Rainbow Dot-to-Dot Birthday Party Ideas

If you want to throw a Rainbow Dot-to-Dot Balloon Party, you've come to the right place.  I've got lots of easy ideas to share with you today.  (Disclaimer, I was given the Poly-Fil and Fabric Markers mentioned in this post, but this post is not compensated and all ideas and opinions are mine.)

I'm secretly kind of happy when my kids choose some unique and/or obscure birthday party theme.  Especially when it's centered around something they really love.

We only do "real" birthday parties at our house on certain birthday, because it can be a lot of work.  On the off years the kids still get to have a friend over for a play date, they get to choose the dinner, and after dinner the family has cake...so we still celebrate every year.  They just only get a full blown party with theme and favors and everything once in a while.

Kindergarten is one of the birthday years.  Becca had a hard time narrowing down a themes, and wanted a Rainbow-Dot-to-Dot-Balloon birthday party, which actually left me a lot of leeway.  (It reminded me a bit of the Fancy-Costume-Swim Party that Elephant and Piggie get invited to in I am Invited to a Party by Mo Willems...affiliate link)

Dot-to-Dot Birthday Cake

On the outside, we made a plain white cake.  Then I piped her name out with colored frosting.  Then I added mini M&M's (upside-down) and write numbers on them using a food-safe marker with edible ink (affiliate link).

9 Pasta Recipes Perfect for Every Day Dinners and Weekly Block Party

Who doesn't love pasta? It is so yummy, satisfying and quick making it perfect for every day dinners. Here are some awesome pasta recipes and crafts that you guys have shared.

Broccoli Pesto Bow tie Pasta | Easy Cheesey Tex Mex Skillet | Chicken and Artichoke Alfredo | Spaghetti and Meatballs | Cajun Pasta | Felt Pasta Tutorial | 3 Cheese Penne Chicken Pasta | One Pan Totellini | creamy shrimp scampi

Marissa from Rae Gun Ramblings here today and sharing a ton of awesome looking crock pot recipes. I don't know about you but lately I feel like I'm barely keeping up. Luckily I've been utilizing my slow cooker which has helped keep me sane so I figured I could use some more awesome recipes and you guys sure had tons to pick from!

If you haven’t been over to my in a while here are some of my favorite posts from the last bit.

• Want The World's Best Macc and Cheese Recipe here you go, I finally shared it and it's SO good and easy.
• If you ever have serged you know it's awesome but a huge pain if you make a mistake I shared my secret trick to painlessly and quickly unpicking serger stitches. Make sure to share it with your favorite sew-er!
• Are you a reader or do you want to read more? I named my top 10 authors of ALL TIME. I know big claims but they are all great you should check their books out!

Now let’s see what your favorite things are that you have been posting! It’s time for the block party!

Link up here and be linked up to 4 fabulous blogs all at once!

Making the World Cuter | Rae Gun Ramblings | Keeping It Simple Crafts |Pieces by Polly

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Wee Wander Tree Lights Fabric - From Sisters and Quilters

Wee Wander Triangle Quilt with Sarah Jane Fabrics - Pieces by Polly

Wee Wander by Sarah Jane Half Yard Bundle - From Sisters and Quilters

Drawing,Doodling and Coloring Book from Lisa @ Usbourne Books

I-Spy Pillows Kids Can Make

These I-Spy pillows are super fun because they're easy for kids to personalize either by the color of the fabrics you choose or by the pictures on the fabric.  These pillows are our new go-to-birthday gift at our house. (Disclaimer: I suppose it also helps that I work for Fairfield who gave the Poly*Fil and compensated me for this post.  All opinions and ideas are my own, and their products are so darn awesome, I'd use them anyway.)

The best part about these pillows is that my older kids can do most of the sewing themselves.

We live in a small town, and sometimes birthday invites come last minute.  These pillows have saved us several trips to the store, and they've gotten lots of compliments.

My kids love looking through all my I-Spy squares and choosing ones they think their friends will like.  The best way to get lots of I-Spy squares is through a swap.  Sometimes I have extra I-Spy Sets listed in my Etsy Shop.  You can also check with your local quilt shop for charm packs.

This last time, I got smart and took the photos for a tutorial.

Skill Level: Basic Sewing Skills - Great beginners project

Materials: 

• 16 - 4 inch I-spy Quilt Squares
• 15 in square of fabric for backing.  I used Cuddle 3 from Shannon Fabrics in Dark Lime.  You can also use regular quilting cotton.
• 20 ounce bag of Poly-Fil ® 
• Thread
• Pins
• Sewing Machine

Time Needed:  Less than 1 hour for an adult.  It might take longer for a child.

Note about Sewing with Kids:
You'll need to use your best judgement about when to have your child start sewing.  My three older kids (age 10, 8, and 6) are about equally good at sewing because my youngest has the longest attention span and most interest.  The oldest has a shorter attention span and has a harder time finishing a tedious project.  You really have to judge by your child's interest and attention span.  Also be prepared that a child might not have the attention span to complete

Directions:

Pocket-Pillow Quilt Tutorial with Fairfield and Animal Cuddle from Shannon Fabrics

You're going to love this Pocket Pillow Quilt Tutorial.  It's super fast and simple to make using Cuddle Cakes from Shannon Fabrics.

 You can find the full tutorial and instructions on the Fairfield World Website here, but I wanted to share a few more pictures of it in a blog post.

