Done (well, almost)

Well I have to admit I'm a little behind but at least I'm ahead of the due date.

(what did she just say?)

I was planning to have my Valentine's projects wrapped up a few days ago so that I could move on to the things I wanted to do for Chloe's birthday party next weekend. I'm still confident I'll get everything done, just not when I thought I would.

(my continued sanity is not guaranteed as evidenced by my decreasing clarity)

These projects were really easy so you could probably pick one and still get it done in time.

Well first off, I changed my mind.

(shocking, I know)

I decided to do a little handmade gift for Bailey's teacher and came up with this:

I attached it to a magnet/clip thing so her teacher could put it on her file cabinet at school.

It took one afternoon of embroidering while watching the girls play house and completely neglecting the laundry.

I completed Brad's gift.

By far the most involved of the projects I did this week.

But he's worth it.

And I love all the cute little notes we can "write" to each other now.

no, I won't tell you what they say(;

And crayon rolls. Done.

I love how they came out.

I decided I would much rather do a garland project with the girls

than the fabric one I originally found.

So we've been gluing and glittering and crafting like crazy

and hopefully tomorrow I can show you a finished product.

Happy weekend!

Valentine's Day

I just completed Bailey's Valentine's Day gift and I can't wait to give it to her.

She is obsessed with tic-tac-toe right now so when I saw this tutorial over at Roots and Wings I knew I had to make it. I had originally planned to put magnets in it so the pieces would stick to the board but I couldn't find any strong enough on the island. Because it's made of felt the pieces stay in place pretty well anyways.

I think I'll be playing tic-tac-toe for a while...

So now I'm on to Chloe's Valentine's Day project.

I was thinking I'd make her one of these:

Cute. And she would love putting her crayons in their own little sleeves.

I found the tutorial over at Skip to My Lou.

I'm hoping to have enough time to make one of these for Brad.

I love how you can continue to leave each other messages

throughout the year.

And if I'm so efficient and

I get all that done

I may make myself one of these:

Need more Valentine's ideas?

Check out:

One Pretty Thing

The Crafty Crow

and

Family Fun

Sweet Cousin Gift

On our last long road trip Bailey was just 4 and not yet reading. I picked out some of her favorite books to bring with us. Before we left I used a very simple recording program to record myself reading the books. I put the tracks on CD and Bailey was able to "read" her books in the car. (I get car sick easily. She doesn't.)

For Christmas I thought it would be fun to give my niece Maile a couple books with a CD of Bailey reading the books to her. I made a little felt case to put the books and the CD in.

It would have been much, much easier if I had used a flat little Golden Book

but Bailey REALLY wanted Maile to have this one of these. (We're suckers for Sandra Boynton. She makes us laugh.)

It came out better than expected and it sounds like Maile likes it.

Chloe is now three.

(Yes, I realize there are four candles on the cake.

We add an extra one to grow on.)

I made her cute little cupcake shirt from and old purple t shirt she grew out of

and followed this tutorial from Grace Violet.

It was super easy.

I made a matching skirt

using the tutorial over at

The Polka Dot Chair

Melissa really has the cutest ideas

and a very lovely etsy store.

Her sweet little birthday crown

tutorial was found here.

This one is super cute, too.

And now for the sad news.

My fantastic sewing machine broke.

Don't ever sew sticky back velcro even if the box says you can sew it.

THE BOX IS LYING!

I started this little doll quilt for Chloe a few weeks ago.

It is now put together and patiently waiting to be quilted.

But I live on an island.

In the middle of the ocean.

With a very rude sewing repairman who has no

sense of urgency in the matter.

I am contemplating two courses of action:

1. I could bribe him.

Probably the most effective route but will cost me something.

On top of the arm and leg he's going to charge me to fix the machine.

2. I could call him every half hour until it's finished.

Definitely the cheaper route.

And more fulfilling (in a vindictive sort of way)

But then if he refuses to fix it...oh, let's not go there.

Until then Dana has lent me her machine.

(She is on a knitting kick)

Thank God for good friends!

Decorating the Doll House

Yesterday for our advent activity we decorated the doll house.

We made a Christmas blanket for the bed.

I was going to whip up a blanket on the sewing machine

but Bailey wanted to stitch it by hand.

She worked diligently

and said (more than once)

"I can tell my friends I made it myself!"

Oh, she is so my daughter.

Now Cinderella Barbie is Warm.

We also made a pipe cleaner tree.

Martha told me how.

It was a simple project but

it did take quite a while just to do the tree

Which of course then needed to be decorated.

We made candy canes and garland and

little teeny tiny ornaments from beads.

Bailey made the star all by herself

(I tried. She rocked.)

We added a few other things-

a little wreath, garland, and a few other odd decorations.

Bailey is using the presents

from her birthday

and having fun with the new theme.

Dana's Christmas Gift

Dana-don't look!

I've finished a bag for my girlfriend Dana.

Her son Ivan has undone at least two of her knitting projects in the last year.

Completely pulled them apart.

(Can't you see the look of amazement on his face as he unravels it row by row?)

So when I found this tutorial

and spied the tied top

I knew it would be a perfect place to stash her knitting.

I hope she likes it!

Welcoming

One of the things we try to instill in our children is the true meaning of Christmas.

The story of Jesus' birth and why He came to earth and what it means to them.

We also don't want them to drive us bonkers.

I had seen the Elf on the Shelf and I never really got excited by it.

So we found a project that ties nicely in to Christmas while rewarding our children for good behavior.

We made cradles for baby Jesus. We set the cradles in a very visible location in our homes. We let the children know that each time we catch them doing something caring, loving, unselfish, etc they will get to add straw to Jesus' cradle. The goal is to have a cradle full of straw to welcome Jesus on Christmas.

The kids have really loved this. One of our rules is that you don't get straw if you ask for it. We made our cradles from little picket fences Dana had found in our local craft store but I've seen them made from paper towel rolls, too.

We started this craft discussing what a King's bed would look like. It was a great opportunity to talk about the significance of Jesus being born in a manger. We also went over the fruits of the spirit (something we had discussed in length over summer) and the positive attributes that we should display. This was a great lesson for the 6 year old crowd but could definitely be shortened or skipped for the younger crowd.

I don't know if we'll keep the cradle or make another next year (I hate to waste but putting the craft together gave a great basis for discussion). Either way I think this is a great addition to our holiday traditions!