That's how old my baby is. Seven. First Grade. Really? Already?I queried her regarding birthday plans and she surprised me by asking for a family only party. Gosh, that's a lot less trouble/headache/expense for me... why not?
My first party plan involved creating (sewing?) a banner. I've seen them everywhere and thought I could pull it off. I was only partly right. I wanted something she could use after the party to decorate her room. Am I crushed that she's shown zero interest in the idea and has a pile of banner lying in a pile in her room? Maybe. A little bit.
I decided to use pinking shears to avoid fraying on the cut edges and to reinforce the triangle concept. It took quite a long time to cut out all those triangles using my grandmother's 63 year old pinking shears. Have you used 63 year old pinking shears lately? Don't. Not sharp. At. All. After all the angst (math! argh!) of figuring out the most efficient way to cut the triangles I just wasn't up for making the pennants double sided so lazy single sided they are. I figure, they'll be at a distance. No one will notice all the mangled fabric where the scissors bit but didn't cleanly cut the fabric. I notice though.
I used heat and bond, ironing them to the back side of some moderately coordinating fabric. They started falling off immediately. Enter sewing machine. I tested out several different stitches until I found one that would be moderately durable yet not clutter up the ribbon face too much. How many times did my bobbin run out? Can you guess? Too many to count. That's what I get for not winding bobbins fully or trying to get utility from half used bobbins. Anyway, glad my kids weren't home as my language skills not only deteriorated to grunts and shrieks but were interlaced with expletives as well.
Since I had all this leftover fabric I decided to try my hand at applique. Once more I used my grandmother's 63 year old pinking shears to cut out an Arial Black 70 pt "7". Again, bad idea with the pinking shears.Anyway, after deciding that the misaligned zig zags would have to do I used heat and bond to affix the seven to a shirt she'd professed to hate. No use in destroying a shirt she actually likes, no? I wasn't sure that would hold and I didn't trust myself with the sewing machine so I hand stitched (you read that right, me + needle + thread) the perimeter of the seven. A good ironing of the whole thing and she was set for birthday day.
I recently attended a craft fair and saw loads of fabric covered button pony tail holders like these. Enthralled, I decided to make one and it exceeded all my expectations. Of course, my expectations were rather low at this point following on the heels of the pink shears and crazy zig zag stitch. Anyway, just get a button kit, cut out a circle (based on template provide on back of button kit package, and voila, a fabric covered button. The buttons I used were about 1.5" in size so the shank was big enough to thread a skinny pony tail holder through. Here's a great tutorial.
A family only party is great for stress reduction (we have more of a family twig than a family tree, Marc and I being only children) but I wanted birthday girl to have some fun with her friends too. Classroom cupcakes fit the bill. Slacker mom that I am used boxed cake mix, tub frosting and sprinkles. I "designed" cupcake toppers using a scan of the now ubiquitous fabric. Both kids help me cut out the circles and we taped them to toothpicks that I stuck into the cupcakes before presentation. Like the lighting here? Full disclosure...the cupcakes are sitting in the back of my truck in the school parking lot just before I took them in.For her real birthday cake, the box and tub made a second appearance, this time in horseshoe form. I'd planned on making a quarter sheet cake or a two tier round (nothing fancy) and letting the birthday girl decorate it with hordes of tiny plastic horses that litter her room, the living room, the foot of my bed, etc. We've done this before (see the six hat?) with store bought cakes but that was just too much cake volume for our small fete this year.
Much to my surprise my mom buys a horseshoe shaped pan so a horseshoe shaped pasture it will be. We colored regular granulated sugar with blue food color for the pond, we used Halloween milk duds and whoppers for boulders, flower shaped sprinkles for the flowers, crushed nilla wafers for the "road" and seven year old outdid herself with the horses. Not our best work but she liked it.So what's a seven year old like? Smart, but not interested in academic performance. Competitive, always trying to outdo her brother. Funny, making us guffaw with laughter at her observations and commentary. Sweet, offering to share treats, give back rubs, and on the ready with kisses. Dramatic, always a bit louder, jumpier, whinier, or tearier than the situation necessitates. Beautiful, with amber colored hair streaming behind her, a scattering of the cutest freckles ever, and large greenish eyes. She's a gift, a blessing, cherished.
