Getting Crafty with Whitney

My friend Whitney has a great blog, Elm Street Life, where I like to go often just to drool over the photographs she takes. Of course, it is a great way to keep up with what is going on in her life since she no longer lives nearby. I also enjoy watching her crafty things come to life with her helpful "how to" instructions.

I recently read this post and decided to try it out for myself during Jelly Bean and String Bean's naps. Here are the results!

String Bean shows off my very first attempt. This took me about 5 minutes total to do.

Since String Bean has a lot of hair, I tried this out with a larger barrette.
Worked GREAT!
She will likely be wearing both of these barrettes at the same time.

Yes, Jelly Bean's hair is long enough and thick enough that it needs a barrette, too!
I used the smallest bud I could find for her tiny head.

I did not have a glue gun like Whitney suggested, but I did have tacky glue. I'm hoping that does the trick. If not, I will probably be investing in a glue gun, soon. These little barrettes make great gifts and I know 3 little girls (all sisters) who probably need some barrettes for back-to-school!

And here are some bonus pictures of my girls which don't show off the barrettes very well; however, personalities are on display!

Jelly Bean cooing. 12 weeks old.
(And a great photo of the underside of the barrette.)

String Bean "smiling" for the camera while eating M&Ms,
her reward for peeing on the potty!
Age: 2 years 8 months

Stove Top Instructions

Yesterday, I showed you photos of the stove top Mr. Bean and I created for String Bean. As promised, here are the step by step instructions.

You will need: scissors, Elmer's glue, foam paper, contact paper, a shirt box, magic marker(s), cabinet hardware and screws that screw all the way into them with washers to fit, a ruler, and a pencil.

1. Pick a sturdy shirt box. I used a box from J. Crew. It is not a collapsible box which is a large reason why the box is so sturdy.
2. Cover your box with contact paper. I chose white, but you can use whatever color strikes your fancy. A couple of tips: cut your paper large enough to cover your box AND the sides (so the paper folds over to the inside of the box). Peel the paper back and lay the box on the paper, not the paper on the box. It is much easier to manage this way. You will need to cut the paper to fold over the corners. (Luckily you have the top and the bottom of the box, so if you mess up--you've got another one ready to go!)
3. Cut your burners out of the foam paper. You'll need to find something round and trace it onto the foam paper with a pencil. I used one of the Gerber toddler snack cans. Depending on the size of your box and the size of your child's pots/pans, you can determine whether your stove top should have 2 or 4 burners.
4. Draw detail on your burners. Use your magic marker, but be careful not to smudge the ink. It takes a few minutes for the ink to permeate the foam and it will smear if you touch it too early.
5. Measure out the placement of your knobs. We used our ruler to find the middle of the box and planned our burner placement from there. We were also careful to make sure we found the center of the side measuring up and down so they would be level across the front of the box.
6. Punch holes for the screws. I put Mr. Bean on this task because his strength is greater than mine. He pushed the screw through the marked spot so we had little holes there for later when we had to thread the screws through the cardboard.
7. Plan out the knob settings. Using your pencil, plan out how your knob gauges will read. This took a few attempts because we initially didn't plan for how large the knob was. Be sure to look at your pencil markings with the knobs placed over them before you write over them with marker. Don't forget to make the mark on the knob to point out how high the burner is on.
   
8. Draw with marker the knob settings. Like the foam paper, the magic marker takes a couple minutes to dry. Test it out on scrap paper, first. Erase any extra pencil marks when complete. (Note: be sure to test out your pencil and eraser on a scrap of contact paper as well. It took us a couple of tries to find an eraser that did not leave a smear on the contact paper.)
   
9. Affix the knobs to the box. We decided putting a washer on each screw was the best thing to do because we did not want our two year old to be too aggressive with the knobs and ull the screws through the cardboard. Test out the turning of the knobs so you know if you need to tighten or loosen the screw. (Note: You likely will need to tighten your screw from time to time as your child plays with their new stove top.)
10. Adhere the burners to the stove top. Time will tell whether Elmer's glue was the best glue to use on this part of the craft, but so far, so good! Make sure you put lots of glue all the way to the edges of the burner and covering most of the surface area for a good seal. Allow plenty of time to dry.
    
11. Sit back and watch the magic! Hopefully your little one will enjoy the pretend play and will make all sorts of treats for you to enjoy. This is a great opportunity to teach stove top safety to your kids. Pretend the burners are actually hot when they are on. Use pot holders to pick up hot pots and teach your child to turn off the stove top.

String Bean loves her new stove top!

String Bean's Stove Top

On New Year's Eve, I decided that String Bean needed a cooking surface for all her new dishes and food so she could continue to learn the fine art of home making. Our condo is not large enough for a full-size kitchen, so I decided to create a stove top surface for her using only a shirt box, contact paper, 4 cabinet knobs with screws and washers, a sheet of red foam paper, and a black sharpie.

