First I Spy Quilt for Sale

I finally got the nerve to list my 'Cotton Candy' I Spy quilt. I'm not sure why I was worried about posting. I think pricing quilts is just challenging! I'm hoping to have the boy quilt finished sometime this month, it's going to be adorable.

Quiet Book #2- Around The House

Bring something cool and handmade to a baby shower, and you can bet you'll be making it again! Here's my second attempt at a simplified quiet book. I just couldn't find another 9 hours in my schedule to make a second 8-page book! I made it in an 'Around the House' theme, since children love to mimic adults more than anything.

Since it was a smaller book, I added a memory matching game (the bag is sewn in) on the inside cover. I think it fits with the theme of household activities, and little one can pretend to wash them, or add clothespins for some extra fun. The flowers button off for practice buttoning, just like the button snake. It's a great time-killer!

A simplified version of the oven and cookies, and a new addition. I adore this little garden, with it's package of seeds and watering can! I used fabric markers all through this book to speed the process up. It's so much faster than embroidering, and more fun too.

I love this idea for practice with brushing or braiding. It's a bit girly, and I usually try to make them unisex so they can be passed down, but I couldn't resist! The back cover has a pocket to add pieces for any of the activities, or paper and pencil.

Sending it for a test run to make sure it's as cool to a kid as it is to me!

Travel Toys and Activities

#1- Crafts

I just realized that I still haven't posted photos of all the bits and pieces we took on our trip with us! Some were mainly for the plane, and some mainly for the hotel.

#2- Squinkies

#3- Activities

A couple of tips: save some "new" things for the way back, bring comfortable headphones for airplane television or iPod's and consider wrapping everything up in wrapping paper for little ones-it can keep them pretty busy!

#4- Thinking

#5- Busy Toys

#1- Crafts: Blackboard and Chalk (in a chalk holder) with eraser, crayons, notebook and stickers galore!
#2- Squinkies: I love these because they're tiny and lots of fun. We put them in a small tin from Michael's to keep them together.
#3- Activities: Jacob's Ladder, Button Snake and a lunch tin filled with puzzle erasers in a home theme.
#4- Thinking: Usborne's 'Things to do on a Journey', key chain measuring tape and tiny package of Megablocks (they were very popular in the hotel!)

 #5- Busy Toys: Wiki Sticks (Daniel's favorite of the trip), Silly bands (second favorite!), play doh (great for the hotel) and a locking diary. I thought the diary would be a huge hit, but the lock was too cheap and didn't work at all. Next time I'd buy a separate lock and key for entertainment.
#6- Things That Go: The roll up mat was pretty good on the airplane's tray table, but we used both of the car toys much more at the hotel. I really liked the little Tonka ramp because it was small and easy to pack, but lots of fun at the hotel.

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.

Easy Dinosaur Costume Tutorial

Daniel's preschool had Dino Day last week and I somehow missed them memo about dressing up or bringing along a dinosaur toy. Naturally, I chose the ridiculous option of making a costume myself the night before. Much easier than buying a $2 toy...right? Besides, I'm pretty sure there were at least 3 dinosaurs at Halloween.

I wanted it to be cheap, quick and fun so I decided to make the costume on a hoodie (we got ours at American Apparel) so I could take it apart and put the sweater in his closet.



You will need:
Hoodie in color of your choice
Stiff felt in contrasting/co-coordinating color (minimum cut, 0.2 m was plenty)
Regular felt (not flimsy craft felt) to match hoodie (0.2 m)
Stuffing (wool or recycled polyfil are best)
Enough elastic to go around your child's waist OR 2-3 safety pins

1. Fold the matching, soft felt in half. Cut a tail shape approx 4" tall and 20" long.

2. Cut triangles out of the stiff felt. I cut a 3" strip out of the felt and cut triangles with a base that is slightly smaller than the sides. Aprrox 3x3x2.5". Pin the triangles into the fold of the tail.

3. Trim the end of the tail to the edge of the last triangle and sew the triangles onto the tail. Stuff the tail.

4. Pinch the opening of the tail closed perpendicular to your seam and pin. 

5. Sew the tail shut. The beauty of using felt is that there is no turning. That's part of the reason this project is quick! You can either use safety pins to fasten the tail onto your child's pants, or sew a length of elastic (1 inch shorter than your child's waist measurement) onto the tail. I sewed mine on the under-side of the seam that closed the tail up.

 6. Cut more of the same size triangles out of the stiff felt and cut a small slit in the center of the bottom side of each triangle. You will need 4-6 depending on how big they are and how big the hood is.

