me and my girl

popsicle stick magnetic picture frame

Danielle is a truly crafty gal. Her room is full of numerous craft projects such as knitting, paintings, drawings, beads, friendship bracelets, stories, paper doll houses etc. One of her favourite things to make are Popsicle stick picture frames. This really is her post as I had nothing to do with the idea or the creating. I actually walked in on her while she was half way through and made her start over so I could post a little tutorial for you all. :o) I really don't think I need to explain as the pictures are pretty self-explanatory.

Use a glue that dries clear!

Let dry before you glue the magnets on the back.

Once it's all dry you can decorate the front of the frame any way you like. You can paint it, glue beads on it or colour it with Gel Pens. Once you are done you can either glue a picture onto the back, or you can leave it empty and place it over a picture on your fridge.

Erin lives on the West Coast of Canada and has been happily married for 13 years. She is the proud mama of two great kids, Danielle 9 and Brayden 7. Feel free to pop by her blog for a visit at Dani Be Good.

hanging pillows

These pretty little hanging pillows are so easy to make and are just right for little ones to handle as they learn to embroider.   First, pick out the fabric and ribbon that you want...cut the fabric to a 10 x 7 inch size and the ribbon to 14 inches.
Position your ribbon between the fabric as shown and pin in place.  I measured in 1 1/2 inches from the edge of my fabric to place my ribbon.  This will allow your handle to be sewn into the seam correctly at the top of the pillow.
Allow for a 1/2 inch seam and sew all the way around leaving an opening at the bottom as shown.  Clip the corners and trim the seam allowance as needed and then turn so that you have a little pillow ready to stuff.

This is the fun part for the little ones....time to stuff!  Stuff as full as you want and then decide what pattern to use for embroidering.  I just freehanded a heart and a flower for mine using a mark-be-gone marker.  This simple design is easier for beginners to follow.  Next, take a matching thread and handstitch the bottom opening closed.

Gather the rest of your supplies...a little basket with a variety of threads and needles and scissors and let your little one get to work.  If you've got a beginner, show them the general technique and let them try on their own.  The pillow offers great protection for fingers and such because of the stuffing, they'll just need to watch their fingertips when reaching for the needle to pull through.

What they end up with is a super cute little pillow that will be perfect for hanging on door knobs, closet handles, and even on the walls, as my girls decided.  I had to help Claire (3) quite a bit, but Emma (5) was able to control her stitches very well with only a little help.  And, how exciting for them to know that they made these themselves...and what a precious keepsake for the years to come :) Enjoy!

***Hi, I'm Sandra! I have been married to my wonderful husband for 12 years and I am a homeschooling mom to four blessings. You can learn more about me here.   I would love for you to stop by and visit with me at my blog, My Inspired Heart, and see what creative adventures my family and I are up to!

improvising a masterpiece

Brayden loves to do science experiments. Building, mixing, creating. It's what makes him the happiest. Well the other day Brayden was home sick but by the afternoon he was feeling well enough to be bored. So out came our science books and this is what he wanted to try out! He had to improvise as we didn't have the required materials. He used an egg carton, 2 knitting needles, 4 sewing bobbins, 2 straws, silly putty, construction paper and lots of tape (we keep the tape companies in business at our house) .

He put silly putty on the end of the knitting needles to keep the bobbins from falling off. Worked like a charm!

Voila, Brayden's masterpiece. He wasn't well enough to go outside and try out his wind powered sail boat so we used our fan instead. That thing cruised. Can't wait to try it out on a windy day outside!

***Erin and Brayden can be found at Erin's blog, Dani Be Good!

bandana tutorial

This tutorial is super easy and is designed for the young beginning sew-er.  With a little help from mom, your girl can make herself and her friends enough bandanas for the whole summer!

Start with a square of fabric (21" X21" approximately).  Raid the fabric stash for this one!

Step One:  Press a 1/4" inch fold along all four edges of the fabric:

Step Two:  Press  another 1/4" fold along all four edges (this is called a hem):

Step Three: Sew a seam along all four edges.  Believe it or not, you are already done!:

Your edges will look like this:

The full bandana:

Aubry ties it with a pirate-ish flair:

Happy sewing!

paper butterflies

This project is wonderful for children of all ages, and can be easily done with things you already have around your home! And it's quick, so you don't have to sit for hours. Gather together: coffee filters watercolor paints or markers paintbrush clothespins black construction paper white glue You could choose to do this outside at the picnic table on a nice day, or cover your work surface with  newspaper. Spread a coffee filter out, and let your assistant(s) paint them however they choose. If you use marker, they can color small sections, and then go over it with a wet paintbrush. This makes the colors bleed, giving the same effects as the paint. Let the coffee filters dry. Scrunch the middle of the filter, and place it inside a clothespin. Glue two small strips of black construction paper onto the clothespin for antennae. These can be hung on walls or windows with FunTack. You could also attach a magnetic strip to the back so that they can be hung on the refrigerator. This activity makes a perfect little craft for a birthday party, leaving you with a cute favor for the guests to take home! Unless the LORD...

teaching embroidery

***Today's guest blogger is Stacy from With Great Joy.  Thanks, Stacy!

Recently I decided to try my hand at embroidery.  I had some hoops that I’d found at a thrift store, so I just needed some fabric and embroidery thread to get started.  As I stood in the fabric store, selecting those things, it dawned on me that there was no way I could get away with learning this new skill without my six-year old daughter, Ella wanting to learn right along with me.  [How handy it was, then, that I’d picked up two hoops at the thrift store!]  I chose thread colors that I thought she’d like (so pinks and purples, then), and picked up the rest of the supplies.

