Sleeping Bag for a Doll

Found a tutorial for a doll's sleeping bag here.  I just had to make one for Kate's newest doll!  This simple project didn't take much more than an hour. 

Look how happy she is!  She now sleeps by Kate's bed like this every night.

Felt Bandages for Dolls and Stuffed Animals

This was a fun little project to whip up.  I just cut flesh-colored felt into a long oval shape, then sewed Velcro on the back to make bandages for all Kate's dolls and animals.  She keeps them in her new doctor's kit. 

"Mommy" Tattoo T-shirt Pillow

Another old t-shirt, one of Jack's that I couldn't bring myself to get rid of, made into a pillow.

And, as an added bonus, a picture of Jack wearing the shirt.  Eleven months old, for "Crazy Hair" day at his daycare, in Lathrop, California.  Absolutely precious.

Adding Ribbon to Jeans

I'm constantly searching for ways to upcycle Jack's old clothing into something girly for Kate.  One simple solution for a pair of boys' jeans?  Sew a cute little ribbon trim on the bottom hem!

See?  I couldn't just get rid of these Calvin Kleins!

My little ham on her rocking elephant

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!

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!

"La Fleur" Playmat

I made this "La Fleur" playmat when Kate was a baby (after purchasing the pattern from this website).  I finished it right as she began crawling at eight months (of course!).  So, considering that fact, and all the effort I put into it, the playmat has never actually been a "playmat"... but a wall hanging instead.

Look at how cute Kate was!  Those eyes!

The playmat's actually had quite a journey.  We moved from California two-and-a-half years ago, and stopped in Idaho to visit my family for two months before coming to New Mexico.  Sometime during that trip, a jar of tahini burst open in the little trailer we were pulling behind the van and spilled on the playmat.  Try as I might, I never fully removed the stain.  And, since Kate's sharing a room with Jack, the playmat is hanging in Maggie's room for now.

Our Halloween

 I loooove Halloween.  Mostly for the costumes.  I love seeing creativity at work.  I've taken pride, so far, in piecing together my kids' costumes each year, instead of just buying a complete costume at the store.  However, I've noticed that, with three kids, homemade costumes can cause a little stress.  I try to start planning a couple months in advance, but this year I was also a little easier on myself.  Heck, I didn't make any single piece of Maggie's whole costume.  I did find her dress at a consignment sale, though, so that satisfied my thrifty self.  And I tried to plan a few fun activities for the kids that afternoon, between naptime and trick-or-treating, so we didn't get too antsy. 

Jack putting together his jack o' lantern busy bag.  It was Crazy Hair Day at his school (thus the orange-striped hair).

This was a fun project!  Lay out wax paper, make a web with Elmer's glue, then sprinkle on silver glitter.  Let it dry for awhile, then peel off the wax paper and voila!  A sparkly spider web.  Fun for table decor.  I got the idea here. 

Here are the kiddos.  Dorothy, Hello Kitty, and Batman... what a group!  I made a scrap tutu for Kate's costume, along with her "ears."  For Jack, I appliqued the Batman logo onto his shirt and then whipped up a cape.

Trick-or-treating at Grandma Pat's house.  It was only after I took these pictures that I noticed Kate's headband was backward.  Ugh!

Here's a close-up of the bow turned the correct way.  It was a fun and easy project!  I found that Youtube tutorial here. 

Strawberry Applique Onesie and Matching Bell-Bottomed Jeans

My adorable model doesn't like to sit still and smile for the camera, so it's a little difficult to get a good picture of her outfit.  But I designed this strawberry applique for her onesie and added a little ruffle to the bottom of some jeans that used to be Jack's.  So sweet!