Cell phone sleeve.

The daughter got a new cell phone for her birthday. I got a new cell phone nervous breakdown thinking about it being lost, stolen, or scratched.

The first two can't be helped. She can do her best to be careful and diligent, but that's about all anyone can do. Seeing as how she is not willing to have it padlocked to her elbow or anything totally reasonable as that.

As for scratches? Well, mom can surely address that. A simple felt sleeve will keep the touch screen from rubbing the wrong way against the random rocks, pens, chapstick tubes, keys, and loose change found lurking in the bottom of her backpack.

Please note: this is not her phone. Ours are about the same size so I used mine for demo purposes.
We may have bought her a nice phone, but we are not that crazy!

I went with her favorite colors and a peacock for a scheme. My favorite part is the seed bead eye and small sequins on the head feathers. Her favorite part is the "little star stitching" on the eye of the tail feathers.

Peacock Party Results

The peacock birthday party started out on the wrong foot. Literally. Just 2 days before I dropped a jar of peanut butter directly on the end of my toe (how I managed to get just the one toe I will never know), leaving a huge bruise, shooting pains, and an inability to walk or even bend it. The slightest pressure made my toe throb in searing pain. This included even the light pressure needed to work the pedal on my sewing machine. I would never be able to finish the projects I had planned for the party!

Super husband came to the rescue! While I was plopped on the couch with my foot elevated, he ran all over town getting everything on my two-page grocery shopping list and finding store-bought decor items to replace the ones I couldn't finish. Disaster? What disaster? He had it covered.

We started the birthday party morning with opening presents from the parents. This was done first because she was just dying to open the packages.

After, we set up the main decor. My daughter had the camera and took some pics while my husband and I set up. I always wear my apron while in the kitchen. Yes, you can see the baby bump!

Outside fabric bunting was on all the balcony railings and from tree tops. We flew the Dutch flag all day in honor of the festive occasion. Inside, paper curling ribbon slingers were hung from the lights.

Besides our regular table, the husband and a very nice neighbor (we literally pulled him in from the street as he was walking by) brought my craft table up a flight of stairs along with a few chairs to ensure we had enough seating. The tables were laid end to end, even though one was an oval and one was a rectangle. For continuity, the decor items ran the length of both.

I used regular glass drinking glasses to hold everything, but popped in paper cups to add some color. The tables were lined with jumbo-sized paper parasols, colored drinking straws, cutlery, and a few nibbles.

The marshmallow pop bouquets were super easy to make. Each one was a regular marshmallow jabbed with a wooden skewer. The top of the marshmallow was dipped into warm water, tapped a couple of times to knock off any excess water droplets, then gently pressed into a small dish filled with rainbow sprinkles to coat.

Our cake was purchased from our favorite bakery: Sweet Things in Utrecht. She does all our birthday and special occasion cakes (including our wedding cake). I hope she never retires because she is now such a family tradition! I shot over an email asking for a two-tiered cake with a peacock theme. We didn't give any further instructions, just let her do her thing. This is the delightful cake she created especially for us.

After a rousing birthday song...

... the daughter gleefully severed the peacock's head....

....and promptly ate it. She said it was very sweet and loved how it turned her tongue blue! I cut generous slices of the chocolate cake layered with caramel sauce and fresh whipped cream for everyone to enjoy.

When cake was over, I started to tidy up and prepare dinner. My father-in-law thought it was funny how I put on an apron every time I went in the kitchen. He borrowed one to follow suit. Such a ham!

Once the family left, the girls sat down to a spaghetti-with-homemade-sauce and garlic bread dinner. An "almost midnight" midnight snack of sausages in soft buns was served along with popcorn while they watched a movie. At midnight the lights may have gone out, but not the giggles.

Sometime around 2:30 am the husband got grumpy enough to lay down the law, and paced the doorway deliberately creaking the floor and/or a door so they were well aware of his presence. Within 15 minutes there was nothing but the regular breathing of sleeping girls.

In the morning, they were served plain granola cereal with their choice of milk or yogurt. I had 14 little dishes of miscellaneous nuts and dried fruit scattered around the table for them so they could "make their own special muesli combination." Each drank a tall glass of orange juice or milk and by 9:30 am the house was once again filled with the giggles of 12 girls.

Peacock Birthday Table Centerpiece

Guess what I just found? A paper peacock sculpture! How perfect is this for the table centerpiece?

.... and it is for free! I already printed it and will be working on it starting tomorrow. I hope it comes out as cute as the picture! It's amazing what a bit of sheer panic (Oh my oh my oh my her party is in 6 days and I haven't done a thing!!!) and the internet can help you accomplish!

I have an announcement to make.

I ordered 20-and-a-half yards of this fabric from Hawthorne Threads:

And every bit of it is already accounted for.

