Day 399 | Another Day, Another Craft

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Two crafts in a row! I'm on a roll.

I've decided to make curtains. For the first time ever. Also, it's been several months since I've pulled out the sewing machine (think: Halloween costumes) so let's hope it doesn't hold a grudge. 

Today's task? Making a pattern and cutting the fabric. I've decided to add a bold-patterned stripe to my curtains (for Robbe's room, by the way) so the pretty simple task of sewing one piece of fabric has become much more complicated. But still shouldn't be that tricky...it's just sewing straight lines after all. Right? I'll report back when the project is complete to let you know if I underestimated the skill involved. 

Day 355 | One Final Train Craft

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Who am I kidding? There will definitely be future train crafts but I promise there will be a hiatus.

These are the party favors I made for Chase's friends. I bought standard train whistles and decided they needed some pizzazz so personalized them using the same method I did for the railroad crossing sign: Good old white glue and water.

The kiddos loved them!

Day 351 | Birthday Express

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Our sweet three year old had an absolutely terrific train party today. A little over the top with the train theme? Maybe. A little more of a time-suck than originally anticipated? Maybe. Totally worth all the time and energy for our train-obsessed toddler? Definitely!

A few of the highlights:
  • a cupcake train (one of my favorite projects!)
  • a train banner
  • railroad tracks leading up to the front door
  • a railroad crossing sign on the door
  • a super-complex wooden train track for all of Chase's closest train friends
  • the Thomas roller coaster, obviously
  • food trains with all the fruits/veggies and taco fixings
  • a special birthday mantle with representations of some of his favorite things
  • a cardboard choo choo engine

Day 326 | The Price You Pay For Crafting

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This is Robbe's hand this morning after yesterday's (that's right, yesterday's) handprint craft. Needless to say, the ink was not "washable" or "kid-friendly" but I really didn't think it would turn my baby into a hulk look-alike.

The saddest part? The ink is only gone on his thumb...where he he has been sucking it. Mother of the year award for allowing my one year old to ingest green ink (it's non-toxic, though!). The pigmentation continued to fade all day, thank goodness, and disappeared after tonight's bath. 

Sometimes you end up with green hands after a good craft. Just the price you pay. 

Side note: Chase's blue ink wiped right off. Thank goodness. The toddler in our house would not have been able to ignore his new skin tone quite as well. 

Day 305 | Tootsie Roll Flare

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I'm happy to report that this will be the last birthday related post for at least a couple weeks (Chase's birthday is right around the corner, after all). I think we're all suffering from a case of, as the Berenstain Bears put it, " Too Much Birthday."

I couldn't help but share one last tidbit from Robbe's bday celebration: Tootsie Rolls! Did you notice the fun paw print on Robbe's cupcake? That was a Tootsie Roll melted and molded to make that shape. I did the same thing to make sheep heads for Chase's first birthday. It's so much more delicious and accessible than using fondant (the popular cake-decorating material). 

Just throw three or four Tootsies in the microwave for ten seconds and they become super pliable. I will offer one lesson I learned from experience, though: don't put the Tootsies on the cupcakes too far in advance and also leave them in the open air (not in an airtight container) once they're decorated. The Tootsies will melt and start to run if enclosed. 

Fun, right? Now back to our normal life around here. For a few days anyway. 

Day 303 | Kitty Cat Tee

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As part of Robbe's birthday festivities, I used the same kitty cat graphic from the garland for a spunky tee for my favorite soon-to-be one year old (tomorrow!). This is the same process that I used for the favorite thing shirts at Christmas.

The kitty design was my most complicated to date. After tracing the design on the freezer paper and cutting it out, I ironed on the cat head outline first (just long enough to make it stick) and then added the interior facial features before a second round of ironing. It worked perfectly.

Here are the step by step directions, in case you missed it the first time.

Day 297 | Birthday Prep: Take Three

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Who thought it was a good idea to fit three family birthdays in a two week period? Lesson learned for next year: start the prep work right after Christmas. :)

So now I'm hustling trying to make Robbe's first birthday party as special, but not over the top, as possible. I'm confident we can pull it off. 

The theme is going to be cats. And I swear it's not because of my love of all things cat-related. He really does like cats. He can't handle not attacking, I mean snuggling, Miga when she's in the same room as him and if you ask "where's the kitty?" he strains his head in every direction looking for her. So a cat theme it is. 

First up on my craft list? Making sweet cat ears for all/any of our willing guests. Although not the quickest project, it is really simple: just felt, hot glue and headbands. I used paper to decide how big I wanted the ears and then just cut and glued the felt. Chase was pretty excited about them when I showed him the mock-up so hopefully at least a few of our guests will feel the same way.  

Day 286 | Valentines

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Chase has his first school Valentine's Day party at school today. So sweet!

The top photo is the Valentine I made for his classmate and the bottom left and right photos are of the goods he brought home from school (including a fun Valentine mask). He was so so excited!

As if that weren't enough excitement for this morning, I toured what I hope will be Chase's future school. It's a five minute walk away, great facilities, is super-diverse, and has passionate staff. Sounds perfect, right? Now hopefully we can secure one of the highly sought after spots. Think happy thoughts come March.

Day 272 | My Favorite Things: #4

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I'm so happy that knitting is back in my life. I tend to do a few projects (love it!) then somehow stray away due to other crafts. 

I'm definitely back in a big way this round. I finished my first Christmas stockinge last week and then quickly transitioned to a project just for me (woop woop!): a stocking hat. A beyond-adorable, perfect-for-me hat that I can't wait to finish and wear it out. It's pushing my knitting capabilities: I've never done two colors before and it called for a different casting on technique. I'm happy to report I'm nailing it so far!

Here's the pattern so you can see what the (hopefully) finished product will look like. 

Day 267 | Prepping for Christmas

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That's right. It's January and I'm planning [way] ahead for Christmas. That's what you have to do when you're taking about knitting stockings for the whole family.

I've wanted to craft stockings for my family since before we had kids. That's serious. Now that we've settled in as a family of four, it's time. 

My mother in-law crafted some amazing stockings for the boys which we'll continue to use for official Santa business (since they're much fancier). These knitted ones will hang on our mantle, just as festive decor. 

I'm debating about how to add names to these beauties (some sort of tag hanging off of them, probably) but for now I'll just keep on knitting. One down, three to go. 

Oh, and here's the pattern for all you fellow knitters. It's surprisingly easy and quick. You can do it!