That evening, I curled up on the couch with my hoop and needle, and right away Ella expressed interest in what I was doing.  I showed her, and then asked her if she wanted to do it, too.  As I suspected, she most certainly did!  Her face lit up when I pulled out a hoop just like my own and handed it to her.

I gave her a pencil and told her she could draw a picture onto the fabric and then stitch over top of it.  She was excited about that, and clarified, “Any picture I want?”  I said “Yes” and watched to see what she’d draw.  She drew a little house and happily stitched beside me. Ella loved the whole process.

She could draw her own picture, choose her own colors, go at her own pace, and stitch by her own “rules”. She did a beautiful job, and spent more than an hour working on it.  I had to help her thread the needle and tie off the thread when she came to the end of a color, but other than that, she was able to do it all by herself. If you’d like to do something similar with your little girl, it is easy to get started, and an inexpensive craft to do, too.

Here’s a list of supplies you’ll need:

-hoop

-embroidery floss

-needle

-fabric with a looser weave (linen, flour sacks, muslin)

-scissors

-pencil or water-soluble/vanishing ink pen (found with the quilting notions in your fabric   store)

Enjoy!

personalized pillowcases

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I have made these pillowcases on several occasions before.  My kids always love being able to decorate these in their own personal way to match their room or whatever holds their fascination at the time.  Here are the things you need to make your own:

• pillowcase in your choice of color
• fabric paint  (I'm sure fabric markers would work well, too)
• foam stamps
• stencils
• paint brush

First, iron your pillowcases to make them easier to work with.  Next decide where you want the name and how you want the design.

You can now begin stamping and/or painting.  I normally let them brush the paint onto these foam stamps to control how thick the fabric paint is.  Start at the top of the pillowcase and work your way down.

Press the stamp straight down and be sure to pick it straight up or it will smudge.

With smaller kids, things are not going to be perfect and there will most likely be drips and smudges, but they will enjoy the process so much because they did it all by themselves!

Sometimes, I just let them freehand whatever they choose onto the pillowcase.   The older kids do well with freehanding and mostly prefer it to the stamped patterns.

I usually stencil the name on the end of the pillowcase after they have painted and stamped their designs.  We let them dry for 24 hours before use and then put them on their beds.  They wash like a dream and are very easy to take care of. Here they are...all finished!  We hope you give this easy little project a try!

***Hi, I'm Sandra! I have been married to my wonderful husband for 12 years and I am a homeschooling mom to four blessings. You can learn more about me here.   I would love for you to stop by and visit with me at my blog, My Inspired Heart, and see what creative adventures my family and I are up to!

make a bouquet of flowers!

Megan at Plum Pudding has posted a fun how-to for making these adorable Cardboard--Button--Felt Flowers.  These would make a perfect Mother's Day bouquet!

Take a minute to browse Megan's blog too.  It is full of wonderful crafty ideas!

***The photo above was taken by Megan and is used with her permission.

paper doll chains

Aubry loves to cut and paste.  She also loves fabric and dolls.  Making paper-doll chains together seemed the perfect thing to do.

Doing this craft with Aubry opened my eyes to what a perfectionist my girl is (I wonder where she gets it from!!!).  The paper dolls with the shirts and skirts are all painstakingly made by her.  She spent a lot of time tracing and cutting, but I am glad to say that she didn't get frustrated in her pursuit of the perfect garment for her paper-doll, something that I can't always say for myself.

***Templates can be found here.

Aubry's favorite is this little gingerbread man.  He is quite a lucky guy to be surrounded by so many well-dressed and lovely ladies, don't you think?

***Thanks to Heather for this idea!

***Randi is a wife to one and a mother to five.  You can read more about her adventures on her blog, I have to say.

button cards

How much fun can you have with cardstock, buttons and a glue gun? Tons! These cards are the perfect triad of fun, easy, and gift-able. We made them to send as Mother's Day cards and thank you notes. A set tied with a ribbon would make a perfect Mother's Day gift for Grandma this year.

You will need:

• Cardstock
• Assorted buttons
• Glue gun (or craft glue)
• Corner-rounding punch, if desired

Print the stems onto cardstock using this template found at the fabulous How About Orange. Cut and fold cards.

Round the corners, if desired, pour out the buttons onto the table, and start gluing!

Girlkiddo, her cousin and I had a fabulous time gluing buttons in various combinations. A glue gun works the best because it dries so quickly. If you are concerned about your kiddos using hot glue, craft glue works as well. Just be sure to leave the card horizontal until the glue dries so the buttons don't slide down.

Many thanks to Jessica at How About Orange for sharing her design and the wonderful template!

Happy gluing!

wisdom has two parts