First Fort Experience

Don't you remember building forts when you were a kid? I can't remember my first fort, but I do remember my mom helping us build them when we were little. So, as one of scheduled toddler activities for the week, I wanted to introduce P to her first fort experience.

During her nap, I gathered our 3 largest blankets - should have used sheets...more light gets in - and started tenting them in the living room. I put some of her toys, a few books, and some pillows inside. I was sooo excited and couldn't wait for her to get up from nap time! (That was first.) When she did, I brought her in the living room. At first she just stared. I crawled under the blankets to show her what to do. She smiled, started running towards me, raised her arms, and fell down on top of the blankets! Silly girl. Off and on for an hour I tried to get to go under the blankets, and she never would.

We'll try again when she's two. Toddler fail. :(

She totally didn't care.

After she started pulling down the blankets.

Flax Seed Funnel

I forgot to mention in my last post that I wanted indoor activities since it's so darn hot outside. So, as promised, I'm starting reviews of the toddler lesson plans I mentioned before. If you haven't already, check out this post for some very cool links that give you activities to do w/ your toddler.

So the flax seed...Oh that flax seed...It was everywhere!

We just used different cups and funnels to pour about a cup of flax seed back and forth. 

Presley enjoyed pouring them the best because the seeds make an interesting sound as they hit the floor and splattered everywhere.

She never did put the seeds in the funnel herself, but she thought it was way cool when I did it. She liked to put her hand under the "stream" like she would w/ water.

It did get everywhere, but clean up wasn't so bad. (If you haven't yet, this Stick Vac is a MUST. Makes cleaning toddler food messes - and flaxseed experiments - super quick and cleaner than a broom.)

I think we'll do this again w/ different mediums each time - beans, dry peas, etc. She was super interested, and I didn't find it too blah either. We spend a good 20-30 minutes playing with this, which is a very long time in toddler-time.

Toddler success!

Toddler "Lesson Plans" Links

Last week, I tried an experiment with my 18 month old baby tornado...Toddler lesson plans. You see, she's gone to just one 1.5 hour nap/day and is incredibly active, inquisitive, and bores easily. (I look forward to the days that she's interested in T.V.) Anyway, since the Mother's Day Out summer program finished 4 weeks ago, we've been getting easily frustrated with each other. I plan 2-3 play dates/group activities a week, but that isn't enough to keep her occupied. (Silly me thought that she'd be content to play with her toys the rest of time time.) From about 3:00 on she has been just really whiney until the husband got home.

Knowing that I thrive on scheduled activity and taking a cue from my teacher background, I came up with a morning and afternoon activity for each day. Just like in teaching, I came up w/ way more activities that we had time to do, but that's okay: I just carried them over to the next week. The week sort of looked like this:

Monday
AM - Splash pad & feed the fish play date
PM - flaxseed funneling (pouring whole flaxseed into jars using funnels back & forth)

Tuesday 
AM - threading large beads on chopsticks, then pipe cleaners, then yarn if she can
PM - water color painting (tinting tap water w/ food coloring & letting her paint on the porch. it stains clothes so do it w/ just the diaper)

Wednesday 
AM - Toddler Story Time @ the library
PM - Collection walk (going for a walk & letting her put her finds - leaves, sticks, rocks, etc. - in a bucket along the way)
Thursday
AM - Playdate at the Children's Museum
nothing planned for PM. thinking she'll take a long nap *cross my fingers*

Friday
AM - 2 & Under Playdate @ a Jill's house
PM - Build a couch cushion fort b/c she's really into climbing right now


I'll let you know how each one went throughout the next few days. Until then, here are some of the websites I came across while researching plans for an 18 month old.


No Time For Flashcards (Thanks Haley!)


Bright Ideas for Learning

Baby Center's "Games To Play With Your Toddler"

Baby Center's "Let's Play: Weekly activities for your child's 2nd year"

Make and Takes

PepperPaints

Chasing Cheerios

ID Mommy

Kitchen Towel Upgrade

A former co-worker got married this weekend! What a beautiful thing to celebrate. I was able to mingle with many old friends and watch my 18 month old own the dance floor. 

So, what did I get the newly weds? Kitchen towels! Exciting, huh? But I used this tutorial as inspiration to give these kitchen towels a homemade upgrade. Super easy and would make a great first sewing project or a great way to use fabric scraps.

I didn't have gift wrap, but I did have LOTS of this fabric that I got on clearance at Hobby Lobby several months ago. It matched the gift, and wrapping the package in fabric made it stand out and hinted to the homemade goodness inside. I used dabs of fabric glue & regular gift wrap tape to make it all stick.

I am also no longer buying cards (unless that's the only thing I'm getting a person) to be more eco-friendly and starting to make my own gift tags. (This will probably lead me down a stamping route eventually.)

July Gift Swap

I was invited to join the Etsy Texas Crafters group. It's been interesting and cool to see what and how other Texas crafters are selling. One of the most fun things they do is a gift swap. The moderator randomly pairs a Texas Crafter with another, and, following a theme for the month and noting each other's personal profiles that they had to fill out, they mail each other an item in their shop.

