Pennants...who knew?

I tried my hand at making one of these cute photo prop/decorations (actually I made two) this week and it was soooo easy! I cut the triangles out of felt, pinned them to a piece of ribbon and sewed them on. That's it. Really! I need to make a lot more of these. I think they look so cute in pictures. (Even though I made these for my friends baby shower, they will work double duty for me ;)

Super Birthday!

My little girl turned 4 in August. We had a joint birthday party with a friend's little boy and their mutual friends. Since little boys aren't fond of pink princess parties we had a super hero theme and the kids had so much fun! 

The kids each got their own (handmade) cape with their "super hero nickname" sewn on the back. The letters were cut out of felt and sew onto the cape. 

The baby's cape was actually a bib that was turned into a cape :D

We bought the masks online  - 12 for $2.00 at oriental trading

My little "Meanie Me" stayed in character the whole party.

My daughter helped me make the spider-man pinata.

(Click here for tutorial)

The cupcakes had an unfortunate accident on the way to the party site but they still tasted great. We were going to have a fondant cake made but the lady that makes them here was not available.

We printed traditional super hero action words and hung them around the room. Wham! Blam! Kaboom!

And then we had a super hero themed birthday banner printed with a cartoon version of each of the kids at the party in their super hero garb.

My No Sew Fleece Blanket

I finally finished my no sew fleece blanket tonight. I bought the material back in December when we were in the states and I've been putting it off for the past six months. I don't know why. It was incredibly easy. The material cost about $18. If you keep an eye out you can usually find pre-cut kits for about $25, but most of them have children's prints or characters on them and I wanted something different. I apologize for not taking pictures at each step. You'll have to accept my crude drawings as a substitute.


All you need to make one is:

• 2 equal size pieces of fleece (you can make it whatever size you want, but keep in mind they width of the fabric is usually 54" so if you want a bed sized blanket there will have to be some sewing involved) I believe I got 2 yards of each color
• Scissors
• (optional) measuring tape and pins

Lay the two pieces of fabric on top of each other good sides out. The ideal place would probably be a large table but my table was full of clutter and I didn't feel like cleaning it off so I used the bed. If you do it on the bed make sure you don't cut your comforter ;) Trim the edges to cut off any raw edges and make sure they are straight. 
Then cut a 3-4" square from each corner. I cut the first corner and then used the cut piece as a pattern/guide on the other 3 corners

The next step will depend on how anal you are. My mother and law explained how to measure 3-4" in from the edge all the way around and use pins to mark every couple inches. I just eyeballed it using my cut corner as a guide. Cut a fringe all the way around the same depth that you cut the corners to. They can be as wide or narrow as you want. They don't even all have to be the same width if you want a funky look. Just make sure they are all cut the same depth. 

After you have cut all four sides you can start tying the two pieces of fleece together. My single knots all came out so I would suggest a double knot. As an alternative to knotting the fringe you could sew around the edge with a sewing machine and leave the fringe unknotted. I may try that next time. 

When you are finished you have a super warm and cozy blanket to cuddle on the couch with!