Felt Cupcakes

I'm a finisher.  This means, I finish every project, or every idea (I try, at least).  I think of pinterest as more of a to do list than an ideas list.  This can be a little bit of a problem.  Now, I'm not a fast finisher.  I have far too many projects I have the pieces to that aren't finished yet, but they will be...someday.  Having said all that...this is a project I wanted to try out probably four years ago.  I bought the muffin tins and then I saw a squirrel or something.  I finally uncovered these muffin tins and it was time.  I love it because they are play cupcakes you can also use to teach colors.

 I painted the inside of the tin to match the cupcake tops.  As far as making the cupcakes-google a free pattern to make play cupcakes-there should be a ton.  The ones I used didn't work out, so I had to wing it on the way.

I used brown felt for the base which I stuffed and then different colors of fabric for the tops and I hot glued the two pieces together.

Mother's Day Necklace

I blogged about the easy process for putting these necklaces together last year.  I used definitions I had cut out of the dictionary.  Here is that tutorial.  Last year, my friend, Maurine, welcomed son #3 into her life.  I had previously bought these little initial charms for her first two little guys at a boutique near me.  She likes charms, I like these charms.  Win.  After Bennett joined the crew, I went and bought a B, and I made this little pendant using the word son to add to the charms.  Easy, and unique.  Win!  I also made one for MY Mom and got the initials for my brother and I.

Purplicious Gift Pack

I love giving gifts that go with a book theme.  My niece, Blythe turned 5 this past May, and I knew it was time to introduce her to one of my favorite book serious.  It begins with Pinkalicious...and I did get that book, but the rest of my gift pack goes with Purplicious.  I made her a special jeweled five candle....complete with purple glitter and jewels.  I made a little party hawwt, a cupcake shirt, and matching skirt.  I also got her a little necklace with a little five on it.  She's really into jewelry right now, but she likes jewelry that looks like adult jewelry.  When she was here last Christmas she wanted to borrow one of her Nana's necklaces....she requested one with a 'pendant.'  I love that little girl...and I love that she loves everything girl without any every introducing her to these things...she found it...so....purple, and pink and some books that match. Packed and ready to ship...

Garden: Ladybug Girl Gift

 I love giving book themed gifts to little beings.  My teaching partner introduced me to this cute little story, Ladybug Girl.  I then stumbled across these red gardening tools at Target in the dollar spot (the 3 dollar spot for the little metal pail), and my pal Terry was making these ladybug garden picks last year.  It was too perfect.  I bought the book and collected the gardening supplies to pass along in hopes of helping some of my favorite little ones collect their own ladybugs in their gardens.  A few years ago when I went to visit Blythe she was carefully watching the daddy and Blythe cactus she and her dad had bought on their last trip to the 99 cent store.  I'm pretty sure she'll appreciate adding these goodies to her porch hobby.

Book Themed Gifts and Parties

My very favorite gift to give for little ones are those that are oriented around a book.  I often pick a favorite book and then put together a gift set.  I started a pinterest board here.  Or you can click on the label 'book' below and these projects will pull up.  Some of my favorites include Fancy Nancy and all her fanciness, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and one year I recorded all my relatives reading a story and put them on a dvd and sent the book and the dvd to Blythe so she could have the book read to her from her different family members....even though she lives a few too many thousands of miles away.  I also love giving books instead of guest books at showers.  I even helped host several showers in the past completed revolving around bedtime stories.

I'm working on another birthday gift this year (May) that I'm really digging), and I'll be posting a bunch of Christmas gift book ideas I put together this past year in the fall.    I'm a reading teacher....so anything I can do to get kids excited about reading...I'm in.  I heart a good picture book!

Miss Spider's Tea Party Gift Set

This year for Blythe's Christmas I wanted to get Blythe a paint your own tea set.  I think she's finally old enough to handle the ceramic, and enjoy the painting it up to fit her style.  I made some little tea bags, sugar cubes, and lemon wedge pieces to add to the playset (I blogged about these a few months ago).  Per usual, it's necessary that each gift I give to small children comes with a book-so I added Miss Spider's Tea Party. Simple, educational, and lots of imagination required. I can't wait to have 4 year old hosted tea parties with Blythe.

Travel Trays

 It's travel time!  I made some travel kits for my niece, Blythe, a few years ago for when she flies out to see family.  I blogged about that here.  She came to visit soon after and her Elmo doll....and the entire section of Virgin Airline seating fell victim to the stickers I included in that pack.  Success.  She's coming again this year with her little brother, Jonathan.  He's two.  I wanted to make something to send them home with...to keep them busy while they traveled.  I saw the idea for travel trays using dollar store trays and magnets (LOVE that...things don't go flying all over the car/plane as easily) via paperwings.  I got to work making some trays that would be Blythe and Jonathan approved.
For Jonathon I sprayed a dollar store tray with green paint.  I used a foam brush and thin brush to paint a road.  I sprayed the whole thing with a clear sealant so it wouldn't scratch.

