I keep our board books in the banana crate and puzzles in the basket. This is the temporary barricade so Owen won’t eat the rocks out of the fireplace.

I couldn’t resist these fuchsia mums at Kroger. Could you?

I suggest every one should [...]]]> I need some pink every once in a while. This time, the mantle got it.

I keep our board books in the banana crate and puzzles in the basket. This is the temporary barricade so Owen won’t eat the rocks out of the fireplace.

I couldn’t resist these fuchsia mums at Kroger. Could you?

I suggest every one should make a heart garland. Cooper helped me paint a giant piece of paper with watercolors: rose madder, cadmium red light, and magenta. Once it was dry, I cut it up into hearts and used some red and white baker’s twine (thanks, Jess) to sew them together. Easy and awesome.

It’s time for me to start making my big plans for Valentine’s Day next week. I like to do a special dinner and valentines for my boys. And of course something thoughtful for Chris. I’ll let you know what I come up with.

You might find one of these links helpful in your own planning:

Valentine’s Day 2011
How to make a pop-up heart card
How to make an accordion book
How to make a snake book
Kiddo valentines 2010
Kiddo valentines 2011

I spent most of the day Thursday packing up our Christmas decorations. I always have trouble with my berry garlands — the berries get all stuck together and smashed when I store them — and I have a lot of garlands.

But then I had an idea (all by myself without [...]]]> It’s the last day of 2011! Crazy.

I spent most of the day Thursday packing up our Christmas decorations. I always have trouble with my berry garlands — the berries get all stuck together and smashed when I store them — and I have a lot of garlands.

But then I had an idea (all by myself without looking at Pinterest – ha!).

So here it is:

First, I cut down the sides of a big black trash bag and opened it up flat.

Then, I put the garland along one side. And rolled it up like a caterpillar.

Then I taped on a post it note to label the garland.

Ta-da!

When my three-year-old saw what I was up to he was so disappointed that “Christmas is over?!” and at the same time totally thrilled that I had made a giant snake.

After I wrapped up all the garlands, I covered both ends with two more black trash bags and I have one very big, sort-of heavy garland snake. Chris took it up in the attic. I’ll let you know next year if this was a good idea or not…

Just as an FYI: I only used a little scotch tape to hold each snake together because I want to reuse the bags next year. If I had used packing tape or duct tape I think that would make unpacking them trickier.

Happy New Year’s Eve!

This paper ball ornament is quick and easy. You can make enough of these for your entire tree in about an hour! And it’s a great project for your kiddos to help with. [...]]]> A newly acquired friend, Sara of Craft Snob, asked me to participate in her Ornament Parade. This is the tutorial I shared over there.

This paper ball ornament is quick and easy. You can make enough of these for your entire tree in about an hour! And it’s a great project for your kiddos to help with. Another great thing, is they store flat so they are easy to save for the next year or ship to a loved one as a gift for the holiday.

Enjoy!

How to Make a Paper Ball Ornament

Supplies

Paper
Circle punch (I used a 1.75″)
Double-sided tape (or glue)
Twine
Scissors
Bone folder (optional)

Step 1: Punch out at least 10 circles. For thick paper (cardstock) use fewer circles. For thin paper (computer paper) use more circles.

Step 2: Fold each circle in half and burnish with the bone folder.

Step 3: Tape (or glue) each folded circle on top of one another, making a big stack.

Step 4: Cut your twine (or ribbon) more than double the length of the diameter of your circles. Fold in half and tie a knot at the bottom. Place it in the stack of circles. Glue the first and last circle halves to each other so the ornament wraps around the twine. The knot keeps the twine from sliding through.

I’m going to make a bunch of these and then spray them with glitter. Doesn’t that sound fun?

Here is my report on our Valentine happenings.

There were decorations:

Remember the autumn leaf garland we made last fall? I’m still in love with it so we did it again, this time with hearts (and I didn’t even try to make the [...]]]> I know what you are thinking. Wasn’t Valentine’s Day more than a week ago?! Well. Yes.

Here is my report on our Valentine happenings.

There were decorations:

Remember the autumn leaf garland we made last fall? I’m still in love with it so we did it again, this time with hearts (and I didn’t even try to make the boys only use “Valentine” colors! I’m so proud of myself!). I love them (the boys and the hearts).

There was a game:

With all the boys around here (husband plus 3 little ones) I’ve learned that it’s not a holiday without a game and candy. So I made this game: Valentine Heart Bean Bag Toss Game.