You see, my husband and I have been struggling with fertility. After four mysterious second-trimester miscarriages, my body decided it wasn't even going to let me get pregnant anymore. Two-and-a-half very frustrating, very exasperating years had crawled past before we were given the green light to embark on the journey through IVF. We paid visits to the geneticist, the OB/Gyn, and the specialists. Blood tests, compatibility tests, and some rather embarrassing "down there" tests were all taken and the results came back: clear. Fertility speaking, we were fine. IVF wasn't suitable for us. Nothing was wrong. There really was nothing they could do but let nature take its course. And hope for the best.

I refused to believe something wasn't wrong.

Another hospital, another round of specialists, and the new doctor said, "I have a hunch. Would you mind another battery of tests?" More blood was given, but this time I had heart ultrasounds, circulation investigations, and long term blood pressure readings. I thought it was odd but, hey, anything to find out what is wrong. Right? Sure enough his hunch was correct. 12 weeks later I had to repeat the exact same tests to confirm the results before they diagnosed me with "Antiphosopholipid Syndrome" or Hughes Syndrome. A blood clotting disorder.

Suddenly absolutely everything was explained. Even issues outside our fertility ones. It was no longer dumb luck. It was no longer a mystery. And most of all, it was treatable. A low-dose aspirin taken every day could literally erase the problem.

But it was too late.

Somehow, some way, through all the stress, through all the testing, and through all the anxiety, I managed to become pregnant. On my own (well, with husband's help of course). Without drugs, without IVF, without aspirin treatment, and frankly without a snowball's chance you know where. At first there was a great relief. It quickly melted into a sort of fear. Would this one even make it?

At 8 weeks the heart was beating strong and my blood pressure and circulation were normal. So far, so good. At 12 weeks the signs of a healthy baby were there and for most women this is the moment they could all relax. For me, this is the moment when all my problems start. Week 13, 14, 15 go by. I worked hard to keep my stress levels down and to eat healthy. Come on body, don't hurt this one. Week 16 and we had an amniocentesis to check for chromosomal abnormalities (something we have a history of, plus my age makes it more likely). Week 17, 18, 19, so far my body was responding normally and the baby was growing just fine and the amnio came back clear. Week 20 rolls around. The "do or die" week. The week when Hughes Syndrome, at least for me, usually reared its ugly head and changed lives forever. It was literally the longest week of my life. The quiet before the storm.

But no storm came.

Week 21 we had another scan. My blood pressure was normal, the baby was normal, the blood flow between us was normal. Never had the word normal sounded so amazing. We made it to the other side. And most of all, the baby made it through alive.

Today is officially the first day of week 22. We know I will have to take injections for my blood for 6 weeks after the birth. We know I run higher risks of Pre-eclampsia. But mixed in with the reality of now is the possibility of the future. We know our baby will be a girl. We already have a name picked out. We already are working on a plan to reshuffle rooms to make way for a nursery. But, still, I haven't done anything tangible, anything real yet.

So I bought 20-and-a-half yards of baby pink material because, for "reals," I can make curtains and quilts and sheets and diaper bags and storage bins for a nursery for a baby.

A healthy, normal baby.

Yellow Gingham.

Finally I can share!

I made these for a friend, who was giving them as a gift to one of her friends. I promised not to mention them on the off chance that the friend-at-the-end might hear about it. No ruining of surprises from me!

Her brief was: it had to have yellow gingham, a big bow, super full skirt, and a wide hem. The two girls dresses should be matching. The matching part gave me difficulty. The youngest is a newborn and the oldest is 2. One is flat on her back, while the other is every position but. One lays still, while the other runs and explores. I decided to make them as close as possible, but still suitable for the age of the wearer.

For the newborn I chose a dress pattern with shoulder ties so the back was smooth and flat. The bow was made of two parts sewn together- it laid flatter than a regular bow and wouldn't be uncomfortable. And of course I remembered the bloomers!

For the older girl, I got to splurge and make gingham covered buttons that ran all the way down the back. And figuring she would end up topsy-turvy at some point, I made sure to make a pair of pantaloons with a matching ruffled edge. They stay hidden until the skirt gets lifted just a touch.

Both are made of all cotton so completely washable. The bodices are fully lined and all the seams are sealed. This will really help them last through wearing and washing. Both bows are sewn down so they stay big and full and mom doesn't have to spend ages tying and retying them!

Peacock Birthday Invites

I don't know who enjoys my daughter's birthday more. Of course she gets the party in her honor, picks the theme, and gets the presents, but I get to decorate, coordinate, and come up with all the fun creative elements. This year she wanted to continue her passion for all things turquoise and purple and have a peacock themed party. Today I am putting together the invitations as they must, must, must be handed out tomorrow at school (her words exactly).

