Hallway Artwork

Last August my oldest child started a three-year-old program at a church school near our home.  He attends three days a week and absolutely loves school.  In just a few weeks, I was overwhelmed with the amount of artwork he brought home.  I love how the school encourages his creativity through art, but I had no idea what to do with all the pictures!

So, I put them in a box and just kept adding to it each day.  All the while, the wheels of my brain were turning and dreaming of ideas about creative ways to display his masterpieces.  I had seen many ideas on Pinterest and other craft blogs, but none were exactly what I had in mind.

I wanted something that I could easily be changed, updated, and added to.  I wanted something frugal.  I wanted something that wouldn't look bad when broken into several walls.

Our hallway was the best place to display the drawings and paintings, but there was no single long wall.  This hallway at our home has three bedrooms - one for each child, and the guest room - a bathroom, and a linen closet.  Therefore, it is many short walls that are divided by door frames.

The display is simple- curtain rods and hooks.  The circle hooks can be moved to any space on the rod, and clip onto the paper to hold in place.  Some pieces of art have two hooks, some have one- it just depends on  the size.

The curtain rods are simple cafe rods from Target.  

And the rings are also from Target.

The best part?  I can always add more hooks if needed, or take away when I want to do something different.  The rods are the only part that cannot be moved or adjusted.

I absolutely love this part of our home!  What was once a dreary and bland hallway now has been transformed into a gorgeous display of my child's handiwork.  It's not all over my refrigerator, it's not in a box, but it's on display for our family and guests to admire.  

Big Girl Room Update

My daughter is turning three next month, and it was high time for a transformation of her long-outgrown nursery.  She was able to get out of her crib about 8 months ago, so we took it down and she slept on the bottom bunk bed in my son's room.  It was really cute- like they were "roomies" or something, but her room was bare and empty except for a toy shelf.  And I don't know about your house, but here in our crazy home, an empty room gets messy, chaotic and unorganized real fast!  It was constantly a wreck, likely because the kids would play in there all the time due to the lack of furniture in their way!

So, I started a pinboard and the wheels of my brain started turning for a Big Girl Room for my almost three-year-old.  

The basics:

Bedding:  Target (out of stock online; I found it in store)

Wall Color:  Valspar Lilac

Toy Shelf Color:  Valspar First Kiss

Furniture:  Upcycled from my childhood!

Hardware:  Modular Kitchen Cabinets

Curtains:  Target

Bookcases:  Helping Little Hands

Toy Shelf:  Inherited from Great-Grandmother's house

Some "before" pics, way before..... like before we even bought the home!  

I sold the vintage butterfly curtains to a consignment store in Winter Park.  LOVE the built-in desk that came with this room!!!!

Hubby painting the toy shelf

And the "after" pics!

I just couldn't resist this precious heart bedding from Target.  It stole my heart- pun intended!  :)

My dad built these bookshelves for Amelia many months ago, maybe even a year ago, and I first posted about them here, but they look amazing now that the room is painted, don't you think?

This wire basket was in the Target Dollar Spot after Easter for half off- so it was $1.25!  Score!

I picked up the clock at a recent consignment sale (Boutique For A Week) and the flowers were from her nursery.... I love the way they add class to the room!

This flower border may be my favorite part of the room.  I found sticker wall decals at the Dollar Tree when I was visiting my parents, and bought five sheets with the hopes that this idea would work and fit in the space.  It did, and I couldn't be more thrilled with how precious this part of the room is!

I was impressed with the quality of the wall decals and how easy they are to remove.  Great for renters, too!

But since Amelia doesn't sit at the desk and do homework or makeup, we use the chair cut out for stroller parking.  :)

The toy shelf was inherited from my husband's Great-grandmother's home.  It was originally green and sat behind her sofa.  We have loved using it as a toy shelf, and although it was a nightmare to paint, it {finally} turned out amazing!

We chose to take off the closet doors, since they were sliding {and ugly} brown doors.  They weren't secure on the tracks and I was scared they would fall on the kids.

So we painted the inside of the closet the same color as the room and put the dresser in there.  I updated the hardware {which was from the 1980's, or maybe before} and my mom put a new coat of paint on all the white furniture.

I used decals {once again, from Dollar Tree} for her name, and hung coat hooks from Target for her purses and baskets.

