Heart Valentines

I found these cute little plastic hearts from Michael's and used heart erasers as the treat inside. Hurrah, another candy free valentine. My only dilemma was how to put her name on them. I went with labels and placed them on the bottom. Easy peasy!

Fish Valentines

I love all the creative Valentines out there. This year I am trying to avoid giving away candy with the Valentines for both my kids' class. I randomly picked up some fish stickers that I wanted to add to the Valentine. It was a little more difficult to incorporate a strip of stickers with the Valentine, but I figured out a way to thread the stickers through the cutout in the fish. I found the cute saying via Jasey's Crazy Daisy.  It works perfectly! 

Dr. Seuss

This past week the kids at school celebrated Dr. Seuss's birthday.  I made a Cat in the Hat cookie cake.  I had no idea how tricky it was to make a cookie cake so I made one earlier in the week as practice.  There's plenty of recipes out there with tips on how they made it.  After trying the first cookie cake I ended up finding what worked for me.
I made it from scratch using the toll house recipe.  Shocking, right?  You could always use the pre-made dough too.  Some people recommended adding a 1/4 cup of corn syrup to it to make it more of a soft bake cookie, but this caused more problems for me when cooking it.  My suggestion is to stick to the toll house recipe and get a cookie sheet that is approximately 12 x 18 and line it with parchment paper.  It's so much easier to remove the cookie if it's on parchment paper.  I did not double the recipe.  One batch is enough and you need to spread it out really thin anyway to allow for it to cook evenly.  That was my mistake with the first cookie.  I put it in a smaller pan and it took forever to cook.  You definitely need to watch the cookie.  I put the oven on 325 degrees and the timer set for 15 minutes then I checked it and added a few more minutes each time till it was just right.  You definitely don't want to under-cook it or over-cook it.
Once it was cool I used buttercream frosting to make the Cat in the Hat.  The kids loved it.  A trick on cutting the cookie is to use a pizza cutter.  It made it so easy to slice up and serve.

Biplane Painting

I FINALLY finished this painting.  It's been sitting on my easel since this summer.  I made a point to get it finished this weekend.  I wanted a big painting and decided to make the biplane stretch across 3 canvases. To give you an idea on the size it's 6' wide by 2' tall.  It's for my son's room.  He is a typical boy who loves airplanes, trains, cars, dinosaurs, etc. I decided to go with the airplane theme.  My mom is working on airplane quilts for his room.  They are going to be fantastic!  I also have my husband working on dressing up his closet doors with molding.  I can't for the room to be all done.

Fairy Quilt

I wanted to show off the fairy quilt my mom made for my daughter's room.  It is so cute!  The fairy appliqued to the quilt mimics the fairies in the fabric.  We also love the fur yarn used on the hair of the fairy.

Upcoming Project

This weekend we were playing catch up around our house in the way of home repairs.  After having our foundation done we have to go through each room and patch the cracks and paint the room.  We finally started this long process this weekend.  The first room to get the overhaul is our guest room.  I've now decided to change into my son's room.  So, of course I've been looking for inspiration and pinning it on pinterest.  So, I'm thinking an orange, gray, and a pop of blue color scheme.

I've also decided that airplanes will be be our theme.  I thought this wall art was too cute.

Here is a cute airplane quilt.  My mom is planning on making a quilt for his bed.  She made a fairy quilt for my daughter's bed.  I need to post a picture of it.  It's really cute!

I thought these fabrics were cute too with the airplanes and helicopters.

Airplane propeller hanging rack.  What a cute idea.  I think I could make something similar for his room.

More inspirational artwork for the room. 

I Spy Bag

I'm in the process of making 10 of these "I Spy Bags" for my moms group.  Each mom is making multiples of one project and then swapping.  So, I'll end up with 10 other cool toddler/preschool type activities for my son to do.  The "I Spy Bags" have been floating around Pinterest and I thought they looked like a quick project and fun for the kids. I didn't think my 5 year old would think much of it, but now she wants one of her own and is finding her own trinkets to put in the bag.  What I really loved about this project is that I could use up some of my leftover fleece.

