A Paris Party for Rapunzel
My niece Rapunzel (not her real name) is turning 13. Can you believe it? It’s like yesterday I was taking her to Disneyland instead of Bug and she was only THREE!!! I miss that little munchkin so much. And I miss her as big kid too. She’s growing up too fast and too far away. They moved to the northernmost tip of California and I have no hope of ever seeing them again unless gas prices go down or Grandma brings them back down when she goes on a road trip in week. It’s possible but not likely.
Anyway, she’s turning 13 and she has requested a Paris-themed party. She knows she doesn’t have to say any more to get me on board designing an invite for her. I LOVE anything Paris-related, as you already know.
Here’s a rough prototype of a passport invitation I’m working on. I’m still working out the kinks.
I made the cover blue out of some cheap paper I had on hand and then cut it to the right size and rounded the corners with a handy-dandy corner-rounding tool. I love that thing but sometimes it gets dull and has to be sharpened with tinfoil. I printed out some pages for the inside and tried to staple them but my stapler is too small! If only I had one of those really long staplers.
So I sewed it together with pink thread because that’s what I had on my machine (of course) and I’m impatient. I’ll probably think of something better when I get back from our trip to Disneyland but I really wanted to bust these out while the inspiration was pinging away in my head. Ping! Ping! Ping!
Random pictures on the inside that I do not own the rights to but which should be okay since I’m not reselling this product. But if anyone knows who took these photos let me know and I will give credit. (Nice sewing job, eh?)
And a fun inside page where the guests can stick a photo of themselves. I’m still working on the details. I haven’t really figured out how to print on both sides of the papers and have the graphics line up correctly (stupid inkjet home printer) so I might tweak it a little more. Or not.
Anyway, I’m super excited about it and I can’t wait to see how the rest of the party pans out. Too bad I can’t be there!
15 Comments
Vicki B
I just watched a video the other day with a neat trick for stapling when you don’t have a long fancy stapler. It’s at about 5 minutes into this video:
http://angrychicken.typepad.com/angry_chicken/2011/04/hardback-sketchbook-tutorial.html
sizzle
That is so cool. She’s one lucky girl to have such a creative aunt!
hotrodhanna
I hope she posts pictures! I’m dying to see how it goes too! Love your designs!
bethany actually
Fun! I wish I could be there too. This country is too freaking big.
Katherine
Oh, I want to be 13 and having a Paris party, these are so cool!
Blue Kaeru
Cool passport and party theme idea.
While I have a long arm stapler, just this week I saw a post on how to staple without one. It was the April 20th post from Angry Chicken. Basically you open the stapler and then stample down onto an eraser. Then you fold the prongs down. Though I will say, I like the idea of sewing.
And thanks for the tip on how to sharpen punches. I had no idea that tin foil would do that.
gabrielle
gorgeous idea – what a lucky girl!
for what it’s worth, my local kinko’s has one of those ultra long staplers – maybe you could find one near you?
Cc
For not wanting a themed party this year she is very excited. Her exact words were, “Mama, I don’t want a themed party this year. I want something sophisticated.” then she would proceed to ask me what I was”doing” for her party.
I can’t believe she is really going to be 13. 16 more days and she’s going to ba a teenager. 16. That is just not fair.
I found three cool scarves, two of them pashmina like, yesterday for $1 each. Completely affordable.
I’m off to google eclair and coconut macaroon recipes.
Bonjour!
Jaynette
I love the sewed passport seam. I might even top stitch the cover to the liner. Use the longest basting stitch and I’d sew and then fold.
Jody
I so admire your creativity. Love the invite!
Melissa
These are fantastic and I love that your niece picked something so perfectly up your alley!
OMSH
Disneyworld? What am I missing????
Jamie
Pinterest looks amazing! :) I put my name down to be invited, I sure hope that I am. I have so many things that I have seen for garden and home that this is a great place to store them all. :) Thanks for showing it to us!
mari
I have to say this is one of the most interesting and creative projects I’ve seen in a while. Expect the parents of the kids who attend this party to call you and order similar invites!
Kuky
Love it, especially the passport. And I did not know you had a Paris category. Though it doesn’t surprise me so maybe I did know somewhere in that brain of mine.