Fresh Beat Band Birthday: Partyware and Decorations

As I scoured the world for Fresh Beat Band decorations, I was sadly disappointed. The few resources I found pointed me in the direction of the Bright Dots party theme, which would have been perfect.....if they had more than just the cups available. Unfortunately, cups alone do not a party make.

I searched my local party store, and nothing was perfect. There were plenty of other themes available, but nothing that screamed "Fresh Beat Band". After searching for awhile, I decided to check my friendly neighborhood Wal-Mart. While they didn't have Fresh Beat Band-themed supplies, I did find lots of colorful partyware that fit the theme perfectly. They even had square plates, which goes along well with the colorful squares that show up in the show and materials constantly.
 

Rather than picking up a single color for the partyware, I chose to get each piece in a different color. I think this will actually turn out better anyway because by mixing all the colors, they match all the colors in the show. We also bought balloons in a variety of colors as well.

I also plan on taking advantage of the free printables Nick Jr. has available on their website. They provide printable posters for each character along with a printable memory game that I'm planning on using as tags for the goody bags I'm giving to the kids who come. I also decided to make my life a little harder and make my own hanging musical notes out of cardboard.

We recently bought a new treadmill which came in a HUGE cardboard box. It seemed like such a waste to just throw the box away, so I thought, why not use it to make some free decorations rather than spending lots of money on flimsy ones? The cardboard papercuts aside, prepare to put some time into this one if you decide to make your own cardboard notes. And whatever you do, use a box cutter, not an X-Acto knife. Not like I tried that or anything..... If you suck at free-hand drawing most things like me, just ask a talented friend to draw them for you. I'm planning on painting them black and hanging them from some fishing wire.

My daughter seems to think all the decorations we bought for her party are supposed to be new toys for her. Maybe we should have gotten her cups and plates instead of toys for her birthday?

Note the band-aid on her left knee. She fell and scraped her knee a over a week ago, and ever since then, every time you mention her scab she'll begin to whine and hold her knee. She's working on perfecting the art of manipulation.

I can't believe my baby girl will be 2 in 4 days. Is it too early to start crying?

Happy Friday and National Reading Month

Happy Friday everyone!

Thank you to everyone who has visited my page to check out my 2-part Baby Glam series! If you missed it, you can find the tutorials for the Rockin' Necklace Tee and Rockin' Tie Tee in the "Tutorials" tab above.

A special thanks to Craft Gossip, One Pretty Thing, and Tatertots and Jello for featuring me on their sites. Go check them out and leave some love!

I've been loving your versions of the Baby Glam projects! Lauren shared this version she did for her little girl, She also made a onesie for a friend!

Cute cute cute! Keep your submissions coming!

For those of you who recently started following my blog, thanks for visiting! If you like what you see, please suggest My Own Road to your friends! I have a bunch of new tutorials upcoming, including some projects for the home, kids and *gasp* some for adults as well. I love to re-fashion thriftstore finds, and I have a drawer full of stuff waiting to be worked on.

Here's a peek of some upcoming tutorials I'll be posting:

Bubble Magnets, Placemats, Kids Dress to Toddler Dress, Scrunchy Flower Tank

I'll also be posting more on the details of my daughter's upcoming Fresh Beat Band-themed 2nd birthday. I already made and passed out the invitations, but that was the easy part. I'll show you what I did for decorations and goody bags, and then the final outcome (which hopefully is a success!)

March is National Reading Month!

 

Helping Little Hands is hosting a Read Along, which I plan to participate in. Head over here for more details on how you can participate too!

 

Baby Glam: the Rockin' Tie Tee

The Rockin' Tie Tee Tutorial

I know what you're thinking, "Fnally! A project for little boys." I know I know, I can't believe it took me this long either. I'm going to be posting more little boy projects in the near future, I just have to go out and buy some fabric that's actually boy-themed!

Anyways, on with the show. As with the Rockin' Necklace Tee, this project is quick and sewing-optional, and uses fabric paint as the primary medium.