I cut out 5 hearts from various colored paper and glued each heart to a paper plate. Then I cut up squares of paper from each of the 5 colors and put them in a bucket. And of course I filled a bucket with candy too.

The game is not revolutionary. Draw a paper. Toss the bean bag on to the heart that is the same color. Eat candy.

My boys love this sort of thing. (But now that I’m thinking back… I’m pretty sure the boys were all fighting while we played which cut the game short)

There was dinner:

In my mind, Valentine’s Day should be treated like birthdays. I let the family choose the menu and I give them little treats that I know they love. I want my family to feel special without making it complicated. So we ate pasta (Cooper’s request), broccoli (Max’s favorite), french bread (Chris’ guilty pleasure), sparkling grape juice in fancy cups (all the boys love this), and rice cereal (Owen doesn’t have many choices right now, haha).

The boys got gumballs and suckers. Cooper ate all of his gumballs before eating his pasta. Chris brought me roses (I love flowers) and sent me on a treasure hunt which lead me to a handwritten love note (you know I love letters!). I had the surprise to beat all surprises for Chris but I didn’t finish it until a week after Valentine’s Day (more on that later).

There was a party:

I invited a few friends over later in the week for brunch. We ate at the table and the kiddos ate outside on a picnic blanket (thank you Houston weather). It was pretty low key and lots of fun. My favorite moment was in the preparation for the get together. Max was at preschool, Owen was napping, and Cooper was playing with play-dough while I made cookie pops. Cooper was working at the kitchen table and it was so fun to listen to him play. I especially love his monster with all those eyes – that’s so he can find the princess (as explained by Cooper).

The end.

About a month ago I heard about the Green Grocery Bag Challenge on Sew, Mama Sew! and thought I’d give it a try. Even if I don’t wrap everything in reusable bags, I decided not to buy any new wrapping supplies this year and instead just get creative with what I have around the house. I’m [...]]]>

About a month ago I heard about the Green Grocery Bag Challenge on Sew, Mama Sew! and thought I’d give it a try. Even if I don’t wrap everything in reusable bags, I decided not to buy any new wrapping supplies this year and instead just get creative with what I have around the house. I’m already thinking I’ll wrap some of the bigger gifts for the boys in pillowcases but we’ll see how that goes.

I made these little burlap bags to wrap presents in. It was perfect because I was sending some gifts with my husband on the airplane last week and I think it’s still a rule that you can’t take wrapped gifts through security, right? Well, fabric bags were perfect because if they wanted to see inside it’s easy to open and easy to re-wrap.

I just made a simple bag with a twine closure (it’s not even drawstring – I’m trying to keep this wrapping stuff simple). Burlap on the outside. Muslin on the inside.

But then I thought it might be nice to have a special tag to go with these specially wrapped gifts. So I made some gifts tags that you are free to use! Merry Christmas!

There is a page of green tags and a page of red ones. I do not have a color printer at home but I love how they printed gray. I mounted mine on brown kraft paper but I’m sure all you creative folks out there will be able to make it your own.

Click on the links below to download the free gift tags to go with your green holiday wrapping!

CLICK HERE to download the green tags

CLICK HERE to download the red tags

I have a confession to make: I didn’t fill my advent calendar.

Phew. Got that off my chest. (Just so you don’t think I’ve got it all perfectly put together around here!)

Remember how I made this advent calendar last week? And thought of these ideas? Well, I [...]]]> (the view from my favorite spot in the house)

I have a confession to make: I didn’t fill my advent calendar.

Phew. Got that off my chest. (Just so you don’t think I’ve got it all perfectly put together around here!)

Remember how I made this advent calendar last week? And thought of these ideas? Well, I intended to write an activity on each slip of paper. But I never got around to it. The kids have been loving taking the papers out each day (fighting over it, actually). They don’t even know something is missing. Who knew taking out slips of paper could be the best thing ever?!

We are still doing some fun Christmas things from my list around here but not everyday. This season is just so busy!

For those of you still looking for Christ-centered advent ideas: I found 2 favorites.

+ Christmas Advent Calendar: This one is a scripture a day talking about different atributes of Christ.

+ Scripture Ornaments: This one is a collection of 25 questions and answers about the Christmas Story. I laminated mine and will use it every year.

Last year I made this “Merry Christmas” garland/banner/bunting (not sure what to call it). This year I thought I’d share how to make it. So easy – these could make great gifts to give your friends.

