Crafty Marie

Honestly, I tried so hard to not get hooked on yet another new craft but I'd seen this rubber band craze around for quite some time and kept resisting the urge to try it out. But I ended up getting hooked on the Monster tail loom. It was all going so well until my daughter begged me to buy her some rainbow loom bands because all her friends were making these cool friendship bracelets at school and could she get her own supplies to try it out as well. I knew exactly what would happen once she got into it.  I got sucked into helping her to make the bracelets and now I'm addicted to it too. Thankfully, this is a relatively cheap and inexpensive craft for both kids and adults to enjoy. So if you haven't yet got the bug or if you're new to this, let me tell you all about it and where we're up to.

I'm really relieved to have just got my daughter's 7th birthday party done and dusted. She had a fantastic time, the best party ever was what she said afterwards which made all the effort seem very worthwhile. But it was a lot of work and I'm happy to have got that one over with. If you've been reading the blog here, you'll know that I made nearly all the decorations myself for the event which is partly why it took up such a lot of my time. It was the crochet bunting in particular that really had all the guests talking about how great it looked and I love the fact that we can re-use that again next year since it was made to last. In this issue, I'm focusing on the yarn based pennant banners, garlands and bunting that I made with tips and advice on creating your own. I'm also throwing in my free pattern for basic triangle bunting as well so you can make some too.

If I've seemed quiet for a while, it's because I am super busy working on handmade summer birthday party craft decorations for my daughter's upcoming birthday later this month. This is the first time my daughter is actually having a party at home since normally we book somewhere to go. You may or not understand the sheer panic I feel at getting everything just right. Here's some inspiration and ideas to help you with summer birthday party decorations that you can make too.  I have some experience at making decorations but none with birthday celebrations. I'm much more used to decorating for other times of year like Halloween and Christmas. The Internet has been a real help as I've hunted on pinterest, etsy and the big G for ideas on what to make.