Pirate Party Decoration Details

You need Pirate Garb:

Pirate Names (printed onto labels, got ideas for kids' names offline, stamped with pirate rubber stamps, sponged with brown paint):

Hooks (made with black paper cups, cardboard cut J-shaped and slipped into a hole at end of cup, then covered in foil):

Black & Red colors with pirate treasure scattered around and pirate music playing in the background:

You arrive on a dashed trail (black tape) leading to a red X marks the spot and a sign that reads "You made it to King Island...Now enter at your own risk" held by a skeleton (printed off the internet):

Signs (printed on computer and burned the edges):

(cannon is normally a tether-ball)

 Pirate Ships:

 Pirate Food:

 (Printed flags off the computer and glued to a toothpick)

 Sea Dogs: Hot Dogs, Peanut Butter & JellyFISH: Sandwiches cookie cuttered into fish shapes, Swords: Fruit on a skewer, Pirate Teeth: Corn, Catch of the Day: Goldfish and Swedish Fish, Peg Legs: Pretzel Sticks, Gold Treasure: Cheese & Crackers, Pirate's Ale: Root Beer, Fresh Ocean Water: Regular water dyed with food coloring a blueish-green

Click here to see more cake details.

And lastly--Pirate Games! 1. Hook: Try to hook as many pretzels out of the crocodile's mouth as you can.  2. Treasure Hunt: hid 7 piles of treasure (rocks painted gold) around the backyard. The kids got one from each pile and then they got a prize. 3. Walk the Plank: kids walked over a pirate ship on a board sitting on bricks trying not to fall in. Older kids went backwards. 4. Cannonball Toss: throw as many cannonballs as you can and make them sink the pirate ship. 5. Peg-Leg Race: Standard 3-legged race with a new name.:

When the kids first arrived they also had a bunch of pirate pictures they could color (printed from internet images) & a pirate parrot to make.  Thank you card is a 4X6 image of the boys blowing out their candles and on the back it says "Family and Friends are the best TREASURE of all! Thanks for coming to our pirate pARRty! (and for the awesome gifts)"

Pirate Parrot Craft Project (for kids)

At our boys' pirate birthday party, we had the kids make parrots as guests arrived.  I pre-painted the toilet paper rolls, glued the heads on (pom-poms), stapled a rubber band to the bottom (for attaching to their arm), and had everything else cut to size.  The kids got to glue on the feet & beak (pipe cleaners), googly eyes, feathers, and pirate hat (printed from online image) onto their new bird friend.  They then attached it to their wrist or arm! So fun!

Pirate Ship Birthday Cake

Idea came from Enchanted Cakes for Children by Debbie Brown.  Used MM Fondant, Debbie's recipe (in book) for the spongecake, and a chocolate butter-cream frosting from allrecipes.com.  The gold treasure, seaweed, fish, rocks, gold treasure scattered on the ship, ship planks and decorative ship parts, rope, barrels, and anchor are all MM fondant.  The flag I made on the computer, the "sand" is a mix of brown sugar, graham crackers, and gold sprinkles.  Also, the X marks the spot is a fruit roll up and the pirate is a figure from our party store.

 We had a combo party for a three and two year old.  The candles were the "cannons" (three candles on one side and two on the other for both boys to blow out).

 The shipwreck (after it was served...):

Pirate Party Invite

It's birthday season around our house!  We decided to do combo birthday party for our two older boys and the theme this year--PIRATES!  It has been so fun coming up with stuff for the party!

Here is the invitation:

I burned the edge of the wording which reads in a "pirate font": 

"Ahoy me hearties!  Come if ye dare to Pirate Nehemiah and Pirate Elijah's Birthday Bash! We need shipmates to swab the deck, walk the plank & hunt fer pirate treasure.  Aaarr!  Join us for some grub, fun, kiddie spirits & pirate treats.  Ship sets sail, so chart yer course for Saturday, July 23^rd in the year of me Lord two thousand and eleven.  We be meetin from 11:00 to 2:00.  Meet us at old man (our last name) Island (our address).  Yo ho ho let us know, wave yer flag if ye be attendin' or have yer mum send word by mail or by phone to deck hand Melissa at XXX-XXX-XXXX or (my email address).  Sees ye there if ye dare.  Aarrgghh!  (Pirate Garb and gifts optional)" The return address said "(our last name) Island" and our address.   Each person was addressed as a buccaneer (ex: "Mark, Amber and de wee buccaneers" and their address)

 

Crafting on Hold for a Few Months!!!!

So I haven't been very busy crafting/gardening/cooking lately and really haven't had the time to blog about anything I have been doing because: WE HAVE A NEW ADDITION TO OUR FAM!!  Yea!!!  For you avid followers, I hope to be back at my craft table in a month or two so don't fret!  Here's a picture of the newest little man:

Make-Up Roll

 I made this make-up roll as gifts for some family and friends.  Hope you like!

 You can put lipstick or eyeliner or mascara in the holes, then stick it in your purse so your make-up stays nice and you can find it easier!

 I got most of these fabrics as discounted remnants so it ended up being relatively inexpensive to make!

 Here they all are:

I originally found this idea from kellyrachel.com/blog and here is her tutorial that I followed:

Materials you’ll need:

• your 5″ x 5″ squares
• lining fabric 2
• light fusible interfacing
• ribbon

{Click on any image to see a larger version.}

Choose 6 of your 5″ x 5″ squares.

Cut 1.5″ off 2 of the squares.

Cut these rectangles in half along the width, so that you have 4 rectangles measuring 2.5″ x 3.5″.

Cut your other 4 squares in half.

Make 2 blocks with your longer rectangles by sewing 4 rectangles together, long edges together. You will end up with 2 blocks of 4 rectangles each. Press seams in one direction.

Make another block out of the smaller rectangles by sewing the long edges together. Press seams in one direction.

Iron the light fusible interfacing to the wrong side of one of the larger blocks and also to the smaller block.

Cut a rectangle from lining fabric 2 measuring 8.5″ x 3.5″. This is the lining for the pockets in the roll.

Now we’re going to make the pocket piece. Sew the smaller block to the lining piece right sides together, along the top edge only. Turn the fabrics out the right way and press the seam.

Place the larger block without the interfacing attached right side up on the table. Place the pocket piece on top, pieced side up and bottom raw edges aligned. Pin in place.

Sew up the 3 seam dividing lines on the pocket piece. This will make 4 narrow pockets.

Cut 25″ from your ribbon.

Lay the fabric piece down on the table, pocket side up. Fold the ribbon in half {right sides together if it has a right side}. Place the folded edge at the left of the fabric piece, in the centre. Let it overhang by about 1/4″.

Place your other pieced rectangle on top, right side down. Make sure the tails of your ribbon are tucked in and won’t be sewn into the seams. Pin in place, with one pin placed in the ribbon to keep it in place.

Sew around the sides, leaving a gap at the top about 2″ long for turning. Clip the corners.

Turn your roll out the right way, push out the corners. Press the roll, with the seam allowances of the gap you left turned in. Pin along this gap.

Topstitch around the top of the roll, around the top part only, about 1/8″ from the edge. {Don’t sew on the pocket.} When you topstitch around this rectangle, you will also be sewing your gap closed.

Prevent the edges of the ribbon from fraying by turning the ends over and stitching them down, or by applying a product like Fray Stop.

Finished! Now you can add your makeup to your roll. Close your roll by rolling it up and tying the ribbon around it to keep it closed.

Christmas Cards

A little late in sharing, but here's how my Christmas cards ended up! :)