KissKus

The crafts that went with the birthday

There were a lot of things that I needed wanted to make for Amber's birthday.
In my life there is always that dilemma: will I go mad and try to make everything myself, or will I make it easy on myself and simply buy everything? In the end it's usually a mix of both these things. For instance, I can't remember ever having baked a proper birthdaycake. However, I do make it a point to always make Amber's birthday dress.

Another thing that I find important is to think up of something creative for birthday treats for school. Last year I made fabric flowers and the year before that we made boats. I was wondering whether it's a Dutch tradition to hand out treats at school? It's just that I can't remember ever having read about it on any of the international crafty blogs that I read.

Anyway, to my mind the best treats are unique, but also simple to make. This year Michel and I came up with the perfect idea: fish rods.

Now, I would love to tell what I used to make them, but I'm afraid I'm only able to do so in Dutch: soepstengels, rode en zwarte dropveters en snoepvissen. Thanks to Nichole I now know that I used breadsticks, red & white shoestring licorice and Swedish fish. All sweets came from Ikea, so you might be able to get them there.

This was so easy to put together. We made the fish rods on Sunday and kept them fresh in ziplock bags. We decorated a cardboard box with blue wrapping paper and fish stickers (both Ikea). Then we punched holes in the box and all I had to do the next morning was put all the rods in there.

This is how we tried to transport the whole thing to school:

Amber carried it when everything started to collapse on Linus.

It was a huge success with both children and teachers (and parents).

After this there were still some things to make for her party on Wednesday. Of course I didn't start until the very last minute ;)

For the treasure hunt I made oilcloth letters that the children had to collect during the game. I used a cup to draw the circles unto the oilcloth. After cutting them out and sewing them together, I attached a letter sticker... finito!

For favours I made small oilcloth bags.

I used my girliest oilcloth... I actually love the pink gingham myself! Again, the bags were very easy to make, it's just a shame that I had to work on them so late into the night...

I made cupcakes to put in the bags. Although I don't think I can call them cupcakes...my cakes don't even come close to all the wonderful creations that I so often spot in blogland, but they looked cute enough and were tasty as well :)

In the end, this was the result:

Please notice that I re-used the letters from the treasure hunt to create bags with the girls' initials on them... pretty clever or not?!

And that was the end of that... I promise no more posts on Amber's birthday! Oh, by the way, I'll announce the two winners of the give-away in next post. Enjoy the last bit of weekend, everyone!

Girls girls girls

Yesterday we held Amber's birthday party for her friends. She had set some strict rules beforehand: she wanted princess cups and plates, she wanted a treasure hunt and she only wanted to invite girls.
So Michel and I knew what we had to work with.
We divided tasks: I was responsible for the food & drink etc. and Michel for the overall organisation and especially the treasure hunt.

 

We were incredibly lucky with the weather. After a long spell of beautiful summer weather, yesterday was supposed to be the first day of it being colder and wetter. But not over our house! It was mostly sunny and warm enough to have all activities outside.

We started with hotdogs and lemonade.

Then it was time for presents. I came up with the idea of using a dice to keep things civilised. The girl that threw 6 first was allowed to give her present. This worked very well; everyone stayed focused. No yelling or running around... that's my idea of party fun!

After this it was time for the treasure hunt. They read the instructions first... their quest was to find the silver teapot that we needed later for the tea party.

What followed was lots of exciting running:

Solving puzzles:

Collecting letters at the strangest places such as the local supermarket:

And then finally they had to put all the letters in the right order to find out where the silver teapot was hidden:

Under the slide!

After all that hard work it was time for tea (lemonade):

Please notice the princess cups and plates... when I told Amber that I didn't really like princessy stuff, she said: Well I do! And it's my party!" And that was the end of that discussion.

After some more playing it was time to take everybody home. Everyone had enjoyed themselves and Amber was very happy. Michel and I were pooped out (we've had quite a few late nights as well lately), but we were able to look back at a very successful day. Next party is in September, so we have some time to recover.

