The Wishing Tree/ Christmas Tree

In the book, The Night Circus, the Wishing Tree is not a pine tree, but the Night Circus themed birthday party will be in December, so a Christmas tree makes sense.



Night Circus wreath:


Reversible tree skirt:




Small pennants banner to use as garland:



Book ornament, moon ornament (made with Crayola Model Magic over a glass ornament), cardboard circus ornament, and little clip-on doves:


Beeswax moon and star ornaments:


Clip-on battery operated candles that each guest can use to make a wish on the wishing tree:

So, You've Decided to Try This Birthday Party Thing Again

I have only thrown two real birthday parties for Aidan.

The one when he was 6 was a heartbreaking disaster. It had a pirate theme and I was pretty proud of the pirate ship cake I made, but no guests showed up. We sat waiting in a decorated picnic shelter at a park until another family asked if they could use the shelter for their birthday party. We let them have all our balloons and left to go eat cake at a picnic table behind my husband's office.

The second, was when Aidan turned 10. That one was a success. It had an airship pirate theme and several guests.









Now, I'm planning to do this one last time, but with a couple years to plan and make things. our budget is very limited, so it will take that long to get ready.

Ever since I read Erin Morgenstern's book The Night Circus, I have thought that it would be a wonderful theme for a party. It's one of the books I read aloud to Aidan and when I suggested that it would be a good theme for his 21st Birthday, he agreed.



Cashier at Joann Fabrics: That's a long time from now. What if he changes his mind about the theme he wants?

Me: Then it will be MY party.

Aidan says he's not changing his mind, though, because he likes the things I'm making.

The place for this party is not decided, nor the date (Aidan will turn 21 on December 6, 2021, which is a Monday, so not a good day for a party).

Right now, I'm just focusing on decorations and menu planning.

Le Cirque des Rêves (the Circus of Dreams), is the the circus in the book and the color scheme for the circus is black and white. The fans of the circus call themselves "rêveurs" (dreamers) and wear black and white with just a splash of red (such as a flower, a scarf, or a neck tie) to distinguish themselves from the performers. 

I have started making pennant banners and collecting tableware.



Specially labeled storage boxes for the party supplies:



I will be recording my progress on this blog. It keeps me motivated and hopefully you will enjoy the pictures.

Dorothy B. Oven Park

Last night, we went to Dorothy B. Oven Park to look at the Christmas lights.

Featured Teapot Racer: Sweet Tea

Oct. 19th started out with heavy winds and rain and I was damp for most of the day, but by the start of the teapot races the rain had stopped.

Sweet Tea was built as a teapot racer to be loaned out to someone who did not have their own racer. That someone was very specific this time, though. Heidi Icenogle volunteered to be one of our judges, a job she has done in the past, but I had already filled both positions, so I asked if she would race instead, if I provided her with a teapot racer. She enthusiastically agreed.

Heidi is a bee keeper, so I was inspired to create a queen bee themed racer.




Heidi not only created bribes for the judges, she even made a bribe for me, a beautiful poppy themed journal.



Driving an RC car without any practice is quite a challenge.  

Blaze's Men in Black Halloween Costume

The cat has no memory of this costume:

Renninger's Steampunk and Industrial Show Oct. 19 and 20, 2019

Featured Teapot Racer: Strange Brew

Strange Brew is a Fallout 76 inspired teapot racer, named after a tea themed challenge in the game.

A teapot racer can be made out of any remote controlled vehicle, as long as it fits the size restrictions (no more than 12-inches tall, 12-inches wide, and 16-inches long).  I was very excited to find a robot that fit those dimensions.



I created Strange Brew as a teapot racer that could be loaned out to people who wished to participate in the races, but did not have their own racers. As a result, it has been driven by two different people at two recent steampunk events.



The robot does not do well on the ramps (even ramps that are not blocked by a cat), so it does take some ingenuity to finish the obstacle course.

Driven by Clete Rooney at SWFL SteamCon in Fort Myers, Florida.



Driven by Julie McMillin at the Chicago Steampunk Expo in Rosemont, Illinois.

Julie won the ribbon for "Most Dastardly Driver", by being the most entertaining cheat.



Strange Brew was also on display at Renninger's Steampunk and Industrial Show in Mount Dora, Florida on Oct.19, but was not driven in the races. That morning, Tropical Storm Nestor was still making its way through the area. Only the most brave and adventurous steampunks made it to the open-air event.