 I found these sticky back magnets and some cars at the dollar tree.  I put them on the bottom of the car so they wouldn't go fly into Mom and Dad....or the flight attendants head.

 I also googled road signs, printed, laminated, and added magnets to these as well to add to the road.

 For Blythe, I made a checkerboard.  She's getting old enough to play games that are a little more complex.

 I cut out little circles using a punch and mod podged them to magnets to be my pieces.

 I punched out the board.  8x8 is the goal.  Again, I glued and then mod podged the whole thing to the travel tray.

 I found these little containers to store the pieces in....

 I also found this FREE printable nativity via design dazzle.

 I used the magnetic tape so that she can play with this on her cookie sheet.  There are tons of free paper doll printables etc if you google it.  :O)

 I also sprayed the bag with chalkboard spray and found some chalk that is supposed to produce less dust.

 I printed some free coloring pages for each of them-princess pages for Blythe.

 Dinosaurs for Jonathan.  I added these little magnetic clips to hold the books in place.

 I intermixed the coloring sheets with blank paper.

 I put all the supplies...included stickers in little pouches...

 ...and added magnets to the back of those.

I could go on...and on...and on with this concept...but I'll stop here.  For now.

Make Your Own Coloring Pages (From Your Personal Pictures!)

 I made these coloring pages using photos for my niece, Blythe.  First...I should say...this is usually how taking pictures goes....

OK...on to this post...

....I've been seeing variations of coloring books online and I was like-if there are more than two clicks....I'm out.  After looking a little more deeply into how to turn pictures into outlines...I figured out....there really are only two clicks to get them going.  And a coloring book was born.  I put together a collection of family photos to send to Blythe to put her own little, four years old, artistic twist too.  She can only improve us, right?
You can take a photo like this...

...and turn it into this...

I'm definitely doing this in book forms to commemorate future visits from family and trips for the little ones to color their own memories to review through the years!
Here are the SUPER simple steps.
Open your photos in photoshop of some sort.  Make sure that the bottom square of color has the black on top...see the picture below with the arrow?

Next up, you go to FILTER on the top bar of choices, drag down to SKETCH and then select PHOTOCOPY.  Like so... 

Then your photo will be in black and white.  On the right hand side there is a little slider that say DETAIL and DARKNESS.  Just mess around sliding these back and forth until you have what you want. 

 The more simple the photo-the bigger the spots to color.  When you are done, press OK, then click print.  You will have a choice of sizes at this point.  If it's a horizontal picture, rotate it 90% and click scale to fit media if you are printing 8x10s.  

Here are a few of the close ups....

 I'll see if I can get an 'after' of some of her art work....

Good Morning, Texas-Play Tents and Forts

 I'm headed to Good Morning, Texas today to share some of the Christmas gifts I've been working on this summer.   We are going to make play tents (like the one above).  Here is a link to the fairy tent  tutorial, the non-sewing one I'm posting below, and then I'll later add a clip from today's show on my facebook page.  I'll be making a tent on a hula hoop, as well as a fort in a bag.  Those full instructions live here.  The below is the finished project I'm bringing, but I'm going to have the co-host help me get started on my next one, which is going to be a pirate's den.  I'll be working on that over the next week or so and post it later.  :O)

You can use some simple sewing tips, but you can also make these without a needle or thread anywhere in sight.  Just buy clips and your fort builders can clip and rig up the sheet for the fort in any creative way-no ties necessary.  For the hula hoop (which you can get at the dollar store).  Grab an old sheet, curtains, head to the thrift store, or you can get a new flat twin sheet for 4 bucks at the super center....

 The only other thing you will need are safety pins and rope.

 I cut the rope to the length I wanted it to be (about 3 feet, based on where I'm hanging it)....

 Once you have three of these tied.....add the sheet.

 Just fold it over about 4 inches and pin it.

 When you go over the ropes, pinch the two sides around it....

 ...pin the pinched part down to the sheet.

You can add tulle, ribbons, fabric piled on top...whatever....pillows, blankets, books below, and you've got a fun little reading nook.  As soon as the show wraps I'll be headed home to finish up my pirate den, and then I've got another hula hoop 'boy-ish' theme planned for my cousin's youngest boy.  :O)  I have a few months until his b-day (in January).....but....that's how I do things around here!