A New Springtime

Scapbook Area Organization

Reorganizing my scrapbook area is something that takes place about three times a year.

I found these great jars and labels at the dollar tree and knew they would make my space look a lot neater.

The plastic drawers contain my 12 x 12 paper. the white bins hold current pictures I want to use, wood stamps in the middle and paper embellishments in the container on the right. Next shelf: two green bins hold older photos. Bottom shelf: two green pull out bins hold extra empty containers.

This is the entire space I use to do my scrapbooking and sewing. It is not that big but when organized, it is very efficient.

This shelf holds sewing supplies, small finished and unfinished scrapbooks, paints, and my kiddos sensory bins.

Labeling makes everything so much easier to find and return to its proper place.

A bit of pretty decor and some family photos finsh of the space and make it a pleasant place to work in!

 

 

Made for Mother's Day

This year I was inspired to make some handmade Mother's Day gifts. Both my mother and my grandmother were given the special talents of being able to sew and make many different gifts for me and for others.

It was a blessing for me to be able to use the gift of sewing, passed down to me, to make  some special items for my mother.yesterday, my oldest son had made himself an apron and that led me to make one for my mom.

I had gotten this red, yellow and green floral fabric at GW about 3 years ago not knowing what I would use it for. I just really liked the folk look it had. My mother's new kitchen is tan and her pots and pans and utensils are dark red, so the fabric was the perfect match.

I had quite a big piece of material so I was able make a few more kitchen accessories to match. Potholders make nice gifts because they can be decorative and useful as well.

Pretty dishtowels are so fun and easy to make and can also brighten up a kitchen. I used two pieces of fabric, sewed all the way around with the right sides together, leaving a small space at the top to turn them right side out. Iron them when done sewing and stitch once around the outside edge. I actually want to make more of these.
Mother's deserve the very best because they give the very best of themselves. My mother has been such a wonderful person of love and encouragement in my life. She has taught me many great lessons in life, especially how to give of myself and share the love we have with others.

Fabric Bins

I like to try making different things for our home and for the kids.
I wanted Malcie to have more places to place his small toys in. He likes to throw things if he doesn't have a designated spot to put things in.
These fabric bins work out great for him. He likes to put things in and out, so he is happy to get to use these for that activity.

I got this sea turtle fabric at Knight's Quilt Shop .

Many things can be contained in these bins: flashcards, books, markers....
cars, toys,etc.
Malcolm loves independant play and these allow him to keep his things in an area contained close to him.

Sewing for our home is always rewarding especially when the kiddos benefit from what is made.

Simple Sewing

Yesterday, I got to do some very simple sewing projects. I had purchased this piece of fabric  for $1 at GW, it was originally a curtain. I thought it had a sort of Pottery Barn look  to it. I actually call it "hippie-style" fabric.

 Beachy, summery and imaginative are what I think of when I look at this fabric. DH said it reminds him of a Monet painting which is fine with me because I am a big Monet fan.It is sort of an impressionist piece.
The curtain was big enough to repurpose into two tablerunners, so I made one for the dining room table and one for this chest in the living room.
I think it makes the home look more inviting and a comfortable place for some relaxation and conversation.

Simple blue tones, some sea shells and greenery are always good for a summer tablescape, and a very soothing place to eat a wonderful summer dinner as a family.

Time to Slow Down and Be a Bit Creative

 This time of year is always so inspiring,  the holidays are right around the corner and I feel like being creative and crafty. Since Thanksgiving is only two days away, we usually take a different approach to school. We put the everyday subjects on hold and do some random learning.

 I had picked up this boxed set of videos a couple of weeks ago at Goodwill for $3 and I thought it would be a nice way to spend the day. Two of the girls are learning about early American and state history right know so it will be a good addition to their studies. The movies were better than I expected, the scenery and wildlife were beautiful and the narration was done well, also.
Even Lil' malcolm was  enjoying the feature presentation.
While the kids were watching, I was sitting there with them hemming a couple of pairs of pants I had gotten at the GW the same time I found the tapes.

•  I get so excited when I get to sew especially when I have all of this gorgeous thread, a present I got for my birthday from my mother. I used to only have a few colors or would just use natural for everything but it's alot of fun to be able to coordinate a project with the right color. It comes out much better in the end.
  This is another little crafty project the girls and I have been working on, the inspiration comes from That Artist Woman, blog. I love Advent and Advent Calendars so when I saw this one, I decided to give it a try. There are 24 stars that go around Mary and a baby Jesus to put in her arms on Christmas day.
  These will be gifts for my God-children to help them focus on the Holy season. It is a qiuick project that can be made with what you may already have at home.
• regular print or watercolor paper
• watercolor paints
• the template from " That Artist Woman" ( we changed the face, leaving it plain)
• purple and royal blue cardstock
• a glue stick
• a white out pen ( for the numbers) you could use white paint
• ribbon
• star stickers ( I wanted mine bigger to cover the #'s so I added cardstock)  they can glue the stars  to the calendar each day or just use the stickers

I hope everyone is enjoying some creative fun and learning before Thanksgiving.

 

Monthly May Recap

School:                                                            

DH got me this new copy machine for school, it has made my job so much easier. At a moments notice  I can just press print and presto I have the papers I need.

