Monday, November 19, 2012

A Fairy Party - the details

For Imke's 3rd birthday, we had a fairy party as I wanted to see all the little girls with their tutus and wings while their little bodies are still soft and round (and before my girlie decided that fairies are not her thing!)

Her birthday is in June, which is the middle of winter, but we have always had beautiful sunny days for her parties. And this year was no exception. 

I wanted this party to be extra special for Imke, and I wanted her to feel special and look special and everything just had to be, you guessed it, special ;-)

Lots of the decorations I handmade, as well as the tutus for the girls and the peter pan hats, swords and belts for the boys. I started very early with the planning and making, and the invites I designed also went out early (because I am a bit OCD and because I was just sooo excited!).

Here are some photos (most taken by Karin Meiring Photography)

The invitation to Imke's 3rd birthday


Tutus & wands made by me, wings bought


A felt mushroom hiding in the grass

The boys each got a Peter Pan felt hat, belt and sword

The welcome sign as guests arrived


My sister in law as a Fairy Godmother





The fabulous Sacha as Fairy Godmother nr 2 - they welcomed the little ones and granted them fairy status for the day!


Candy Buffet








I wanted a long wooden table, and long picnic style benches for the party table - my daddy made this awesome table, and we used scaffolding planks as the seats. I also sewed pink mushroom pillows for each lil bum :-)




fairy princess Imke surveying the scene



This beautiful fairy cake was made by Jacqui - the most fab cake lady ever!

The most beautiful soon-to-be fairy waiting for her guests!

Getting dressed in her fairy get-up

with her mommy & daddy - so excited for the party!


 Here are some pics of the little fairy guests











Having everyone sing happy birthday to her just made her day!

Bless her little heart, so HAPPY!


I asked all the mommies to bring their childrens' plastic motorbikes with and I set up a craft table where they could decorate a treat box to their hearts content, and then mommy could fill it with all the sweeties and cupcakes that was available. I also gave them little plastic bottle with edible glitter and jelly powder, so they could mix their own fairy dust.

It was such a wonderful day! I just loved seeing Imke so happy and feeling so special. Makes all the hard work and late hours so worth it <3

I am already thinking of next year's party - Imke has requested a Pink Pirate Princess Party!

mwah
xxx

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Imke loves pink!

In Imke's room, I painted pink vertical stripes on one wall (with the help of my dad), and added the Subway art I did for her. I also made pink, blue, yellow & purple patterned bunting for her wall above her bed. An old book shelf of mine I painted purple, and stencilled butterflies on the side to match the paper I stuck to the back of the shelves.

pink stripes, with green tape still on






Old maroon painted bookshelf


Painted lilac, backing paper added and butterflies stencilled





Imke admiring her new bookshelf


Wall art I did for her room



I've sung the song from Dumbo for her from when she was still in my tummy!


Bunting



My girlie in her pink palace



She still needs a new light fixture & fan in her room, and I want to change all the cupboard handles to something a bit prettier.

She loves her pink room, and shows it off proudly to anyone who comes to visit!

Mwah 
xxx

Monday, November 12, 2012

Projects 2012 - Part 2 - The Purple Princess

I bought this old ratty chair on Bid or Buy for R250, and it has been standing in the studio waiting for me to do something to it since we moved in Feb.

Then my dad helped me build some bookshelves for a little nook in the house, and immediately I knew where that chair was going to live out its life.

I had a vision of bright, sunny yellow bookshelves housing my very big book collection, and it needed a contrasting colour to show it off to it's full potential. And the purple princess was born!

I first cleaned it up cause it was nasty dirty! Then a good sand, and gave it 2 coats of Rust-O-Leum's Heirloom White. I chose this purple velvet-ey fabric from Chamdor because I liked the colour, and the pattern and it was inexpensive enough so that if I screwed it up it would hurt too much.


So here is the before and after:









I absolutely love how it came out - SO happy that my first chair upholster was a success!


