DIY & April's Circus Freak Themed 30th Birthday

This post is almost a year overdue now, but I recently stumbled across these pictures and felt a bit motivated to post about this project, as it's one of the very few DIY crafty things I've done in a long time. 

April turned 30 last February, and we threw an amazing party for her at The Upstairs. The theme was "Sideshow Circus Freaks" and much to our delight, most attendees were into the theme and came in costume.

First, we needed a cool sign for April's Birthday. I wish I had documented my process a little better. I made these signs by going to Paperzone (they are now out of business, sad) and picking up some sale scrap booking paper. I had April print out the letters for the sign on a thicker stock paper, in circus font. 

I cut the scrap booking paper into equal squares with a paper cutter. Then, I did the task of cutting each letter (and two numbers) out and using simple rubber cement to secure them to the squares. I let them dry overnight. Then I used a fabric glue to secure ribbon on to the back of each square. I did have to place them on an angle, so when the final product hung it would drape. 

As you can see in the picture, I did each word on a separate ribbon, and "30" between "Birthday" and "April."

My next project was a ribbon curtain that the guests would walk through as they arrived for the party. I received my inspiration from the display at our local Free People store. Also, thanks to our friend Liana for supplying me with a massive amount of ribbon.

I took a thicker ribbon and a wire as the part that would hang. Then I measured and cut ribbons and just looped them around the ribbon and wire, over and over and over and over again. Sadly, we don't have a good picture of the ribbon curtain.

Creating the curtain.

Hanging on the door to the main entrance. 

Another shot of the door

Ribbon curtain behind April. 

Another cameo by the ribbon curtain.

And my final project for the party was to create a circus tent like feel, without a tent. I went to Home Depot and cut a few dowels, to be used with pennants as flags.

I also grabbed a quart of red paint and a quart of white paint. Well, a funny thing happened on the way home. It was a very rainy and very very windy day in Seattle. Sometimes downtown you can be caught in what feels like a wind tunnel. I was walking, when suddenly a blast of wind (from the wind tunnel alley) blew me over. Well, that was it for the paint, as  you can see below.

The wind blew the red paint in the air, and sadly, Tommy got some of it, too. 

But with the help of my good friends, Chris and Marissa, I managed (after a second trip to get paint) to get the stripes done. Some of them went as the backdrop for photos, others went to the bar and the DJ booth.

Belltown Snowpocalypse

Lack of snow and freezing winter temps are just a few of the many reasons I decided to leave Detroit for Seattle. Well, we had a winter storm here that essentially shut down much of the city for a few days. I took some pictures in Belltown of the snow, and thought I'd share. 

This first set of pictures are from Sunday, January 14, 2012, around Noon.

2nd Ave looking southeast

2nd Ave looking northeast. The Space Needle is missing. 

2nd Ave between Bell and Blanchard

2nd Ave between Bell and Blanchard

And a video from 12:47pm.

After the storm, around 1:30pm. 

The second set of pictures are from Wednesday, January 18, 2012. I had trouble sleeping that evening.

A video from 3:19am, when the "Big Storm" started in Belltown.

2nd Ave 3:52am

2nd Ave 3:54am. Even Snowmaggedon won't stop the crack dealers.

I finally was able to get a few hours of shut eye, then woke up to a Belltown Winter Wonderland. Here are pics from around Belltown and sledding at Pike Place Market:

Social Media Shaming

Update:
Turns out, they got the wrong guy. Horrible.

This weekend a man, named Andrew, stiffed a bartender on the Hill and wrote a very mean note on her receipt. In response, the neighborhood has come together to publicly shame him and some bars are even threatening to 86 him from the Hill permanently. Some quick Google searching, or your Cap Hill friends FB page, will give you his full name, pic, link, etc.

Read the story on The Slog
Read the story on Seattle Weekly
Google search and find a million more stories.

I am not quite sure how I feel about this - and some of the comments, hate speech, etc. are totally out of line. Does a person really deserve to be publicly lynched by an angry cyber bully flash mob?

But the fact remains, in this day and age a quick Google search will bring up pictures, work experience, even your first grade teacher's name. It's never a good idea to act like this (and it's just plain rude!) but it's definitely not a good idea when you use a credit card - with your real name.

But, being from Belltown (this happened on the Hill though) we tend to loathe the bridge/ferry/freeway kids (this kid was apparently from Kent) because many - not all, of course - act this way.

One of my clients had a similar incident with one of their own vendors! They posted about it, too, for all of the world to see (sans photo, however.)

This is more and more becoming the norm, so I guess the moral is something you probably started learning as a young child... Treat others the way you would like to be treated. If you don't, you could be the next one to be publicly shamed via social media networks (which oddly enough, goes against the treat others rule...)