Viva Magenta Pantone Party 2023

 

Project Run and Play is once again rounding up creations using the Pantone Color of the Year. For 2023, Pantone declared Viva Magenta to be the 'it' color. "Viva Magenta is brave and fearless, a pulsating color whose exuberance promotes a joyous and optimistic celebration, writing a new narrative. It is an animated red that revels in pure joy, encouraging experimentation and self-expression without restraint, an electrifying, and a boundless shade that is manifesting as a stand-out statement." Boy, do they know how to describe a color!?!

I was tasked with selecting the best fabric representing Viva Magenta from Elliott Berman Textiles. With Tandy's supervision, we landed on an Italian abstract print viscose challis. When the fabric arrived, I was a tad jealous it wasn't for me. While I haven't necessarily made anything for myself in such a bold print, the feel of this fabric is pretty dreamy. And, no, I'm not obligated to say so.

Tandy has a much loved square neck dress from Target that was getting too short, so I did my best to recreate it with the Squared Away Dress pattern from Project Run and Play. The result looks drastically different from the original pattern, but you can see from the altered pattern pieces below, the changes weren’t that dramatic. I created a long puff sleeve by straightening the sides, spreading sections of the pattern piece, and adding ¾” to the sleeve head. I lengthened the front and back bodice and added width at the center fold to create gathers at the neckline. Through my initial trial version, I discovered I could safely omit the back closure. The bottom skirt is a gathered rectangle. 

Avery and I were thrilled that there was just enough fabric left to make an Evergreen Skirt for her. This pattern has so many length options, but we were pretty limited with yardage at this point. The bottom tier is cut between the ruffle and short tier height to accommodate what I had left.

Teens and pre-teens are hard to please, but these were a success. Tandy wore her dress to a Daddy/Daughter Dance, so it must have passed the test. 

by Catie Sas Photography

Boba Tea Party 11th Birthday

 

For her 11th birthday, Tandy waffled between a small sleepover and a larger group party for weeks. About 2 weeks out she declared she wanted a boba party. I was skeptical on how we would pull it off at first, until I started thinking of it as a Boba Tea Party. We quickly latched on to the idea of a par-tea and plans started taking shape.

The boba party decor is very simplistic. The "Let's Par-tea" balloon banner from Amazon set the stage. I used my Silhouette cutting machine to create the boba cup garland. The Boba Tea plush pillows made cute additions that have now transitioned to Tandy's bed. 

I never before considered how many ways you can use boba! We provided 3 flavors of popping boba to top bowls of ice cream, and topped fruit salad cups with tapioca boba pearls. Both versions of boba are delicious, and I highly recommend adding them to fruit for a special treat. We served sliders, pigs in a blanket, and Chex mix for savory sustenance too.

I really debated on the best way to serve the bubble boba tea. There are tons of homemade recipes online, we probably could have called our favorite local boba shop to cater, and World Market sells a canned option. After a comparative taste test of prepacked boba tea for ease and cost savings, we settled on Joyba Bubble Tea. The Joyba Tea comes with cute packaging and an extendable straw attached. 

In addition to the popping boba topped ice cream, there had to be cake. Tandy loves to look over my shoulder at a few of her favorite bakers in my Instagram feed. One of those is Sugar and Sparrow, and she happens to have a Sweet & Salty Pretzel Nutella Cake Recipe. Tandy loves those side by side pretzel Nutella snacks, so this was an easy choice. I made a double batch of cake in order to have 4 (6") layers (We have two layers in the freezer for a later use). After stacking the cakes, I trimmed down the sides, so the cake is a bit narrower at the base. The top "lid" of the cake is the original frosting color. I added additional brown coloring to achieve the tea shade for the majority of the cake. The boba pearls are actually licorice drops. Our local tea shop gave us an extra straw to use as the cake topper. While the cake tasted delicious, the tall skinny shape made slicing a bit of a disaster, so be warned.

A game and a craft are activities we try to include at every birthday party. The Etsy shop HooHoo & Mouse created a custom listing for us with their Boba Magnet craft kit. We didn't need the paint and did need extra wood boba pieces. I really appreciated their quick and accommodating customer service. The tiny boba pieces proved a bit challenging for the 11 year olds to paint, but their creativity showed through regardless. 

I once again transformed one of our cornhole boards to fit a party theme by covering it in brown wrapping paper; last time was for Tandy's Cherry On Top party. After I drew out a cup of tea, Tandy shaded in the tea with pink chalk and the straw with green. Then, we glued on felt circles for boba. The Boba Toss for candy or bouncy ball prizes was a hit.

Tandy had fun assembling the boba tea party favors for each guest as the RSVP's rolled in. She filled 24oz wide mouth mason jars for boba with tissue paper and cute boba stickers. We used the free boba bes-teas svg to create vinyl decals for each glass and personalized the lid.

Each year I think, "This will be the last big birthday party." Tandy has other ideas. Once she gets in the party planning mode, one thing leads to another. She actually started her list of ideas before I committed to anything. I can't wait to see the parties she plans in her future.

