Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Booty Buns Cloth Diapers


Hey, it's me Shanni, and I am guest blogging at Honey Bear Lane tomorrow since Heidi is on maternity leave.


Check it out, and while you're at it got check out the newly updated Booty Buns Cloth Diaper site, our diapers are now available!




Happy New Year :) -Shanni




GO GREEN ♥ GIVE CHARITY

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Ten Neighbor Gifts Ideas

With winter break in full swing all of my little ones and my hubby are home for the holidays!Before I go on my own little Christmas break from blogging, I wanted to share with you what I posted on my cousin-in-law, Heidi's blog. Just in case you didn't go a lookin' I also included three more ideas that I found via pinterest, so that if you already did visit Honeybear Lane you wouldn't feel like you looked at my blog for nothing!:)

But First . . .
This little Sucker got deleted from the bottom . . . I know, how totally unprofessional to start with number 6!


6. Here Is What You Give: Hot Chocolate Mix
Here Is What You Say: "When Your Hands and Nose Get Cold and You Need A Warm Thing You Can Hold, Look No Farther Than This Jar. It Has Been Filled With Love, By Friends So True, With Sweetness Made Just for You. To Us Your Friendship Is A Gift That Always Gives Our Hearts A Lift! Merry Christmas! "


NOW . . . the new


From love-the-day.com



From room-mom101.blogspot.com




Now, this is what I wrote for Heidi . . . it starts in the middle . . .

Now For The CUTE Stuff! You may have seen something like this already this season, but I really wanted to do a post that featured ideas for Neighbor Gifts this Christmas! So here are 7 ideas and some original short poems that you are free to use! (P.S. I tried to stay low budget- there are so many cute and clever things you can do, but I was trying ideas that were easy on the budget:)

1. Here's What You Give: Wafer cookies:
Here's What You Say: “Wafer” Not, But Let Your Faith Abound In Christ and Let Your Soul Delight In the True Meaning of The Season! Merry Christmas!”

2.Here Is What You Give:Sparkling Cider
Here Is What You Say: Like the Stars That “Sparkle” in the Night, Friends Like You Bring Our Soul Delight. When the “Sparkling” lights come down and no longer on our rooftop found, Friends Like You Bring Lasting Cheer and Make our Hearts “Sparkle” the Rest of the Year! Merry Christmas!

3. Here Is What You Give: Pop Corn

Here Is What You Say: Friends Like You Make the Holiday Season “Pop” With Joy! Or"We "Popped" On Over To Give You This Treat Because We Think You Are Really Neat. At Christmastime You're A Gift Times Ten And We Feel Really Lucky To Call You A Friend."
You could also just wrap a bag of pop corn . . . I just thought it looked cuter in the jar for picture's sake:)
4. Here Is What You Give: A Strand of Christmas Lights

Here Is What You Say: “Shepard's Kept Their Watch By Night and Saw a New Star Burning Bright. Angels Sang and Greetings Gave And Invited All To See the Babe” May The Light Of Christ Fill your Hearts This Holiday Season!

5. Here Is What You Give: A Christmas Star

Here Is What You Say: “Star Light, Star Bright, A Brand New Star I See Tonight, Bathes the World In precious Light and Hails A Baby's Birth Tonight” May the Light of Our Savior Bring You Peace and Joy This Holiday Season!

6. Here's What You Give: Fishy Crackers or Swedish Fish

Okay, this is not an original poem, but Here Is What You Say: "We Fish You A Merry Christmas, We Fish You A Merry Christmas, We Fish You A Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!"

So, there you have it! I hope you like some of these cute and affordable ideas!

I hope your Christmas is merry and filled with joy!

xoxo, Amy

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

My Advent Calendar Picks

As usual, I am running a little late . . . the story of my life! The good news is that even if I am late making an advent calendar this year it will be ready for the next. That is the great thing about Christmas, it's an annual thing. I'll let you know which I decide to imitate!

These Beauties come to you from a wide Pinterest search:)


From the Maya Road Blog:

From Martha Stewart:


From The Freckled Nest:


From Kimberly Petersen:


She also has a way cool activity advent on this same post. Every night you choose a simple but meaningful activity from a stack of cards. I'm thinking it will be great for when school gets out!

