cut, mark, stitch

I've finally got three whole listings up in my etsy shop! More is on the way and I am really excited about the 'crafting with kids' items I have in the works. Even figured out how to add that nifty little box to the right....ohhh, ahhh! Watch out!

I am saving my pennies for my Doula's fee and some necessary baby items I just can't make myself (namely, car seat.) Speaking of making baby things, it's about time I share a few little goodies I've been working on for my own little goodie! Without further ado, I present:

The first diaper!

Warning: It's addicting. I said....just this one and then I need to finish up other projects BEFORE I dive head first into serious diaper making...

...but one just wasn't enough. I've got a six-pack of newborn nappies and I made my templates for the next size up this morning! They are so dang cute (if I do say so myself!)

***No six is not enough newborn diapers, but I will be using prefolds and a few hand-me-downs. Plus, Axel is already a big boy, so I will be focusing on the size small for a serious stash.

Here's the pattern I am using from Very Baby.

Now remember that stash of fabric I bought in May? Here's what I've got completed so far...

Roll-up changing pad:

Soft blocks:

Drool bib:

Tag blankies:

Little pants:

Making things is fun to do...

fun to do, to do, to do!

For my Grammy for her birthday, I whipped up some notecards and this cute holder (using this pattern.) It was pretty easy and fun. I will for sure use this template again. On the same daay, I made all of the cards I'd need for May, a package of thank you notes to go with a baby shower gift and a brag book. It feels good to have those days of mucho productivity. I am so in love with Bazzill's Dotted Swiss paper. I'll be stocking up this weekend when I get to take a class at Scrapbooks Etc.

After tie-dyeing 5 little boy shirts, this is the tangled, beautiful rubber band carnage. I had to take a picture of it. Isn't it pretty?

And here's my chicken boy in his yellow tie-dye shirt. The song they performed at the school picnic was in Portugese and they were so cute (even if all the feathers made me itch, eewww!)

Next up: *baby booties, rag dollys, scrap-scrap-and more scrapbooking! Woohoo!

pictures

wow i'm behind on uploading pictures, so this post is a little random, but here she goes:

*started a little baby book for #2. i know there are things i forgot from being preg with spanky, so i'm capturing some highlights this go...

*one of 3 maternity tops i've made so far and me trying to get a decent pic of it in the bathroom with two burnt out lights, not good.

*the grass house we started last friday. it sprouted this morning! (sponges, sewing pins, grass seeds, water---from Family Fun.)

*easter egg fun

*frames painted, check. pictures and proclamation updated, check. tied together with scrapbook paper, check. room for new pictures, check. i love checklists.

*my awesome digger tiled our hallway at my request (read: ultimatum.) i am one step closer to living in a carpet free home, yes! he did such a great job.

i'll leave you with a bit o' herbal tea wisdom. have a happy day!

for the first time, last night when checking out at lowe's, the cashier asked 'what are you having?' i immediately thought...a can of paint and some brushes, that was an odd thing to ask. then i realized, OH...i have a bit of a bump, i bet she means boy or girl. duh, me. i kept it a secret for long enough that i get stumped easily when quizzed on the spot.

wanna know what the can of black enamel paint and brushes are for? i am starting by painting all of my mismatched frames, so they match...then i'll do a collage of our family pictures...it's going to be great! then i have a thrift store chair to paint and recover the seat, but i have yet to find the perfect fabric. then theres the case of the sad condition of my glider. it was a cheap-o walmart buy when spanky was born and it's been moved around a lot. so fabric, paint and some tightening up of the bolts, should give it a new life! if i do any of this when spanky is home, he has announced he needs to paint his bug box. that's a lot to ask of one little quart of paint, but i think we can do it!

Kitchen & Apron Sewing

FINALLY, I have completed a couple of projects for the kids.

The apron is a free pdf you can get here.

The roll-up kitchen is also a freebie you can find here.

Both were very simple to make. I would have liked to do a better job on the kitchen and add a few embellishments (like H & C for hot and cold on the sink knobs.) I was totally being pressured by a persistent 4yo girl who had prep'd 'burger-cheese's' and was waiting on me to be able to cook. People were hungry, there was no time for extras.

