Nik's Monster 1st Birthday Party and Craft Round-Up

I survived Nik's first birthday party!!!  Who would have thought that my prom committee (and student government) experience would prepare me to plan my son's birthday party?  Not me!   

I know I'm late with this post but things have been a little hectic.  The birthday party went well, we had 60 people who said they would come (I didn't think everyone would say yes to the invitation) and 12 didn't show and another 10 left early because they had other engagements so we ended up with around 30 - 40 people (including children) which was perfect.  I was seriously stressing about the menu two weeks before the party when I realized how many people might be at the party.  I ended up keeping it simple and making it a BBQ with hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken, salad, potato salad and baked beans.  For the appetizers I bought strawberries, veggie straws and veggie platters.  I got everything from Costco which helped us save a bundle!

My husband made fresh O.J. from the oranges in our back yard and we bought bottled water and a few bottles of soda for the drinks.  For the dessert I made sugar cookies, cupcakes and the birthday cake (and I also make the icing).

We had children of all ages at the birthday party so I thought of a few activities to keep them entertained.  Initially I thought of making a coloring station but then I remembered kids like to draw on walls and things they shouldn't, so I bought chalk instead and let them go to town.  While cruising the aisles of my local Target I found a bubble machine for $7.50 so I immediately snatched it up (the kids went nuts over the bubbles and I didn't have to deal with spilled bubble solution).  For the little babies I bought a variety toy set from Big Lots for $7 (so they could chew, lose and destroy the toys without us caring) and I used an outdoor blanket to set up a tummy time area.   

Monster Softie Favors, Freshly Squeezed O.J., Monster Pops and Cards for Nik's Time Capsule

The 11ft Birthday Bunting I made for Nik

Monster Cupcakes, The Birthday Cake, Pom-Pom Monsters and Handmade Party Hats

I tried to point and tell him to blow out the candle but Nik didn't know what to do.

A few things I did learn for next time:

1. Put someone in charge of taking pictures because you'll be too busy running around to take any pictures.

2. Put up signs so people know where the drinks are and other things they might need, like the trash can.

3. Have everything ready to go out an hour before the party is supposed to start so if you have guests that arrive early or on time they can help you set out the stuff on the tables.

4. Have the table(s) and chairs set up as early as possible, even the night before if you can (so I'm not running around in my PJ's minutes before guest arrive trying to set up all the chairs).

5. Put on your make-up and style your hair before you change into your clothes and wait to change into your clothes until the party is about to start (because you might have to run around cleaning tables and setting up chairs).  I was able to put on my make-up but I never got the chance to fix my hair because I thought I would have time before the party...pfft!

Here's a round-up of all the birthday crafts:

• Pom-Pom Monsters: Here and Here
•  Monster Softies: Here and Here 
• Party Hats: Tutorials Found Here and Here
• Sugar Cookie Recipe: Found Here
• Buttercream Frosting: Here
• Monster Can and Monster Pops: Here
• Bunting (soon to be available in my Etsy store): Read More Here

Monster Softie Tutorial

In my other tutorial I showed you how to make the face of a softie monster but I didn't show you how I made the softies.  You can use the patterns I did for my monsters or you can draw your own.  If you're going to draw your own pattern, don't worry about the little details.  Sketch out the outline and figure out the details once you have cut out the body of the monster.  If you want to use the same monster pattern I am using, you can find it here.  I apologize for not taking pictures every step of the way, I didn't think about writing this post until after the fact. 

If you are a computer wizard like my husband, you can turn your sketches into images using Adobe Illustrator.  I don't have computer skills so I had to ask my husband to turn my drawing into a pattern (but I ended up not using the pattern I made...I know, shame on me).

This project can be sew without a sewing machine but that would require a lot of stitches so I HIGHLY recommend using your machine to sew up your monster.

Let's get started with the tutorial!

