Cowgirl T-Shirt Pillow

I made a t-shirt pillow for Jack years ago (see it here), but just recently made one to for Kate's bed. The original idea came from this blog post. We used a glow-in-the-dark Yosemite shirt that we'd picked up at a gift shop when we lived near there.  Maggie had outgrown the shirt, and it wasn't one I wanted to get rid of.  Such a fun project... and it takes about fifteen minutes.  Just sew up the neck, sleeves, and bottom, leaving a portion open at the bottom.  Stuff it, and then sew that last portion shut.

Superhero Training Camp

This past week was spring break for LCPS, and as always, I needed something for my kids to do.  My friends with the Las Cruces Playgroup and I put together a three-day camp.  And not just any camp, but a Superhero Training Camp!  With about 18 kids participating, we split them up into two groups (big kids and little kids) and then had moms (and at least a couple dads) walk them through different stations: obstacle course, a "skills training" activity, craft, and snack.  Super fun for our super kids.  Jack and Kate had their capes already from an AWANA superhero night last fall.  I found a quick tutorial for that here.  Seriously, I whipped up a last-minute one for Maggie in about half an hour. 

Back detail on the cape of "Super K"

Miss Maggie would NOT stand still for a good cape pic.  Ergh.

We set up the obstacle course every day so the kids could supposedly improve on their time each day.  It included:

Kicking a soccer ball around some cones

Crawling through several tunnels

Tossing a frisbee into a hula hoop

Climbing up a rock wall to save a baby at the top, then bringing the baby down the slide. Wheee!  I just love this picture of Miss Maggie.

Of course, wind wreaked havoc on our tunnel set-up.  And kids will be kids.

 

Every day, we planned a "skill-building activity" that would strengthen kids and give them the tools they needed to become a true superhero.  Day 1's activity was knocking over a wall (made with shoeboxes wrapped in butcher paper). 

And each day we had a craft that would help the kids pull their superhero identity together.  Day 1's craft was a mask.  I found a tutorial here and just simplified the craft a bit for our day camp by just using one layer of felt.  Although, as it turned out, the mask wasn't so durable, so in the future, following the tutorial would probably be a good idea.  The kids decorated them with buttons and little baubles and puffy paint (in some cases, waaaay too much puffy paint!). 

Kate's mask; I sewed the elastic on later

Our activity for Day 2 was throwing green ping-pong balls (which were supposed to represent Kryptonite) from one bucket into another. 

And Day 2's craft was super cool wrist cuffs.  Tutorial found here.  We had every mom bring a toilet paper roll, which we just cut into a cuff size and covered with felt (and, again, more buttons and baubles and puffy paint).  Then, we punched two holes on each of the cuff's ends and threaded some elastic string through to tie it up.

Of course, we had snack time every day.  Who can forget that?!?  Here's an actual picture of me with my girls!

Fueling up

Our craft for Day 3 was the BEST: Superhero Control Panels!  You know, so our little heroes would be able to activate their force field, or call their sidekick, or kick into high gear.  I found this tutorial here.  We had each mom bring an empty Jello box.  I spray-painted them and some straws and little styrofoam balls metallic silver.  I used scissors to poke a hole in the balls, then attached them to the straws with a little hot glue.  And then I duct-taped the straw-and-ball "antenna" onto the Jello box. 

A box of  control panels pre-craft time

Here's a better look.

We used adhesive craft foam to decorate them.

Our Day 3 snack mom was super-ambitious and brought all sort of fun (and accessorized!) treats.

Star-shaped Rice Krispies treats with fun labels

Snacks were enjoyed immensely. 

And, with that, our three days of superhero training were over.  We sent each kid home with a certificate (found here) that could be personalized with their real name, superhero name, and special powers.  All in all, the kids had a blast!

Appliqued T-Shirts

My MOPS group had a Pinterest meeting the other day.  We were all encouraged to bring crafts or projects inspired by our online browsing.  Of course, I had a million projects I could have brought... but had to narrow it down!  I ended up presenting a few of my favorite appliqued t-shirts.
 

Jack's robot Valentine's Day shirt from a few years ago

Another of Jack's Valentine's Day shirts: an alien?  A monster?  I'm not sure.

This Valentine's Day applique was inspired by the fabric.

Perfect for Easter: an egg with ribbon stripes

Pink felt tulips, a little embroidery, and ric-rac stems

A sweet little strawberry

Dragon Applique T-Shirt

Jack wanted a dragon shirt, so I got the idea for an applique from this blog post.  More and more, he's growing up waaaaay too fast, so I'm happy he chose to go with a cute, cuddly dragon, rather than a scary, fire-breathing one. 

Girl's Skirt Made from Boy's Jeans

I love re-purposing and upcycling clothes for my kids.  Seeing as how we had a boy first, then a girl, I didn't want to just get rid of all his jeans.  I wanted to use them for my girl!  Found a tutorial here for turning a pair of boys' jeans into a denim skirt for little girls.  And it turned out super cute!