By Narrating Life:

I would love to see any advent calendar that you love . . . I still need to make one and at this point I am still open to suggestion. Leave a comment and point me in the right direction.:)

Happy Crafting!

xoxo,

Amy


Friday, December 9, 2011

DIY Photo Canvas! What?!

I saw this on pinterest. I for one LOVE the canvas look but I don't really love the price!
This was too good not share! Check it out from the Sassy Pepper! What a great gift!

Happy Crafting!
xoxo, Amy

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

NeighBor Gifts For Christmas!

Hey Blogland, I am so excited to say that I get to do a guest post on Honeybearlane!






The very talented Heidi, is married to my cousin and is absolutely wonderful! She makes and sells the. most.amazing baby quilts. Go check out my guest post on her site and get SEVEN great gift ideas to give to your neighbors/co-workers/teacher gifts etc!


Thank you for your Support:)


xoxo. Amy

Friday, December 2, 2011

How to Throw and Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

I won't argue, I know we look good! My sweater even won an award:)


I should so be a fashion blogger:)
Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties are so much fun! You can make your own sweater or go to a thrift store or ask your Aunt May to borrow one of her sweaters. Just a warning however: When you ask to borrow Aunt May's sweater, don't tell her you need and "ugly" Christmas sweater, tell her you need an extremely "festive" Christmas sweater:) That way you will still have peace in the family.

So this is what you do:
Invite your guests and tell them it is a pot luck party.
Go in search of the perfect Holiday sweater (or make your own- it is way more fun)
Have a prize for the ugliest male and female sweat.
Prize should be simple, like a glow stick left over from Halloween (don't break the bank on a prize)
Have a white *Elephant gift exchange (something you don't ever use that is laying around your house or a dollar store item.
Enjoy food and Company!

*White Elephant Gift Exchange Rules:
Place all white elephant gifts in a central location.
Have two to four plastic cups (depending on how many guests you have) Each cup should contain a pair of dice. Pick a number like three. Every time someone roles doubles of the number three they get to choose one of the white elephant gifts. The cups with dice should be moving constantly around the guests. The next person who roles doubles can choose to take a new gift from gift location or steal from someone who already has a gift. It is best to set a time limit like 5-8 minutes depending on the crowd you have invited.


** Another great party game is Catch-phrase because it doesn't matter how big or small your group is everyone can play. edit: If you wanna get really crazy add some "Minute To Win It" Games!

There you go, simple, easy, fun!

Happy Party,
xoxo,
Amy

DIY Felt Headbands and Velcro Flowers!

I think I log a lot of bathroom hours . . .hold on, it's not what you think . . . I am the mama to three little girls (and one sweet little boy) so with four heads of female hair to do every morning, we log a lot of bathroom hours. See, I told ya, it wasn't what you thought:)
Because I have so many little girls, I have a fondness for hair accessories. Like these:

Brown Paper Packages is one of the lovely blogs I follow (and you should too) and she did a post about these headbands and I wanted to try my hand at them because I thought: no.1 they looked cute and no. two they looked easy! Mine are slightly different from hers however and I'll show you what I mean below.


I didn't want to use an elastic headband for my 8 and 6 year old so I opted for a soft plastic headband instead. I buy a special kind on line that don't cause any pain behind the ears so my kids actually don't mind headbands.


I attached the the soft part of the Velcro in one one spot only on the felt bow but put the tougher side of the Velcro in multiple places on the headband. The felt sticks to Velcro pretty good so I felt like I didn't need to attach both pieces of Velcro at every point on the headband.


I then proceed to attach the felt bows with sticky back Velcro. I added a little hot glue for added hold. The reason I did this is because I already have a drawer full of headbands and really didn't want to add more to it. The idea for me was to simply make the felt bow interchangeable.


The other difference is that I simply used craft felt because it is what I had on hand and haven't the foggiest idea where to get better felt. It would most likely require a trip to a larger town:)

Thank you Kierste, from Brown Paper Packages, for shring your cuteness!

