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A Gymnastics Birthday Party

January 13, 2013 by girlinspired 14 Comments

Grace celebrated her fifth birthday last week and it was the first party that we’ve done for the girls away from home.  I have had so much fun planning the girls’ birthday parties for the last seven years, so it was an adjustment (though not a surprise) when Grace asked that her party be at a local gymnastics center.  She’s a no-muss, no-fuss, all-action, all-the-time kind of girl.  She can skip the decorations and fluff – and that’s exactly what she told me.  “Mommy, I want my birthday party at the gymnastics place, and I don’t want any decorations.”  And it went on further….”I don’t want you to spend any time making decorations because I just want you to play with me.”  Dagger to the heart. 

I need you to understand how hard I work to make sure that my creative time doesn’t impede on quality time with my girls.  I mostly craft after the kids are in bed or on the days that the girls spend playing over at Grammy’s house.  On occasion, I’ll pull out a project in the daytime if the girls are all occupied upstairs playing together.  So, when Grace threw this request at me, it really triggered my mom guilt/panic. 

But, we went with it.  I planned absolutely nothing for her party except for reserving the gym and inviting a few children.  It was such a relief to celebrate the holidays without worrying about the looming birthday party that was upcoming. 

I held off from the planning until four days before the party.  I went to the craft store to get some fabric for another project and came across the cutest little mason jars.  I hadn’t figured out the cupcakes for the party, so I jumped on the chance to make something cutesy and crafty without breaking the “no decorations” rule.  Grace did specify “red” as her preferred party color, so that was helpful.

I also picked up some polka dotted oilcloth for the party table and some washi tape to stick on anything I could…..and then I found some great metallic dancewear fabric, knowing that there was no way Grace would turn down a new leotard.  In fact, she kind of went crazy for it when I made it. 

I made some little labels for the drink bottles with the guests’ names, and added a little clipart for labels to top the cupcake jars and treat bags.  I cut out larger labels and added some die cut letters for a banner.  And that’s about it. 

The party was awesome and EASY!!!  I spent very little on new supplies.  I packed everything I needed into a single tupperware bin in about 15 minutes.  I didn’t have to clean my house or panic about timing.  We loaded the bin of supplies and the kids up in the car, went and picked up balloons and some pizza and we were party ready!  And the only crafting time I put in was (when Grace wasn’t watching) at night and on my babysitting day.  Everyone was happy and the birthday girl had a smashingly good time. 

Filed Under: Crafting, Parties, Sewing, Sewing Ideas and Inspiration Tagged With: birthday, cupcakes, girl clothes, party, party decor, party inspiration

A Sweet Slumber Party

October 3, 2012 by girlinspired 23 Comments

Ready for some slumber party pictures?  I hope so because the pictures are plentiful!  
This party was my favorite yet!  Small (though definitely not quiet!) with a few good friends.  Olivia’s seventh birthday – I love this girl so much!
 Graham and I got to soak up the celebration and the preparations were just as crafty and fun, but without all the stress.  I finished most of the crafting in the weeks leading up to the party and spent the few days before converting my family room into the party place.  I removed almost all of my regular mantle and family room decor, and I shopped around the house to redecorate with pink and grey girly decorations.  
This was so much fun!  We put two mattresses in the family room for the girls to all sleep on, along with a pile of blankets and pillows.  
The girls helped themselves to popcorn and a candy/snack bar throughout the night.  It was the perfect setup for a girly night of giggling, movie-watching, and sugar indulgence.  
Breakfast was a BIG hit!! 
For breakfast we served mini pancakes (pre-made a few days prior and frozen), donut hole fruit skewers (as seen on Pinterest), sausages, and whipped cream, mini-chocolate chips, and sprinkles for pancake toppings.  

The girls went home with their own little dollies that they got to make.  If you ever have a small, slumber party, this is THE activity for you!  Every single one of them just ate it up – LOVED making their very own doll.  It was awesome.  
Okay – that’s all I have to blab about for now, but if you haven’t had enough, you can keep scrolling for more purdy pictures!
  
Thanks for hanging out! 

Filed Under: Parties Tagged With: crafts, family stories, party, party decor, sweet treats

Teatime Signature Look – Project Run and Play, The Finals!

February 10, 2012 by girlinspired 20 Comments

So, this is it!  The final round at Project Run and Play!  Are you as excited as I am?  This has been such a crazy and fun adventure and I am so honored to have been included!  I appreciate each of your comments and support so much.
VOTE HERE!!!

