Pattye Duffner's Blog

Beach Party

 

Davis’s birthday party was a blast…and easy.   Having friends and family meet at the beach for a day of fun was on the plan.  And a day of fun was had.  Davis loved having his family and friends around him and I loved the celebration.  Happy birthday my big boy.  You have brought so much joy into our lives.  You are a special little boy that is smart, funny and charming.  In 2 years you have made this world a better place by just being in it,

Ella turns 8! One sweet party

With 4 brothers you are truly the princess not only on your birthday but everyday.  Happy 8^th birthday princess Ella. 

    
 

You plan your own parties, make all the decisions and run the show.  I love that about you.  You wanted an all sweets party this year.  Paper invites attached to large lollipops hand delivered to your friends was the beginning of a sweet day.

 

I made small pink cakes frosted in white for all the girls to decorate, aprons with candy fabric and a table full of your favorite sweets.  Happy Birthday, I love the person you are.   

 

The Great Park

If you are local or plan on coming to Orange County anytime with children we found a new treasure… The Great Park is a must see.  Tips: go early (if the wind picks up they close the balloon ride).  Bring snacks and maybe even a board game (we had 1 ½ hour wait).  And do not forget your camera!  Everything is free and let me tell you it is worth the wait!

 

 

Braeden took a while to warm up to being 400 feet up in the air.  But the other 4 kiddos loved it.  Davis held onto Jerry and would not let go for anything.  Ella's face had an endless smile.  Quinn wanted to go higher.  And Holden woke up from a nap high in the sky!   
 
  
 

Happy 9th Birthday Quinn

Quinn wanted a football party... so you know when your kids are little and you rent a clown (or other party fav) at 9 I guess the thing to do is rent a coach!  Let me tell you Quinn's football coach took off work, ran the entire party, and even brought a gift!  What more could a 9 year old want?  After the party he even told me "this was the best party ever".  SCORE!  That is all I want to hear... Here are the details and the invite.

Made these on elements and printed 2 on 5x7 photo paper.  Cut down the center to get 2 invites out of 1 print.  Also made a flyer with "tailgate party info".  All additional info that would not fit on fun ticket! 

 
9 favs at 9! 

1. Riding bike 

2. Collecting football stuff 

3. Watching tv 

4. Playing video games 

5. Mom   

6. Dad

7.  Brothers and Sister

8.  Math

9.  Sleeping

Happy Birthday My Big Boy, Momma Loves You!
 

Pocket Pillow

Making a pillow case with a pocket on the front is fun for the kids to add some goodies… flashlight, batteries, book, journal, pen, slippers what ever!  This has been a birthday party gift for a few little ones.  Could not be easer!

Mario Party Birthday Party: Happy Birthday Braeden!

 

Kicking off the event with a postcard invite mailed out to his favorite friends. 

 

For Braeden’s 6^th birthday bash he wanted a Mario Party Party!  We had traditional birthday party games with a twist.  Ie: 

Hot potato with Mario music and using “bull dog”  pin the wii remote on braeden (painted an outline of him sitting with his hand out) kids made paper wii remotes and pined them on.

Gunny sack races with bags in the symbols of the Mario Bros characters hats… M  L  etc.   Simple cone hats and a bit of paper crafting turned them into themed hats. 

Braeden worked weeks ahead of time making all the decorations that we hung on the windows.  Hand made drawings off all happenings in the Mario Party world. 

Mustaches, Kettle Korn and Shave Ice topped off the party that would not be completed with out a fabulous cake!

Valentine Fun

Quinn’s valentines were fun to make… I saw them somewhere and remembered I had to do them when he was big enough.  We took a book of Mad libz and cut out each page rolled them up and tied them off with a note that reads, “You have mad skilz!  Happy Valentines Day Quinn"

 

How fun these would be with coloring pages or word searches too?

 

Gift ideas

Getting ready for Christmas around here includes party planning, Santa’s lists, and crafting, shopping, card making along side the every day jobs.  Having a new baby in the mix too!  This year I am going to find 1 thing to make and hopefully it will work for a number of gifts.  Teachers, nieces, friends, sisters etc.  While I am searching I wanted to share some of  years past handmade holiday ideas…   Hopefully I will get on schedule soon, running behind this year!

 

handmade crayons

letter blocks

 

chalk board mat

personalized score cards

 
 

Happy Birthday Braeden!

