Ryan's Lego Cake

A Lego boat?

 Ryan wanted a Lego birthday party this year (well, that was his second choice - I said he couldn't have two Star Wars parties in a row), so I made a cake that was supposed to look like one of the Lego ships he likes to make.  I'm not really pleased with how it turned out, but he liked it!  I think the little single bricks turned out much better.

For games we played lego bingo, and then did a building game where the kids built things and then the parents guessed what they were.  We wrote down our answers and then the kids came back and told us what their creations really were.  Some were suprisingly good and we got close with our guesses; some were suprisingly bad, and no one came close; some were just suprising!

Kinda looks like it wants to fall over, but it never did!



I thought these turned out better than the big cake!



F is for Fluffy Flower

F is for Fluffy Flower!  This is made with coffee filters and washable markers, which I first remember doing in one of my science classes in high school (Biology, I think, with Coach DuBose).  We used three filters for each flower to make them nice and fluffy.  You color on the coffee filter with markers, then spray with water.  The color spreads out and mixes.  You definitely need to put paper towels or something underneath before spraying.  Then, let them dry.  After they're dry, fold in half, and punch a hole through both layers in the middle, near the fold.  Use a green pipe cleaner for the stem.  Put the pipe cleaner through one hole in each of the filters, then put a fairly large bead (pony beads work, or even something larger) on the pipe cleaner, fold it over, and send it through the other holes in each filter.  Twist the pipe cleaner together to keep the flower where it belongs, and maybe even shape one end of it into a leaf!  Then pull the filters gently through your fist to shape them into a flower. 

Just for fun, I rubbed a little oil from an air freshener on the inside filter near the bead to make the flower smell good!  Then it was a Fragrant, Fluffy Flower!  

At the end of the day, Miss M remembered that flower starts with F and even picked out an F from among the refrigerator magnet letters!  Elizabeth, when asked "What kind of word is 'fluffy,' if it tells us more about the flower?"  answered "An adjective!" with no prompting or help!  Yay!  It's soaking in! 

Candy Stars Quilt

I finished a new quilt yesterday! I feel like I don't get nearly as much done as I should since Archer's been here.  He isn't much of a sleeper!  But he's awfully sweet to make up for it! 

This quilt was made with scraps from another quilt (which isn't finished yet - I still have to quilt it).  I think it's just the right size for a baby.  It'll be on sale at the Square Fair next month.  The pattern is on sale now at Etsy, as a bonus with the pattern for the bigger quilt, Jewel Candy.  I don't think I'm very good at naming quilts!

E is for Enormous Ears!

E is for Enormous Ears.  Elizabeth picked elephant ears, and Miss M picked cat ears.  I drew the ears on poster board, they colored them with markers, and I cut them out.  Then I hot glued craft foam middles on, and hot glued them to plastic headbands I just had laying around.  The girls were so excited to show off their ears when the big kids got home from school!

Happy Birthday, Blake Bostick

D is for Dazzling Diamond



Elizabeth's Diamond

These are our dazzling diamonds!  I drew a diamond shape on poster board, outlined each section with with a black marker, and then painted one section at a time with Mod Podge (yes, we do use a lot of that at our house!).  After I'd painted the glue on one section, the girls chose one dazzling medium to fill that section with.  Besides what's shown, we also had a choice of silver star-shaped sequins, shiny green sequins, and other colors of glitter and glass pebbles.  Then I wrote Dazzling Diamond and made the Ds extra big so we could cover them with glitter to make them more memorable.  D is the first letter I'm sure Miss M remembered at the end of the day.  Another idea would be to fill the diamond with things that start with D!

Miss M's Diamond

C is for Calico Cat



C is for Calico Cat


C is for craft, too!  For this, I drew a cat shape on a piece of cardstock, then gave the girls (3 & 4) each a bowl of 1 1/2 inch squares of fabric from my scrap bag.  I painted Mod Podge on the BACK of the cat drawing (just a few inches at a time, or it dries too fast), and the girls arranged fabric squares all over the paper.  I painted over some of the squares again with the Mod Podge where they were overlapping or just not stuck down well.  Then we let them dry and I cut the cat shapes out.  For eyes, we used those flat bottomed, colored glass pebbles that you find in the silk flower section.  I don't know what those are really for, but they're pretty.  I drew the cat's eye pupil on the back, flat part with a Sharpie; from the front it looks pretty neat coming through the curve.  Then we glued on the eyes with craft glue, added a foam shape for a nose, and pipe cleaner whiskers.  We discussed how "calico" is an adjective, along with cat starts with C. 

