Buzzmills

A Super Hero Birthday...

Last week Henry turned four!  

We celebrated with spaghetti and meatballs (his request) alfresco.  Also, per his request, he and Violet helped to make his cake...

Which, with all the love (and strawberries and cream) put into it couldn't help but be delicious! 

It's so hard to grasp the idea that "the baby" of the family is no longer a baby, but a talkative, inquisitive, thoughtful, energetic, sweet and boisterous kid! 

Of course, his birthday was fun, but the real excitement came the day before...his Super Hero birthday party, which he has been "planning" since before Christmas! 

I always start party planning with the invitations and then let the rest follow...

I happened to come across these super fun cardboard "paper dolls" at Michaels (on clearance no less!) and used them for the invitations.  I tied a cardstock cape around each paper doll's neck.  The flip side of the cape held all of the details and a little note on the front encouraged the invitees to "use this paper doll to design your superhero" as the party was a "come as your favorite superhero (classic or made up!)". 

I love the way the invitations turned out, especially when all of the "super heroes" were all together!

We held the party at a nearby park pavilion ( to save our newly seeded grass which never recovered after last year's races, oops!) and it turned out to be perfectly amazing weather!  (Phew!)

We decorated the pavilion with banners (more paper dolls!), signs and giant tissue paper balls.
The goody bags held t-shirts...

and temporary tattoos...

I had so much fun with my little "t-shirt factory" last year that I thought I'd do it again this year.  I used dark t-shirt transfer paper this year instead of freezer paper stencils which should have been easier, except for the fact that I didn't read the directions at first and began printing my designs reverse (as you usually do for white t-shirt transfers)!  Eek! 

Aside from wasting several sheets of paper, it was easy peasy!  I just love seeing Henry's friends wearing their shirts at school days later! 

I made the designs in PicMonkey and Henry helped to decide which one of his friends got which design, he had some very definite ideas about this!

I used the same designs to make temporary tatoos using this paper thanks to a tip from Jennifer.  These were so much fun to make!  The paper is a bit pricey, but for the personalization aspect, I think it's worth it.  Also, mine stayed on for a couple of days, but Henry's and Violet's came off in the bath the first time, but they are temporary, so that's to be expected.  

If you want to try your own DIY tattoos and fancy some super hero comic book ones download the free PDF here!

The kids crafted super hero cuffs and masks while they were at the party...

The cuffs are simply toilet paper rolls that I cut down the middle and covered in colorful duct tape, they added stickers and washi tape for their own designs.

We had a super hero obstacle course, which included jumping over tall buildings...

wriggling through a tunnel, throwing bean bags...

Maneuvering through cones (notice my cones are still candy corns! oops!)

And, at the end...

bad guys... Which were attacked with silly string! 

I reused the star pull string pinata from Violet's star party added a "Thwack" to it...

And voila, more super hero-like fun!

We had "make your own super-heroes", "super fruit" and "popcorn" for lunch...

And Flash delivered Henry's birthday cupcakes (the cupcake toppers are the same as the tattoos, only not reversed)

It was such a Super Fun Day!  Really! 

I didn't really start any of the party preparations until the day before the party (uh, last minute!) and I started to freak out (as I am prone to do) that I wasn't going get it all together, plus, the whole "I need to transport everything" aspect was a bit challenging, but in the end, it all got done and everyone had fun!

Oh, want to know our super powers? 

Meet, "Frogman"...

Who can basically do anything, but also has a super frog tongue that catches bad guys.  Of course, don't you know that I was making a brand new pair of frog man Fancy pants leggings at midnight the night before the party!

Meet Polly, "The Pollinator"...

She has pollen powers and conjures up bees from her pollen to go after bad guys.  Violet painted her own pollen design on her shirt. 

Meet "super mom"...

Super mom has eyes in the back of her head so that she can see everything.  Also, I made my own dress and my cape could be worn as either a cape or an apron, always prepared!

And, last but not least, meet "Fast Forward Man" (who sadly didn't get any pictures as he was wielding the camera that day!)... Fast Forward Man had the "FF" in the center of his shirt and the "controls"  below...his powers are to control time.  Pausing, rewinding, or fast forwarding whenever needed! 

See we all got in on the fun!

Photo outakes, sibling friends...

These are a couple of "outtakes" from our photo shoot the other day.  Not true outtakes because they aren't silly or bad, outtakes only because Violet squeezed her way into the photos.  It's hard taking pictures of one child when both are there.  Especially hard when all they want to do is play together! 

Ahhh, but then again they might not realize you are taking pictures when they are doing just that and you get to sneak in photos of some sweet moments!  These guys really love each other and that is something I am so thankful for each and every day!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Linking these moments up with Amanda.

Vintagey Smocked Playsuit...

As I said yesterday I was in the midst of a vintage inspired outfit for Violet for Vintage May as well, but, it didn't get finished until yesterday, so...as promised, I'm sharing it here (a day late).

When I was little my grandmother used to make the most beautiful smocked dresses for us to wear.  One Easter I remember her making my sister and I matching yellow smocked sundresses, it was one of my favorites! 

I've always wanted to try smocking, but haven't so, with Vintage May upon us I thought it was a good time to give it a try (finally)!  My original plan was to make a Geranium dress with a smocked panel, but then Violet saw fellow "flower girl" Clover's playsuit and was insistent that she have one of her own!  So, instead of a smocked dress, we have a smocked playsuit...

