Birthday CD Favours

Every year I look forward to my children’s birthdays almost as much as they do. What’s the theme going to be? Who are we inviting? What kind of food are we going to serve, decorations etc.? I know, nerdy right? But I’m sure you’re right there with me when it comes to your own kids. My daughter was turning three, and being in daycare meant she had a lot of friends, so we made it easy on ourselves and rented Playground Paradise and asked our neighbourhood musician “Music Tim” to join us. (We had used him for every birthday since we discovered him 3 years prior). In an effort to go green and not give the kids junk from China, I hand-made custom CDs containing a few of Tim’s songs and few from my co-worker Ben Harris. The kids loved them and I think the parents appreciated some new original music to listen to.

Submitted By: Janet

How long does it take to make this project? 2–4 hours

How much did it cost me?

Felt for buttons: $1 per 8.5 x 11″ sheet at the Dollar Store
Fabric: Whatever you have on hand or something cheap. I bought a variety at under $6.00/yd at Designer Fabrics
Yarn for button string: whatever was in my knitting basket
Blank CD cases: Make sure you get the clear cornered ones, I ordered from Amazon $10/10 pack
Blank CD: Make sure you get the all white ones so the words don’t show through to your labels $24.95/25 at Staples
CD Stickers: $16.00/50 pack Staples

We had 37 kids at the party so the loot bags worked out to $2.75 each

What do you need?

Sewing Machine
Pinking Shears
Fabric (any pattern, re-use old pillowcases from Value Village, old clothing).
Felt for buttons
Thread
CD cases
CD stickers (Avery.com has CD templates)
CD
Computer, printer and software to design label and sticker for CD
Music (your choice, favourite songs, themed songs)

Instructions:

CD Cases: Pop out the insert and measure the background so you know how much space you have to work with. Design the cover and label. Print, cut and assemble.

CD Holder: Cut fabric into 18 x 6 inch rectangles. Fold in half along the 6 inch side and sew up both 9″ sides in at .25″ . Take your pinking shears and trim rough 9″ edges and the open 6″ edge. Cut out four felt flowers (I used contrasting colours and sizes) and sew the first two onto the outside of the open ended flap (do not sew through both fabric pieces or you will not be able to get the CD in). Make sure to leave a long string coming out of the center of the flower. Now place the CD into your sleeve to judge where to sew the second flower for easy closing, remove CD, and tack on flower. Place CD back into pocket and use long string from flap flower to wrap around the second flower. Wrap string back and forth until used up.