Mom's Quilt

Christopher's artwork

Elizabeth's hand print

 This is a quilt that I started about a year and a half ago, and just now finished.  It's not that it was that hard, it's just that I didn't make time to make something for myself until now.  It's special because I painted all the kids' hands and put their hand prints on fabric squares to sew into the quilt.  Also, I used fabric markers to trace pictures out of a coloring book onto fabric squares and then let the kids color them with the fabric markers.  I actually had to redesign the quilt when I decided to put it together the other day, because when I got all the squares ready, Archer wasn't even expected, so I had to add him in, even though his year is different from the others.  I used a lot of blue in this quilt, not because it's my favorite color, but because I have TONS of it in my stash.  Apparently I am most attracted to blue fabrics when I don't have specific project in mind, but visit the fabric department anyway.  I also used scraps of fabric that have some special meaning to me.  There are pieces from dresses I've made Elizabeth, the boys' baby quilts, my Easter dress I made this year, quilts I've made for my husband, pajamas I made for the big boys, and even a piece that came from MY baby quilt.



Libba's artwork, Archer's footprints, and special fabric in the border























A similar quilt made for a friend





B is for Baby

B if for Baby!

Yesterday we worked on B and made these little wooden babies.  The blank wooden forms came from Hobby Lobby in a package of five.  The girls painted them skin (ish) color with Crayola Washable Kids Paint.  Then they picked out a square of material from my scraps, which I cut to 2 1/2 in. X 3/4 in.  We used craft glue to glue the clothes on the babies, and then I added faces with the same paint, paint pens, and Sharpie markers.  I made the bow with 1/8 in. ribbon and glued it on with craft glue.  We may make some more when G is for Girl! Or M is for Mommy, or D is for Daddy!

A is for Alligator!

A is for Alligator!

We made these alligators because A is for alligator, and we’re working on A.  It’s made of a clothespin painted green.  The teeth are just pieces of white paper cut with pinking shears and glued on with a glue stick.  We glued the googly eyes on with craft glue, drew the nostrils with a black Sharpie, and added a piece of magnet tape to the back so he can chomp papers on the fridge!

Easy Pillowcase Backpacks



Pillowcase backpacks!

   

Step 1



For the little ones who don't get to go to school with the big kids, we made backpacks this week.  We used a pillowcase and ribbon.  I had a white, standard size pillowcase and figured out how to make these backpacks as a back-to-school, practice your name project for my four-year-old and our "extra" three-year-old.  You need wide ribbon; we used 1 1/2 inch grosgrain beca

1.  First, I cut the pillow case in half, and then cut the end seam off (not the long side seams). 


Step 2



2.  Then we tie-dyed ours, because tie-dying is so much fun! (We use the not-too-messy squirt bottle method.)  But you could also use fabric markers, paint with stencils or stamps or fingers or brushes, fabric crayons, or just pick out a pillowcase with a color or design you like just as it is. 

3.  So, after our pillowcases were dyed and washed, I cut through one side (not both!) about 5 or 6 inches from the top, unseamed side.



Step 3



4a



4b

 4.  Then, I hemmed the edges of the rectangle.  If you are making two, or just using the end that was the opening of the pillowcase, you don't have to hem the parts that you didn't cut.  Hemming the top of the rectangle is necessary because that will be the flap of the backpack.  Hemming the bottom part that is going to be sewn up into the backpack is not necessary, but it keeps there from being a tangle of frayed strings inside.  To make it easier to make an even hem, I always sew around once with out folding the material at all.  The measurements are marked on the machine, so you know you are the same distance from the edge all the time, and the sewn line makes the material turn up more easily when you make your hem.  So sew around once (4a), then you fold up your hem and sew around again (4b), then you fold again to cover your cut edges, and sew close to the inside fold (4c).



