An Old Suitcase Made New!

I decoupaged this old thrift store suitcase for O months ago using an old, torn up children's book (our favorite book from when we were children). My mom was glad to see the very used and torn book being put to good use :) This was a fun project that is one of O's handmade birthday gifts.

I decoupaged the inside of the suitcase using scrapbook paper. Check back to see how the suitcase will be used :)

Cloth Baby Shoes

My mom and I made this pair of shoes for Little Kicker last week while O and I were at her house. It was a bit more complicated than we expected, and it took FOREVER! We both said this would be the first and last pair of shoes we made, but we were so pleased with the end result that I've already picked out the fabric for 2 more pairs of shoes. My mom also thinks we should enlarge the pattern to make a matching pair for O. You can find the pattern and directions here.

More Appliques...Onesies This Time :)

It's a summer of E babies! Two of our friends recently had baby girls whose names begin with E, and our Little Kicker will likely have an E name, too. To make these onesies, I printed an e on the computer to use as a pattern. I made the gift onesies to match another handmade gift that I'll post about soon, and I made Little Kicker's onesie to match O's O shirt.

A Pseudo Pillowcase Dress

I've been wanting to make a pillowcase dress for O since last summer, and it was so easy that I wish we'd done it sooner. I'm calling it a pseudo pillowcase dress since we didn't actually use a pillowcase to make the dress :) To get the measurements for the dress, we held the fabric up to O and decided that we wanted it to be 18 inches long with a 2 inch hem. We wrapped the fabric around her to get the width :) We then followed the directions on Maya Made for cutting out the arm holes and hemming the arm holes and neckline. For the ribbon, we decided to deviate from the directions a bit. We used 2 ribbons and tied them at her shoulders. I keep saying "we," but my mom really did all the work. I was just the supervisor :) I think that new pillowcase dresses and lazy days skirts will be on my Spring to-do list each year for my girlies!

O's Library Bag

I've wanted to make a library bag for O for a while, and I finally decided what to put on it. The bag came from Hobby Lobby (it was 50% off and only cost 2 dollars!). I printed the word "read" in my chosen font and size, cut out the letters to use as patterns, cut the letters from fabric, and appliqued them to the bag. The bag has 3 pockets on the other side which will be perfect for booksmarks, a book light, and O's library card (when she's old enough to get one!). I'm very happy with the result, and I'm looking forward to more applique projects!

How to Applique...A Tutorial

1) Trace your pattern on the applique paper. I use Steam a Seam 2 and LOVE it!


2) Peel off the backing and place the pattern on your fabric. Press firmly so it will stick to the fabric.


3) Cut the pattern out of the fabric.

4) Peel the paper off the back of the pattern and place it on your t-shirt.


5) Iron the pattern for 10 to 15 seconds twice or follow the directions that come with your applique paper.

6) You're finished! Show your child her new shirt and enjoy her excited reaction!

Ring Toss Game

I saw this fun game on a friend's blog a few months ago, and I've wanted to make it with O ever since. It's very easy to make.
1st fill a couple (or 3) bottles with dry rice.

Then make rings out of pipe cleaners.

Then play the game. We practiced saying the color words in Spanish as we threw the rings.

Resist Painting Silhouette

After seeing this great idea, I knew we had to try it! Since I'd already made a silhouette of O for Elliott for Father's Day, I just traced around that silhouette on contact paper and cut it out. I then pressed the contact paper silhouette onto an 8 x 10 canvas, and O painted. Instead of watercolors, O painted with tempera paint. She really enjoyed herself, and I was surprised by how into it she was. She was kneeling down to get eye level with the canvas as she painted :)
I am so happy with the end result, and I think painting will make a great birthday present for O's Guh-guh! I am also looking forward to trying this same technique with handprints, which would make great Christmas gifts for grandparents!

O asked to do more sticky paper paintings, so I cut out another silhouette on Thurday. This time we used both pieces of the contact paper, and we are so happy with the results!

Here are the paintings before I pulled off the contact paper.

Here they are after removing the contact paper.
Elliott really likes this one...good thing since it's going to be his birthday present!



O wants to hang this one in her sister's room :)

I am also really excited about turning these paintings into scrabble tile pendants!

Stepping Stones for Father's Day

We made stepping stones for O's Daddy, Grandaddies, and Grandpa. This was an easy and fun project. To make the stepping stones, Elliott mixed mortar mix according to the instructions on the bag. He then put the mix into old cake tins that I had sprayed liberally with cooking oil. After smoothing the mix and letting it sit for a couple of minutes, O made either footprints or a handprint in the midddle of the mix. She then decorated around the footprints or handprints with stones, and I wrote the year with a pencil. We let the stepping stones dry for 24 hours before taking them out of the cake tins. They are a little crumbly around the edges, but hopefully they will harden completely within a few days.

O was very proud of her creations, and I am SO happy with how they turned out!

Visual Stimulation Blocks

I made this set of visual stimulation blocks for Little Kicker while I was making the color blocks for Caroline. I followed the same steps, except I didn't think about painting the first blocks, so they don't look at nice. Also, I decided to use 3 different sizes of blocks for added visual interest. I haven't finished these blocks because I plan to put black and white pictures of each of us (including Little Kicker) on them, so I'm waiting until after she's born (obviously!) to do that :) These blocks will be one of her handmade Christmas gifts.
I left the blocks on O's table after I took the pictures, and she was immediately drawn to them :)

Matchy, Matchy...Shirts for Sisters

Appliqueing shirts may be my new craft obsession! It's so much fun, and it's so fast and easy! The patterns and directions are from this book. The directions indicated that the edges did not need to be sewn, so I just hope the edges don't fray. O is VERY excited to have shirts to match her sister's shirts.


 






 







I also made another "O" shirt for O since hers will soon be too small.




You will definitely be seeing more matching appliqued shirts if you continue to read this blog! O has requested a horse shirt next :)