Chica Schmica

For as long as I can remember, the only thing that was ever exciting to me about Valentine’s Day was the chocolate. Not much has changed, really, which is why you probably won’t see much more about the upcoming holiday here. But, I do have my two little ones now and I try not to let my biases get in the way of their fun…too much.

In the spirit of being festive, I figured we’d make some V-Day inspired decor…3-D hearts!

I’m posting a tutorial for this easy project, not to insult your intelligence, but because I like taking pictures and I know some people really prefer to look at images rather than read.

What you’ll need:

painted cardboard (the girls painted the backs of oatmeal boxes).
ribbon
stapler
hot glue gun
scissors

First cut out small, medium, and large hearts. I used the same template that I used for our heart scarf then eye-balled the other two hearts from there.

Fold the smaller two sizes in half and layer all of them on top of the big heart. Then staple right in the middle. I covered the staple with a little dab of paint. Use the hot glue gun to attach the ribbon…and you’re done. That’s it.

When I originally added the ribbon, I intended on using it to hang the hearts. But that’s silly. These will only be up for a few weeks and I’m not about to puncture my wall for some fleeting decor. So, I used wall putty to stick them to the wall. That being said, you can forgo the ribbon if you’d like, thus alleviating the need for a glue gun!

We also went to the library a few days ago and brought back some Valentine-y books.

One particularly worth mentioning is the one on the  bottom: Secret Valentine. Just a simple story about a little girl who, with her mother, decides to skip the greeting card store and make all of her own valentines.

So sweet it just warms my heart right up.

She even makes one for her kitty.

Surely there are other decent Valentine’s books out there. Any suggestions?

I originally saw these thumbprint hearts on bookmarks. Very cute. I decided they would be just perfect for Valentine’s Day cards from the girls to the Grandmas.

Annabelle chose the yellow cardstock and the pink and blue paint. Blue for her and pink for her little sister. It actually took us several attempts to get the thumbprints to look like hearts. I’m sure this would be much easier for those not working with a 1 and a 2 year old.

For our little ones, we found that it was more difficult to get it right when we had their fists closed, as seen below:

Once we opened their hands up and had their thumbs sticking out, it lengthened the amount of thumb space we had to work with and made the process much easier!

I left the front cover as is with just the hearts and let them each leave a "message" inside. I really wanted the cards to be as much of them and as little of me as possible. These could definitely be jazzed up a bit, but I think I really like the simplicity of just two tiny hearts.

Charlotte doodled on the left and, it’s hard to see, but Annabelle wrote A’s all over her side on the right. I’m so proud of her and her writing. I do believe a writing journal will be coming soon.

We’ve been working on some Valentine’s decor here and there, so, if it turns out the way I hope it does, I’ll be posting it in the next couple of days.

See you soon!

No, I’m not having a baby. There’s enough of that going around, already.

But…I have been working on something that I just can’t keep to myself any longer.

I’d like to invite all of you over to a new blog that I’ve started called One Crafty Place.

Over the last year or so I’ve gathered an impressive number of craft links on my del.icio.us account. A few months ago, I started toying with the idea of adding a del.icio.us widget on this blog to share all the sweetness I’ve been saving. But, I’ve also been following The Crafty Crow for a while now and I love how Cassie uses it to share her finds and connect bloggers together. Plus, I’ve found it to be an incredible resource for finding activities to do with my girls. I’ve come across so many bloggers and so many children’s crafts that I know I would never have found on my own.

That’s basically how OCP came to be. Those who are interested in making things for their children will find inspiration and resources such as links to tutorials and free patterns. I hope that it will become a place where like-minded folks from all over can find each other.

I’m really excited about this new venture of mine and I would be eternally grateful if you would link to my new blog, either in a post or on you blogroll. I also have a button that you are more than welcome to use.   And, if it’s up your alley, be sure to add OCP to your reader. I’ll be publishing 3-4 posts a day, so there should always be something new to see! Be sure to shoot me an email if you find something, or have made something, that you think should be added to my list!

Thanks for your support and I’ll see you soon!

Thought I’d post a little update on my last post.

I’m enjoying the knitting, but have yet to learn how to correct my mistakes without starting over.

I haven’t gotten very far.

But, I also just received the very loooong version of Pride and Prejudice in the mail. So at least I’ll have something wonderful to watch while I knit the first five rows of my dishcloth/coaster/scarf over and over again.

