Dr. Seuss Week

I have been reading to Kelsey regularly for quite a while now. Usually before bed but she also has a selection of books that she looks at throughout the day. I’m pretty sure she thinks the library is heaven because she gets to pull out book and after book and flip through them all. Some of her favorites are her Dr. Seuss books, some of which were my husbands when he was younger and some of which family has given to us. (Looking to take advantage of Target’s Dr. Seuss sales this month to pick up a few more if I can find the ones I’m looking for.)

My mother is the sewing genius in the family and came across Dr. Seuss fabric last year. She made Kelsey a quilt with it. Earlier this year, she had enough left over to make her pillowcase dress, too. There was just a strip left over of the trim so she gave me that to make a matching hair clip. Here’s what I came up with.

I started out by using this layered fabric flower by Nest Pretty Things as a starting point for the shape of the layers. With the strip of fabric I had, I ended up with two pieces about the same size and a third smaller one of squares. I cut them all according to the instructions.

Since all my layers were the same print I decided to add a layer of ribbon to add a little dimension and tie in some of the colors from the dress. I cut four pieces of ribbon the same length as the width if the larger layers and cut a V into the ends. I then laid the in a “star” shape.

I hot glued all the layers together and topped it off with a red button – side note: I need to learn how to make bottle tops because that might have been cuter for this one. A then glued it to a ribbon covered hair clip.

It has been a while since I could keep a headband on Kelsey’s head but she has been into putting hats on her head lately. My mother-in-law happened to make her a red knit hat (with super cute, matching mittens on a string) so I stuck the hair clip on that and she’ll wear it.

Kelsey was set to attend a couple Dr. Seuss events around town including running around Target!

The beauty of the pillowcase dress is that it will fit for a while so hopefully she’ll be able to wear it again next year. She’s not ready for any real activities like crafts but I have a whole Pinterest board of ideas of things to do with her next year!

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Goals for 2012

It’s a new year and, so far, it’s been a busy one. This time last year I was getting used to the reality that I had a newborn. Now, that bundle of baby is a running, squealing, opening cabinets toddler! I still see some of my little baby in there, but everyday I know she’s becoming more of a little girl.

Towards the end of December I started thinking about what my resolution for 2012 would be. I am not any good at actually sticking to many of them but I thought that I’d give myself some goals for the year. I have been trying to get more comfortable in the kitchen and I have been enjoying trying new crafts so I think I can actually stick to this for the year.

It comes down to confidence. I, sadly, feel like I’ve been losing a lot of it recently. It’s time to start building some back up.

Goal #1: Make or use something new in the kitchen every month.

There are lots of recipes I see that sound good but I chicken out when I see an ingredient or a technique that I don’t know. It’s time to face them head on!

January’s Challenge - My husband and I wanted to do a smash cake photo shoot for Kelsey’s first birthday. I got it in my head that I wanted to make her a healthy cake. So began the research, then the obsessing. A couple of days before our first date (we had to reschedule because of weather) worrying about whether or not it would turn out alright and would it look good in the pictures got the better of me and I decided to order a little cake from Publix.

At the MacDill Enlisted Spouses Meeting, it was suggested that the theme for the potluck before the meeting should be to make something you’ve never made before. I decided this would be a good time to go ahead and try to make a cake from scratch. I even made the icing! The Banana Cake and Banana Glaze came out moist and tasty.

However, I do stand by my decision. It didn’t come out of the pan like I thought it would so I would have been panicking for the photos but it turned out just fine for the meeting. Kelsey even ate a little of it! (She hasn’t really been interested in any cake so far so I’m curious how our photo shoot is going to come out.)

My first cake and it's from scratch!

 

Goal #2: Try out a new craft or DIY each month.

This one may be a little trickier to keep up with but I’m going to give it my best shot.

 

Goal #3: Make a pillowcase dress for Kelsey.

Sounds easy, right? However, if you know me at all, you’ve probably just fallen off of your seat. I’ll wait for you to get back up. Why is it so shocking, you ask? Because it involves sewing. So, the first step in getting this one done is going to be to finally really learn how to use the machine my poor mother dragged half way across the country to take to me while we lived in Dayton a few years ago that I have yet to use.