I first made a fully-functioning fan invite that pulled open by string to reveal a peacock. Great in theory but which came out looking horrible. Really horrible. Back to the drawing board, and the completely redesigned invite was made simpler, with no moving parts, and more in keeping with what a birthday invite should be. And it still meets her criteria:

• has a peacock on it
• mostly turquoise
• a ton of crafty bits
• obviously homemade

For the peacock at the bottom, I used two pieces of felt layered to make the body and loops of satin ribbon for the feathers. All are sewn down roughly on the machine to hold in place. I glued down a crystal eye in aqua for a bit of "bling."

For the backing, I used a piece of flocked cardstock cut to 10x5 inch size. The text was created in my office package and printed in eggplant purple ink, cut out and stitched down on either side. Once the stitching was done to the face of the card, I added another 10x5 piece to the back (flocked sides facing out) and zig-zagged around the edge to hold the two together. Now all my cut threads were carefully sandwiched in between out of sight, and the invite has a lovely texture when you hold it. I love soft and fuzzy on the fingers- don't you?

One down, 15 more to go. Yes, that's right. We are inviting 15 girls to her slumber party (one invite is extra for her scrapbook). Am I being a bad mother by admitting I hope they don't all RSVP yes?

Bling bling follow up....

Remember the bling bling pajamas needed for the pajama disco? If success can be measured in smiles, then I am pleased to announce they were a huge success!

I got the full front coverage and loose bottoms to satisfy me, the mom. She got the (barely) peeking out belly button and "open back" to satisfy her, the pre-teen diva.

On the way to the disco (she reported as soon as she got back from camp) she slipped and fell in the mud- completely covering her bottoms and soaking her right to the skin. "I even got mud on my underwear mom! It was soooooo gross!" were her exact words. Thinking fast, she popped back into her tent and put the black pants on from her other pair of pajamas, rolled up the hem to hide the mis-matched trim, and went on to the disco. I am so proud of her ingenuity and quick thinking!

They were rated "really comfy" for sleeping. I have a feeling they will be pulled out again for slumber parties- after all she says she feels rather sophisticated and very grown up when she wears them. She asked if at least one more of the remaining 5 pairs of pajamas yet to be sewn can be in this diva style. Asking for more, to me, is proof positive I gave her something she really likes.

Sunday Market Wrap-Up

The Sunday Market was so much fun! The coordinators put all of us (who sell on Etsy) into one area, one booth after another. We took up an entire section, both sides of the walk. It was great to put faces with the shop names, meet some of the staff who work at Etsy, and have a great laugh and good conversation throughout the day. And thanks to Matt from Etsy, I got myself one awesome official "donkicorn" Etsy tote bag.

I was still pretty tired so I mainly hung around the booth, sitting when I could (oh my feet!) so I didn't get a chance to do as much "window shopping" as I wanted. My daughter had more than made up for it though, and managed to expand her "must have" Etsy wish list by at least 100 more products.

Here you can see the Momfetti staff (aka my awesome family) at our booth!

In case you are in Amsterdam....

Just imagine: Etsy in real life! Roughly 20 craft stalls have been reserved for over 25 Etsy sellers at this weekend's Sunday Market at the Westergasfabriek in Amsterdam (12-6, free admission!). Contests, giveaways, and of course some amazing hand-crafted items will be there. The whole Momfetti gang will be there. Will you?

Finding my inner diva.

The daughter brought a note home from school regarding school camp. It has all the info: time, date, cell phone numbers, and the complete list of "needed items." The usual suspects were there: sleeping bag, pillow, toothbrush, etc. But also lurking on the list was "bling bling pajamas for the pajama disco."

Bling whaties for the what what?

I got a rather large eye-roll from the daughter when I asked what the heck bling bling pajamas were. I have a sneaky suspicion she doesn't know either, since she never really gave me a straight answer. And of course camp starts Monday- just after our busy craft fair weekend. Gulp. I basically have until Thursday to finish the pajamas if they have any hope of making it to camp with her, and no time to buy any materials.

Tossing aside the second set of nearly-completed pajamas that I had already been working on earlier this week, I set out to create her this bling-bling pj thing. When I asked one of my favorite forums on the net "just what do Europeans mean when they say bling-bling pajamas?" the response was exactly what I was afraid of: lots of metallics, lamé, sequins, and of course tons of rhinestones. None of which are lurking in my rather sedate craft room.

I compromised with the daughter. Instead of "bling bling pajamas" I would go for "diva lounge wear". I can do diva. I watch enough episodes of Toddlers in Tiaras to know over-the-top glam when I see it. Using the funkiest fabrics still suitable for clothing in my stash, I set to work and today managed to nearly complete the top!

I made a simple halter top ending below the breast line, with a ruffled skirt bottom that ends right at the navel. This got a large smile and a thumbs up from the daughter.

The continuation of the ruffled skirt runs around the back. Other than that, and the straps that cross over the center, it is backless. Very grown up I was told. Very glam, very diva. Phew! Next up are the pants and the matching hair accessory.

I'll be sure to post the final product being modeled by Miss Diva herself. Wish me luck, and an evening free of pin pricks and sewing machine jams!