Party Time - Part Three: The Hats

This is the final 'party' post for today, but there are still a couple more to come tomorrow or later in the week. Now let me introduce you to my homemade Party Hats. 

In the back of my mind, I have a business plan to start a small venture, providing 'bits' for children's parties. These hats were the start of that idea and I used Lily's party as a trial run for them. Without doubt people love them, but they are so very time consuming to make. I need to find a way to cut back on the time otherwise they're not a viable product to make money from. Any advice or feedback would be gratefully received!

Many of the fabric's I used were vintage or vintage inspired. I remember a yellow and brown floor-length party dress I wore to lots of parties as a little girl and that memory triggered the inspiration for these hats. I started off with mass-produced pom-poms for the top, but they were too perfectly formed and fluffy, so I bought some wool and made my own, which I think finished each hat off much better, yet added another five minutes per hat!

I'm a bit 'hatted out' for now, but soon I will revisit them and see if there is any life for them out there in the mad and crazy world of children's parties.

Now We Are Six .... well almost

Several times, on a daily basis, Lily is informing me of how many days to her birthday and how many days to her party. This countdown has been in full-flow for a good two weeks or so now and we've still almost that much time to go again to we get there.

I have however, probably added fuel-to-the-fire by having started preparations for her party. I pride myself on being organised - I have lists (and in some cases notebooks) to catalogue the various projects and daily tasks I have in my life. Lists keep me sane.

So the party. Well, we are having it at home. I've yet to venture holding one of Lily's parties outside of the home, although the day after each years party I swear that next year we're hiring a hall or that Lily can pick a few select friends to have a dinner out with. She's not having it and to be honest neither am I. I love the idea of young children having their parties at home, just as we used to. Their expectations are relatively small; a party bag, games, pass-the-parcel, dancing and cake.

I relish any chance to get creative, and my children's parties are good opportunities in which to do so. 

I enjoy the run up, the preparation, much in the same way I love the run up to Christmas. I set myself a goal to try make each years party individual, fun and memorable. I'm sure in a few years time, Lily will be begging me not to get 'so involved' and that she would rather just go out and have pizza with her friends, so I shall therefore, as they say, make hay whilst the sun shines. This year my (rather loose) theme is bright colour and pattern with a wink-and-a-nod to children's parties of the 1970's. It will be a crafty homemade affair through and through. I've made a start on making some fabric cone party hats for each of the guests and I've got fabric for my party bags cut and ready to sow.

Now the countdown really has begun. The invitations have gone out. The invitation design came about through my recent obsession with the wonderful Ed Emberley Picture Pie books. It's a rather therapeutic way to spend an evening or two, cutting and sticking these simple shapes. I hope that these invitations have gone some way to setting a taste of what is to come.