 

Wish me luck and here’s to a great 2012!

Butterfly Hair Clip

Simple Butterfly Hair Clip

January has turned out to be a pretty busy month with a bunch of late December and January birthdays and other events. We had a birthday party to go to on December 31, participating in the Disney World Kid’s Race on January 7 and heading over the day before, followed by a party on the 8th. A party on January 14 which we’ll miss because we’ll be on the road to Miami for my cousin’s daughter’s little girl’s party on the 15th. Finally, Kelsey’s party on the 21st with family from both sides in town all that weekend and Gasparilla the weekend after.

Most of the birthday kids are girls and they are all getting a hair clip of some kind along with their gift. Some are getting Flower and Ribbon Combo Hair Clips that I already made. Others are getting some of my new favorite, the Loopy Flower Hair Bow by Sweet and Sassy. I made one to directions for Kelsey’s Christmas outfit but I found it was just a bit too “3D” for me so I’ve been playing with just one or two layers and incorporating tulle. I made ones using the middle layer dimensions for all the nieces for Christmas.

1. 8″ length only

2. 8″ length only with Mickey bottle top

3. 8″ length, 2 pieces of square tulle, 6″ length

4. 8″ length only with 4 circles of tulle

One of the outfits I was giving as a present had a few butterflies on the pant leg and I decided that it I needed to try a butterfly hair clip to match it. I started by cutting two 4″ pieces and two 5.5″ pieces for the wings and glued them into teardrop shapes.

Then, I cut a piece of ribbon that would be both the clip cover and the body of the butterfly. I held the ribbon in the clip and ran a bead of glue down the center and glued the wings into position.

I then ran another bead of glue down the middle, folded the ribbon over and glued it down. I then finished by glueing to the back side of the clip. Remember to heat seal the ribbon.

It’s nothing too special but I think they came out really cute – I made one to give and one to keep!

Pumpkin Fun and Yummies

I was so excited for Halloween to roll around this year. I’ve had Kelsey’s little cow costume since befre she was born so I’ve been looking forward to seeing her in it for just as long. I was also looking forward to taking her to a pumpkin patch. She started walking the week or so before we went so I was hoping she would want to pick up the pumpkins. No luck there, but for some reason she really liked grabbing the stumps of the vines. At two different patches she at least got to touch them and other new sensations like straw and we got some great pictures.

Clothes:

In the picture on the left, Kelsey is wearing a pumkpin headband and holding a candy corn doll that my mother-in-law crocheted for her. In the picture to the right, I used my Ribbon Flower technique with some Halloween ribbon in a pinwheel on top and a glitter pompom for a Halloween hair clip and found a little pumpkin iron-on patch to decorate a onesie for an inexpensive Halloween outfit paired with other clothes we already had.

In the middle, she’s wearing the cow costume we got half off the November 1st last year and I added a ribbon to it. We already found two costumes for her for next year for $5 each at Old Navy! I now get to spend the next year planning our family costume.

Pumpkin Carving:

We made sure to pick up some pumpkins for carving and the Thursday before Halloween we finally got around to doing them. It has been a while since we’ve carved pumkins and I forgot how much work it is, but we had a good time anyways. I found a jack-o-lantern template I liked online then redid the teeth so they would resemble Kelsey’s little grin, with two teeth on top with a gap and two little ones on the bottom.

She likes to finger paint with her food now so I thought she’d have fun playing with the pumpkin goo but it turns out she’s not a fun of the mess. She poked it a couple times but wanted nothing to do with it touching her. At least she had a good time with the spoon. She did, however, still manage to get it all over her, even her hair, and even sat in it!

As my husband did the final carving, I sorted all the seeds out. I had never made roasted pumpkin seeds before so I thought this would be a good opportunity. After looking around for recipes/instructions online I decided to go with the following. I’ve been snacking on them daily!

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

• Spread pumpkin seeds out on a baking sheet to dry overnight.
• Drizzle olive oil and use your fingers to stir and coat all the seeds.
• Sprinkle cajun spice mix over all of them.
• Bake at 200 degrees for 1 hr 15 min.
• Store in an airtight container.

