Monster Tooth Pillow via The Long Thread

It's been forever and a day since I've had the time and inspiration to craft (so sad).  However, I found a simple project at The Long Thread that I would love to try:  Monster Tooth Pillow.

image via The Long Thread

Cute concept - after your child loses his/her tooth, 'feed' the tooth to the monster pillow just before bedtime.  The pillow makes it easier for the Tooth Fairy to find the tooth :o)  This project is a perfect candidate for a recycled craft, using old clothing or fabric scraps.

You can find the full tutorial here.

Thinking About Fall

Fall - my favorite time of year!

Today is a big day for us.  My husband is starting his new job today and Ella and I just wrapped up our first day of First Grade.  With all this Back to (home)School and new jobs and school activities starting up (field trips, co-op classes, etc.), my mind is turning to Fall.  

It seems a long way away...it's hard to get into the Autumn spirit when it's 104 degrees outside (Yep.  It's that freakin' hot).  Nevertheless, I'm finding myself searching online for my son's Halloween costume and thinking about Fall decorating.  It's been so long since I've decorated for a season or holiday and I'm ready to get back into the spirit of it all.  

These pumpkins just might do the trick:

I found these linked via Tatertots and Jello.  They're from Tracy's Trinkets and Treasures.  At first I thought she painted real pumpkins but they're actually artificial pumpkins that have been Mod Podged with leopard print tissue paper.  Sounds easy enough!

I don't have as much time for crafts as I used to, but this seems pretty quick and easy so if I have to pick one Fall decorating craft, I think this is it!

Lucky Centerpiece

I wish I could say that I am going to make this for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow, but I'll be spending the day at the Houston Livestock & Rodeo Show.  But rest assured, we will all be wearing wear green.  Even though this little beauty will not grace my table this year, it was too cute to not share!  

Thanks, JesseKate Designs for posting this wonderfully sweet St. Patty's Day idea!

Image & Tutorial from JesseKate Designs

Stay Tuned...I Could Say Something Brilliant at Any Moment...

Is it weird that I miss my own blog?!  I took a week off to spend some time with Mimi and Poppy who came to visit us from Georgia.  In fact, I've hardly been on my computer the past week (which is a real shocker for those of you who know me!).  We all had a great visit and were sad to see them go.  However, I do have a fun post in mind about our trip to Space Center Houston and I look forward to posting a craft made by my hubby (he continues to surprise me even after all these years!). 

In the mean time, take a look at this beautiful sweater that my sister embroidered for me - the sweater was bought from Target and then she went to town with the embroidery needle.  My sister has become quite a crafty woman and I've been begging her to post her work on her blog.  She made gorgeous handmade gifts for everyone this Christmas and she inspired me to find more time to craft and sew.

Linen Pear Sachet Tutorial from Dacia Ray

Looking for a special gift for the person who already has everything?  Try getting crafty this year and give the gift of handmade.  Nothing says love like something you make with your own two hands.  These beautiful scented pear sachets from Dacia Ray would make a wonderful Christmas gift (aunts, grandparents, friends, etc.).  I also think they would make great teacher and hostess gifts.

Click the link to go to the tutorial:  Pear Sachet

Photo from DaciaRay.com

Easy Halloween Decorations

Why buy a bunch of Halloween decorations when it's so much fun to make your own?!  If you know me at all then you know that Fall is my favorite season of the year.  Here's what I've made so far. 

First up is my Halloween stacking box.  There's nothing stacked on it right now, but I hope to change that soon!  To make this, I purchased a plain cardboard box and a sheet of black and white harlequin patterned scrapbook paper and some glittered chip board letters at Hobby Lobby.  I painted the box orange and then added the vintage Halloween image and chip board letters after it dried.  Then I simply covered the lid in the scrapbook paper.

Next up is this Halloween wall hanging.  I had an old canvas that had been sitting in my garage for years and decided to finally do something with it.  I used more of the black and white scrapbook paper and some Halloween printed scrapbook paper that purchased last year to cover the canvas with.  I embellished with ribbon, buttons and more chip board letters and painted the blank edges black.  Added ribbon and then I was done!

