Sewing Party

Age of Birthday Girl: 10 years

Age Range of Guests: 8-12 years

Gender of Guests: girls

Potential Age Range of Theme: 6-13+ depending on the tasks presented.  If you keep the party a no-sew theme then the age range could run lower. If you have the tasks be more intricate or involved then you could extend it well into the teen range.

Invitations: For a sewing party we naturally had to sew the invitations!  Rectangles of fabric were cut out and tacked to card stock.  Cream card stock was printed with "You Are Invited..." and the placed on top of the fabric.  

This was all sewn together on the sewing machine using a simple programmed pattern.  On the back of the invitation we glued cream card stock to hide the thread.  Information about the party was printed on this piece of card stock ahead of time, along with some sewing clip art.

Cake: The cake was inspired by one of the projects for the party - a no-sew pillow made from felt and colorful strands of ribbon.  A round layer cake was covered in white frosting.  Strips of fondant were woven together and then trimmed to fit the top of the cake. Edible paper and markers were used to create a measuring tape that was wrapped around the bottom of the cake.

Activities: The party was planned in stations with a different craft project at each one.

Station One: This was the no-sew pillow which inspired the cake.  Here, the party guests chose a felt backing for their pillow and strips of pre-cut colored ribbon.  They wove the ribbon together into a square.  The felt backing was pre-cut around the edges to have the same number of strips of fringe as ribbon.  The woven ribbon was placed on top of the felt and the girls tied a ribbon to a felt strand all around the square.  Before it was closed off they filled it will pillow stuffing.

NOTE: This activity took longer than we expected so some of the guests finished them at home. Also, the cut ribbon started to fray fairly quickly so if we were to do this again we would take the time to sew the ribbon ends to ensure they would remain clean after the party. The resulting pillows though were colorful and fun!


Station Two: Using the sewing machine, (under direct adult supervision since many of the girls had never used one before), each guest made a simple drawstring bag which would serve as their goodie bag.

Each girl selected a pre-cut piece of fabric which was twice as long as the bag would be. The short ends were folded over (wrong side together) about a 1/2 inch and sewn to create a slot for the string.  Then the fabric was folded in half, right sides together, and the long edges were sewn being careful not to sew the opening closed where the string would be inserted.  The girls chose their string color, inserted it into the slot, pulled it through and then tied the two ends together.  So easy and they were all thrilled to have created their own personal bag.


Station Three: This was a jewelry making station which was led by two of the dads - they really got into it (and were seen still working on their creations long after the girls had finished)!

The girls were given a selection of beads & charms and used wire to create bracelets.  The dads were there to help cut the wire and crimp the beads at the end if the girls needed help, but most of them could do it on their own.


Station Four: This was the waiting area since the sewing machine could only be used one at a time and the jewelry station only had a certain number of tools. If someone had down time they could select something to color/create, or they could assemble their goodie bags.

Goodie Bags: As previously mentioned, the girls created their own goodie bags by sewing a simple drawstring bag.  These were filled with a variety of candies, as well as their hand-made jewelry, and some fun stickers.  They also took home their hand-made no-sew pillows.

Circus or Carnival

Age of Birthday Girl: 7 years old
Age Range of Guests: 5-10 years old
Gender of Guests: boys and girls

Potential Age Range of Theme: 3-12 years, depending on specific focus & activities

Cake: This turned out great with just a little bit of extra effort.

1. The base is a simple round layer cake frosted in white.
2. A toilet paper or paper towel holder (depending on how high you want the roof) was covered with aluminum foil and placed in the center of the cake, pressing firmly so it stays upright.
3. Four lollipop sticks were placed around this center piece.
4. Computer printouts of carousel horses (double sided) were glued onto those sticks.
5. A roof was constructed out of card stock by cutting out a circle and then making a slit from the edge to the center.  Overlap the edges until you et the desired size/cone and then tape it together. Trim any pieces that are sticking out after the overlap step.

6. Four pieces of ribbon were attached to the center of the roof down to four more lollipop sticks evenly spaced near the edge of the cake

7. Candies were used to decorate the base - we used M&Ms and gummy lifesavers but you could use any favorite candy.

8. The candles were placed as close to the edge as possible just before lighting them to avoid setting the roof or ribbon on fire!

Activities: The guests were all greeted by dad, graciously wearing the clown wig and glasses (which the kids all wanted to try on of course). Once everyone arrived they were divided into groups to go through the circus activities.  

There was a face painting station where the kids could do their own painting on the faces or hands, or they could have a supervising adult do it, or another party guest. We used examples from the Klutz Face Painting book which had cards you could take out of the book with simple steps for a variety of creatures and designs.

Dad, the clown, showed the kids how to create simple balloon animals at another station.  Some of the kids really got into this one since most of them had never tried to make one on their own. There was a place to walk to tightrope (a wooden beam a few inches of the ground) and swing on a trapeze (our tree swing). And the kids got to shoot teddy bears through a "ring of fire" (a hula hoop with streamers) using a large elastic exercise band tied to a tree!

The finale was to gather everyone together and do a version of the clowns in the car.  First we piled everyone into our minivan.  Then we took video of them as they came out one by one.  The first video just had them all come out once, but then we tried it again with the back of the van open and out of the picture frame.  As kids came out they ran back around, put on a new hat or scarf to change their look, climbed into the back of the van, and came back through the door again - loads of fun!!

Unfortunately the videos are too large to include on the webpage but I think you get the idea!!