Free Printable: Christmas Countdown

My son's first birthday is this weekend, and because of that I'm currently in full party-planning mode and not really thinking much about Christmas yet. That said, I decided to work on a little side project today that I thought I'd share with all of you!

Since this is the last day of November and the Christmas countdown has officially begun, I made a printable that can be framed for the whole family to see and change each day! These fit perfectly in a 5x7-inch frame, and you can choose from one of four colors (or all of them if you want to go crazy!): red, green, teal, and pink.

Click HERE to download the PDF file and print away! 

I added some little hooks to a frame I had laying around, spray painted it grey, and then put one of the red countdowns in it. It's now hanging in our entry and I just love it!

I'll be swamped with preparations for a little munchkin party this week, but next week I'll have some great {inexpensive} party decorating ideas for you! I hope you're all enjoying the holidays!

Glow Stick Bath

Every few months we pull out a glow stick or two from the craft box, throw 'em in the tub, and take a spooky glowy bath. Tay loves it and says he's swimming in "swamp water." Fun little activity to shake up his bedtime routine!

Felt Marble Mazes

My four-year-old is obsessed with mazes right now. He calls them "brainteasers" and is always wanting to get more activity books and iPad apps that have mazes in them. I saw this idea a couple of weeks ago and thought it'd be perfect for him.

All I did was sew two sheets of felt together, leaving a small opening for turning. I turned it right-side out, put a marble inside, and sewed all the way around the piece, staying as close to the edge as possible. I then planned the layout of the maze, marked the lines with pins, and sewed along each line, careful not to hit the marble. Lastly I took some small rectangles of felt and sewed one at the starting point and one at the end point.

Now he's got a maze to do again and again. Taylor absolutely loves it and I will definitely be making more of these for him for Christmas. Super cheap, super easy, and the kid loves 'em. What more could I ask for!

Happy Turkey Day!

Tutorial: Ribbon Ball

My little Ollie will be one year old in less than two weeks, and I decided to make most of his gifts - partly to save money, and mostly because I can make him things he'll love just as much as store-bought toys.

This week's project: a soft, squishy ribbon ball. I've seen these in boutique stores selling for WAY too much money and decided I'd make him one myself. Here are the instructions in case you'd like to make one for a little munchkin in your life!

Materials Needed:
Ribbon Ball Pattern (you can download and print it HERE)
Felt (you can do one solid color or make it multicolored)
Grosgrain Ribbon
Sharp Fabric Scissors
Chalk

Instructions:
1. Cut out ribbon ball pattern shape and trace on felt six times.

2. Cut out all your felt shapes.

3. Cut out 18 pieces of grosgrain ribbon, approximately 4 inches long. Lay your pieces out the way you'd like them on the ball. Place three pieces of ribbon between each felt piece the way you'd like them arranged.

4. Place the first two pieces of felt on top of each other, right sides together. Take the first piece of ribbon, fold in half, and place between the two felt pieces with the cut edges sticking out about half an inch. Repeat for the other two pieces of ribbon.

5. Pin piece together and sew 1/4" from the edge.

6. Trim the raw ribbon edges down a bit and cut small snips up the edge you just sewed, being careful not to cut the seam. This will allow the fabric to form a nicer ball when you turn it right-side-out.

7. Repeat Steps 4-6 with third piece of felt. Now you've got something like this. Kinda looks like a funny hat, eh?

8. Now you'll need to repeat the steps 4-6 with remaining three pieces of felt, leaving a 3-4" gap open between two pieces for turning later.

9. Now you've got two halves of the ball. Place these two halves right sides together and pin all the way around, inserting your remaining ribbon pieces and pinning in place. Sew all the way around the ball. Make small snips up the edges you just sewed, being careful not to cut the seam.

10. Turn ball inside out and stuff with fiberfill. I didn't have enough so I ended up using some felt scraps and batting scraps as well. You can even use scrap fabric, old clothing, or even plastic bags if you want the ball to be crinkly.

