Father’s Day’s a Comin’

I saw a really cute and easy Father’s Day card that the kids could make and thought I’d share!

Chances are you already have what you need to make this. 

You can find the directions HERE.

I’m going to have my Sunday School kids make one to take home.  If I pre-cut everything, it takes all of two minutes!

Now, technically the iPhone my husband got a couple weeks ago is his official Father’s Day gift (not to mention his anniversary gift!), but it seems that he should receive something from his children on his day, so we made this:

We just spray painted a wood frame from Michaels and some old puzzle pieces, add a little glue, and voila!  Just add a picture!  I’ve got the perfect picture waiting for me at Walgreens. I just love being able to order prints online and pick them up in just a few hours!  No more hanging around the store for an hour or making a second trip a few days later!

Back on subject-

Happy Father’s Day to the best dad in the world!

Sweetheart Girl’s First Sewing Kit

I was looking through some old pictures, and I realized I had wanted to blog about the little sewing basket I put together for Sweetheart Girl’s 5th birthday last month.

Before I begin, I should say that I saw a similar project on another blog that I stumbled upon quite a while ago, but I cannot find it again!  I need to give credit to someone, but I just don’t know to whom it belongs… so…sorry to whoever you are!

I was able to find this adorable basket at a thrift store that I believe once held a little tea set.  The little nooks and crannies were perfect because I was trying to figure out how I would be able to do that on my own!

I bought some yarn needles, cute big buttons, and a sturdy, plastic embroidery hoop, and I had everything else at home.  I cut some ‘bobbins’ out of some sturdy cardboard for the yarn and knotted one end of the yarn and taped the other end.  For the ‘fabric’ I used shelf liner, netting from a bag of limes, and tulle.  I also gave her one of my extra measuring tapes, a thimble, and some ‘pretties’ (lace, etc.).

Sweetheart Girl LOVES it!  Here’s a picture of the very first button she’s ever sewn!

I just love her crazy ‘fresh from the bath’ hair.  She’s inherited my frizzies- sorry, baby girl :)

Notice her dress up shoes?  Those are the one item she asked for, and she received seven pairs from the grandparents and a friend- needless to say she was a very happy birthday girl!

Eventually I’ll start teaching her some basic stitches, but for now she’s just having fun (and learning how to keep her yarn from getting all tangled up!).  Of course, I’m not much of a seamstress myself so I’ll probably practice right along with her!

Christmas Gifts- Episode Five

Whew!  It’s almost midnight, but I just finished Twinkle’s gift so I’m just going to post real quickly!

Deciding what to do for her took forever!  The only easy thing I could come up with was a blanket, but I happen to know that a friend is giving her a blanket so she hardly needs another!

I almost just gave up and went to the store to buy her a toy, but instead…

Click here for this tutorial.  The dress is made from a thrifted pillowcase, and I used ribbon instead of the bias tape.  I recommend using the bias tape!!  The ribbon was a pain.

And click here for this one.  I’ve made a few hair bows before, and I’ve been anxious to try this one out.  So cute!  This site has a couple more that I want to try out later.

Now…what to do for her birthday one week after Christmas…

Alright, one more Christmas gift to go…that one depends a bit on the hubby and he’s been incredibly busy, so I have a feeling it’ll end up being pretty last minute ;)

Christmas Gifts- Episode Four

Here’s one of the twins’ presents.  It’s a bean bag toss game!  One spray-painted cardboard box, some felt for the eyes and teeth, and some cloth and filling (I ended up using rice) for the ‘bean’bags equals a lot of fun…I hope :)

I’m still deciding if I should address this to either Minion 1 or Minion 2, or if I should address both gifts to both boys.  They are definitely entering a possessive stage so single ownership could lead to fights…but is it totally wrong to NOT give them individual gifts yet?  They’re only two…

…But my main dilemma with this gift is…

How do I wrap this?????

Christmas Gifts- Episode Three

Alright, here it is!  Sweetheart Girl’s Christmas gift (well, half of it).  Click here for Episode One and here for Episode Two .

Eggs sunnyside-up, bacon, and silver-dollar pancakes

How about a sandwich and chips for lunch?

Mmmm…ham, turkey, and cheese with lettuce and tomato

And, of course, PB & J- a staple around here

All that and a bag of chips?

Ruffle Chips!

