Felt crafts

I found this for a friend and thought I'd share.
She wants to put a felt or flannel board in her daughter's room for storytelling fun!

Boo!

I set my sights on making a Halloween wreath for our door this year. I had found this version that used black burlap, scrapbook paper, black paint and B,O,O. Here's my version of it =)

Cutting the burlap into strips almost sent me packing...but tying it wasn't so bad.  I liked how it turned out and am trying to resist the urge to add more to it.  I'll take pictures of the rest of our Halloween decorations soon.


Mr. P and I did agree that I'd be all Halloweened-out next year so I should probably skip Thanksgiving crafting this year so I have something to do with myself next Fall....;)

Cute reminder sign

Believe it or not...I apparently have a crafty bone in my left foot, second toe from the right. It's small and if I'm not careful I might break it on the buffet, but for now...it's still working and it helped me create this.


































I LOVE my children's feet. Could eat them for lunch with Magic Shell.

Oh, and btw, 99% of outdoor toxins can be kept out of your home by simply removing your shoes when you enter. Thanks in advance =)

Repurpose! Giving new life to old crap

If I'm lucky, the Three Musketeers will continue to nap until I finish typing this, but I'm not betting on it, so listen quick....

I'm "nesting." Not sure why. But the bathroom is the victim. I pulled down our travel basket that holds all the travel toothpaste, shower caps, etc. that I want to use before buying new stuff (obviously).

I came across these soap boxes from a fancy hotel Mr. P had a conference at in San Diego last January. Nice hotel. Nice soaps. Nice repurpose.

We never accept the crayons that come with the kids' menus at restaurants because I know they just toss them after you've eaten, whether your kids use them or not. Same with the plastic cups and straws. So we bring our own crayons and IF we forget the boys' Klean Kanteens and have to use the plastic cups I bring them home and give them to the grandparents for use at their houses when we visit.

I had been carrying our crayons in a bigger soap container from the 90's that was heavier and not so chic. We obviously needed an upgrade. Voila! If I was a tad bit cooler, I could use my imaginary Cricut and make a cute label for the box. (Incidentally, I found out this past weekend that it's pronounced like "cricket" not "Cry-cut." Guess I was thinking of Carl's Jr's crisscut fries when I thought about vinyl.
But I can't think what to use the other 3 boxes for just yet... Two are longer and could hold pencils or pens?

(The triangular-shaped crayons are from a Teacher Supply Store and are used to teach the proper finger hold for writing. I have my students put triangular -shaped grips on their pencils as part of an occupational therapy accommodation all the time. You can also get them at your nearest BJ's Pizza =)

Valentine's Craft - not to be done while nursing..

Hit Michael's this weekend with Curly in tow. I am new to the crafting world so I figured we'd start small.
Felt.
Fuzzy.
Fun.
Frugal.
Can't be f*cked up.

AlphaMom had this adorable and EASY Valentine's Tic-Tac-Toe idea so Curly and I spent an hour (total) on it.

Notes to anyone trying to replicate this experiment:

• Wear gloves. Hot glue with a preschooler nearby can be deadly.
• Pumping while hot gluing can also be humorous. Especially after you've tried nursing the 6-month-old and he attempted to chew on the hot glue gun cord.
• Balancing the craft tray, the 6-month-old and the glue gun cord along with the excitement of the preschooler...not too easy. Makes the craft not so fun.
• Preschooler might not want dinner after ingesting so much of the rice while helping you pour it into the "bean bags."

How Does She....?

When people learn that my husband works out of town and that I'm with the 3 kiddos by myself all week, they often say, "I don't know how you do it!" Well, I don't either. But it gets done. Maybe not during daylight hours, but hopefully before the sun's next appearance.





A lot of my to-do list gets crossed off at night after they've gone to bed. That's when I get to read emails, blog, lurk on Facebook or bookmark all the awesome craft projects that I'll never have time to do.





Like this one from How Does She...? It's a recent find and I've wanted 3 servings of it a day. Uniting inspirational women. Sharing inspirational ideas.





This project, a 2x4 that says "We Love Daddy" looks like a manageable one for me. We actually have 2x4's in the garage and even a Daddy.





Now if only Michael's was open 24 hours....





Eat this one up fast...Father's Day is just around the corner...Yes, I know it's February...it's a long corner.

Tuesday's Letter of the Week

Today we started our adventure with the letter "P." "Playing with Pink Playdoh" was our song of the day. The fact that I put the cookie sheet on the Pampers box is just a coincidence =)
Curly had already gone to bed...
For tomorrow's lesson, we'll talk about printing. More specifically, thank you notes.

Here's a DIY I found on Skip to My Lou's wonderfully creative blog. A wonderful idea for those cold, rainy January days. I also use a font called "Dots and Dashes" that came in a teacher fonts cd.

DIY Thank Yous

from Skip to My Lou
posted by cindylouh on January 26th, 2010 | Uncategorized, kids, kids crafts |

I found this great font called Quicksand. It can be downloaded for free here.

A Penny for Your Thoughts

Curly and I have been talking about the letter "M" this week. We made muffins, tested magnets and talked about money in all its magnificent glory.

Here's his new bank that we made using an empty yogurt container and the coin labels I give to my first graders. He got to put in a nickel for helping me feed the dogs. (I accidentally typed "gods" at first. I hope he'd get more than a nickel for feeding the gods.)

As a teacher I always suggested to parents that they not forget to do the simple things like balancing their checkbook or paying for groceries with cash in front of their kids. All our little bankers see nowadays is how we flash this card-thingy and we get to take something home in return. They're not privy to the statements, the bills or the fretting about how to make ends meet.

When you go to the store with your child or when you're pumping gas, make them a part of the experience. Talk about the cost of items, debate whether the brand name is worth the difference, watch the numbers scroll as the tank fills up. Be sure to follow-up and let them see you paying your bills, either online or on paper. Don't assume that because they see money they know money.

Check out this link from BabyCenter that talks about ways to extend those teachable moments.