Kid's Stuff

These were fun toddler crafts.

The fish is stuffed with newspaper, stapled shut, and sprinkled with mashed Cornflakes.



I loved this idea, but would use sturdier paper next time, maybe even cardboard. The licorice is just taped on the back, but hot glue would work best.

Nativity Sign

I've been seeing a lot of sillouhette nativity scenes recently, and completely fell in love. I kept thinking they were pretty - and then I thought "Oh! That would make it so incredibly easier!"

 And it did. This may be my favorite sign so far. I especially like the way the stable scene seems to light up when the light hits it at night. Merry Christmas!



A Fall Sign

I wanted to do a sign for fall, but I wanted one that could last all season, even through Halloween and Thanksgiving, so I decided to go with pumpkins instead of say, "Welcome Fall" or a turkey.

Turns out, I am not so great at painting circles. This sign did not turn out the way I was envisioning, but I wound up liking it ok anyway. For the "leaves" (that don't look like leaves... the pumpkins were supposed to be nestled in a pile of leaves... yeah...) I cut little stamps out of foam and just squished them on over and over. Happy fall a little late everyone! 

Applique Pillows - A Beginner Project

These pillows were my first experience with Applique. Be kind! They were fun, and turned out to be a good starter project. If you are looking for a first project, here are some tips:

1. Find a shape with straight lines only, or very few gently curves.

2. Also choose a simple shape, the larger the easier.

3. Always use an iron-on tranfer, like Wonderunder, to make applique easier.

4. Knits and other stretchy fabrics are hard!

Scrapbooked Clock Face

This is one of my favorite craft ideas. Simply pop the front off a cheap clock, pull the arms off (they'll go back on - if you're gentle when you pull them off!). Then you can either decorate on the face provided, or use it to trace your own and apply your own numbers, as I did here. I love my Cricut! This one matches Cadence's room. The little bugs are cut directly out of her wallpaper border.

Bulletin Board Mail Organizer

This was so fun to design and make. It has room around the edges to use push-pins for notes and such; the ribbon along the bottom has funky paper clips, there is a slot for writing beneath each envelope holder... Mainly I just loved using ribbon and scrapbooking supplies in a sewing project! Since this wasn't for me, I don't know how practical it would up being - but it was fun to make, so that's ok!

Jeans Purses

These were somewhat difficult for me, since at this point I had done very little sewing. The basic concept was to cut the top off a pair of little boys jeans, line them, then add handles and a "belt".

In retrospect they look kind of sloppy, but I still love the idea - and they were perfect for the purpose I had in mind. I gave them to the nieces for Christmas :)

I also made little coin purses, which are super easy, even if you've never sewn before. A great starter project, and they can be adapted for SO many different uses. I'll try to do a short tutorial later.