Drumsticks and broccoli for dinner

I’m loving it!  I freehanded pretty much everything, but got all the ideas from various websites:

http://www.dana-made-it.com/2008/07/tutorial-felt-food.html

http://www.skiptomylou.org/2009/03/09/felt-brown-bag-lunch-tutorial/

There are a ton of ideas out there- I could have made more, but Sweetheart Girl’s birthday comes up quickly after Christmas.  If these foods are hit, I’ll work on more for her birthday.  Maybe some of these…

http://www.onecraftyplace.com/2009/02/27/felt-food-tutorial-round-up/

http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/build-a-cake-play-set-923565/

I stayed pretty two-dimensional, so maybe I’ll branch out next time around. 

Along with the foods, Daddy-Man and I are working on a little stove for her.  That will be another post…

Christmas Gifts- Episode Two

Wow!  I can’t believe I posted Episode One way back in September!  I wish I could say that I’ve been working on projects and just haven’t had time to post, but…

Well, I have worked a little bit, but I‘ve mostly been procrastinating!  However, Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, and I’d better get my rear in gear!

Next up…Superhero Masks!  These will, of course, be going along with the capes that I’ve made for Hero and McAwesome.  I decided to make double-layered masks, so that meant that I’d need differing, yet proportionately similar sizes.  They were not hard at all, but I did figure that I’d better take my time and actually work out a pattern for this project!  I admit that I’m a freehander with very little artistic talent- you’ll see what I mean in my next post…

After much drawing, erasing, drawing, erasing, and drawing again, I ended up with these.  The trickiest part was knowing where to put the eye holes!  I thought I’d have to measure the boys in their sleep, but I was able to do it today.  Surprisingly, when I told them it was just something I was working on, they didn’t ask any more questions! 

Step One:  Pin the pattern to the felt on the fold and cut out the outside.

Step Two:  Trace the eyehole, unpin the pattern and cut out.  I found that re-pinning the felt together after removing the pattern made going around the corners smoothly a lot easier.

Step Three:  Repeat with all pattern pieces.  Adjust individual pieces as needed.  My top layer needed bigger eyeholes.

Step Four:  Measure elastic and sew to the back layer ONLY.  I cut a small rectangle of felt to cover the elastic so it would not be too rough on the boys’ skin, but you could certainly skip that little step.

Step Five:  Pin both layers together.  I highly recommend using plenty of pins!!

Step Six:  Sew it up!  Sewing stitches around the eyeholes adds a little extra dimension!

Ta-da!  I can’t wait for the boys to try them on.  I think they’re going to love them!

Fall Activities in Arizona

I have pretty much only lived in Hawaii and Arizona my entire life, so in my mind, I’ve trumped up fall to be the most beautiful time of the year, knowing full well that if I had to rake a yard full of leaves every other day, I might not be so enthused!

So this week, we are adding a bit of artificial fall to our home.  To start, we needed at least one piece of fall decor.  I’m pretty cheap, so I went to Dollar Tree last week to see what I could find.

A fake pumpkin and two pathetic little flower arrangements are about to become $3 well-spent.

First, carve out the top of the pumpkin.  Remove the flowers from the ugly plastic pots, and use the styrofoam to stuff the pumpkin.

Arrange the flowers and…voila!

A pretty new accent piece for my piano!

 

Tomorrow, we’re going to jump in our own little pile of leaves!  Stay tuned…

Christmas Gifts- Episode One

Yes, I’m thinking about Christmas already.  In fact, I went into Lowe’s two weeks ago and saw fake Christmas trees!  This year, I am endeavoring to go as homemade as possible.  Remember how a handmade shirt or scarf used to be a wonderful gift to receive?!  I don’t, but I’ve read about those days!  I confess that I’m a child of the Y2K generation, and I find it quite easy to overlook the simplicity of a homespun treasure.  However, with 8 people in the family now and limited funds (due to a refusal to use credit cards!), the handmade Christmas gift is making a comeback in this house!

Besides, I want my children to grow up treasuring those gifts into which someone put so much thought and effort.  I don’t want them to give any thought to a price tag, but to appreciate the uniqueness of their new playthings. 

Now, don’t get me wrong- if I open up a pair of diamond earrings Christmas morning, I’m not going to tell the hubby to take them back and make me a mixed tape!  I’m not that into homemade!!  Hee hee…  We will probably still buy things from the store for each other- just not much, not this year.

Tuesday night I worked on the first of the older boys’ Christmas presents.  I made super hero capes.  They love to dress up and put on ‘shows,’ and my fingers get tired from tying their blankets into knots!  So I thought they would love these:

Please ignore the wrinkles!