As for the craft closet, it’s been painted a happy shade of turquoise, and a desk has been installed (special thanks to the hubby). The Ikea shelves that we bought are 3/4" too long, so I won’t be able to "move in" until other arrangements are made. Perhaps another weekend or two of organizing and moving stuff around is all I’ll need.

I mentioned before that I participated in a gift swap this Christmas,  but I didn’t really go into much detail because I decided it deserved a post of its own.

The swap was hosted by Meg at Sew Liberated, and as soon as I read the details, I knew I wanted to participate. In a nutshell, you get paired with one other person to share the details of some tradition that you maintain around the holidays. Each person is to send her partner a handmade gift, a recipe, and the details surrounding their tradition. The really fun part is getting to "meet" someone that you most likely wouldn’t meet otherwise.

My partner was Debbie, and I must say she really out did herself.

She included examples of her traditional tin can baskets, which are perfect for putting little treats in for teachers and such.

She thoughtfully provided two sweet little felt Santa bags with beaded costume necklaces for the girls and sent along some delicious lotion for myself!

For her recipe (which sounds so yummy and actually looks like something I could pull off), she has this great idea to put a magnet on the back to keep handy in the kitchen. Awesome!

And finally, my favorite, is her handmade gift: a decorative plate with this adorable snowman image on it. She even thought to send a plate stand!

I was completely overwhelmed with gratitude at receiving such a bountiful and thoughtfully conceived package.

Thanks, Debbie!

Growing up in a military family, I always found that maintaining family traditions was one of the best ways to stay grounded and feel at home no matter where we happened to be physically located. My own family is still relatively young and we have yet to start any new traditions, but one Christmas activity from my childhood has always stayed with me. It is centered around decorating the Christmas tree and I hope that my children’s memories of it will be as fond as mine are.

Every year, when we bring the tree home, regardless of whether it is live or artificial, we gather as a family to adorn it with all of it’s trimmings. With Christmas tunes playing in the background, we begin by preparing refreshments. To drink, we make our version of warm apple cider: pour regular apple juice into a mug, add a cinnamon stick, microwave until warm, use cinnamon stick as a straw to slurp up every last drop of the cider. It’s warmth and subtle flavor make it the ideal holiday drink for children. It’s also fun to have special mugs that you use for this every year. I remember using those yellow smiley face mugs for the longest time, I’m guessing until they all broke. My mom would also have made some cookies for us to enjoy as we strung lights and popcorn around the tree. We can spend several hours at our task as we reminisce about the significance of particular ornaments and take care to spare no inch of the tree from some adornment. I’m not big on tinsel (although it was a staple when I was a kid!), but candy canes are a must!

This particular time of family sharing and enjoyment is the main kick-off of the Christmas season for us. The music, the sweet aroma of cider and cookies lingering in the air, and the warmth of family are prefect for getting into the Christmas spirit. It is one of my favorite parts of the season, and it is a holiday tradition that I hope will continue for generations to come!

I recently shared this tradition with my swap partner (Debbie) in Sew Liberated’s Holiday Traditions Swap and made a few things to go along with it.

In the hopes that Debbie and her family will try the Apple Cider, I sent her some cinnamon sticks wrapped in monogrammed cozies. They’re all bundled up for the cold weather and are just waiting to be dunked in some warm apple juice!

I also made her a star ornament, using this star pattern, to include on her family’s Christmas tree.

As for our own tree, we got our first real Christmas tree in years and decorated it simply with colorful lights and cinnamon ornaments that the girls made.

Even in its simplicity, it was one of the most beautiful trees I’ve ever seen.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

I’ll be posting again soon to show you all of my loot from the Traditions Swap.

Wanted: A DIY t-shirt with an image in Santa’s likeness on it.

Solution: One upside-down handprint!

These shirts are so easy and so much fun to make. I traced the body with a pencil then filled in with fabric paint. For Santa, I stitched the face, but I could have just as easily used the same paint that I used to outline him. The outline was painted using a toothpick. And those cotton-ball-looking-thingies are different sized white pom-poms that you can pick up at any craft store…attached with hot glue.

To make Mr. Reindeer,  I used one foot and two hands.

For this guy’s extra parts, I went with buttons…also attached with hot glue. 

Now that the girls have some holiday threads we’re all set to go pick out our tree this weekend. I know. It’s almost Christmas and we’ll probably be taking it down in less than two weeks. But, it’s been in the 80s here all week and I’m determined to get into some Christmas spirit before the big day actually gets here! Actually, this isn’t the first time we’ve gotten our tree late. A few years ago we went out and picked up a tree on Christmas Eve…got a great deal on it, too!

