A Polka Dot Party

Recently my incredible friend Liz had a party to celebrate her 30 amazing years of life. Seriously, they have been amazing – I’m so in awe of that woman. She’s one of those ladies that seems to do everything, even though she would beg to differ, but compared to the average woman, it’s a heck of a lot. She has three beautiful children who are awesome and a fantastic hubby who she is devoted to


Here is Liz with her beautiful family – minus the baby, who is equally gorgeous.

She works part time, keeps a tidy house (unlike mine), turns up to gazillions of meetings, is always there for her friends, she’s the type of girl who will turn up with a meal in the middle of her hectic day, just because she’s heard you’re sick. And to top it all off, she was disturbed about what is happening to young girls these days, and the intense pressure our sexualised media places on our young women, that she started up a magazine!!! If you haven’t heard about Bella, a counter-culture mag for girls 13-19 years old, check it out here. If you know a girl within that age range go buy a copy for her. It’s got great positive content and is not smutty like most mags aimed for that age bracket.

Back to Liz. When I realised this was the year she turned 30 I was keen to help her out with her party plans. Because, it’s a well known fact, that I love a party. Since she is a classy chick, a garden party seemed just right. And because she’s a fun loving gal (not because she’s dotty) we decided on a polka-dot theme. People were asked to dress or accesorise with polka dots, and it was really fun seeing everyone in their dotty outfits mingling in the garden.

Anyway, I had a few projects that I’ll blog about in the next couple of days. Today I’ll share what our family wore to the party. The Accountant and I were easy, I bought a new dress (any excuse, besides I needed a new dress for work anyway…) The Accountant got a spotty tie. I didn’t know what to do for the boys. After all, you get polka dot galore fashion items for girls, but not so much for boys. I had a brain wave to make bow ties for the boys. Unfortunately I was so busy I only started them an hour and a half before we left! It took probably an hour, when you combined that with parenting moments and trying to make it up as I went along. If you know what you are doing, I’m sure it would be quicker.

If you want to make a little boys bow tie, here’s how I did it. I am sure there are better ways, I’m no seamstress by any stretch of the imagination. But if you are really stuck maybe you can pick up a few ideas. (Because I had limited time, I haven’t got comprehensive photos. Sorry if you are a visual person like me.)

1. Cut out two small rectangles of fabric. Fold a seam on two short side and iron.

2. Place wrong sides together, (ironed seams matching) sew around three edges, leaving a the ironed seam short side open. Turn so right sides are facing outwards and iron.

3. Cut two small skinny rectangles, sew wrong sides together again. Turn, so right sounds are out. This was tricky because it was so small and skinny. I used a pencil to help poke it all through the right way. This was the longest part of the whole process. (iron a seam in advance again.)

4. Sew the open ironed seam shut. Concertina fold the large rectangle. Twist small rectangle around the middle and sew into place. Sew to the back of the large bowtie as well so it doesn’t move.

5. Sew a length of elastic around, large enough to fit under a collar.

So this is what my happy family looked like at the party.

Happy 30th Birthday Liz! You are an inspiration to myself and so many others. xx