I only used what I had on hand: material I’ve had for years, ribbon I was given a while back, standard white thread, and scraps of fusible webbing I used for a craft 6 years ago!

A simple hem around the sides and bottom (I used a zig-zag stitch on everything for detail) and a wide hem at the top to string through some ribbon is all it took.  I added a strip of ribbon near the bottom for ‘decoration’ (I’m sure boys don’t like to use that word):

 

Finally, I added their initials so no one can mistake their ownership and/or super-identities.

 

Things to think about:

• I just used what I had, but this fabric is going to be a wrinkled mess all the time!  Next time, I’ll consider buying a knit fabric that will look nicer.
• I’m not sold on the zig-zag stitch, but it’s better than straight, and I’m just not a very skilled seamstress yet.
• There are plenty of areas that just don’t look too great (see above disclaimer), but thankfully, the boys will never notice these, and I can pretend they’re not there…
• I did sew the ribbon tie to the cape so it would not slide out, but I think a wider ribbon would have been better.  I’m also considering putting some velcro on the ends so they don’t have to bother tying them.

One (two?) down, how many more to go…?  I’ve got one idea for the Minions, and I’ve made a start on Sweetheart Girl’s, but I’ll wait to post until they’re done.  If you have favorite, easy project ideas, pass them along, please!!

A Coaster Set for Dad

As promised, here are pictures of our Father's Day craft. The kids worked really hard on them and got somewhat frustrated as we were working with a new medium (Mod-Podge), but once we got the hang of it, they wanted to keep going!

Here are the supplies you need:

Tiles (I got them at Home Depot for 16 cents each!)

Mod-Podge (a small jar is fine)

Small Squares of Tissue Paper

Paintbrushes

First, paint on a layer of Mod-Podge.

Next, place tissue squares on the tile in any design you like.

Then, paint another layer of Mod-Podge over the tissue paper. (Hint: Be sure the tissue is as flat as possible and be very gentle going over the tissue at first- ours wanted to bunch.)

I actually did a couple layers over the top because I wasn't sure of the finish. Let it dry between layers (about 15 minutes).

Finally, add felt pads to the corners of the bottoms and...Voila!

Happy Father's Day to the best dad in the world! (He'd better use these!)

I Can Wear My Big Brother's Jeans!

Sort of. Hero had a pair of jeans that had holes in the knees, so after I turned them into shorts, I used the bottom of the legs to make Sweetheart Girl a cute little purse! See?

I had originally picked out a cute bold pink ribbon, but Sweetheart Girl chose the black with pink polka-dots. I guess she's got an eye for fashion!

Before I take too much credit, I followed a tutorial HERE (Did the link work? This is the first time I've added one!), and added a few embellishments. It was lots of fun!

*WARNING* If you have young daughters, and we are invited to a birthday party, this may be the gift that is coming! My boys can't seem to help themselves from putting holes into their pants, and I'm guessing I will have a steady supply of material!

Adding a Little Artsy-Fartsy Stuff to Our Days

Summer is in full swing, and boredom hasn't quite set in.  We haven't had time to be bored!  Awesome McAwesome probably thinks we should just live at church!  We've had several special meetings and conferences at various churches, we've been to dinner with friends a couple times, we've had relatives visiting, and this week is Vacation Bible School! 

 

VBS is held in the evenings at our church, so it leaves our days open.  I'm hoping to rev up our crafty-ness (not to be confused with our craftiness *evil laugh*).  I'm the type that has good intentions, I really want to get the kids involved in artsy things, but most of the time I think the mess isn't worth it.  Shame on me!  So I'm going to try this summer to do as many projects as I can before we get involved in the daily schooling grind.

 

Easing into this whole thing, I found these adorable little wood cut-outs at Michaels for $1.  Speaking of which, I discovered Michaels carries a lot of $1 items- I may never go to the cheapy dollar store again!

 

Hero- Working hard to get every spot

 

 

McAwesome- Stay in the lines!

 

 

Sweetheart Girl- Yes, marker got in her hair

 

 

And here are the finished products:

 

 

Ta-Da!!  Not too bad, and the kids really enjoyed it.

 

Now, granted, this is nothing more than coloring, which we already do, but it was a little extra special.  Tomorrow, we're going to work on a Father's Day gift for Daddy-man(shhhhhh), but since he reads this (honey, you didn't read this), I'll have to wait to post the results next week.