A is for Alligator

I've made up my mind and I've set a goal. I am going to start preschool with my son at home this year. We are currently just gonna go through the alphabet and have fun learning how to write our letters. My son knows most of the alphabet, but writing it is a different story, so that's gonna be our goal for this year. Writing and knowing the sounds of the alphabet. It's not gonna be overly complicated - I just want him to enjoy learning and it's nice to give him something to do that is fun and educational. I've heard that it's best to start with the easier letters, like "i" and "l" but my brain just couldn't handle that. Gotta start at the beginning!! So, we did A. Thanks to this awesome blog, I was able to find this great idea for an "A" craft.

A is for alligator. There are a number of crafts for the letter "A" that are linked above, but this was the one that I had the easiest access to the supplies.

On top of doing this with my 3 year old, I had the pleasure of watching a friend's kids for a bit and they got to join in on the crafting fun.

We started out by cutting out the printed pieces. My son had a little trouble cutting, but he did a little bit of it. I wanted him to try to do it on his own. His friend, Ryan, (who's a year older), enjoyed doing the cutting for a while and did much better at cutting than my boy. You'll never guess which kid is mine...oh wait - as always, he's the nekked one.

I cut out the paper for Miss Cailin - who is 2 years old and super duper adorable. Once all the cutting was done (I'm pretty sure I did 3/4 of it for the boys as well), we went on to gluing on the scaly skin. Cailin got to help smear the glue on the paper. That may have been her favorite part. You can't tell from the picture, but her paper was pretty much colored purple from the glue stick. :0)

The boys also got to apply the glue themselves and then they got to work with the green construction paper: applying it to the glued areas.

At this point, I stopped taking pictures. Cailin was pretty much done and the boys were wanting assistance to get the pieces to be glued in the right spots. But, much fun was had by all. I tried my darndest to get a picture of all of them with their alligators.

But, it was quite the challenge. 

Did they learn anything about the letter "A"? It's kinda doubtful. Maybe they did. Kids retain far more than we realize. But, either way, they had a good time and they all three knew that it started as the letter "A".

I will be trying to work on at least one letter per week with Cade, and I'm super excited about it. (By the way, we did do some tracing and things like that too, but this was the fun part that we did with friends, so I thought I'd share.) And, my apologies to my son (in the future) if I could get you to wear clothes, I'd have far more modest pictures of you. :)

Duct Tape Wallets

Hi Blogosphere!

I'm back! I'm sorry for my long-time lack of posting. Last week, I had a glorious vacation with my family at Disneyland and ran the Disneyland 10k (for those non-runner types, that would be 6.2 miles).

It was absolutely wonderful. I intended to have a few blog posts ready to go before I left, but I let time get away from me and never got it done. But, I'm back now! And ready to go!

A few weeks ago, I watched some of my nephews and one of my nieces. It was a wonderful, busy, full, active time at my house.

As usual, the kids were anticipating and looking forward to the project that Aunt Heidi would have planned. Because of the vast ages (10 months to 10 years) ranging at my house, finding a project suitable for all ages seemed a challenge so I focused on a project for the oldest boys. As they had to be the helpers for the day, I thought it nice to reward their hard work.

Finding a project for boys that are 9 and 10 years old is challenging. So, I did a Pinterest search for "Activities for Tween Age Boys." Much to the chagrin of my sister ("my boy, a tween?! eek!"). But, I found the right activities for them.

The first pin I found was a perfect find: 20+ unplugged activities for Tween Age Boys. There were many, many good ideas on there - but I found the one that intrigued me the most and went with it: Duct Tape Wallets.

The items needed for this craft: duct tape, measuring tape. That's it. I actually used a grocery bag as well, to mark down the measurement spots so  I could use it a few times without having to keep the measuring tape out. That worked well. 

My niece and other nephews were a little bummed that they couldn't do this project as well, but it was kinda difficult for the older boys and I knew frustration and tears would've been the results of having the littler kiddos trying to do this as well. Thankfully, they got distracted and enjoyed playing together. 

Apparently, duct tape is a comfy pillow and mask?? :) Silly boys. The first layer of tape was pretty easy for the boys to apply, the next layer, not so much. We ended up having to rip two sets of the first and second layers when all was said and done. News flash: duct tape is sticky. This project is easiest when you can use 4 hands. 

The instructions for the pockets on the wallet were a little tough for me to understand, so I struggled with that, but the boys were happy with the results regardless...and I think I kinda got it figured out...however I don't have a clearer way of writing it than what is said in the blog, so I can't help you any further in understanding it...sorry.

The one thing I would caution, if you are using a directional patterned duct tape - like Superman, here - you will want to make sure that the overlapping is done at the top of the pattern rather than the bottom of the pattern. Gabe's wallet had to be adjusted a bit so it wasn't upside down. It worked out alright, but we just had to change it up a bit.

Check out the instructions on the blog - they are pretty clear and the boys loved making these. And they are able to hold library cards, cash, and the like in their fashionable duct tape wallets. 

Oh! And I got in on the action as well. Have you ever seen the patterned duct tape at the store and thought "boy, I wish I had a use for that! Oh well, I'll get it anyway." Well, I had some of that duct tape and finally found a use for it in this duct tape wallet. :) I made one for Peyton and one for myself.