Supplies:

1. Your monster pattern
2. Fabric marker
3. Scissors
4. Sewing machine
5. Hand sewing needle
6. Matching thread
7. Stuffing (*note: a 12oz bag will stuff about a dozen monsters if not more)
8. Fabric for your body and for the features  - I made mine out of felt and used embroidery floss for the features

Instructions:

1. Trace out your monster on your material with your fabric marker.  I glued my pattern to sturdy builder's paper, from Home Depot, that we had laying around.  I used felt for my project but you can use almost any type of fabric for this project.

2. Pin together your fabric around the outline of the monster so your fabric does not shift when you cut out your monster.

3. Next, create the features of the monster. Cut and attach them to the front side of the monster.  When I attached the facial features I went overboard and glued them on, let them dry and then sewed them on by hand once they were dry.  When I glued my felt features I tried to avoid putting the glue close to the edge because once it dries it is hard and difficult to sew through.  I used felt glue for my project but you can also find fabric glue if you chose not to use felt for your monster softie.  To add an embroidered smiling mouth you can view my previous tutorial here.

4. Determine the best place to leave the opening (for turning your monster right side out).  Starting from the end of the opening, sew around the edge of your monster and stopping at the other end of the opening.  Sew slowly especially if your monster has a lot of curves.  After your sewn around the perimeter (minus the opening area) inspect the reverse side and sew over any areas that may not have been sewn properly the first time.  I had to do this in the curved areas because the felt would get caught in the feeder feet.

5. Turn your monster right side out.  With my red monster I had to leave two openings, one for reversing and stuffing and the other because it was difficult to sew and turn the antennas.  I hand sewed the inside part of the antennas and stuffed the red monster through the bottom opening.  With the other monsters I only needed to leave one opening on the bottom for turning and stuffing. 

6.  Try not to over stuff your monster (you don't want the seams to explode during playtime).  If your bag of filling does not include a stick for stuffing, you can use a spare chop stick to push the stuffing gently into the small parts of the monster.  Once your monster has been stuffed, sew up the opening using a blanket stitch (if you need more pictures on how to do a blanket stitch, you can find a great tutorial here) and clip the end of the thread as close to your knot as possible.  

Yeah you have a finished monster!!!  Aren't they cute?  I made 18 (for favors) and they all found good homes after my son's birthday party.  

  

Softie Face Tutorial (A.K.A. How To Make A Monster Smile)

For my son's birthday party I decided to make monster softies for favors.  I searched online and found some cute patterns and I drew some of my own (which I haven't used yet) and everything seemed to be going fine until I got to the face.  When it came time for me to make the face of the monsters I realized I didn't know the proper way to create a smile, so I asked my Nana.  

Here's how you make a monster smile:

Supplies:

1.  Fabric Marker

2. Two Strand Embroidery Floss (You can buy the kind on the left and separate the thread to be two strands or you can buy the kind on the right that comes with only two strands)

3. Print the monster pattern from One Charming Party

(I wrote a helpful tutorial on how to make and sew your own monster softie patterns here)
4. Hand Sewing Needle

Instructions:  (Disregard the pins in the pictures, you are making the face only on the front side of the softie.)

1.  Take your disappearing ink fabric marker and draw the line of the smile.  In my picture below you can faintly see the half of the smile not filled in yet.

2.  Using the double strand embroidery floss, knot the end and start your first stitch.  I made my stitches small (roughly 1/4") because I really wanted to make the curves of the smile.  Step 3 will show you how to continue your stitches.

                              

3.  As you bring your needle up from underneath your fabric, you will separate the two strands of your thread and pull your thread through the opening.

See how I pulled my thread through the middle of my two strands?

4.  Continue sewing along your smile line and when you are done, knot the thread on the backside of your fabric.

On a side note, I made the eyes by cutting out my felt shapes and gluing them with felt glue.  I let the felt glue dry and I reinforced the glue with stitches.  Once I had the center of the eye secured I used embroidery thread (I liked the look of big noticeable stitches) to attach the eye to the face of the monster.