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The plans are in place. Well… almost in place. πŸ™‚

Last week we decided it was about time to start planning Piper’s first birthday. It started with having a few friends over to the house, then we talked about a soft play adventure, and now there is another plan on the cards. We will make our minds up eventually.

One thing i knew for sure was that i wanted to make Pi a party hat. I spied this fabulous hat on pinterest, isn’t it beautiful!? It inspired me to pull out the fabric and get crafty! {Click on the photo to visit the etsy page where there are other lovely things to drool over!}

After a few chewed pencils and a little bit of sketching i set to work. Once I started I was on a roll, it only took two short evenings from start to finish.

So…What do ya think?

So, as usual, i was making it up as i went along πŸ™‚ To begin i drew a semicircle onto a piece of paper, curled it to make a cone and trimmed it a little. I drew around the template to cut out a piece of interfacing to use as the base of the hat to make it sturdy. Then i stuck the interfacing to fabric using spray adhesive. This held the fabric in place to allow me to cut it out and sew around the edges. {note to self: this worked really well. Definitely will be doing that again}

For the pretty felt panel I used spray mount to stick felt to paper then ran this through the cuttlebug using a die to cut out the shape. This was really easy. It didn’t cut the whole way around but a few snips of the scissors and it was fine. I used a zig-zag stitch to sew the edges to create definition and to ensure it wouldn’t fluff away/fray. I did the same with the number one (hand cut).

To make the trim i cut strips of green polka fabric and used the machine to make a long straight stitch up the middle, then pulled the thread to ruche the fabric. It was looking a bit bare so i added some tulle (everything looks prettier with tulle!). I had to hand sew the ruche on because i had already sewn the hat into a cone shape. Next time i’ll definitely wait and do everything on the machine first! (sewing through all they fabric and the interfacing was a MISSION!).

For the top i looked in my stash for pom poms but i think that must be the one thing i haven’t got, but i salvaged some of that green fabric and made a little fabric poof pom pom by gathering circles together. To finish, I added a little cord for Piper’s chin but in hind sight i think i might replace it with light elastic.

We took some photos of the princess in her hat to use on the party invites. She looked adorable, but the hat kept slipping, so elastic is definitely the way to go. I’ll share the party invites soon.

Thanks for popping by, and a special mention goes out to Ellen Mandriss who liked the facebook page this week. Thanks for your support Ellen. β™₯

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Another Monday morning = another MAN-day Monday. Thanks for joining me today.

I know things have gotten slow and i’m really sorry about that. Working full time and being a mom doesn’t leave me as much time in my life for crafting. I’m ok with that, because i am just so thankful that i still get a little time to do the things i love. The good news…we have managed to get a new laptop! Yippppeeeeee! That was really the big thing that was slowing me down, as my ‘craft table to website’ workflow wasn’t as streamlined as i needed it to be.

I have been being crafty, and eventually i’ll get to tell you all about the things i’ve been making- when i get a chance to photograph them all. AND, i even went to the Craft Show in Farnborough at the weekend, watch this space for a video of my purchases! πŸ™‚

Right…on to MAN-day Monday!

This card has a little back-story….
Last week I had a wonderful surprise at work.
One of our Regular Meeting Room hosts was in the centre one Monday morning last month and asked me what i did at the weekend. I was telling him about the NCT Nearly New Sale that i went to, trying to get stocked up on 12-18 month clothes for Piper. At nursery they are always playing with chocolate pudding or flour or paint or some other messy stuff, so I don’t want to pay a fortune for clothes that will get ruined, and lots of the clothes at the Nearly New sales are almost like brand new.

So then…last week I arrived at work to find a big bag by my desk, brimming with pink and red fabrics. I couldn’t believe it! Dear sweet Simon had raided the closest of his daughter to clear out the clothes that she had outgrown. What a sweetheart! I was so excited i had to look through them all at work and then again when i got home. {It won’t be long until I need to refresh the wardrobe again, just a few weeks until the big O.N.E.!}

So I needed a extra special Thank You card with a masculine feel, and here it is. I chose grey for a cool, professional, masculine fee – I think this paper reminds me of a pin stripe suit! The white twill and embossed greeting gives a lovely contrast with the background and adds a little interest and texture to the simple card. Β The flag – well that bit was just for fun!

Have a great week you guys.

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Hi everyone, it’s time for another MAN-day Monday, and today it’s a home decor item for all those little princes out there.

I made this little canvas hanging for little Alfie. He is at Piper’s nursery and is usually there in the same room when I collect P in the evenings. He is always hanging around P, playing with her or watching her from a distance. He even comes up to me with toys so I play with him or read him a book for a few minutes whilst the team get Piper’s day sheet organised. He is a sweetheart, and because of that I always say that he is Piper’s boyfriend.

You can pick up these mini canvases at some art shops- these ones I got in France yeaaars ago.

To decorate the canvas, first I cut a heart out of red scrapbook paper. Next I stamped the Friend Definition stamp from Hero Arts onto white card stock using the grey Pumice Stone distress ink. I stuck the heart to the stamped card and cut around it, leaving a border. I used wet glue to stick the paper together- Anita’s tacky glue, as I wanted to ensure that it had a firm hold and that it would withstand time. Next I popped a brad through the two layers, and stuck the whole thing onto the canvas.

The next bit was the tough bit- choosing which letter stickers to use. I decided to go with these doodlebug ones as they had a childlike, whimsical feel.

I thought about adding twine, but ribbon would secure better- i lay the canvas face down and placed the ribbon on top, securing to the back of the canvas with staples. I had to hammer the staples in a little bit (I didn’t have a staple gun, just an office stapler) but they were 100% secure.

Why not make a cute little wall hanging for your little princes and princesses!!?

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