Welcome to my little corner of the blogosphere to share the ups and downs of starting a craft business, with plenty of tips, mishaps and the odd glass of wine!

Sunday, 27 January 2013

Children's Craft Party

Waaaaaay back in December, I rashly agreed to run a children's birthday party at ZigZags in Coleford - obviously I was distracted, as entertaining a group of 9 year olds given I have no experience of what they can do and might like isn't something I'd usually have agreed to quite so readily!

However yesterday afternoon rolled around scarily quickly and so on I ploughed.

The girls had decided they wanted to make things for their teddies. What exactly was up to me.

I had a bit of a play with some of my the kids teddies and came up with two options for the girls to make - waistcoats or bags for their teddies.

What I should have done was come up with things that I could draw templates for so that the girls could each have had a template to work from. As it was, the 2 Mum's who stayed to help and I had to spend the first 45 mins going round each girl in turn and cut out their waistcoats because of course, all the bears were different sizes!

No-one seemed to mind, but I think next time (Nex time? Brave? or possibly just silly!) I'd try to plan activities that meant they could get straight on without everyone having to wait get started.

Despite my initial nerves and misgivings, the party went really well, the parents were happy, the birthday girl and her friends were all very happy - phew!

So, here is the result of 11 girls beavering away for an hour and a half:


They looked fab! Because I've taken the pics on my phone you can't see all the detail, but they'd really gone all out and decorated their bears' accessories brilliantly! (and now I've got the Jungle Book song, 'The Bear Necessities' in my head!)

And then after they'd gone, I turned round and this was the scene that greeted me! The chaos they left behind:



And this was after the Mum had done a good 5 mins of tidying up!!!

Still... I'm feeling brave (silly?) so I've said to the lovely owner of the shop that I will do more parties if she gets any interest. What am I letting myself in for?

As usual, I'm linking this up to the lovely Handmade Monday party over at Wendy's Handmade Harbour Blog
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32 comments:

  1. Handbags by Helen27 January 2013 at 18:27

    Wow, that's really brave to run a childrens party. Sounds like it was a great success though.

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    1. Unknown27 January 2013 at 19:42

      Ha - I think daft is more the word... I definitely got lucky that my first one was a group of well behaved girls!

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  2. Ginx Craft27 January 2013 at 18:43

    That looks like incredibly hard work. The teddies look very smart though.

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    1. Unknown27 January 2013 at 19:42

      I think I was running on adrenaline more than anything - till the evening when I collapsed in the bath & fell asleep!

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  3. CatkinJane27 January 2013 at 18:47

    Well done you, I don't think I'd have the patience! But it's a great way to get children sewing - I started my sewing career making clothes for my dolls and teds :)

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    1. Unknown27 January 2013 at 19:43

      I was surprised actually at my patience (I'm not always known for it!!) but I really love the idea of the next generation learning the skills we cherish too.

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  4. Adaliza27 January 2013 at 19:01

    Oh my - great creativity & lots of mess! I used to teach a Saturday morning children's art class and tidying up was the bain of my life! Hope it's all sorted now and maybe you've sewn the seeds for a whole new generation of textile lovers.

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    1. Unknown27 January 2013 at 19:44

      Ohhh gosh, I'm not sure I could do it every week!! But thankfully it was pretty quick to sort out!

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  5. Wendy27 January 2013 at 19:02

    Oh well done! The fact that all the bears were different definitely made your life more difficult, but what an achievement! Next time (yes!) maybe you could finish 10 mins before you should and have a "tidying up competition". Prize for the best tidyer upper??

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    1. Unknown27 January 2013 at 19:46

      Now that is an idea I like!! I'm sure a mystery prize would get them all into the swing of it!

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  6. Anonymous27 January 2013 at 19:40

    Congratulations. Yes there will be a next time and you will do it even better than before having learnt from this one. As long as everyone is happy. (Maybe if you have boxes for each utensil or resource, along with a bin so that everything can be put away would also help?

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    1. Unknown27 January 2013 at 19:47

      Ohhhh good thinking Batman :-) And that appeals to my inner OCD bod - who doesn't get let out very often!

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  7. threads 'n' shreds27 January 2013 at 19:42

    that soulds like a major ordeal - but what a great idea making something personal for their beloved teddies, a great way for them to learn

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    1. Unknown27 January 2013 at 19:49

      It was a bit!! But they really enjoyed it and their teddies didn't look too shabby at the end :-)

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  8. Myth Illogical27 January 2013 at 19:58

    Oh Simmi- I want to come to your teddy bear accessory making party! Sounds brilliant! I wish I'd been to parties like that as a kid- far better than going to McDonalds and watching Ronald and the staff dancing to 'Star Trekking'!

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    1. Unknown27 January 2013 at 21:31

      Ahhh thanks Jenny :-) Those parties were fab at the time though, weren't they?! Simmi x

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  9. Christmas Pie Crafts27 January 2013 at 20:36

    Definitely a next time, coz hard work but great fun for everyone - you too of course. The bears looked as though they had a great time too :-). Hope you have a good week.

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    1. Unknown27 January 2013 at 21:32

      Yeah true, it was fun! Thankfully the bears didn't mind being twisted and manipulated about too much! Simmi x

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  10. Highland Monkey's27 January 2013 at 21:48

    I think if there wasn't a mess they wouldn't have been enjoying themselves as much! I bet a bear party will catch on pretty quick. Well done to the girls for making such lovely makes.

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    1. Unknown27 January 2013 at 21:53

      Ha, so true! I guess if they do catch on then I'll get plenty of practice at how best to organise myself and the kids :-)

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  11. Free Spirit Designs27 January 2013 at 23:12

    That really is brave!! I can see from those very smart looking teddies that it turned out brilliantly though :) well done you! x

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    1. Unknown28 January 2013 at 08:25

      Thanks Natalie :-) It thank goodness! Not sure how I'd have coped if it was a shambles! Simmi x

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  12. Natalie Jones28 January 2013 at 17:38

    What a great idea! It took bravery on your part but I think you could be onto something....

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    1. Unknown28 January 2013 at 18:10

      Ahhh thanks Natalie :-) Have a great week, Simmi x

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  13. Ali28 January 2013 at 17:44

    Wow you were so brave. I think the parties are a great idea and now that you've done it once you've got lots of hindsight (always a useful thing). I bet the girls had a great day and the teddies look very happy with their new outfits.
    Ali x

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    1. Unknown28 January 2013 at 18:11

      Thanks Ali, it was, gulp, a bit scary (as my 2 year old would say!) but definitely something I could do again (with a couple of improvements!) Have a good week, Simmi x

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  14. Sarah - The Lilac Dragonfly28 January 2013 at 19:39

    Ohhhhhh you are brave!! I did a jewellery making party for my daughter and struggled with just 6 of them!
    Have a great week!
    S x

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    1. Unknown29 January 2013 at 12:50

      Thanks Sarah :-) I'm sure I would have found it harder with my own kids! Simmi x

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  15. Stephen @ Soy of the North28 January 2013 at 20:12

    Very brave to do a children's party. Looks like the kids had a great time. You may have been teaching the next generation of crafters.

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    1. Unknown29 January 2013 at 12:51

      It's nice to think that I am helping the next generation! Have a great week :-) Simmi x

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  16. Gertie28 January 2013 at 20:53

    Aren't they a handsome bunch of teddies. What a brilliant idea for parties.

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I really appreciate all comments made on the blog (it reminds me that I'm not talking to myself!) so just wanted to say thanks for adding your thoughts. Simmi x

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