Supplies:

• A plain onesie or t-shirt
• Fabric paint and paint brush
• Disappearing ink fabric marker
• Freezer paper or wax paper
• An iron
• Fabric scraps (optional)
• Fusible web like Heat N Bond or Stitch Witchery (optional)
• Embroidery floss and embroidery needle (optional)

First, turn the onesie inside out and iron on some freezer paper, shiny side down, to the inside front of the shirt. This is to make sure none of the fabric paint leaks through and gets on the back of the shirt (and it will if you're not careful!) If you don't have any freezer paper, insert a piece of wax paper, cardboard, or other protective material inside of the shirt before painting.

Next, use your disappearing ink fabric marker to sketch out a tie design on your onesie or shirt. I wanted mine to be a little messy, so I drew mine with the tail of the tie sticking out. If you don't have a lot of faith in your ability to draw free-hand, you can check out this post for a tutorial on how to fabric paint on a shirt using your own stencil. You can always find an image of a tie on Google.

Next, use your paint brush to apply your fabric paint to your shirt inside the design you drew. Don't goop the paint on, make sure it goes on smoothly and evenly otherwise you'll be able to see spots when your paint dries. Let dry overnight, or for however long the bottle says. If you're using a onesie for this project you may want to apply a couple of coats of paint because the fabric is so stretchy that it has a tendency to stretch apart, exposing white areas. Let the first coat dry for a couple of hours before applying a second coat.

At this point, you are done if you like the shirt as it is, or you can apply other colors of fabric paint to add some extra design if you like (maybe stripes or polka dots?). If you want to make the tie even cooler by adding scraps of fabric and thread to make an argyle tie, follow the steps below.

Take your scrap of fabric and use your iron to iron on the fusible webbing scratchy side down onto the wrong side of your fabric (the side that doesn't have any print on it). Don't skip this step! You can find fusible webbing in any craft store; it helps applique stick to shirts. After the webbing is fused to your fabric, draw 4 diamonds onto the paper side of the webbing and cut out. Remove the paper backing and iron the diamonds onto your shirt.

I didn't take a picture of this step, but you can find more information here about how to properly use fusible webbing and applique. Usually any webbing you buy will give you instructions as well.

Next, you want to mark x's through your diamonds to give you a guide for where you will be sewing with your embroidery floss. Mark a dot in the center of each diamond, then draw your x's in each diamond, meeting at the dot in the middle. Thread your embroidery floss through your embroidery needle, and make a knot in the end. Come up through the middle of one of your x's, and sew several backstitches to form x's in each diamond, extending outside of the diamonds by a stitch or two.

And that's it! Now all you need is a cute baby to put the shirt on. Luckily, I happen to have one of those.

Thanks for stopping by! If you missed it, GO HERE and check out the tutorial for the Rockin' Necklace Tee for girls.

I am linking to these sites: Someday Crafts, Craft Gossip, One Pretty Thing, Tatertots and Jello

What do you get when you cross a toddler with a purple crayon?

A big purple mess, that's what.

I was home with my 2-year-old on Monday and Tuesday. She came down with a stomach bug, which we discovered on our way to work when she decided to share the entire contents of her chocolate milk bottle all over her car seat. If there's one thing I can't handle, it's vomit. ESPECIALLY in the car.

I'll spare you the details, but I immediately drove her home and plunked her in the bath tub. Since I knew there would be more of the same, I began making a pile of soiled clothes in a basket in the living room to wash later and avoid doing 20 loads of laundry. The McCaffreys are helping to save the planet one load of laundry at a time! This turned out to be a good strategy, as my 2-month-old decided that he didn't want to be left out and proceeded to blow out his diaper, consequently earning himself a bath as well.

The clothing pile grew.

Throughout the day I added messy clothes, carseat covers, changing pads, and couch cushion covers to the basket. After both kids were in bed, I took the laundry pile to the washing machine and dumped it all in. There was no way I was sorting everything into piles of Lights and Darks. There was only 1 pile: Gross. I set the machine to wash everything on cold and when the cycle was done, tossed it all in the dryer. I went to bed that night hoping for a full night's sleep, free of any bodily fluids.  

The next day my daughter woke up her happy, energetic self again. While I was rejoicing in the end of  the Great Stomach Bug of 2011, my husband walked into the kitchen with some interesting news.

"The dryer is blue."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"It's blue! The dryer is blue and purple, and I found THIS in the washer." Holding up a badly mangled blue violet crayon. "You need to be more careful with what you put in the wash."

