Joey's 5th Birthday...party food, cake and scavenger hunt

 Finally here some pictures of the rest of Joey's 5th birthday party back in July!!

We had lots of yummy food, choc dipped strawberries, cupcakes, cheerios, raspberry coconut white choc chip muffins, fruit, special teacup biscuits and a few other things cause it was that long ago I've forgotten!

 Here are Joey's version of the teacup lolly biscuits, no handles, smarties on top- something different from the girlie teacup.

A couple of years ago, Stephen built me a 3m not so wide trestle table esp for kids parties, it also doubles as my sewing table.  Each year I make a new tablecloth for it using Spotlights spots and stripes.  I get about 3.5m and just hem each end, and it makes the perfect tablecloth, this year I added a blue spotty one to our collection.

There were over 25 kids at the party, it was cold and to be honest am a bit over party games esp pass the parcel.  My clever cousin suggested a scavenger hunt!  I drew 8 items that  you would find at a park (we did a trial hunt to test it!) and printed out 25 copies and glued them on brown paper bags.

It didn't take the kids long to gather the items.  We scattered around a few feathers for them to find as well.

Here is Joey and Poppa scavenging at the park.  The game suited all ages as the pictures helped the little ones who couldn't read.

Here is the line up presenting their bags and me checking the items.  I think I gave them a freddo frog each for all items, some big kids were sent back to get the correct stuff!

Here is Lilly's collection of stuff.

And now the birthday cake, the brief was lollies, milky way tiny teddy cars, soccer, aeroplanes!

So I just made a number 5 cake and went crazy with all those things.  Joey loved it and helped me decorate it too.

It was a cold cold day but very colourful!

Happy 5th Birthday big boy, love you lots.

Joey's 5th Birthday Part 1...making of the Pinata

As requested I made a pinata for Joey's birthday party.  This time, I allowed enough time to get it dry between layers of newspapers instead of putting the wet mess every night in the bathroom with the heater light on as I had to do for Lilly earlier this year.

I did this pinata properly, adding the rope to hang it between the layers of paper.  p.s. I use newspaper and pva glue watered down to make the pinata over a big balloon and for the last layer, instead of the glue, I make a thick floury paste to coat the newspaper.  This makes it really hard, you can see the coating of flour in the pic above.  When its dried well, you cut a small opening and pop the balloon and do your best to remove the balloon bits.

Then add lollies, wrapped ones are best since they'll be heading for the ground!

This is a photo inside the pinata.  Then seal up the trap door with some more paper and glue and allow to dry.  Joey decorated his pinata with streamers and his sister made some cute signs to go on it, see pic below.

Here is the birthday boy in the park with his pinata.

He loved it!  I loved it, so colourful!

You are too cute Joe boy! I love yoU!

Time to smash it!

All the kids got a go of giving it a good whack with the soft baseball bat.

Joey got the final hit making a big hole in the side.

Scavenging for lollies!

These things cost next to nothing to make and are way better to smash up than the bought ones, they do take time to make though but well worth it.

Stay tuned for the party food segment and the awesome party game segment...

Today's Projects

Today Kimmy and Wolf came over.

The kids played and we did a bit of craft. 

I have been saving tins to mod podge so we did a little bit.

The conversations are unreal when we are doing this stuff.

Alot of laughing and stupidity.

We got a photo of us today, standing in front of the fabric piles and ironing board where the best work happens.  Now she has gone over to her sisters to bake cakes, for no reason, just for fun.  What a fun day she will have had!  p.s. they are entering my kitchen rules as a sister duo, lets hope they get in!

Here is my latest crochet project, this one will see me through till next winter I'd say.

It's a Lucy inspired from Attic 24 Granny Stripe Blanket.

I thought it would be a good way to use up some wool.  I am not thinking about the colour combinations, just using up wool but making sure there is enough to complete to rows in each colour at least.  It's pretty long, so we'll see how quickly I get bored with it. 

This is a crochet hat for Lilly.  It is a touch too big.

I finished this off when the kids were fishing the other night.  See where I ran out of light pink wool, nevermind I think the darker band looks ok.  And the flower was pure scraps, which I made up as I went, the centre is a little dodgy!

Here is the little boy in his new crochet hat he had to have.  His is plain blue 100% wool and fits like a glove.  I've got his size and pattern sorted just need to perfect Lilly's.

Pumpkin Festival

Today we went to Goomeri, to the Pumpkin Festival.

It was awesome!

On the way, I crocheted. 

And on the way home I crocheted. 

And now I am almost finished the front of my cushion! 

