Boredom Busters & "Cabin Fever"

 This entire past week we were around home....a lot.  More than we had been for months.  In some ways it was nice.  In others, it was tough.  Clara really did have a fever and cold most of the week, so although the weather cleared up and warmed a little, we were still a little confined to the house until Thursday.  So we got crafty.

 I'd seen this idea online and thought we'd give it a try....especially since we have an abundance of toilet paper tubes headed to the recycling bin each week.  Make 'stamps' out of tubes and stamp away!  James thought it was pretty cool!

 Don't get too impressed yet...Clara shoved the brush in her mouth immediately after I snapped the picture.  And I was the one who made most of the red smudges on her paper.

 Then we broke out the pipe cleaners (also found the idea online) and a colander. James made quite the creation in the end.

 Later I cut pipe cleaners in thirds and gave Clara an empty spice jar (with the shaker topper on still).  She loved poking them into the holes on top.  I was surprised she had the fine motor skills for that!

 When all else fails, we head downstairs and build a "fort".  This cheeseball was pretending to be asleep.

 Throwing this one in for fun...Clara wearing James' Spiderman sunglasses.  She thought she was SUPER cool and was just marching around with her legs spread apart.

'Projects' for Active Little Boys

I've been trying lately to brainstorm and research ideas of 'crafty' projects and creative activities to do with James. First off, I'm expecting that both cooler weather and a newborn will soon be keeping us indoors in the coming months. I also want him to learn to express himself creatively and enjoy 'art'. But I have really struggled coming up with ideas of things that are age appropriate and James-appropriate. James puts e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g in his mouth. He never grew out of that phase and it nearly drives me crazy. We've tried crayons, colored pencils, and even markers (I was feeling brave)--he puts them ALL in his mouth and even bites into crayons...it's completely irresistible for him! Here are two activities we've done lately that James has enjoyed.

Ice Cube "Ball"

This one is best suited for hot weather and the outdoors, but I might try it out in the bathtub sometime, too, and add food coloring for fun. I froze a water balloon, peeled off the balloon after it was solid through, and let him play with it. He carried it around, sucked on it, and threw it at things for about 45 minutes. It helps that I already knew he loves ice.

Playing in the sprinkler didn't hurt either...a great activity for a hot day!

Edible Playdough

I used a recipe found in The Toddler's Busy Book but there are several online, too. Basically just peanut butter, powdered milk and honey. Sounds totally sticky, right? It actually was surprisingly NOT sticky! Greasy, yes, but not sticky. I hesitated attempting this, afraid that James will now assume that all playdough is edible, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. He LOVED this activity. I rummaged through the utensil drawer and pulled out several things for him to play with.

After sampling a good amount of the playdough, he did get to playing with it. He was really excited about using my kitchen 'hammer', my meat mallet.

I also offered him some small cookie cutters and an old fashioned can opener (because he's obsessed with it). Here he is putting it to work in his own little way!

P.S. I'd love any suggestions you may have of activities or crafts that are do-able with a very active two year old!

Firetrucks and a Touch of Pink

Seems like I just can't keep up with blogging lately! It turns out that James has transitioned much better than I had expected to his toddler bed. I guess I was really expecting the worst! He sleeps just fine and we haven't caught him monkey-ing around for over a week (but what an escapade he had one afternoon in the beginning!...he moved his bed around, dumped laundry everywhere, flipped the lights on...what a busy boy). While he's staying in bed, he hasn't been sleeping quite as long...nap times have been shorter, and nap times are generally the only time I have to blog....thus, fewer blog posts! But I have several posts I'd love to share. We're in disbelief at how quickly these weeks are flying by as we approach my due date! We've still got about six weeks go to but know it's going to fly...so hard to believe!

Here are a few crafting projects I've wanted to share....

First some birthday party "accessories". We've decided to go with a firetruck theme for James' second birthday party:

First, some cupcake toppers. I've seen these on multiple party/entertaining blogs and was excited to give it a try. If you search for them on Et*sy, you can buy them decorated for about ANY occasion. I was determined to give them a try on my own and think James will really like them--especially the one with a firetruck! I had to buy a scallop-edged punch for the project, so if anybody wants help with a similar project sometime, let me know! I had a lot of fun designing and gluing them together!

And a banner in the works...nothing too fancy, but something to add to the ambiance. :)

I'm throwing this one in there because it's a project I've wanted to try for a long time. A girlfriend of mine just had a birthday and I thought it was the perfect occasion to give it a whirl. I already had some paper doilies but think that buying some higher quality ones might be worth the extra flair it would add. Click here for a tutorial, if you'd like to try it on your own!

And now for some girly nursery items. The infamous fabric pom-pom project. (Strategically photographed to appear finished, but not really finished....I have over half of the circles to glue on still!) I put this one off for a reallllly long time but finally got around to cutting circles a few weeks ago. I've cut approximately 200 circles and will come up a little short and need to buy more pink fabric. For an 8-inch paper lantern! I really like the 'look' of the fabric pom-pom, but am thinking that if I made two accompanying pom-poms, they will be smaller. (Whereas originally I was thinking THIS one would be the smaller size---HA!)

Before picture: Here's a mirror I bought on Craigs*List. I snapped the picture just after covering the mirror with paper in order to paint it...It had some standard hooks along the bottom and a few of them were bent. The ducks were cute, but not at all what I was going for for the nursery....

After picture: I'll have to re-photograph this during the day for you to get a better idea of the colors...the frame is now ivory with a little bit of pink trim...and with pink knobs! I was really excited to find them at H*bby Lobby (thanks for the tip, Jenny!). I'm pleased with how it turned out and can't wait to hang cute girly things on a few of the knobs/hooks!

Girly Update

While we've made ZERO headway on setting up our daughter's nursery (the sump pump project is finished, though-yay!), I have a few fun girly things to share!
My mom finished the bedding! I'm really tickled with how it turned out...so sweet, vintage, and soft. I love the pillow my mom surprised me with, too! There's also a matching bedskirt, not shown above. :)

An up-close shot of the quilting....the color/lighting is really off in this picture!

And hair things! I've been really obsessed with the idea of making fabric flowers and pretty hair clips/barrettes for headbands and such. I've been skimming craft blogs for ideas and found some of these ideas. The headbands above belong to Andrea...she came over last week and we made a couple of the above-pictured barrettes. The one below I whipped up a couple nights later...I've even worn it on a dress once!

So many more to come...I plan on making several more in the next few days, some with coordinating outfits!

Ruby Slippers, Decor, and "Pinks and Cream" Quilt

I'd say the fabric pom-poms (previous post) won the vote by a landslide! Although I was initially more interested in the paper ones (maybe because I saw them first?), I've definitely reconsidered and plan to attempt the fabric ones for a few reasons. First, I think it's going to be easier to find fabric that matches the room decor than it would be to find crepe paper in the right shades. I also think the fluffier, less 'finished' look is really growing on me. And rolling up all those flowers for the paper type sounded pretty difficult. Anyway, it's a ways off, but I'll show the finished project whenever it gets done!! (Sidenote: I'm going to stick with paper lanterns as the base, only $1.10 for one, whereas the styrofoam balls are $18.99 a piece!?!?!)

Now on to another crafty endeavor....This is a little name sign I've been working on over the past few weeks. I probably invested about 6 hours in it (getting the stencil the right size took the longest amount of time.) Mark cut the blocks out of scraps we had in the garage, I painted the blocks 'cream', made stencils out of text I printed on cardstock, then stencil-painted the letters, followed by staining the edges....It's sitting on the mantel in our basement...which is another blog post entirely...I got/stole the entire idea from this blog post, on the Creative Crate (she used vinyl lettering--so popular right now--but also has stenciled other projects). I'm pleased with it and learned a LOT from this experience. I plan to make some more word/name blocks in the coming weeks.... :)

My first girly purchase for Baby Girl. I stopped by a garage sale last week and found these for $.25. I'm not always a 'bow' person, but thought they'd be cute for Christmas and Valentine's Day...so tiny and so cute! And I didn't feel too guilty spending only a quarter!

And finally....fabric for my baby quilt! My mom and I went shopping Monday with James (he was SO bored and ate through two different snacks and a cup of juice while 'waiting' for me to pick fabric). But I finally decided on a "pinks & cream" color scheme. It's soft and pretty and very feminine, I think, and fits the requirement that it 'go' with the taupe-ish walls in her nursery.

And here are the first two blocks...because my mom just couldn't wait to get started!

Time to "Think Pink"

20 weeks

Yesterday we found out we'll be having a GIRL in October! Yikes! I'm so excited! We were definitely thinking 'boy' all along so I had the technician check to make sure, and she was pretty certain. Yippee! I haven't wasted ANY time brainstorming ideas for the nursery. To be honest, I'd already bookmarked these two sites, just hoping some day I'd have a fun excuse to make one or the other. We're planning to transform our guest room into the Baby Girl nursery and hoping to avoid painting, so my plan is to add splashes of color (walls are a neutral taupe-ish) to girl-ify it.

Just curious...which pom-pom/flower ball do you prefer? Fabric or crepe paper? Here's the first option:

"Super Easy Fabric Pom-Poms"

OR

"Hanging flower balls", made with crepe paper (!)

I have to confess I'm leaning toward the crepe paper flowers, but not sure I can make them look that great. But I may be limited by color options with that, too.....Which do you prefer? Please "vote"! :)

Crafting Update

Crafting update: I finished stenciling and painting James' second Big Brother t-shirt. I love how it turned out. Now we just have to wait for him to grow a little more to fit into them! They're a tad too big still...but he's been growing up too fast lately, so I'll wait a little while longer...

Craft Alert and Baby Announcement

Here's my big crafty blogging baby announcement; we're expecting another baby! Here's a T-shirt I made (painted) for James tonight. Okay, so the news isn't so new. I was so exhausted the first trimester that I didn't get around to blogging about anything and have been so busy the past month that I haven't had time either! Baby #2 is due in October. Now, on to the craft....

Not sure why I'm so obsessed with this craft. Perhaps because it can be successfully accomplished in an hour or two? Maybe because my FIRST trial run actually worked? Or maybe because it's fairly cheap? So many great things about it! This is a variation of the craft we did at Andrea's Baby Shower (photos & recipes coming soon). See this and this website for some more in-depth instructions and tips.

My inspiration for this t-shirt design came from this. I had already purchased a red t-shirt at H*bby L*bby not long ago for $1.50, had the paint leftover from Andrea's shower, and borrowed the freezer paper, rotary mat, and knife from my mom and Jenny. (thanks!!) First, I goofed around in Microsoft Word, picked out a font, and designed my stencil. Then I printed it (above, left). Then I traced exactly what I printed on the freezer paper (above, right).

Then I cut it out with Jenny's craft knife. I will have to buy one, because she's leaving for Memphis tomorrow. :( I thought this step would take forever. It did take 20 minutes. That, of course, varies on your design!

Then...I ironed on my stencil. Freezer Paper (which, I believe you can buy in the grocery store or craft store) is 'plastic coated' on one side. So it sticks temporarily to the fabric! Brilliant! Who came up with this? IMPORTANT: Also iron a piece about the same size INSIDE the shirt, plastic side up, so that it guards the back of the shirt from paint. You could stick something like cardboard in there, too, but I like that this method is slip-proof.

Here's the paint I used. That brand and type was recommended. I used WAY more than that little dot of paint. Maybe that was partially due to the fact that I was painting yellow on dark red....

Mark was very patient with my craft time. I was extremely indecisive about the paint color choice....

Drying with a hair dryer. I did this only a minute or two before carefully peeling off the freezer paper, using the X-acto/craft knife to pry up the edges of the letters. I will let this dry the rest of the way over night and then iron it once more to 'set' the paint in the morning (with a piece of fabric between paint & iron, just in case).

Finished product! I think it's so cute! I have a blue shirt, too, and I'm already armed with a few ideas for another Big Brother shirt...Maybe I'll post a picture of it!

And one profile picture to finish things off...Here we are at 16 weeks. I'm fairly certain I wasn't this big til 20 or 22 weeks with James! I know, I know...you're supposed to show earlier with your second child. :) Had an appointment today and found out I will get another sonogram at 20 weeks and if Baby is cooperative we'll know the gender then! Can't wait!