#42 Get Sher-locked up for Your Husband's Birthday

My husband's birthday was off to a great start when me and all of the guest got LOCKED-UP. We took 1 hour to break out of jail and the experience was one we won't forget. If you've never done an escape room I highly recommend it. We did a "jail break" one which I actually don't recommend. But I still recommend everyone (who loves riddles, games, and clues) try an escape room once in their lives.

I wasn't planning on decorating or doing a theme for my husband's birthday until three days before the party! Why do I do this to myself? Since we used clues to escape the first half of the party it only seemed fitting to have a Sherlock Holmes themed rest of the day.

I think I hit the perfect spooky to pipes ratio. Also, The tea stained painting in the upper right corner has the address of 221B. I kill myself!

While the happy birthday sign behind the dessert looks unassuming it was very necessary for the guests to solve the puzzle and find where the prize for the night was. Numbers equalled letters. Letters lead to a place. The place led to a riddle in which you drank "poison" or "prize." The winner chose wisely so when they finished drinking an unknown dark liquid they could see a clue to a spot. And in that spot they found Sir Authur Conan Doyle's complete works of Sherlock Holmes tied with a ribbon.

I did steal some of my idea from Pinterest. Thank you thank you Pinterest for this cake!

Bloody death cake (red velvet), Sherlock silhouette oreos, British flag crackers, and chocolate mustache lollis. YUM!

I did have a couple of ideas of my own. I know you could get a much cleaner look with royal icing, but I have never worked with royal icing and was in a rush. I totally used the cheater version by A) using Wilton melts and B) placing my designs on store bought cookies.

It all came together nicely. I had other ideas but ran out of time, of course. And I'm sure I'll do the same thing next year, OF COURSE!

#41 Throw Your Husband A Bear-thday Party

Three days before my husband's birthday party, I had already invited everyone. I wandered down every isle of Partycity and Michael's and could NOT find any prepackaged party themes or decorations that were remotely masculine. My manly man likes camping and his favorite animal is a bear so I decided I would throw my husband a BEARthday party. Oh and be warned, this post will show you how passionately committed I can become to a sort-of-lame idea. I'm not, how do you say, a "cool" person.

Step 1) DECORATE

Once I have an idea....I freakin' live for decorating! It's a good thing you aren't here with me because I would just start shaking you by the shoulders. I get so excited! I turned the art on our walls into bear stencils, fur print, and plaid.

Step 2) GAMES

We played three games which I titled: Papa Bear, Bear with Me, and Bear Grills. And yes I made them up.

Papa Bear is a pre-printed worksheet of puns aka dad jokes, hence the "Papa." Everyone had one minute to complete this worksheet.

Bear With Me- Everyone had three minutes to list any bear species, fictional bear characters, or bear foods they could think of. Whomever had the most original ideas gets a prize. Example: Black, Grizzly, Gummy bear, Yogi, Bear Grills...

Bear Grills- I "grilled" my husband on some trivia about himself and all guests had to guess what was true of him.

Step 3) TREATS

I made vegan oreo truffles and peanut butter cup truffles.

Step 4) Prizes!

You guessed it. ALL. BEAR. THEMED!

#40 Game Of Thrones It Up

I've been sewing for a solid 6 months and want to take a lil break so I don't get burnt out before the year is done. So in honor of my husband's birthday month, I'll show you a party a threw for him.

I love to do anything to make him feel loved and special (because let's face it, almost every other day of our lives he's spoiling me). It was easy for me to come up with a theme two years ago as we Game of Thronesed it Up!

I made him a throne out of cardboard and metallic paint. Honestly, it looked a lot cooler in my head but I simply ran out of time. I also surprised him with a straight up hand made sharpened sword. Weeks leading up to his birthday I kept saying, "I'm not going to buy you a sword," because I wasn't going to buy him one, I already had and left it hidden in out closet.

These dragon eggs? They are foam craft eggs covered with hundreds of flat push pin and then painted.

We had lemon cookies (for Sansa), chocolate gold coins (because a Lanister always pays his debts) and root beer floats in bright green (wildfire) cups. All food labels complete with a red wax seal on top.

And of course I cut out paper house sigils as a banner. I don't know if my husband liked it more or I liked making all of this for him.

#39 Red (eyes) White and Blue (shirt)

I blame my friend Kathryn.

My top and pants are BOTH Jalie patterns!

The day before I left for my trip she asked if I'd be wearing red, white, and blue on Independence day. At the time I'd painted my nails white and was going to wear blue. But the next morning I woke up at 5am and had convinced myself I needed a proper 4th of July outfit.

I still had yet to pack and was leaving for the airport at 9am but managed to turn an old white t and some marvelous Art Gallery jersey knit into a festive top.

I made my Jalie dolman top a size U in the chest shoulders and tapered into a size T in the waist and hips. I also added 2inches in length to the overall shirt. Oh, and I sliced the the top front piece of the pattern and added seam allowance to give it the color block look.

So even with sleep deprived red eyes, I made a white and blue dolman top. Was it worth it? Sure.

#38 Bring Out the Button Jar (Chi-Town Chinos continued)

Mom used to have old decorative trunks filled with vintage collectables. A cracked porcelain doll,  delicate lace, a lamp made with a glass canning jar, and a weathered stereograph viewer. Oh course none of these items were toys, so naturally, I had strewn them all around the house while transporting myself back in time. Much to my family's annoyance I was a very messy and imaginative child.

This is stereograph viewer. It allows you to see old timey pics in 3-D

The trunks are gone, and I'm no longer that messy child, but I think my active imagination serves me as I continue to get lost in my own little world creating. Recently my mom gave me the (now broken) lamp with the base of a glass canning jar and it happened to be filled with buttons. So for my Chi-Town Chinos I got to bring out the button jar.

Here's my button jar formerly know as lamp

For these shorts I measured a size 14 in the waist and 10 in the hips. Alina, the designer,
conveniently added a back extension for people like me, who are shaped more like a pint glass than an hourglass. I did add 3.5inches to the inseam of the shorts. Check out my first post about these shorts.

I used a green linen fabric I found at "Are You Ready To Rummage" and for my bias tape, inner pocket flap, and pockets I used a vintage fabric I had found at the same rummage sale one year prior. My heart smiles at a rummage sale.

I love this little button I used for my back flap pockets.

Thanks again Alina for letting me pattern test. You can buy this pattern I've been talking about so much. And thanks Mom for stirring a passion in me for finding old world treasures...and for encouraging my imagination...and putting up with my messes.