Braeden turned 5 today and for the 3^rd year in a row he did not want to change to the next age…  Last year on his birthday it was a sore subject to say he was turning 4 and this year he is feeling the same way.  He wants to not turn 5!  This just makes me smile, this is so Braeden.  I tell him that is fine he can be any age he wants.  No one is making him grow up.  I am glad he has his very own opinion on what he wants… 

 

His birthday party was a blast.  The book theme went as planned.  The only issues were that I had a house full of sick kids the week before and I was not up for any last minute planning so I am glad I had done what I had before.  I turned target t-shirts into "brown bear brown bear" iron on shirts.  Party hats were made out of old books.  The food was all the food in the book "Very Hungry Caterpillar".  Read books.  Made bookmarks.  We played musical chairs, hot potato, pin the hat on the cat, and had a piñata…  I found these book bags and the decorations that I did not make from Highsmith, a library resource on-line.   Breaden loved it and so did I.  Happy birthday baby Braeden, I love you.   

 

04: Handmade Holidays Crayon Apron

If your little one likes to color as much as mine do this crayon apron is a handy way to hold your crayons…

Materials Needed

Two pieces of 13 ½ ” X 17 ½ ” for the body

One piece of 4 ¼” X 13 ½ “ for the pocket

47 ½” of decorative ribbon

Thread

 

Matching the right sides of the body fabric, sew together ¼ “ seam allowance along the 2 long sides.  Fold the pocket in half long way, press and sew together.  Unfold the pocket pieces and press.  Cut and sew on decorative ribbon to front of pocket along the length. 

 

Aligning raw edges on both sides.   Input the pocket to the body.  Leaving a ½” opening on both sides for turning, sew the sides together.  Make sure to catch the pocket, turn right side out and press. Cut the remaining decorative ribbon in half.  Topstitch around the apron ¼” from the edge including the ribbon ties on the topsides.  Sew from top to bottom every 1 ½” to divide the pocket into sections. 

 

From a to z

Making these letter blocks was a project I wanted to make for my daughter that is addicted to learning!  What a fun addiction for me to watch because I enjoy so much seeing her grow.  Reading and spelling is actually fun for her!  I cannot wait to see her in kindergarten soaking it all up!  I took Creative Imaginations blocks and painted them all with one coat with one color.  Then another color on top of that when it was all dried.  Sanding the edges to expose the under side color.  Next apply letter stickers making sure there is several of the same letters on every block so the little one can make any word they can come up with.  The final step is to modge podge the entire block in order to get the shinny finish.  Sit back and enjoy your little loved one playing and learning all at the same time.

Chalkboard Mats

I finished the “ boredom buster” chalkboard mats for the kiddos. Some people use these to keep their kids occupied when eating out or Dr. offices.  We do not eat out much with the kids but we can bring these when we do.  They are easily cleaned off with wipes.   I made 3 of them so I can give them to Quinn, Ella and Braeden when I am in the hospital and they come to visit.  This was another simple project but I had never worked with chalkboard fabric or oilcloth so it took a bit to get use to.  Hopefully with these tips you will be successful! 

I was eager to make a few so I bought 3 yards of each the front and the back.  After making 3 I have a ton left over so if you plan to make 1 or 2 don’t buy too much like I did…  I cut the oilcloth and the chalkboard fabric 12”x17”, I wanted minimal waste.  I put the correct sides together and sewed around the edges leaving an unsown part to pull thru.  Then stitching again around the entire project to close the edge and finish the edge.  You cannot iron this fabric… well I did not even want to try! So I pushed the edges from the inside with one hand to make sure I would get a straight edge…  I did not want to use pins either, thinking that would make holes.  I used some binding to hold on the chalk.  I next punched a hole in the binding and added an eyelet for the ribbon which was the tie to close it.  I think ribbon could do that job as well!

The only thing I may try next time is to use some deckle scissors and sew the edge wrong sides together (one time around only would be quicker as well).  Pulling the project inside out was a bit challenging.  This fabric is not very forgiving. I would love to see yours if you try it… E-mail it to me J   

Got Game?

What a great idea.   For a nature-inspired game of checkers, why not gather up some black and white pebbles and use them instead?    You can even paint a crown on the backside so that when you get “crowned” you can simply flip the rock over!