Stuff I Made

These are some simple projects I did last week for two different birthday parties we went to on Saturday.

Frontier Vest

Apron with matching potholders

I didn't take the time to set them up for a pretty photo-shoot, so cell phone mediocrity is all I have to show you. They were both great projects for a novice sewer like myself to tackle. It's nice to make something for the 5 and under crowd, since they don't care if there's a dropped stitch or two. Especially when it's only meant for dress-up purposes.

I got the vest instructions HERE, and I modified a couple of different ideas from the same site for the apron and potholders. The apron and potholders are made from a thrifted set of placemats. I plan on making similar ones for our girls sometime.

I've been pretty busy otherwise, hence the absence from blogging.

Anticipation

Mother's Day Bouquet

We made a simple gift for Mother's Day this year that is great for sentimental grandmothers. I even got  a little sentimental myself while I was making it.

I saw the tutorial for these simple no-sew flowers over on MADE and decided to do a little more of a personalized take on it. I am big on saving cute dresses that the girls have destroyed (and therefore rendered un-donate-able) simply for using as scrap fabrics. I wasn't sure that they would come out looking "gift-worthy" when I started, but I ended up really liking them, especially after putting them in their cheery yellow vase (anchored with floral foam). I will definitely make more of these.

(Tip: I used kebab skewers instead of the wooden dowels used in the tutorial because I had a big package of them. The pointy tips were great for sticking into the foam. I also did not think it necessary to cover the bases with felt.)

 

Below are Eliza and Theia wearing some of the clothes

used for the bouquet. Ingrid has worn these dresses too,

I just don't happen to have any photographic proof.

lots of glitter = lots of love

the vision

the process

the reality

I am too wimpy to embark on activities involving glitter, glue, and four children by myself these days, so I enlisted the help of my good friend and lifesaver, Bev.

If you want to make your own singing heart valentines, just cut up a few cereal boxes and some sheet music, then water down some glue and decopage the music to the cardboard. Decorate with hearts of whatever materials you have on hand. We used cut-outs from felt and construction paper, and some cute wooden heart beads that I found at an epic yard sale last summer. Glam it up with glitter or other sparklies (I think I preferred the plain style, but our audience was 4, 3, and 2 year old girls, so glitter was required). Write "You make my heart sing", or "You put a song in my heart", or whatever other cheesy sentimental musical phrase you can come up with on them. The writing will stand out more if you use a colored gel pen, but I didn't have one :).

The girls actually did turn out some pretty cute ones (and Bev and I managed to make a few without toddler assistance), but aesthetics tend to fly out the window when you break out the glitter. This age group does not understand the "less is more" concept. Just remember:

lots of glitter = lots of love.

various and sundry

Yesterday was a very proud day for me. I actually made something on my sewing machine. I know that's probably not very impressive to many of you, but for me it was a major feat. I have been believing for years that sewing machines are highly advanced pieces of machinery that require someone with an IQ of at least 230 to master them (and mine is only 225. *ahem*). I concluded this must be so, since every time I tried to use mine (which is a cantakerous and inexpensive breed to begin with), my project ended with my bobbin thread being gathered in a malignant mass somewhere inside the bobbin case, and (this is embarrassing) I could never figure out how to get the bobbin back together correctly and carry on (unless my husband was there to do it for me, the project was usually abandoned at this point). However, I have been in nesting mode lately, which means that I've been taking on WAY more projects than anyone in their right mind would ever attempt. So, when I saw an adorable flannel print at JoAnns on black friday, on sale for 1.49/yd. and then saw a remnant of surpassing cuteness and coincidental perfect co-ordination lying nearby, I couldn't pass it up. I simply had to buy them and take a stab at it. And so I made my first official, finished sewing project. A receiving blanket. I know, I'm almost 30 and I'm proud of myself for successfully sewing four straight seams. If I were born 100 years ago I would be hanging my head in shame.

But isn't it cute?

