Pom-Poms and Party Time

We celebrate two family birthdays in April, my Mum-In-Law (April 8th) and my Dad (April 10th). A fun family dinner is our favourite way to celebrate birthdays. To make it special this year, I added a few pom-poms to the decor. I used a Clover pom-pom maker from London Yarns. I bought four different sizes and love how easy it is to make beautiful fluffy pom-poms. Blogger Meet Me At Mikes has a great tutorial explaining how to use the Clover pom-pom maker. My tools of the trade are pictured below: Clover pom-pom maker, sharp scissors, a crochet hook (to join the pom-poms in a garland) and cappuccino.

I liked the way the large pom-poms turned out using bulky Bernat Roving yarn in Rice Paper (off-white) so I decided to make a bunch for a garland. I had enough yarn to make ten altogether.

I used five fluffy pom-poms to make a garland. The pom-poms are joined using a chain stitch with about 45 chains in between each and at either end.  To join the pom-poms to the chain, I dropped the chain stitch from the hook and inserted the hook through the middle of the pom-pom to pick up the loop again.  Then I pulled a long loose chain around the pom-pom which I pulled tight and wiggled until it was in the middle of the pom-pom and hidden in the fluff. I think this method worked rather well. For now the pom-pom garland adorns our fire place but I think I will send it to Boulder for my daughter to use as a photo prop.

With the remaining five pom-poms I decided to fill a colourful basket. I think it adds a fun spring feel to the table along with some fresh narcissus and a bowl of chocolate Easter eggs.

The narcissus are beautiful and smell amazing. My hubby's SO's parents gave them to us to brighten our table for dinner. A perfect addition I think.

I made a few colourful tiny pom-poms to decorate our wreath in the dining room. I also added a pretty wind chime found in one of my recent clutter clearing sessions. I may add a few more pom-poms but I think it looks just fine for now.

How do you like the Elmo napkins? I had them left over from our grandson's 2nd birthday. I think they add a nice birthday ambiance to the table for our parents and the colours go perfectly with the crochet and yarn centrepiece.

Our birthday menu: Raging Turkey (chicken breasts wrapped around bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin from The Butchers Blend at the Western Fair Farmers' and Artisans' Market), small roasted potatoes drizzled in butter, broccoli and sauteed bacon with onion, oyster mushrooms and baby bok choy. For dessert, my super talented sister-in-law made a deliciously gorgeous layered banana cake. It was perfect. We all had a wonderful time together eating, drinking, chatting and laughing. Family birthdays are the best.

We missed our daughter and her family of course as they live too far away to join in. Thank goodness for social media and web messaging. It helps to bridge the gap. I have to show you a little something I bought for our granddaughter at the Market last weekend, a cute little green gingham dress and bonnet. It is hand made by Kinsalu and absolutely adorable. Kinsu Hand Made is located upstairs at the Western Fair Farmers' and Artisans' Market and worth checking out. She specializes in children's clothing. I had a hard time picking just one thing as all of her stuff is so cute.

I am also very excited to show you my Business/Blogger cards. I designed and ordered 100 cards through Vistaprint just for fun. They arrived on Friday and I love them. Not bad for $8.50 including shipping and taxes.

One more thing, I have to show you our fluffy poodle Sadie. As I rushed about taking photos this morning, she followed right behind me. Upstairs and downstairs we went. As I came back upstairs to work on this post, I couldn't resist snapping this shot of her waiting patiently at the top. Too bad you can't see the natural pom-pom on her tail. No wonder I love pom-poms!

Note: My daughter prefers I use "My Husband" or "My SO" (Significant Other) instead of "Hubby" in reference to her Dad so I've edited this post to honour her wishes. Of course I chose My SO. I like that the best.