Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Cutting Cricut glitter iron-on vinyl with a Silhouette Cameo

My daughter requested a mermaid party for her birthday this year, and I had so much fun making it special for her!  I knew she'd love wearing a special birthday outfit, so I made a glittery mermaid shirt and gathered skirt out of mermaid fabric.

I have a Silhouette Cameo (a fun little machine that cuts custom shapes), but I could only find Cricut glitter heat transfer vinyl at Michael's.  I figured it would be similar enough to be able to use in my Silhouette Cameo.  WARNING!  The pre-set Silhouette settings are wayyyy off!  I immediately ruined my cut board and about half my vinyl.  Lesson learned...do a small test cut first!



To save you the same heartache, here are the settings I used:

Ratchet depth: 3
Cut Speed: 4
Thickness: 10
Double Cut: Yes

It was super easy to weed, didn't cut through the vinyl backing, and definitely didn't ruin another cut board.



To make the mermaid, I Googled for images of mermaids.  I wanted a mermaid that was pretty but not sexy.  I used Silhouette Studio to trace the mermaid and make a cut file.  Then I cut her out of Cricut iron-on glitter using the cut settings above.  I ironed the mermaid onto a plain white shirt, and voila!  Special party shirt!!!

For reference, the shirt is a size 3, and the mermaid is 7" tall.






Friday, May 26, 2017

A Very Hungry Caterpillar Baby Shower

This past weekend I hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law. It was themed after Eric Carle's book The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  I was very thankful to have my other sister-in-law and friends of the Mom-to-be helping me with this.  We divided up duties, and I got to do all the decor!  Thanks to Pinterest, I found several cute ideas I was able to copy.

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We invited guests with these cute on-theme invitations.


I made this Hungry Caterpillar welcome banner using cardstock and my Silhouette Cameo to hang behind the chair where she would open gifts.  I even found a font similar to the one used in the book!  The red circles are 8" and the green circles are 6".



The paper lantern caterpillars are made using 10" red lanterns for the heads and 8" mismatched green lanterns for the bodies.  I found the most affordable lanterns at the Paper Lantern Store.  These sizes are fine for a smaller space, but I wish I had used larger ones for these large rooms.  I used command hooks (3 lb. strength) to attach the caterpillars the ceilings so I wouldn't have to poke holes with tacks.  The lanterns are strung onto fishing line.  I used cardstock and my Silhouette Cameo for the face pieces and feet!



I made the giant fruits by painting large swoops of paint onto posterboard (a glass of wine helped me be extra swoopy with my brush strokes, lol).  I used the paintbrush I normally use for painting trim and baseboards, and several colors of acrylic paint I had on hand.  After making all the swoops, I flipped the posterboard over and drew out the fruits, then cut them out.  I traced a roll of blue painters tape for the holes.  These were a great way to make large decor for a big room.



The diaper cake is made from about 60 Size 2 Earth's Best diapers (because they're plain white, the larger size helps make the cake larger, and I just really love this brand).  I used Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny for the book layer, and clipped them together with paperclips.  I managed to find Hungry Caterpillar ribbon to wrap them up, and topped them off with a few Eric Carle toys!  I tried accessorizing the cake with mini versions of baby toiletries, but it looked too busy.


We asked the guests to sign a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, as well as address an envelope for the Mom-to-be to use for her thank you notes.  With 45 guests worth of thank you notes to write, she needs all the help she can get!

We also asked guests to bring a book to build the baby's library!  I think he's going to be quite literate!  The quilt is made from an Eric Carle 10 Little Rubber Ducks panel.


A family member made this amazing caterpillar cupcake display!



My other sister-in-law developed a delicious menu: yogurt bar, croissant bar (she MADE them at the house which made the house smell so yummy) with egg salad and chicken salad, pinwheel sandwiches, mini muffins, Duck Donuts, and a popcorn bar.  She complemented the spread with a cocktail we named Peach Sparklers, which were made from peach puree, orange juice, and champagne.





Friends of the Mom-to-be created a draw-your-own bingo board where guests first filled out items they thought might get opened, then marked off squares as the gifts were unwrapped.  They also broke up the gift portion of the shower with two games, one with nursery rhymes and one with children's books.

I really couldn't be happier with how the shower came together!  It was cute, had great food, and fun activities.  But most of all, it brought together this amazing community of women who are super excited to welcome this sweet baby into the world.

Hopefully some of these ideas come in handy if you're planning a Very Hungry Caterpillar Baby Shower or Very Hungry Caterpillar Birthday!


Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Mommy and Me skirts for Mother's Day

Hello there!  I wanted to pop in with a quick post about the Mommy & Me skirts I just made for Mother's Day!  This is a great sewing project for someone with beginner-level skills or someone looking for an adorable end product without spending a ton of time!  It's all straight lines!

Mommy and Me gathered skirts | bonnieprojects.blogspot.com


I used this blog for the pattern, and it was so easy to follow!  The only change I made was to include more fabric in the hem, giving me the option to lengthen the skirt as my daughter grows.  My other suggestion is to only multiply the waist measurement by 1.25x - 1.5x for an adult skirt, as mine came out very full.  For my daughter I used the full 45" fabric width, which was a little more than 2x her waist.

The fabric is Paparounes in Crimson, and I bought it at Bobbie Lou's Fabric Factory.  I love her curated collection of quilting fabrics!!!  I just bought mermaid fabric (Mermaid Magic in Mist Metallic) to make another skirt like this for my daughter's birthday.

Photos are taken at the Capitol Riverfront in Washington, DC.  If you're local or visiting I highly suggest making some time to play and walk around this park.