Playroom Project

This is becoming my favorite room in the house. It used to be our master bedroom, which I disliked. It was small and the furniture didn't fit the space. However, now that the new addition is getting completed, PJ and I have have moved upstairs to a bigger bedroom which will eventually become Lydia's room.

The plan is to finish the sunroom on the first floor of the new addition and then rework the master suite. In the meantime, our old bedroom was sitting empty. PJ suggested we make it a temporary playroom. Eventually, when everything is finished and Joshua is out if the crib, what is now the nursery will be a play space for both kids right next to their bedrooms.

So toys were thrown into the old bedroom and the kids were happy to play there, and at least we could shut the door, but it was a mess and I wasn't happy with it. I decided we needed storage, but it would have to be pieces that would also work when the playroom relocates.

And then I went to the thrift store and found this long low storage piece. I thought it would work in several locations in our house and could even get a cushion to be a window seat. For now, it is storing and also separating the toys into categories.

Once there was one improvement in the playroom, I was excited to make additional improvements. I moved in a book case that wasn't being used and finally got the last of my wardrobe out of my old closet. In its place, I hung up Lydia's dress up cloths and her puppets. I even hung up a curtain for fashion shows and puppet shows. I'm pretty sure they like it! I LOVE that they have a safe and fun place to play.... And that I can actually get a few things done while they play!

Valentines Day Teacher Gifts

Hoo, Hoo, Who can guess what I'm making for the kid's teachers for Valentine's Day?

I cut a square of pink paper to cover the original candy bar wrapper. Then I punched two circles and cut out a small square for a beak.

The wings were tricky. I ended up using a rectangle if paper and wrapping it around the bar and trimming it until I was happy with the shape. Once I had my pattern, I cut more from my pretty papers.

Speaking of paper, when I was nearly finished, I spotted this floral sheet that was left over from my wedding.... In 2006! I thought the flowers made much better eyes than the plain white paper.

I added a heart where the wings met and the owl is finished. It does need some type of a tag, but I need to make about ten of these so there is still time to think about how and where to add that!

It's almost Valentines Day! If you haven't made anything yet, there is still time.

To help you out with a few quick and easy ideas, here's the link to all three "DIY on the Fly" Valentines segments that aired earlier this month on WBIR!

Princess Valentines!

It's time to start working on Valentines for Lydia's preschool. Sadly, it is a lot more work than I ever imagined, especially considering that I opted for store bought cards this year!

When I saw these Disney princess cards at the drug store, I knew Lydia would LOVE them!

I have to admit, the artwork on the Valentines is lovely! The paper is flimsy, which makes tearing them apart a pain! But they are lovely and Lydia loves them.

Here is the adorable AND agonizing part. The teachers ask that each child sign their own name to each card. Then they requested a card for each child in the ENTIRE pre-school.... FIFTY kids and FIFTY cards and FIFTY signatures! Have you tried getting a four year old to do ANYTHING fifty times? I get about five at each sitting so this is going to take a while.

Once the cards are signed, there are these tiny stickers that also need to be torn apart, withOUT tearing the flimsy paper. Then the tiny stickers have to be inserted into even tinier slits in the flimsy valentines. Not a job for a preschooler! If it didn't say "A sticker for you!" then I wouldn't bother and Lydia would gain a big pile of princess stickers!

Once the sticker were inserted, I decided to add one more item. Instead of adding candy, i found these cute plastic rings at Oriental Trading. They came in a bag of 72. My idea was that we could use 50 with the valentines and still have 22 for Lydia's birthday party.

I really wanted to add a tag that said "You're a GEM, Valentine!" But Lydia said she didn't get it! She said her friends wouldn't get it either..... and she's right. So I just taped the ring to the card and saved myself that extra step.

Welcome to life with a kid who has an opinion, crafty mom! Enjoy the princess valentines, Lydia!

Mama's Got a Brand New Bag

Wow. Sorry, it's been a while! We all got sick, stomach bug sick, at the same time, and it has taken a while to feel better and then to feel caught up on all the stuff that didn't get done while everyone was sick. It was one of those times when you need to wash everything, kids included, but everyone felt too sick to do anything.

PJ jokingly offered to wash the baby.... in the washing machine! Meanwhile, Joshua is about to turn SEVEN months old and Lydia is needing paperwork turned in to register/apply for Kindergarden! (I'm torturing myself by keeping several options open, which meant several forms needed to be completed this week)

I have not had the time or the energy to craft anything. Even Lydia's Valentines will be store bought this year, which suits her just fine as they are REAL Disney princesses. While I haven't been crafting, I have put a considerable amount of brain power into finding a brand new "mom bag". I was getting really tired of having a purse, a school bag, a lunch bag, and then there was the diaper bag! I got the idea to look for a diaper bag that looked like a purse. That way, when the diaper bag is with the baby and I go to work, I'm carting something purse like, but after work and on the weekends I don't have to switch bags. I looked around and quickly identified Timi and Leslie as a brand to watch.

