Hug your kids and have a great weekend!

I was so excited to be asked by Tanya of Save the Date for Cupcakes to help with a Girls Spa Party she was working on.  I am a huge fan of Tanya and you should be too!  She has a great blog filled with party and dessert table inspiration … see my most recent favorite here.

Her “dessert” table is stunning … but I wouldn’t eat any of those treats as they are all made out of soap … yes, SOAP!  How fun is that…

The soap ice cream cones are my favorite…

The Modern Frills tees…

Adorable spa accessories from Sweetharts Shoppe…

Stop by Hostess with the Mostess for the full party post and all of the vendor details!

And a very lucky princess she is…

Yarah of Yarah Designs put together this amazing party for her daughter Madelynn.  I am loving the color scheme of light and hot pink with touches of yellow and white …especially this invitation by Kori of Paper & Pigtails…

And these cookies by Queen of Tarts and Cakes…

I had so much fun creating Madelynn’s birthday tank…

That is a very happy birthday girl!

A huge Thank You to Yarah for letting Modern Frills be a party of Madelynn’s precious party!  Stop by Yarah’s blog for all of the party details and vendor information.  Party photography by Sivan of Sivan Ravit Photography

The birthday girl’s tee will be listed in the shop today!

…and it is amazing!

My husband looked at me a little crazy a couple weeks ago when I was skipping around the house saying, “I won, I won, I won!” There was good reason I was so excited…I won a giveaway. Not JUST any giveaway but a giveaway from The Lucky Elephant.

Jutta is the designer behind The Lucky Elephant and her bracelets are beautiful.

What was so fun about this giveaway is that it was a surprise. I didn’t know what I actually won until it arrived on my doorstep.  When I opened the package, all sorts of fun rainbow colored items were nestled inside…rainbow colored balloons, gumballs and more.  And then there was this….

AHHHH…..love it.  I have been wearing it every day since it arrived.

The Lucky Elephant shop is filled with beautiful, hand crafted bracelets that use a mix of semi-precious stones, faceted crystals and sterling silver beads.  And there is something for everyone…

The bracelets in the wedding collection are made with Swarovski crystal pearls, a vintage inspired rhinestone button closure and the silver elephant charm … absolutely gorgeous….

I just added this vintage inspired braided bracelet to my wish list…

I hope you will stop by The Lucky Elephant’s shop and check out all of her amazing designs…and maybe do a little shopping as well.

[photo by Christian Chaize via Elements of Style]

I will be taking a few days for some fun in the sun and a little cousin reunion with my husband’s family.  25 people under one roof! It will either be a lot of fun OR we won’t be speaking to each other for a few years!

I will keep you posted:)

Another custom order … A cheetah and lime green princess crown … Such a fun color combination!

And now for the Balloon Time winner …

21. Heather Schlittler Says:

I’m a modern frills FB fan!

Heather … Send me an email at modernfrills@yahoo.com to claim your prize!  Winner must contact me within 48 hours or a new winner will be chosen.

After looking for a tablecloth for several weeks and Ava’s birthday party getting closer and closer, I decided to make my own … the day before the party.  Nothing like waiting to the last minute!  I purchased a pre-made white tablecloth from Target.  The key to this was buying a tablecloth that was larger than I needed by about 25%.  The extra 25% is for making your ruffle.

The supplies are simple…tablecloth, thread, scissors, sewing machine …and about 30 minutes!  I am not kidding about the time.  This is a very easy tablecloth that looks fabulous!

The first step is to trim your tablecloth to the actual size you will need to cover your table.  Once you have done this, pin the edges…

and sew a straight hem.  Take your extra leftover piece and cut it into strips.

Figuring out the strips of fabric …

I cut my extra fabric into 2.5″ strips and layered 2 of them on top of each other when I made the ruffle.  The width of the strips will depend on how much fabric you have left over and how big your table is.  You will also need to consider that the strips of fabric will shorten a bit when ruffled.  The amount they shorten will vary based on different sewing machines.  I recommend ruffling a small sample piece to get an idea of how much your fabric strips will shorten when ruffled.  Figuring this out sounds a lot harder than it actually is….don’t be scared!  You can do it.

I should also mention that being the lazy person that I am…I did not do a sample piece.  I just cut everything into strips, layered them and ruffled while saying a short prayer that I had enough:)  I did!

Ruffling the Fabric Strips…

I almost went out to buy a ruffler foot for my sewing machine.  I changed my mind after reading about ruffled streamers on MADE and decided to give this technique a try with fabric…and it worked!  Here’s how….

To make the strips of fabric ruffle, I placed 2 strips of fabric on top of each other.  Setting my machine to the longest stitch (4 on my machine) and the highest tension (9 on my machine), I stitched straight down the center of the 2 strips of fabric…

As I stitched, the fabric magically ruffled slightly.   So EASY!  Disregard the edges that have been done with pinking shears…I changed my mind and used regular scissors to cut the strips.

Adding the ruffle…

Once the ruffles were sewn, I lined up the edge of the ruffle with the edge of the tablecloth.  Then, I sewed a straight stitch down the center of the ruffle to attach it to the tablecloth…

I added the ruffle to all 4 edges of the tablecloth and DONE!  Remember to adjust your stitch size and your tension back to normal before sewing the ruffle on to the tablecloth.

A few more photos…

The final product on display…

and a very happy birthday girl…

I am loving the way this colorful Vintage Cake Stand turned out for one of my recent custom orders…

I will be listing it in my shop today.  Happy Friday!

The best part of throwing a birthday party is seeing this reaction…

She never stopped smiling…all day long.  The permanent smile started when we began blowing up the balloons.

It was so fun to watch her face as the balloons began to fill up the ceiling…

I used a Helium Balloon Kit from Balloon Time.  It was very simple and easy to use.  AND…..it comes with everything you need…balloons, helium tank and ribbon!  It was fast too.  I was able to inflate and tie off 50 balloons (with the help of my husband) in less than an hour!

The Balloon Time Helium Kit is perfect for a birthday, baby shower, anniversary …  any fun gathering!

What’s really fabulous is that the great people at Balloon Time want to give one Modern Frills reader their very own Balloon Time Helium Kit.

Here’s how to enter…

1.  Follow the Modern Frills Blog…and leave a comment on this post letting me know that you are a follower!  You can follow this blog through Google Friend connect located on the right side of the screen.  You must be a follower Modern Frills blog to enter this giveaway.

2.  Become a fan of Balloon Time on facebook …and leave a comment letting me know that you are a fan.

3.  Become a fan of Modern Frills on Facebook and come back and leave a comment letting me know you are a fan!  If you are already a fan, leave a comment letting me know that you are already a fan!

4.  Post this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter…and come back and leave a comment letting me know that you did!

That is a total of 4 possible entries!!!

You must leave a separate comment for each entry!  Winner will be chosen on Tuesday, July 12th, 2011 at 10:00pm (CST). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Open to US residents only. Winner will be chosen using random.org.  Modern Frills did receive product in exchange for a product review.  My thoughts and opinions are my own as I will not endorse a product I do not believe in.

Hope your 4th of July is super sweet….

[image via Cherry Tea Cakes]