Mama Hen Gets Crafty

When I started this blog, I envisioned sharing my adventures in crafting with blog land.  As usual, life had other plans for me.  The biggest curve ball was the arrival of the Little Prince.  He came into my life and my crafty endeavors kinda sorta got put on the back burner for a while.  I'm just not one of those gals who can wield a hot glue gun in one hand and cradle a babe with the other. God Bless 'em, but that's just not me.  Instead I took a step back and while the little man napped, I surfed the 'net and filled up my little brain with oodles and oodles of inspiration.
 
Last week, I was finally blessed with some time to "get my craft on" in preparation for the Little Prince's birthday celebration.  It was a treat to finally be able to tap into my creative spirit and just have some fun.  So without further ado I present to you my crafty creations inspired by so many of the talented women out there in the blogosphere.

The Bunting

I  cut the flags from 8" X 12" felt squares (two per square) and attached them to bias tape along the top.  I had hoped to sew them, but due to timing had to switch to using my trusty glue gun to get it done quickly.  The letters and numbers are self-adhesive foam cutouts I picked up from my local craft store. I don't think it should be too tough to change out the number for a different birthday. 

(Please excuse the lack of molding around my back door... the kitchen is still a "work in progress" ... and truthfully  will most likely remain that way for many more moons :)

I had some felt left over so I made this one too.  It's tough to decide which one I like better.

The Wreath

I totally borrowed this idea from here.  Around 300 individually pinned balloons ... if you are wondering.  It actually went pretty fast and didn't require too much cerebral effort ... just my kind of craft:)  I had originally planned on going with an "Up" theme for the festivities ... one of our favorite movies around here ... but due to my irrational fear of inflated balloons I kinda shifted it into more of just a generic "Party" theme for the soiree instead.  This wreath fit the bill perfectly.  I hope it lasts, because although it wasn't too hard to do, I  really don't want to repeat the job any time soon.

I also wrapped a small wreath with crepe paper and stuck about 100 Dum-dum suckers in it. I set it on the table and used it as a center piece  It  was a huge hit with all ages.  Unfortunately I forgot to snap a picture before the piglets guests helped themselves, but it was definitely an idea I would use again.

The Cake

I can't take credit for coming up with the bunting idea itself,  but the design is my own meant to mimic the felt bunting I made.  I used scrapbook paper for both the cake bunting and the toothpick flags. 

I had a set of four vintage cake pans and set out to make a four tiered round cake.  The bottom layer had ...ahem ... a bit of a mishap  much to my family's delight.... so I used a 13" X 9" cake for the bottom instead, and I think it turned out just fine.  Those circles are gummy Lifesavers meant to look like balloons, although couple of people said thought it gave the cake a nautical look. 

So there you have it. I am not sure when the next time the crafting bug will bite me, but I have two more chicklets with birthdays this summer so who knows.  The Munchkin has already put in her request for a custom banner and Boy Wonder turns 13 this summer (eeks!) and that seems to possibly warrant some extra celebratory effort. 

The party by the way was a success ... good food, lots of laughs and one very happy Birthday Boy.