Homemade Gifts

 

Unintentionally this year  was the year of books and homemade gifts.  As I was making a picnic blanket for my sister's Christmas gift, W informed me that he wanted me to make something for him as well.  He gave me a few suggestions--an army guy or a ninja.  Hmmm.  

I've shared with you before that I like to buy sheets when they are on super sale and use the fabric for other purposes.  Over a year ago I bought some black sheets--perfect for making a ninja! 

 

Now, I admit, these ninjas are nothing to get excited about--the stitching is horrible, the stuffing is a little lumpy--but I'm happy with how they turned out.  I have learned that my boys would probably be excited about these for a few days and then forget about them so I wasn't going to waste time on perfection.  I ended up making 3 ninjas . . . one for each of the older boys.  Each one was unique--the sash was their favorite color and the eyes were different on each (to match the eyes of its owner!)  I had all of the supplies on hand: black bed sheets, felt, and stuffing!  Best of all?  The boys loved these!

Since I made ninjas for the older boys I couldn't leave out baby H!  I needed something for him as well.  So I decided to search pinterest for some ideas.  I found a ton of DIY mobiles.  I started off with one idea in mind and ended up with this:

Again, I had most supplies on hand.  All I had to pick up was an embroidery hoop.  Supplies included: embroidery hoop, yarn, felt, bakers twine, and a little bit of stuffing.

I love our little tradition of the boys making gifts for one another.  It keeps our house uncluttered with dollar store toys and makes it more exciting and meaningful for the boys when they give the gift.  This year my two big boys made pillowcases for each other.  They are both still too little to really use the sewing machine so I let them push the pedal while I guided the fabric.  They thought it was awesome!  Here is J with the pillowcase that he made for his big brother.

And here is the Scooby Doo pillowcase that was given to J from W.

These were a big, BIG hit!

I already shared what the big boys made for A over here.  Again--a big success!

Last Christmas the big boys made this giraffe for Mr. A . . . so as we discussed what to make for little H they decided that an elephant would be perfect!  We had the supplies on hand (fleece, fabric from a sheet, ribbon, and stuffing) and the boys had a great time taking turns sewing up and stuffing this little guy (the elephant, not the baby!)

I think the most fun we had making a gift was the one for Dad!  My husband is always good for a new t-shirt so when I found this tutorial on pinterest I knew we had to make it the minute I laid eyes on it.  She used paints but we used fabric markers which is much more kid friendly (and less time consuming!)

What are your favorite handmade gifts?

Read-a-thon

This week is our mid-winter school break.  Do you have that where you live?  I'd never heard of it until we moved here, but then again I grew up in California, Texas, and Florida and I guess you don't need those kinds of things in sunny climates.  So, while I wish we were taking a vacation down to Florida to soak up some sun, we're instead staying snugly warm at home and having a read-a-thon this week.  My kids and I have a goal to read all the picture books on this bookshelf together before the week is over.  

It's been keeping us busy and it's given us a chance to read some of our less loved books--they need to be read too after all.  Wish us luck as we work toward finishing our goal!

Shabby Apple Giveaway Winner

Have you had as much fun as I have looking at all the classy dresses at Shabby Apple?

It's time to find out who our winner is.

And the lucky number is . . .

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

111

Timestamp: 2012-02-21 22:08:59 UTC

And #111 is?

Julie said...like SA on fb Julie A Scott Laws
like nothing like a dame dress

Congratulations Julie!

I'll be contacting you soon with the details.

Thanks to everyone who participated in our giveaway and a big thank you to Shabby Apple for sponsoring this giveaway!

Shabby Apple Giveaway!

*** This giveaway is now closed ***

Jeanine and I love Shabby Apple! They have the most amazing selection of cute, classy, and feminine women's dresses.

If I'm not careful I could easily waste away several hours browsing their website looking at all their fabulous dresses.

Take a look:

Today I'm super excited to offer you a chance to win one of my favorite dresses the Bali Ha'i.

To enter to win:

"Like" Shabby Apple on Facebook and leave us a comment telling us you did.

For a second entry head on over to Shabby Apple, browse around, and leave a comment letting us know what your favorite dress it.

Giveaway closes Monday, February 20th 11:59 EST

Winner will be announced on Tuesday February 21st.

Good Luck!

Valentine for School

After gathering all my favorite valentine ideas I couldn't decided which one to have my kindergartner share with her classmates.  When I found these cute valentine bouncy balls at the store I knew I'd have to use Kirsten's idea over at The Crafting Chicks.

I picked up some treat bags from the craft store and printed out the bag toppers here.

They went together very fast and my daughter is super excited to share them with her classmates.  I even had enough balls leftover for my son to give to a few of his friends.

Hope you have a wonderful Valentine's Day with the ones you love!

Kid Art Heart Garland

Once again I was inspired by pinterest!  I had thought about making a heart garland to decorate for Valentine's Day--something with hearts and felt probably.  And then I spied this sweet idea!

I didn't have any good water colors on hand (the boys had dirtied up all the colors that last time they used them.  Why did I even keep them?!)  so we pulled out our pink, red, and purple crayons and markers. We even got a red ink pad out for fingerprints!

When we couldn't stand to color any more I cut their art into hearts to hang on some pink bakers twine in the kitchen.  The boys love it and so do I!

Valentine Craft

Valentine's Day is such a fun holiday to celebrate with your children.  It's nice to be able to take some extra time to show your sweet kids you love them.  But we can do that all the time right?  It doesn't have to be fancy or even cost anything.   I loved the 10 little tips over at Little Wonders' Days to show your kids you love them.  My favorite is warming up a towel in the dryer to wrap them in after their bath.  I remember my mom warming up our pajamas in the dryer for after our bath when my sisters and I were little.  That was my favorite.  And how come I've never done that for my kids?  I will now.


This year I decided to pick up those cute little mailboxes at the Target dollar spot for my kids.

  My kids have had a blast sneaking little notes into each others mailboxes.  They think it's so much fun.  I put a little something in their box each night so they have a surprise every morning to look forward to. Among the little notes and treats I've left I've also slipped in a magnetic bookmark, a felt heart pocket, these little felt valentine envelopes, and cupid's bow and arrows. I hope to make this a fun new tradition in our family.

My daughter and I have also been busy planning a Valentine's Day get together for some of her friends like last year.  It will be fun.


I spied this simple craft over at Little Page Turners and thought we'd have fun with it.  All you need is an empty paper towel tube, some paper, and some paint.

To start, bend your paper towel tube into a heart like this:

Then get your paint ready . . .

Dip your tube in . . .

And you can make the sweetest little hearts.  Perfect for Valentine's Day.

Have fun!

What simple things do you do for your kids to show you love them?

Groundhog Day

Did anyone watch the groundhog this morning?  I was dropping W off at school but we listened on the radio--6 more weeks of winter.  Maybe that means we'll actually get some winter weather around here this year!

I decided to work on a little Groundhog craft with my boys.  I remember doing this as a kid and knew that it would be fun.  I know this post is coming a little late in the day but if you need a last minute craft this one is really simple!

Supplies: 

disposable cup (styrofoam would work best but we used plastic and it worked)

popsicle stick

image of groundhog (I used this one)

tape,crayons, scissors

Just color your groundhog, cut it out and tape to the craft stick.  Then you'll cut a slit on the bottom of your cup big enough to insert your stick.  Now the groundhog can pop up and check his shadow!