I'm also very proud of that vintage highchair its sitting on. We snagged that at an estate sale for $5. Eliza has had many fewer spills since she is sitting on a highchair again. Mealtimes had become painful occasions around here because of her tendency to squirm and slide and sit in every way possible to maximize her chances of spilling food somewhere between the edge of the table and her mouth. And 5 dollars! And its cute!

Another estate sale find. Old piano bench. Also $5. Pretty nasty old upholstery.

We painted it white, shabbied it up a bit, and re-upholstered and padded the seat. We have a chair purchased at the same estate sale that we are going to paint and upholster to match it.

We have other things going on too, but they aren't finished yet, so I won't mention them. Lets just say buying cheap furniture (or other decorative items) to refinish is becoming a very bad habit around here.

Did I mention I've been in nesting mode?

In other news,

We had this delicious baked pumpkin french toast for breakfast on Thanksgiving morning, from one of my favorite blogs, MADE. Its a great place to visit if you ever want to be made to feel entirely inadequate in your domestic abilities. I also made the pumpkin chocolate chip cookies she featured, twice. And I don't bake; well, hardly ever. Something about pumpkin inspires me.

We put up our Christmas tree

Ingrid is still adorable

And the pink hibiscus in the backyard is beautiful.

Finally, we are planning to leave for Michigan on Thursday morning. We are anxious to get this babymoon started, and especially to be safely through the driving part of it. This will be the third time we have traveled to have a baby, but the other two times only involved a 3 hour drive. We plan on stopping for the night twice (the second time with Jessie's brother's family in Kentucky), and getting out and walking around at least every two hours. I am still feeling uncommonly well for 38+ weeks pregnant, although I definitely reach the point of exhaustion pretty quickly lately.

I really enjoyed sitting down and making the blanket for our baby. I felt a closeness and an anticipation that I've never felt quite as strongly before. The baby was being quite active while I worked, and it just gave me the warm fuzzies to be actually making something especially for it. I daydreamed the whole time about welcoming our little one and wrapping it up in the cozy fabric I was working with. I can't wait to meet this sweet child!

what's on your fridge?

:cardstock:

+

:ripped-up tissue paper:

+

:watered-down glue:

+

:foam paintbrushes:

=

:instant craft:

I don't know what you'd call it, but the girls enjoyed it, and it took Mama

less than 3 minutes to prep it.

Its a win in my book.

"hands-on" birthday presents for grandma(s)

Recently I scored these two beauties for free at an estate sale:

I know, you're probably thinking "gee, I'm glad they were free."

But I actually had plans in mind for them, that did not include framing and displaying portraits of people whom I have never seen.

After covering them both in spray paint, they became blank canvases for a project we did with the girls for their grandmas, both of whom have birthdays in the fall. I've seen variations on this idea here there and everywhere. It was a lot of fun to watch our girls do their own take on it.

We put the girls in some old t-shirts and let them go wild with the paints.

Then we painted their hands

And helped them to further personalize their works of art.

We documented the whole process and put the pictures

(along with some other shots of the girls)

in a little album to send along with each canvas.

I figure they can hang them in the garage or the basement if they don't fit in with their living room decor :). The main thing is that the girls felt connected to their grandmas while they were making their gifts, and were excited about giving them. They don't get to see their grandparents very often, so it helps to have these "hands-on" connection-building experiences.

painted pigs

I'm not a big fan of painting. For one thing, especially with a ratio of 3 toddlers to 1 mom, its messy. For another thing, I never know what to do with the, er, art, once its completed. Plus, its messy.

So, I decided that, for now, painting should only be done with purpose, and preferably with 2-parent supervision. But, the girls LOVE painting, and frequently request it. So, I thought I'd better set about finding a purpose. And we found one in aisle 6 of JoAnn Fabrics. Pigs. Contrary to the claim of the cat from "Babe", that "pigs don't really have a purpose", I think we'll all agree that pigs really do have a purpose. For one, they are tasty. For two, they are handy for stashing coins in if they are hollow and made of ceramic.

It cracks me up that Eliza simply cannot keep her tongue in her mouth when she's engrossed in a project.

I rather like the color scheme that Ingrid chose for her pig, and the end result was, I think, my favorite of the three.

