DIY Sewing Cards for Kids

 

My little girl has taken an interest in sewing lately.

 

She's come up with all sorts of fun projects she wants to complete - sewn crowns, doll clothing, princess dresses and matching pajamas for her and her sister - just to name a few.

 

I want to encourage her to pursue this, but something about a four year old and needles just doesn't sit well with me. Part of the problem is that she wants to do most of it herself - which is great and nerve wrecking at the same time.

 

 It took a while, but I was able to convince her that if she practiced enough on her new sewing cards, I would let her start using the real thing. I haven't decided just how much "practice" she will need, maybe a year or two?

 

We made our own sewing cards, and it was really easy to do.

 

 

What you need:

 

Scrap book paper (optional - you could also use computer paper and decorate it or leave it plain)

Laminator

3 or 5 mil laminating sheets (I use 5 mil)

Hole puncher

Yarn

Tape

 

 

 

 

1). Using your paper, cut out desired shapes.

 



 

 

 

2). Place shapes in laminator sheets and then laminate them.

 



 

 

 

3). Trim around each shape, making sure that all the edges are smooth and rounded well. Take your hole puncher and punch holes along the edge.

 

 

 



 

 

4). Cut a long piece of yarn and then wrap tape around each end to stop frays and allow for easy threading.

 



 



 

 

 

That's it! Super easy, and for us it was free because we had all of the supplies already.

 

 

Happy Monday Everyone!

- Lisa :)

 

 

 

 

 

** featured on**

 

Children's Sewing - Kid Craft

My children love to do anything that I'm also doing. Well, at least when it looks like fun that is. For quite a while, Hannah has been asking to sew. I'm not about to hand my rambunctious three year old a sharp little needle. I don't think that would turn out well for anyone. And so, this project was born. Oddly enough, my seven year old was way more enthusiastic about it, and insisted on showing his little sis exactly how it must be done.

What you need:
Embroidery Hoop
Burlap material (cut large enough to allow overhang when in the hoop)
Scrap yarn
Tapestry needle (the dullest you can find)
Scissors

1)Place the burlap in the hoop and tighten.



2)Thread the yarn in the tapestry needle and pull to the center.



3) Tie the two end pieces of the yarn together so it will prevent it from being pulled completely threw the burlap.


4) Depending on your child's age, you may need to start it for them.



5) Now your child is ready to start sewing!




Sorry for the blurry shot. There was some fast and furious sewing going on...

Have a great weekend!

Ice Wreath - Kid Craft

I've seen this project in a few books, and have been waiting for the weather to finally get cold enough to have this work. Well, it got really cold for about three days. I figured it would be a great time to do this, then wham - we got hit with 40-50 degree weather again. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the nice days, but I'll have to share a photo of the finished project with all of you on a freezing day. Right now our little ice wreath is sitting nicely frozen in our freezer.

What you need:
A circular pan or dish
Items from nature that have already fallen to the ground
Colorful fruit bits (optional - just for added color)
Twine
Freezing temp's or a freezer

1) Take a walk with your children and have them collect pieces of nature that they like.

2) Place items in the pan or dish and add water.

3) Add a long piece of twine, folded in the half, with the fold in the water. This is for tying purposes after the wreath has frozen.

4) Place in the freezer or outside. Once frozen, hang your wreath outside where your children will be able to see it from indoors. **You will need to let it melt a bit to remove it from the pan**

Hopefully it will get colder over here so I can hang our wreath and share it on the blog.

Have a great weekend everyone!
-Lisa

Visited by a Fairy

The tooth fairy that is.

My little guy, who really is not all that little, lost his first tooth the other day. As soon as he noticed he could wiggle it in his mouth, we made this special tooth pouch to put under his pillow on the big day. It's super simple to make, you can find the directions here. I already have a request for a pink tooth bag - but I think it might be a while before that one gets any use.

Both of my children are growing up so fast. In the last week alone, Austin lost his first tooth and mastered his two-wheeler. And little Hannah, inspired by her brother, hopped on a training wheel clad two-wheeler herself and has become a little speed demon.

Have a great day!

-Lisa

Star Wand Tutorial

With Summer Solstice being tomorrow, I had originally wanted to make a couple sun wands for the kids. Austin, not surprisingly, wanted nothing to do with a wand - it's girly you know. And Hannah begged for a princess wand - so this is what we ended up with. To my delight, it is much loved, and was pretty easy to do.

If you want to make your own, follow the directions below.

What you need:
Felt - enough to make your desired shape twice (we used wool felt)
Cookie Cutter - for making the shape
Colored pencil
1 Small, thin dowel rod
Sharp Scissors
4 (or more) Strips of ribbon cut at desired length (I did 3/4 of the length of the dowel rod)
Embroidery thread in contrasting color
Hot Glue gun
Small rubber band


1) Trace your shape using the cookie cutter and colored pencil, on the felt two times

2) Cut out the shapes, and the ribbon strips.

3) Place your identical shape pieces on top of each other and sew a blanket stitch around almost the entire shape using embroidery thread. Make sure to leave an opening at the bottom so you can insert the dowel rod. Don't know how to do a blanket stitch? Here's a quick tutorial on that.
I didn't have enough of the yellow thread left, so I added the purple at the end to avoid having to start over - oops. Make sure you cut the thread a lot longer than you think you'll need just to avoid this.