The apron is very small. Perfect for the 4yo, but I have some star wars fabric I want to make one for Spanky out of, so I will have to make the pattern pieces larger. All in all, these were fun to make and used very little in the way of supplies.

I am super grateful for talented ladies who share their talents so beautifully and without asking for anything in return. Now that's friendly!

greenies

i think this is spanky's leprechan impression:

yes, i am a little bit crazy. i tie dyed shirts with several small children-green of course. but the results are so great i think! and we really didn't make a mess. best of all, they love them and are all wearing them!

they gobbled their green eggs and guzzled their green milk before i could snap a picture at breakfast. i read green eggs and ham to them while they ate, which they loved. next up: green jell-o is chillin' in the fridge for afternoon snack!

lucky me, i am not feeling green today...so i have to go with this day of feeling good and be productive!

happy st. paddy's to you!

Hybrid Kid ~ ABC Book

You may have noticed from the little blinkie at the top right of my blog that I am on the The Hybrid Kid team for 2009. I am so excited to have the opportunity to create these part-digital projects for and with the children. Our first project is this ABC Book that the kids can practice their capital and lower case letters, as well as several sight words and blank pages for their name, etc. All this project required was to download, print on cardstock and cut the pages...then slip them into name badge holders and clip together with binder rings. Super cute, functional and educational ~ what more can a mom ask for?

A few tips should you decide to create this project:

*You may need to resize the cards depending on the size of badge holders you purchased.

*You can use wipe-off crayons or dry-erase markers (find the washable kind, trust me...regular dry-erase markers stain worse then sharpies!)

*With every fiber of my being, I so wanted to tie on a gazillion color coordinating ribbons...I got my stash out with the intent...but Spanky knew what I was about to do and he knew this book was for him, so he voiced his opinion. "Mom, please don't put ribbons on my book, I'm a boy." So I resisted the urge to frou-frou it up and listened to his royal cuteness. Might sound simple, but it's not always so easy to do with kids, at least for me. I frequently have to hold back from trying to make it 'perfect.'

*I love the idea Mel has up on the blog about giving the child a glove to wipe the crayon/marker-off, but I didn't have one on hand, so I made the green circle eraser from some felt and a little ball chain.

*I plan to make more of these for my daycare sweeties and I will be laminating them this time. I will also only start out with the letters we are learning and then add as we learn more. The sight words will be their own book.

This project has really got me inspired! Stay tuned to see what else I am making with the badge holders and bookmark The Hybrid Kid, because I have a feeling this is going to be one amazing year of crafty goodness with the little ones!

day three

we crafted:

*thankful banner (supplies from kids craft exchange I recently participated in, also see idea here.)

*also a fall wreath using pipe cleaners, silk leaves and a paper plate...

we were culinary geniuses:

*bread machine banana bread...just add peanut butter and banana slices, delish!

*fresh cherry tomato and garlic bruschetta (yes, I the non-foodie, created this masterpiece...prepare to be amazed!)

about 1/4 cup chopped garlic, a few shakes of some generic Italian seasoning and EVOO working their magic in my new sauce pan>>>

added in cherry tomatoes, quartered>>>

"stir it up, little darlin', stir it up">>>

simmering a few minutes (ya like my exactness?)>>>

added a can of tomatoes and juice, not sure why, probably wasn't nessesary, but it sounded like a good idea at the time. let 'em mingle for about 20 minutes>>>

'canned' some>>>

ate some>>>

pure genius!

day two

*sleep in........i didn't have to get up until 6am today, so nice.

*spanky is taking advantage of his vacation!

*easy reading, ha!

*classic t.v.

*batman lego game

*and still knitting (bibs!), baking (sour cream bread in the bread machine, yum!) and crafting with the kids(today's project: fall wreath!)

Sour Cream Bread (medium loaf~this bread came out with a nice crunchy crust and soft on the inside, best eaten up right away with some earth balance spread, yum!)

2 tbs. water

1 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. baking soda

1 tbs. sugar

2 1/2 cups bread flour

1 1/2 tsp. yeast

in my machine, i used the light crust setting. enjoy