This craft had a previous life before I got a hold of it.  My mom painted this wooden pumpkin to look like an actual pumpkin years ago.  Although I didn't mind my mom's artwork, I wanted to give the pumpkin an updated look.  I first painted the pumpkin black and then traced the shape of the pumpkin onto a sheet of damask patterned scrapbook paper.  Next, I cut out the pumpkin shape and decoupaged it to the wood.

These projects were simple enough that I was able to finish them in an hour.  Since I don't have as much time to craft as I would like, I get very excited when I can make a quick craft that I love!

Potted Pin Cushion

This is another craft project that I got to check off my crafty to-do list for 2009: the potted pin cushion. This was a very simple and inexpensive project. I found the round lion head soup bowl on clearance at Target for only $1.25 and the fabric was leftover from a previous project. You could also use a tea cup, mug, small flower pot, ...you get the idea.

You can find step-by-step instructions at The Long Thread.

I Spy Bag Tutorial

First of all, I'm very proud of myself for actually finishing a craft that I set out to make. We're all busy and it's hard to find time for these sorts of things. Despite staying up late to finish them, I had so much fun making these! I'm not giving them to the kids until we're in the car and on our way to Georgia in the hopes that they'll play with them longer if they've never played with them before. However, I was so excited that I showed the finished bags to Ella. She loved them yet she understood that she couldn't have it until our car trip. I also think it would be great to make smaller versions of these to use as party favors.

These are really simple to make. Here are the instructions if you want to make one yourself. There are many different ways to make these, but this is how I made mine.

Here's what you need:

Fleece, about 1/4 a yard - you'll have a lot left over - I actually cut up old fleece pajamas for Ella's I Spy Bag. I like using fleece because the edges won't fray and it's durable enough to handle my kids squishing the bags around.

Poly Pellets - you can find these at Hobby Lobby. They are usually in the same isle that has all the doll parts for making your own dolls.

Clear Vinyl, not too thin, not too thick - you can purchase vinyl at Hancock Fabrics or Joann's. Another great idea is to re-purpose clear vinyl packaging (such as the bags that shower curtains come in)

Small, non-sharp, fun items for your child to find in his bag - sea shells, buttons, erasers, coins, jingle bells, etc.

1. Cut out two pieces of fleece to the size of your choosing for your bag, in whatever shape you want your bag to be. I've seen squares, circles, rectangles (like mine), stars, etc. I wanted a larger I Spy bag so I cut mine to 6" x 8".

2. On one of your pieces of fleece, cut out the viewing hole where the vinyl window will go. As you can see, I cut out a diamond shape on my daughter's bag and a circle on my son's. I traced a cup to get a perfect circle on my son's bag.

3. Cut a piece of vinyl that is much larger than the hole in the fleece. You can trim it after you sew it on the fleece. Pin vinyl onto the wrong side of the fleece to hold it in place (and try not to poke yourself like I did - twice).

4. At your sewing machine, sew vinyl onto fleece. The vinyl tends to stick to the machine so you have to carefully guide it as you are sewing. You can just sew one stitch around the window, but I chose to sew several stitches for two reasons: one, I like the way it looks and two, I wanted to be sure that nothing inside the bag would find its way out.



5. Trim excess vinyl. Place the two pieces of fleece wrong sides together. Since this is fleece, we do not have to sew it inside out. The edges will be out since they do not fray. But hey, this is your bag so sew it anyway you want. It helps to pin the pieces together before you sew so they don't move around.

6. Sew a seam using a straight stitch about 1/2 inch in, leaving a 2 inch hole so you can put in the small toys and poly pellets.

7. Fill your bag! Helpful tip: I used a funnel to pour in the pellets. Don't put too many pellets in or else your child will have a hard time moving the pellets around to find the toys.

8. Sew the hole. Sew a second stitch about 1/8 to 1/4 inch away from the first, closer to the edge of the fabric. This reinforces your bag and helps insure that none of the insides will find their way out.

9. You're done! Yes, it was that simple!

These bags would be perfect as birthday gifts, stocking stuffers, party favors, car ride toys, etc. I think they would also be great for the all-too-fun waiting room at the doctor's office. I'll be sure to let you all know how my kids like them when we go on our trip.

