So Happy!

A long time ago my former neighbor gave me probably $500 worth of lockers for around $30, which is what she thought she could get for scrap metal.  A steal.  They went promptly into the backyard shed, but my brain was full of ideas for them as soon as time would permit. A while ago I got out one single tall locker and painted Florida Gator blue on the outside and orange on the inside for my son’s room.  He uses it for his clothes - it’s awesome.  It fuels the friendly rival between father and son since his dad is a Seminole. :)

A couple weeks ago I finally got a wild hair to paint the beast.  A double tier, with 6 lockers…which happens to be the number of kids we have.  It looked really similar to this, but with a little rust here and there….

And now it looks like this! Backpacks and jackets are no longer hanging on the backs of my dining room chairs. Woo hooo! :)  (Don’t be jealous that we have a 3 year old resident artist that drew that gorgeous mural on my hutch in the background.  Lucky for him, it is getting a new paint color anyway.)

TuTu Tights

Get some 1.99 footless tights from Target and some sheer ribbon (or you could use tulle, or nylon chiffon - but the ribbon comes in different widths and is ready to go).
Gather the ribbon on your sewing machine (or by hand if you have to) and sew it on the bottom band of the tights.

Love them. So feminine and sweet. ☺

Sneaky

Got a picky eater?

Try this trick I learned from my good friend, Jennifer, a long time ago when we didn't live on opposite sides of the country. :( It's a great way to get tons of vitamins in your little one in one sitting.

The trick is to simply add a generous handful
of this to your smoothie ingredients.


This particular smoothie is just orange juice, frozen strawberries, banana and spinach. We go through phases of favorites but one we ALWAYS love is orange juice, pineapple, mango, kiwi and of course, spinach. Sometimes I add a little bit of Splenda if it needs a little sweetening, but usually the juice is sweet enough.
Another favorite lately is apple juice, blueberries and a few strawberries.



Blend it all up and they'll never know.
The taste doesn't change, just the color
(not a pretty color).


I usually just eyeball it but the ratio is probably about 12 ounces of juice to 1 1/2 to 2 cups of fruit. A good tip is to use all frozen fruits then you usually don't have to add ice, so it's truly a SMOOTHie. I buy almost all of my fruit frozen, but I peel and cut kiwis and bananas and freeze them.


Not exactly a winter drink for most people, but here in Florida we drink them all year round. And you don't have to feel guilty for feeding your kid pretzels and a "smoody" for dinner. ☺

Silly Dogs

What kid doesn't like noodles and hot dogs?
Especially when the noodles are
coming out of the hot dogs?

Do this first.



Boil like normal. Then you have this.


Try different kinds of pasta.


Or, my hot dog lovin' daughter likes her dogs made into an octopus.

Extreme Makeover - Barbie Edition

On a whim, my youngest daughter and I decided to surprise my oldest daughter and update the Barbie house.

With some scrapbook paper, glue and imagination we went to work.
We wall-papered and made chair rails and wall-hangings.


Check out the chenille shag carpet.

The upstairs guest room needs furniture and the bathtub is AWOL (it's probably in the real bathtub) so that's why the top floor is kinda bare.

I Spy....Something Cute!

I made these two I Spy Bags for my daughter's Kindergarten teacher last night. There are instructions all over the Internet but I followed the ones here and only made one change. Sorry the picture is not the best quality. I snapped it really fast this morning and hoped it would turn out okay.

Instead of printing the list on fabric and sewing it onto the back of the bag, I made a little loop with ribbon and used a key ring to hold a laminated picture card with the list on the back. I figured most kindergartners aren't going to be able to read the list so that's where the picture comes in handy. Just make sure to take a picture of the doo-dads before you sew them into the bag!

A fast and easy project. If you don't feel like clicking on the link above for the instructions, I copied and pasted them for you below (sometimes I hate clicking away from a page to check another one). But if you want to see step by step pictures, you better click on the link. ☺

Want to keep your kids quiet in the car? Want to keep them quiet period?? Then you have got to get one of these little bags of bliss!