None of them were perfect, but they are all useable and fun! And now you know. A fun project to do with you *gulp* tweens. And to finish it off, here are two more pictures from our trip to the happiest place on earth.

(Cade got that costume as a surprise gift when we got to Disneyland..afterward, he wouldn't take it off. He was in Heaven. And Disneyland is the perfect place for it - according to cast members at Disneyland (aka Disney employees) he wasn't in a costume - he WAS Buzz Lightyear.)

Binkie Bag

Back when Cade was a baby, I had seen this blog about making a binkie bag. I never managed to get it done before he outgrew the binkie. I had many excuses: time, supplies, my sewing skills are embarrassingly lacking, fear of messing it up and frustration.

Photo from Pinterest

But, after a nightly struggle of finding her binkie as Elsie woke crying after managing to throw every binkie she owned behind her crib, I finally decided the excuses and frustration would be minuscule in comparison to being awake at 3 in the morning, searching in the dark for the discarded binkie. This is proof of the binkie disappearances as I found them behind her crib while changing her sheets.

This project was ridiculously easy. I didn't measure the fabric precisely or cut straight, but it was totally fine! I loosely measured the fabric and then eyeballed to actually cut it - mainly because I didn't want to go searching for anything to mark my fabric with.

Here it is once it was cut - in all it's uneven glory.

Once it was cut, I folded it in half, right sides together, lengthwise.

Then it was time to sew! I stitched up two of the three sides and left a one to two inch opening that wasn't stitched at the top so that it could be folded over for the sewed hem.

Then, I folded over the fabric and eyeballed the fabric as I sewed the hem. I didn't even use pins for this part or anything, I was being really lazy.

Voila! It's a bag!! Now to add the ribbon and the boning.

When I added the ribbon, I did use pins - there was no way it would look good without. And I changed out my thread so that it would look better. I know; I went all out for that part. ;)

I stitched as close to the hem line stitch as possible to continue to allow room for the boning to go in. And left the end open with a long tail for the ribbon to be tied to the crib.

Then, I inserted the boning (which you can find near the thread and ribbon at the fabric store) - the most time-consuming part of this project. And that was nothing.

I then stitched up the end where the boning was inserted so that it wouldn't wriggle its way out. And it was done!

Ok, all of my fears and excuses shouldn't have stopped me. This was, by far, the easiest sewing project I have ever done. Simple. Quick. Fun. TOTALLY USEFUL! I love this. Lesson learned - I should try things before I get too worried about them. This is awesome. This is most definitely a Pinterest success!

Super Giant Bubbles Recipe

Bubbles, bubbles everywhere! Here's a fun activity to do with your littles to keep them entertained. Bubbles!  

Photo from Pinterest

There is no link to share as this was just an image, so I'll just tell ya about my experience. Cade helped me make the bubble solution. 

This was super simple. All of the ingredients were things I already had at home. The only thing I struggled to find was a big enough bucket...oddly enough. I guess my brain just wasn't fully functioning when I was making this. I ended up using a mop bucket, which worked well, but for it being a bit larger than necessary. Seriously, if that's the biggest concern, it really was no biggie.

Stirring the solution without creating bubbles was more of a challenge than I would've expected. I think it was due to the corn starch sticking to the bottom of the bucket. Oh well. We made it work.

I set the timer for an hour and put the bucket out of site so Cade wouldn't be impatiently waiting and we went swimming while we waited. I love summer. 

Once the solution had sat for an hour, we took it outside and blew bubbles. Cade had trouble blowing them, so I did most of that - but he had a blast popping them. 

The bubbles weren't super wimpy bubbles either. It was quite nice. I used a bubble wand that we already had from the dollar store and we also made some out of pipe cleaner. All worked nicely. 

"Seriously, mom, a picture? Just blow the bubble for me already..."

We left the bucket outside to play with over the next few days and the bubble solution never faltered. It worked wonderfully and continued to produce bubbles as long as the blower had some skillz. Yep, with a 'z.' Because, I am that cool. There you have it. Easy-peasy bubble making recipe. 

Easy Sewing A-Line Skirt

Hello blogger-readers. I've been away for about a week, but I'm back! For the last few days, I've been enjoying being at my home away from home, i.e. Disneyland!!

This trip, I decided to geek out even a little more than normal and made myself a minnie mouse skirt that would match an outfit that my daughter was wearing - making it a picture perfect opportunity when meeting the lovely Minnie herself! The blog I used for inspiration can be found here.

This project was very simple...but felt very complicated because of the directions in the blog and my non-sewing language brain. Thankfully, I had my momma (an amazing seamstress) to help me out. In the blog I linked above, the directions were not near as simple as I needed. I am a bit dense when it comes to my sewing abilities and knowledge. 

I didn't have any newspaper, so I used some excess tissue paper my mom had on hand, which worked wonderfully. Here is a basic run-down of what I did to start (because the directions in the blog above didn't make as much sense as I would've liked, I'm spelling it out for you as best I can): 

1) I measured my waist (where I'd want the skirt to sit rather than my natural waist).