Fairy House

In an effort to help my kids find more ways to connect with nature, I encourage them to play with natural items - rocks, sticks, flowers, etc. There is a book called "Fairy Houses...Everywhere!" that inspired me to suggest to Ella that she build a fairy house herself. We haven't read the book yet, but I've seen it and intend to buy it at some point.

As grateful as I am for plastic, I fear that our kids play with nothing but plastic these days. There's something special about being a kid and digging your hands in the dirt and playing with rocks. My kids can't stay away from the rocks in our flower garden! I consider it as proof that children are drawn to the natural world that God made. We moms are often guilty of keeping our kids away from nature because "they might get dirty". Well, I say that's what bathtubs and washing machines are for!

We'll still hang on to our plastic Barbies and cars because they're fun and the kids love them. However, I'll be sure to kick my kids out of the house every once and a while and tell them to get dirty :o)

Pug Portrait

After a long day, I wanted some mindless entertainment. So I created this portrait of my pug, Big Stuff, with a photograph that I took a few months ago.

New Craft Project - I Spy Bag

I've found my next crafty project - the I Spy bag. These bags are genius. I stumbled across them while browsing around on Etsy and I thought, "hey, I can make these!". The bags are filled with various small trinkets for your kids to discover by shifting the pellets in the bag. The small toys will emerge in the clear vinyl window. We'll be embarking on another long car trip to Georgia in a month and this will be a perfect for keeping the kids busy in the car. I've been collecting small items to put in their I Spy bags and I hope to put these together in the next week or two. However, I'm not going to give the finished bags to them until we're in the car and on our way to Georgia (the newer the toy, the longer they'll play with it).

Once I put these together, I'll post instructions so that you can make one, too. If you're not into sewing then visit The Crafting Corner on Etsy. They have a large selection to choose from (the I Spy bag pictured above sells for $16.00).

Silhouettes

For Mother's Day, I created silhouettes of the kids for the grandmas (I made one for myself, too). To create these, I first took pictures of the kids from the side. This was actually quite challenging! I had them stand on their stool in the bathroom and told them to look at their noses in the mirror. I then took a ton of pictures until I had one that would work. Here are the pictures I chose:



I found some great instructions on The Long Thread on how to make these by hand (click the link and it'll take you to the tutorial). Being a graphic designer, however, it was easier for me to just clip their pictures in Photoshop and fill them in black. I created an 8.5 x 11 file in Illustrator, placed their silhouettes and added their names and birthdays and printed it out on white cardstock. So, if you're familiar with graphic software like me, you may find it easier to do these digitally. If you're not, then check out The Long Thread for made-by-hand instructions. No matter which way you choose to make these, they turn out great. Silhouettes are a classic and I love the simplicity of them.

Feeling Creative

There is a spot in my kitchen over the refrigerator that has been needing a piece of art for quite some time. I was feeling creative last night but I didn't have time to paint so I decided to create a "digital painting" in Photoshop instead. I plan to print this out on my home printer and frame it. My inspiration for this piece comes from an artist named Rodney White. You may not have heard of him before, however, his art is very popular and I have seen many of his prints in several home design catalogs - even Target is carrying some of his prints! I love the painting below titled "Nothing to Dream". My goal was to create an image similar in style to "Nothing to Dream" yet at the same time make it different enough to call it my own.

Updates - on getting crafty, new hobies and life in general

It's been a while since I've blogged so I thought I'd post one large blog of some of the things that are going on and to give a glimpse of some of the goals I have for the near future.

I'm starting to get the itch to get crafty again. I've got several projects that I've started but haven't finished. I'm so inspired by all of the crafty blogs that are out there (several of them are listed under my list of favorite blogs). Most of my blogs have to do with my family life, but I do try to post crafty stuff, too. I've been so busy lately that I haven't had as much time to craft as I would like. Both my husband and I are learning to play the guitar so most of my free moments have been spent playing around on my guitar or on the computer. But, I have several projects that I hope to complete over the next few months and I hope to post them as I get them done.

Some projects I have in mind are:
*more hair bow holders to give as gifts
*more t-shirt dresses for Ella
*applique t-shirts for Christian
*pincushion
*nursing covers for my nursing friends with babies

Besides sewing and crafts, I'd also like to tackle another oil painting. I guess all I need for that is the inspiration...if nothing spectacular comes to me, then I may just paint a still life to work on my technique. We'll see.