If you have been a follower of my blog for any amount of time, you could have probably guessed in an instant that my “Signature Look” this week would include ruffles.  And the Shabby Chic fabric is probably not much of a surprise either!  The design is new, though, and I love it!  I’m so proud of yet another entire look that was created without patterns – I think the Teatime Signature outfit is a timeless look, and I think it’s appropriate for a wide age range.  It includes a ruffly dress, a soft and fancy jacket, hair bows, and upcycled shoes.

You can read all about how I define my “Signature Look” over at Project Run and Play –
to summarize – the clothes I make are fancy, but I don’t think that limits the number of occasions when they can be worn.  We “dress up” daily and celebrate often and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

You can read the details on the outfit here, but I wanted to point out a couple things that you can see in more detail here.  In the above picture, you can see the clay button on the jacket that was handmade using a stamp and polymer clay.  You can also see the pretty lace detailing on the jacket sleeves.  Below is a great picture showing those beautiful ruffles as well as the upcycled shoes.  Have you ever put fabric on shoes?  LOVE how they turned out.  I might be hitting the thrift stores for makeover shoes for all the girls!

As an aside, I’m also LOVING how this tent turned out for a photo prop (and the girls love to play in it!)  I changed the pattern a little bit to include the ruffle around the opening.  I also used wooden dowels instead of the recommended PVC pipe and I’m really happy with the results – you can find the original pattern through Little Lizard King.

Now, pardon me while I post some additional pictures, mostly because I think my Addison is just so darn cute!  She was in great spirits for her own personal tea party while her sisters were off at school.  So silly and giggly, the best scenario for pictures that moms like to frame.  If ever I wanted to capture her personality at age 2, this is it right here!

VOTE HERE!!!!

So, that’s it!  The end of this event and on to the looooong list of nexts.  Thank you again for playing along!  And did you see that you can post your own signature looks for a final group vote next week?  I’d love to hear if you’re participating!! 

Filed Under: Sewing, Sewing Ideas and Inspiration Tagged With: fabric, girl clothes, outerwear, party, special occasion clothing, tea party

Twirling Flower Gown (what Olivia wore)

February 7, 2012 by girlinspired 13 Comments

First off, a really big thank you for continuing to support me at Project Run and Play.  I made it through Special Occasion week and am working this week on my “Signature Look” for the final project – be sure to stop in Friday to see what I’ve made!
I’m hoping to squeeze in a couple things before Friday.  To start, I wanted to share pictures of Olivia’s gown that she wore for Grace’s princess party (Are you tired of the Princess Party yet??  A couple more things, including a fabulous giveaway, okay?)
Olivia’s dress was made using three full yards of a stretchy, bouncy satin.  I have no specific information on this fabric – I picked it up in a flurry of sewing and party planning right after Christmas.  Those two weeks between Christmas and Grace’s birthday party were CRAZY!!  I sewed and photographed Addie’s entire ensemble for the first week of Project Run and Play (that was the brown silk dress), little Oliver’s entire boy look, three princess gowns for Grace’s party, AND did all the decorations and baking for the party.  Again, CRAZY!!  So when it was two days until party and Olivia’s dress still wasn’t done, I ran to Joann’s and bought a pile of several different pink synthetics, ran home, and this dress is what I ended the night with.  
It is HEAVY and TWIRLY!!  
The bodice is basically a lined tube, cut a couple inches smaller than her chest since there is so much stretch in the satin.  The floorlength skirt is very full and tightly gathered, then stitched to the tube bodice.  The hem of the skirt is finished with a very ruffly ruffle.  I finally bought a ruffling foot for my sewing machine and it definitely made this hemline ruffle a million times quicker to do!!  
The flower on the bodice that wraps over into a single strap makes this dress extra special.  I’ll do a tutorial at some point – remind me if you find yourself waiting too long!  It’s basically a long ruffle, wound around and stitched down into a flower spiral.  Then I added a few singed petals and a thrifted pearl earring to the center to finish it.  Olivia was begging for the dress to be strapless, but 1) it was too heavy, and 2) her daddy was having a heart attack over his little girl wearing something so “grown up.”  The flower strap helped on the first front, but probably not much on the second.  
Nevertheless, this princess is definitely happy with her fancy dress and loved dressing up for her sister’s birthday party.

Filed Under: Sewing, Sewing Ideas and Inspiration Tagged With: dresses, fabric, flowers, girl clothes, party, princess, singed rosette, special occasion clothing

Dancing on a Cloud Princess Gown: Project Run and Play, Week 5

February 3, 2012 by girlinspired 22 Comments

WEEK 5!!!  I can hardly believe it.  Thank you again and again for cheering me on during this fun adventure!

