She Believed She Could, So She Did Art DIY

I saw this quote on Pinterest and found in love.  Can you think of any stronger message to send to your daughters? 

I immediately went to work creating something with this saying on it for Chloe's room.  

Pick out a font that you think fits the message best and print it out on regular typing paper. 

I don't know why it's sideways but you get the point. 

Grab some wax paper and rip off enough to cover the words.  You will be tracing the letters so you need to have plenty of space on the wax paper. 

Using puffy paint in the color of your choice, trace carefully over the words.  (If you mess up, move the wax paper and try again - FOOL PROOF!)

 

Continue until all of the words are covered.  Let dry.  

Once all of the letters are dry, line them up onto your canvas however you would like them to be arranged.  Play around with it until your happy!  

Use Mod Podge and carefully glue each letter into place.  I picked up 1 letter at a time, and replaced it before picking up the next letter.  This helps to keep the words aligned.  (You could also use a ruler as a straight edge if needed).

I choose white puffy paint on white canvas intentionally.  My original idea was to spray paint the whole canvas the same color pink that I used on Chloe's bookcase, but I ended up really liking it white and haven't pulled the trigger on painting just yet.  (My white puffy paint is iridescent, which helps it to "pop" off the canvas. 

Ta Da!   The possibilities are endless with this project!  Different colors, different sayings, adding a design... make it your own! 

XO!

Alphabet Easter Activity for Little Ones

This is a super fun way to practice letters with your toddler or preschooler! There are so many variations that can be done to satisfy your little one's development and what kiddo doesn't love Easter eggs?!

Start with a bag of plastic eggs.  I got this bag from Walmart, about $1.99.  48 eggs total.  We only need 26.

Based on your little one's letter recognition, you can do this a couple of ways.

• The first way is to write the uppercase letter and lowercase letter on the same colored egg.  This will help narrow the choices down for your kiddo, making them feel more successful (which is what this is ALL about).  
• The second way is to mix all of the egg pieces up and write the uppercase and lowercase letters on different colored pieces.  They will have to rely on the letter, rather than the color.  (You will have to cut the pieces apart if you choose this method.)

Using a sharpie, and your best writing, write an uppercase and lowercase for each letter.  Make sure to get the uppercase on the TOP egg and the lowercase on the BOTTOM egg. 

My daughter knows all of her letters so I opted for the mixed colored eggs.  This is will help her become more fluent with recognizing both uppercase and lowercase letters. 

Activities with your eggs:  (remember, your goal is to help your child feel successful so start small)

• Start with a few eggs (the letters in their name is a great start).  As your little one gets better, add a couple of eggs. 
• Hide the eggs and line them in ABC order as you find them.
• Put small objects that begin with that letter and guess what may be in it. 
• Have your little one sort objects by beginning sound and put in correct egg. 

Can you add any fun activities to the list? 

XO!

Upcycling a Baby Doll Bed Tutorial

Isn't it funny how innate it is for little girls to play mommy? I love watching Chloe be sweet and loving to her babies (all 8324 of them).  While helping her go through her toys the other day for our monthly "Let's get rid of anything you don't play with!", I noticed her baby pack-n-play was ripping at the bottom.  It wasn't too surprising, considering the material used to make it, is the same thin material most princess costumes are made of. (and we all know how easily those rip or fray or snag!) 

My first thought was to sew up the hole real quick and move on.  But the more I sewed, the more it ripped.  2 hours later, someone had a completely "new" baby bed.  (It's most definitely not perfect, and when I was taking the frame apart and putting it back together, I tweaked the levelness of it somehow... but it holds babies, the fabric is cute, and Chloe loves it)

Materials:
   sewing machine (hand sewing would take forever, but you could)
   scissors
   fabric for the sides ( 11" x 36" )
   fabric for the bottom ( 12" x 21")
   thread to match
   coordinating ribbon

• Begin by cutting your pieces.  I struggled with the decision to cut panels, or use one long piece of fabric.  I decided it would be easier to manage with panels. (each measurement allows for a 1/4" seam)
• 2 side panels measuring 11x14"
• 2 side panels measuring 11x22"
• 1 bottom panel measuring 11x21"
• Sew these all together with a 1/4" seam.  (I hate 1/4" seam, but it allows for the least amount of fabric waste. 
  • *Don't forget* Iron your seams for a sharp edge. 

• Now that you have one long piece of fabric, measure the allowance for your bed leg.  Mine was 1 1/2".  (put your pins in to hold it, then check with the leg before sewing)
• *Tip* Use a rubberband to mark your seam allowance to keep your sewing straight!

• Attaching the bottom seemed intimating at first, but just take it one side at a time.  I started with a longer side to get it out of the way. 
• *Tip*  When sewing with Minky fabric, pin every inch.  The fabric stretches as it runs through your machine and will bunch up if you are stingy with your pins. 

• As you begin to sew around the bottom, think of the extra material as wrapping paper.  Fold it as you would if it were a present to keep it out of the way. 
• Attach your bottom to the "wrong" side of the fabric so when you look into the bed, you see the "right" side of the fabric at the bottom. 
• DO NOT sew the "pocket" for your bed leg. I used a larger pin to remind myself when to STOP before closing the "pocket". 

 

• After attaching the bottom, fit your creation (what would you call this thing?) onto your baby bed to make sure all is well. 

• Cut 10 pieces of ribbon and sear the edges with a lighter to keep them from fraying.  Line them up evenly along the top (over the rail) and attach with pins.  Hand sew or machine sew on. 

• Ta Da!  High five to you and be happy with the cute (more kid resistant) baby bed! 

Bloopers - Almost every time I do a sewing project, I have at least 1 oops of sewing the fabric together wrong.  I had 3 this time.  Lesson learned, don't do this with "helpers" or past my bedtime.

XO!

I interrupt this blog to bring you... Froda

Typically, I'm not one to jump on the bandwagon of things to do (Twilight, Harry Potter, mowing...) but I could not pass up the fun with The Elf on the Shelf!

Although $30 was a bit ridiculous for a somewhat scary looking picture book and an equally ugly elf doll, it's the first thing about Christmas I've looked forward to since... ever?
(I don't like Christmas, by the way)

Thanks to Pinterst, the idea for our Elf friend grew and grew.  Different things he may be up to at night, clothes he may try on, etc.

After watching The Elf on the Shelf movie last night (thank you CBS), we knew it was time for our elf to make his appearance.

Meet Froda! 

Our sweet lil elf was kind enough to bring us a North Pole breakfast (snow covered donuts and North Pole snowmen in place)!

And someone was extremely excited, yet nonchalant about the initial meeting.

But the real kicker, the part she couldn't get over... the donuts!

I'll post pictures of the fun things Froda does around our house this Christmas!

Are you doing Elf on the Shelf?

XO