Well, my Baz Luhrman-themed 26th birthday party was a success. For many reasons. We had 25 dear friends in attendance, some of whom even managed to dress up. ;) We had several Moulin rouge dancers, in top hat fascinators and fabulous corsets, Mims with her awesome 1930s hair, our mate CJ's tribute to Australia, complete with cork hat and toy sheep, Ellen dressed in velvet as the Red Curtain, and my Matt as Ewen McGregor's Christian, looking super cute in suspenders and the fedora I bought at the Leeds Festival.
We had some some brilliant food, including my famous Nachos with vegetarian bean dip, and a truly scrumptious choccie cake, made by Ellen. We had Medori and orange juice, tonnes of great conversation, highly superior music through the speakers and, thanks to a bit of clever furniture shuffling, we actually managed to fit pretty much everyone in our lounge room! Everyone chatted, everyone hugged, everyone seemed to get on brilliantly. Awesomesauce.
The best bits, however, were craft-related. But of course. First of all, there were my wings.
Epic, yes? Definitely the most effort I think I've ever put into a costume- not only making the wings (which I got finished three hours before the party, I'll have you know!), but running all over the city trying to find a white skirt and top which A) fit, B) were just a little itty bit flattering on and C) didn't empty my bank account in one hit. Harder than it sounds. The Panda yarn for the wings (which a fellow crafter refers to as "the filthy condom of yarn") may have only cost $6...but by the time I'd got the top and skirt (on which I spent far more than I was intending, but hey), and shelled out for a new white bra (which I swear got just as many compliments as the wings!) and some magic knickers, my poor bank account was squirming ever so slightly. *sigh* That lovely Malabrigo I was planning on shouting myself is having to wait.
Anyway, the wings looked awesome, and generated many oohs and aaahs. I ended up using a piece of dowel wood to hold them in place, as the floral wire I'd got from Spotlight was beyond useless, and used gold elastic for the straps. I also made them extra long, so they could be easily seen over my shoulders...which was great, except I couldn't fit through our lounge door. And had to walk down our hallway sideways. And almost jabbed several of my guests' eyes out, especially when hugging and navigating my way through the lounge room, trying to find my camera and various drinks. Ah well. I looked good, my wings stayed in place, and nobody lost an eye in the end. Win.
The second awesome craft-related thing from that night was this:
Yes, it's my very own knitted engagement ring. :D The highlight of the evening came when Matt, aka Darling Boyfriend, asked me to marry him- in front of all of our guests.
Basically, he came into the lounge and announced he was going to give me my birthday present...and plonked a massive cardboard box down at my feet. Inside said box was a cute little knitted box*, complete with purple knitted lining...which was empty. This had me faffing about for at least a couple of minutes, trying to figure out what the blue heck what was going on...before he said, quite cheekily, "Looking for this?", while holding up the ring. Which he put on my finger after giving a lovely speech, and going down on one knee. I said yes, and everyone went mental. Again, awesomesauce.
And, y'know what makes it better? Darling Boyfriend, now Darling Fiance, knitted the ring all by himself. Almost. Remember how I taught him to knit? Well, someone, aka Ellen, got there first. It would seem that at the back of the Wellington Public Library, far from my prying eyes, she taught him the basics, supervised the knitting of the ring and helped him sew on the stone- which he chose himself from Tiger Eye Beads. And, well, it is, as my Mum proclaimed after I'd flashed it under her nose, simply magnificent. Totally adorable; totally apt. I have a fiance who learned to knit to make me an engagement ring...so, really? How can a girl not say yes? ;)
Post-proposal face nomming!
So yeah. I had awesome knitted wings, and an amazing knitted ring- not a bad birthday, as birthdays go. As the yarn is already getting kinda scungy, we'll soon be replacing the knitted ring with this one, once DF pays it off. However, I will definitely be keeping my first engagement ring, no matter how yucky and matted it gets...and will be passing it on to the kids, with any luck!
Aw, and the wedding crafting can now commence! Once we set a date, that is...
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