me and my girl

two christmas crafts

Christmas is always a crafty time around our house and I try to keep things simple and fun so that everyone can participate.  This year we are going with a simple theme for the tree---red, white and green---and construction paper and pipe cleaners are our tools.

First we made a paper chain for the tree.  This one takes a while if you want it to wrap around the whole tree, but you can make them smaller for garlands or Christmas-countdown-chains.  All you need is construction paper, scissors and a stapler.

Cut the construction paper into 1/2" strips down the length of the paper and them cut them in half:

All you need to do at this point is to loop the strips of paper together and staple them into place.  Little hands can use a stapler with supervision.

Simply add loops until you are satisfied with the length of the chain.

To make candy canes you will need to gather pipe cleaners and scissors:

Cut the pipe cleaners in half and then twist two or three of them together.  Now curve them into a candy cane shape:

Not only will you end up with some cute decorations for your home, these crafts will keep your kids busy for a while.  And we all love that, don't we?

***I found the candy cane idea on a blog but I have forgotten which one.  Sorry about that!

see you soon!

We are signing off until after the Thanksgiving holiday.  My hope is that you are blessed and that you find much in this life to be thankful for!

See you soon!

she's sew crafty!

My girl loves to make things.  Fabric, papers and staples are some of her closest friends.  This makes it easy and fun for me to keep a blog like this because there is no arm-twisting or bagging going on to get her a crafty mood.  She is always ready to create.

Lately her craftiness has escalated to new levels and she has been campaigning for a sewing machine of her very own.  Not only does she mention the machine everyday, she has taken to getting ready for it by hand-sewing.  She made the vest in the picture all my herself and she did not fail to mention that the machine would have made the job much quicker.

One afternoon of questions and cutting and questions and measuring and choosing buttons and questions and a crying a few times yielded a surprisingly wearable garment.

The problem?

She seriously wants to wear it. 

Out of the house. 

As part of a real outfit.

Maybe this crafty mama isn't quite ready for such a crafty girl!

a sweet little headband

Aubry loves headbands and so do I.  They are easy to make and simple to use and, most of all, they keep my girl's hair out of her eyes. 

I have put together a very simple tutorial that can used by a beginning sew-er, ages 10 and up, with a little help from mom.   All you will need is a rectangle of fabric, a small piece of trim, and about 10 inches of 1/2" elastic.

Your daughter can make a few of these for herself and her friends, and these would also make great Christmas gifts if made in a set of three.  Once I had the headband cut out, it only took me 15 minutes to get it sewn up, so these are not only cute, but quick also!

---My inspiration came from the tutorial that KC Quilts put together, but my tutorial is simplified.  If you and your daughter are ready for something more challenging, try her version.

First you will need to cut out a 15" X 3" piece of fabric.  This rectangle is the main part of your headband.  I sewed a piece of ric-rac down the center, but you can skip this step entirely or you can use ribbon, ric-rac, or lace to jazz up your fabric.

Now you will fold your strip in half (right sides together) and sew down the long edge.

Clip a safety-pin on one end of your headband and thread it through to turn you piece right side out.  This takes a bit of scrunching and pulling, so be patient.

Now iron your headband flat so that your seam is in the middle of the back of your fabric.

Tuck 1/4" of your edges into the headband and iron.

Now you will cut a piece of 1/2" elastic (I cut mine 10 inches long) and place 1/2" into one end of your headband.  Sew in place.

Now you will need to place the headband on your head and bring the elastic around until it reaches the other end of your headband.  Tighten the elastic approximately 1/2" to 1".  This will keep the headband firmly on your head without squeezing too tight.  Trim the elastic, leaving an extra 1/2" to tuck into your headband.   (I cut approximately 4 inches off for Aubry's headband).

Now sew the other end of the elastic into your headband.

Now you are finished!

If you are making these for gifts, simply measure the headbands to someone with a similar sized head as the gift recipient.  Remember to make these bigger for people with very thick hair.

Have fun and happy crafting!

leaf-collecting

To find some great autumn leaf-collecting ideas, click here.  There is a downloadable leaf identification sheet here that makes for a fun family day!

Happy leaf-collecting!