More photos are on Flickr. I really love these two photos of Simon. He kept a little distance between him and all these girls :)

Next post I'll show you the crafty bits!

Hmpf... I still don't get the photos to show up right since the Typepad-change. Any tips on how to get these photos published properly?!

All dressed up

I had bought the fabric for Amber's birthday dress more than three months ago in Amsterdam while I was shopping for fabrics for the nursery. I fell in love with it immediately and when I bought it I intended to start sewing right away, so that I wouldn't have to stress when her birthday was approaching. Well, yes, we all know how that went...

So that fabric, so very pretty I think, especially the 'main' fabric. And I still have a good bit left. Not enough to make clothing, but plenty to use for some future craft projects. (Sorry for the bad photos, but I quickly had to take some photos in the early morning before Amber put it on.)

The pattern came from Knippie, a lovely Dutch pattern magazine for children's clothing (there's also an adult version). I liked the 'country' feel to the dress. I imagine it's exactly the kind of dress you would wear while walking through a field of barley, if you were so inclined.

The pattern wasn't difficult to follow and I only made one mistake that I corrected quite well I think. The pockets were my own idea, because I felt the dress needed a little something extra.

I'm quite pleased with how it turned out and, more importantly, so is Amber. She likes long dresses and she didn't even mind that it wasn't pink.

Oh, and I made a matching headband after Heather Bailey's pattern. So quick and easy and lovely... I can't wait to make more of them. New mission: a matching headband with every outfit!

It was a very happy birthday

Our beautiful daughter is 7 years old today.
Happy birthday, Amber!!

We've had a truly lovely day. The weather was gorgeous, so we could sit outside all day. Family and friends came and brought lots of presents.
Of course we had cake too...

Amber was allowed to stay up for as long as she liked, so she only just went to bed.

I think that seven is a very special age, in between little and big. We can't wait to enjoy this new year in her life with her.

Tomorrow I'll show you her birthday dress! Here's a sneak peek:

Tablecloths, 300th post & a give-away

I've been sewing like a woman possessed today. You see, it's Amber's birthday tomorrow, so I still had a hundred things to do. Yes, I do everything at the last minute, don't you?!

The main thing that I had to do was make her a birthday dress. Ever since her first birthday I've sewn her a birthday outfit. I think I missed one year when we were on holiday in France, but this tradition is very important to me. The only problem is that every year I start far too late. However, I wasn't stressed today and I'm happy to say that the dress is almost finished.

Her birthday party's theme is high tea and I happened to have three great "tea" fabrics. These two Japanese fabrics that I bought on Etsy:

And the fabric that I scored on Queensday.
By the way, this has got to be the cutest matryoshka fabric that I've ever seen...

...this I will definitely keep for a very special project!

Anyway, I used these fabrics to make two tablecloths. They were so insanely simple to make that you could hardly call them a craft project, but still I'm very happy with the result.

 

At first I thought that I would use them for Amber's birthday only and then cut them up for another project, but I like them so much that I think they will be our summer tablecloths.

While I was glued to the sewing machine I also whipped up two medallions for Amber and her friend who swiped the whole garden (on their own initiative!):

They were so proud of them and I was reminded how rewarding it is to be able to make things: a precious moment.

So yes, it is my 300th post today!! I suppose I should have made a medallion for myself as well this afternoon :)

I've written a hundred post since July 2007. Not so much in August and September and then everyday in November. I still enjoy blogging very much. I love the combination of keeping a record for myself and the interaction with other bloggers. The inspiration I get from it is amazing.

As a thank you to all my readers I want to hold a little give-away. Leave me comment before Tuesday evening (my time <-- see the clock) and I'll draw two names. I thought it would be fun to make an oilcloth pyramid pouch and tissueholder and let the winners choose the oilcloth that they like. Oh, and lurkers... don't be shy and please leave me a comment too!