I am also looking for ways to get Ella involved. She loves arts and crafts. I think it's so good for kids to be creative and it's also good for their fine motor skills, which helps them learn how to write. Court and I have made the decision to homeschool our kids so I'd like to add art to her curriculum. Which, by the way, I've selected a curriculum that is absolutely awesome - Sonlight Curriculum (click the link to learn more). Sonlight provides everything you need for an entire year of homeschooling and covers every topic your child needs. It also lays out your lesson plans for each day. My good friend Tisha uses it with her kids so I've got to see it first hand. Her kids are learning so much - in fact, her 11 year old said that she's learning way more than she learned in public school and that she actually enjoys her school work now! I'm hoping to have the same success with my own kids, but we'll take it year by year and see how it goes. Their education is so important to Court and I and we want the absolute best for them - we just think we can do a better job than public schools are doing :o) Besides, no teacher (no matter how wonderful he/she may be) could ever care more for my kid's education than Court and I! So, if you are a close friend or relative, then we definitely could use your prayers and support for the journey ahead!

We have many reasons for homeschooling and I'll address those in another blog at another time (click this link to read a good article about reasons for homeschooling). Trust me, we've given it much thought. It was actually Court's idea! I thought the idea was nuts when he mentioned it to me two years ago. But, after much thought, much research (a lot of research!) and many prayers, I now believe that this is the path God wants my family to take. God has changed my heart from being fearful of homeschooling to being confident and excited! Plus, it's great to know that I live in a city that has a lot of homeschooling groups for support and so that my kids can connect with other kids their age. Am I qualified to teach my own kids? Can I do it? Well, I think I can. I do have a college degree and some experience in teaching young children. But mostly, I believe that when God calls us to do something, he always equips us with what we need to get the job done.

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."

Moving on, another goal for this year is to learn how to garden. Up til now, I've had more of a black thumb than a green one. I'd like to change that. Court and I spent all day working on our backyard last Saturday and I really enjoyed it. We picked weeds, planted plants/flowers, etc. We're even growing our own tomatoes! The kids are into it as well. They have several flower seeds that they planted and we're anxious to see them sprout. Once we start homeschooling, I'd like for Ella and I to plant a vegetable garden together. I think it will be a great hands-on science lesson for her! Maybe it will inspire her to eat more vegetables :o)

For now, much of my free time has been devoted to helping my mom plan my sisters wedding. We're throwing her a bridal shower this Saturday and I'm praying for good weather since it will be outdoors! I'm really excited about the shower and I'll be sure to post it on my blog.

Perhaps the most exciting thing lined up is our trip to Disney World! Ella is so excited and both of the kids are going to love spending time with Mimi and Poppy. They don't get to see them much, but they LOVE them and talk about them frequently. Even Christian talks about them. Sometimes when I tuck him in at night he'll say, "Mimi? Georgia!" and I'll reply, "Yes, Mimi is in Georgia!". I'm especially looking forward to Ella's lunch at Cinderella's Royal Table and seeing Cirque Du Soleil. Cirque Du Soleil is right up my ally! I love artsy stuff.

Tonight is rather peaceful in my home. The kids are in bed, my house is clean (mostly), the ironing is done, dishes are in the dishwasher and all I hear is the sound of my typing and my dog snoring. I love the stillness of it all after a long day of noisy kids :o) I'm sure I'll regret staying up so late, but it's only when I stay up late that I get to enjoy silence and solitude.

I'll leave you with a verse to chew on. The qualities below are qualities that God wants his children to exhibit in their daily lives. Unfortunately, I do not always exhibit these qualities but I do strive to each day. As I mentioned before, I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control." - Galatians 5:22, 23

Hanging Hairbow Holder

My latest craft is a hairbow holder for Ella's growing collection of hairbows. I'm sure this idea is not original to me, but I'd at least like to think that not many people have one like mine :o) I've begun making these as baby gifts and have already made a few for friends. So any friends of mine who are expecting a girl, or have recently had a baby girl, can expect one of these very soon!

"O Gitow!"