Yes, because my idea of fun is to toss a purple crayon into the washer with a load of soiled clothes and then spend the next morning trying to scrape wax off my clothes and the drum of the dryer. I like to live on the edge like that. It's not for everyone.

Needless to say, I discovered that Haley, in the midst of her supposed sickness, found enough energy to hide a crayon in the basket of dirty laundry on the floor as she was coloring the previous afternoon. Of course, since the clothes were all puke-y and covered in other grossness, I didn't bother to sift through them.

Did you know you can get out crayon stains with WD-40 and dish detergent? Me either. Until yesterday.

Baby Glam: the Rockin' Necklace Tee

Fabric paint is so much fun to work with. You can do so much with it, no matter your skill level. Ever since I discovered fabric paint, I can't stop. And this may be my favorite thing to make yet. 

I came up with the Necklace Tee as a way to accessorize my little girl without the actual jewelry which, as you know, is not so safe for little ones who put EVERYTHING in their mouths. This project is quick and sewing-optional, which makes it great for a quick craft-fix - love those!

Supplies:

• A plain t-shirt
• Fabric paint (I prefer Tulip brand matte fabric paint)
• Round objects of different sizes to use as a stamp - I used the end of a white crayon (use white so you don't mark your shirt), a marker cap, and the end of a Sharpie marker cap
• Freezer paper or something to insert inside your shirt so the paint won't leak
• Ribbon
• Needle and coordinating threa
  
  

Step 1: Prepare your shirt for painting.

First, turn your shirt inside out and iron some freezer paper to the inside front of the shirt, shiny side down. This will help protect the shirt from any fabric paint that might leak through. If you don't have freezer paper, you could always just put a piece of cardboard or wax paper inside the shirt.

Step 2: Stamp your necklace on.

If you want, you can use a disappearing pen to mark where you will be stamping each necklace. I just decided to put aside my perfectionism for once and go for it. Choose one of your "stamps" (I started with the white crayon end) and dip the end into your fabric paint. Blot the extra off on a piece of paper so you don't goop it onto the shirt.

Begin at the top of one of the shoulders and stamp continuous circles side-by-side in the shape of a necklace along the neckline of the shirt. Make sure you blot the end of your stamp regularly so you don't end up with a big goopy pile of paint. If you do end up with too much, just take a Q-Tip and blot off the extra.

Use your different-sized stamps to continue making circles along the front of the shirt. Don't worry about making sure each circle is completely filled in. The inconsistencies and fading make the design look even better. You can make as few or as many rows as you want. You can also overlap the necklaces in some places to give them a "layered" look. You want variety in size and positioning of each necklace, so keep that in mind as you stamp.

 Continue until you feel like you're happy with the design.

At this point if you're happy with the shirt, or if you don't want to do any sewing, let the shirt dry overnight (or as long as the bottle says to). Then, remove freezer paper and wear! If you want to add a little something more though, pull out some ribbon, matching thread, and a needle.

Step 3: Add ribbon.

Cut 3 pieces of thin ribbon long enough to make small bows. If you want to make absolutely sure your ribbon doesn't fray, add some Fray Check to the ends. Tie a bow in each piece of ribbon, and hand stitch a few times through the middle of each bow to secure. Next, choose where on your shirt you would like to place the bows, and then stitch a few times through the bow and shirt to attach.

Voila! Instant baby glam cuteness for your little rockstar! I would love to see your versions if you make them!

For the little man in your life, GO HERE for a tutorial on how to make the little boy's Rockin Tie Tee!

Featured on:

Someday Crafts
Craft Gossip
One Pretty Thing
Tatertots and Jello

Baby Glam sneak peek

Sometimes, a kid needs to accessorize!

Want to learn how to turn a simple shirt into rockin' Baby Glam for your little one using fabric paint and scraps? With just $5.00 and half an hour, you can transform a white t-shirt into this Rockin' Necklace Tee for your little girl. High-fashion for pocket change, what more could a girl ask for?

And don't worry, I didn't forget about the boys.

What's cuter than a baby boy in a tie - and an argyle tie at that?

