Our Favorite Things

Sorry another craft;o) I promise once Flower Power comes, I won't be blogging about crafting :) My mother-in-law's birthday was last week. She is a crafty person and really into Stampn' It Up. I thought she'd enjoy a craft and find out what we are going to name FP. My sister-in-law is pregnant as well and we incorporated that idea into it as well. I found on howdoesshe.com this cute craft with 2x4s.
I decided to make the same thing, but instead of My Favorite Things, I would use Our Grandkids and put all the grandkids pictures including the new babies' ultrasound pictures.

Supplies...2 pieces of scrapbook paper, a 2x4 long enough for all your blocks, stain, glue, ribbon, and wire

Here is my scrapbook paper I used for attempt 1 ;) You'll see on the end product, I decided to use a darker color. I didn't like the light paper with the cherry stain. We got the 2x4 for 50 cents from the scrap wood at Home Depot!!!



Howdoesshe used a cricut and vinyl to put the names on the scrapbook paper, but I'm not that fancy. Instead I just printed the names out on the scrapbook paper and cut them using my paper cutter. I knew I was cutting the wood with the bottom piece being 8 inches, the next 7 inches, next 6 inches, and continued this pattern. So I used illustrator to set up make trim marks and sized the names to fit each block of wood. I also made them an inch smaller than the block size in order to see the wood.

The lovely Mr.E cut the wood for me. I don't do table saws :) Here's an idea of what the blocks will look like.


Mr.E also stained the the wood blocks for me too :) I shouldn't breath the fumes...that's what I told him :) haha It is for HIS mother :)


I originally was going to use spray adhesive to attach the names, but WOW it made a mess and I had it all over the place! I just used good ole Elmer's Glue to glue on the names. You can also use Modge Podge, but I didn't have that on hand. I did use a sponge brush to put it on evenly.


I got the drill out and the smallest bit that was the size of the wire I was going to use for the picture holder which I also bought at Home Depot. I put a hole in each block on alternating blocks and the middle for the top piece. Notice I changed the paper:)


I took the wire and wrapped one end around needle nose pliers to make the holder for the picture. I also glued the wires in with super glue. And I put a bow around it to hold the blocks together since they are NOT glued together. Here is the finished product :) I love it!!!

If you want better directions check out howdoesshe.com :) Happy Crafting!!!

Finally A Blog About Little Lion

You probably think I forgot that this was a blog about my lovely son since I've been crafting lately:) I did not!!! I was waiting for something ROCKIN' to blog about;)

This story does start at a craft store....LL and I were at Hobby Lobby buying hair accessories for FLOWER POWER (yes that is really Baby Sister's name...j/k haha). I am going to make those cute crocheted headbands with the big ole flower on them for her. Anyway, LL wanted to wear the headband I had picked out. Being the PC Mom that I am :) I let him wear it. Of course to make Dad happy, I told him he was an Indian (ok maybe not so PC...Native American). He wore his head piece proudly for the rest of the day.
When we got home, he started playing with his favorite toy....a Guitar. I thought it was sooo funny since he looked like a 70's rockstar with Star Wars tshirt and all :)

Yes folks this is my retirement :)

We also went to a birthday party this weekend for LL's friend H who is now 4! It was a ton of fun with lots of visual stimulation :) Here's our rockstar getting ready to PARTY!We went to Boardwalk Bowl. The kids started out throwing the ball down the lane, but we soon discovered watching 8 kids bowl this way was going to take forever. So they brought out the handicap ramp which the kids loved pushing the ball down. And shockingly they bowled well! LL got a 70!! Heck I barely get a 70!

After bowling we headed over to the blacklight indoor minigolf! LL is not the next Tiger Woods with his swing, but he was a good cheater...bud bump bud bump ching :)And finally we went to the Arcade. Boys and their video games!!!What a great party! LL even got a very cute embroidered Spiderman shirt with his name since H's Mom has her own Embroidery Shop.(http://www.writteninthread.com/) We were all tired when we got home and naps were a must. Good times!!

