Decorating for a Country Fair Party

The focus for my studies is in human trafficking. My internship at TRUST primarily focuses on domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST), where "minor" refers to the age of the victim, not the degree of offense. When it comes to trafficking- all offenses are MAJOR. So, it is a rather harrowing topic, but not as harrowing as the life the individuals trapped in this situation are leading.

Last night, TRUST and the Arizona Attorney General's office sponsored a screening of a new feature-length documentary on sex trafficking of minors (children). It is called Tricked, produced by Jane Wells. TRUST and the AG's office are doing another free screening on April 21. You should go. The reservation button for April 21 hasn't been put on the website yet, but I am pretty certain it is going to be at the same link. Give them a few days, then go here to reserve your free tickets. 

Today, I am going to tell you about something fun, colorful, and cheery. One year ago, or two years ago... at some point in the past my friend's son got married. They had a casual reception with a "Country Fair" theme. When I have the time, I rather love to plan and decorate for themed parties. I did a Harry Potter Party for my daughters a couple of years ago. It was superb. Go check it out. Then come back and finish this one.

I made- yes, I made- probably a couple hundred feet of pennant bunting to hang in her covered porch area in her backyard to make it festive.

The pennant bunting I made to give it a festive, country fair feel.

 My friend was planning on renting a cotton candy machine and popcorn machine. I made a Kissing Booth just to add to the fair ambience. I thought it came out rather awesome.

I made this kissing booth, just for more retro-fair fun. Plus, it was a wedding reception, so I thought it would be rather cute.

 For table decorations, I gathered up miniature ferris wheels and other rides you'd see at the fair to put in the middle of the table. I also got rolls of tickets- you know, like ride tickets- to accent the center pieces.

one table centerpiece with a Double Ferris Wheel and rolls of tickets.

Below is a photo of the largest ferris wheel I had. It is probably 18"-24" tall. It is a replica of the very first ferris wheel ever made. It even turns and plays music. The "observation wheel" or "Chicago wheel" was 264 ft tall and was invented and constructed by George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr. for the 1893 World's Fair: Columbian Exposition that was held in Chicago, IL to celebrate the 400 anniversary of Christopher Columbus' sailing to the "New World" in 1492. The wheel would later be known as the "ferris wheel", so named after its inventor. It was made to rival the Eiffel Tower built in Paris, France for the 1889 world's fair. It was used in the St Louis World's Fair in 1904. In 1906 the Ferris Wheel was destroyed by controlled demolition. I have no idea why!

This is an exact replica of the original "Observation Wheel" invented by George Ferris for the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893.

And, the food service table- more cute decor items I brought to add to the fair theme. It turned out so fabulous.

I brought the ticket rolls, mini fair ride, a large wire ferris wheel in the back ground, wire baskets, candle stick holders, bird cage and candle, lanterns, and 4-tiered serving plate to use on the food serving table.

Eebs Doodles and Dubble Letter Words

I know "Dubble" isn't a word, but it should be because it has a double letter in it. If the word that describes double has a double letter, it provides an example of what it means within itself. You can see why it should be spelled "dubble".

I like to doodle. My daughter is an excellent doodle-er. I think she even out-doodles me. Here are just a few samples of my Darling Daughter's Doodles (three Ds! or DDD or 3D!).

Eebs Doodles

Look! Cookie Doodles! (three double "o" words in a row- that's like double (dubble) prizes, or something!) In the lower left corner you can see how fantastically iced that cookie is and how marvelously well-doodled it is.

I generally like doodles. I also like miniatures and collections. Collections of miniatures are of particular interest. 

When Google started dooing doodles (ok, so I cheated on the "dooing", but c'mon! double (dubble) "Os"!) –which, I have no idea when they started– it just gave me a little smile anytime it happened to be a "Google Doodle Day" (I think I just made a new salutation). It might be because it kind of combines all three of the above. They are doodles of little miniature pictures, and when I particularly liked one, I would collect it. I especially like it when I learn something new from the doodle; it's a little fun bit of knowledge I wouldn't have known to look up otherwise.

Here are some sample Google Doodles:

I mean, how can you not love this collection of miniature doodles?! 