Yummies:

Earlier in the month, we had a Make It, Bake It, Grow It Auction as a fundraiser for MacDill Enlisted Spouses Club and I decided to make this Libby’s Pumpkin Cranberry Bread recipe as mini loaves. I had raisins on hand so I decided to use them instead of cranberries.  I made 2 plain mini loaves and 3 with raisins and still had enough for a regular loaf for us to keep. I also used the Kitchen Aid mixer by myself for the first time – talk about becoming domesticated!

The plain ones sold pretty well, but not as many takers for the raisin ones. Who knew there were so many people that don’t like raisins in anything? The loaf we made for ourselves at the house did not last long.

Next up for pumpkin fun? I am going to attempt to make pumpkin puree. I haven’t decided which method I’m going to try yet between these two sites. Wish me luck!

• The Pioneer Woman: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/10/make-your-own-pumpkin-puree/
• Fun Free of Cheap: http://www.funcheaporfree.com/2010/11/saving-craving-savings-tip-of-day-even.html

In addition to using some of the puree as baby food I’m hoping to try a pumpkin recipe or two. Who knows? I may even attempt a pumpkin pie from scratch with my Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix!

I hope you had a great Halloween weekend and are enjoying Fall where ever you are!

Fall Fabric Wreath

Fall Fabric Wreath

Fall has come (in waves) to Tampa, Fl. I’m blogging while enjoying my homemade pumpkin spice iced coffee and with the windows open. Kelsey is playing with her fall-themed sensory box and books on the floor. We finally picked up some pumpkins and went to a pumpkin festival this weekend and plan to make some jack-o-lanterns later this week.

I little while ago, I picked up some fabric with coupons and found a large piece of cardboard that I could cut in to. I decided I would try my hand at a wreath for the front door – thank you Pintrest for giving me way too many ideas. I just wanted to keep mine simple and easy.

To start, I cut out a circle shape from the piece of cardboard. Then, I cut the brown fabric into 1/8 of a yard strips. I folded the sides in so the edges of the fabric would be covered and wrapped it around the circle, it took two strips to cover it, hot glueing down the ends as needed.

Next, I made the rosettes. I used one 1/4 of a yard strip and two 1/8 of a yard strips. There are tons of tutorials online to make them if you are looking for more instruction. Basically, I folded over the edges and ironed them down then twisted and wrapped like making a bun, hot glueing occasionally to keep it all together. Then, I glued it to a piece of felt and trimmed the felt so it wouldn’t show.

I then glued the rosettes to the fabric covered circle. I also glued some extra felt to the back to give it just a little more support. Finally, I cut one more 1 inch strip of fabric and attached it to the wreath with a larks head knot and made a bow for it to hang from.

Pretty simple, but it’s light weight – I hate things banging around when the door opens and closes. Since I think it went pretty well, I may try to get a little fancier and make a holiday one.

Bonus project: Fabric Flower Hair Clip

Before I cut down and made the rosettes, I cut out some circles for a fabric flower hair clip. Here’s my favorite one, but I made this one with just one layer and a gem.

Ribbon Turkey and Caterpillar Hair Clips

Is it bad that I am already preparing for Fall and Winter holidays? I already have most of everyone’s Halloween costumes, a dress for Kelsey for Thanksgiving dinner, a Christmas dress for Kelsey, and I’ve started planning her 1st birthday party in January.

TURKEY:

The latest Oriental Trading catalog came in the mail the other week and a little pin craft caught my eye. I decided that I would try to make it myself as a hair clip. Grab the glue gun!

Turkey Inspiration:

I started out by covering a hair clip with yellow ribbon (brown may have been better, but I only had enough for the face!). I cut 5 different pieces of ribbon about 4-5 inches to be the tail feathers. Glue the loop together and glue them to the hair clip with the handle down.

Then I cut 2, 3 inch pieces of brown ribbon for the face. I folded over and glued one end of each and heat sealed the other end. Glue on a googly eye to each folded over end, then glue in a steep X shape. Cut a beak and wattle from yellow and red felt, respectively, and glue on under eyes.

Glue on to the hair clip, on top of the tail feathers.