The baskets were also from Target Dollar Spot {can you tell I *love* Target?} around Valentine's Day.  Sorry they're no longer available!  I use them to hold hairbows, bracelets, and other small accessory items.

And that's it!  We love the new room, and Amelia does too!  It was such fun to decorate a girly room for her.

Still a few things I may add like some throw pillows, another piece of artwork above the toy shelf, and maybe some pendant bunting to the closet opening or window.... still thinking about that!

Sorry some photos are a little blurry!  I'm still learning how to use my manual focus lens!

How to Make Crayon Shapes with Silicone Molds

Anyone else have a bag of broken used crayons?  Yesterday, my kiddos and I used these old crayons (and some new ones, too) to create heart-shaped crayons for Valentine's Day.

There are several tutorials on the internet for how to do this, and they all vary just a bit.  I'm certainly not trying to recreate anyone's project, but just sharing what worked for us.

The first step is to remove any paper left on the crayons.  You can use a knife or razor blade to help with this.  Then, cut or break the crayons into small pieces.  Depending on the size of your molds, the sizes will vary.  My molds were small (about 1.5 inches in diameter), so I cut my crayons to 1/2" or less in length.  Don't let the kiddos participate in this step - sharp knives and little hands are not a good combination!

Allow the little hands around your house to fill the molds with the crayon pieces.  I have seen many variations of this step- some people just mixed all colors in with each other, making a rainbow crayon.  Others have put all the greens in one mold, yellows in another, etc.  This creates a mosaic of one color, but the various shades give it interest too.  Totally up to you and your child.

Make sure you have an oven-safe mold.  My molds were silicone and I bought them at Ikea.  Here's a few silicone molds available online if you don't have an Ikea nearby-

1:  Gingerbread Boy

2:  Easter Egg

3:  Heart

4:  Football

5:  Letters

6:  Christmas Trees

7:  Jack-O-Lantern

8:  Flowers

9:  Fall Assortment

Once your molds are full, put them on a baking sheet and into a preheated oven at 250 degrees F.  {Please ignore my dirty oven!}  I baked my crayons for 13 minutes, but times may vary depending on your oven.  Watch them closely!

When you remove  them from the oven, use a toothpick to pop any bubbles or push any big crayons deep into the mold (this is especially important if you use some jumbo crayons like I did).

Put them into a freezer for about 10-15 minutes.  This allows them to get very hard (and cold!).

Flip the mold over and pop them out.  This is easy to do since the molds are silicone and are flexible.

Wrap a few together for a gift, or give your kids a piece of paper and let them start coloring!  This is such a simple and fairly cheap idea for holiday gifts, party favors, or just a fun rainy day activity.

I was inspired by this pin on Pinterest for this post.

Freeze Pop Coozies

I know this post is terribly off season, but my friend Stephanie asked me to make these Freeze Pop Coozies for her.  However, I personally think that freezer pops never go out of season, especially in Florida.  In fact, today was the first day my son wore long pants to school.

I was amazed at how simple they were!  It took me less than five minutes per coozie, and I was able to use the scraps I had in my sewing room.

The tutorial is here, and it includes a free printable.  It's a great way to use flannel scraps, a great gift idea, or a great short naptime project.

Checking the coozies for size was a great excuse for baby girl to have an afternoon snack.  :)

Florida Flower Girl Dress

Here in Florida, it's still pretty hot.  So when my friend Megan asked me to make her daughter a flower girl dress for an outdoor wedding, I knew it had to be cool and breezy.  Especially since it would be worn by a two-year-old.  

So I designed this flower girl dress the same way as the popular pillowcase or bandana dresses that are so prevalent on the internet these days.  It's two pieces of fabric with the side seams sewn together until just shy of the arm holes.  A casing is sewn in the top of each piece and ribbon threaded through.  This forms a gathered neck and gathers the top of the dress.  

To make this dress a little more "dressy", I added a sash and a layer or ribbon at the end.  I used satin ribbon, which feels more formal than grosgrain.  Because I couldn't find the right color in the wide width, I made a sash out of the beige fabric and then added the blue satin ribbon on top.  This also gives it stability so the bow isn't floppy.  

I used stitch witchery to add the ribbon detail to the sash and hem of the dress.  I like this much better than stitching the ribbon on, because it looks so much cleaner.  For the hem, I strategically placed the ribbon on top of my hem stitch so it would be hidden.

This dress can be adjusted to fit many size toddlers, and you can't really make it too big as long as the length is correct.  My friend's daughter is a good bit bigger than my daughter (although they were born the same month), but I'm confident it will fit all two-year-old frames.  

My First Vlog! How to Make a Purse or Gift Bag from a Dollar Tree Placemat

This is such an exciting day!

Yesterday I created a YouTube channel and filmed a tutorial as I sewed a gift bag for a birthday girl.  I love giving gifts in these simple bags because it doubles as a purse or mini organizing bin.  It's so eco-friendly as well, since you are saving a paper gift bag or gift wrap.

The video is far from perfect, especially since I filmed it myself and had to do many things one-handed.  You'll notice some shaking of the camera, some blurriness, and lots of "um" in my vocabulary!  It can only get better from here, right?  :)

It's also quite a long video for such a simple project, but I included every detail for those of you who enjoy step-by-step instructions.

I'd love to hear your feedback!  Do you prefer video tutorials or photo instructions?  What other tutorials would be helpful in video form?

Shirred Bandana Dress

My darling two-year-old is in love with Dora, or "Dee-Do" as she calls her.  So, when I saw these bandanas at Hobby Lobby, I couldn't resist transforming them into a dress for her.  It was incredibly easy, and I'm happy to share the details with you.

You will need:

• Two Bandanas (mine measured 20" x 20", and were $1.99 each at Hobby Lobby)
• One roll Elastic thread (available at WalMarts that still sell fabric, or at fabric stores - $0.97 at WalMart)
• Regular thread to coordinate with the background of your bandana
• Ribbon for around the neck

Measuring the child:

• My daughter is 27 months old and weighs about 25 lbs.  She is 34 inches tall.  This dress would likely be too long and would require a hem on anyone shorter than 34". 
• Measure from under your child's armpits down their chest.  Note where you would like the shirring (the elastic thread) to stop.  My child measured 4".
• Plan to have enough ribbon to tie behind their neck, or you could make two traditional shoulder straps or a cross in the back- be creative!

Start with two bandanas.

Because bandanas are finished on all edges, you won't need to hem anything.  See?  Already easy. 

These bandanas were $1.99 each.

Next, remove any tags or price stickers from your bandanas.

Place bandanas RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER on your worktable.

Using regular thread to match the background of your bandans, sew down ONE side of the bandanas.  If you bandanas have a direction, make sure you are sewing a side seam and not the neck or hem of the dress.  Remember to only sew down ONE side.

Using elastic thread, hand wind your bobbin until full.  Depending on the size of your child, it may take several bobbins.  Wind a few in the beginning to save yourself time during the sewing process.

Wind loosely.  Do not pull the elastic tight.  Allow it to easily wrap around the bobbin.

Using the edge of your presserfoot as a guide, begin sewing.  You will be sewing down the long edge of the bandana (essentially sewing down one bandana, over the seam you made previously, and on to the second bandana).

The top of your machine is threaded with regular thread - whatever closely matches your bandana background.  Only the bobbin is threaded with elastic thread.

I sewed 13 rows total, which was four inches. 

Make sure to leave plenty of string at the end of each row.  Many tutorials say you need to tie your top and bobbin thread together at the end of the row - I have personally never done this and not had a problem.  However, if you cut your strings too short you would have it retract back into the stitch and that would be no good! 

It has also been my experience that different brands of elastic thread tend to shirr differently.  So, if you have a small amount on an old roll, I would NOT try to use that piece and then pair it with another brand.  Your dress may not look uniform. 

There is an excellent tutorial on shirring with elastic thread here.

So, now that your shirring is done, you will need to remove your elastic thread bobbin and replace it with the bobbin thread that matches your top thread. 

Pin the remaining side seam of your dress with right sides together and sew the second side seam.

After this seam is done, you may clip all the excess elastic thread and regular thread strings.

Now you have a beautiful strapless dress!

I chose to add a ribbon to tie in the back - halter style, but you can do whatever you want.  Traditional straps, criss cross in the back, anything really - do whatever works with the stash you have and the girl for which you are sewing.

Other variations:

• Use the tutorial here to make a matching pair of bloomers with a third bandana
• Add a ruffle to the bottom if you need more length
• Fit the straps loosely and pair with a long sleeved onesie or shirt for cooler weather