4c







Step 5



5. So next, you lay your pillowcase out flat, right side facing up, with the front part of the pack (not the flap) at the top.  Then you cut two pieces of ribbon about 24 inches long.  This turned out to be quite long for us, but I tied them and knots and told myself that now they were adustable.  But 12 or 13 inches should work if you don't want "adjustable" straps.  Melt the ends the ribbon so they don't fray inside the backpack.  Then pin the end of one ribbon to the edge of the material, about 1 inch from the top.  Pin the other end of the same ribbon about 2 inches below the first one.  Make sure your loops of ribbon lay on top of your material, like in the picture.  Then do the same with the other ribbon on the other side of your backpack.  Pin the loops down in the middle, so they don't get accidentally sewn into your side seams. 

 6.  Then, fold the bottom of your rectangle up so that the original pillowcase seam is right at the bottom.  Pin the side seams of your backpack.  Then sew, using a 5/8 inch seam, just the sides of the backpack where the front and back come together.  Not the flap.  Backstitch at the top and bottom for sturdiness.  Then turn your backpack right side out.

7.  Pin a 2 - 3 inch strip of Velcro in the middle of the outside of the front (hooks or loops, it doesn't really matter which), and the matching piece in the middle of the inside of the flap.  I did ours lengthwise, for adjustability, on purpose this time.  Before you sew them down, make sure they match up and connect.  Then sew. 


Step 7



8.  For ours, I made a knot of the leftover ribbon and sewed it over the Velcro on the flap.  Then we used alphabet sponges to stamp the girls' names on with paint.  Of course, I made them find the letters for their names themselves, and we practiced spelling their names as they squished each letter into place!  They were so excited when their backpacks were done!

Ready to go!

Ryan's Lion Quilt

Ryan with his quilt top at Christmas

This is Ryan's lion quilt.  All my kids have animals.  It started with Christopher.  His animal is a frog, because that's what he felt like, hopping around inside, before he was even born.  Ryan is a lion, because when Christopher and I were looking for a stuffed animal for Christopher to give the new baby when he was born, a lion is what Christopher picked out, and it rhymed so well.  Elizabeth is a cat.  Before she was born, it felt like she was in there kneading her claws like a cat does when it is happy and getting ready to curl up and sleep somewhere.  Archer is a bear.  He really felt more like a kangaroo, but you just don't find a lot of kangaroo themed stuff for little kids.  So we made him a bear because he's so cuddly, like a little teddy bear.  Now we call him Archie-bear.  He'll probably want to grow out of that as he gets older.

Ryan's finished quilt

So this is the quilt I made Ryan for Christmas this year.  I had made Christopher and Elizabeth clothes, but Ryan, being two years behind Christopher, never needs clothes.  And his pajama drawer (I made Christopher pajama pants) was stuffed to the point of being hard to close.  But I didn't want Ryan to feel left out; he likes homemade stuff more than Christopher anyway.  So I decided to make him this quilt.  I had seen a bear one in a magazine (Quiltmaker) and thought, hey, I can do that!  I put it together in about the two weeks before Christmas, mostly at night and other times he wouldn't see it.  It wasn't completely finished when I wrapped it up.  It was just a quilt top.  But I finished it soon after Christmas, and now he sleeps under it nearly every night! 

I haven't made animal quilts for the other kids yet, but I rather intend to!

Rocket Quilt

Ryan was very into space for a while.  I made this quilt for him in a size that would be perfect for nap time at kindergarten or day care.  He did use his all last year in kindergarten.  I used an outer space print for the background of the rocket, and then the planets in the border.  I especially like the silver satin because it adds a fun texture as well as a nice visual feature.  It was a little more trouble to use it, because I had to use use fusible interfacing to keep it from raveling away.  Ryan loves his quilt, and I sold two more that I hope are equally well loved!

