Sometimes it just has to wait!

I have been hoping all weekend to get my costume tutorial up and ready to go, but between a big wholesale order and a sick little boy, it's not working so well! Poor little Daniel has had a fever and aches and threw up last night.

So: here goes my day of kid movies, reading in bed, warm baths and clinging.

Rainbow of Dolls!

I finally listed my sweet little bedtime beans on my Etsy shop. They are just too funny and cute! I wish I had though of this when Daniel was a toddler!

Simple and Fun Prechool Craft

Daniel found a little scrap of binding on the floor the other day and asked if he could have it. Eventually, it transformed into a watch. So I asked if he wanted me to sew it into a loop for him. Then, we thought we may as well add a watch face. I was going to use felt, but I was kind of busy and my little wooden tiles seemed so much easier.

A little marker and some hot glue, a scrap of binding and voila! a watch for Daniel and his little buddy!

You could get really fancy and make it out of felt and add working hands with a brass paper fastener or add some velcro on the strap. You could even do a square face and make it digital.

Pinecone Weaving

I just tried pinecone weaving with Daniel and it was a ton of fun! It's a simple, fun winter activity that's perfect for little hands. I think it's great as a step before finger knitting or sewing too.

All you need is some yarn and a few pinecones! Then the little ones wrap and weave the yarn onto the pinecone. We used some cotton, some regular wool and some handspun wool yarn for different natural textures. So fun, and such a great result! And...no mess. Unlike another craft we know.

Glittery Christmas Reindeer (or "how to make a huge mess when you're already obscenely busy")

I had the Dayhome Christmas party on the last day that the kids were here. Usually we do a few activities, or a craft and I give them each a gift. This year I thought it would be a great idea to combine the party craft with the craft we make for parents. Oops. At least it turned out cute!

You'll need:
Spray adhesive (We used Elmers, but next time I'd try something else)
Glitter (Martha Stewart glitter worked best for us)
Something to Glam Out. Thrift stores often have ceramic deer figures, or you can use plastic animals, or anything your heart desires.
A lot of newspaper

I found these sweet little acrylic reindeer at Superstore (on clearance!) and thought they'd be perfect.

Spray the whole object with the spray adhesive, one object at a time. The glue becomes less tacky if you wait.

Shake glitter all over the place. We ended up taking handfuls of sparkles and rubbing them right on as well, there were a lot of grooves in these things! Notice how my hands look after about 4 seconds.

I also added a coat of Krlyon Acrylic Crystal Clear spray paint to prevent the glitter from coming off, but I don't think it did much. They look adorable, but I spent weeks cleaning the floors and washing glitter out of every imaginable place! Next year when I pull them out, I am going to tie bright purple ribbon around their necks. Cute!

Christmas with a 3 Year Old

It was so wonderful to watch Daniel at Christmastime this year! He was so interested and excited about everything.  I can't wait for next year...I think the anticipation will make it even more magical.

We have a Christmas Nativity Scene tradition that Mary and Joseph have to "walk" to the stable. They arrive on Christmas eve, and on Christmas morning baby Jesus appears along with all the gifts.  The Magi arrive on the 1st and we talk about how they didn't visit until Jesus was 2. It was my favorite tradition growing up and I loved seeing Daniel checking on everyone's progress to the stable.

We had a quiet Christmas day with just our closest family and it was wonderful to just slow down and enjoy. I got a pair of boots I've been eying up, and a massage cerificate (thanks honey!) to name a few things, and Daniel loved the drumsticks we put in his stocking.

Soon I'll post a tutorial for a simple, glittery-mess craft I made with the dayhome kids. I can't believe how messy it was!