The craftiness of the pirate party

So this is what I made for the party in greater detail.

Each child was offered a bandanna which I made from a synthetic pirate printed fabric. I simply cut 20 inch squares - you could hem if needed, but this fabric was not going to fray so was ideal for this project.

I also found exceptionally cheap eye patches and moustaches to accompany the bandanna




With the left over material I simply top stitched the off cuts - which I shaped ever so lightly - onto bright yellow twill . To make a matching garland



Inside the party favour bag was a zipper pull, which I made using shrinky dinks. If the kids were older and a I had smaller group I would have provided them with a pencil template to colour in and make them up on the day as a party activity.

Like wise with the peg dolls - but the age range at this party was 2- 6 and I had 24 of them. Hence the hiring of a professional pirate for entertainment.



THE PARTY BAGS





To make these beauties me hearties you need

• Calico/ muslin (a think grade is preferable)
• Clear Contact
• Stamps for decorating I got mine from the wonderful yellow owl workshop
• Ink
• Grommets
• Sewing machine
• Baking paper
• Pencils

Firstly cut out the the pieces needed to construct a lunch sack I followed the Martha Stewart pattern and tutorial but reduced the sizing down to 5 inch x 17.5 inch for the main panel and 2.5 x 7.5 for the side panels.

I then decorated the front panel using the yellow workshop stamps - I found the mid point - to ensure the pattern was repeated on either side of the lunch sack when sewn up.



Lay baking paper down on the iron board the with fabric right side facing upwards- now cover with contact - and then place an other layer of baking paper on top. Baking paper protects the iron and the ironing board cover!



Then iron - you can use iron on vinyl but it is rather expensive and book covering contact is $2 a roll.




Then cut contact away - basically you are left with a form of home-made oil cloth.

I then sewed the lunch sack according to the Martha Stewart instructions - skip to my lou also has a great lunch sack tutorial (there are quite a few out there)



The only hitch is that the contact is still a wee bit tacky - I have 2 sewing machines one for delicate things and one for these kind of projects - but you do need to clean your needle regularly during this project (I made 24 of them) - I also gave the sewing machine a good clean after I completed the project. Also use a GOOD quality cotton cause this kind of project cause cheaper cottons to break continually

Once bag is assembled I used the zig zag stitch across the top of the sack and then inserted 10mm grommets in the four top corners and fed a pencil through - done. If anything is unclear would be more then answer any questions......

MY FIRST BORN IS 5

How did this happen ? - he was born into the quivering arms of my husband - who whispered gently "anything you want you shall have" - he was then clothed by my mother who claimed never to have seen a baby so ready for the world. And when he returned to my breast I told him " I knew I loved you before I had even met you" and " I need to make you a friend"

He was a baby full of grace - he slept the night through from 5 weeks. I Look back at his Kraamtijd (nursing time) as one of shear love. He would wake at 6 in the morning for a feed and then we would sleep through to 10 in the morning - the sheets smelt sweetly of breast milk.

It was such a special indulgent time and I am very lucky I had this experience, no colic, no fussing - just able to enjoy that beautiful special time reserved for the first child. I can not believe he is no longer a baby.

A pirate party was our way to celebrate!!!

A great day had by all me hearties!


brother and sister


Thoughtful pirate cam


Cam and his pirate dad


victory at the tug of war



the cake



blood and daggers cupcakes



The party favours - shrinky dink zipper pulls and a peg doll



The party bag will post about them more later

problem solved

They are salt and pepper holders - a dear friend of mine purchased them on etsy recently - what a lovely coincidence. As I have no spoons, I intend to turn them into pin cushions. Mystery solved!

two and a half

It has been two and a half years since we left the Netherlands and almost a year since our last visit. And whilst life here in Sydney is great and we all seem to have found our mojo and rhythm again - it is at this time of year I yearn for Leiden, my dear family& dear friends.

This is my favourite time of year over there everything is ready to burst into magnificent colour.

Here is a small collection of my favourite photos from our last trip circa Easter 2008 .

I have NO idea

So I bought these on Saturday at a flea market - I love their clean lines and am sure they are from northern Europe. They do not hold tooth picks and as they are made of wood I doubt they are candle holders. I think perhaps they may have been a Christmas line for a store like HEMA and possibly held chocolates. But aren't they sweet - usless -but sweet. If any one can enlighten me on the functionality - much appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

simple pencil toppers

This is a quick simple party favour project:



Tools
Pencils
Glue - Glue gun
Ink
Stamps
Interfacing (the nice and stiff kind)
Scraps of Material
Cotton Twill 3cm wide
Glitter (optional or in our house "with out exception there must be glitter" )

1. Stamp the the twill repetitively for number of pencils needed. I used ink and fabric paint - I then heat set both.


2. Cut into postage size stamp.

3. Iron fabric to interfacing.

4. Cut a front and back square, rectangle or even circle around the twill

5 Place fabric Wrong sides facing - Twill on top.

6. Sew Twill to Fabric - I used a small tight zig zag - appliqué stitch. Be sure to leave a gap at the base for the pencil to fit through

7. Squeeze a bit of glue into the pocket and insert pencil.

You can also stuff these and sew the opening , stick a magnet on the back and create a magnet

work in progress

More to come and an other tutorial!

HEMA

I miss Hema, a lot a real lot. This shop is my breakfast at Tiffany's, when ever I needed a lift I would wonder through my local Hema, just to look, feel and maybe have a koffie verkeerd in the Hema cafe.

Our return to oz - was difficult! But losing my favourite shop ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!. Anyways - my wonderful wonderful friend ( Anneke's godmother) and mum sent a huge parcel of HEMA goodies and this is what I got. IT arrived today!

I love them soooooooooo much and love feelin the hema love. Even the ironing board cover is from Hema - My house sort of smells like hema today. How wonderful!

SICK VOMIT SICK

straight after the party of the month - I came crashing down with somethin. Managed to go work on Monday and Tuesday ( I only work two days) and then collapsed. Then cameron started vomiting (he loves a good vomit story and is still talking about it) and then Anneke, so I read in bed, FOUR books to be precise - none other then the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer.

Yes the type is big and well spaced, yes the vocab is for teenage girls who learnt to speak English watching MTV, yes there are morman undertones - BUT I loved them - I was hooked - she got the whole teenage, angst, yearn thing down pat. Made me yearnful ( is that a word anyways!!!!!!!!!!) for youth, love, desire. Both edward and bella are at times disfunctional and stalker crazy, but dang if edward not is better then hot buttered toast.

I am now reading the stone diaries by carol shields and that is my adult antidote. It is FANTASTIC, all I can think is why has it taken me so long to read it????????

So whilst we have been besiged with the plague - my books have kept me boyount above the vomit and sickness.