2) I decided what length I wanted the skirt to be and added 2 inches to that. 

3) I laid out the tissue paper, made a curved line half the length of my waist. 

4) from the inside of the curved line, I took the tape measure and pivoted it, measuring out the length from all points - making the pattern piece a-lined rather than straight. 

5) I cut out the pattern and pinned the skirt material to it. (The material was folded in half length-wise.) 

6) Cut out the fabric using the pattern. 

7) Flip the pattern over and do the same thing on the unused part of the fabric. 

After your pieces are cut, you are going to put them right sides together and sew up both sides so that you will then have a complete piece. Remember to backstitch when you start and when you finish both sides.

After both sides were sewn, I ironed the seams flat. If my mom hadn't been there, I probably wouldn't have done it, and it wouldn't have turned out as well. I'm glad my mom knows what she's doing and doesn't take as many shortcuts as I do. ;) 

Once the ironing was done, it was time to add the contrasting fabric. In order to do this, I had to cut the fabric into 6 inch strips. I ended up with three sets of 6 inch strips. I pinned them together (right sides together again) and sewed the seams again. From there, I ironed out the seams and folded the fabric in half length-wise and ironed it again. (Sorry, I was too distracted and didn't remember to take pictures of those steps.) Once all the ironing was done, I put the non-ironed edge of the contrasting fabric against the bottom of the skirt and pinned them together.

Once they were pinned together, I got to work sewing all the way the around the skirt to attach the contrasting fabric. Then I ironed it all out yet again (thanks, mom!). 

From here, I stopped following the directions given on the blog above. I went to my previous blog post and just added in elastic. This was much simpler than trying to do a zipper and it still worked out just as well, if not better, in my opinion. I did not make the elastic very tight - I'm not big into the whole muffin top look. But, it was tight enough that it wouldn't fall off, which was the goal. :) Here it is, the completed product!

It worked! The skirt was worn at Disneyland. It was comfortable, it stayed up, it was complimented on and it was picture perfect. There you have it! Another simple project. Seriously. Way simple. If I can do it, anybody can do it. And it was all done in less than 3 hours (total).

A Vinyl-Made T-shirt Of Your Own Design

Recently, I had a friend ask me to make her a shirt using a design that she had created, so I thought I'd walk you through the process of how to do this for yourself! Here is what needs to happen - we need to get this design onto this shirt.

First thing's first, scan in the design and save it to your computer in jpg format. Once that's done, import it into your Silhouette Studio. To do this, open up your Silhouette Studio,

Once it's open, drag your scanned image onto the page.

As you can see, the image is much to big as is, so we need to reduce the size. To do this, you will zoom out 2-3 times so you can see the entire image. To zoom out, press the minus sign magnifying glass.

Once it is zoomed out enough to see your whole image, scale it down by clicking on the image and then grabbing a corner of the image until you get it to the size you want.

After that comes the fun part - tracing the image! First, click the "fit to window" button (which is the last button on the right from the zoom out button.) This will bring your image back to a more easy-to-use and see size.

Now, you are going to trace your image, to do this, go over to the right side of your silhouette studio program and select the box with the blue "x" in it.

After you get there, your right side bar should look like this:

Click on "Select Trace Area." Then, select the area you want traced. The area you want traced will be highlighted with yellow. Unselect "High Pass Filter" (which is in the toolbar on the right.)

Once you have unselect "High Pass Filter" your image should look like this:

At this point, you will want to select "Trace" from the right hand menu. There will be red trace lines around your image and you can then move the rest of the image away from what you have traced. This is also a good way to confirm that the traced image is how you want it to be.

Go ahead and delete the original image now and measure your shirt to see how large you want the design to be. A lot of times, I just measure the shirt without the image, but my friend wanted this image to be fairly true to size that she made it, so I didn't necessarily need to measure the shirt.

After you have the image at the size you are wanting it, you are going to need to mirror the image. To do this, you will right click on the image, and select "Flip Horizontally."

Your image will flip and look backwards. Something similar to this:

Once you have your image the size you want it, and are ready to cut your vinyl, lay it on your cutting mat shiny side down. I have read that you don't need to use a mat at this point - but I prefer to, just to be on the safe side. 

Be sure your image is the size you want it to be, and then get ready to cut! I bought this vinyl from www.expressionsvinyl.com and they have a reference page for what settings to use on a Silhouette or A Cricut for cutting the vinyls they sell. To see their settings, go here. Once you have your settings right, do a test cut to be on the safe side if you like - or, if you like to live life on the wild side, go ahead and cut. 

After your image has been cut, you will want to weed out the parts you don't want. 

To see a video on this and the ironing on, you can check it out here. After you have weeded out the vinyl you don't want to use, you can set your image on the clothing you are wanting to apply it to. 

With the vinyl that I used, I just left the clear top on and got to work ironing.

I ironed for 15-20 seconds all over the shirt and then peeled off the top clear layer. If it doesn't come off easily, keep ironing.

Voila! It's done! We made a masterpiece shirt of our own design! Ok...it wasn't actually my design - it was my friend's design. Ten points if you know what her design is in reference to! :)