Very Peri Pantone Party

In the whirlwind that has characterized the start to 2022, did you catch the latest color announced by Pantone as the color of the year? It's Very Peri, "encompassing the qualities of the blues, yet at the same time possessing a violet-red undertone." As a huge fan of lavender, I can appreciate Very Peri as a close cousin.  

With the announcement of the color of the year, Project Run + Play hosts an event that combines patterns from their shop with fabrics featuring the Pantone color theme. Last year, I participated in the Pantone Party featuring Illuminating and Ultimate Gray. This year, I was paired up with Goldie Olding Fabrics for my stop on the Very Peri Pantone Party Tour.

My kids reach for their soft knit wardrobe pieces 9 times out of 10, so that's where I focused my fabric and pattern search. After landing on the Violet Squiggle Bamboo French Terry, I knew it would be the perfect base for these pieces. The squiggles lean a little closer to the violet/red undertones, but it's close enough. As coordinates, I opted for Tangerine Bamboo French Terry and Black MicroModal and Supima Cotton Jersey. The tangerine comes across more coral in my opinion than what I would traditionally associate with tangerine. Once the fabrics arrived, I was a tad jealous that they wouldn't be for me. 

Avery basically lives in sweatshirts and joggers or leggings these days. With track practice starting, she also needs them for layering to and from the track. Keeping that in mind, I created a set using the Jingle Joggers and the Chromium Cropped Hoodie. 

Color blocking is my favorite way to customize any pattern, because it is simple to execute and makes a big impact. The Jingle Jogger pattern already includes the side stripe detail in the pattern, so I kept those as is. I love that the pattern includes a pocket option even when you make use of the stripe detail. Avery still fits in the size 12, but I needed to add 2 1/4" in length. As a result, I had to piece together a strip long enough to create the side stripe. Thankfully that squiggle fabric really disguises the seam!

The custom color blocking came into play with the Chromium Hoodie pattern. I split the front and back bodice into two pieces and the sleeves into three. a little contrast goes a long way, and I love the impact the tangerine has even though it's only a small section of the sleeve. I added 2 1/2" to the bodice for a slightly longer cropped length, then added cuffs to the sleeves that are not part of the original pattern. 

While the color blocking for the Chromium Hoodie was simple with straight lines, I knew I wanted a little something extra when it came to this Story Dress. Adding a rainbow arc employs the same techniques as a straight color block, but it's important to keep those seams lined up to avoid any waviness. 

Once again the contrast pieces are minimal but create a pop of color that adds a little extra to the overall look. Tandy is prone to eczema especially in the winter months, so she prefers nothing restrictive on her arms. The puffed lantern style sleeve meets her needs and provides an adorable silhouette. 

As you can see we had quite a bit of fun for our Pantone Party, and you can join too!

Here's how the Pantone Party sew along will work:

1. Sew something for kids with any shade of purple fabric.

2. Join the party by linking it up at Project Run + Play or using the hashtag #prppantoneparty2022 on Instagram or Facebook.

Ghoul's Night In 10th Birthday

Tandy has hit the double digit milestone! For her 10th birthday, she wanted a small sleepover with two girls from her new school and to get her ears pierced with her neighborhood friend. Her wishes were granted! 

As soon as we arrived at the idea of a Ghouls Night In theme for the sleepover, I started scheming. Even for a party of 3, I couldn't resist diving into details.

The cake was by far my favorite creation. It was loosely inspired by this ghost cake by @cakemecarrie. Tandy's cake was a 3 layer oval, orange flavored cake with vanilla frosting, orange creamsicle if you will. The ghosts are created using candy melts smeared on wax paper with the back of a spoon, similar to these. The Boo topper was a last minute addition created with my Silhouette machine and a kabob skewer. 

Sugar cookies were another must have. The cutter came from Target, and I combined my own sprinkle mix. Again, I find inspiration elsewhere for just about everything. 

Target also came through with Halloween themed circus cookies and ghost peeps (Tandy's favorite of all the treats).

For the non-sweet snacks, we provided string cheese, cheese puffs, and mandarin oranges.

The ceramic ghosts were such a fun find at Home Goods. The smaller one housed a kitchen sink sponge, but we had a better idea. The black/white and pink pumpkins came from Target. They were out of orange velvet pumpkins, but my mom found some at Hobby Lobby. We painted the stems gold to coordinate better with the pink variety from Target. 

The fun bunting was cut from old book pages using my Silhouette machine. I created her shirt and dollar store pizza pan sign using a cut file from DetailsbyMe on Etsy. 

I printed and cut using the Silhouette software for the first time with these party favor tags. How fun are the glow in the dark ghost pop it's?!? I'm not sure I get the craze for every variety of pop it, but I am a fan of a cute one that is theme appropriate. 

 Happy 10th year Tandy!!

** This post contains affiliate links.  By purchasing through my links, I receive a small compensation 

which I will in turn use to share more inspiration with you.**