Vintage Chair Make Over

 

 I bought this great/ugly vintage chair for $10 and couldn't wait to spruce it up. Just a couple coats of yellow spray paint and some new faux bois fabric on the seat. Voila! An updated chair for $20 and an easy half-days work. 

Unfortunately, I couldn't quite get a yellow that matched with the art in my bedroom (more on that next time...) so I sold it. For $40. Woo Hoo! I love DIY. But I am still looking for another chair...

No-Sew Franklin and Mrs. Turtle Costumes

We had a super-amazing church costume party on the weekend and here's how we went:

No sewing at all- my favorite. I cut the bellies out of fleece (you could use felt) and used quilters temporary spray glue to stick it to green shirts. I drew the lines with a brown fabric marker. Franklin's hat is a team hat that I covered with felt and adhered with the same spray glue.

My Mrs. Turtle necklace is made of purple ribbon and a wooden circle painted white.  Felt or a button would work for the charm as well. I used sticky velcro on the ends so it can come apart and hot glued the circle onto the ribbon.

We both had turtle-shell backpacks. One is a vintage ninja turtles backpack (doubles as a candy bag!) and the other was a handmade fleece kijiji find. I think one could definitely be made from fleece, hot glue, straps and stuffing in no time.

My little Franklin is just too cute!

10 Minute Piggy Bank

Who doesn't love a great "no skills required" craft once in a while? This little project reminds me that simple, re-purposed materials are usually the most intriguing for a child.

A few months ago bought some lovely organic cream that came in a glass bottle (it makes me wish I enjoyed home-coffee as much as store-coffee so I could buy more cream).  I just couldn't resist the container and when I was done I didn't want to put it into the recycling bin, so I gave it to Daniel to play with.

My Dad was visiting and watching Daniel 'plink' the coins into the bottle when he suggested we make it into a real piggy bank. He just cut a little slot into the lid with a utility knife and it was done. It's been a favorite toy for quite a few months now. Good call by Papa!

Handmade Wooden Block Puzzle: Adorable Animals

Here is part of the baby shower gift I made for my little peanut. I think it's my favorite because my hubs helped me make it!

Simple but not easy. All it took was drawing out the animal pictures and wood burning them. I drew and Michael did the wood burning. I finished it off with beeswax polish and voila! A beautiful, natural, handmade baby gift that will actually get used!

I thought about using 6 blocks, but even my clever four year old has trouble with 6 blocks, so I just kept it simple at 4.

Adorable No-Sew Felt Box

Check this template out!

Adorable! I used very stiff felt and embellished it with sequin trim. Perfect wrap for little gifts.

Tactile Button Snake Tutorial

I've been working on a plan to keep Daniel busy during our upcoming plane trip to Florida and I definitely have the tendency to go overboard! I love toys, I love gifts, I love making things, I love Daniel and I HATE trying to keep a kid happy in an enclosed space. So, inevitably, I will have too much! But the good news is that it means lots of travel toy ideas for my readers!

This week I made a classic Montessori toy with a twist and I think he will love it. Button snakes are great for fine motor skills and learning how to button. They're usually made with all felt squares, but I wanted to add another element to the activity, so I didn't stop there. I used some wool felt, some old felted sweaters, leather scraps, crocheted cotton squares and cotton fabric.

Making your own is so easy!

You'll Need:

6 inch length of ribbon
1 medium sized button
Any combination of wool felt, fabric, felted sweaters, crocheted squares, leather scraps, paper, fabric etc
Needle and thread

1.) Cut your length of ribbon. Fold over the end twice (like a small hem) and sew your button onto the ribbon tightly.

2.) Make a template for your squares approx 1.5" square. Cut out all your pieces. Making it all out of felt is definitely easiest! If you are crocheting squares:
Row 1: Ch 7, turn.
Row 2: Sc into 2nd from hook and each after (6 sc). Turn.
Row 3-4: Ch 1 and sc 6 across. Turn.
Row 5: Ch 1 and sc in next 2 stitches. Ch 2, skip 2 stitches and sc in last 2 stitches to make button hole. Turn.
Row 6-8: Ch 1, crochet 6 across.
Row 9: Ch 1, sc all around the edge to finish.

3.) Fold each square in half and cut small slits (button holes) in the center.

4.) Choose a square for the bottom of the button snake (you could also use a large button to keep the squares on). Fold the end of the ribbon under to hem and zig zag stitch it on like it's about to endure a nuclear war. Or hand sew if you have no machine!

Simple, right? Depending on your child's interests, you could do shades of the same color, black and white, shapes, patterns, make it seasonal, different sizes of squares etc.

Hopefully he'll have fun and learn something useful. And stay busy on the plane.