Circus Carnival Extravaganza Posters

Here are the posters that have been designed for decorating the party for Little Princess next year.

The images used on the posters are mostly from The Graphics Fairy, and posters were created using Photoshop and Pixlr-o-matic.
The free fon'ts were found at iDiY

More Gifts in the Making

I was asked by a friend to make some chef hats for her girls for Christmas using this tutorial, so I decided to make one for little princess first as a test run. The tutorial has the words Bon Appetit embroidered on the hat band, but I don't know how to do that, so instead I just made a fabric flower to attach.

For another friends birthday I made a picnic blanket and basket set. I made the lining for the basket just kind of making it up as I went along, and it worked quite well. The cutlery holder is made from a tea towel and a vintage napkin, the top folds down over the pockets, then it wraps up and is tied with attached ribbons. The picnic blanket was put together with bits of fabric and linen out of my stash, patched together and backed with knit fabric. There is a layer of wool blanket in the middle, for insulation, so this is a pretty heavy blanket. It rolls up and ties up with attached ties. I also added to the basket some citronella candles (completely necessary here for any picnic in the evening), plastic cutlery for 4, 4 plastic wine glasses, 4 fabric napkins, a cutting board, bottle opener/corkscrew, pate knife and cheese knife. The idea for the set was to make a portable wine and cheese basket for friends, but add some plates and you could also make it work for a picnic lunch/dinner.

This is the only Christmas gift I have made so far, for my niece. I made her a fabric notebook cover, with slots for pens/pencils inside the front cover. I tried to find a tutorial, but they all seemed to make it so much more complicated than it needed to be, so again I just made it up. That's the way I do things most of the time, look at some tutorials and photos, look at my stash to see what I have, then wing it. I hate to measure and iron, so if the instructions say to do those things I skip it.

We have already started planning Little Princess's birthday party next year (over 6 months away), because it's going to be HUGE! We are having a Circus Carnival Extravaganza, and it's going to be awesome. It's going to be the middle of winter, which is a shame, but we can still make it work. If you are interested in following our inspiration for the party, you can check out my Party Ideas board on Pinterest. 

So far the ideas we are definitely doing are:

Photobooth with props like moustaches, glasses, etc on sticks, frames, hats.

Duck pond game.

Ring toss game.

Ping pong blast game.

Bean bag toss game.

Mini pie eating competition.

Candy apples and mini hotdogs.

Popcorn and candy floss.

Donuts and animal biscuits.

Tickets earned from games to spend at the prize booth.

Vintage inspired circus posters.

Light up circus letters.

Face painting & balloon animals.

Bouncy castle.

I've been busy making....

Lots of things for other people...

A dinosaur cape for a birthday boy, and one for little princess as well.

 Another messenger bag, to go with the cape.

 Some cushion covers for my grandmother, to go on her new couch.

 Some Christmas gift folders for my M.I.L. to give to her workmates.

 The folders have three pockets inside for putting chocolates, drink sachets, etc..

And a bunny costume for little princess to wear to a farm themed party. I didn't really make the costume, except sewing an oval of pink felt on the front of a white t-shirt, and tying a ribbon around a plastic carrot. Isn't she a cute bunny? But she's also a cute dinosaur, so I guess that's not really difficult.

I've still got a list as long as my arm of things I have to make before Christmas. Can I have an extension of time please??

Some Gifts I've Been Working On

Gifts for a baby shower for Hubby's workmate, who is having a baby boy.

My first quilt ever, made based on this tutorial, but with some variations (I don't do bias binding). And to go with the quilt, using the same fabrics, I made a Scottie dog rattle&squeak toy, a sailboat taggie (inspired by this tutorial), a crochet rattle ball, and a bunting card (inspired by these cards).

A fifth birthday present for one of Little Princess's friends from daycare, having a party this weekend.

I made her a messenger bag using this tutorial, A pig softie, a wand (inspired by this one), a fabric tutu (inspired by this one), a felt crown (using this pattern), and an ice cream card (inspired by this one) with a removable initial charm clipped on.

This one I made a few months back, for another birthday party Little Princess was invited to. I made a messenger bag using the same tutorial, and filled it with boy things. Then we made wrapping paper and a card together. The wrapping paper was actually really cool.

All the links in this post come from my boards on Pinterest. 

Giveaway Winner

The winner of my Month of Costumes Giveaway is Kelly. Congrats Kelly!! And thanks for all the lovely comments, I wish I could send something to everyone who commented, but at the moment I just don't have the time or the money. Why do I always forget how busy the lead up to Christmas can be?? Every year I say I will be more prepared next time, and then it sneaks up on me. Next year will be better....