blankets, all in coordinating fabrics.  I added a few store bought items, such as onesies and shoes to round out the collection (and because there were 35 people expected at the shower!!!)  I provided all kinds of embellishments that coordinated with the layette items for the guests to decorate and personalize an outfit for the new baby.  Buttons, appliques, ribbons, embroidery floss, everything that I could think of to make a fun activity that would leave the baby with a handmade piece from everyone.  I hung a blank tag on each item so that the person embellishing it could leave a note for Mel and the baby.
 
 Here’s a picture of my gorgeous cousin!  Isn’t she radiant with her baby bump?
 
And the two of us – thanks for letting me play baby shower, Mel!  I love you and can’t wait to meet that little princess!
 
Other Related Posts:
The Baby Shower Embellishment Station
Baby Layette – The Dresses
 

Filed Under: Crafting, Parties Tagged With: baby clothes, baby shower, party activities, party decor, vintage inspired

Make-A-Doll Pattern and Instructions

November 4, 2012 by girlinspired 49 Comments

 
I am excited to finally share the pattern pieces and instructions for the doll making activity that we did at Olivia’s 7th birthday party!  This activity is perfect for a small group of children (we had 7 total, 3 of which were mine).  Constructing the dolls is a pretty simple process.
 
Prepare Head:
Cut fabric corresponding to pattern pieces for head, hair, and pigtails.
Sew hair (bangs) onto head (face piece) along bang line; baste around edge, too, if you wish.
With face right side up, place pigtails on each side approximately 1/2″ up from neck edge.  Or place a cluster of yarn if you prefer.  Align the edges so that the pigtails lie in toward the center of the face.  Baste in place.
Lay head (felt hair) on right side of head (face piece).  Stitch together leaving neck open.  Be sure your hair/pigtails remain in the center of the head.  Turn right side out.
 
Prepare Body:
Cut fabric corresponding to pattern pieces for arms and body.
Sew two arm pieces together leaving the straight edge (where they connect to the body) open.  Turn and stuff with fiberfill.  (A chopstick works great as a stuffing tool!) Repeat for other arm.
Lay one body piece right side up and place stuffed arms on each side, aligning raw edges and setting the arms toward the center.
Lay other body piece right side down on top of arms and body.  Stitch down each side, leaving neck and bottom open.
Serge or zigzag stitch around bottom of body.  Sew ric rac around the bottom hem; be sure your stitch line is above the serger stitches.  Turn ric rac under along seam line all the way around.  (You will topstitch when you finish the doll.)  For further instructions on this hemming method, go here.
 
Prepare Legs:
Cut fabric corresponding to pattern pieces for legs.
Sew two leg pieces together leaving the straight edge (where they connect to the body) open.  Turn and stuff with fiberfill.  (A chopstick works great as a stuffing tool!) Repeat for other leg.
 
For the Party:
I prepared the heads, bodies, and legs for all of the dolls and set them in piles for the party.  Just before dinner, I had each girl pick out a head, body, and set of legs for their doll.  I had a few extra on hand and anticipated a little arguing, but it went remarkably well – no “I want what she has” at all!  After the girls chose their parts, I sent them to the dinner table and while they ate, I took the dolls and sewed all of the heads to the bodies (turn body inside out, place head inside, align side seams and neck edges and stitch around the neck).  When the girls finished dinner, they came over to the table and stuffed their dolls.  Some girls stuffed A LOT!!  They absolutely LOVES this.  Then, I helped each girl draw their doll’s face.  The fabric markers are really tricky and bleed easily.  I pre-marked the faces with a colored pencil and did the cheeks in advance.  Then, depending on the girl’s age, I helped them quickly draw lines for the eyes and mouth.  I sort of felt like making the face on your doll is an important component, but I also knew there was a high likelihood that the markers would bleed and the girls would be disappointed (and I sure didn’t want to resew dolls); I think the way we did it was a nice compromise.  If you’re going to allow your party people to draw their own faces, I’d highly recommend you provide fabric for practicing.  Then the girls had all kinds of fun cutting pieces of ribbon and twine to wrap around their doll’s hair, non-existent waistline, and legs.  When they were satisfied, they delivered their doll and leg set to me in the sewing room.  I tucked the legs into the body, readjusted some stuffing if needed (I tried not to adjust them too much), and stitched along the hemline to close the doll up.  Done!
 

You can find the fabrics I used for these dolls by clicking on the Fabric.com link below and searching for “Michael Miller It’s a Girl Thing”:

You should be able to click on the images below to access the patterns pieces.  Print to size as is and have fun!!

 

Filed Under: Patterns and Tutorials, Sewing Tagged With: fabric, party activities, tutorials

Party Activity: Painting with DIY Seashells

July 4, 2012 by girlinspired 3 Comments

Even the wildest party animals enjoyed sitting down between splashing in the pool and digging in the sand at Addison’s mermaid party.  I had a craft ready and it turned out to be a popular hangout in the shade.  Using the same molds with which I made the candy seashells, I also made paintable shells out of Plaster of Paris.  Simply follow the directions on the container to mix the Plaster of Paris solution, pour into the molds, tap gently to remove air bubbles, and allow the shells to set (about 30 minutes).  Dump the mold over and the shells plunk right out.  I put them outside in the dry heat for about 24 hours to dry all the way out, then sprayed them with a coat of clear spray paint.  The clear coat seals the shells up so that they don’t absorb so much paint and are ready to go.  I provided a bucket of shells and a bucket of paint brushes, as well as acrylic paints in small plastic bowls from the dollar store.  I also covered the paint table with a piece of (party color coordinated) oilcloth, which scrubbed down nicely after the party.  
 
Have you used Plaster of Paris lately?  I had some in the cupboard that I used to make baby foot impressions a few years ago.  I pulled it out in the spring and tried it out in a 3D egg mold and discovered how great it sets in plastic candy molds.  But since I couldn’t figure out how to dress up the molded eggs at Easter, I glued a shell on the front, propped the top open, and used them for this mermaid party as little shell-like candy dishes.  I think they look so cute filled with little candy pearls! 
So anyway….Plaster of Paris + candy molds = fun for kids, fun for you!
 
 
Plaster of Paris is available at craft and hobby stores
Candy molds are available at cake and candy supply stores and many craft stores, I got the seashell molds from Sugarcraft and Joann’s

Filed Under: Crafting Tagged With: candy molds, kid crafts, party activities, Plaster of Paris, seashells

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