Crafting Again--Magnets!

Ok I partly blame my crafting on not wanting to clean out the nursery closet and mostly on Mr.E and Little Lion watching football ALL DAY on Sunday! I was bored and thought hmmm what I can make with things I already have on hand. After reading some crafty blogs, I realized I could make cute flower magnets. My niece's birthday is next week and thought this would be a cute add on gift too!

Here's an easy tutorial, if you want to make some too!

Supplies: A sheet of scrapbooking paper, glass beads, glass glue, magnets, and scissors.


I placed the beads on different flowers to see which looked better and then glued them to the sheet of paper.

After letting them dry for a couple of hours, I cut them out being careful not to cut to close to the flower.

Using the same glue, I glued the magnet to the back of the bead. It also gives extra support for the scrapbook paper.


Taaadaaaaa! Cute Magnets!

These would make great holiday gifts too. You could use holiday scrapbook paper or print out some small holiday clip art pictures. I've also seen people use letters or magazine pictures too. Happy Crafting!!

I'm Not Nesting, I'm Crafting!

I am NOT a crafty person! However, I've get into moods where I think I am :) The past couple of days I've felt that urge. So I decided to make something for Baby Sister and a few pregnant friends. I was scouring the internet looking for something cute and EASY! I decided to make with the help of my Mom (she has the sewing machine!).....burp cloths! So here is my tutorial of a noncrafty person making burp cloths :)

Step One...Buy cloth diapers. I bought Gerber 3 ply with extra absorbency. They were buy one, get one 50 off at BRU. Then I went to JoAnns and bought fabric squares which were 50% off for Labor Day (.99 each) and for softer cloths Snuggle Fleece for $3.99 a yard also on sale.

Step Two...Iron everything! We decided to *practice* on each type of fabric. I ironed the fabric squares and burp cloth.Then I laid the yard of fleece out and found you could fit 4 burp clothes. I cut them out and ironed.

Step Three...Pinning. You are going to do an EASY straight stitch around all four sides leaving an opening. That way you can flip it out. Therefore, pinning is done like you are sewing it inside out. Notice the fabric print facing upwards.

Step Four...Sew the four sides leaving an opening in order to turn it inside out. After a few cloths we realized that the best spot to leave the opening is to leave 3-4 inches on the nonextra padded side. Trim the excess fabric off except where the opening is in order to find it later. And just to show you how hi tech we are, here's my Mom's 1951 Singer sewing machine ;)

Step Five...Flip so the burp cloth is the correct way and use a chopstick to push out the corners. It kinda looks like a pillow case ;)

Step Six...Iron again! It helps to flatten the cloth so when you sew again, there is no puckering. Sorry I didn't take a picture :)

Step Seven...Sew the middle seams. Now that the burp cloth is the correct way, turn the white burp cloth side up and follow their seam where the extra absorbency is located. I tried to show the seams on the white side for the first picture and the finished project.


Step Eight...Close the opening by sewing. You can do this one of two ways. You can hand stitch it closed or if you want a more finished look you can topstitch the four sides including the opening. Just careful to try to keep it straight. Or if you have a fancier machine then ours you can do a cute zigzag stitch which will cover the non straightness. (Remember we aren't crafty :) We did one of each way. I prefer the end stitching since it makes it look a little more finished and flatter. You can see the edging here.

Step Nine...Be proud ;) My cute Mom holding our first burp cloth!

It took us 2 hours to make 3 finished burp cloths and I ironed/pinned 7 more. I'm sure it'll be less time consuming as we continue since we were analyzing, critiquing, picture taking, and laughing as we figured it all out.

Here is the picture of the fleece burp cloth. Sooo cute!

