An Embroidered Bicycle Pouch for a Bike

Yeah, you heard me right:  it's a pouch that attaches to your bike AND it's got bicycle embroidery...how appropriate and quaint.

The bicycle pattern is available for FREE at Flamingo Toes...thank you, Beverly!  I never could have come up with such a cute doodle on my own!

I've made one of these pouches before for my sheep giveaway, but this time I added straps to the back so it can be lashed to the handlebars. 

Thanks again to Make it Modern for sharing this wonderful box pouch tutorial!

Now that it's finished and strapped to my bicycle, I really want to keep it!  True - I don't really need it.  I've got a grand wire basket to hold all my stuff.  Why would I need a pouch?  Because it's cute, that's why.  Alas, I have made this pouch for a dear friend's birthday and I will give it to her later tonight.  I think it is a very thoughtful gift for a gal with a basket-less bicycle.  She can keep all sorts of little necessities in it while she's out and about...a garage door opener, house keys, a bit of spending money, chapstick, mace (she might venture into a sketchy neighborhood), cell phone, or what have you.

The interior is this cute star fabric, which is right up my dear friend's alley.  Did you know that we have matching star tattoos?  A testament to us being 19 years old and sooooo free-thinking and independent...ah, youth.  Anyhow, I'm sure she'll really dig it and find that it's a very thoughtful gift from her old pal, Meg.

Favors and Crafts at the Rainbow Party

It's nice to have festive decorations and a well-stocked snack table, but I think it's the crafts/activities that really matter when you're planning a party for kids.  Great party favors are important, too.  In the past I've usually incorporated a pinata because that counts as both an activity and some party favors.  This year I skipped the pinata all together because we already had three crafts and some pretty rad favors.  

Go down the line of rainbow buckets and choose some color-coordinating candy...don't forget to grab a rainbow crayon.  Stuff it all into your goodie bag along with your choice of crocheted cupcake or colorful rubber duckie.  Thanks for coming!

A couple of notes about the favors:  Try as I might, I just couldn't find a purple duckie!  Michaels had red through blue for just $1 each.  Also, those are big buckets so I devised false bottoms for them using a paper bowl.  Otherwise I would've spent a fortune on candy!  I found those rainbow crayons at Oriental Trading (25 crayons for $8.99)...they actually make a perfect rainbow when you color with them.  Susannah helped me make the goodie bags using her Do-A-Dot daubers and printable tags from Paper Glitter.  Lastly, here's some more info. about the amigurumi cupcakes and the buckets if you're interested. 

Now for the crafts!  The kids (and adults, too) got to make their own rainbow ribbon ring!

Michaels had a sale on their basic ribbon (3 spools for $1) so I bought a variety of rainbow colors.  I cut them all beforehand and singed the ends with a lighter so they wouldn't fray.  The wider ribbon with the rainbows and clouds on it was also from Michaels but wasn't such a bargain - until I whipped out my 40% off coupon, that is!  We tied the ribbons in a double knot around a canning jar rim, which are also very affordable this time of year.  I found that the rims for wide mouth jars allowed ample space for both ribbons and hands.  That's important because you need to have a good grasp on that thing if you're going to be dancing and twirling around with it.  The buttons (another Oriental Trading purchase) were glued on with Fabri-Tac, which dries really fast. 

Another fun craft:  string together a rainbow necklace!  A tub of pony beads from the craft store (sorted out beforehand by my lovely assistant, Susannah), a tub of wooden polka dot beads from Oriental Trading and some hemp string were the simple supplies needed for this craft. 

The little plastic divided plates kept the beads from rolling off the table as the kids created their rainbow accessories.  I think having them already sorted out and easily accessible in the mini loaf pan helped keep them off the ground, too.    

Remember the Do-A-Dot daubers we used to decorate the goodie bags?  Well, I brought those to the party along with some smelly markers.  I hope I didn't stifle anyone's creative genius by leaving the pinks, blacks and browns at home.  Maybe that's taking the rainbow theme a little too far?  Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple ONLY.

