I love today’s little quick, easy, and simple craft because it can be modified for boys, girls, color schemes, dress-up, parties, any size/age… Can I make one for myself on my next birthday & wear it out? Hmm… a little much? Alrighty then, let’s stick with plan A!

Today is sissy’s second birthday! I cannot believe it! Where have two entire years gotten to?! And as we celebrate this precious third gift from the Lord, my craftiness is shifting into overdrive! I am averaging a new for-Sissy craft idea every ten minutes or so… This could be dangerous!

But–OH MY–isn’t it glorious to celebrate something so amazing and wonderful and beautiful and delightful as a child? I say YES!

Each year for each of the kids’ birthdays, we make a birthday crown that they wear when they blow out their birthday cake candles at our family lunch-or-dinner & birthday celebration. It’s usually just a simple thing out of construction paper or cardstock.

But this silly goose was just asking for a little something extra, non?

So I raided my felt stash to find a few pieces that would work for a birthday crown. Come make one with me, okay? 🙂

I pulled out a couple of pink (blush and bashful?) felt pieces and sketched what I envisioned for the design on some handy dandy grid paper.

Stack two pieces of felt–one for front/outside of crown and one for back/inside–and fold them in half, then cut out [half of] your design. The two layers of the entire design are there when unfolded.

Next cut out details and–if you are working with smaller rectangles of felt like I was–four more strap pieces (two fronts & two backs to reach the rest of the way around your child’s head). The crown will need to reach just around the child’s head. [These extra head circumference extenders are not necessary if you are working with bigger piece of felt–you could just cut the entire width from one piece rather than have three.]

Next, sew the detail pieces to the front piece of felt.

Then, to attach the strap extenders, overlap the ends and sew them together. [I used a zig-zag stitch.]

Yay! It’s starting to come together! To attach the front and back layers, sew all the way around the edge (leaving the two ends open to insert the elastic in the next step).

Just for fun, I carried on around and around and around the center panel to give it a sort of quilted feel. [But in retrospect, I wish I’d let good enough alone and just sewn the perimeter.]

Next grab a short piece of elastic for the back of the crown. It can be wide (like this piece) or very skinny. Insert one end of the elastic in between the two layers, then sew the end closed. [As a side note, I used a zig-zag stitch so the elastic could still stretch easily… but since the zig-zag stitch is on a 45-degree angle, it acts like a straight stitch on the elastic… so a straight stitch would actually have been better here… which I did on the other end.]

Then insert the other end of the elastic in between the layers of the other end of the crown and sew that side down.

This closes the loop and completes your birthday crown!

So it’s all ready for the birthday girl in her birthday chair. Wheeee!

Of course she was thrilled with it… Enthralled! Elated!

…For about half a microsecond.

Hmm. Ah well! 🙂

Well, at least she was happy to change out of the jammies and tu-tu that she’d had on all morning and wear her cute little birthday outfit I whipped up during nap time. Win! 😉

So anyone else out there have special birthday traditions? Do tell!

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