Gather your materials: - stack of muslin rectangles (mine are about 2.5″ by 4″) - chartpak colorless blender marker (you can buy these [...]]]>

Last year I made this “Merry Christmas” garland/banner/bunting (not sure what to call it). This year I thought I’d share how to make it. So easy – these could make great gifts to give your friends.

Gather your materials:
- stack of muslin rectangles (mine are about 2.5″ by 4″)
- chartpak colorless blender marker (you can buy these in art supply stores or online)
- bone folder (or old credit card)
- sewing machine
- iron
- jute twine
- the reverse image of the words you want printed with a laser printer

1. Fold over about 1/2″  of the muslin rectangle and press with your iron. Do this to as many pieces as the number of letters you need.

2. Print off the reverse image of the words you want. Make sure it’s printed from a laser printer. This will NOT work with an inkjet print. If you need to, go make a copy at the store. Use your blender marker to transfer one letter to each piece of muslin. Turn the letter right side down (so the toner is touching the muslin) and color on the back of the paper with your blender marker. Burnish it with your bone folder. Lift and discard the paper.

If you are lucky, your toddler will watch you the whole time and then leave his banana peel on the counter.

3. Lay the twine in the fold of each muslin square and sew them together. I used red thread and jute twine. Make sure you have your letters in the right order.

Hang it up and enjoy! See. I told you that was easy.

I just made and hung my advent calendar for this year. I decided not to unpack my calendar from last year (you can see pics here) for no good reason – just didn’t want to. So I made this one using a brown paper bag and construction paper. I cut open the bag and then folded [...]]]>

I just made and hung my advent calendar for this year. I decided not to unpack my calendar from last year (you can see pics here) for no good reason – just didn’t want to. So I made this one using a brown paper bag and construction paper. I cut open the bag and then folded up pockets and then sewed the dividers with my sewing machine. That didn’t really make sense. Just look at the photo. It was so simple to make and took about 20 minutes. I cut the construction paper small enough to fit in the pockets and wrote on it with a marker. (Hi-tech, right?!)

Here’s my list of activities for the advent this year:

1. Read a Christmas story
2. Make paper chains for the kiddo’s room
3. Play Christmas Memory
4. Hang the lights outside on the house
5. Make cookies
6. Make presents for Dad
7. Write and send a Christmas letter to a friend
8. Make and decorate gingerbread houses with friends
9. Read Christmas stories
10. Eat dinner picnic style by the Christmas tree
11. Go to the church Christmas party
12. Learn a new Christmas song
13. Play Christmas Bingo with friends
14. Visit a friend
15. Make ornaments (pine cones dipped in wax)
16. Do something nice for a friend
17. Make two paper toys: one for you and one for a friend
18. Make paper plate snowmen
19. Make up and perform a puppet show
20. Play a board game when Dad gets home from work
21. Drink sparkling cider with dinner
22. Go on a drive to look at the Christmas lights around town
23. Have a family talent show
24. Do something nice for someone else

Any other good ideas out there? Happy December!

I’m breaking away from my baby and kiddo tutorials this week so you can get prepared for Mother’s Day. I don’t live close enough to my mom to celebrate Mother’s Day in person (sniff sniff) so I try to send something meaningful in the mail. This year, I designed a little flag book with pockets that [...]]]>

I’m breaking away from my baby and kiddo tutorials this week so you can get prepared for Mother’s Day. I don’t live close enough to my mom to celebrate Mother’s Day in person (sniff sniff) so I try to send something meaningful in the mail. This year, I designed a little flag book with pockets that are just the right size for little notes, gift cards, photos, or anything else foldable. So you should have plenty of time to make it this week and ship it off to your mom – where ever she may be!

I’ve included a TON of photos to help make this as simple as possible. There is no sewing involved. And all the gluing can be substituted with tape if you want to skip dry times.

Leave a comment or email me if you have questions.

Here we go.

HOW TO MAKE A SMALL POCKET FLAG BOOK

SUPPLIES

+ 3 sheets of 9″ by 12″ paper (I used a double sided Amy Butler print)
+ 1 piece of paper for your covers that is at least 4″ by 9″ (I used a thick, rough handmade paper)
+ 1 piece of paper for the accordion that is at least 6″ by 14″ (I used a text weight paper, ie computer paper)
+ bone folder (optional)
+ glue and paintbrush
+ double sided tape

STEP 1: Make the pockets.

1. Start with one sheet of the 9″ by 12″ paper.

2. Fold in half (hamburger style) and crease with the bone folder. Unfold.

3. Choose which side of the paper you want to be the inside of the pockets. Lay this side face up. Take the bottom left corner and line it up with the center crease, making a triangle.