Anybody else wait ’til the last minute to put their holiday decorations up?

I came across this activity in a book that I had totally forgotten about until I found it while cleaning up before our trip. The original idea is to make little hats and mark faces on the child’s hand, but I thought a glove would be fun, too!

Here’s the rhyme:

Five little elves trimming the tree
getting Christmas ready for you and me.

The first little elf whose hat was red,
said “I’m tired. I’m going to bed.”

The second little elf whose hat was blue
went to hide in Santa’s shoe.

The third little elf whose hat was yellow
went to the kitchen to eat some jello.

The fourth little elf whose hat was green
was sent to his room because he was mean.

The fifth little elf whose hat was purple
was very rude and made a burple!

It’s a silly little number, but it worked out great for both of my wee ones. I use the glove with Charlotte (the little one) and let Annabelle put the little hats on her fingers and take them off as I go through each color.

They both love doing this over and over again and I love it because I can engage both of them in the same activity and know that each child is getting something out of it!

For the hats I cut semi-circles using a play-doh lid as a template (cut circle then cut in half). I used a glue gun on the overlap to make ‘em stick. I also used the glue gun to attach the hats and embroidered faces to the glove.

Here are some more elf poems that you could also use:

This little elf went to the workshop, (point to thumb)
This little elf stayed home, (point to index finger)
This little elf ate a candy cane, (point to middle finger)
This little elf ate none, (point to ring finger)
And this little elf cried, “Ho, Ho, Ho,” (point to little finger)
All the way home!

Five little elves trimming the tree,
Getting ready for Christmas full of glee.
Santa said, “You must help me!”
And one little elf ran from the tree.
Four little elves trimming the tree…
Three little elves trimming the tree…
Two little elf trimming the tree…
One little elf trimming the tree…

Five little elves jumping on a sled, one fell off and bumped his head. Santa called the doctor and the doctor said, “No more elves jumping on the sled.”

Continue counting down to one little elf jumping on the sled.

I know that potato stamping is traditionally a child’s craft, but I’ve also seen some pretty impressive potato stamps out there. With that in mind, I thought that creating a potato stamp for some homemade Christmas cards could be a cheap resourceful and creatively satisfying project.

In case you can’t see it, this is supposed to a star shining over Baby Jesus. After carving it, I envisioned a stack of carefully stamped and thoughtfully composed Christmas cards that would be sent out to our family and closest friends. Upon stamping, however, it became obvious that I had no idea what I was doing. It came out looking terribly gloppy and, well let’s just say Baby Jesus wasn’t exactly looking his best.

What did I do wrong? First, I think I didn’t dry the potato enough before stamping. Second, I didn’t take any precautions to keep the paint on the just the image. I recently saw this video of Martha Stewart making skull potato stamps. In the video, she used a paint applicator which I think would have really helped to keep the print a little cleaner looking. I think my final mistake was not having really clean lines between Jesus and his cradle, so it really just looked like a big blob.

Take 2

My second attempt went much more smoothly. I used a real ink pad instead of paint and carved deep into the potato…probably a good 1/4 inch. I think that made all the difference in the world.

You can see how much cleaner the lines are on my second attempt:

especially when you look at the image.

Potato stamping, and stamping in general, has so many possibilities. I could definitely see myself getting into this more if I had the time to experiment with it in more depth.

If you ever find yourself with a potato in hand and a few moments to spare, go ahead and take a knife to it. It’s more fun than you might think. And, if you’ve read this post (as opposed to just looking at the pictures and moving on) then you should be all set to do it right the first time!

Hello Door. 
  

What’s the matter? Why so sad?

Is it because your owners have lived at your house for over a year now and still have not taken off those ugly security stickers?

No?

OH! I know! It’s because you see all of the other doors have lovely wreaths hanging from them and you feel left out.

I’m sorry, door. I don’t have a wreath to hang on you.

Meanwhile….

Hi Little Red Dress.
 

I know. You’ve been hanging around here for a few weeks now and you’re getting bored.

Frankly, I’m just not sure what to do with you.  The thing is, you’re really not a good fit for me. Furthermore, I picked you up at a garage sale, so I’m afraid I can’t take you back where you came from.

You’ll just have to hang out a little longer until I can find something for you to do.

What to do…what to do…

Hmmm….

Wait!

I know!

Little Red Dress, meet Door.
Door, meet Little Red Dress.

There. Now everybody’s happy! You two look very cozy together!

Happy endings make me smile!

Tutorial coming tomorrow: