After a short stop for the kids and I to see my Dad and brothers (and of course, the cute nephews!) we came back home. We did a quilt shop hop (stopping at 22 shops – out of 57, we didn’t even stop at half of them!) that was really fun. The kids did pretty good too considering we took them to all the stores with us! Actually it was a ton of fun because not only did Mom and I each get a packet that contained pieces for a quilt block, but the kids each got to pick a piece of four inch fabric. Their fabric is all random stuff, which they don’t mind, and we’ll probably end up making doll blankets or something with.

We went to all those stores and I bet we spent less then $400 total (together I mean). I only spent cash and had money left after four days of shopping! For the first three days we matches fabrics to the projects we were already working on, then the last one (three shops on that last day) we got fabric for our stashes. OH! And I found Navy girl (okay it’s really military girl I know) fabric that I was looking for forever! I need to get a picture of it.

This week is a busy one – Alice is taking a Pioneer Crafts Class at the local community college, it is three days long and already after one day she brought home strawberry jam, butter, a cornhusk doll, and learned to finger crochet. There is a kids craft show at the library at the end of July that I am going to sign her up for. It’s only kids selling things and anything you sell can’t be more then $4. Perfect for her and Jake!

My nephew is taking a camp from the Boys and Girls club so that leaves Jake and I do wander around and find stuff to do. Yesterday it was the library, lunch and a quick shopping trip – today we are doing the library for a longer amount of time, lunch and then who knows. I have found a few more things for the kids to do – and am also amazed at how expensive some camps are. No way am I paying $165 per kid to go to a day camp from 9-3 and still have to take them lunch!

Where We Are Now is a post from: me being crafty

She picked the fabric from my stash and we cut and started sewing in a few minutes. I showed her how to hold the fabric to guide it through the machine, showed her how to line the fabric up (we didn’t pin anything – note to self, she’s only 7, pin it!) and set the speed setting close to the slowest one. She loves her new handmade babydoll sling!

I know I found the pattern on a crafty blog and it is lost forever in my bookmarks or stumble page or something. If you recognize this, please let me know so I can link it!

Alice & baby in a new sling

A short time later and she was done! I didn’t have any rings like the pattern calls for, so she cleverly found an elastic hair band and wrapped the ends together. Her baby didn’t complain and stayed tucked in just fine.

Alice’s Baby Sling is a post from: me being crafty

We had a couple of events for Chris’ job that I was glad to attend since it meant meeting other wives on the ship. The officer section on a ship is called the wardroom, one of the events held regularly is called a hail/farewell. That is when someone new is ‘hailed’ (welcomed aboard) and ‘farewell’ed’ (said bye to). There are usually gift, sometimes gag, sometimes not gag, and everyone takes turns saying a few words. We went to a h/f last week and then a BBQ for a new guy that was held at his house. He’s actually not new to the ship but has been promoted and maybe shouldn’t be called “a guy” but we’ll let that go.

Turns out there are just a few wives on the ship, in the wardroom I mean, and that is taking some getting used to. I’m used to a ton of women around! But we’ll be fine. We are planning on getting together, I have a couple of the email addresses and do need to get the others – oh and figure out what to do!

One of the other wives, who just lives right around the corner from us, scrapbooks though! I need to get the craft room done (98% or so done – 2%’ish to go!) so we can hang out. I have a few projects I need to work on and just enjoy crafting with someone.

Today has been a good start to the week too – the kids packed a lot into their day and the energy kids have will probably always amaze me. We made pumpkins last night and more today, here is the pumpkin craft page.

We don’t have many Halloween decorations so are making a few to hang around the house. Guess my ‘trick or treat’ sign just isn’t going to cut it this year.

This week we don’t have nearly as many events to attend, and I’ve been able to unpack more so I finally feel like we are settling in here.

Start of a Great Week is a post from: me being crafty

Unfortunately for me the mail person doesn’t deliver packages directly to our door. We have a little stand that has all the post office boxes that will hold letters and whatever tiny packages come in. So the other day we got a slip in the box saying we had packages to pick up! I am glad the post office is close’ish and it’s by the grocery store so it was two stops in one.

One of the packages was something for Jake!

It’s a Green Monster!

Jake is so excited to get started on this guy. I need to cooperate and dig my sewing box out. When I was gone taking my nephews back to my brother, Chris piled stuff in what is now the Etc. Room (formally known as the Craft Room). So I need to dig out and then put back together. That reminds me, I need a moving post don’t I.

Back to the monster – isn’t he cute! He looks pretty easy to do. Alice has her own kit on the way but it’s not one of these. I’m trying to not have them do identical things which can be hard at times!

Kids Craft Project is a post from: me being crafty

[tag]My Paper Crane[/tag] shared [tag]cat and pumpkin images [/tag]- she made them initially for suckers but others turned them into a sort of banner. We had the neighbors over yesterday and made a few different things.

Here are Alice’s cut outs ~

She cut out two more sheets worth, having 18 total, and strung them together top to bottom. She did stick with the pumpkin/cat/pumpkin/cat pattern and attached them to each other with pink and blue brads. She’s very much into patterns and alternated the colors pink/blue/pink/blue. She was very happy with herself for sticking with it! I’d have a picture but it has disappeared to the abyss that is her room (I swear I didn’t think kids rooms could be that messy!).

But one of the neighbor girls made the same kind of top to bottom stringing, and her Mom attached the younger girls into a wreath. The kids all lasted cutting them out and then they were done. Course they had already cut out and put together a skeleton.

The skeleton is awesome – you can find it here at the [tag] Sewing Stars blog[/tag]. We made four or five of them and they quickly were traded back and forth, then attached to the banners that were made. I’m going to hang the banner up tomorrow and have the kids make a few more skeletons and hang them in the window! I’m proud of us for doing these crafts, we usually don’t decorate for Halloween other then a few stuffed pumpkins we’ve had since Alice was a few months old.

I printed all of the things at home and did have to adjust my printing – the margins and the size of the file. My printing option (or maybe it’s my printer?) lets you adjust the image by 10% at a time. It was very easy though.

[tags]halloween crafts[/tags]

Halloween Cut Outs is a post from: me being crafty

I know Alice will want to give all of it to her and I wonder what the little girls reaction will be? So many kids are focused on electronic toys (though we are also giving her a movie) and I won’t want my kids feelings to be hurt by a ‘what the heck is this’ or some other not glad to receive this gift reaction. Maybe I’m just being paranoid.

Creative Kids is a post from: me being crafty

Even though the party didn’t have a theme, this crab set from Stampin Up was perfect! The crab is holding a piece of cake in a shell, there are other accessories I could have included but I wanted to get it all done in a day so I kept it simple. You can kind of see the party hats on the side of the main image, which I realize works mostly on darker colored paper. Alice helped pick out which ribbon should go with which and also with the coloring. I didn’t want the crab to be all one color, I was going for a shaded look, but I ran out of time.

I put a few pieces of candy and a fruit snack in each bag – I made one for my kids plus the other four kids that came. Everyone was happy with them and my kids are still playing with theirs days later! I am so glad I did them and I’m wondering what else I can make them for. I do need to use different adhesive as the sides came apart much too easily for my liking.

I found the gift bag tutorial here – very easy to make and so cute!

All images/cardstock/ink copyright Stampin’ Up.

Technorati Tags: stampin up, gift bags

Birthday Gift Bags is a post from: me being crafty

In case you missed this, here is a great list that Amy over at Angry Chicken put together – not made in china. I have a few things I am working on for the kids and for the baby, as well as projects the kids can make on their own. I’m hoping the sewing projects won’t be too advanced for Alice, but even with the little things she’s been working on she loves it and catches on quickly.

Technorati Tags: handmade toys

Handmade Toys is a post from: me being crafty

They had a good, restful day. Alice’s voice is gone now and Jake’s is coming back. I hate it when they are sick, they make me feel so bad. I’ve been having to give her lots of meds because she’s had a fever that just won’t go away. In the middle of the night last night it was 102.4 and she was shivering, I forgot that you got the chills when you have a fever. I took Jake to the dr the other day and (long story VERY short) after the dr saying nothing was wrong with him, he gave us meds anyway. I don’t usually rush to take them to the dr so the visit was very annoying, and I don’t look forward to another!

But Alice was feeling well enough to start a popsicle stick purse. We got halfway done today and ran out of sticks, so once we get more and finish I’ll show the pictures. It’s a project taken from the Craftster book – very fun, fast and easy. She’s having a great time building it and when I mentioned I thought it would need a little bag inside of it, she offered to jump up and get her sewing machine first thing. It’s a purple, green, red, blue, yellow, orange purse so who knows what fabric would look good in there! I’m going to look through my stash tomorrow before going out.

Did you do any crafty projects this weekend? We borrowed the Craftster book from the library so I’m going to see if there is anything else we have to do before returning it.

[tags]Crafster book, popsicle stick purse, Disney movies[/tags]

A Disney Day is a post from: me being crafty

They started gymnastics last October and went until May – up until then and including this week their skill levels has improved so much. I managed to get a few quick videos before we left today and once I get them to the computer I’ll share. Jake is a master at jumping from the low bar to the high and flipping. Alice can do a cartwheel off of the balance beam but we missed that with the video.

Now the hard part is figuring out what to keep doing for the school year. We were going to enroll both of them in gymnastics at the Y, each attending classes twice a week. The cost including our Y membership was the same as the cost of one class per week at the gym we have been attending. However we are now thinking maybe just gymnastics for Alice and soccer for Jake – but then I know Alice wants to play soccer too! I don’t want to be running my kids from place to place though so we need to check the schedules and talk more about what would work.

The best news of all is that the Coach said if they gave out Camper of the Week awards Jake would have received it! I’m so proud of him. He was the youngest or the second youngest person attending. The Coach said he didn’t whine, fight anyone, he was always excited, always happy and ready to go. He said he just did so well. That makes me feel really good – we have tried hard to make sure the kids deal well in classroom situations because we’ve seen other kids really misbehaving.

All in all a great week! We don’t have weekend plans yet but I think we are going to finally make a couple of towel aprons and the kids birthday party invites.

Gymnastics Camp Review is a post from: me being crafty

Of course with the school year approaching my mind has been working overtime on figuring out what and how to teach Alice first grade. I’m kind of nervous but know that will go away. I’ve been checking out homeschooling books at the library and taking pages of notes, finding new websites and even made a quick stop at a local teacher supply store. I bought a lesson planning book (completely fulfilling the organizer/list maker in me!) and was looking for a calendar yesterday. My brain works differently then some in that my week starts on Sunday – if you look at a lot of calendars and planners many of them start on Monday! I went to two office stores until I finally found one at Barnes and Noble. I do use Google’s calendar, but after having to call the dentist and my dr for a reminder of my appt times, I realized I need a calendar I can carry with me.

In stopping at Office Depot I found 24 count crayons on sale – for 9 CENTS! Yes, NINE cents! Run, don’t walk, to Office Depot right now. You can only buy 5 at a time so I did and so did my friend with me. Only one of her daughters is old enough to play with crayons so I took three of her five packs. Target has the same crayons selling for 20 cents, regular price, not on sale. I thought last year they cost a quarter, but I may be wrong. I already bought some at Target but couldn’t let the nine cent ones pass me up!

I also bought new kid scissors and glue sticks – I’m a huge price checker and Target made me laugh out loud. They have those centers set up with various supplies in them – crayons, pens, pencils, erasers, etc. – and the glue sticks were being sold a 2 pack for twenty cents. Then on the opposite side of the same center a six pack was being sold for $2.19! Hello – a dollar for six or more then twice that. I wonder what I will pick.

It’s time to get the kids school supplies out and see what else we need to replenish. I don’t think we need a lot but I admit it’s hard to stay away from when there is a great sale!

School Supplies is a post from: me being crafty

In grade school my favorite was building a tornado, probably because it is so easy to do with a plastic bottle. I bet the other most popular things to build is a volcano. The best part of a volcano is the end, when you see your work come to life. I know my kids would love that. The volcano kit looks fun, it is a volcano landscape with seven volcanoes and you are able to create various lava flows (can you imagine a six food tall spew?). The kit includes everything you would need – paint, labels, a guide, and a 32 page book with facts, stories, activities and experiments.

One kit I know I need to buy is the anatomy kit. Alice knows all of her body parts already and has been asking for one for a few weeks now. I don’t know all of the scientific names for bones or anything either so we have had to look everything up. It would be so much easier to have something for her to be able to look at.

Kits for learning is a post from: me being crafty

Anyway, we bought the potholder kit and finally opened it up. Alice loves it!

Starting out….

Five rows of weaving and she’s got it!

And this one is done.

She loves it so much she wanted to do more. There is a project in the book that had you make two potholders and then stitch them together to make a purse.

Moving right along…

And in other kid accomplishments – Alice learned how to tie her shoes by herself! This was the first day she did it.

Latest Kids Project is a post from: me being crafty

The site is full of paper projects but I haven’t printed any yet. The newsletter is full of so many other things that they keep us busy.

Have fun!

Paper Toy Link is a post from: me being crafty

I am loving this! My son is three years old and earlier this month I started doing more with him with school activities. I think he was a little jealous of Alice “doing school” and so he basically insisted on starting preschool. He’s doing great for his age. He knows a good majority of the basics – colors, shapes, alphabet, counting – so I’m now starting to build on that. We worked with numbers today and he stops counting at 14. LOL And probably a third of the time he stops at “R” and says “now I know my ABCs, next time won’t you sing with me” and smiles.

If you want to buy the full [tag]kids calendar[/tag], click here. The website will tell you more but here is what is included:

* Introduction of a new letter each week
* Weekly coloring sheets and printable worksheets
* Fun weekly audio about the letter of the week
* Crafts, Activities And Snack Ideas
* Parent Guide

That was me that highlighted the crafts. What kid doesn’t love doing crafts? The calendar is at an ‘early bird’ price of $29.97, which comes down to $1.15 per letter. That is a lot of stuff for $1.15 per letter!

The kids are both up late tonight because Daddy is working until about 1AM. When that happens I don’t make them go to bed until 11. Geez we have a crazy schedule right? LOL But we have plans, we need to work on either the bookmarks we are making or our Valentine’s Day cards.

[tags]crafts[/tags]

For The Kids – Alphabet Activity Calendar is a post from: me being crafty

My friend Marie Ynami put together Carol for a Cause – a very unique Christmas Fundraiser inspired by the 12 Days of Christmas. She did this last year too but I didn’t participate. This year the fundraiser is from December 13-25 and all proceeds will be donated to the Susan Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

To listen to the carols and donate please visit Carol for a Cause.

Once your donation is received, you will be redirected to a page where you can access all of the carols – sung by WAHMs and sometimes their kids too. As a thank you Marie has included resources and books such as:

- Traditional Christmas Carols
- Holiday Stress Ebook
- Creating a Magical Family Christmas
and some business resource ebooks too

Check out Carol for a Cause to hear my daughter and I singing along with Kenny Chesney.

Carol for a Cause is a post from: me being crafty

Stencil Painting on T-Shirts is a post from: me being crafty

I’ve been keeping the table cleared off so we can work there and of course display candles and the little painted boxes.

See the batting and piece of material there? That’s the very early beginnings of a rag quilt! My Mom and I planned on doing it as a joint project – then we moved. I’m going to at least start it and then we are going to figure out who is going to do what.

Really, a table can’t stay totally clear! Not with a crafter in the house, right? And the pile of notebooks is mine too – I’m taking one class this semester, plus I just love notebooks and am a list person.
Oh yeah, my friend Monica (and her family) came over and she and I started the little crocheted hat and the handkerchief I talked about yesterday. I told her that we should just doing joint projects – I started the handkerchief and she started the hat. Then we switched when I though I messed up, so she was going to corrent it for me thus I kept working on the hat.

I wonder how wierd a peice would end up if it were worked on by different people? Do crocheted pieces done by a right or left handed person end up looking different? Are there different ways to crochet? I mean different styles?

Clean Kitchen is a post from: me being crafty

The first one is a fall one, isn’t it cute? The kids did all the painting and some of the gluing, I noticed there are spots here and there that they missed, but that just adds some character to it. I like that it’s not perfect and the kids were so happy to get to paint. I’m sometimes scared to let them paint LOL because of the mess that can happen.

We got the idea because a Halloween one was on display and it looked fun and easy. And I’m all about fun and easy when it comes to crafting with my kids. But the AC Moore people very smartly put the display next to the little picture things – which were bins FULL of other little figures. So we ended up doing halloween, fall, christmas and a school one.

The fall one is on the kitchen table right now, even though it doesn’t quite feel like fall around here.

So that was our weekend project! We are going to make some halloween cards either later today or tomorrow so pictures will be coming!

Updated: Whoops, for some reason they won’t upload – click on my Flickr badge over to the right —-> to check them out. Thanks!

Painted & Glued Projects is a post from: me being crafty

Now, my parents gave me a bedazzler when I was a kid. I can’t remember how old I was, but I want to say around 12? And I knew I still had it, I figured it was in my craft room/office and shouldn’t take that long to find. But when I turned around to come back into the office, the little bedazzler box was right there by the door!

The kids were SO excited that I had one. Alice brought one of her dresses and wanted a star on it and Jake wanted a moon on one of his sweaters. It didn’t take that long at all and I think I need to order more studs/decorations to use with it.

For some reason I remember it being a lot harder to use then it really is. The kids could push it down themselves to set the stud and they are 5 and 3.

The Be-Dazzler! is a post from: me being crafty

But it’s done. *whew!* I haven’t shown my daughter yet, but I know she is going to be thrilled!

I laid the two on a chair, which is why the top is a bit smushed.

Finished! is a post from: me being crafty

Just testing pictures is a post from: me being crafty

A couple of weeks ago we stopped at one of the craft stores and just walked through. I love doing that, sometimes you find great stuff on clearance or something for the kids or just another craft! I did pick up an embroidery set of pillows that I am working for my daughter! She’s very excited and I’ve let her help out a little bit. I’m so happy she’s taken to crafting and is so interested. She has asked for a sewing machine for her birthday and we are seriously considering it!

She’ll be five in a couple of weeks. And I’ve heard that the small sewing machine that is more for quick fixings may be a good one for her. I need to check it out the next time I’m at the store. Actually, I’m not even sure where to find it!

My digital camera battery died *again* – well of course it dies sometimes, right? But it seems that whenever I need it, that’s when it isn’t working. But I’ll get pictures up soon, the pillows are looking so cute and they even sort of match her curtain!

Project Updates is a post from: me being crafty

The unfinished wood projects were all on sale and they were itching to get something. They’ve never painted anything before – other then my carpet and that wasn’t exactly a good thing – so I’m not sure why they were in insistant. We ended up picking out two birdhouses. Of course they wanted to paint first thing!

But I waited until yesterday afternoon. They did a great job – my daughter is four (five in August) and I am impressed with how well she did. I could compare it to her coloring – she tries to be precise and stay in the lines.

Her birdhouse was like three little tiny houses stuck together, with a yard. Here she is painting the fence purple.

My son on the other hand, he had to stick to the foam brushes because, well, he’s a baby still! Slightly messy and more interested in instant gratification. LOL

We have a few little things to glue onto the houses but I was a little annoyed at the paint I found on the floor this morning. Totally my fault so we waited until this afternoon to glue – when we realized the little things were lost.

Painting birdhouses is a post from: me being crafty