Rainbow Party

When discussing her birthday about a month ago Katie said she wanted a rainbow cake, not the awesome seven layer cake where each layer is a different color but one with a rainbow on it. I thought this was a good idea and so we went with it. I browsed Etsy and Pinterest for rainbow ideas. I was still considering throwing a large party and found some great ideas. In the end I decided to go small. Grandma, Papa, Uncle and their doggies were invited for Katie's 4th Birthday Rainbow Party.

One item I saw in my research was a rainbow twirl dress. It is a dress with the ROYGBIV colors in each layer down the dress. I thought this would be pretty easy to do. We looked and found Simplicity pattern 2377 which was the closest I could find. I figured I could break the two ruffled layers into as many as needed. When we went to pick fabric we found some new broadcloth fabrics with built in sparkles. The fabric looks like it has glitter in it but it doesn't fall off, it was perfect. My mother helped with the gathering but other than that I actually made a dress! It is a size 5 so is a little big but she has some room to grow into it.

Katie loved the dress and wore it all day. She got many complements and we were even asked where we got it.

For decorations I found a few rainbow things at Party City like these hanging flower like things.

Inspired by what I saw online I decided to make bunting. I got the rainbow colors of felt and added pink. My brother cut them into triangles then I used bias tape to sew them together.

It is a great reusable decoration and it came together really quick and easy

You can also see the rainbow streamers I found at Party City. They were pretty awesome and made the picking of streamers much easier.

Of course we had to have balloons, lots of ballons.

I asked my mom to make a few things as well. She made this rainbow scarf which Katie wants to wear in the snow. She also bought rainbow beads and made a matching necklace and bracelet for Katie which I did not get a photo of. With the leftover yarn she is now working on a rainbow blanket.

Katie's original idea for a rainbow cake changed at the last minute, like I am getting ready to pour the cake in the pan last minute. She changed to wanting dots on a cake, no rainbow.

I made a plain rectangle cake and used Wilton's basic buttercream icing to decorate it. First I frosted it white then had Katie choose four colors for spots. Katie picked yellow, pink, red and violet. She was pretty happy with the results.

The cake was chocolate and accompanied by none other than chocolate ice cream. BTW you can see the rainbow bead necklace in this photo. 

I can't believe my baby is 4! It seems like just yesterday I was holding this:

Christmas Crafting

We have been getting into the Christmas Spirit, lacking a sewing machine has forced us to move to other types of projects.

One ornament project was ribbon lollipops. These came from OTC craft kits and came in three colors. They involved rolling felt and ribbon in a spiral for the top part.

My Mom has been working with Katie on decorating pine cones she collected from her yard. They have while snow (paint) and glitter

A kit I purchased at Jo-Anns made these ball ornaments that Katie decorated.

In a craft book I found a Borax Snowflake idea. I had borax and just needed to get pipe cleaners. They form over night and we have made several rounds of them. Here is one of the first ones.

After looking at some of the many ideas online I got a little more creative with the design and we also added food coloring to give them a slight blue tint.

Finally, I completed this felt wreath. It is made from a variety of shades of green felt squares. The squares are folded and cut then strung on a heavy wire. Next I put together the felt flowers and glued them along with some decorative buttons and now have a completed wreath.

Latest Project

It has been awhile since I posted any crafts, this is because I have been working on a massive one for about the last month and a half. Lets take a look...


Here is is with walls and starting to decorate, can you tell what it is going to be yet?


Another shot of the decorating process, the wall are done and these here in the front are for the ground.


Hey look at that there is snow on the ground and more sparkle on it. There in the front is the beginning of the roof.


The roof is ready to decorate! Are you ready to see the end result?


Here it is, a little gingerbread house with removable roof.


A look at the side.

And now the back.

I finished this project tonight and boy are my fingers tired. It was a kit that was fabric, thread, sequins and beads. I had to cut cardboard for the structure and cut all the fabric out. Everything was sewn by my little hands with a needle and thread. There are still a few accessories that can be added, but I think I am ready to put this project aside for now! Next up something big that will involve a sewing machine!!