Well, I'd better get back to that dress and then get some sleep... big day tomorrow. She'll be 7!! How can I be the mother of a 7 year old?!

In honour...

of Sarah's virtual wedding we are having this delicious cake today.

It really is the best. I'm sorry you have to make do with a virtual piece, Sarah!

By the way, you look beautiful and so very happy! Congratulations!!

See this post if you want to see our weddingcake. My advice is to have cake on every anniversary!
Well, I have to go now... that cake is calling!

Two months

Today you are two months old, Linus.
Two months of cuddles and smiles, of happiness that it was you that came into our lives.



You are a sociable little man. You like to have us near, especially in the car. On your own in the backseat is not your idea of fun. Holding hands makes it a little better, but you'd rather have someone sit next to you. Luckily, your sister is right by your side most of the time; dummy and burp cloth ready at hand.

Amber and Simon are very pleased to have you as a brother. Simon can't stop kissing and cuddling you... his head above your face is a permanent fixture in your life. He often says:"Ach Linuuuuus, klein puppy hondje!! (you little puppy!)" Amber sometimes gets nervous when you cry and tells me to do something about it, but other than that she is very happy with you.

You're a very alert baby. You enjoy looking, you like to fixate on a particular spot. I made you a quilted cuddle cloth and you can stare at that for ages. I sometimes feel that I have to tear you away from it to give your eyes some rest.



You smile! Oh yes, you smile and it melts everyone's hearts. You also try to communicate with us by making little sounds. When you're by yourself you often practice happy cries.

I haven't tried to push you into some sort of a routine. I still breastfeed you whenever you tell me to, but that's usually every three hours. In the evening you are normally asleep around 9.00 pm, but definitely not always. Lately you've woken up around 5 am and sometimes after being fed you continue sleeping until 8.00 or 9.00 am. BUT last night you slept from 9.00 pm until 6.30 am!! You slept through the night... who knows it might become a habit?!

Last week you had your first bottle of expressed milk. We had to start practicing for when I get back to work (beginning of July). I had no idea what you would think of bottle, but you drank it until the last drop. I was a little hurt very happy that it was so easy for you.

All is well with you around. Having three children feels good.



Bless you, my boy!

Oilcloth junkie

So on Saturday we went to one of our favourite towns: Deventer. We went to our usual places, but also discovered some fantastic new shops. Shops that look like this (this is just a tiny corner of it):

 
And that sell gorgeous things from Green Gate and Cath Kitson and other delicious must-haves such as this plate:



I've been sensible and didn't buy much, but I did add a bit to my already quite extensive oilcloth stash:



Oh how I love that stuff! I couldn't wait to get started with it...
I made some pouches/pencil cases:



I'm not normally into girly pinkish cuteness much, but this I like! Do you see that lace? It's made of rubber... love it!

I made some more pouches, this time black, white and red. Again with the rubbery lace of course.



And two more pouches/toilet bags:



I love this retro dinner print :)

And (this is the last photo, I promise!) I made a wall organizer.



I've made these before, with both fabric and oilcloth, but this times I used eyelets. Although it's not perfect, I'm really pleased how it turned out and I'm definitely making more of these.

Some of the things above will be making its way to my shop soon. You can also see some of the new oilcloth pyramid bags there that I made last week. I told you I was a junkie!

Smiley

It will be just us and the wee one tomorrow.
We're planning a little shopping, a bit of sightseeing, a bite of lunch, perhaps a quick ice-cream... and a whole lot of smiling of course!!

We'll have fun, but I bet Amber and Simon will have even more fun (they're staying with very good friends of us)!

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

How to eat strawberries in 5 steps

1. Buy a good amount of strawberries.



2. Buy a loaf of white bread.



3. Squash strawberries with a fork.



4. Put squashed strawberries on slice of bread.



5. Add sugar.

Enjoy!



(Some silly people prefer to eat them without taking all these steps)