They’re called I Spy bags and you’re kids will love them. They are little bean bags with a plastic window in the front. The kids read the list (or look at the pics) of items printed on the back and manipulate the bag to find the items through the window. Sheer Genius I tell you. My son loves playing I Spy when we drive but sometimes when I drive I have to pay attention ya know? So I started collecting little doodads around the house and saving some of the little things he collects (that we never have anything to do with) to put inside.

Here's what you need to make one of these.

2-8 inch squares of flannel

4 inch piece of plastic, about 4mm thick

poly-pellets used to fill dolls, found in the sewing notions section (Michaels carries these, but Joann’s and Hobby Lobby do not)

little doodads (sequin, button, paper clip, acorn, doll house items, etc)

printable fabric (I used cotton twill)


Directions:

Measure and cut with a rotary cutter a 16" (width) x 8" (height) rectangle

Iron fabric flat with 1/2 inch seam all the way around. I also folded the fabric in half and ironed the seam so I knew where to center the front window.


Find a square object (I used a post-it note box) or measure a 3" square window and trace it. Use rotary cutter to cut out.

In Word, type a list of all the items you're putting in the bag or print a picture of them. Choose your font and print a test sheet before printing on your fabric. Measure it on the back of your bag leaving about a 1" border to sew on. Once your satisfied print it out and follow the directions on the package.
I kept the test sheet, cut it out and laminated it for myself to keep in my wallet so (when I’m not driving) I can help him by reading the things off.

Cut a 4" square out of the plastic and Scotch tape it to the inside of the bag.

Sew the plastic window, I did 2 rows of running stitch and then a zig-zag around. I have a choking phobia so I wanted to make sure these puppies wouldn't bust a seam. Test first because I had to pull it out once due to the plastic sticking to the machine. I just went slowly and it was o.k.

Sew the list on the back using zig-zag stitch so it doesn't fray.

Pin edges together with right sides facing. Sew together leaving about a 2-3" opening to turn right side in and add do-dads and pellets. Flip right side out and sew zig-zag around edges to secure seams. (Remember to leave your opening!)

Add doodads and then pellets. I filled up to top of window only. You want them to be able to move the items around to find them. Only fill it up as high as you have to, I think I may add a tad bit less next time.

Sew up opening with matching zig-zag and Voila! You have your very own "I Spy…" bag!

p.s. You don't have to use flannel; I didn't. You can use almost any scrap fabric you have. You might even be able to find a piece of plastic for the window around the house too. Like those bags that comforters or pillowcases come in maybe...

p.p.s. I have also seen some done using rice instead of the poly pellets.

Christmas Cram

Before it gets too busy and there is no time to blog, here are a few holly jolly ideas from Bridget.

One for the kids...

Snowman Spoon Ornament
plastic spoon
orange and black "TULIP" paint
white felt (or craft foam)
black felt (or craft foam)
twigs
black sequins (or buttons)
fabric scrap
ribbon for hanger

Paint on face and let dry (overnight is good). Cut out white felt for body, glue it to the spoon handle. Glue ribbon to the top of the spoon for hanger. Cut out hat from black felt and glue over ribbon. Make scarf from fabric scrap to tie around neck. Glue on sequins and twig arms.

Christmas Outlet Cover
wood Christmas shape (pre-painted or not)
safety outlet cover

Paint shape if not painted. Hold up wood shape to outlet to measure where you want to glue the cover. Hot glue cover to back of shape. Plug in outlet.



Decorative Bags/Cards/Plaques
gift bags
plain cards
lunch sacks
wood pieces
Wonder-Under/Heat N Bond, etc.
fabric scraps
jingle bells
raffia
ribbons
buttons
jute string
cookie cutters (or print templates from computer or draw free hand)


Once you have cut out your fabric shapes, follow the directions for the Wonder Under or Heat N Bond from a previous post here to apply the shapes to the bag, card or wood block. Then decorate your ribbons, buttons, raffia, etc.