I applied the same idea of interchangeable hair pieces when my third baby girl was born a little over a year ago. I didn't want to have millions of elastic headbands cluttering a drawer so I used the circle sticky back Velro again adding a little hot glue for extra hold.

That way I just had to change out the flowers to match outfits and when her head grew, I only had to replace one elastic headband.


Front of the flower:

Back of the flower!

Happy Crafting!
XOXO,
Amy

Delicously Easy Party Fruit Side Dish!

Berry Fruit Salad, oh how I love your sweet tasty goodness! I also love that you are so easy to make. I promise to serve you at every party, rain or snow, Winter or Fall!
The absolute best thing about this fruit salad is that you absolutely cannot mess it up! You can combine almost any fruit together and be pleased with the results. The key to the goodness: one can of cherry pie filling and one small tub of cool whip! MMMM! (note: when I make this I actually mix the tub of whip cream in with the fruit in a large bowl instead of using it as a garnish, but the garnish made for a better picture:))

So here are a few of the variations you could use:
Raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, cherry pie filling and whip cream

peaches, mandarin oranges, pineapple, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, cherry pie filling and whip cream

You see, just throw in your favorite fruits and away you go. You could even substitute a different pie filling. Fresh or frozen works in most cases. Drain any juice from canned fruits and make sure fruit thaws before you mix it with whip cream. Got left overs? Either save them for tomorrow or mix it up in a smoothie! SO yummy!

Happy Mixing!
xoxo,
Amy

Monday, November 28, 2011

Jingle Bell Shadow Box

Have you discovered Pinterest yet?! I am sure the answer is yes! Well my next craft was pinspired by pinterest. Don't you just love this little shadow box! It is seriously so easy to make! I got my vinyl from my neighbor Kim (and you can too) because I am not one of those crafters who has her own vinyl machine. Everything else was from Walmart or the craft store. The only thing I found pricey was the jingle bells. Seriously, you should stock up on those for the after Christmas sales.


The only thing I did differently than the original project was add the gold Christmas lights. Of course, the scrapbook paper is different because you can choose whatever paper fits your fancy. As far as crafts go this one was a little pricier but the simplicity of it all might make up for the price.



I also made a new tile. I modge podged three different types of scrapbook paper and added a few embellishments. This was easy and not too pricey. The word "Family" is done in vinyl but you could use stickers just as easily.


I used:


three coordinating scrapbook pages


One wooden heart


Rafia


Vinyl words


magnet phrase


photo corners


Hot glue gun


It is pretty self explanatory, if you have questions feel free to ask!





Happy Crafting!


XOXO,


Amy

Thanksgiving Decor: Painted Burlap Pillows

This is a repost from two years ago. I still love my "Count Your Blessings" Pillow and It is actually on display on the planters shelf in my bedroom all year round (unlike my Christmas Pillows).
Not that I am complaining but I seemed to have missed Thanksgiving. Not in real life thank goodness, but in the virtual world (which is way less tragic:)) Why you may ask (or maybe you won't ask- but I'll tell you anyhow).



Well, one week I participated as a vendor in a huge event that My city puts on called "The Festival of Trees" It is a holiday event that showcases entertainment, Decorated Christmas tree and a boutique like shopping experience. After that was over, I began to prepare my home for Thanksgiving holiday guests, While I was cleaning my garage, my baby decide that she needed to pull our luggage rack (that hooks onto the back of our car) on her toe and all but sever it. You can imagine the panic and frenzy that follows such an event. It is encompasses, ER visits, stitches and lots and LOTS of follow of visits. We are still waiting to see how it will all turn out. You can see why I have been absent form the virtual world. Lucky for me, virtual life continues to go on:)


I did however make this cute little pillow out of burlap and cotton:


You can also customize a pillow for yourself or a neighbor gift for Christmas:




You will need:


Burlap


White cotton Fabric


Sewing machine


White and black thread


ribbon


batting


Black paint


Textile Medium


1. I got a yard of burlap (super cheap stuff) and cut out pillow squares. I didn't measure, I just made sure I had two matching pieces that I could sew together.