CATERPILLAR:

Since I was getting things out for the turkey hair clip anyways, I decided to try to make a caterpillar hair clip for Kelsey to wear to a “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” storytime/play group meetup that we were going to. Who knows, maybe she’ll get to wear it again at some point. I have made the little pom-pom caterpillar craft before and used that as my starting off point, but wanted to use the ribbon I already had.

I actually didn’t cover the alligator clip I used, but it is an option to cover it in green ribbon. I glued on two leaves from fake flowers left over from flower hair clips for the caterpillar to sit on.

I cut 4 different colors of ribbon to about 2 inch pieces and glued them into loops. I cut a thin piece to about 2 inches and glued it on to the back of the ”head” in a V shape for antenna. Finally, I glued them on to the leaves in a row to form the body.

Caterpillar hair clip was a hit!

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Baby Clothes Size Dividers

I’ve had Kelsey’s clothes organized since before she was born, but it wasn’t until she started doing some growing that I realized hanging clothes dividers (like at stores) would be helpful to note where one size stopped and the next one started in her closet. A few months late, but better late than never right?

I decided to make a set myself. The good thing about doing them yourself is you can make them to match what ever color scheme or theme you would like. Here is how you can make a set, too.

I began by using Microsoft Publisher and opening a blank greeting card. Use the pre-designed covers as a jumping off point or create your own design and modify the colors and fonts to suite your tastes. Once you have your template, erase everything from the other three pages of the greeting card and copy and paste your template into those three pages. From there I just typed in the sizes on each of the four pages and printed two copies, then repeated until I made all the sizes and tags I wanted.

A list to help you get started:

• Preemie
• Newborn
• 0-3
• 3-6
• 6-9
• 9-12
• 12
• 12-18
• 18
• 24
• 36
• 2T
• 3T
• 4T
• 5T
• Keepsakes
• Costumes
• Dress Up
• Holidays

When you are done printing, cut apart the individual labels. Then play a matching game and find all the pairs. Tape or glue one of the set on to each side of a piece of cardstock. The cardstock should be a few inches longer than the labels since this will be cut into to make the hanger.

Sandwich the three pieces between two layers of contact paper or laminate them. I used contact paper (about $6 a roll) because I will use the rest to cover flash cards, cards for memory games, etc in the future. Trim off any excess contact paper or laminate but leave a little border of it to keep the seal around the hanger.

Finally, cut a slit from the side and then freehand or use a punch to make an opening where the hanger will rest on the rack. I suggest holding up your hanger to your closet rod to determine where the slit should go and how big the opening needs to be. For my wire system, about an inch from the top is where I put the slit and my opening is about the size of a dime.

All that is left to do is hang your dividers in the appropriate places and look at your organized masterpiece!

Organizing Cubbie Drawers:

I also made a few tie on labels for her drawers. Between the size of baby clothes and the space we have available, the best option for us was a nine cube shelf with canvas pull out cubbies that we put inside the closet.

I folded the contact paper together and cut it down to business card size pieces. Using a hole punch I made holes then ran a piece of ribbon through in a larks head then tied a knot on the other end. Attach the labels with a larks head to the handles of the cubbies. I used a Sharpie to write the contents. To make it re-writeable, laminate pieces of paper and use dry erase markers.

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Ribbon Minnie Mouse Ears

A bunch of people around here have been going to Disney World lately and I was kind of feeling left out. We are planning to take Kelsey sometime before we move away from Tampa, but I just can’t see the point of taking her until she’s old enough to interact with the characters and know what is going on.

My cousin gave Kelsey a size 6 month Minnie Mouse onesie when she was about one month old. At the time it seemed huge. I decided to put it on her this week and it just barely fits! Where does time go? Well, it just needed something – like, ears to match!

My sister showed me some Minnie Mouse ears hair clips on Etsy so I made these just playing around with the ribbon and supplies I had on hand.

It was pretty easy, I will do my best to walk you through what I did.

You will need:

• black grossgrain ribbon
• pink or red with white polka dot grossgrain ribbon (or another color)
• 3 alligator or pinch clips
• hot glue gun / glue sticks
• lighter
• scissors

I cut three pieces of black ribbon for each “ear”. The first about 2 inches, the second about 3 inches and the fourth about 4 inches. Heat seal the ends with the lighter and glue the ends together to form loops. Then, glue the loops nesting into each other; repeat. Cover two clips with black ribbon (see how to). Glue the nested loops standing up on the hair clips.

