Crafty Corner: Pillows!

You are probably familiar with the fleece blankets one can make by tying 2 pieces of large fleece together....no sewing involved and really easy to whip up in a flash:

I have made a bazillion of these for baby showers as well as for my house and car (great durable car blanket for emergencies, picnics or an afternoon springtime baseball game).They are super cozy and you can never have too many blankets.....right??

One day while my kiddos were in a scuffle over taking turns with the classroom pillows, I realized that what we needed to solve this weekly pillow sharing conflict was MORE PILLOWS!

But I had another little problem. I currently did not have the skillz in the sewing department to fashion such items for my pillow deprived little friends.

I do have plans in the very near future to learn to use a sewing machine....but until then, I had to improvise. The fleece blanket idea jumped in my head- I could surely use the same principle to make a bunch of pillowcases for the children.

Ikea was having a sale on little filler pillows- 99 cents a piece....total score! One stop at Joanne for 2 pieces of 1.5 yard fleece and I was ready to "sew":

I laid out the 2 pieces fabric (one on top of the other) on the floor and cut into 6 even squares....leaving about 3 inches extra all around once the pillow was placed in the middle:

Next, made 1/2 inch cuts all around the square (leaving space for the pillow in the middle):

Then got to tying:

After finishing up the third side, I stuffed the pillow inside and tied the final side up:

Easy peasy...my pillows were ready! No more arguments at school about waiting for a turn and I was able to accomplish this task all by myself! Until my upcoming adventures in sewing machine fun begin, this will have to do:

Sequins & Sofas: You light up my life!

In my quest to create a dwelling that screams 'Dharma' and makes me feel right at home, I cannot forget to think about proper (and pretty) lighting!

The way you illuminate your space is (I think) just as important as the color of your walls and the choice of your fabrics! I like to have several options for lighting based on my mood at the time.

For example: Say I just spent the afternoon cleaning my home from top to bottom, made a tasty dinner, did all my dishes, chose a cheesy chick flick and plopped down on the couch for some well deserved relaxation (especially for the dish doing part...the worst chore ever, ever!!). Does my heart desire to have the overhead fan light blaring in my face? I don't think so....a soft lamp in the corner and some twinkly lights around the window hits just the right spot:

Or maybe I am getting ready for some craft project madness....all lights full blast....overhead, and some surrounding side lamps to give my eyes the best view of the task in front of me:

Or curling up with a good book at the end of the day...book light of course...and there is never a wrong time to feel fancy...did you say 'click on the plug in chandelier'? Ok:

Add a flowery little lamp by the bedside and I have a plethora of lighting choices to suit all occasions:

I like to have the option of total illumination or subdued glows of light at my fingertips! Make sure to think about how you can light your space to maximize the desire to want to spend time in that space. Find (or refurbish) interesting lampshades to speak boldly about your style and personality! Allow your lights to 'light up your life'!!

Oh and also....a lava lamp. Bazinga.

Toddler Talk: Tick Tock

To ring in the New Year, I hung out with some delightful friends and their kiddos! The grown ups ate a variety of tasty homemade soups and snacks, played games and managed to stay awake until 2013 (just barely)!

The kids kept busy with their own games and snacks too. But we wanted to have a little organized 'craft time' in the midst of all the madness....because crafts are fun!

I put together some materials to make musical shakers (see earlier post from October 16th on how to make some of your own) and also threw together some paper clocks for the kids to count down to 2013...and to practice their time telling skillz!!

To make your own, you will need:

Cut some strips of paper (you decide the size based on the paper plate you are using). Make them the appropriate length for a big and little hand of the clock. I also made the tips pointed...but do what you'd like (oh, and I made a bunch of them for a crew of kids...so the pics reflect my assembly line of clock parts...):

Write your numbers around the paper plate with a sharpie (or you could use cute stickers from the scrapbook store if you want to get fancy):

Take a thick needle to punch a little hole through each hand of the clock....it helps to do that first to get the metal brad through all three pieces during the assembly (You can try to just push the brad through without the 'predrilled hole' if you dare. I tried, hurt my little fingers, and bent the brad, boo! You've been warned):

Add whatever embellishments you would like to make it lovely. I went with yarn and a hole puncher. But you could use stickers, glitter, pipe cleaners....anything you can find at the craft store is fair game!

Use the clock as a teaching tool for older kids at the beginning of their clock reading careers (Hey, can you show me what 3:30 looks like?)....or just let your older toddlers turn the hands and chat with them about basic concepts of time (Right now it is 12:00, it looks like this...at 12:00 we eat lunch!).

Happy time telling!

A rose by any other name....

Since I am now posting just once a week on Wednesdays, I think I will title my posts with some new distinctions between kid stuff, craftiness and fashion/decorating. That way, if you feel like kid stuff is the most boring ever, or you hate making things out of hot glue and felt or maybe you don't want me to rant at you with crazy ideas of how to revitalize your dwelling...you can know what's coming at you! Read your favorites and don't read your not-favorites, whatever brings you joy....I present "Toddler Talk", "Crafty Corner" and "Sequins & Sofas".....stay tuned!

Oh, and here's a rockin' picture of me and my sissy....cause all good blog posts have at least 1 picture:

Crafty Corner: Something's Fishy

I drew my brother-in-law's name for Christmas this year and knew I wanted to create a fun way to present his gift to him Christmas morning! He is a very outdoorsie guy and spends time fishing when he can....so I got an idea. Supplies needed: scissors, felt, yarn, googly eyes, hot glue gun, big needle and a styrofoam meat tray from the local grocery store (clean and new, just ask the butcher for one):

I layed out each gift on a piece of felt and traced a fish shape around it so I knew it would fit:

I cut 2 of the same color and sewed them together with my yarn...leaving an opening at the top to stick the gift inside:

I made 4 fish and layed them out on the tray. Then to the decorating...all fish need fins and eyes:

I punched a hole in the top and secured the opening with a piece of ribbon to keep the gifts safe inside:

Great! I packed all the fish inside they tray and then wrapped the whole thing in plastic wrap! Fresh fish for my bro:

Later that day when they all got home, my sister sent me a pic of the fish in the Christmas tree....they can be used as cute ornaments when you are done with the gift opening!

A New Year!

Along with the start of 2013, I will be changing things up a bit on my posts! It's sometimes pretty hard to post new stuff twice a week and I want to make sure that the art of blogging stays fun in my heart. So I am moving to posting once a week for a bit....Wednesdays will be the day to tune in and see what I have come up with to share with you! I will still have a variety of Stylin' stuff and Toddler type jazz to talk about so I hope you keep reading!

So for today, I leave you a cute picture of my niece and me wearing matching faux fur vests. Because we are cute!

See you tomorrow: