Saturday, September 25, 2010

On the Porch

Good news--I got to knit last night.  On the porch.  Listening to the crickets.  Until after 10pm.  In shorts and a tank top--it was that warm!  Yay! 

I'm currently working on a raspberry and a pear hat.  I'm also working on whittling down the list of "hats to make" before my big debut at the Holiday Traditions Craft Show.  Knitting on the porch makes the list that much more tolerable.     

Friday, September 24, 2010

Baby Shower Games & Activities

Does anyone else despise those cheesy games that you have to play at baby showers?  The ones that make the entire experience seem to drag on?  Well, for this shower I knew I wanted action and fun!  We had one activity and two games to play.  Both of the games were kind of low-key--play them if you want, but don't feel obligated. 



Game 1: Animal Pregnancy
In this game you had to match the name of the animal to the number of days of its gestational period.  Wow--an elephant is pregnant for like 2 years! 

We played this right at the beginning of the shower...after all the chit-chat.  I think it scared some people off, though when they only knew the answer to the Human gestational period! 

Here's the link to where I got the game from, along with the answer key. 



Game 2: Baby Food Guessing
In this game you have to look at the baby food jars and guess what each type of food is.  I removed the labels from each jar, wrote a number on the lid, then left the game sheets in the bowl (see picture).  The player then had to match up the jar number to the name of the foods (I put all the options on the game sheet.  This is very challenging if you purchase all foods of similar color!

I left this game in the Music Room for people to work on as they milled around.  If there was downtime, they were able to join in on the fun.  At the end of the party, I announced the answers and guests checked their work.   

I like that this game is very "double-duty".  I passed off these jars to my sis-in-law, along with the key.  Then she can use them for baby later on!

Here's a modification that I think would be fun...
...instead of guessing based on sight, leave mini spoons and have guests do a taste test and write down what they think it is.  This could be soooo fun if done with the right crowd! 



Activity
Thanks again to Miranda, the quintessential "make baby onesies" activity has been improved and modernized!  At the shower we made onesies, but with fabric designs, instead of drawn ones.  It was fun and resulted in a lot of action during and a lot of cute garb after the activity.  At the end they were all hung on a clothesline for the handiwork to be admired. 


If you want to try it out, read these directions.  The only issue I had was with the wonder under.  At JoAnns when I requested it, they asked me if I wanted "light-weight" or "heavy-weight".  Assuming that heavy-weight was for denim, corduroy, etc., I requested the light.  WRONG.  Make sure you specify "Pellon 805" or the "paper-backed" wonder under.  Otherwise you might end up with an ugly onesie, with fabric that doesn't stick very well, and then have to return to the craft store to purchase the correct item so that your shower guests don't get frustrated and use four letter words when it doesn't turn out right....


Hard At Work


The Happy Mother-to-Be



**The baby shower madness will continue for a few more posts!**

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Baby Shower Decorations Continued--Bunting





This is one of my favorite decorations of the whole party (well, after the pom-poms).  It took a little bit of work, but it wasn't too difficult.  There was a lot of cutting and ironing involved, but the actual sewing was minimal...and super easy.  I followed this tutorial. 

One of the most fun parts was choosing the colors!  Since the baby is probably a girl, they are sticking with green, yellow and brown as the nursery colors.  I found the pink and green polka-dot fabric and fell in love, then chose the complementing fabrics based on that one.  I think I will be making many more banners like this one! 

The other exciting part was that I got a new tool to complete the project--rotary sheers and a pinking blade.  How easy is cutting now?  I L-O-V-E it!  Best purchase yet!!  ...besides knitting supplies...and the sewing machine.  I just have to make sure to hide it from The Mister! 


Monday, September 20, 2010

Baby Shower Craftiness

This past weekend I was able to help "shower" my sister-in-law for the coming arrival of her new babe!  I did decorations/entertainment while my mother-in-law did the food.  It was tons of fun preparing and setting up.  We had the perfect location at my in-laws house--an early 20th century home with lots of character and room for a crowd.  The only downside--the place has three (count 'em, THREE) fireplaces within the FOUR different rooms that we used--that's a lot of decorating!   

I'm going to highlight some of the projects that I did, even if most of the ideas came from other people.  I must say, there were compliments a-plenty, but one must give credit where it is due.  I have to give a shout-out especially to Miranda, for her crafty ideas and for answering my questions on the how-tos!  I planned much of this shower based on her famous bridal shower posts!   

First project up, the Paper Punch Garland.  See how cute it looks at the Roommate ReunionThis is what I did:  punched out circles using my paper punch and coordinating scrapbook papers (I found a great deal on a whole stack at TJMaxx, of all places.  Then I sewed them together with white thread, leaving about 1/2 inch between each punch.  Be sure to lay out your circles ahead of time so that you can plan your colors in a specific order. 

You may have also noticed the AWESOME pom-poms in the photo.  For a great (and easy as 1-2-3) tutorial, check this out.  You'll want to make them for all your parties.  And hang them up all over your house.  And not take them down for days...even if the party is over.  Thankfully for my in-laws, I did remove them before leaving at the end of the weekend. 

So how did our garlands and pom-poms turn out?  Check out these photos:


Still more to come....baby bunting, games/activities, and the FOOD!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Reminisce

One year ago today I was on the beautiful island of Nantucket and said "YES" to my best friend!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

1st of 2nd and 1st of 8th

This is the first post of my second blog ever.  Here's to hoping I actually get some followers other than my dutiful and sweet family members!

Can't believe that tomorrow is the first day of my eighth year of teaching.  Seems as though it was not too long ago I was a fresh, naive, young woman, wanting to change the world, many students at a time.  My how years of experience make you more realistic.  Here's to an exciting new year of new students and new challenges.  May some of my vim and vigor of year one influence year eight!
 
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