All of the bags that I have found by Timi and Leslie are these beautifully purse like on the outside, but with diaper bag like pockets and extras on the inside!

Timi and Leslie bags come with a lot of extra accessories; like stroller straps, a changing pad, an insulated bottle bag, zippered bags for wet clothing, a clutch for your wallet and keys when you don't need the whole bag, and sometimes even a "feel better' bag for medicines and creams!

Unfortunately, they also come with a large price tag and reviews on Amazon.com that ran hot and cold. Either people loved the style and versatility of their bag, or they complained of cheap fake leather and a terrible smell. The funny thing was, even the girl who said her bag smelled like rotten fish was upset because it was SUCH a cute bag, she hated that the smell was keeping her from carrying it. (One review theorized that there might be a batch of cheap knock offs that were passed off as the real deal creating the problems........ and the odd smells).

I decided to check eBay just to see what I could find and thinking that for a low enough price, I might not mind if the leather didn't hold up. (If it smelled, though, I was totally sending it back!) The bag that I found had zero bids and did not list a style name. (Names like Rachel, Marilyn, and Marie Antoinette make it easier to search for a favorite bag.) A little research quickly revealed that the bag I liked was a Ruby in patten leather. My bag was missing several accessories (it came with the clutch and one wet bag) but it also had a really low starting bid.

I won the auction and my bag arrived while I was home sick. I've now had a week to carry it around and so far I am really happy with it. No weird smells and it is even large enough to hold my laptop and class materials at school!

My only complaint is that it is SO big that if I am not careful about which pocket I put things in, it can be hard to find things. So far it is holding my purse stuff and some diaper stuff but it looks nice and has room to spare. I couldn't ask for more...... Unless maybe I was asking for a second bag.... Like this amazing yellow and white bag in the newest line of Timi and Leslie designs!

When Skies Are Grey....T-shirt Turned Dress

The inspiration for this dress was actually a pillow. I was thinking of doing something similar and thought an old t-shirt would make an easy pillow form that could be written on with a bleach pen.

I found this super soft long sleeved grey shirt at a thrift store.

Somewhere between buying the shirt and starting the pillow, I saw this red and white outfit in a catalog and decided that the grey shirt really wanted to become a dress for my daughter.

I found one of her knit dresses and used it as a pattern.

Originally, I was just going to do a sleeveless tunic, but the skirt on the dress that I used to make the pattern was fuller than the t-shirt. So I decided to use the sleeves to add to the skirt volume.

I just turned the sleeves upside down so the widest part was at the bottom. When I cut then straight at the bottom hem, the little bit of extra fabric was the perfect shape to make a little sleeve.

A few seams and a gathered waist later, and here is the finished dress shape.

Now for the FUN part!

I decided to write lyrics from You Are My Sunshine because I love it AND because of the whole "when skies are grey" part seemed to fit well with the grey dress. I also got an idea to work a bright sun into the design somewhere.

Here's the front if the dress in process. When I saw pink on the edges, I decided it had probably done all that it was going to do.

And here is the front of the dress after I washed off all the bleach. I never guessed it would turn pinkish red!

I added more lyrics to the bottom of the dress but need to decide where else I want to add them. I also still intend to add a sun somewhere, but now I might rethink the colors I'll use. It may be awhile before I have time to play around with it again. I'll keep ya posted!

Easy Embellishments for Creative Valentines

Today was another segment of WBIR's DIY on the Fly. This time Margot Potter and I were making Valentines Day cards. I made paper pinwheel embellishments to add to my cards. Here's the how to!

Start with a square of paper. I'm using a piece if origami paper here.

Cut the square in half.

Next, you are going to accordion fold both halves. I realized AFTER I did this set that it was WAY easier to place one piece on top of the other and THEN fold the two together.

The goal is to get both folded up and down.

Glue the two folded papers together so it makes one long zig zag folded piece of paper.

Tie a string around the middle.

Begin opening up the pinwheel and glue the edges together.

If you want a plain pinwheel, tie the strings so the knot is on the back and you can be finished. I chose to tie the knot in front so I could add an embellishment.

I threaded a button through the strings and tied it behind the button.

The pinwheel is now ready to attach to a card!

You can even layer the pinwheels by making multiple sizes and stacking one in top of the others. I just glued these together and then added them to a card.