I photocopied some pages from Susannah's Do-A-Dot activity book and the kids had a fine time coloring them.  I don't think it was illegal to reproduce them since they weren't being used commercially or whatever.

See?  They were so busy crafting that no one noticed the absence of a pinata.  

Food and Decorations at the Rainbow Party

There was no way I was having a rainbow birthday party without these tissue paper paper pom pom decorations that I've been seeing everywhere.  What a perfect craft (they're easy to assemble).  What a perfect decoration (you can make any color to fit your theme and they're cheap!).  Look what Buggie and Jellybean did with them...that is kind of what I was going for when I lashed them to a beam at the park shelter we rented for the party.

I used Martha Stewart's tutorial to make them and I also posted a bit more about them here. 

Another super-simple and affordable craft I used as decoration were these strip rainbows. 

Now, I don't know their official name, but they're made out of strips of paper, so strip rainbows seems appropriate.  Once again, this was not an original idea by me.  I didn't have time to use watercolors on white paper to make the strips like Clean Mama did, so I took the easy way out and used colored card stock.  I made a bunch of them and strung them up mobile-style (kinda) with some fishing line.  You can see the dangling strip rainbows if you look really closely:

Don't focus on the cluttered tables and the big red eyesore of a cooler.  This picture was taken during party set-up.  The snack table was much more presentable in its finished state.

Can you tell that a local hardware store had a coupon deal on bandanas?  Thirty-three cents each - no limit!  I think the party-planning gods must have been smiling on me!  I restrained myself from stocking up on them (because how many bandanas does a girl really need?) and just bought one in each color of the rainbow.  I used thumbtacks to attach them to the sides of the picnic tables because (a) I ran out of time to chop them up make an actual bunting and (b) because I'm cheap and now I can use them again.

On to the snacks.  They were all pretty simple.  I tried to keep either the food or the dish it was served in bright and cheery to match the theme.

These fruit kabobs would have been closer to rainbow status had I not forgotten the cantaloupe at home in the fridge.  My vision was red (strawberry), orange (the cantaloupe that I left behind), yellow (pineapple), green (Granny Smith apples), no blue because blueberries were too expensive and tiny, purple (big, juicy grapes).  Fruity and delicious!

The veggie tray is only half a rainbow.  I've got red and yellow bell peppers, carrots and cucumbers.  Are there any veggies for blue and purple that you can think of that would work at a party? 

The rest of the food is not especially noteworthy/photo worthy.  Just some chips, trail mix, cheese and stuff in colorful bowls and platters.  Oh, and I'll do the desserty, sweet goodies in another post...there were lots of those!

Another easy way to add color to the table was buying paper plates, napkins and plastic cutlery in six colors.  Luckily, I had a lot of leftovers from previous parties so I didn't have to purchase much.

I covered a cardboard six-pack container with paper, added some ribbon and a cute printable from Paper Glitter to create a perfect spot for the forks, knives and spoons.  We've got all six colors represented with the plates and napkins...and, yes, those are gold spray-painted rocks keeping those napkins from flying away with the breeze.  Get it?  Like gold at the end of the rainbow? 


Alright.  There's your daily dose of rainbow.

ROY G. BIV Eye Candy

Rainbow party accomplished!  Susannah is five years old and I can put one more notch in my party-planning belt. 

This was by far the most fun I've had planning a party.  There are so many great rainbow party ideas "out there" that I think the hardest part was having to pick and choose which to use.  This post is just going to be a party showcase of sorts with lots of photos because I have to share them NOW!  In the days to come, I promise that I'll post more details (inlcuding links) about...

the cake...

...the goodies...

...the decorations...

...the crafty activities...

...and the favors.

There's a strong possibility that you're gonna be sick of rainbows by the time I'm finished.

Links to more details about:
* the food and decorations
* the party favors and crafts/activities
* the cake and other delicious sweets
*  the handmade invitations
* the thank you notes

    

Pom Poms and Buckets

I'm in full-on party preparation mode over here.  I view the world only in terms of how it relates to my rainbow party.  Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple...those are the only colors I see.