4) Layer your ribbon strips on top of each other with top ends meeting, and sew a quick knot or two to secure them in place.

5) Attach the sewn ribbon end to the end of the dowel rod with a very tightly fitted rubber band. We used the tiny bands you find in the hair accessory section of the store, these are nice and small.

6) Add some hot glue around the end with the rubber band, and carefully insert the dowel rod far enough inside the shape so that you can no longer see the rubber band. Squeeze it quickly and hold it down to ensure the glue sticks to everything and won't come loose.

That's it! Now go enjoy your new magic wand!

Playsilk Grass

Playsilks, love them. So do my kids. To be honest, when I first heard about them, I thought they were kind of silly. And I really didn't think my kids would actually play with them much. Boy was I wrong. They're just large dyed silk scarves - well, to an adult anyway. To a child, they can become blankets, rivers, capes, magic shields, princess veils, ghosts.... The list goes on and on, and only stops when the creative play does too.

They are also great for covering toy baskets and bins at night, my children seem to sleep better when most of their toys are out of sight (sound silly? Try it, stream line your bedroom to just the essentials, or hide things, I swear, you get a better nights rest).

So, all of that being said, this year we are replacing Easter grass with playsilks. I dyed a few with packets of kool-aid that I picked up especially for this project, but you can also use food coloring, or natural dyes. We are going to dye Easter eggs tonight with food, so I'm going to add a few silks to the pots and see how it turns out - I'll share my findings, don't worry.

Here's how to do it...

You need:
Large pots or stainless steel or enamel bowls (plastic will stain)
White Vinegar
Coloring of choice (kool-aid, or food coloring...)
Kitchen tongs or other similar non-porous kitchen tool
White silk scarves (I bought mine here and purchased 30"x30" Habotai)

1) Put white scarves in a mixture of 3 cups hot water and 1 cup vinegar to soak while mixing your color pot.

2) Mix packet of kool-aid (1 for a pastel effect, up to 3 for bright vivid colors), 2 cups vinegar, and 3 cups hot water. Stir to dissolve.

3) Add the scarf and mix around until fully colored. Use kitchen tongs or some sort of utensil for this, the colored water will stain your hands.

4) Once you have the color you want, rinse the scarf under luke warm water until the water runs clear. Squeeze excess water out and hang to dry.

That's it!

Experimenting with "Chemical" Reactions - Child Project

One of my son's Christmas presents was a science kit geared toward younger children (4+). All of the experiments involve things you typically can find in your own kitchen and involve mixing liquids and powders and determining if the liquid is an acidic or not. Both of my children loved this quick little project - and could have done it all day if I were willing to keep dumping baking soda into cups. This does require adult supervision, so please don't walk away from the table if you choose to try this.

What you need:

A plate to catch spills
Cups for mixing and holding liquid
Baking Soda
Liquids of choice - make sure one is an acid (we used milk, vinegar, and water)
1 tsp
1 tbsp
Stir stick (optional)
Food coloring (optional)

Put a tsp of baking soda into a cup (add a couple drops of food coloring if you wish)

Let your child choose a liquid to add to the baking soda, and have them guess what the reaction will. Explain how to tell if the liquid is an acid or not.

The photo above is the result of adding water first, then the vinegar.

Here is an example of straight vinegar.

My self-proclaimed scientist concocted this one all on his own (by adding milk and food coloring to the vinegar).

As simple as this may seem, by children we absolutely amazed by it. Give it a try and see what combinations you and your children come up with.

Take care!

-Lisa

Feathered Friends

This time of year, at least for us, creates a pretty barren food supply for our local birds. Every year we try to help them out by filling up a couple large bird feeders. The birds only seem to get a small snack from those because we also have a furry little (well not little really) raccoon family near by. Intelligent as raccoons are, no matter what we do, they always empty out those bird feeders in less than a day. I want the raccoons to see Spring time just as much as I'd like the birds to, don't get me wrong, but those furry little masked bandits have a lot more options than their feathered neighbors.

So, we're trying out something new this year. The kids and I sat down one afternoon and made a very large amount of seed cakes to hang from the trees and bushes. So far the raccoons have stayed away from them. I'm hoping it stays that way, but we'll see. We made a combination of small and large cakes. The small ones were molded in an ice cube tray, with the hopes that maybe I could include them in my gift giving (as alternative ties/tags). Though my husband only responded with an eyebrow raise. Poor man, he must think I'm nuts. He'll go along with it, but not while keeping a straight face.

And so, some will be tied to our trees, and others will be tied around packages so a few more birds can be fed. Honestly, the one batch made too many for our little area to keep them all in one place.

If you'd like to try some yourself, this is what you need:

1 box of gelatin (yes all 4 small packets inside get used) or reserved cooking fat
3-4 C bird seed - depending on what you use
3 C Hot water
wooden spoon
wooden skewer or pencil
baking sheets or large flat surface
parchment paper
cookie cutters (or ice cube tray or both)
jute, kitchen string, or yarn for the ties - cut to around 10-12" each

1) Dissolve the gelatin in the 3 cups of hot water by stirring. If using the cooking fat, warm it up until it is in it's liquid state again. If you choose to use the fat, it's fine in the winter, but avoid this in the summer because the fat can go rancid in the heat.

