diy clay gift tags

the last few weeks before christmas are always some of the most fun (and stressful, let's be honest!). i love picking out the perfect gift for my near and dear, and i love wrapping those presents almost as much as i do picking them out. and it's present wrapping time! this year i thought it would be fun to make some clay gift tags to top my gifts.

i bought white clay at michaels (this stuff), rolled it out 1/4 inch thick, and cut out my shapes. using a straw i poked holes in the top (for string to go through when they are done), then baked them in the oven at 275* for 15 minutes. (oven temperature and cooking times may vary, so make sure to follow the directions that comes with your clay).

after they hardened and cooled, my son and i whipped out our paintbrushes and sharpies and had some fun. i love that they add a really personal element to our gifts, as well as the fact that they can be reused every year.

after a few minutes on pinterest i was able to find some more great ideas using clay to make gift tags and ornaments, too,  here, here, and here.

with the leftover clay we made a little imprint of my son's hand. it's hard to see it in the picture, but now i have his sweet little hand to display on my tree year after year. we did this with this kit when he was a newborn, too. it's crazy to see how much those hands have grown in two years!

happy present wrapping!
xo

make it: a matching game

my little guy and i are really working on colors lately. he knows a lot of the names but has trouble remembering which color is which. i figured a fun little game might help things out, and came up with this simple project.

i found these little wooden houses at hobby lobby and picked up a few packs. then, with some acrylic paint i had on-hand, made little pairs using some basic colors.

you could put a clear coat on top to protect these better, but for now mine are just paint and wood, and are holding up great.

i thought these would mainly be used as little flashcards and for matching, but my little one loves stacking, counting, and just plain old playing with the colorful homes. when he's a little older they will be great for game of memory, too.
so there's a simple project for about $3.00 and 30 minutes of painting. and as usual, the possibilities are endless in customizing them.
enjoy!

a teepee

my latest project for my little one was making this teepee. we had a little denim teepee growing up and i loved it. many afternoons were spent playing in that thing. not only did i want one for my son to enjoy for the play aspect, but it's going to look so cute in his playroom, right? :)

i would be completely lying if i said i loved this project and it was a piece of cake. i don't know what my deal is, but i am teepee challenged. it took two batches of fabric and the help of my mom for me to finally get it right. and it's still a pain to set up. BUT. i love it and am glad the hard part is done and this teepee can be used for stories and pretend, not me pushing it over because i'm so frustrated (yes, that happened. twice).

i used this tutorial from sew mama sew, it's a fabulous tutorial, i was just taking crazy pills the days i worked on mine :)

i think my very favorite part of the teepee is the striped poles. i wanted the fabric to be light and neutral, simply because i like the look (though i was really leaning towards making one like this for a while. isn't it cute?), but i figured it needed a little whimsy and fun, and the poles do it for me. love them.

to make your own teepee you need:

+4-6 six-foot-tall poles (the number you get depends on the look you want. i used 5 poles, but could have done it with 4. a lot of tutorials call for 6, so it's really up to you. mine are from home depot, you can use pvc pipe as well) 
+3 yards of 60 inch-wide canvas
+pack of grommets (i found mine at hobby lobby)
+leather for holding the front together and tying the poles together (found at hobby lobby)
+extra strips of fabric or leather to hold the poles in place

the sew mama sew tutorial has pictures, but just lay your fabric out and fold it in half length-wise. then fold the corners together to make a triangle. cut a half-circle out of the tip of the triangle and the bottom of the triangle. that's where i went wrong the first time, i cut the bottom circle angled the wrong way, so be sure to cut the way she tells you! then you can drape it around your poles to make sure you did it right. then i pinned the ties on the fabric from the inside to make sure they were in the right places, then sewed them. next, i added the grommets (with the help of my hubby) and it was done.

sounds easy, huh? i think it is for most people, so don't let me scare you away! regardless of how frustrated i was getting here, i'm in love with it now and am dreaming of picnics and back-yard-camp outs in our little teepee.

a little room for a little boy

i finally got the little bits and pieces put together for my little guy's bedroom. i know we are here temporarily, but i just couldn't leave his room so bare and thrown together. this is our third "home" in his short little life, and each time we've moved his bedroom is my number one priority. it's very important to me that he feels consistency and structure in his bedroom, and that it is planned and thought out fun. i would feel awful if he had to live like a gypsy just because we've moved so much. :)
that being said, because we're only here for three more months i didn't want to put a ton of stuff on the walls or buy anything we couldn't use in seattle. so i bought a few pieces i knew i would want in his room back home, made the art, pillow, and pouf myself, and of course, used what we already had.

