Friday, June 14, 2013

O's 6th Star Wars birthday party! YAY!

I still can't believe that my baby boy who seemed to have been born yesterday is already 6!! In fact I am still refusing to believe how time just flies by and how grown up my babies are now! Sigh... 

Any how we did a big bash for him this time with some of his school buddies and other friends we know. This goes without saying, we thank the heavens above for giving us such a beautiful, sunny and HOT day for O's birthday do. I really don't know what I'll do if it had rained! Imagine 10 plus boisterous boys running about in a tiny apartment!?! It will take more than a vintage bottle of wine to cool things down mentally! hahahahahaha.... 
The actual cake with edible Darth Vader cake deco.
Not seen here is the very cool Darth Vader candle holder.
OK, digressions aside. This time birthday boy decided on a Star Wars theme after many mind changing and lots and lots of convincing on my part. You see, I grew up on Star Wars and Star Trek series. Call me a nerd but those shows are classics! That's why it is easier to get party supplies under popular culture themed parties than obscure ones. 

After Googling Star Wars party after Star Wars party ideas, I've finally settled on just making some gifts, the piñata and the cake myself while the rest are bought online. Living in Switzerland can be great sometimes but this country is the WRONG country to live in for a craft. Sigh... 

The gifts That I made was a Star Wars colouring book (complied, re-sized and sew binding), a Jedi "summer" robe, character masks and foam "light sabre". The light sabre I could have bought on line which is glow in the dark types but what fun could it bring during the day time? Yes it is a cool (REALLY COOL) item but still it costs to much to get for each kid. 

Foam light sabre was made from pool noodles. You know the kind that people use (mostly seniors - no pun intended!) for aqua gym? YUP! Those costs about 10 freaking buck here and just over 2 on the other side of the boarder. Can you believe that?? Geezzzz..... And the silver handle was just wall deco sticker and black pipe tape from a hardware shop. Pretty fast and easy to finish up. 

Piñata stick in the making. 
Next the piñata. Was time consuming as I had to let dry each layer before putting on the next. The last piñata  I made was a Piston cup (from CARS cartoon) 2 years ago and that thing caused the "death" of an iron rod! LOL! Talk about a tough cookie! So this time round, I made sure the layers are half of the last piñata and made sure that we got a really solid stick to bash it. I know, I could have save myself the trouble and just bug the damn thing. But to me paying either CHF44 of the head of Darth Vader of CHF28 for a football piñata (then paint it into a Death Star) for it to be DESTROYED later on doesn't make sense. So a Death Star piñata was born, sort of... :p And the really solid stick was also from a hardware store, just decorated with crepe paper and silver sticker. 
O's 4th do. Notice the OVERLY SOLID "Piston Cup" piñata on the back ground?
Well, it was no match for the iron rod! :p
Not so hard as rocks "Death Star" piñata. Be kind, that's my 1st Death Star! 
Red Sabre and Death Star
The Jedi summer robes, got this idea off one of the mummy blogs. But her's were made out of faux leather, thus no sewing required. And since her party was held during the colder months, it does not make sense to make the kids sweat themselves even more than they are already with the running about in the heat. So off I went to get cheap cottons from the shops here. Then it was cutting, zig zagging the sides and making the "belts". Made them in various sizes as well. BUT if anyone is attempting to make this in fabric, be warned that it will FALL OFF while running about and sabre fights due to it being light weight. That's when I pinned the top neck area together with their t-shirts with a safety pin on each boys who wore them. 

Strawberry cake test. Was so YUMMYYYYY.... 
Last but not least the CAKE! What birthday would it be without a CAKE?? :) The boy requested Strawberry cake and so he did received one made out of real strawberries not one of those cake mix or Jello thingy. Recipe is here if anyone if interested. Just a side note; make this cake using the normal method you would make a cake with. You know, beat butter/margarine with sugar till fluffy, then add the eggs, then mix the wet ingredients alternate with the dry and bake as per recipe. The last time I followed this recipe to the letter, the whole cake was GUNK! BIG TUMMY DISAPPOINTMENTS! 
These plain cupcakes & Lego mini figurine packs were  for O's class
Made the cake twice as the 1st time as into cup cakes to share with his classmates at school. I bought digital printable of Star Wars themed cup cake liner & tags and invitations from Etsy.com. Love this place! 

Vegan Whipped Cream tests with Strawberries. Very YUMMY! 
As we were having a kid with dairy allergy over (talk about living in the wrong country being dairy intolerant!), I had to search for frosting which is dairy free. Found one I like after tasting it out on hubs - the official taster in the family. :) This cream is to DIE for, unless of course if you have nut allergy, then it is a no go. Recipe is here if you'd like to try it out. Side note about this recipe; LOVE IT! It can be made either as soft or firm whipped cream. I made firmer whipped cream and it sort of stayed on for several hours out doors under the shade and the cream did not "slipped off" or "seep into" the cake even though it had become softer. Very happy with the results. This cream goes GREAT with berries/ice-creams or just eat out of the container with finger/spoon. :) 

Next up: the actual do. :) 



Velvet ribbon cushions

I have been pretty occupied these past few weeks. Was at first busy with NNC Anniversary gift exchange and the Fabric House Challenge . Then up next was a cushion cover I sort of promised a friend; a velvet ribbon weave cushion cover. And finally O's 6th Star Wars themed birthday party.

The cushion covers. :) Happy with the results! 
And as promised to a friend back home, here's an over due write up of the cushion cover. When my friend and I saw it in one of my many craft books, we immediately said YES! This is the one!. It just look so simple and easy to do. Little did I know it was FAR from it. Yes the technique is not something very new. But try to do this on velvet ribbons that sort of bow in a certain way and are so stubborn to stay in its place.
A closer look at the mix sized ribbon weave. 
After much fussing and hand hemming, the ribbons did stay put during the sewing up process which took me several hours just to get the pipping right at the edge like it should be - meaning more frogging in some places. But the end result was better than I've expected. :) The first cushion I decided to use only one size ribbon and the second one was made using mix size ribbons. I preferred the mix as it gives it the cushion a new look all together.

Well if I ever wanted to make another cushion using this technique, I'll be using jacquard or cotton ribbons instead of velvet ones due to the price and also easy care with the kids! LOL! Plus I'll make real sure that the ribbons aren't bowed and are straight as it should be. Lesson learnt eh? :)