20 Mother's Day Gifts Mom Will Love and Weekly Block Party Link-Up

Ruffled Flower Wreath | Hugs and Kisses Jar | Homemade Oatmeal Soap | 10-Minute Aromatherapy Pillow | Pallet and Scrap Wood DIY Picture Frames | Tulip Bouquet | Double Finger Print Heart Necklace | DIY Tiered Serving Tray | Herb Container Garden | Stenciled Leather Coasters | Tin Cup Succulent Garden | Mother's Day Interview Printable | Etched Glass Vase | Antique Textile Spool Jewelry Tree |  DIY Blanket Ladder | Etched Glass Bottle | Family Tree Faux Embroidery | Spring Handprint Art | DIY Serving Tray | Upcycled Hanging Vases 

It's time for another Block Party hosted by Making the World Cuter | Rae Gun Ramblings | Keeping It Simple Crafts | Pieces By Polly!

  Polly here from Pieces by Polly as your host for this week.   Spring is here in my part of the country which means it's time to start thinking about Mother's Day Gifts.  

Now let's see what you've been up to! Be sure to read over the guidelines…

• We’d love it if you pinned the 20 Mother's Day Gifts Round-up above! :)
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Easy Recipes Perfect for Warm Weather and the Weekly Block Party

Hello everyone!!  I am so glad that you are here today!  The weather is starting to warm up and it's time to start thinking about eating outdoors.  Check out these awesome recipes that will be perfect for warm weather and eating outside! 

Red Quinoa Salad

Avocado Broccoli Slaw

Starbucks Strawberry and Cream

Klondike Bar

Kale Salad 

Vanilla Blueberry Banana Shake

Worm Dirt Bars

Strawberry Shortcake Popsicles

Homemade Magic Shell

Bow Tie Pasta Alfredo

Greek Yogurt Veggie Dip

Strawberry Limeade

Snow Cone Syrup

Yogurt and Berry Sundae

Watermelon Lime Cooler 

Homemade Slurpee

Artichoke Dip

Ham-BUG-ers

It's Kaysi again from Keeping it Simple.

 

I love warm weather and creating super yummy drinks.  Here are a few of my favorite ones.

* Lemonade Berry Slush * Low Calories Sweets * Orange Julius *  

Now time for the party!

Now let's see what you've been up to! Be sure to read over the guidelines…

• We’d love it if you pinned the Warm Weather Recipes above! :)
• Link to a specific post, not your home page.
• Don’t add links to promote giveaways, other link parties or your shops.
• Visit and comment on at least 2 other links in the party.
• Don’t link posts you’ve linked before.
• This party starts Sunday @ 9pm EST and ends Friday @ midnight.
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Button-Up Pillow Cover Tutorial

These Button-Up Pillow Covers are so fun to make.  I chose to make these with Peanuts character fabric because my daughter's reading teacher loves Snoopy and these pillows were destined for the reading corner in her classroom.  (And a big thank you to Fairfield for providing me with the pillow inserts and compensating me for this post, so I could get these into my daughter's classroom.  All idea and opinions are 100% my own.)

(If you like that LUV 2 READ Conversation Heart Pillow, you can find the tutorial here.)

Most pillow forms have the opening on the back, but this fun design puts the opening on the front as the focal point.

These would look great with any kind of fabric, and could match any decor.  And don't worry about finding matching buttons...you'll make your own buttons with your fabric.

Difficulty Level: Easy-Moderate

Time: 1 Hour

Materials (for one pillow):

• 18" Home Elegance Pillow Insert
• 5/8 yards main fabric - 100% Cotton Quilt Fabric.  (I used this Red Snoopy Project Linus Fabric, this Blue Snoopy Project Linus Fabric, and this Happiness Is... Peanuts Character Fabric...all from Quilting Treasures)
• 1/4 yard contrasting 100% cotton quilt fabric.
• 1/8 yard Smooth interlining (optional...provides stability for button holes and buttons)
• Craft Cover Button Kit
• Coordinating Thread

Cut:

From your main pillow fabric cut:

• 1 square 19 x 19 inches
• 2 rectangles 9 x 19 inches

From contrasting fabric cut:

• 2 rectangles 5 x 19 inches

From Smooth Interlining:

• 2 rectangles 2 x 19 inches

Directions:
Start with the two accent rectangles.  Fold them both in half "hot-dog" style and iron.

Slip your Smooth interfacing between the two layers of your folded accent rectangles.  Line it up all the way against the fold.  Iron according to manufacturer instructions.

Line the raw edges of your accent piece up with the raw edge of your 9 x 19 piece.  Sew with a 1/2 seam allowance.

Iron seam allowance toward your main fabric.

Repeat for both pieces.

Line up your two pieces, so that the accent pieces completely overlap.  When laid out this way, together they should make a 19 x 19 inch rectangle.  Now we're going to mark the button holes.

If you're using 4 buttons per pillow like I did, you'll want to mark them at 4", 7 5/8", 11 3/8, and 15".  (You can start your measuring from either side.)

Sew your button holes.  If you've never sewed a button hole before, this is a great chance to be brave!

Line your two front pieces up again, so that the yellow parts overlap completely.  Use a pencil to mark for the buttons through the center of the button hole.

Now you'll want to get your buttons ready.  Fabric covered buttons are REALLY easy to make.  Everything you'll need is included with the kit.  Use the included circle to cut out your fabric circles.  Make sure the design you want on your button fits inside the inner circle, and from there just follow the directions on the package.

Sew your buttons onto your second half.

Button up your pillow top.

Lay it over the back of your pillow with RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER.

Sew around all four edges with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Clip corners.

Unbutton your pillow cover and turn right side out.

Insert your pillow, and button it up.

And if you're a real Snoopy and Peanuts fan, you might also want to make one of these Charlie Brown inspired chevron pillows.  My full tutorial is on the Fairfield World website.

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