For the bow, I made a bow by wrapping the ribbon around my four fingers 2 1/2 times, with embroidery floss I tied the center together and fanned out the layers, then glued another piece of ribbon over the center. You could do a variety of styles of bows but this worked with the ribbon I already had. May I suggest I Like Big Bows for a wealth of tutorials.

The technique you use does not matter but to make it stand up to be seen sitting on top of the head I made a small loop with the ribbon. I glued that to the under side of the center of the bow, then glued it to the matching ribbon covered hair clip so it would stand up.

Clip the set on to a black crochet headband (or for older girls, glue on to a black headband) in the right places – two ears and the bow in the middle – and you have a cute set of Minnie Mouse Ears!!

Kelsey Mouse!

I think she looks adorable!

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Flower and Ribbon Combo Hair Clip

I’ve been working on a bunch of hair clips lately but I made one that I really liked and thought I’d share it with you. I love trying to figure out new ways to use the stuff I already have around here.

Flower and Ribbon Combo Hair Clip

Supplies:

• Fake Daisy (or similar) flower (Dollar Tree and on sale at Michael’s are where I usually get mine)
• Ribbon, 2 colors/patterns
• Accent (button, bottle top, rhinestone, patch, etc)
• Alligator clip (from Sally Beauty Supply)
• Glue gun and glue sticks
• Scissors
• Lighter

Instructions:

As with the Ribbon Flower, begin by covering a clip with ribbon. This step is not necessary but it does make for a neater final product. My method: Choose one of your ribbons, singe the edge to avoid fraying and hold it in the clip. Run a bead of hot glue along the top and fold the ribbon over. Cut the ribbon to length to cover the portion of the back wear your fingers hold the clip, singe the edge and glue down. I like to leave the bottom open, or uncovered.

Take one or more of the flowers apart and lay petal layers on top of each other. Use a dab of glue between each to make sure all layers stick together. (BONUS: If you just add your accent and slap it on a clip, you have your basic flower clip!)

Cut 3 pieces of the “under” ribbon to just shorter than the diameter of the flower. To create the points, fold the tip in half and snip on a diagonal.

Cut 3 pieces of the main ribbon so that when it is in a flattened loop it is just smaller than flower and “under” ribbon. Glue ends together to create the loop then flatten by glueing top to bottom of your loop.

Glue each piece of the under ribbon on to the flower, laying the first two in an “X” shape and the third up and down. Again, glue the loops to your flower and ribbon by laying the first two in an “X” shape and the third across (should fall in between the “under” ribbon).Glue your accent to the center on top of your stacked flower and ribbons.

Finally, run a bead of glue on the top of your ribbon covered clip and press onto the back to create a hair clip. You could use a different style of hair barrette, glue to headband, or even a pin back for different uses. I use my hair clips with crocheted headbands for my daughter.

Happy baby!

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Other hair clips I've made recently!

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No Sew, Upcycled T-shirt Coral Necklace

I’ve been looking at The Frugal Girls Chic & Crafty Link-Ups on Thursday evenings for the past couple of weeks and was inspired by all the DIY jewelry. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, played with it along the way, and came up with this necklace. By the way, I don’t sew, so this is made with a glue gun.

Supplies:

• a t-shirt that was on its last legs
• key rings I had left over from some other craft
• red coral charms, found at Michael’s in the jewelry clearance section
• scissors
• glue gun

Instructions:

Cut three thin strips across the t-shirt and two thicker strips.

Braid the three thin strips, weaving in the charms at approx. the middle of the whole braid.

Determine the length that you want the braided portion to be and attach to the key chain loops by folding over and glueing, then wrapping a small piece of t-shirt and glueing to hold it on.

Tie on a thicker strip to each loop with a lark’s head knot and then tie into a bow.

Adjust the overall length of the necklace to your style. You could also skip the bow and just clip the two loops together for more of a choker look.

With a 6-month-old that likes to grab at every thing, I don’t get many chances to wear necklaces, but I can’t wait to wear this one!

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