Here's what you need to make your own "I Spy Bag"
Fabric (I used fleece and cut out 6" squares)
Clear Plastic Fabric
Plastic Pellets (Can be found at the craft store)
Trinkets
Ribbon
Key Ring
Laminated picture with the all the items inside

I still need to do attach a laminated picture with everything that is in the bag. Then I will attach it to the key ring. There are definitely other ways to attach the picture, but I saw this one on another blog and thought it was a great idea.

Klick Desk

Back to school time again.  I found a really neat desk from P'Kolino called the Klick Desk.  It is designed for ages 3-6.  I just love how it fits together and saves space when it's not in use.  To see more products from P'Kolino click here. They have other really neat children's products. 

Nume Bed

I've been on the search for a toddler bed for my little guy since he has discovered that he can climb to the top of the crib and hang on precariously.  Yes, his bed is lowered and he is not using anything to stand on to get up there.  He is just that strong and determined.  Anyway, back to the bed.  My mom found this super cool bed which would be perfect for him.  It has sides so he can't roll out, it's low to the ground and has a space at the end to climb in.  Unfortunately, this is out of my price range since it is $1400.  Although, I'm thinking I might be able to convince my husband to make something similar. I'd link you back to the Nume website, but it doesn't look like it is working.  You can find their products for sale, here.

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.  

Little Doctor

My sweet niece had her 2nd birthday and I wanted to make a special present for her.  I heard that she's loves to play dress up and wanted to add to her collection of dress up apparel.  I had a pattern for a pair of scrubs and went ahead and made it up.  Then I finished it off by embroidering her name on the pocket. I paired it up with a doctor's kit for her present. I hope she liked it.  Here is a picture of my son in the outfit. 

Spring Break

Well, it's spring break here in Texas and we went on a little road trip to visit with my in-laws.  The weather was perfect and the kids loved playing outside.

 We also took my daughter ice skating for the first time.  She had so much fun, but I'm pretty sure that my husband was doing all the work trying to keep her on her feet. 

Unfortunately, I don't have a new project finished to show you.  I do have a few in the works and hopefully, I'll get one of them done this week.

Yeehaw, It's Rodeo Time!

Here in Houston we devote almost an entire month to the rodeo.  Even my daughter's preschool has a Rodeo Day.  This year my daughter wanted to have chaps that look like Jessie's from Toy Story for Rodeo Day. 

They were not as hard as you'd think.  I used her jeans to make the pattern.  Lay the jeans down on craft paper or tracing paper and draw out the design.  Don't forget the back of the chaps.  You will need to add a little extra all the way around for hemming.  Also, add enough at the top so that you can fold it over to make a tab.  This will be used to attach the chaps through a belt. The picture below shows the basic shape of one leg.  You will need to cut 2 pieces like this.

 Measure the waist to make a belt.  Allow for extra length. 

The last part of the pattern you will need are small strips that you will use as ties to tie the front and back of the chaps together.  I cut out 8 ties to make a total of 2 places on each leg to tie them in place.
First, you will hem all around the pieces that will go on the legs.  Then you will take the piece for the belt and fold in half with right sides together and sew the edge shut. 

Turn right side out and turn end in and sew shut.  I went ahead and top stitched the belt. 
Now you need to make the tabs for the chaps.  At the top of the chap turn down enough so that the belt goes through and that it fits in the right places. 

After this is complete I added the ties on to the sides of the chaps to keep them closed.  To construct the ties, cut 4 pieces per leg.  Fold in half with right sides together and sew.  Turn right side out and turn end in and sew shut.  Now you will sew them on to the chaps.  I placed them at the top and the knee.

 

Use the belt to loop through the jeans and the chaps.  I tied the belt in place, but you could add a piece of velcro or use D rings.   

 

Tie them on to the legs and your child will be ready for the rodeo. Giddy up horsey. 

Lion Painting

I finished this painting before Christmas and didn't have a chance to post it up on my blog.  I love how it turned out and wanted to show you all.  I'm starting a new painting tonight for another cute little boy. 

Treasure Drawer Desk

In honor of all the kids going back to school, I have found a child size desk.  I thought this desk was so cute and modern.  The Treasure Drawer Desk is designed by Roberto Gil.  He has a great kid's collection of furniture that you can check out here.

Another painting

Here is the other painting I was working on for my friend. I just finished it this weekend. I hope she likes the paintings I made for Nathan and Abigail's room.