Summer Door Decor

I decided it was time for a change on my door.  I almost always have some sort of wreath, but wanted to try something a little different.  Since we are headed to the beach for vacation, I thought something beach themed would be fun.  I found the sand bucket at the dollar store and picked up a foam ball at the craft store.  First cut the bucket in half so that you keep the handle on, but allow for it to lay flat against the door.  Cut the foam ball in half as well.  

Next you will use a spray adhesive on the foam ball and cover with sand.  Let it dry you might need to put a couple coats of glue and sand on.   

Then I added some shells to the bucket with hot glue.  

Now hot glue the foam ball into the sand bucket.  It's ready to hang on the door.  

Big Bling Necklace Light

You know I'm always on the hunt for something unusual and I definitely think this falls in that category.  Jewelry that will illuminate the space.  The Big Bling Necklace Light is the creation of Penelope Batley.  More of her work can be found here. 

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my little girl.  I seriously can' t believe that 5 years have flown by in a blink of an eye.  Amazing, how much they grow.  Here she is as a baby.  Don't let this peaceful picture fool you.  She was rarely this content.

Here she is celebrating her birthday at school.  She was so excited to be the birthday girl which meant that she was the line leader too.

We made cupcakes for the class and she wanted them to be green, which is so rare for the girl that loves everything pink.  Then of course she topped them with sprinkles and m&m's.  

 

Today we started off the celebration by eating mac and cheese for breakfast.  Haha.  That's what she asked for and I didn't want to deny her request on her birthday.  It will be a pretty low key day, since we decided we will celebrate her birthday with my entire family at the beach.  She has already come up with the theme, Barbie Surf Party.  Stay tuned, because she's already envisioning a cake I need to make for her and it sounds a little difficult.  

Teacher's Gift

I can't even believe that school is almost out.  Seriously, the school year has flown by for us.  Are you looking for a unique and creative gift for your child's teacher?  I'm always trying to come up with something new.
My daughter has the absolute best preschool teacher ever!  She is the sweetest, most loving teacher and I don't think I've ever seen a class that is so well behaved as hers.  They are the Busy Bees class so I was trying to develop my gift around that theme.  I also found out that she likes to garden as well.  Thus leading me to the watering can that I painted eleven bees on it (ten bees and one queen bee).  Then I wrote each child's name beside a bee.  I wanted to make a gift that was something she could use, but at the same time remember the kids from that year.

If you'd like to paint one for a beloved teacher you will need a watering can, outdoor paint (found at craft store) and an acrylic spray on sealer.  I was a little unsure about the paint sticking to the metal, but I found an outdoor paint in the paint section at the craft store and used it.  If you don't seal it then it will come off.  So, to keep you design on the watering can spray the finished piece with an acrylic sealer and let dry for 24 hours.  Then it will be ready to give to your child's teacher.

Gladys Chandelier

 

The Gladys Chandelier was designed by Louise Hederstorm.  I really like the way it resembles lace. It is available in stainless and white.  Louise has made various pieces for Ikea as well. To see more of her work, click here.

Comforter for Bitty Baby - Tutorial

I had a request to show you how I made the comforter from my one of my previous projects, the Toddler Trundle Bed.  I was trying to find a place that I would actually need a comforter.  Then I saw my daughter taking a scrap of fabric to cover her bitty baby and thought well I will just make a comforter for bitty baby.  I had some leftover material from the trundle bed comforter and used it. The fabric is called "Juicy Jungle" by The Alexander Henry Fabrics Collection.
I cut out 2 pieces of fabric and 1 piece of batting. I sized it off of a little toy playpen that bitty baby sleeps in.  If you are looking to make a comforter for a bed then go here to find dimensions.

Pin the fabric with the right sides together and place the batting on top and pin together.

Now we are ready to sew it together. Remember to leave an opening so you can turn it right side out.

Trim the edges close to the hem.

