caitriona.net : a photoblog tag:www.caitriona.net,2010:/c//1 2010-02-05T11:55:13Z Movable Type 2.661 birthday bunting 2010-02-05T11:55:13Z 2010-02-05T11:55:13Z i may have mentioned before that one of my guilty pleasures is reading design blogs. and with fionn's arrival, apartment therapy's children's design blog ohdeedoh has become a daily favourite. it's so chocca full of inspiration for kid's partys that even a world class procrastinator like myself managed to get off her backside and do some party decorating for fionn's first birthday.

cue the bunting...

and cue me trying to figure out a cheap and easy way to make the bunting. without using fabric or a sewing machine.

in the end it turned out to be easy as pie to make it out of paper. the most complicated part was figuring out how many triangles i could get out of an A4 page with least wastage.

and because i am enormously proud of my new bunting making skillz, i thought i would share with you here the patented (not really) easy as pie (really!) no-sew diy paper bunting making tutorial:

what you will need

• A4 paper
• paper trimmer
• pencil
• holepunch
• string

i got 10 triangles out of one A4 page - which turned out to be the perfect sized triangle for the position of the holes in my hole punch (possibly not a coincidence?)

to figure out the template size, rather than getting complicated with rulers and calculations and measurements, i just folded the paper.

first into thirds;

then in half again to make sixths;

     

then in half again, across the middle;

then i cut along this last fold;

and marked out some points as guides for cutting the triangles;

cut from dot to dot with the trimmer (also posssible with scissors/craft knife obviously, i'm just dreadful at cutting a straight line);

ta da, it's a template;

then i sliced a load of the A4 sheets in half down the middle and used the template to mark out some guide dots (i forgot to take a photo of this - but it was pretty much the same as this but without the folds);

the triangles with holes punched, ready for stringing and hanging;

the finished bunting;

]]> ]]> i may have mentioned before that one of my guilty pleasures is reading design blogs. and with fionn's arrival, apartment therapy's children's design blog ohdeedoh has become a daily favourite. it's so chocca full of inspiration for kid's partys that even a world class procrastinator like myself managed to get off her backside and do some party decorating for fionn's first birthday.

cue the bunting...

and cue me trying to figure out a cheap and easy way to make the bunting. without using fabric or a sewing machine.

in the end it turned out to be easy as pie to make it out of paper. the most complicated part was figuring out how many triangles i could get out of an A4 page with least wastage.

and because i am enormously proud of my new bunting making skillz, i thought i would share with you here the patented (not really) easy as pie (really!) no-sew diy paper bunting making tutorial:

what you will need

• A4 paper
• paper trimmer
• pencil
• holepunch
• string

i got 10 triangles out of one A4 page - which turned out to be the perfect sized triangle for the position of the holes in my hole punch (possibly not a coincidence?)

to figure out the template size, rather than getting complicated with rulers and calculations and measurements, i just folded the paper.

first into thirds;

then in half again to make sixths;

     

then in half again, across the middle;

then i cut along this last fold;

and marked out some points as guides for cutting the triangles;

cut from dot to dot with the trimmer (also posssible with scissors/craft knife obviously, i'm just dreadful at cutting a straight line);

ta da, it's a template;

then i sliced a load of the A4 sheets in half down the middle and used the template to mark out some guide dots (i forgot to take a photo of this - but it was pretty much the same as this but without the folds);

the triangles with holes punched, ready for stringing and hanging;

the finished bunting;

]]> chin attack 2010-01-25T23:18:06Z 2010-01-25T23:18:06Z for fionn, no party would be complete without a good gnaw on his auntie eileen's chin (see here).

happy birthday little man!

[aged: 12 months]

]]> ]]> for fionn, no party would be complete without a good gnaw on his auntie eileen's chin (see here).

happy birthday little man!

[aged: 12 months]

]]> the many moods of fionn (II) 2010-01-10T00:05:39Z 2010-01-10T00:05:39Z he's come a long way since this, though he still looks like a convict.

(having been reminded that i wanted to do this again by these two.)

happy new year!

[aged: 11½ months]

]]> ]]> he's come a long way since this, though he still looks like a convict.

(having been reminded that i wanted to do this again by these two.)

happy new year!

[aged: 11½ months]

]]> stripey boys 2009-12-09T23:22:45Z 2009-12-09T23:22:45Z as usual, it's been a while.

since we last spoke, fionn has (belatedly) learned to crawl; well, it's a sort of a monkey-shuffle-crawl employing a combination of left knee, backside and right foot.

he's also developed a fascination with the washing machine, and has a tentative first word - 'round' (which we have been saying repeatedly to describe what the washing machine does) though it does sound more like 'raah' when he says it.

he has four teeth. two top and two bottom.

and he's approx. 9kg and 76cm - he is a metric baby.

[aged 10½ months]

]]> ]]> as usual, it's been a while.

since we last spoke, fionn has (belatedly) learned to crawl; well, it's a sort of a monkey-shuffle-crawl employing a combination of left knee, backside and right foot.

he's also developed a fascination with the washing machine, and has a tentative first word - 'round' (which we have been saying repeatedly to describe what the washing machine does) though it does sound more like 'raah' when he says it.

he has four teeth. two top and two bottom.

and he's approx. 9kg and 76cm - he is a metric baby.

[aged 10½ months]

]]> caught 2009-11-05T23:10:01Z 2009-11-05T23:10:01Z baby-proofing urgency just stepped up a notch...

[aged 9½ months]

]]> ]]> baby-proofing urgency just stepped up a notch...