7. Line each triangle up, one at a time, on the center seam of the hood. One side of the slit goes on the left of the seam, and one side on the right. Sew with a running stitch, and NO back stitching, along each side of the split to fasten the triangles. This is the hardest part.

I didn't back stitch and used a running stitch is so I can easily rip it out after. If you want yours to stay on forever, by all means do it differently!

8.  Next, I cut out little claws to attach onto the sleeves. Same thing, running stitch and no back stitching.

9. Now to embellish! I used small and large circles on the back and chest only. I tried using a fabric spray adhesive to keep the felt on the hoddie, but it wouldn't hold. I think if I could have found a thinner felt in the same blue, the spray adhesive would have worked. Instead, I sewed just a few stitches in the center of each circle so I could take them off easily.

Sparkly felt, an oval-shaped tummy on a pullover sweater or multiple colors would be fun too.

And here's my little dinosaur all dressed up. Ironically enough, he was the only one with a costume! Maybe I need to drink less coffee!

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!

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.

Making Class Gifts: Part 2

Finished and delivered! They couldn't have turned out any cuter. Well, unless we used glitter, but I'm not crazy.

I really wanted Daniel to be able to make most of everything, but I knew he would never get through 18 cards! So he made one and we photocopied it. So much easier, more fun and looked great!

We drew a snowman on the front, put a cute little poem (that I still have memorized from my preschool days) inside and he signed his name. Attaching the rainbow heart crayons was no easy task! I tried double sided tape, tape loops and contemplated an elaborate ribbon structure and crazy glue. But then my genius came back.

I put a tape loop on the card where I wanted the crayon to go, topped that with hot glue and pressed the crayon on. Worked like a charm! Now it won't ruin the card, and the glue will just peel off of the crayon. When all was said and done, I also decided to pop them into cellophane jewelry bags just in case the crayons came off. Better safe than swearing. Ahem, 'sorry'.

So if you need a simple class gift for your little one, go back to Part 1 and create away!

Homemade Stocking Stuffers Part 1: Toddlers

Last year we had our first handmade Christmas. It was awesome! And a LOT of work. I am not making everything this year, but from now on, I will always make some or all of our gifts. Here are some of my favorites for toddlers. Be careful, some are a bit chokey for little ones.

Toddlers:

Magnets- you have to be careful because they can be a choking hazard, but I scanned, cropped and printed Franklin Characters onto magnet paper from Staples. Daniel is still playing with them! There are probably all kinds of tutorials for other types as well.

Painted Wooden People- I  painted wooden people pegs to look like our family. They were a big hit but Daniel lost himself almost immediately.

Homemade Play Dough: Here is one site, with a million recipes. You can also pack it in a stainless steel conatiner like this and have a great, eco friendly way to pack snacks later.

Honey Toffee: I use Honey, butter and vanilla and boil to the hard crack stage (it doesn't come out hard because honey is pretty gummy) and wrap it in wax paper. It's one of those treats I don't mind giving Daniel because it has no sugar in it. For those of you who like recipes, there's one here.

Felt Cookies: There is a great tutorial at Prudent Baby, but really it's as simple as cutting felt into cookie shapes, sewing embellishments on the top side of the cookie (beware of small things that may come off) and hand stitch them together. Felt doesn't fray, so it's a great beginner sewing project to do by hand.

Crayon Roll: I made a mini one for Daniel's stocking. I recommend reading a few different tutorials and choosing what you like best, or making up your own! Who doesn't love new crayons???

Crocheted Headband: I made myself a headband from this pattern at Creative Yarn, and noticed that someone modified the pattern to fit her daughter. I made one for a friend and it's cute!

Neck Tube: Best thing EVER! No more scarves all wrapped around to go out and play. Cut a piece of polar fleece fabric about 5x20 (measure you child's neck and leave a little extra room to pull over head), fold it in half and sew it together, right sides together. Voila! We love ours.

CD from Daddy: Or mommy. Or whoever is not the crafty one! My hubby burned Daniel his own CD of favorite songs and it was a huge hit! In fact, he received another one for his birthday. This is a great way for older siblings to make gifts for each other or the non-crafters to get in on the handmade goodness.

Felted Balls: Ours were a bit awkward looking, because it was my first try. Luckily, wonky balls are still fun.

Foot Bath in a Bag: I put a bit of oatmeal, some lavender buds and a bit of loose leaf tea in a bag and Daniel enjoyed his very own relaxing footbath. Yes, he really did sit still! He still talks about it!

Add a candy cane and a Christmas orange (or is that just my family?) and you have a pretty well rounded, toddler stocking full of handmade goodies!

In the next few weeks, I will be posting ideas for Preschoolers, School agers and maybe even grown ups! I don't know if I'm brave enough to tackle a handmade teen stocking!