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lots of love!

33. lego party invitations

just to prove i have other children (besides isla) (heh), here are the invites for my son t's 6th birthday party

i'm completely biased but i think these turned out adorable!

here they are lined up in a row

the theme was the time worn favorite of boys (and some men, and girls) all over: lego.  i love this theme because it was perfect for a bunch of 6 year old boys. (more perfect than i could have imagined...) lego as a party theme is actually quite flexible for party games, decor, and food, too...i will have to do another post about that

so my baby boy is 6! sniff sniff
by the way, these cards fold up as their own envelopes like the valentine cards i made earlier this year

32. soft fabric block for baby

exactly what the title says! a break from the strawberry postings...i like this green color and i love how it goes with my favourite colour orange

i made this for my friend's baby boy, who just turned one. happy birthday, little guy!

see how the hand stitched part is so visible? does anyone know how to sew this part ..uh...less visibly?

this was 6 squares sewn together and stuffed with soft filling. i also threw a few dry beans into an emptied-of-the-toy kinder surprise "egg" (you know, the plastic thingy that holds the toy! not the chocolate part. i realize that is also an egg...) to make a rattle and pushed that into the middle of the stuffing. i can't think of a simpler toy to make that is so cute!  i especially love the fabric with the ducks

here it is all wrapped up for the birthday boy

this project kind of encompasses all my favourite sewing methods: it is sort of patchwork (cute squares of fabric), there is a bit of hand sewing (just enough so it doesn't overwhelm me), it is quick and easy, and the result is super cute. ahh...there is bliss in staring at these pictures! haha, i am so cursedly simple to please

31. strawberry cupcakes

as promised, the strawberry mania continues...

these were enjoyed at isla's first birthday party (eee!), which was strawberry shortcake themed. i did not choose to make strawberry shortcake only because i simply could not pass up the opportunity to use my new cupcake stand, which i got at michael's with a coupon. yeay, savings!

i thought i would share my favourite cupcake recipe. it is a vanilla cake recipe from kitchen for kids that i have been baking with my sons for a few years now. it has never failed. and to me, with whom many a recipe has failed, that is onus enough to make it a keeper recipe forever. actually the recipe is for a small cake, but i experimented with changing it into a cupcake recipe (since i have made it before without fail and am now brimming over with uber-confidence) and it worked!

Strawberry Cupcakes 


adapted only slightly from Kitchen for Kids by Jennifer Low
makes about 10 cupcakes

1 cup plus 1 Tbsp flour
2 tsp baking powder
sprinkle of salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, soft
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk
your favorite frosting
strawberries to decorate

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2. put paper muffin cups in muffin baking tray
3. sift flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl
4. in another bowl, cream sugar and butter, then blend in egg and vanilla
5. whisk in milk, stir in spoonfuls of flour until batter is smooth. i do this completely by hand with the boys (sometimes). it only takes a few minutes and the boys think it is fun! of course, use a machine if you have one. i don't. (still waiting for that kitchen aid, hubby dear)
6. pour into muffin cups about 2/3 full and bake about 30 minutes. cupcakes should be pale golden and skewered clean in middle. they are delicious! edit: strangely, i baked these again and they only took 22 minutes. so...just make sure to watch your oven and set the timer for 22-25 minutes, not 30. my bad
7. decorate with white frosting and halved strawberries for a simple but celebratory effect

now wasn't that a simple recipe? i love simple recipes

even the leftover cupcakes with melty frosting looked yummy...you can bet i finished these off

and guess who showed up at the party courtesy of my rat-packing sister?

ms. strawberry shortcake herself! count as vintage? 20+ yrs old, my old strawberry shortcake figurine still smells faintly sweet like the day i got her. oh, nostalgia

30. strawberry outfit

this was isla's birthday outfit:

my first shirred top. i also added elastic to the bottom to make it look more like a strawberry. i sort of followed the instructions for the shirred dress in weekend sewing. sort of. it seems i am no good at following sewing instructions. i kind of look at the pictures only and then assume i am an expert...(also can see one of my strawberry goody bags in this picture)

the top was to be paired with green bloomers to get an upside-down strawberry look. it was a bit chillier than expected on her birthday, so i threw a onesie on her, but you get the idea

here is a better shot of the bloomers, made according to the ruby bloomers pattern, also found in weekend sewing. yeay! i am making use of this book at last!

29. strawberry goodie bags/stuffed toy

there is going to be a lot of strawberry going on here, so get ready. i've been in a very berry kind of mood lately...

don't they look delicious in a bowl?

how about hanging from the vine? (or in this case, from the umbrella on our deck)

how about filled with candy? which is what they really were ... the poor mothers whose kids got them... i did redeem myself by stuffing the bottom halves with polyfil, so when the candy is all gone, the moms can fill up the strawberry with more polyfil, tie the whole thing closed and use it as a stuffed toy. although admittedly, they are rather giant. alternatively, one can also empty the strawberry entirely and use it as a small bag

ok, well the most important question here is: why would anyone make loot bags/goodie bags anyway? to give away at the end of a strawberry themed birthday party, right? so can you guess why i made these?

yep, my baby girl is 1!

happy birthday, sweet darling

knit skirt for baby

i am bogged down by my knitting projects right now, so sewing is quite impossible. but while i was having computer problems last month, i was looking through some old photos on my macbook, and i came across some projects i've never blogged about before. thought i would share a few in the interim between finishing up some knitting and doing some new sewing.

here is a knit skirt i made last year around this time. it is on my ravelry page. it was knit during my pre-baby knitting blitz

doesn't it look sweet with the cardigan?

isla has worn it a time or two, but it just seems so delicate (made with soft baby yarn and all)...now that she is crawling around, i need "tough" clothing for her. clothes that can stand up to rubbing against the floor at 50 knees-on-the-floor per minute, right?

happy long weekend !!