I decided to participate for the first time in July's swap. The theme was "Lemonade" (or just yellow). I was paired with TheIDConnection, who is named Monica in real life. My items are mostly for kids except for the portraits, which I could make what ever color I wanted! So, I stalked Monica's Facebook page (creepy), and found a photo of her and her husband (I hope it's her husband!). This is what she'll be getting in the mail in about a week:

Original Photo, after posterization & being flipped in Photoshop

Blue Bird Crayon Roll

 

Pudding Pops

Michael's had popsicle molds in their $1 aisle! (Yes, I know...Probably not BPA-free, but I'm not heating them up. That's okay, right?) Anyway, when hubby saw that I bought them, his eyes lit up like a little boy as he exclaimed, "Pudding pops!"

Huh? We just used juice, fruit, or pickle juice when I was a kid. Yes...pickle juice. Don't knock it 'till you try it. :) Anyway, I couldn't let him down. I Googled and found out how flippin' easy pudding pops were to make. Here ya' go:

Get some instant pudding. For 6 popsicles, I used 2 boxes. Make it according to box directions.

Pour the pudding on the molds & put them in the freezer for at least 4 hours.

Eat them!

Yum! Grant had already finished his by the time I remembered to take pictures. :)

That's it! Easy breezy!

I Was Featured On the Prudent Baby Blog!

If you are into blogging about sewing, crafts, recipes, or kid stuff, then you might have come across the popular Prudent Baby site. (If not, then where have you been???)

Anyway, she's the one who came op w/ the 10-Minute Onesie Dress idea that I made for a couple of friends who just had baby girls. I submitted a photo of one of those dresses to her website, and she picked it as a feature!!!

See it here. It's the 3rd box on the top row.

Home Makeover: Big Girl Room Intro & Sunshine Edition

Yesterday, I introduced my new Home Makeover Project - decorate an entire house, room by room, on $100/month in 2 years.

The first room I'm starting on is Presley's "big girl" room. This was the "junk" room when we first moved in. I've now cleared it out, and we are starting with a blank slate...a really blank slate.

already purchased a toddler bed from amazon.com

This wall will house a dresser, growth chart, floral lights from Ikea, a sunshine, & her bed.

lamp from Ikea

This wall will showcase several photographs taken by Kristina w/ Visual Empathy during P's first year plus room to add more. It will also include a bookshelf (maybe on this wall, not sure) & an Ikea storage chest.

mirror from Ikea

No plans yet for this wall. I need to do something with that mirror area. Not pictured is the opposite wall.  It will include a faux-framed mural, her bed, a night stand, a window w/ a reading area underneath, & a rocker for Mommy.

I'm going with a mod floral motif, which lends itself to a happy, sunny, garden-like feel. I also feel like each room needs a theme - tapping into my former English teacher self - and this room's theme will be "growth." Here's the thesis for the room.

My first project was this Sunshine Yarn Art. My sun ended up being shorter and fatter than the tutorial, but I have ideas for the wall space.

colors are much bolder in person

I like how the real sun mixes with my yard sun.

Presley taking in her new sun

This is start - a small start but still more than I would have done had I not been blogging.

Next up: throw pillows!

Home Makeover: Kirchhoff Edition

I'm starting a new endeavor. I find that if I promise myself something, I rarely follow through. But if I put this something out there for the world to see, there's a higher chance I'll do it. So here's the deal: We moved into a brand new home last December. There are many pros to purchasing a new home, but a not-so-pro is the lack of character a new home has. I love bright, clean, & open, but this new drywall can be kind of ugh sometimes...Know what I mean?

As many of you know, I'm a stay-at-home mom, which doesn't give us a lot of financial flexibility for decor. We managed to squeeze $100/month out of our budget for "household items." When I came up with this category, I specifically meant for it to be for fabric, frames, paint, etc. G had broader idea as to what the money was for b/c he spent some of July's budget at Lowe's for yard stuff. Eew!

Well, now that he and I have that issue sorted out, here's my mission: to decorate the entire house, room by room, on $100 a month, in 2 years. Any monies coming from my Etsy sales will go to this too, so if I'm lucky, I will sometimes have more than $100.

The first room I'll be making over will be Presley's "big girl" room. Here's what we're starting with:

We definitely have a ways to go. Stay tuned for P's "big girl" room first project!

Clip Board

This isn't innovative, but I really enjoyed how the color combo of the paper turned out. This is one of the "gifts" I will be giving Presley on the airplane to keep her occupied. More on that in a later post...

For now, here's her clipboard!

Front

Back

Teacher Gifts

Presley's first Mother's Day Out @ The Ark Preschool is coming to an end. Summer Sun & Fun only lasts a little over a month. :( Boo! But we'll start again in the Fall.

Anyway, Miss Peggy & Miss Kay were technically Presley's first teachers ever! I recently bought Skip To My Lou's Fabric Notepad Cover Pattern for just $2. This sucker was SUPER easy. If you've been waiting for a simple project to learn how to sew, this is a great place to start. (For those of you who are already sewing, I would definitely use fusible interfacing on the two larger pieces.) I used different pieces from my American Vintage fat quarter pack (no longer available).

Front of the Covers

 

Front & Inside of Cover #1 - These covers are made for a 6x9 steno pad that has a top pad that would tuck away inside that top pocket. This would have added more structure to mine. 

 

Front & Inside of Cover #2

 

Items I've Sold

Another Diapers & Wipes Case

Portrait Transfer on 8x10 Canvas

original photo

Diapers & Wipes Case - New Listings

New Etsy Listing Today

Click here to see it.