Easter Swap Update

Are you as excited about the Hand-Made Easter Swap as I am??? Look...Bee is demonstrating just how ecstatic I am feeling:)

Just a quick update for our participants. I sent out an email this morning requesting swap info from you...if for some reason you have signed up for the swap and you did not receive that email, please let me know right away. The shipping deadline is going to be March 31, so please send back your responses as soon as possible, so we can all get busy crafting! Thanks so much...and I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Hello Hearts!

Belle actually counts down to her birthday using major holidays. After Christmas, we have to get through New Year's, Valentine's Day, a few family birthdays, Easter and Mother's Day before she gets another round of excessive numbers of presents. Strange calendar system, I know. But her favorite questions are, in this order: When? In the morning? Is that tomorrow? It can really drive one up the wall:) Needless to say, on January 1 she is ready to haul out the hearts. Let's get a move on...there's a birthday waiting for me at the end of this endless parade of holidays!

I held her off as long as I could, but we've been playing with felt Valentines for about 2 weeks now. And there have been heart shaped cookies coming out of the tiny wooden oven in the corner of our kitchen for even longer than that.

Here are just a few of the Valentines crafts that have been seen around these parts recently.

The felt Valentine set didn't last long in the Etsy shop, but have no fear...there are tons of these little things floating around our house:)

And this little guy has just captured my heart! I designed this new Bowling Pin Doll pattern especially with toddlers in mind. It's neck is just right for little hands to grab hold of, and the lack of dangling limbs means that even the roughest round of tug-o-war won't amputate any body parts. This was the prototype for the pattern and I think it turned out pretty well...just like a bowling pin. I'll be trying it out with a different head shape soon:)

And finally, how can you bake heart shaped cookies without an adorable play apron??? I picked up this vintage Valentine print by Kokka at a local quilt market a couple of weeks ago. The ticking and chambray came from my stash, but I think they are pretty much a perfect complement. This apron is in the shop for now, but someone is NOT very happy about that. She has plotted any number of attempts to commandeer it from the sewing room. So far I've managed to stay one step ahead of her, but I have a sneaking suspicion that she's just letting me think that I have her number:) We'll see how long it lasts!

What Valentine crafts are you whipping up this year?

An Easy Handmade Easter Swap...Who Wants to Play?

So, about that Pinterest obsession...well, this time it has tipped off a fantastic little idea. I found a group of moms who hosted an Easter toy/goodie swap at a playdate. Each mom contributed multiples of fun little things to fill Easter baskets and everyone went home with a wonderful variety of exciting handmade things for their little ones.
That led me to the very obvious conclusion that I should host a similar swap right here on the blog! Don't you think it's a GREAT idea? I thought you would:)

So here are the rules...
1.Leave a comment here that you want to play along. Also note the number of children you are swapping for and their ages. Be sure to include your email address if you are a No-reply commenter.
2. All items must be handmade, but that doesn't mean you have to sew...over the next several weeks I will be sharing links to all sorts of projects that you might want to try.
3. Spread the word...the more variety the better!
4. Should the number of participants get way out of hand then I will divide everyone into circles so that you don't end up making 4,652 bunny baskets:)
5. Create one small gift for every child in the swap and mail them so that they reach the recipient at least one week before Easter.
6. Have patience with the swap mama...this is the first time I have hosted a swap. I will forget things, get confused, and make mistakes, but we will work through those as they happen.

I will close sign ups on January 31. After that I will send everyone an email asking for your shipping info an then another with the swap details. I would so greatly appreciate it if you would let me know after the second email, what you plan to make. That way I can prevent any duplications before they occur.

Does that cover it? Come on y'all...play along, ok?

Now a little Etsy love... I am drooling over that little play set up there and I know Bee would flip for it too! Interested...you can find it here

Chasing Away the Rain...

Rainy days are always a challenge, but when they're COLD, rainy days it just isn't pretty! So we decided to try to chase away the rain. Out came the colorful tissue paper and up popped some new spring blooms. Belle has a thing about always needing a centerpiece on the kitchen table. We've had everything from a pair of scissors to my husband's hat thrown in the middle of the table just to satisfy her. I think these are a big improvement! And to kill some time while we were waiting for the sunshine to arrive, Belle designed her first tee. Look how proud she is!

I had her draw a picture on white paper with a dark marker. Then we traced the outline of the shapes on Lite-Bond fusing paper. She picked the colors of fabric she wanted and we got busy with the applique. I had to do all of the ironing and most of the stitching, but she sat with me and picked the thread colors and helped when she could.

And this little gal must be a sunshine fairy, because by the time she was finished the sun was shining brightly! Thank goodness!

Beachy Crafts for Kids

Our family had a great long weekend at the beach and made sure we collected lots of treasures to use in our projects when we got home.

A small bag of sand and a large bag of seashells were all we needed for these fun and easy projects.

Seashore Photo Frame:
I purchased a wooden picture frame at our local craft store for $1. There is no glass in it, so it is perfect for kids to decorate and display. We mixed regular school glue with just a touch of water to thin it out, then brushed the frame with the glue using a foam brush. When the entire frame was wet with a good layer of glue, we dropped pinches of sand all over it. We patted the sand in place and allowed it to dry overnight. The next morning we shook and then brushed off the loose sand and picked shells from our collection to adorn the frame. Belle decided where she wanted each shell, then I used a hot glue gun to attach them. Some of them were a little tricky because they had very little surface area actually touching the frame, but we finally got them all to stick. We haven't gotten our photos back from the trip, so I had to put a piece of paper in to show you, but Belle is excited to add a pic from her trip.


Seashell Imprint Necklaces:
I apologize...these pics are not good, but the necklaces are adorable, I promise!
We used Crayola Model Magic, coated twine, and wooden beads for this project. We began by rolling the model magic into balls and then flattening them into either circles or ovals depending on the shape of the shell. We used a barbecue skewer to create a hole in the top. Belle pressed a shell into the compound and then I pulled it out...I recommend that an adult do the removal because it is easy to make the pendant misshapen when you remove the shell. We allowed the pendants to dry over night then strung them on the coated cord and added pretty wooden beads. If you haven't worked with Crayola Model Magic before, it is a really unique substance...it is so light-weight that it feels almost non-existent hanging around your neck. It is also made for use with Crayola markers, paints etc. so you could decorate the pendants once they are dry.
One more suggestion...try looking for twine and beads in the kids craft section of the craft store before heading to the jewelry/beading section. We had picked out a package of the exact same twine that was half the size and twice the price in the jewelry section before we checked the kids section. The same was true of the beads.


Sandy Hands:

I don't have a pic of these, but will try to add one tomorrow...SORRY!

This can actually be done at the beach or at home. Have your child spread their fingers wide and then press their hand into the sand (either the sand at the beach or a pan of sand at home). Be sure the resulting depression is about 1/2 an inch deep. Place tiny shells and sea glass pieces in the depression where your child's hand was. BE SURE THAT THESE ARE FACE DOWN!!! Mix up a small amount of plaster of paris and fill the hand print. Allow it to dry, then remove the cast of your child's hand. Write name, age, and date on the back side in permanent marker and you will have a precious treasure! We first did this last year and Belle's handprint permanently lives in our kitchen window. It's my goal to do this every year so that we will have a timeline of our girls' growth through the years.
A shoreside tip - We carried a tiny amount of dry plaster of paris to the beach in a ziplock bag. By adding just a touch of water from our water bottles we were able to mix the plaster right in the bag. After we had made the casts we threw away the bag.