Shrinky-Dink Snow Globes

This is one of the crafts we did in my class for 4-year-olds at Vacation Bible School this summer.  We used Shrinky-Dinks and baby food jars (stage 2) to make snow globes.  First I drew apples on 4 x 6 in. pieces of Shrinky-Dink plastic, leaving space at the bottom of the apple for the stand (the theme was Big Apple Adventure, so a "souvenir" snow globe seemed like a cute craft).  Then I let the kids color them.  It was easy to tell which side they should color because the words were backwards!  You have to color on the opposite side you drew the picture on, or the outlines will smear.  The kids had to wear smocks because the instructions said to use PERMANENT marker.  Plus since it's in water, a washable marker would just wash right off!  We used Sharpies, and you can see that they still bled some.  The water is pink.  After coloring, I trimmed the corners off the rectangles to make them easier to fit into the jars.  Then I baked them according to manufacturer's directions and, while they were still warm, bent the bottoms of the apples into a 90º angle (like an L) to make a base.  Then we let the kids put glitter in the jars.  I used super-heavy-duty glue (a waterproof one made for metal, plastic, and glass) to attach the base of the apple to the inside of the lid of the baby food jar.  After the glue had dried.  We filled the jars with water, up to the threads, then used the same glue to go around the rim of the the jar, and inside the lid where the rim would connect.  Then we screwed the lids on and waited for the glue to dry. Some of the glitter floats and some sinks, but all of it swirls around when you turn the snow globe.  The one pictured here was made at the beginning of June, a little more than two months ago, and has not leaked. 

Desk Decorations

letter ornaments

 

Elizabeth's E








Another one of our projects this summer was making these desk decorations.  Actually I don't know what they are.  I meant for them to be bookends, but my horrible number sense made that impossible.  I got enough letters for each of 10 kids to have two letters, and then got a bag of assorted wooden blocks, making sure that there were 10 blocks in the bag.  Not 20, like I would actually need for them to make bookends.  So.  These are maybe paperweights, or just a cute personalized ornament for desks (at home, of course, or maybe Mom or Dad's work desk) or dressers.  The kids each painted their own letters and then we used wood glue to glue them to both sides of the blocks.   

Soap!

  

  




frogs and turtles



boy stuff



Yesterday, we made soap!  It's SO easy, it barely counts as a craft.  But it's neat to do, and can be used up, or given away as a gift that can actually be used, not just take up space.  I did this project with 3- to 9-year-olds.  It could be messy without a good deal of supervision, but at least most of the mess is soap, so it should be easy to clean!  ;-) I got all this stuff at Hobby Lobby - they have an aisle with all the supplies together, so you don't even have to go looking for stuff.  The glycerin soap comes in a bag.  It's blocks of clear soap that you melt in the microwave.  It takes about 45 - 60 seconds to melt.  Then you stir in the color and scent (found in that same aisle!), pour into molds, and let harden.  You can pop them out of the molds in about an hour, maybe sooner, and they're done.  This morning, Libba Lu and I made an extra one each, and we added really fine glitter when we stirred in the scent and color.  You can add other stuff, but that was all I could think of.  The green wand and the pink shoe have glitter in them.

girly stuff





Shrinky-Dink Hair Barrettes



Finished barrettes by Elizabeth and her friend





 Libba working on her flower barrette (in her princess dress-up gown).

 Yesterday we used Shrinky-Dinks to make hair barrettes.  Shrinky-Dinks are so much fun!  It's clear plastic that you can color on, and then put in the oven to shrink and thicken, just like when we were little (I remember doing Smurf ones), but now they have blank ones you can draw on yourself, frosted looking ones, and even ones you can put through the printer.  We used the clear kind that you draw on yourself.  I drew a butterfly and flowers, and then let the girls (nearly 4 and almost 5 years old) color them with markers (EEK - they have to be permanent).  After you draw the design, you have to turn the plastic over to the other side to color it, or else the drawing will smear.  Then you cut the shapes out, bake them in the oven for a few minutes, and when you take them out, they're like 1/3 of the size they were, but much thicker.  It's neat to watch them shrink, because they curl up and kind of writhe around, but unfortunately, my oven window is too dirty for the kids to see through.  

Libba's finished butterfly barrette and flower barrette in progress       



After that, I cut three pieces of 1/8 inch ribbon, tied a knot in the middle of the bundle, slid the knot onto an alligator hair clip, and attached the Shrinky-Dink shapes with hot glue.  Then I tied little knots at the ends of the ribbons, and they were done.  The girls loved wearing barrettes they helped make themselves!



The girls showing off their barrettes









Summer Crafts for kids!

This is one of the crafts we did this summer.  I had nine kids, ages 3 - 9, make these (not actually building the box; we got those from Hobby Lobby).  We had several different designs, but the other kids took theirs home with them.  These are Libba's (I helped with the glue), Ryan-lion's, and Christopher's.  We started with a plain wooden star-shaped box with a magnetic lid.  Then we painted with craft paints, let dry, and added embellishments.  For the star stickers (which glow in the dark!) we glued them on, then pained over them with Mod Podge.