Here are some pictures of the final project:

String Bean is cooking up a storm! Please note the princess tent in the background. This is a favorite Christmas present of String Bean's.

Mr. Bean was kind enough to do the marker work on the burners and the knobs.

Close up of the knobs.

View from the top.

For those of you interested in step-by-step instructions on how to make this stove top for your little ones, stay tuned for tomorrow's post!

Christmas in July

Anyone who knows me even slightly, knows that I am a huge disorganized mess who does everything at the last minute. However, this year, now that I have turned all crafty, I'm planning on making Christmas presents. This requires planning and time. So I'm starting now. This morning I spent over 2 glorious hours at JoAnn Fabrics and my mind is filled with ideas and patterns that just need to be expressed. I used coupons, too!

Father's Day Homemade Gifts

Photo by Luxist.com

Ah, the ancient tradition going back to ancient Egypt of children purchasing ties for their fathers on Father's Day. Let's make this year different. Roll up your sleeves, moms, it is time for you to start helping your little ones make Father's Day gifts. No help from the Department of Education here. Dads have it so easy since the schools help your kid make Mother's Day cards and gifts, don't they?

For your viewing pleasure, here are some ideas for you as you plan your child's Father's Day gift.

Best Dad Desk Accessory: recommended for ages 6 and up with parental supervision. Requires dad to have a desk to display the gift on...or a workbench...or a dresser.

Car Nut Frame: recommended for age 5 and up, but I think a 3 year old could do this craft. Make sure you have a photo to put in the frame or it will sit under your bed like Mr. Bean's photo frame has since Christmas. This craft is really cute for any handy-dad.

Coupons: I recommend this "craft" for your older kids who will definitely understand their own sacrifice of love and understand how coupons work. You can make your own or print some here. Even cuter? Make coupons credit card size and stuff a new wallet full of them! I suggest an expiration date be put on them to encourage immediate use or they may end up like Mr. Bean's last batch of coupons--under the bed. Alternatively you could call them gift certificates or gift cards! That's language everyone understands!

Dad's Throne: No, not the toilet. This cute idea is great if you have multiple children and no plans (and good weather) on Father's Day. Helpful if you have a kid who is creative and another who likes to implement ideas, but not necessary. If the weather is bad, this could easily be transformed into an indoor throne.

Note Pad: This idea is really cute and can be done by most any child, toddler and up. A quick visit to the office supply store, some markers, and a ribbon later and viola! You have a quick and easy present just for dad! This is a Martha Stewart approved project.

Personalized Coasters: This is a great craft if you have a newborn since you can just stamp their hand print or foot print on the coasters. Three steps: go to home improvement store, decorate, seal. Love it.

Of course, a tie is easier.

Hazel's Craft Corner

I may have mentioned that I'm not really crafty, but I'm trying to change that. I started making jewelry last year and it's a lot of fun. I thought I would show you some of the more recent stuff I've made.

Since I'm having so much fun with the jewelry making, I decided to branch out in crafting. For my birthday, which is still a week and a half away, I got a sewing machine. Today, I finally had a chance to put it through its paces and try to recall from the depths of my memory anything that I learned in my high school Home Ec. classes. When that failed, I made a bag. I didn't use a pattern, because I didn't have one and since I don't usually use recipes when I cook, I figured I could wing sewing, too. I mean, Filbert almost always eats the stuff I cook, even when the kids and I can't choke it down. I've completely lost the thread of this post, now. Oh, hey, I made a bad pun. I'm talking about sewing and lost the thread. When you have to explain a joke, it kind of loses it's effectiveness. So anyway, I made a bag and here, in all of it's glory, it is.

And here it is again, filled with stuff.

Next I'm going to make a pillowcase dress for Cashew and I bought some fabric remnants to make into pants for her, also. I'll let you all know how it goes!

Busy Crafts for Preschoolers

Ever have one of those days? Here are a couple simple crafts to do with your preschooler to keep them busy. (And they are educational, too!)

Trail Mix
Have your child practice counting. Get together a big bowl, a spoon, and several dry ingredients such as cereal, M&Ms or small pretzels. Have your child count out a set number (10, 20, 100--depending on your child's counting skills) of each kind of ingredient and toss them into the big bowl. Let your child mix up the snack and divvy it up for mom, dad, siblings and friends!

"Candy" Necklaces
You will need cereal with a hole such as Fruit Loops and about a foot or a foot and a half of yarn. Tie one of the pieces of cereal to the end of the string and have your child string the cereal onto the string to make a "candy" necklace. When finished, tie the end of the string back on the original piece of cereal. This craft helps with fine motor skills. You can also have your child make patterns to practice sequencing.

Shakers
Using toilet paper rolls, paper towel rolls or even paper plates, make shakers. Covering the ends of the rolls (or stapling two paper plates together). In the middle of the roll, put dried beans or dried rice. Once sealed, turn on the music and practice playing with the band! This activity develops rhythm and musical awareness.

What are some of your preschooler-friendly educational craft ideas?