2) Add the bird seed one cup at a time until it won't combine anymore. This should be very thick, but you should still be able to stir it well.

3) Place parchment paper on the baking sheet (I did this so I could transfer to the fridge for quicker setting times) or just on a flat surface.

4) Lay the cookie cutters on the parchment and then spoon the seed mixture into them. Pack them in good.

5) Using a skewer or pencil end, make a hold half way threw the mix to push your string into, then cover with more bird seed to secure. You might want to tie some knots into one end of the string so it has more "gripping" ability inside the mold.

6) Allow the mixture to set by either putting it in the fridge for a few hours, or allowing it to sit overnight on the counter.

That's it!

Take care,
Lisa :)

Keep Little Hands Busy

I'll be back to regular blogging tomorrow, but in the mean time, I wanted to share this link with you. I stumbled upon it the other day, and I'm so thrilled that I did! It's such a simple, yet creative idea - I love it!

They are play discs, over at Made by Joel. I won't use images from other blogs - so I really do encourage you to stop over there and try these out. They are beautiful in design and construction. All you have to do is print the free templates and then cut out the discs. They fit in a candy tin, and can travel easily in a purse or pocket. The little discs provide lots of entertainment for little ones (think restaurant here).

Take care!
-Lisa

Pom Pom Plants

I've been doing sooo much holiday crafting lately, and I want so desperately to share some of the projects with you. At the moment, though, I can not. Simply because many of the recipients read this blog - and I love that they read it! :) But I'm not about to ruin any surprises.

So with that said, I'd like to talk about this fun little project I came across on craftster the other day. Pom Pom Plants! Maybe I'm a little goofy (ok I am a little goofy), but I just love these. If you ignore the poor photo quality, these really do turn out cute - and it's a great use for those twigs that are all over the place right now. Not to mention a great way to use up yarn scraps.

It's super simple to do. Just collect some medium size fallen twigs, make pom poms, and then glue the twig inside the pom pom. If you're not familiar with making pom poms, or would like to see step by step instructions, you can view that here.

Enjoy!

Fairy Wee Folk

Hannah is just obsessed with Fairy's, she loves them, and thinks she is one for that matter. So, it only made sense to have her big Christmas gift this year be Fairy related. We decided on this, and absolutely love it! (I know she won't be checking my blog any time soon, so it's safe to share, lol). It's made of wood and constructed well, so there is no worry of chemicals and lead paint. It will hopefully be a toy she can one day pass on to her own children.

And so, this brings me to the actual fairy part. Though the fairy's made by the same company as the lodge are cute, I had come across some that I liked a bit more in a book called Felt Wee Folk by Salley Mavor.

Oh how I love this book! Not only does it give great detailed instructions, but the images are just beautiful! Salley Mavor does an excellent job creating scenes from her Wee Folk that instantly draw the reader in. Case in point, my 5 year old, who is sooo not into dolls, as he'll tell you, couldn't put the book down. He sat in his chair, head down, and lightly ran his fingers over the glossy pages, only stopping to look up at me to ask if we could make them. All of them. He's especially drawn to Hanzel and Gretel and the Pirates.

There are also instructions for making felt pins and purses. The projects start out very basic and easy enough for a child - so don't be intimidated. I will admit, it took me a while to put together this fairy, but I'm pretty sure it's because I had no clue what I was doing in the beginning. But I am proud of my very first fairy, and know there will be more. Actually, I don't think I have much of a choice. Between Austin and Hannah, I have my Wee Folk work cut out for me. My husband wants some for our Christmas tree too -which I think would look really cute. If you're interested, you can find the book here.

**Just a quick note, these have small parts, and children under 3 should be closely supervised if playing with them.**

Have a great day!

Unstructured Creativity - Acrylic Paint

About once a week or so (during warm enough weather), I bring the kids out to the back yard and pretty much just let them go to town using some sort of creative medium. Painting is always a favorite in our house, so I try to come up with different ways to go about it. A few weeks ago we used watercolors and I was so excited when Austin decided to make pictures out of colorful finger prints. I have to admit, the main reason I got so excited about it was because back in high school, I finished a rather large replica of a Micheal Angelo drawing using watercolors, my pinkie finger and some black pastels. For me, I thought I was being original, for him, it was just the way it had to be done for the day. That's one of the things I want to foster in my children, to follow their creative desires. And so, that leads us to our "Unstructured Creativity" time.

I must confess, I did have a slight agenda on this one. I let the kids paint on a large piece of white fabric, with acrylic paints. I gave them black, orange, green and purple to work with.... hmmm.... I was hoping I would end up with some sort of super cute little kid piece of artwork to turn into a Halloween decoration later. We ended up with a few very large blackish brown blobs, lol. They had a great time though, and that's all that really matters.

Do you have unstructured creative activities you do with your children? Please share, I'm always looking for more ideas :)

Take care!