Already, with Vintage May, there have been two playsuits/rompers made one from Sanae and one from Rachel (I love her fabric/color combo!) and, with the Wanderlust blog tour several others, so clearly I'm not the only one that thinks this style screams vintage! 

I used Celina's Ash Playsuit pattern and am so pleased with the results.  As is Violet...

This, no joke, is what she basically looked like after I told her that I had finished her playsuit!  The fabric is a lightweight and soft cotton from Joann.  Mini polka dots seemed both vintage and modern.  While this pattern is not a quick sew, as there are several different pieces and steps and facings, it is simple enough for the confident beginner. 

And, really all the pieces and steps and facings are so worth it in the end!

It's the perfect thing for all things summer!
 

Hopscotch...

Lemonade...

Swings...

And sitting in the grass...

Of course, I didn't really look at her measurements (oops!) and simply made her a 6.  The top fits fine and dandy, but it's a bit tight in the hips/bum.  Must measure!  Oh well, when the bottoms get too short I'll just turn it into a top!

I made the options with pockets, because why not?!  Plus it was an easy way to add a bit of extra color, and, believe it or not I had never made inseam pockets!  To me it was kind of like magic the way they worked out (I know I'm silly!).

And, the smocking...or perhaps it should be called "mocking".  I don't have any idea if this is actually how you do smocking or if it's sort of how you do smocking or if it's not at all how you do it, it's how I did it though...

I cut a strip of fabric 3 3/4" x 44" and sewed 8 lines of runching 1/4" apart all the way across the 44" strip.  After the runching was sewn I pressed it with a good amount of steam so that it got extra runched up!  And then I just stitched...
I honestly didn't have a real "plan".  And,  I wish had taken my time a bit more and had made more of a plan.  Perhaps then, it would look nicer, but this was sort of a test (that worked out pretty well!).  For the stitching I counted the "ripples" of runching that were in between each embroidery stitch to make sure everything was spaced evenly. 

It might not be the way it's supposed to be.  And, I assure you that it's nowhere near as good as my grandmother's smocking.  But, it's something new I tried and I'm so happy with the way it turned out.  I love that it's a vintage style, but not in the typical vintage colors with bright green fabric and a simple chevron-like design...

It just goes to show that you can have something feel vintage but look modern! 

See, we can all do it, "put a little vintage in it"!

Have a great day!

Vintage May, Red, White and Blue old School...

Today I am so happy to be a part of Kristin and Jess’s Vintage May series!  This is the third year that they've hosted this fun series.  I sewed along last year with Easter outfits and I made  doily pockets the first year... So, when Kristin asked me if I wanted participate this year I had to say yes! 

Who doesn't love a bit of vintage?

But, vintage what?  Vintage covers a lot! 

I had such a difficult time zeroing on one vintage period.  I started with 50/60s, and then moved on to ideas from the 20s and even the 70s...And then who was I going to make my vintage outfit for, Violet, Henry, myself?...In the end I came up with three fun ideas, one for each of us...

And then, life got in the way and I managed one!

So, sewing for Henry isn't quite my favorite thing to do lately.  It's not that I don't like sewing for him, it's that he doesn't always like what I make him.  So, when I was flipping through my "Sewing for Boys" book and came across the Mimi's Suspender Shorts pattern and he said he liked them it seemed like a good place to start! 

A pair of suspender shorts, perfectly vintage! 

They are made with Essex red linen which I already had in my stash as I've been meaning to make him a pair of red linen shorts since last year.  Red is his favorite color so he gave me the thumbs up.  So far so good! 

Next, we discussed suspenders.  When I think of suspenders I immediately think red, white and blue... I guess that's the 80s girl in me?...

The suspenders are actually ribbon which worked out perfectly.
The buttons, with the little white ring, paired with blue seersucker pockets add a couple more vintage touches...

Of course, I do realize I've hit upon a few different decades in one pair of shorts, but...it's got one big vintage feel to it.

The tee underneath is a simple white Flashback Skinny Tee with a light blue collar, think ringer tee...but also, I didn't have any white ribbing.

I made a 3T because, as I've come to realize, Henry does not like baggy shirts, so this one is nice and tight which is really perfect for showing off his muscles...

Finishing touches, keds...

And to top off the whole vintage ensemble, Henry's Huck Finn cap...

In fact, after he looked at himself in the mirror he said, "But I need my hat, it doesn't look good without my hat."  Oh, this boy and his style!

He seems to like the whole thing...

At least for now...

Thanks so much Kristin and Jess for asking me to join the Vintage May series it was so much fun!  And, I may have mixed up a whole bunch of different "vintages"  but this kid is cool no matter what...

Oh, and I'm hoping to still get to those other two outfits I was talking about...in fact, Violet's might be done tomorrow so stop by...and if you follow me on instagram and are wondering what happened to the green fabric...that might be next week.

In the meantime...Have a great day!

*Note, these train tracks are for a miniature train that was not operating while we were there, lest you think I'm putting my kids in danger ;)

This Moment...Spring(ing) to School...

She's always picking such bright colors, I love that!  And this, a perfectly Spring ensemble, perfect for "springing" to school! 

Have a great weekend!

Linking this moment up with Amanda.