Advent Calendar (sort of)

I adapted this idea from the Skip To My Lou website. There are some fun ideas over there! They did this originally for Valentines Day and Halloween so I thought it would be fun to do it for Christmas as sort of an Advent Calendar type thing.
Here's how to do it (or just skip over to Skip To My Lou for a great tutorial):

You need
25 half sheets of cardstock in red, green and white
stamps, stickers or markers
double stick tape
candy
crimper (from craft stores)

First, stamp, color or put stickers on each piece of cardstock. Write a number (1 - 25) in the middle of each piece.


Create a tube by putting double stick tape on one short side of the cardstock and taping to the other short end.


Use double stick tape again and seal up one end of the tube.


Put one small piece of candy for each member of your family (or at least the kids) in each container.
Seal up the other end with the tape, only in the opposite direction so it looks like one of those sour cream containers or those triangle ice pops in school lunches. ☺


Use the crimper to crimp each end so it really looks like a sour cream container.

When you finish, you will have 25 numbered containers. One to open each day of December to have a little treat. We decided to add a fun 'To Do' item on the inside of each day, like a craft or a walk to the local ice-cream store for a hot chocolate or drop off treats to friends and neighbors.

Scrub A Dub Dub

Try making these fun little soaps. Your little kiddies will love them.

You will need:
clear glycerin soap
soap fragrance
soap dye (I think you could get away with using a drop or 2 of food coloring)
soap glitter
little toys, rings, bouncy balls, etc.
silicone muffin pans
*You can get all the soap stuff at craft stores and the dye, glitter and fragrance are totally optional.



Melt the soap in the microwave according to the package directions (usually in 30-60 second intervals). Once it is melted, add the dye, fragrance and glitter to your preference.
Place a toy in each muffin cup. Frogs or marine animals are really cute, especially when they look like they are jumping out of the soap.
Pour enough of the melted soap over each toy to fill up the cup and cover the toy, unless you want to leave some uncovered.
It hardens pretty fast; easily within an hour.


These make great stocking stuffers or party favors. My kids have given heart-shaped ones to their friends for Valentines Day in a clear plastic bag tied up with a ribbon.

That's How We Roll

You might have seen those crayon rolls or pencil rolls all over the place lately. My 9-year-old daughter and I came up with a very simple version that only took about 30 minutes to make, including taking way too much time trying to choose the ribbon to go with it. She made it for her little sister for Christmas.

We used a piece of scrap ribbon we already had, a cloth napkin we already had and colored pencils, of course.


Fold the napkin up about halfway and stitch up the sides. To save a step, insert the ribbon (folded in half to make 2 lengths) in one side before you sew it.

To make each pencil 'pocket', we sewed straight lines every 1 1/2 inches. But we ended up going back and sewing another line in between those and the pencils fit perfectly.

Put your pencils in their new home, roll it up and tie it with the ribbon.
Ta Da!

Falling For You

Hooray for FALL!!
Here is a cute little fall activity to do with some cute little people.

Grab some sponges, Liquid Tempera Paint in fall colors, a Sharpie and some scissors.


Whenever Amy and I have done these in the past, we used those Miracle Sponges or Magic sponges that are dry and flat like paper so you can draw or trace on them and cut out your shapes easily and then you just get them wet and they expand into a regular sponge. I went looking for them recently and they were about $15 for 2 sheets at Michaels and I didn't have a coupon with me. Being the cheapskate I am sometimes, I just opted for regular sponges from Walmart and they worked out just fine.

Draw and cut out your leaf shapes.


We also did a pumpkin shape as well as a stem and a tiny leaf.


Squirt some paint on a styrofoam plate. We used red, orange, brown and a little green. Now turn those little people loose and watch them work.








It can get a little messy.



But it's worth it.