I always thought I wanted sons and more sons.  I was raised with a sister, and that was DRAMA, saved mostly for the Momma.  But, after raising daughters, I must say, give me GIRLS!  Girls are pink and soft and everything girly-girly, filled with purpley-pinky tiara girly.  And drama…lots and lots and lots of drama.  I came up with an idea to make a bag for a birthday party last month with a Paris theme.  The bag was hot pink with black straps and I appliqued a french poodle on one side and the birthday girl’s initials on the other.  I then proceeded to forget to take a single picture…blah!  The birthday girl likes to design her own clothes, so I stuffed it with a pattern with fabric and notions.  That was really fun for me.

So for Kelly’s best friend’s birthday this month, I was keen on making another bag.  These are made out of 100% wool felt, which I much prefer over any kind of polyester felt.  You are seeing two sides of the same bag, because I knew the contents stuffed inside would be shared with her sister.  Greg thought my appliqued tiara was a bit like a jester’s crown, but I actually wanted that appearance to coordinate with the curlz letters.  I also wanted 3 points so I could add glittery green buttons to the tips (I only had 6, which is always the dilemma with notions), but when I laid it out, they just didn’t coordinate.  The key to crafting is knowing when to edit.  I wish these pictures could show it, but I appliqued with grape purple thread and it turned out so cute. Over the past couple of years I have made so many pencil rolls and stuffed them into art buckets, that I think for 2011, I need to try some new ideas.

*To make the tiara, I enlarged free clip art, traced it onto freezer paper, ironed the shiny side onto the felt, and cut it out.*

I’ve spoken here several times about the girls’ play silks, which are the most used toy in our house.  Getting the Sarah Silk brand is tricky (they are the hardiest and most beautiful of silks), but you can order them one color at a time on Amazon.  I recommend the larger size.  They can be everything: saris, bandages, blankets for babies, princess gowns, aprons, hats, picnic blankets, costumes, hobo bags…but oddly, they are rarely used as scarfs?  Hmm, I had never thought of that.  Play silks tend to be all over my house, so it’s nice to have a soft storage spot that the kids can easily collect them into (I’ve told you there are never too many uses for bags!).  I put this rainbow collection into the bag, along with my favorite kid’s book of the year, Caroline Kennedy’s A Family of Poems. These books are an absolute treasure for kids, and I bought a huge set at the dollar book sale I attend every year.  I’ve given almost every single copy away, so I’m really hoping I can score another set in June.  Let the birthday season begin (if you are a parent of kids, you already know “birthday season” is January through December)!