2. I cut out my white fabric to a measurement that would fit in the middle of my burlap pillow.


3. I painted the phrase I wanted on the white fabric by mixing a textile medium wit craft paint and then heat setting with my iron as per manufacturer's directions.


For the "Joy" phrase I used a homemade stencil. If you have a cutting machine then good for you, but I had to print the word "JOY" from my computer and then create a stencil.


Directions for Stencil. Print out word from your computer and trace on freezer paper. Cut out using an exacto knife. Once your word is cut out, place in desired location on fabric (shiny side down) and iron for temporary hold. Cut out a matching size piece of freezer paper to iron onto the opposite side of fabric so that your paint won't bleed and spread. Mix paint with textile medium and paint proceed to paint your stencil. Let stencil dry, remove freezer paper, and heat set according to manufacturer's direction.


4. Sew black border around your white fabric to frame your phrase and then, pin to burlap and sew it on with white thread.


5. Take your burlap pillow pieces, turn them inside out and pin them into place and sew them together with white thread. Make sure to leave and opening about 2 inches wide to stuff pillow with batting.


6. Turn pillow right side out and stuff with batting and either hand sew closed or sew it close with your machine (which is what I did. It was hard, but it worked.)


7. Garnish by adding a ribbon. (you can sew it on if you want too)


And you are done! Cute and easy!


Happy Crafting!


XOXO,


Amy

New Life to Old Clothes!

If you haven't noticed yet it is my SIL Shanni who does the stuff that requires more talent. She is WAY better with a sewing machine than I am. I am kind of a make-it-up-as-I go and if -all- else -fails- use- a-glue-gun kind of a girl. Now you know . . . the secret is out.

With that being said . . .

Being a mom of four I have been many sizes in my life. That means I go through a LOT of clothes! If you have been pregnant in the last five years or so you know that maternity clothes have gotten quite stylish and sometimes I find it hard to say good-bye to some of my cute outfits. But lucky for me I had an idea . . .


I convinced a fabulous photographer to do a photog class so that she could give me some tips on how to take a better picture. Well she agreed and she wanted to do the practice portion of our class shooting a "Victorian era" like tea party. I helped her collect props and design headbands and costumes for the event and it gave me a chance to use some of my beloved old clothes.


Case in point: cute shirt, cute skirt:
they went from this . . .




To this:






I'll post some better pictures of the details later, but these two beautiful girls are my daughters. My skirt became a long dress (I measured my daughters chest and sewed in elastic that fit her measurements, then I added a really pretty rosette ribbon for straps- it is hidden under a cropped sweater in the picture- and it became a new dress. It was sew easy!)






For my fair daughter my shirt became a short dress. I flipped it upside down and sewed in elastic that measured the length of her chest. Then I put it on her to decide where I wanted the elastic shoulder straps to go. I marked the right spot on the shirt. Then I wrapped the elastic shoulder straps in fabric that matched the shirt and sewed it in place the same time I sewed the straps to the shirt. I may or may not have used a little hot glue to hold the wrapped straps in place:) while sewing. Then I added to rolled flower rosettes in matching fabric to the the front of the shirt where the elastic straps met the fabric and simply pinned those on so I wouldn't have to worry about putting them in the wash. OH, I also hemmed over the existing hem a bit to make it fit the width of my daughter's body a little better. I cut off the shirt where the sleeves began an hemmed what was once the top of the shirt. (hem, flip and hem again). Then I added another skirt underneath for color and little extra length. This was a little trickier than adjusting my skirt.






The HEADBANDS are mad of stretch lace, rolled fabric flowers, paper flowers, glass buttons, flowers and decorative brads. Lisa and I made those.




Now these little outfits look so cute on my kiddos I thought: why did I not just adjust them to fit me? Oh well, live and learn:)




Happy Crafting!


xoxo,


Amy


Friday, November 25, 2011

DIY Flannel PJs ~ Part 2: The Top

So here goes part 2! There are more steps in making the top, but you can do it :)



First things first, lets talk Black Friday at Joannes ~
Doors opened at 6 am & people weren't killing each other to get anything!! Everyone was patient getting in the door and shared their flannels :) It was the best Black Friday experience
I've ever had! I scored some uber cute flannels!