Turn it right side out and push the corners out so they are square.  Now go ahead and iron the edges.  When you get to the opening, fold the material in and iron.  Now we are ready to finish it off.  Sew the opening shut and top-stitch all the way around the comforter.

If you are making a larger comforter you will need to tack the 3 layers together, so that when you wash it the batting stays in place.  You can do this by putting a few stitches in a evenly spaced pattern on the comforter or quilting around shapes or designs on your fabric. 

Ribbon Flower

I went ahead and embellished the purses for the birthday parties with a little ribbon flower. After I made them I thought why haven't I made these before?  So easy and cute.  I think I'm going to make some more up for hair clips for my daughter.
The first flower I used two different widths of grosgrain ribbon.  I ran it through the sewing machine using a basting stitch.

Then I gathered the ribbon. 

Then I just started to wrap it around in a circle and hand-stitched to hold it together.

The second flower I used a wired ribbon, so I was able to gather it by pulling on the wire on one side of the ribbon.

Birthday Purse

We have a few birthday parties this weekend and I wanted to make a little something special for the girls for their birthday.  What?  You are surprised that it isn't an apron?  I know, but think I've outfitted every 4 and 5 year old girl in the Houston area with an apron.  So, I opted to make a purse and I found the perfect bag to make from Made by Rae.  The buttercup bag is the perfect size for these soon to be 5 year old girls. The pattern is available through Rae's blog for free.  I have to say that it was a great pattern and very easy to follow.  Thanks Rae!  It also uses very little fabric and I was able to use some of my leftover fabrics from the aprons I made last year for some of the bags. I thought they turned out cute.  I think I might do some sort of embellishment to it before the weekend.

The yellow one is my favorite. 

The blue one is cute too, it just didn't photograph as well.

Mother's Day

I hope all the moms out there had a fantastic Mother's Day.  We had a nice day and the kids took it easy on me.  My daughter and I went out for a walk and picked some wild flowers along the bayou and some from my backyard.  Then we assembled them into a vase for my mom and neighbor.  I found these cute little vases at Target.

She was very excited to be delivering special Mother's Day gifts.  

 

Lightboy and Lightgirl

I think these lamps are so cool.  They would be great in a kids room.  The Lightboy and Lightgirl are designed by Ricardo Garza Marcos. Click here to see more of their designs.

Derby Day Hat

We had a sick day today at home and my kids are not the type that lounge around when they are sick.  So, I had to keep my daughter busy.  We decided to make a hat.  It started out as a Cinco de Mayo hat, but turned out looking more like a hat you would wear to the Kentucky Derby.
All you need to do is take a piece of craft paper, white or brown and shape onto your child's head.  To keep it in wrap the crown with masking tape.  I didn't have regular masking tape on hand, so I found some painter's tape to use instead.  Once it is secure you can trim the edges in a circular shape and let the artist takeover.   She had a great time painting and decorating her hat and it kept her busy for a little while.

Then she found out how the hat flies around when she spins. 

Then we ended the day with breaking the remaining cascarones that we had left over from Easter. You'd never think she was sick from looking at these pictures.  

Mother's Day Corsage

I've seriously been slacking on my knitting lately.  I was making the cutest little jumper until I found out that I had it all twisted up and there was absolutely no way to save it.  I've been trying to will it to fix itself, but I finally gave in and painstakingly ripped each stitch out one by one.  Boo hoo.  I should have taken a picture so you can see what I am I talking about, but unfortunately I didn't get one. So, after I unraveled it, I wanted a quick project to make me feel better. I decided on a flower that I would make into a corsage.  Perfect little project for Mother's Day.  This is my kind of corsage since I'm usually holding my little guy and I know I'd end up smooshing a real flower. The flower knitted up really fast and you can find patterns all over the place for different kinds of flowers.  After I assembled it I embellished the flower with beads and added a pin to the back. Cute! Now I'm happy and will try to start the jumper once again.