What Every 5 Year Old Needs, Besides for a Dog

I'm no longer in the 'attending weddings' circuits, I have now found my social calendar filling up with invitations to 5th birthday parties.

The most recent 5th birthday party we attended had a ballerina tea party theme.

Fortunately, we know a thing or two about tea parties and being a ballerina.

The  birthday girl, whom we've entertained for the occasional play date or two, is an admirer of Riley {I overheard her whisper sweetly in Riley's ear, 'I love you, Riley'}.  I jokingly suggested to Grace {who is not so much an admirer of Riley} that we give Riley as a birthday gift.

Thankfully, Grace did not take my suggestion seriously because there is no way Riley would have fit into this bag {though, I am sure a few of her dog hairs did}.

So, in addition to a few store bought items (summer jammies and a puzzle for those of you who are curious), I included something homemade.

What does every 5 year old need, besides for a dog?  A tooth fairy pillow, of course. 

Want a tooth fairy pillow of your own?  Invite me to your birthday party or head over to my Etsy shop.

Put A Pin In It - Easter Projects

Perhaps it's a mixture of being frugal and/or sentimental but I like to fill Grace's Easter basket with something homemade. 

Easter baskets of the past have included some of the following *pin*spriation.

A few multi-colored felt Bunny Finger Puppets shared by The Purl Bee. Not only are they these bunnies adorable, they are really easy to make. 

One year this  Bunny Bowling Set, shared by The Long Thread on Etsy How-Tuesday, showed up in Grace's Easter basket.

These bunnies are almost too sweet to try and knock over...almost.

My favorite *pin*spired Easter basket filler was made using Fiona Dalton's Rabbit Pattern. 

Her patterns are easy to follow, even for someone who is a novice at sewing.   

Though, not an Easter Basket filler, the Peeps Bunny Bunting from Made is my favorite Easter decoration.

Really, what's not to love.

I guarantee, if you decide to make your own bunting, you won't be able to stop with just one.

What has been your favorite Easter basket filler?  I need some *pin*spiration for this year.

DIY Lavender Sachet

Did you know lavender is known to help reduce stress and prevent insomnia?

When I came across some freshly harvested lavender, from a local flea market, it was as if I had been given a secret potion that would help me relax and sleep.

BUT before I could relax and sleep, I had to think of a more stylish way to store my lavender than a ziploc bag. 

The solution, a lavender sachet, of course.

Gather the following supplies:
Lavender
Muslin {or fabric of preference}
Printer
Copy paper
Freezer Paper
Spray adhessive

Thanks to Home Frosting's wax paper transfer method, I was able to take a *graphic from The Graphic Fairy and transfer it onto fabric.  *The image I selected originally said 'Grain', using PicMonkey, I removed 'Grain' and added 'Lavender'.    

The concept is really simple.  Using spray adhesive, spray the paper side of freezer paper and adhere it to a sheet of copy paper.  Trim off any excess freezer paper.  Run the copy paper through your printer, the shiny side of the freezer paper facing the ink cartridge.  *If you are using an image with words, you will need to flip your image.

Moisten the fabric.  Turn the printed image {freezer paper facing fabric} onto the damp fabric and evenly press down with your finger over the back of the copier paper.

It took 2 attempts to determine the correct amount of moisture to apply to get the image transferred correctly.  The fabric should be barely damp. 

Though the image will transfer onto your fabric, there will still be remnants of the image on the paper, so take care in lifting the paper up so that it doesn't smudge.  Depending on how dark you want your image, you can get two transfers out of one printed image.

The best part of this freezer paper method, you can just wipe the image off and reuse the same piece of paper.

After your transferred image has dried, cut out the fabric to make your sachet.  Mine is cut approximately 4 by 5 inches.

Leaving a 1/4 of an inch seam allowance, sew around the sachet leaving an inch gap to turn your sachet right side out.  Cut the corners off so when turned the right way, your corners will be crisp.

Turn the sachet right side out.  Through the 1 inch gap, fill your sachet with your lavender.  Hand sew the gap closed.

Much better than a ziploc bag, right? 

Breath it in, relax and enjoy a peaceful night sleep.
 

Linking up to and a big thanks to:  Clever Chicks Blog Hop