WW II studies continued with, "Number the Stars" by Lois Lowry, this was a 3 CD set from our local library. It was a wonderful way to spend a couple of afternoons. I also found...

this movie at GW, it was a good way to wrap up our studies. I am so ready to be done with the study of the wars and I know why I have avoided them in the past. My older boys did a lot of reading on their own about the subject. They were into learning about the tanks and the weapons. I am glad we used: "V is for Victory", "Sadako, and the Thousand Paper Cranes", and "Number the Stars". These books gave us sense of what it was like to be living at that time and gave us a relationship with the characters who experienced these events, it wasn't just a bunch of facts in the latter two books mentioned. I am satisfied with the results of this unit.

Family Events:

May 13th B-Day!

May 13th, My flowers from Mother's Day!

May 18th another B-day! Pink Lemonade Cake and Frosting!!

Family Fun:

Brother to Brother!

Brother and Sister!

Mom's Sewing Projects:

Shorts for Baby

Library Bag for Big Sister

It's been busy so far and one more birthday to go on May 24!

A Little Bit Of This, A Little Bit of That

Last week we had a vacation from homeschool...

the mornings were awesome just sitting  around watching the kiddos instead of giving out orders and hustling to get them going for the day. I sat back and observed Elle drinking her hot chocolate and the others doing their own thing.

I was sitting on the couch with the laptop when I noticed this lil' guy who had made his way under the cardtable  trying to check out his new domain.

When this cute face looks at me, all I can do is smile back, laugh, ooh and ahh! He melts my heart and gives me so much love and joy.

Last vacation, I ended up making these skirts for the girls, they were quite easy. All I did was cut strips with a rotary cutter, sewed them together, bound the top and bottom and put the elastic in the waist. Thegirls were thrilled with them. Hannah decided to wear hers and she dressed up little sister to match. She is always thinking of ways to be creative and helpful.

Another sewing project was this simple skirt. I had picked up this beautiful piece of fabric from a tag sale quite awhile ago and never got aroundto using it. The fabric is just so bright and colorful, to pretty not to use.

It was going to be a library bag but there wasn't enough fabric.

Small accomplishments can sometimes be the best. It felt good to finally do something other than school . I enjoyed doing a bit of this and a bit of that, nothing really planned out but getting satisfaction from watching the kids and slipping in a project or two.

Vintage Pillowcase Aprons and Cupcake kit

 I have been wanting to make the girls aprons for awhile now but have never got around to doing it. I finally had a window of opportunity yesterday so I bucked down, got out the sewing machine and began. I started with this:

 
 A vintage pillowcase from GW that was $0.50. It is such a happy print and lends itself perfectly to becoming a little girl's fun apron for baking goodies.

 
  I cut off the cuff that was around the opening and added a small strip of fabric to mak the pockets a bit bigger. Next, I sewed three lines to make four pockets on the bottom.

 
 Each side had to be tuned in and sewn and then the ribbon was added for the tie backs and the neck. I added a piece of ribbon across the top to finish them off.

 
 To make the cupcake kit I found these cute mixing bowls at the dollar store, filled them with:

• paper cupcake cups $.079
• white frosting $0.99
• yellow cake mix $0.99
• colorful sprinkles( free from mom)
• the apron $0.50 for two (plus some elbow grease)
• set of 3 rubber spatulas $1.00
• wooden spoon 3 for $1.00
• mixing bowl $1.00

These two kits for were made for about a total of $15.00, these would make a great girly birthday present, too.

 Everything was placed in the bowl and wrapped with this snowflake cellophane (2 for $1.00). I hope the girls like them and ask to make more treats.

 

 Here is one of my lil' cupcakes. I think I better try to make her an apron, too. She will probably want to get in on the baking action. Well,off to the sewing machine I go.

 

Charming Pot Holders

 

 I have had these raggedy old pot holders for almost three years now. I guess I just never think of getting new ones. Practical things aren't my favorite thing to shop for although I am getting better.

 
 There was a wonderful idea on a blog to cover them instead of throwing them away. Works for me and I thought this material with vintage seed packets on it would make some adorable summer and spring pot holders. A lot better than the current leaves and pumpkins.

 

They ended up coming out quite cute and the stitching around the center helped to give them a quilted feel and will also keep the batting in place when washing them.

 

Also refurbished was this blue and white oven mitt. I used a seam ripper to take the old one apart. Sewing right over the old fabric made it quite easy, the only hard part was getting the thumb out when turning it out to the right side.

The other ones are hanging up in the kitchen on some pegs for now. The kitchen is in need of a new paint job and some other things but for now the refurbished pot holders will give it some needed charm.

 See more interesting projects at Between Naps on the Porch: Metamorphosis Monday and At Skip to My Lou: Made By You Monday

 

 

Simple Sewing

I hit the first tag sale of the season today. I only got one thing but it was worth the stop. I picked up this Klutz Simple Sewing book for Hannah girl.

I have seen these in the store and they sell for $19.95. I got it for a mere $2,  I was so excited!

The book contains everything needed to complete each project, except a dish towel for the apron.

 

Above is the table of contents, I just love the simple pictures.

The instructions are well illustrated and straight forward so the kiddos can easily follow the steps from start to finish.
 

 

The back of the book even has strips of felt. 

Hannah girl decided she wanted to get started right away and began to make a small drawstring bag. You can't buy much for $2 these days, oh wait a minute I just did!