Kids' craft: repurposed owls

 

I stumbled across this adorable tutorial for paper tube owls through Craft Gossip.  Seemed just the thing for the resident preschooler home on a chilly afternoon.  The first grader jumped right in when she got home from school.  What a great project when both kids are equally engaged!

 

I always love crafting with the kids because theirs come out SO much more creative than mine!  Can you tell which one is mine?  Hint: it's the most boring by far!

 

I hope, by creating these owls, we are inviting spring to arrive (any day now, PLEASE!) in New England.  I'm pretty sure I have been smelling it in the air, despite the piles of snow and frigid temperatures.  Call me crazy!

Just in time for Valentine's Day: easy freezer stencil totes kids' craft

 

First off, hello!  Long time no blog! 

 

Secondly, it's almost Valentine's Day!  Are you getting ready to celebrate? 

 

The girls and I created these easy freezer stencil bags for their teachers (if J.Z. is reading this, spoiler alert!).  It was fun to get back to some crafting and be able to do it with little E and A.

 

 

Disclaimer: this bag is pretty much a knock-off of one I have from Old Navy.  I LOVE it and thought the teachers would find it handy and cute.  We found a 3 pack of medium totes at Joann's and some Tulip Soft Matte fabric paint.  Oddly, the pink and yellow were sparkly, but you cannot tell from the outside!  A roll of freezer paper from the local grocery store and we were good to go.

 

 

Little E dabbing on the yellow.  We found these thick, strong brushes were best to really get the paint in all the grooves of the canvas.

 

 

Little A's hand moving at super speed!

 

 

This one is done and drying...

 

 

...and the big reveal.  It was really cute to watch the look on the girls' eyes as they peeled back the paper.  I love how the "messy" heart turns into clean lines. 

 

 

Here are three of the six we made.  With four paint colors, we managed to make all six different.  This was the perfect project for the little ones - they could be messy and inexact, and it didn't take too long to dry so their interest was maintained.  I loved that they thought of their teachers as they picked colors, reasoning who would like which combinations.

 

We are blessed with wonderful teachers and we hope we make them feel special this Valentine's Day with our gifts.

 

 

 

 

 

Giving thanks...for kids

Last year, I shared this link for a great family Thanksgiving activity.  We just pulled it out and read over what we wrote.  It was cute to see the kids read their responses. 

This year, I found this via Craft Gossip and wanted to share with you.  It would be a great project for school, or home, either before or on Thanksgiving.

Hope you are finding many reasons for giving thanks! 

Falling into Fall: Halloween Wreath

It's the first day of fall!  For us New Englanders, this means the promise of apple picking, leaf peeping, and, of course, Halloween! 

As an early house-warming gift for a friend, I made this Halloween wreath.    A simple grapevine wreath spray painted with Krylon Pumpkin Orange Interior and Exterior Decorator Paint (took a few coats to get in all those nooks and crannies!).  I followed this tutorial to make the flowers - altering the length and width of the fabric strips for the various sized flowers.

Between the paint and rolled flowers, it only took an evening.  I love projects like these - quick, simple, uses materials on-hand - and yields a beautiful result!

Now I have to go out and make more for myself!  I have a few other flower styles I want to try - maybe black, gray and white felt? 

What's your favorite part of fall?

 

 

Crafty Warning!!

water bottle holder

If you purchase a copy of Sewing School 2: Lessons in Machine Sewing; 20 Projects Kids Will Love to Make, you might create a sewing monster!  We certainly have one in our house!

sleepy bear

As I said in my book review HERE, these projects are so appealing and accessible for young sewists.  Little E has been sewing up a storm, and is SO proud of her accomplishments (could her smile be any wider?). 

I am enjoying being able to repurpose so many scraps and see them turned into something wonderful and loveable.

I'll be back soon to share some of my completed projects - just in time for school!  And, I'll have another book review and giveaway soon. Stay tuned!

Biker chicks and their handmade bike baskets...

The past few years have brought an onslaught of biking in our family.  First, little E found her tricycle legs and needed a bike basket that would hold all her biking treasures.  Enter Noodlehead's bike bucket tutorial.

It yields the perfect size and shape for tossing in keepsakes of all kinds - chalk, bits of nature, even cast-off tights one hot spring day! 

Michael Miller "Lil' Kingdom Princess" fabric

The only problem was that the tutorial has you make one broad attachment for the handlebars.  At the time, there was a split in the tricycle handlebar.  So, I cut the width measurement in half, and followed the directions from there (except, if you are sharp-eyed, you'll notice I put one on upside down - still works).  

This year, little A, now 2 1/2 has found her passion for biking.  So, it was another bike bucket for her.

Anna Griffin "Bailey Jungle Animals" fabric

This time, I didn't line the handlebar attachments as the tutorial suggests.  They are still sturdy, but easier to work with. 

With the girls outfitted with fancy bike buckets and getting better on their bikes, it was time to make something for myself.  I wanted a smaller bag that would zip - just big enough for my phone, house key and ice cream money (what's the point of biking if there isn't ice cream at the end?). 

Anna Maria Horner "Good Folks: Fortune" fabric

I found this make up bag tutorial through Sew Can She and really liked the resulting size and shape of the bag. And, with a few added velcro straps (made generally following directions from the Noodlehead bike bucket tutorial), it's the perfect handlebar bag.

  

Now, all three girls are ready to ride off into the sunset.  I wonder if hubby needs a pretty handlebar bag, too?

 

Wishing you an outdoor adventure this weekend! 

Business card holder

Now that I have a snazzy new bag , people have been asking a bit more about my sewing endeavors.

Is there a better segue for handing over a business card?  But fishing through my wallet for one doesn't quite cut the mustard.

This little card holder certainly does!  Tutorial found here.

And look how nicely it coordinates with my new bag!

Wishing you some snazz and pizazz today!

Linking to:

Jazzy Heart Clip Tutorial

Valentine's Day is just two days away.  Looking for a quick, cute, simple project to surprise your little one?  Try the Jazzy Heart Clip.  It will add just the right sparkle to your Valentine's Day!

You will need a glue gun (or fabric glue), one bendy clip, two felt heart pieces (mine are around 3" x 3"), and about a half yard of sequins.  These are from Joann's and come threaded - they are very pliable, which is perfect for this project.

Step 1: lay the clip on one heart and mark two small lines about a half inch in from the ends of the clip.  Snip these lines.  Put the clip aside for now.

Step 2: put the two felt hearts together and sew a simple seam around the entire edge - mine is about 1/4".

 

Step 3: start gluing the sequins down.  Use a THIN layer of glue and work in sections.  Follow the outside of the heart, curving the line of sequins as you go.  Overlap the sequins a bit.  When you get to the almost-end, you may need to go over some sequins a bit to even out (see how my bottom left photo just had a little space to fill in?  I went up to the right (see bottom right photo) to even out the last two lines.)  Cut the thread between sequins and glue down the end - try to tuck the thread under, into a dab of glue.

Step 4: open up the clip and slide through the two slits you cut.  That's it! 

Now, go make a bunch and surprise your little Valentine!  (Little E. likes the white one best - she says it looks like a cookie with frosting.  YUM!)

Have a sparkly Valentine's Day!