[aged 9½ months]

]]> stripey boy 2009-10-20T20:29:52Z 2009-10-20T20:29:52Z fionn, enjoying his high-chair-perch, caught in a beam of low sunlight, making his face light up.

[aged: nearly nine months]

]]> ]]> fionn, enjoying his high-chair-perch, caught in a beam of low sunlight, making his face light up.

[aged: nearly nine months]

]]> toothies! 2009-09-25T21:48:00Z 2009-09-25T21:48:00Z after an epic four months of teething... (i just checked back through old photos and it looks like the bib became a permanent fixture at about three and a half months) ...the red cheeks, the drooling, the manic gnawing, the intermittant crankiness, the teething cough... (betcha never knew about that? an irritating side effect of the buckets of drool) ...a couple of weeks ago we were finally rewarded we a pair of pristine, razor sharp, lower central incisors.

two down, eighteen more to go.

[aged 8 months & 3 days]

]]> ]]> after an epic four months of teething... (i just checked back through old photos and it looks like the bib became a permanent fixture at about three and a half months) ...the red cheeks, the drooling, the manic gnawing, the intermittant crankiness, the teething cough... (betcha never knew about that? an irritating side effect of the buckets of drool) ...a couple of weeks ago we were finally rewarded we a pair of pristine, razor sharp, lower central incisors.

two down, eighteen more to go.

[aged 8 months & 3 days]

]]> vaseline authenticity tester 2009-09-07T21:13:13Z 2009-09-07T21:13:13Z yep, this one's genuine petroleum jelly!

[aged 7½ months]

]]> ]]> yep, this one's genuine petroleum jelly!

[aged 7½ months]

]]> fun laoghaire 2009-08-31T20:47:19Z 2009-08-31T20:47:19Z my boys, at the festival of world cultures in dun laoghaire on sunday

[fionn aged: 7 months & a bit]

]]> ]]> my boys, at the festival of world cultures in dun laoghaire on sunday

[fionn aged: 7 months & a bit]

]]> blue fionn 2009-08-26T20:42:44Z 2009-08-26T20:42:44Z so, after yesterday's post, aonghus observed that the recent photos i've posted of fionn here each have a predominant colour in them. which got me thinking about what other colours i could do. so when fionn was all wrapped up in a big blue towel after his bath today, i knew what had to be done...

[aged: 7 months & 4 days]

]]> ]]> so, after yesterday's post, aonghus observed that the recent photos i've posted of fionn here each have a predominant colour in them. which got me thinking about what other colours i could do. so when fionn was all wrapped up in a big blue towel after his bath today, i knew what had to be done...

[aged: 7 months & 4 days]

]]> vanity 2009-08-25T19:30:20Z 2009-08-25T19:30:20Z fionn smiling at himself in the mirror. too cute!

also; sitting up on his own. he's still liable to fall over at any moment, but he's improving by the day.

[aged: 7 months & 3 days]

]]> ]]> fionn smiling at himself in the mirror. too cute!

also; sitting up on his own. he's still liable to fall over at any moment, but he's improving by the day.

[aged: 7 months & 3 days]

]]> abcd bib 2009-08-24T21:15:42Z 2009-08-24T21:15:42Z this bib is doubly appropriate because aonghus & my initials, together, are abcd.

[aged: 7 months & 2 days]

]]> ]]> this bib is doubly appropriate because aonghus & my initials, together, are abcd.

[aged: 7 months & 2 days]

]]> world class drooler 2009-07-20T22:07:10Z 2009-07-20T22:07:10Z sorry it's been so long. we've been away on a proper family summer holiday in kerry for a week - though that doesn't fully excuse the lengthy gap.

fionn has been showing signs of teething for weeks and weeks now, though still no sign of any teeth. but apart from the excessive drooling and constant bib-soaking, he hasn't been too grumpy with it.

[aged: nearly 6 months]

]]> ]]> sorry it's been so long. we've been away on a proper family summer holiday in kerry for a week - though that doesn't fully excuse the lengthy gap.

fionn has been showing signs of teething for weeks and weeks now, though still no sign of any teeth. but apart from the excessive drooling and constant bib-soaking, he hasn't been too grumpy with it.

[aged: nearly 6 months]

]]> lord of the ring 2009-06-20T20:28:52Z 2009-06-20T20:28:52Z fionn, clutching his new most favourite toy, a ring shaped rattle (the one on the right, here) that can be cluched simultaneously with both hands and pushed mouthwards for some quality gum-gnawing. it also has some nice rattley bits which make it a good tambourine for bashing.

note the blurred feet - they don't stay still for long.

[aged: almost 5 months]

]]> ]]> fionn, clutching his new most favourite toy, a ring shaped rattle (the one on the right, here) that can be cluched simultaneously with both hands and pushed mouthwards for some quality gum-gnawing. it also has some nice rattley bits which make it a good tambourine for bashing.

note the blurred feet - they don't stay still for long.

[aged: almost 5 months]

]]> son of the god of the daisies 2009-06-01T22:18:43Z 2009-06-01T22:18:43Z aonghus tells me that his namesake is some sort of god of the daisies, though the internet doesn't seem to back this up. either way, i reckon the crown suits fionn!

[aged: 18 weeks / just over 4 months]

]]> ]]> aonghus tells me that his namesake is some sort of god of the daisies, though the internet doesn't seem to back this up. either way, i reckon the crown suits fionn!

[aged: 18 weeks / just over 4 months]

]]>