Theia's advanced years show when she's doing this type of project. You can tell she actually started out with an idea in mind of how she wanted her pig to look.

Then there was Eliza's pig, which Jessie promptly dubbed "The Hogstrosity".

All finished and set aside to dry.

We finished up the project the next day with googly eyes and $1.95 apiece.

Theia was not pleased when she found out the coins she had deposited were intended to stay inside the pig indefinitely.

I don't remember exactly why there were tears involved, but I'm sure there must have been a very good reason.

Family Night

Vote for Pedro Holly

I was really going to get around to doing a Halloween post, honestly, but I'm getting around to it sooner than later since there is now a competition that is forcing me out of hiding. Who could pass that up?

I sent a picture of the Girls over to Jen at 4tunate when I saw she was having a little costume contest on her blog (Wonderful blog by the way. Jen is a very godly and sincere woman, and her boys look like more fun than a barrel of monkeys). Their picture was among the 5 finalists so I am now unashamedly asking you to go over to 4tunate and vote for Bo Peep! It only takes one click, and I would get free personalized jewelry out of the deal!

We had so much fun putting costumes together this year. I borrowed this dress for Theia from my sister Robin. Our own mother made this dress for Robin when she was Theia's age, over thirty years ago (sorry, Robin). I should mention that my mom never taught me to sew and I now have an irrational fear of sewing machines.

Isn't this a sweet dress? Mothers, if you know how to sew, teach your daughters! They will thank you some day (at least, they should).

Jessie and I made Eliza and Ingrid's sheep costumes out of white sweater dresses that we've had since Eliza's first Christmas. We fashioned lamb ears with pink lining out of old cloth diapers and a pink onesie, then sewed black felt "hooves" on the inside of their cuffs. Finally, we sacrificed the arms of an old (unfortunate) white teddy bear for tails. The girls LOVED their costumes. Ingrid pranced around like she just knew she was the cutest thing in 4 counties the whole time she had it on.

Unfortunately she did a lot more prancing than standing still, so this was the best we could do for a group shot.

I love this picture of Theia and Eliza. Mostly because of Eliza's expression. This is a very typical Eliza expression. She always throws her head back and laughs over just about anything. Its also the only picture that shows a lamb's tail.

And while we're on the subject of costumes, take a gander at Jessie and me too. We had the bright idea of having Jessie dress as Billy Mays when we saw how many people were doing Michael Jackson tribute costumes. We thought Billy Mays deserved a tribute too, and how much easier does a costume get? It only took Jessie five days of growth to turn out quite a respectable beard. With a little help from some mascara and an Elvis wig with a hack job he turned out to look rather more like Billy Mays than I even wanted. And since we went as a couple, he had a little arm candy in the form of a devoted insomniac senior citizen who is addicted to the Home Shopping Network. I had "As Seen On TV" stickers on my checkbook, telephone, and slippers.

Doesn't he look frighteningly like Billy Mays? And don't I look ...just... frightening?

Cheap and Easy

I have recently felt the itch to become more creatively productive. As the girls are getting a little older I am excited to teach them how to make things with their hands. Sometimes the projects I imagine us doing together are a little beyond their grasp, but we're getting there. They have discovered stringing beads, and love making bracelets for themselves (because they don't have the patience for necklaces). Actually I should clarify, Theia likes stringing beads, Eliza likes handing them to me while I string them for her. Theia did recently help me tie rags around a sour cream lid hoop to make this wreath: It now hangs on their bedroom door. And as long as I'm in their room I'll show you a few of the other things that hang on their wall. I love this picture frame. That is a picture of Eliza - from her 1 year pictures. And these are some wall hangings I made last week from embroidery hoops and some clothing of the girls' that had gotten stains on them. I will probably add to it as the girls gift me with "new" material :).

I got the idea from one of my favorite crafting blogs, mayamade, who in turn got the idea from this site. I love trying to come up with ways to use things that have outgrown their original use. Now when a favorite clothing item becomes permanently stained I only have a brief period of mourning and then I get excited thinking about what I can salvage it for.