Will be revealed soon!

We watched the street parade.  This is the winning whopper of a pumpkin!

We saw horses, stock whips, drafthorses, working dogs, bands, old cars, pumpkin pagaent princesses...

Mum and I checked out the crafty section and saw some quilts including this gorgeous hexagon quilt, which was massive and the hex's were tiny.  Now... I haven't made many quilts so I'm not really in a position to be too critical BUT I would never ever spend a trillion hours hand piecing something like this and then machine quilt it with a revolting bright green thread in a pattern that just doesn't do anything for anyone! 

Machine quilting is def the way to go, but surely a nicer colour and pattern would have been better.

Here are the cute mini pumpkin themed quilts!

We ate pumpkin scones and pumpkin pie! 

This is pumpkin pie, it was good. 

They (the CWA type ladies) were very secretive about the recipe for pumpkin pie which kind of made me mad, cause I really didn't want their exact recipe, I just wanted to know if there was a pumpkin pie recipe in the special cook book they had for sale!

Me and my BFF Kimmy and the pumpkins! 

Our super cute kids enjoying the fairy floss.

Kimmy insisted on going in the famous Pumpkin Rolling Competition and she entered herself and her son Kai.  He chickened out (actually I think he realised his Mum is nuts)  so my boy Joey stepped up to the mark. Here he is trudging up 'Policeman's Hill' to the starting line.  All 680 of them lined up ready to roll their pumpkins!

And here they are with their tagged and numbered pumpkins getting marshalled! 

 It is big business and you can be disqualified for stepping over the yellow line!

Kimmy ready to roll, she was number 367!

And she is nuts, but I love her!

Joey and me waiting patiently, he was number 162!

The view down the hill from the starting line. 

Somewhere down there at the bottom is our family dodging flying pumpkins that hit gutters and got airborne!

Joey's pumpkin went well, flying down the middle then hurtling off to the left...

...and came to rest somewhere around here.  The policeman you maybe able to just see is standing nearby to the special yellow spot that marks $1000 if your pumpkin comes to rest right on it! 

No one won the $1000 this year!

We picked up 6 pumpkins! 

They are in pretty good condition too considering they were hurtled down a bitumen road.  Actually everyone picked up pumpkins.  I thought it was a bit wasteful at first, but every single pumpkin was taken away and we have pumpkin soup in the slow cooker ready for dinner tonight!

We loved the Goomeri Pumpkin Festival and have marked it in our calendar for next year!

Lemon Butter and Paper Craft

Yesterday we had a day at home.

I made Lemon Butter using a recipe from Julie Goodwin's new book and the kids made flowers. 

They made lots of colourful flowers using cupcake cases, pipe cleaners, paddle pop sticks and crepe paper.

Lilly was testing out ways to make flowers for table centrepieces at our school Fete Cafe I am helping organise.

I think they are beautiful. 

Yummm Lemon Butter, best eaten straight from the jar!

Masterchef Boy

Joey asked for an apron. 

So I finally did it today without him to measure, so I winged the whole thing and I think its pretty good.

Eating magic wands!

I put 2 little pleats in the front, might look a bit girly now but at least it allows for movement when you are 4 and cooking up a master storm!

Addicted, I tell you, they are addicted to Masterchef!

                  

Singlet Decorating

Today I have been making singlets, decorating them anyway.

I think this white one is my favourite.  It's just a Bonds skinny strap singlet and I've sewn on some white lace around the neck and added a pale pink double bow-handstitched.

It is so simple yet so pretty and so cheap!

I really love this one too!  Same singlet, blue ric rac around the neck and a cute old doily on the front from my stash.  You just never know what to do with these things when you find them until moments like today!

Isn't it just gorgeous!  I had pink and green ric rac but blue was perfect with the white.  By the way I paid her a gold coin per outfit change for this photo shoot, the frangipani props were her creative input and made me smile when I saw her picking them. 

3rd singlet and not happy anymore until I reminded her of the gold coin payment!

Strappy black singlet with cream broiderie lace trim sleeves and a cream double ribbon bow-handstitched.  Lill didn't like this one so much and checked it out in the mirror- she came running out shocked "Mum one of the bows has fallen off!"   Actually there was only 1, what do you think, does it need another bow on the other sleeve?

And lastly my little prince, "I want to be a model Mum"

I still haven't shown you all the sewing I did for myself pre Christmas. But here is some vintage goodness I found at Bargara on our camping holiday.

I love the orange and pink.

The doily has alot of work in it and a pretty soft orange crochet edge.  Somehow I will make these two into something special, they go together nicely.