I don't think we are going to open an Etsy.com store, but for Baby Sister and friends they are cute and inexpensive for fashionable burp cloths. And when she pukes all over them, I can say I made this with LOVE as I clean it up ;)

Swear Words

Yup I'm talking about S-H-I-T! Little Lion is such a parrot right now that everything you say he repeats back and remembers!! So last week LL's Uncle was cleaning out the fish pond for Bashi and Gramps. Uncle T says "I hate this shit!" which prompted LL to repeat shit. I didn't yell at him, but informed him that is sassy words and Uncle T didn't mean to say it. I thought the issue was over...WRONG!

In the bathtub....2 days later.... LL says to me as I'm talking to my mom on the phone, "Uncle T says shit" I tell him again that is sassy words and if he says them he'll go to time out. My mom who is hearing only part of the conversation and asks what is going on. I tell her the above story and instead of saying shit, I spell it. I should have known my little speller would pick that up.

LL spells S-H-I-T now. He asked me what that spells and I said "Time Out" So now he thinks it's funny to spell shit and when asked what that spells, he states "Time Out" :) haha He's too smart for his own good! I'm sure his school teacher will love to hear him spell time out!

Back to School...Wooo Hooo!!!

It's that time of year where Mom's rejoice and kids groan....SCHOOL!! Little Lion started his second year of preschool at ELC today. He is going 3 days a week opposed to the 2 he did last year. I think he's going to continue to thrive and learn a ton this year!

Last Friday, we went to Meet the Teacher. LL already knows his teacher since she is his Sunday School teacher and did lunch with him when I was subbing at school. While I was filling out paperwork, LL worked on his Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree.Then he went to the toys. His first choice...an ironing board :) He's going to make a great husband one day :)Before we left LL posed by the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Tree. It's going to be their theme for this week. My *gifted* child points to the bulletin board and says "Mommy, it says Chicken, Chicken Boom Boom!" Hey that's close!!!

Today was the first day of class. I was excited, LL not so much. He wanted to stay home with Mom :) I tried to make it exciting. I made a yummy breakfast of pancakes.We even had some time to jump on the trampoline.I got him ready and put him in a cute outfit and ready to go. Do you think LL was going to be cooperative and let me take his picture??? NOOOOOOO!! Doesn't he know this is a milestone and a Mom MUST take a picture??? This is the majority of pictures I got.....he does have a cute butt though :)


I did actually manage to get a FEW of his face.

And one with his friend C...they are only 2 weeks apart in age...LL looks shrimpy!
I was so proud of LL and myself. There were no tears while I was dropping him off! He remembered the procedure from last year and knew where to put his snack and went to the table to work on his puzzle.
I left quickly while he was occupied. I enjoyed my first morning alone in a few months by having donuts with C's Mom and grocery shopping without a spaceship cart!!! I picked LL up and he had a good day :) A great report from his teacher :) And told me he didn't want to go home, but back to school!!! Those things make a Mommy happy! Aww my big boy is growing up!!

Baby Sister!!!

Yippee! She is officially a GIRL!! I went for my 23w 2d appointment today. The U/S tech did a quick check to verify that she is in fact a she :) The tech was able to find girly parts quickly and pointed them out. I'm glad to have a definite answer! Plus it's a good thing she is a girl since I've bought lots of girl clothes and mermaid items for her nursery!!

The Tech was also kind enough to take a 3-D picture of her sweet face :) Sooooo cute!!! I thought it'd be fun to compare them to Little Lion's 3-D pictures. Unfortunately, LL's pictures are from 19 weeks and 28 weeks (the first 2 pics in color). Hers (last b/w pic) is obviously from 23w. I can see some similarities in LL's 28 w and hers. What do you think???

Same lips and chin???? Either way, I know she is going to be ADORABLE!!!!

Now the problem comes down to picking out a name for her!!!! Our long list is Eliza, Stella, Nora, Eden, Iris, Lola, Alice, Karolina, and Tabitha. Mr.E's short list is Ezra...totally a boy name...and Apple...for the computers.....NEGATORY BUDDY!! Ugh so for now she'll be Baby Sister...that we agree upon :)