My first ever boy project! I've been surrounded by pink frilly stuff for the past 2 years, so I decided it's time I stepped out and made some clothes for my little boy. I'll show you how to make this Rockin' Tie Tee for your little guy too.

Both projects are sewing-optional and can be done with only a handful of inexpensive supplies and things you probably already have laying around. Check back soon for the tutorial!

Love is in the air

Happy Valentine's Day to you and your loved ones!

A Fresh Beat Band Birthday - Invites

Whew! Say that 5 times fast!

Friends, it's time to go bananas. If you recognize that line, then I know you must have kids...or a lot of free time. As I've mentioned before, my daughter is obsessed with the Fresh Beat Band, so of course they will be the theme of her upcoming 2nd birthday. Unfortunately since the show is still so new (it's currently in its second season), there aren't any commercial party supplies being sold yet. I've found a couple different sites like this one with moms like me who have improvised their own Fresh Beat Band birthdays and their suggestions have been helpful, but ultimately I've come to realize that I'm on my own.

Over the next 3 weeks, I'm going to be doing my best to come up with ideas for the most stylin, hip hop and poppin' Fresh Beat Birthday. Brace yourselves. Will my (almost) 2-year-old remember this? No. Will I take lots of pictures of the theming to remind her of all the time and effort I put into creating a birthday centered around her favorite show? You bet.

First thing's first- birthday invitations! Like I said, there aren't any Fresh Beat Band birthday products out there (except a few odds and ends on eBay) so I had to get down and dirty with Photoshop. I found an image I liked online and then used Photoshop to clean everything up and add in some catch phrases from the show. I'm not a graphic designer, so it's still a little pixellated, but that's probably just my perfectionist side coming out.

Here's the front of the card (Image courtesy of Nick Jr.)...

 ...and this is the back.

Not too shabby huh? I'm pretty proud of my Photoshopping skills. I think I've graduated beyond "complete hopeless amateur" in the past year. And whatever I can't do, I just go to Picknik.com for the rest. If you haven't been there, stop right now and go. It's an amazing site for those of us who don't understand the complexities of Photoshop. Plus, they have fun stickers and frames you can add to your pictures. AND it's free for the basic version! I used Picnik for the pictures in this post to colorize and brighten them.

That's all for now, hopefully I'll get to some decorations tonight!

Childhood

Once I spoke the language of the flowers,
Once I understood each word the caterpillar said,

Once I smiled in secret at the gossip of the starlings,
And shared a conversation with the housefly in my bed.

Once I heard and answered all the questions of the crickets,
And joined the crying of each falling dying flake of snow,

Once I spoke the language of the flowers. . . .
How did it go?
How did it go?

-Forgotten Language, Shel Silverstein

The Strawberry Sea Monster

My husband hasn't been feeling well for the past 2 days. This is a bad thing because one, who wants to feel junky anyway? and two, he turns into a 5 year-old boy when he's sick. He lays around on the couch most of the time and when he does get up, he shuffles around the house all sad and mopey like Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. Sick Pat happens whenever he has any kind of illness. This can range from the flu to coughing a couple of times one day. Luckily, we've discovered the Strawberry Sea Monster.

When we were first dating, there was a day when Pat started feeling a little sick. To do his part to battle oncoming sickness, he decided to go to the grocery store to find something to help boost his immunities. The conversation went something like this:


Me: "Did you find something to help your cold?"
Pat: "Yeah, I got a 'Strawberry C Monster'"
Me: *blank stare*
Pat: "What, have you had it before? Is it gross?"
Me: "That just seems like a weird name."
Pat: "I think it's a good name, it reflects how it attacks your sickness with vitamin C."
Me: "I wish you could see what I'm imagining right now."


Thanks to the wonders of Paint, now you can.

What sickness wouldn't flee from the Strawberry Sea Monster? The 3 eyes, the furrowed unibrow, the pointy horns....probably the only thing that works against this beast is the fact that his name is lacking intimidation. Maybe that works out in his favor though. The sickness is all, "Psh, why should I be afraid of something with the word "strawberry" in it?" and then BAM! Complete eradication.

Imagine my disappointment when I found out that the Strawberry Sea Monster is actually a drink. And it's spelled "C Monster" instead of "Sea Monster."

I know, you were imagining a giant pink monster with a unibrow too, weren't you?