4. Take the top left corner and line it up with the center crease, making a triangle.

5. Fold paper in half (hot dog style). Unfold.

6. Fold the triangle half along the first center fold you made.

7. Fold in half along the crease you made in step 5.

8. Trim off the extra paper with an xacto knife or scissors. This is your pocket! It should be about 4″ square.

9. Make 2 more pockets following the same steps. (side note: you can make as many pockets as your little heart desires. The next steps of the tutorial would need to be adjusted for how ever many pockets you decide to make… email me if this is confusing and you need more pockets)

PART 2: Make the book block.

1. Start with your paper that is at least 6″ tall.

2. Measure 3/4″ from the edge and mark with the bone folder (I used my trusty 3/4″ guide made from binders’ board, but you can use a ruler and pencil for this). Crease. Continue folding accordion style the entire length of your paper. For 3 pockets, you need 14 sections (as shown here).

3. Spread glue (I used a paintbrush) in the second “valley” from the left.

4. Place one pocket in the glue with the edge lined up in the bottom of the valley (along the crease).

5. Now fold over the other side of the valley (already has glue on it) and press firmly. Now your first pocket is secure.

6. Skip one valley and put glue in the next one (can you see where the glue is?). Spread it around with a paintbrush.

7. Put in the second pocket the same way you did the first. This time, pay careful attention to the positioning – make sure you line up the top and bottom of the pocket with the first pocket. Fold over the other half of the valley (already has glue on it), just like you did with the first pocket.

8. Skip a valley and put glue in the next one (sound familiar?).

9. Put in the third pocket. Again, make sure it lines up perfectly with the other two pockets. Fold over the valley (already has glue on it) and press firmly.

10. Now, your book block should look like this. See how each pocket is glued into every other valley of the accordion fold? You will use the extra valleys on either side to secure the book block in the cover. That was the hardest part! You did it! Stick it under something heavy overnight (ie under a stack of books, a mattress, etc)

PART 3: Fitting the book block into the cover.

Here is what your book block looks like after you’ve pressed it overnight.

1. Trim off the top and bottom of the extra accordion folds so it’s flush with your pockets.

2. Lay the book block on your cover paper and use a ruler to mark the edge. (side note: I’m lazy when it comes to measuring. You could actually measure this out if you wanted. I prefer to use my book block and eyeball it.)

3. Tear or cut the paper.

4. Put double sided tape on the backside of the book block. NOT on the pocket. ONLY on the accordion (mine is white).

5. Carefully line up the book block on the right hand side of your cover paper. Press firmly so the tape sticks. The first pocket of the book block should be face up at this point.

6. Use your bone folder to mark the spine of the book block.

7. Lift up the book block and back cover so the spine rests on your desk. Mark along the book block edge again with your bone folder.

8. Fold the book all the way over so the back cover is now facing up.

9. Open the book back up. Put tape on the front accordion paper (again, mine is white). Fold back over the same way you did before and press firmly making sure the tape sticks to the cover.

This is what the cover and book block should look like. See how the tabs from the accordion folded paper are now attached to the cover paper? The pocket pages will turn easily.

10. Now it’s time to mark and trim your front cover. Lay the book block down and mark along the edge with your bone folder (or pencil).

11. Tear or cut the excess paper from the cover.

You did it! You made a book!

Part 4: Personalize and Package.

So what will you fill your pockets with? I had a few ideas:

+ old photos of the family (moms love those)
+ gift cards are just the right size
+ left over paint chips are great for writing notes on

There are so many options here so get creative and do something that will make your own mom smile.

I added a fabric flower (from this tutorial) and some twine to tie it all up. Pretty cute, I think!

Enjoy! Let me know how it goes!

I used this table setting at our Easter Brunch but it would work with any spring or garden party. The nest is made out of marshmallow and All Bran cereal.

A few weeks back, our friend invited me and the boys to make these darling chicken cupcakes. They [...]]]> This might be a little late, but I’m sharing anyway.

I used this table setting at our Easter Brunch but it would work with any spring or garden party. The nest is made out of marshmallow and All Bran cereal.

A few weeks back, our friend invited me and the boys to make these darling chicken cupcakes. They were so much fun to make and the kiddos loved it (especially eating the Jelly Bellys off their birds). Great idea for kids or adults.

AND… here’s a sneak peek at tomorrow’s tutorial:

With Mother’s Day right around the corner I thought you could use this. It’s a card/book with pockets so you can write an extra special mother’s day love note to your mom.

See you tomorrow!