Here she is on her new home, keeping the yellow bookshelves company (those shelves are way too full, I know! When the other 4 shelves are up on the opposite wall, it will look better)








I learned a lot while doing this revamp and would like to share some tips.

1) If it is your first attempt, do not tackle your Ouma's prized riempies bank! Get your hands on something that you won't mind messing up a bit in the process of learning.

2) Don't buy the most expensive fabric - you will cry big tears if you spend big money on Hertex fabrics, just to mess it up.

3) Get the right tools - at the very least you will need a staple gun, a hammer (preferable a rubber hammer) and a pair of pliers. I cursed the whole way through hammering the studs in as my hammer was too big and I was struggling to get into the nooks and crannies.

4) It takes time.. This chair took me about 2 full days (spread over 2 weeks lol!) - and make sure you have all the tools and things you need before you start. I didn't know I was going to want to put studs on this chair, then rushed off to go buy and the shop was closed.

5) Have fun! If you are keen to attempt a project like this, have fun and enjoy the process, even if your first attempt is not perfect.



My girlie also wanted to share in the excitement of the finished purple princess!!






Mwah
xxx





Friday, November 9, 2012

Can you smell it?? It's almost Christmas!!


I am SO looking forward to Christmas this year! Everytime I think about the whole family together and my little girlie’s excitement, the rush of joy and happiness makes me grin form ear to ear.

This will be Imke’s 4th Christmas, and every year she understands more and this year her excitement is palpable. She has asked me to write to Oupa Christmas (she has called Santa ‘grandfather Christmas since she saw her first santa clause at our Moms & Babes Christmas party in 2010), and has requested a scooter, a pink ball and the ‘Pirates, band of misifts’ movie.

She has also been cast as Mary in her school concert, and her best best friend, Thomas, is Joseph. I can NOT wait to watch them! Imke has been taking her role super serious, and has asked us to call her Mary lol!

Last year Imke, J and I made all our decorations for the tree ourselves, and I want to do the same this year. My friend Jess (who has an awesome blog you can check out here), has shared this recipe for a clay you can make at home and then paint etc – will be perfect for this years’ tree.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
1 cup salt
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup luke warm water

Directions
1. In a large bowl mix salt and flour.
2. Gradually stir in water. Mix well until it forms a doughy consistency.
3. With your hands form a ball with your dough and kneed it for at least 5 minutes. The longer you kneed your dough the smoother it will be.
Store your salt dough in a air tight container and you will be able to use it for days.
You can use cookie cutters to cut out shapes and stamps to imprint into the clay once they have been rolled out. Experiment with pressure to find the perfect amount you need. Paint your creations with acrylic paints and seal with varnish or polyurethane spray.
You can let your salt dough creations air dry, however salt dough can also be dried in the oven. Bake at 200 F until your creation is dry. The amount of time needed to bake your creations depends on size and thickness; thin flat ornaments may only take 45-60 minutes, thicker creations can take 2-3 hours or more. You can increase your oven temperature to 350 F, your dough will dry faster but it may also brown, which won't matter if you are painting your entire creation (you can also cover your dough in the oven before it turns brown).
There are a few options to color your salt dough: 1. Add powdered tempera paint to your flour, 2. add food coloring or paint to the water before you mix it with the salt/flour, or 3. add natural coloring like instant coffee, cocoa, or curry powder.

Here are the decorations we made last year




I am putting a countdown to Christmas ticker on the blog – just to get my even more excited! ;-p
xxx

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Oh, the beauty of this little voice!


Whilst going through my huge collection of Imke videos on my phone, I came across this one, and just had to share :-)

 

 

Monday, November 5, 2012

School Photos

Every year at Imke's school they get photographer Jill Hugo to take photos at school for a whole week - she gets the kiddos doing their usual things at school, so very few posy photos. I always look forward to her pics of Imke, and this year is no exception. Thanks Jill, Love them!










xxx