i always like source lists, so here is the source list for this little room:

eames style rocker: overstock
rocking moose: ikea (holy cow! it was half that price when we bought it 6 months ago!)
cardboard deer head: urban outfitters
rug: urban outfitters
elephant bank: urban outfitters
ottoman/pouf: made by me using this tutorial
pillow: made by me using this tutorial

i think that pretty much covers it. it is a simple little temporary bedroom, but it feels like home when we are in there reading stories and singing goodnight songs, and that's what matters most, right?

here comes peter cottontail

i always like to make a little handmade gift for my son when holidays come around. i had other plans for his easter present but don't think my fabric will be here in time, so i found some felt in my craft supplies and made him a few finger puppets. he's really into putting things on his hands and fingers right now, as well as wiggling his fingers, so i thought these would be perfect in his easter basket.

they were so easy that i don't really have much to say as far as "how to's" go. i just took a pen and drew a little bunny shape, using my finger as the guide for how big to make it (make sure you cut two of these, one for the front and one for the back). i drew the face with sharpies (though the little blue guy has some thread for his nose, the sharpie didn't show up very well on his face), then cut and glued the belly, tail, and ears, and then hand sewed the front and back together. it probably took me about 20-30 minutes to make both.

it would be fun to embroider the face and get really detailed, but i was lazy and just wanted it done fast.
i'm hoping to make a few more animals and a little felt home for them all, maybe something with little pockets or velcro or something. that way we can take them to church and maybe, hopefully, fingers crossed, it will keep my wild boy quiet for a few minutes :)

any other last-minute handmade (or not) easter basket filler ideas? i'd love to hear.
xo

dvf at gapkids

has anyone else been super excited to see what the dvf collection at gapkids would be like? i'm loving the bright colors! and i love the fact that little girls all over can wear dvf's famous wrap dresses. i'm a little sad there's nothing for the boys, but i really didn't expect there would be.

now, if only i could get that romper and those sunglasses in my size...

recipe: cheesy crackers

as i mentioned last week, i'm trying to find some great homemade snack ideas for my 18 month old. he loves crackers so i've been trying to make crackers for him, which is something i've never done before. i'm glad i finally tried a few recipes because not only are they way easier than i thought, but they are way healthier than what i've been buying at the store and my son LOVES them.

i found this easy cheesy cracker recipe on 100 days of real food, a great resource for healthy snacks and meals.  my son is nuts about these, it's like he thinks they are cookies or something, which is fine with me! here's the recipe:

ingredients:
1 cup whole wheat flour
5 tbsp cold butter, cut
4 oz or 1 1/2 cups grated cheese

directions:
1. combine all ingredients into a food processor and blend until mixed thoroughly (i had to add a few tablespoons of water to get the right texture. you want it to be like a bread dough.) if you don't have a food processor just mix by hand, but make sure to cut the butter into the flour and get that mixed really well before adding the cheese.
2. roll dough into a log and cut into thin slices with dental floss or thread, or roll out and cut out with cookie cutters.
3. bake 8-14 minutes (depending on how soft or crunchy you want them) at 350 degrees.

this is another recipe that my son is gaga for, which actually really surprises me. i think they are tasty, but i would definitely dip them in hummus or something. he literally acts like they are the best thing he's ever tasted and says "mmmmmmm" after each bite. no joke, while i was taking pictures he tried to sneak his little hand up there and steal the plate away, as documented above. such a silly kid.

hooray for healthy snacks that are a hit!

paul thurlby's alphabet

after seeing a few pages of paul thurlby's alphabet book a while back, i knew i had to order it for my son. i have a soft spot for beautiful children's books and this book does not disappoint; the illustrations are fantastic.
take a peek:

"m" is my very favorite page. i love the colors and how each letter is a fun depiction of the coordinating word. it's always a treasure to find a great book, whether it's for adults or kids, don't you agree?
i can see this book being a long-time favorite for my little boy as he learns the letters and has fun with the fantastic pictures.
have you found any great children's books lately?


p.s. find the whole alphabet here.

recipe: homemade graham crackers

about a month ago i decided to start cutting processed foods out of our diet where i could. i'm definitely still learning and trying to find a balance that works for my family, but so far it has been a good challenge for me. snacks for my son seem to be the biggest change so far. it's hard because he's in the young toddler phase where he doesn't have a lot of teeth and is pretty picky, so soft fruit, crackers and snack bars seem to be my go-to snacks for him. unfortunately, most crackers and snack bars are heavily processed, dyed, and have lists of ingredients that i can't even pronounce. not quite what i want to feed my son....

in my research i found this great site with lots of recipes and ideas for snacks, meals, etc. it's been a great resource on my little journey so far. in the comments section on one of the healthy snack posts, someone posted a homemade graham cracker recipe. it sounded great so i whipped it up as soon as i read it and love the results. here's the recipe:

ingredients:

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup honey

directions:

1. mix dry ingredients together and set aside.

