Personalised Baby Blanket

I've had a busy weekend working on a couple of crafty projects.  The first one, which took took the longest was an embroidered baby blanket that a friend asked me to do for her sister.  The whole thing was a little challenging as there were a few different aspects to it.  First, I had to use my embroidery software to put together all the text.  Then came the machine embroidery and applique.  Finally I hand embroidered the edge with blanket stitch.  I hope little Benjamin likes it!

Happy Birthday Bethany!

My gorgeous little girl had her 4th birthday on Thursday.  I'm still in shock as to where the last 4 years have gone!  I decided to throw her a party - she's never had one before but as she has got lots of friends at playgroup, it seemed like a nice idea (little did I know it would feel like I was planning the royal wedding!)  Anyway, a fairytale theme was the obvious choice, because Bethany loves dressing up but lots of her friends are boys so we didnt want them to be left out.  This gave lots of opportunity for me and my very talented family and friends to contribute some craftiness. 

I made Bethany's princess dress from a women's red velvet dress and some fabric remnants.  I machine embroidered the crest on the front, which I think made it extra special.  She wore  the red tiara I had for my wedding. I also put together a costume for my mother-in-law.

My mum decorated the cakes, made the table decorations and made her own flower fairy costume!  

 

My sister prepared all the food and my friend Sally made a "Pin the star on the castle" game.

 

The adults dressed up too.  I was a queen, my husband was Captain Hook, my brother wore his armour (he is in a medieval re-enactment group) and my sister was an angel.

Along with the traditional party games -  Pass the Parcel, Musical Bumps etc, we had a craft table too where the children could decorate a tiara or a shield.  I put together a scrapbook of how I planned the party and asked my family to write messages in it as a keepsake.  I will add the photos to it when I get them printed. I think everyone had a good time but I won't be planning another party in a hurry!

Mod Podge Girly Shoes

My daughter came home from playgroup last week talking about her friend's "curly whirly shoes" and how she'd like some too  .  I eventually worked out that she meant "Lelli Kelly" (LOL) .  Anyway, much as I think their shoes are very cute there is no way I'm paying £30+ for a pair of shoes that may fit my 3 year old for a couple of months.  I'd seen some good tutorials on how to decorate shoes with Mod Podge and thought this was a good opportunity to give it a go.  I picked up a pair of plain white plimsoles from Primark in the sale for £1 - perfect!  Bethany was keen to help me so together we came up with these;

We applied 3 layers of outdoor Mod Podge, glitter, fabric, velvet ribbon and some embellishments made from yo yo's and buttons.  We were both really pleased with how they turned out.  Now I'm looking out for some shoes I can bedazzle for myself.