Four months have passed since August turned five. Life with three little children sometimes feels like white water rafting. I’ve struggled in the past few months to find rhythm and calm in our days. I haven’t been able to make the most sustainable choices or spend time on making things and being creative as I would like. I know those things come and go and that is a natural part of life. But I’ve missed them. Today I’m choosing to ignore everything else on the “To Do” list and share a moment with you from this past summer when we slowed down to honor my son Gus on his birthday.
Gus is the most gentle, goofy, caring little guy. He has gorgeous big blue eyes and blond hair which set him apart from the rest of the family. Gus loves the color blue. He chose dragons as his birthday theme this year. I loved his idea. It easily lent itself to whimsy and magic.
Backdrop
Instead of balloons, I used paper globe lanterns that we had from previous parties. Globe lanterns are a birthday staple for us. I sewed a simple bunting out of fabric that I thought looked a bit like dragon scales. One of my first posts on Gathering Mindfully in 2019 was about fabric bunting I had sewn for my mom’s birthday. It has become another of my go-to sustainable party decorations. The paper dragons hanging from the ceiling are made from a pattern I purchased from GeometrixShop on Etsy. After downloading the file, the pattern can be printed onto cardstock. There are detailed instructions on how to assemble the dragon. It took time but was fun! It definitely helps to have a Fiskars crafting knife and PVA glue.
Felted Ball Garland
Wet felting little balls is a quick and easy way to make a sustainable party decoration. I have built up a collection of colors to mix and match and string up for different occasions. I usually buy wool roving at my local craft store, Artco. Wet felting is a centuries old craft that is very therapeutic. To make a felt ball, you first take a strip of wool roving, roll it into a tight ball, dip it in warm soapy water, and gently form it into a ball, starting by very lightly rolling it between two hands, then very gradually increasing pressure. Then once the ball is formed, you rinse it with warm water and squeeze it dry. It takes time to get used to, but with practice (and a YouTube video or two), it is a simple craft to master. This is a fun one to do with kids too!
Crown
Gus said he wanted a water dragon on his crown. That’s why it has little drops of water instead of flames. Water dragons are a thing, right? I mean, as much as any dragon is a thing! The wool on the base of this crown is merino felt hand dyed with indigo. I thought the tiny gold stars added a little magic!
Cake
My dear mom made this masterpiece. As you can imagine, Gus was absolutely thrilled by it. There is an incredible amount of love that goes into a cake like this. There are many steps that take days to complete. The construction has to be carefully planned out. But my mom also often needs to be able to improvise as well because things don’t always go as planned during the process. She knows how to balance that forethought and flexibility. Her stunning cakes are a very special part of our birthday celebrations.
Favors and Gifts
I came across some wooden eggs at the craft store and decided to paint them with scales to resemble dragon eggs. They served as both a decoration and a party favor. My plan is to continue to sand them down and repaint them in different ways for different occasions like Easter.
I used toilet paper rolls and other craft supplies we had at home to create these fire-breathing dragons. The kids could blow into them and it looked like a dragon was blowing flames. Rolls of crepe paper streamers are one of the things I always keep an eye out for at thrift stores. We have a tradition of filling the kids’ doorways with hanging streamers for them to wake up to on their birthday. I often find streamers in the party décor section of thrift stores.
The wool felt dragons are from Bella Luna Toys, our favorite online shop for sustainable gifts for children.
All of the favors and gifts were wrapped in the simple, classic way: brown paper with baker’s twine.
I hope you enjoyed hearing about the little projects that went into making Gus’s day a magical one!