Now, the thing about Google Doodles, is they have specific doodles for different countries and people (on your birthday- it will have a "Happy Birthday" doodle. Creepy? A little.) The doodles for other countries opens up a whole new realm of random bits of knowledge you never knew you didn't know. I mean, you could get lost in the wiki-rabbit hole for days! So, it is with fair warning that I give you the URL to go explore current and past Goodles (hah! I mistyped "Google Doodle" as "Goodles"– and I think I like it. I'm leaving it!) from all over the world. If I were you, I would warn someone that you are going on this adventure before you start so that they can come extract you if you don't resurface in a few hours... Enjoy the "Goodles" right here!

So, I Like to Sew

My mom started teaching me to sew when I was 8 years old. Once I got over the initial frustration curve, I have been glad I know how to sew ever since. Among the things I have made are dresses, shirts, pajama pants, skirts, water bottle holders, window coverings, decorative pillows, and quilts. Here are a few things I've made:

Dia de los Muertos Skirt

fall skirt

Woven fabric table runner

Banners for my sister when her twins were born

name banner for  the daughter of my dear friend. Ryan was in the hospital battling cancer.

A soft quilt and pillow case for Ryan in the hospital so it her room would be brighter, more comfy and hopefully a little cheerier.

name banner for a baby gift for my dear friends in Indiana

Arizona Centennial quilt (2012); each block represents something about Arizona

Jewelry-making tool holder; it rolls up (see next photo) to keep all your tools in one place. I made this one for my friend who moved to NYC as a going away gift

Jewelry tool kit rolled up

This is a second one I made for my very dearest friend, Janet, with whom I create jewelry. Maybe I will post about that sometime...

Jewelry tools snug as a bug in a rug. Ha!

a space pillow case for my "space case"

a quilt intended for hanging on the wall. Janet and I each made one of these and worked on them together. As soon as I get it quilted, I will hang it at christmas time. This has many pieces in a 40" x 40" quilt!

king-sized quilt for our "new" bedroom furniture; this quilt is about 115" x 115", so the pieces are much larger than the previous quilt! Plus, it will be used daily so will get worn much more quickly. More piecing means it takes more time to make. I didn't want to spend 100s of hours only to have it wear out in a (relatively) short time!

I have lots of other stuff, too. But, I won't bore you. What I really want to talk about is my very dearest friend, Janet.

Janet is a remarkable quilter. She taught me everything I know about quilting. As I said, I sew clothes, home dec, other stuff and have since I was young. But, I was never really any good at quilting until Janet came along. She and her best friend, Laurene Sinema, opened the first quilt shop in Phoenix, AZ in the 1980s (I believe). Laurene was nationally recognized for her appliqúe work and published several books. Janet published several books on quilting and wool rug hooking and penny rugs. Their were quite the dynamic duo! 

This is the second (and final) location of The Quilted Apple. It was on 24th St, just south of Indian School Rd

The store was called The Quilted Apple; sometime after Laurene passed away, the family sold the store in early 2004. Unfortunately, the store did not last long after that. It closed probably 5 to 7 years later. I wish I could remember the date, but I don't. Sorry. 

Janet and I used to get together at least once a week to create some sort of mischief. Now that I am in school, I am lucky if I see her once a month. It is so difficult to balance so many things; of course my family and friends are the most important things in my life. But, when I have a project due for my internship and homework and tests and responsibilities as a research assistant- there just is not enough hours in the day. We did get together in January before school started for me again.

Janet is finishing her Christmas charm necklace (I finished mine already). I am working on a "table topper" for the night stands in my bedroom; I want them to coordinate with the quilt. 

We each work on a project- often we are working on the same thing. We have made jewelry together, a really, really fabulous Christmas advent calendar mini-book (maybe I will post that sometime- of course, that'd be like 27 photos...); we did the Arizona Centennial quilt together and the red and green 40 stars quilt together... We have been best mates for close to 10 years; we have made many things together! This is the work in progress from that day in January we got together:

piecing in progress: the night stand topper

I pretty much just made up this quilt pattern based on the king size quilt. So, it took a little playing around with it to make it the right dimensions. I laid it out to see the size before I finished sewing it all together.

I was hoping to have these done by February 25- that's my husband's birthday. Unfortunately, it isn't going to happen. Presently, nothing gets done except school work, internship assignments and my responsibilities as a research assistant. Maybe when school is out in May...?!

PS I miss my Janet time!