Our Little Buddy, Christian, turned two this month. So sad! He's officially not a baby anymore...which explains why I refuse to cut his baby hair. We decided to celebrate by having a Guitar Hero party since Christian is OBSESSED with guitars (he calls them "gitows)"! He loves dancing while Court plays Guitar Hero and he even tries to play it himself. He's going to be disappointed when he eventually learns that his daddy doesn't play a real guitar :o) For now, it has sparked a huge interest in music and musical instruments in him so I've already decided that he'll most likely be a musician when he grows up!


I had to get creative with the decorations since you cannot purchase Guitar Hero partyware. Court printed out a bunch of guitar pictures and Guitar Hero logos and I purchased streamers and balloons to match.



Since I'm a Martha Stewart wannabe, I decided to make my own custom guitar cupcakes. Christian loved them! He was so excited to eat "gitow cake!".


In keeping with our theme, I asked everyone to wear band t-shirts. I am sporting my Van Halen World Tour t-shirt and my mom is wearing an authentic, vintage ZZ Top t-shirt - it's a very special shirt and was loaned to her by one of the band member's wife. No kidding!

Christian is wearing his favorite "gitow" shirt.

A Guitar Hero party would not be complete without a little jam session. Court and Grant played "lead guitar" and "bass" while Ella sang.


And here she is performing "Heartbreaker" by Pat Benatar. It's her favorite song to sing on Guitar Hero.


Next, it was time to open presents. Luke enjoyed helping - I could tell he had learned how to open gifts from Christmas and his first birthday! So cute!


Christian's birthday wish came true! His very own guitar! He rocked out with Daddy for the rest of the party and then happily went to sleep after his exciting evening.

A Crafty Christmas

Craft fever has hit me again - I was waiting for it. I was not in any mood to do crafts when we came back from out of town, but since school has been out I'm all into it.

We have a new annual tradition with my friend Allison and her kids. The Randall's (grocery store) sells pre-made gingerbread houses and you can decorate them at the store. This was our fourth year to make one. I put the icing on the house and Ella placed all of the candy herself. The houses always turn out so cute.

I'm not sure how long the gingerbread house will last, though. The other day I noticed that our house was awfully quiet...that usually means Christian is getting into something. Sure enough, Christian had climbed up a chair to pick candy off of the gingerbread house. After I saw him, Ella came over and decided to help him reach the candy that he couldn't get to.

This isn't a craft, but I change out seasonal toys in front of the fireplace for each holiday. The basket is filled with Christmas books and Christian is playing with the Little People Nativity set in this picture. I think he looks so sweet sitting in front of the fire with his little sweater on!

I found a great tutorial for making felted wool wreaths (click here). We went to Goodwill and bought 100% wool sweaters, washed them on high heat so they would felt, then cut them into squares. Once the squares were cut, it only took a few minutes to make each one. They were simple enough that Ella could make them herself. As of today, we've made at least a total of twenty of these things! Court asked if we would make eleven of them for him to give away to people at work for Christmas gifts. Fortunately for me, he sat down and made several of them with me. I think he enjoyed it :o)

Ella figured out a way to thread the felt without poking herself with the needle. She stabbed the felt on the table and then pulled the felt onto the thread - pretty smart, eh?

I jokingly said that this was the Campbell Sweatshop since child labor was involved :o) Ella had a great time helping make crafts and Court caught on to the crafty spirit himself that night.

He found a tutorial online to make paper ornaments out of old catalogs and magazines.

I was really impressed with the final outcome.

I had so much felted wool left over that I started to think of other things to make out of it. This little tree only took about 15 minutes and turned out pretty cute, I think. I wish I could say that I made the card in the background, but I didn't. My Aunt Vicki sent it to me and I thought it was so cute that it deserved its own special spot.

I almost didn't post this picture. I made this pillow from some of the leftover sweaters and I'm not 100% happy with it. My hand-stitching skills are beginner-level at best so the part that I sewed after stuffing the pillow looks awful and needs to be re-done. However, the pillow isn't that bad for a beginner, I guess.

This is my second attempt at sewing a t-shirt dress for Ella. It turned out much better than the Halloween dress did. It's definitely not professional quality, but I am getting better with each thing I sew.