Baby Shower Bonanza, Part 1 : Invitations

Here begins the craziness of my sister Sadie's baby shower.

She's my little sister. My only sister. And she's having a baby.

OH MY FUCKING GODS!!!

Anyhoo, Sadie has gone above and beyond the call; for my Canberra wedding, My French Wedding, My Canberra Baby Shower, my Melbourne Baby Shower, and then a few days after the birth of my actual Tadpole, she flew here and back in one day.

So, I kinda owe her. Plus, I haven't always been a very good big sister. Pretty crap at times to be honest.

She's a bit of a control freak, (A LOT of a control freak... she's a Virgo, just like Mr Frog), so I gave her plenty of choices to make a long the way. Handy, because I suck at making decisions, especially small ones that feel very important.

She'd already booked a High Tea venue while I was eating France so with that in mind we tossed around a few ideas for a theme. I constantly kept talking myself down from the crazy. I don't know why, but it's the place I go to first. We both did some perusing of Pinterest (EVIL PLACE! LOVES CRAZY!) and managed to head in a similar direction. Once I knew the vibe she was hoping for, elegant and pretty, combined with her own vintage style, I needed colours. She told me the theme for the baby's room would be "Woodlands" using leaf green, or pistachio. I headed to the Kaisercraft website and got to hunting for something that might fit. I sent her a few suggestions, she sent back the papers she liked the look of and I made a choice.

For the invites, I chose this:

"Expression" from the Kaleidoscope range.

After much faffing, I decided to keep things simple. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos of my progress, so this isn't a tutorial, but as you'll see, when I say simple I mean it.

Simple, Elegant AND  a tiny bit of bling.

A little more than half the card is Kaleidoscope paper, stuck down with some double sided tape. The other half has my printed piece, also stuck with tape. We then get a little fancy with some lace and ribbon. The lace has a raw edge and only the ribbon is tucked under, for a less bulky but still finished look. After a few days staring at my prototype I decided it needed a little something. These sparkly hearts are just big enough to be pretty but not blinding. (You can find them at Officeworks).

Now, my original plan was to used craft cards from The Dollar king, the ones I always use for birthdays and a bargain (because I have to do everything as cheaply and as fabulous as possible). Of course, after I pre cut ALL OF MY PAPERS I realised I couldn't get them in time, so I bought a few sheets of white card and cut them to size.Even cheaper. Instead of opening the card, guests just flip it over.

I even downloaded a new font.

Popped in an envelope and sealed with a larger sparkly star (also from Officeworks, and excellent value) they were good to go.

And so ends the first chapter of the Baby Shower bonanza.

Next up, Thank you gifts.

Stay pretty,

MC

Lamp Re-vamp

My original plan for my plain jane lamp was to cover it in cream linen with a teal coloured damask print on it. Of course, when you have such a specific idea in mind, and you're still on a budget, you'll never find it.

So, after another fabric choice was vetoed by Mr Frog for being too girly (he was right, but I already had it which means it's free!), I settled on a cream and white fat quarter I already had in my stash. Still free.

After trimming the fabric, I folded over the edges and ironed them flat.

Most instructions for covering a lamp, suggest using spray adhesive over the entire lamp. Being an indecisive lass I used my glue gun along the seam...

...and then around the top and bottom edge, figuring it'll be easier to rip off if I hate it, now or down the track.

I used a silicone mat to help press the fabric down, without burning my hands. Learnt that the hard way.

Looks pretty, but needs a little something. After much faffing, after weeks of thinking about it, and after a few trial runs... I decided to add a little ribbon.

Once again, I've covered my bases by not gluing the ribbon to the actual lamp, but gluing the ribbon to the ribbon... this way, I can slip it off.

I then needed some colour. After ditching the hand making of a damask print idea, I tried making a Fleur De Lys out of Fimo. Fail. So, I followed my heart...

Conveniently, I was able to mix a couple of colours I had already mixed (trying to match a colour I can't remember) to come up with the perfect colour.

A little more hot glue, and there you have it... a Re-vamped Lamp.

Five weeks till my due date... and counting.

MC