2. in a separate bowl mix together the melted butter and the honey. 

3. add honey/butter mixture to dry ingredients, stir until combined.

4. drop mixture onto cookie sheet and roll out, making sure the edges reach the sides of the cookie sheet.

5. bake for 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees, cut quickly once out of the oven.

tips: i used a glass to roll the mixture once it was on the cookie sheet. my cookie sheet was 10.5x15.5 inches, though i probably could have used a larger sheet and rolled them thinner since they puff up in the oven. it really just depends on what you want though. and i poked holes with a fork just for looks, you don't have to do that. :)

here's a picture so you can see they are quite a bit thicker than store bought graham crackers. they are a lot more filling, too, which is great.

my son  l o v e s  these. he's never cared too much for any other kind of graham crackers/sticks/animals i have bought him, but he gobbles these right up and asks for more. and i love the fact that they are made from whole ingredients and have zero sugar.
win/win, right?

anyone have other healthy toddler snack ideas? ever tried cutting out/down processed foods? if so, what did you think?

i have another great cracker recipe to share next week, these two recipes have changed snack time in the best way!
xo

fun with paint

three years of my work-life was spent as a preschool teacher. part of the job was to come up with inexpensive but stimulating activities for the kids, and this is one of the easiest and cheapest, but also one that the kids loved the most. 

my little guy is finally old enough to start enjoying this little activity, and i can't tell you how nice it is to sit him in his high chair and have him play quietly while i make dinner! the best part is that i know he's discovering and learning as he explores texture, colors, and cause-and-effect.

supplies:
plastic bag that seals tightly at the top (like a Ziploc bag)
packing tape
paint (I used Crayola's washable finger paint)

directions:
just dot little bits of paint in the plastic bag, close the bag, getting out most of the air, and tape the top closed with packing tape so the bag can't be opened. if your kids are anything like my little guy, that bag will be opened in seconds with paint everywhere, so make sure you tape it closed!

really, it's so simple, but can give lots and lots of entertainment and exploration.

i even gave my son a block, crayon, and cars to run over the plastic bag so he could see the different effects. he loved it.

it stays fresh for a long time, so after he is done playing i just slip it in a little drawer in my kitchen to pull out for next time.

other things that i've put in the plastic bags using the same method are:
+ white shaving cream (just the cheap stuff from the dollar store) and food coloring
+ cheap hair gel (and you can add buttons, beads, and little toys for even more fun)
+ baby oil, water, and food coloring or glitter

really, anything goes, so be creative with it and have fun!

a handmade doll for my sweet little boy

remember this post? well, the night before we left to visit family for christmas i bit the bullet and made this little guy:

isn't he sweet? i got the pattern from this etsy shop, and couldn't help it and bought a fox pattern too. they are too cute!
the pattern was so easy to follow and didn't even take two hours from start to finish. i can't wait to make the fox! there are also some sweet little bunnies that would be too cute in an easter basket this spring.



don't you just love those long skinny legs?

the stuffing was still a little stiff when i took this picture, he's got quite the twisty torso! but he's since calmed it down :)

and the best part is, my little guy loves him too. he is slathered with kisses and hugs, and pulled around the house by his skinny legs all day long. i love it.

P.S.

I was in no way compensated or asked to post about this pattern, I just loved it and wanted to share!

dolls for boys

i've been thinking of what i can make for my son for christmas this year, and i think i want to make him some sort of doll. his life will be full of trucks and superheroes once he starts school, so for now i want to nourish that sweet little side of him that loves to hug and kiss and cuddle.

i know boys and dolls can be a controversial subject, but this quote sums up my feelings on the matter perfectly:

"In a culture that often equates masculinity with violence and exploitative behavior, I can think of no better toy for a young boy than a doll to help him model kindness and responsibility for his actions. Perhaps our ancestors were right to think that training for the responsibilities of adulthood begins with childhood toys. If we want the next generation of men to be good fathers, compassionate citizens, and sensitive leaders, perhaps this process begins with something as simple and as countercultural as a childhood doll." (by joel troxell, read the article here).

in my search for inspiration i have found four little dolls that i can't get enough of.

the lumberjack used to be first place, but those foxes are too cute. maybe he needs a doll and a fox? we'll see how the making goes....i'll keep you updated.

do you have a son that play with dolls? or a girl that loves trucks?
i think good thing, i really do.

foxes, lumberjack, sweet red-headed boy, moustached man