Spa Birthday Gift

I must begin by saying, that yes, my name is Meg...

and I am a craftoholic.

But you must also understand that I come by it honestly.

My mother is the worst.

My aunt, Maureen, is perhaps just as bad.

Between my wedding and my baby shower, I couldn't even tell you how many paper cuts were managed and bottles of wine consumed between the three of us putting together all the details (and loving every minute).

And now my older sister has become a birthday party hostess extraordinaire.

She's thrown cowgirl parties, superhero parties, and now...

The Spa Party.

I must have had an hour long phone conversation with my mom about the color theme, the favors, the crafts, the guests, and on and on and on...

AND I LOVE IT ALL.

For those of you that think this is just too involved for a kid's birthday.

You're probably right.

love this quote from Audrey

But whatever.

Remember my super sophisticated niece, Ruby?

Well now she's turing the big 1-0...
10 going on 30, that is...

and decided that she wanted to host a few of her gal pals for a day of luxury.

From what I gather, Danielle prepared some really great ideas and "treatments" for the girls to enjoy.

I wish I could have been there, but I live literally across the country, so had to do my best to come up with a spa related gift for the little missy.

I've never been a girly girl.

And I've never been one for parents who let their little girls dress, act, and talk like adults as well as apply unnecessary make up to their already beautiful faces,

But I'm all for age-appropriate girl fun

and I know that Danielle, my mom, and I (and I'm sure many of you) are in agreement.

So I whipped up a few simple, handmade "spa" gifts and added them to some purchased "spa" gifts,

and I have to say, I'm happy with the outcome. I really hope she likes it. :)

 

I've included the tutorials for a few of the quick spa gifts below, first an eye mask,

and then what I'm calling a lavender scented "neck roll."

Eye Mask

This was simple to put together with scraps that I had.

A lovely piece of periwinkle floral cloth,

some minky fleece

and a piece of elastic

I cut a piece of paper to use as a stencil

(keeping in mind about 1/2" seam allowance)

and used that to trace the pieces for my fabrics.

I roughly measured around the back of my head and then shortened the elastic by about an inch to account for the smaller head of a 10 year year old.

(I know, real scientific)

Note: It helps to fold up a couple inched of your elastic in the middle and pin it so it doesn't get caught when you sew your mask.

Then pin you fabrics in place sandwiched together with right sides facing

and with your elastic centered on the sides

and sew around, leaving a hole big enough to turn it out when you're done.

Note: you'll probably want to backstitch back and forth at least once over the elastic to reinforce it since it will be tugged a few times.

 

Then, unpin, turn out, and press.

Top stitch around the edges, and you're done!

Quick.

Neck Roll

I made this one with some leftover pieces of terry that I had.

You could use any fabric, really, but might I recommend something soft that you'll want to have against your skin? We are going to relaxing comfort, right?

Cut two rectangles about 5"x17".

 

Pin together with right sides facing (if you have right sides :)

and sew around the edges with 1/2" seam allowance, leaving a hole big enough to turn it out.

Unpin and snip your corners off.

Turn right side out.

Now to fill...

I used rice with some dried lavender that I had from the garden.

I found that a baby food jar was just about the right size to measure and pour easily.

Fill your jar with some rice (and the lavender if you choose).

and pour into the hole.

 

Now slide it all down to the bottom and pin it about 4" from the bottom like this.

And sew straight across.

repeat three more times until you have this.

Sew it closed!

Now you can warm it in the microwave or cool it in the freezer, whatever sounds best to you.

wrap it around your neck or place on your forehead for sweet relief.

 

Lavender Sachet

I had some lavender left over, so I put some in a sachet to keep in her drawer.

This way her clothes will smell as sweet as she is.

 

I made some tags for everything so she could tell what it is (mostly for the neck roll)

 

Happy Birthday Miss Ruby!

I hope you had a great party, and you enjoy some relaxation!