Chances are you've seen these tissue paper pom poms before.  I've seen them around and always thought they were lovely.  After I saw what Amy at Buggie and Jellybean did with them at her rainbow party, the deal was sealed - I had to make rainbow tissue paper pom poms for Susannah's party (and probably in corresponding colors for every party hereafter). 

Right now they're hanging from a ceiling hook in the spare room/craft room out of reach of the cat and child.  I'm not sure where they'll be at the party.  We're having it at a local park and I hope I can find something to attach them to.  I kinda like them all clustered together like this, too.  This is the most affordable party decoration I've encountered so far.  I found the tissue paper at the dollar store and I already had some bendy wire stuff leftover from a wreath I once tried to make.  Each one cost 25 cents for the supplies and they were quick and easy to assemble.  I used Martha Stewart's tutorial, by the way.

Another inexpensive decoration that is also functional is this set of buckets.  One for each color of the rainbow, spruced up with some ribbon and some free printables that I found at Paper Glitter.

I'm going to use these at the food table.  I think they'd hold an awful lot of pretzels, chips, and the like so I'm going to have to devise a false bottom for them.  I found them this summer at Michael's craft store for $1 each!  The ribbon was also from Michaels, and I still have a ton left on the spool...frugal party planning is buckets of fun!

I Invite You to Check Out These Invitations

The invitations for Susannah's last two birthday parties were riddled with puns, but alas, I couldn't come up with a single rainbow pun that really worked.  So, these invitations to her upcoming rainbow birthday party have nary a pun.  Kinda sad. 

Well, they may have scored low on the witty factor, but they blew the competition away in the cuteness category (at least I think so)!

Nothing too terribly fancy.  Just some fun scrapbook paper, white cardstock, and a handful of glue sticks.  I've never gone through so many glue sticks before!  Did I mention that I found a tutorial for making your own envelope liners?  Check it:

The tutorial called for wrapping paper (which I plan to use in the future because how affordable is that!) but I couldn't find any that suited my theme.  So I just used my paper trimmer and some scrapbook papers.  This was a great way to personalize the invitations even more and use up some of that fun paper!  So, thank you to Annie Get Your Glue Gun for sharing the line your own envelopes idea!

Here's a shot of the inside (with all the personal information eliminated to foil any stalkers or party crashers that may be lurking about):

Again, pretty simple but still colorful and fun.  I'm very pleased with the way they turned out and I think the project yielded the prettiest box of scraps I've ever seen.  In case you're curious, the papers I used for the front of the invitations and the liners came from Oriental Trading - the only place that I could find actual rainbow designs.  Just a note about Oriental Trading products - they are cheaply made, but accordingly priced, too.  Perfect for budgets and kid-friendly crafts! 

GIVEAWAY! It's Another Sheep!

Well, by golly, we've done it!  Two hundred followers!  This calls for a giveaway and since I'm a sucker for tradition, we're going with the sheep theme again.  I'm afraid I used up all my good sheep puns last time (during my 100 followers "Make Like a Sheep" giveaway) so this post may not be as entertaining - or annoying, depending on how you feel about cheesy puns.

Anyhow, here's what one lucky member of the flock can win in the "It's Another Sheep" giveaway:

A sheep that's cute as a button!  Hmm.  What pertinent information can I tell you about this sheep?  The buttons are sewn onto this lucious green fabric, as are the felt head (and ear).  The legs and outline are basic embroidery.  The frame measures 6 1/2 inches square.  You can hang it on a wall, or it also has tabletop-sitting capabilities...I spared no expense when selecting this frame for my loyal followers. 

Okay, here's how to enter:

1.  Leave one comment on this post.

2.  I'll close the giveaway at 6:30am (PST) on Wednesday, September 22nd..

3.  I'll use a random number generator to determine the winner.

4. I will notify the winner via email, so make sure that's available to me either through your blog or your Blogger profile or leave it in your comment.

5. I will ship internationally, so everyone's welcome to participate.

I wish you luck and I thank you for following along!