Plus, the store employees gave everyone the coupons when you walked in,
so I got an additional 25% off my entire order & 50% off my oldest daughter's
Christmas gift since it wasn't on sale.
OH YES!!


I can't wait to cut into these!
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE :)




What You'll Need:
1 1/2 Yards Flannel Fabric {this will cover the shirt as well}
About 24 Inches Grossgrain Ribbon
4-5 Buttons Depending On The Size
Matching Thread
And Your Sewing Machine & Tools :)
Also, I used my Seger, but if you don't have one use your zig-zag stitch.



Bring back your paper bag and let's make the pattern. If you have a pair of pjs to trace, then trace each piece. If not, grab a shirt that fits your child loosely. If all you have are onesies, you can use it for your pattern, just make sure to add a few inches to give some room.





If you're using a loose shirt, ignore the sleeves for now & trace the back twice.
Cut 1 out & cut down the middle, then retrace adding 1 1/2 inches to the center.
You only have to create one side because you can flip the pattern over. Next, draw
the neck line how you want it. I like an angled neckline on these type of jammies.
For the collar, measure along the neck line of your pattern for the length, then
make a rectangle with the width of 3 1/2 inches. You can keep the angles sharp
or round them, whichever you like. After you cut everything out, take the front
panel and you're going to trace along the center line and 2 inches at the top & bottom,
keeping the angles the same at the neck line. Draw a line connecting top to bottom,
this is for the reinforcement fabric behind the buttons and button holes.
For the pockets, make a 4 inch square.




Trace each piece on your flannel or fleece. Make sure that you flip the patterns
over for the front panel, reinforcement pieces & collar pieces. In this picture
I marked where the 1 yard mark was so you could see.




But I forgot to make sleeves :)


So take your back & front panels, and line them up at the shoulder, then trace that round angle. For 12 month size, measure out 7 inches from each end & then square off the bottom of the sleeve. Trace those onto your flannel.




Cut each piece out and get ready to sew and serge. First, sew at the shoulders,
then serge or zigzag stitch. Next, serge the bottom edges of the sleeves and
pockets & hem the same way I described in part 1. Add the ribbon about
1/2 inch from the bottom and stitch on both edges.



Pin the sleeves to the front & back panels then sew and serge.



It should look like this after the sleeves are on. Set the pockets aside for a later step.




With right sides together, pin along the sleeve & the side of the shirt.
Then, sew along that seam, then serge or zigzag stitch. Next, take the reinforcement
pieces & sew them on to the center of the shirt. I like the fabric to have the
right side showing, so that's how I sewed it on. When both sides are on,
serge the bottom of the shirt then hem like you did with the sleeves.
Don't add ribbon to this hem, since you'll be adding pockets.
Flip right side out and attach the pockets. I forgot to take pictures of this step,
but its really easy ~ just fold the 3 edges under along the sides & bottom,
then stitch on. Make sure to back stitch at the beginning and end.




The collar was my least favorite part of this whole project, so beware,
it may get a little frustrating! The easy parts are: sew the ribbon about 3/4 inch
from the edge, make sure the fabric lays the way you want it to, if the fabric has a
direction. With right sides together, sew along the first short side, then the side
where the ribbon is and end on the other short side. You should have the
long side with out the ribbon left open.




This is the part that drove me a little crazy, maybe there is an easier way
to do this, I just haven't figured it out. . . fold the flannel inside itself at 1/4 inch,
then pin the neckline of the shirt inside the collar piece.




Sew along the pins, go slow to make sure that both sides of the collar stay in line
with each other & the shirt stays inside the collar. Every single one I made
I had to flip over & sew the other side because I wasn't patient enough to
follow this step, but no big deal since you have to look really close to see the mistakes ;)




The final step that I forgot to take pictures of is to measure your button holes and sew them into place. Open each button hole with your seam ripper then sew the buttons on.