This week’s theme is probably my favorite type of sewing – Special Occasion/Partywear.  Since the very first garment I ever made was Addie’s first birthday dress, it has become a tradition to sew the girls dresses for each birthday party.  And of course, Grace got a perfect princess gown for her pink princess party a few weeks ago.  I just wasn’t able to show you until now! Olivia and Addie also got new gowns and I will be posting photos of those next week so stay tuned!

Today, we’ll be looking at Grace’s dress, my entry for this week at Project Run and Play.  I called this dress “Dancing on a Cloud.”  Have I told you how much I [don’t] love naming my outfits each week?  Not my best trick.  But I DO think the name this week suits this pretty puff of a dress.
Vote here!

I used a cotton silk blend in the most delicious shade of peachy pink for Grace’s gown.  The gown has a scoop neck and short-sleeves that are large and billowy, but cinched with two rows of elastic thread for a simple, princess look.  I wanted to keep the top of the dress simple for the main show…the skirt.  The very full skirt was bustled in several places in a stair-step fashion to form an inverted V.  I think the finished effect is stunning.  The sheen and drape of this particular fabric suits the style perfectly.  The back of the dress closes with ten, tiny fabric-covered buttons – I love this detail.  It’s so fitting for a special occasion dress.  The dress is finished with a wide sash that ties into a large bow in the back.  In order to provide the right support for the princess gown, I sewed a pettiskirt from multiple layers of lining, stiff netted tulle, and lightweight tulle.  The stiff tulle provides the support to hold up the gown’s skirt while the top layer of lightweight tulle adds a bit more fluff and a pretty compliment to the gown where it is bustled.  I encased all of the pettiskirt layers with a thick cotton knit waistband for extra comfort. 
This dress was really fun to make for a “princess gown”, but I also think it would be the cutest formal dress for a wedding or other super special occasion.  I think we’ll do a little how-to on the skirt of the dress in the next week or so – sound good?  

If you’ve been following along, you already know that the girls and I made a pile of glittery princess crowns for the party.  Grace selected a smaller, tall silver crown to wear on her special day – I think she looks like the most beautiful little princess, giving me such sweetie peetie smiles and holding her skirt out just so.  Gosh, I love that girl.

And thank you, thank you, thank you for your kind comments every week, I truly appreciate each and every one of you!

If you’re planning a princess party, you might also like:
Fit for A Princess – Princess Birthday Party
Princess Gown Bustle Tutorial

Lace Princess Crowns Tutorial Tutu Tablecloth Tutorial

Filed Under: Popular Posts, Sewing, Sewing Ideas and Inspiration Tagged With: fabric, girl clothes, party, princess, special occasion clothing

Fit for a Princess

January 9, 2012 by girlinspired 34 Comments

Princess Birthday Party - so much inspiration, lots of tutorials!
 
It was a birthday party fit for a princess.  Colors in pink and mauve and copper.  Golden glitter accents.  Crowns and gowns and spaces for coloring and reading.  And, of course, cake.  A cake for every prince and princess.  Laughter and squeals and hunting for golden keys.  A little group of friends.  Perfect.  Happy Birthday, Grace.
I’ve created tutorials for most of the components of this Princess Birthday Party – I hope they inspire and help you to create your perfect party for your little princess!
 
Princess Birthday Party - so much inspiration, lots of tutorials!
 
 
 
 
 
 Tutu-Tablecloth-Tutorial
Tutorial for this stunning Tutu Tablecloth can be found here.
 
Princess Gown Tutorial - learn how to sew the skirt for a gorgeous princess gown!
This post will walk you through the steps to create the skirt portion for this princess dress – you simply attach it to any bodice pattern – she will absolutely glow when she puts this on!  Click here for the Princess Gown Skirt Tutorial.Princess Crown Tutorial
 
Lace Crowns DIY (the original)  and new Tips for Perfect Lace Crowns
 
Additional Sources:

Tissue Poms – Pom Love on etsy
Little Shoes, keys, gold bows – Beverly’s craft store
Cakes, Crowns, Princess Wreath, Tulle tablecloth – handmade

Filed Under: Cake Decorating, Inspiration and Ideas, Parties, Popular Posts Tagged With: cake, party, party decor, princess

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It is my hope that you will find inspiration on the Girl. Inspired. blog. All photos are copyright protected by Girl. Inspired. If you wish to share something that you have seen here, I am absolutely thrilled! Please use only one picture with a direct link back to the project you are referencing. Thank you so much for your understanding!

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