11. Once fully stuffed, hand-stitch the opening shut.

DONE! I can't wait to give this to the wee one for his birthday. I may have to make a couple more in varying sizes for him to play with. If you make this, let me know how it turns out!

How To: Clean Brooms and Dustpans

I was sweeping my bathroom floor the other day and realized everything on the floor was sticking to the broom. When I reached down to clear the bristles off I noticed that they were VERY sticky, probably from sweeping the kitchen floor after the little one spilled his juice. My first thought was that we'd need a new hand broom, but then I thought about trying to clean it instead. I've never heard of anyone cleaning a broom, but surely it's possible, right?

Well I found that it definitely is possible, and it's really easy too! I'm thinking I'll make this part of my yearly fall and spring cleaning regimens. After all, who knows what kind of icky germy grossness is living in your brooms?

First I took the broom outside and beat the bristles against the sidewalk a few times, just to get as much dust out as I could before washing it.

I filled a large bowl with boiling water and set it in the kitchen sink, then added about a cup of bleach and set the broom in the water, making sure all the bristles were completely covered. While that was soaking I rinsed off the dustpan and filled the other side of the sink with boiling water and bleach, then let put the dustpan in it. I let both the broom and dustpan soak for about an hour, occasionally moving them around in the water to loosen anything that was stuck to them.

When the hour was up I ran both the broom and dustpan under hot water for several minutes, paying special attention to the bristles of the broom. Once thoroughly rinsed I set them on a hand towel to dry completely overnight.

My broom is now clean, sanitized, and not sticky! I'm going to try this method with my large broom as well. I feel much better sweeping my floor now that I know my broom isn't so gross.

Nutella Croissants

(Re-posted from my personal blog entry, Sept. 2nd, 2011)


I really need to stop finding such amazing dessert recipes on Pinterest.

Seriously.

My mouth loves me; my waistline not so much.

That said, I HAD to share this recipe. It's simple, delicious, and you just can't go wrong with Nutella! I made a batch of these the other night and Sean and I may or may not have eaten them all in one sitting while watching Twister. True or possibly not true story. But most likely true.

So without further ado, the next dessert you should make for your family. Or maybe just yourself. Maybe make them and then hide in the bathroom and eat them so no one begs you for any. Can you tell I'm a mom?

Nutella Croissants (via Handle the Heat)

• 8 tablespoons Nutella
• One package Pillsbury Butter Flake Crescent Rolls

Preheat oven to 375. Open package and carefully spread dough out onto a flat surface. Cut apart dough following the pre-cut lines into 8 triangles.

Place one tablespoon (more or less, depending on your preference) of Nutella onto the base of each triangle. Carefully roll the dough up to form a crescent shape.

Place rolls onto ungreased baking sheet and bake for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown.

*When I made these I also whipped up a little basic icing (powdered sugar, milk, softened butter, and vanilla) to spread on top. Perrrrrrrrrrfection. 

An Apartment Dweller's Guide to Recycling

I've always been a fan of recycling and consider myself somewhat of a wannabe hippie. The problem with this is that we've always been renters, and the majority of the time our landlords haven't been as keen on spending the extra money for recycling bins. For a while I used that as an excuse to just forget about the whole thing entirely and looked forward to a time when we'd own our own home and could have one of those fancy blue bins of our very own. There were two big problems with living that way: 1) I felt guilty, and 2) my four-year-old-going-on-forty-year-old made me feel even more guilty. My sweet little Taylor would ask me at least once a week why we didn't recycle, and each week I'd have to tiptoe around the issue.

Well not anymore!

I've compiled a list of things that even us apartment dwellers can do to help the earth and appease our wise little preschoolers. Now let me preface this by saying that I am in no way perfect at all of these, and have a vast amount of improving to do. But every little bit counts, right? So, without further ado:

FIVE RECYCLING TIPS FOR APARTMENT-DWELLERS 

(and everyone else, too!)

1. Choose just one thing to recycle (paper, metal, or plastic) and make a bag or bin for that item next to your regular garbage can. Paper is probably the easiest because you don't have to rinse it off first. At the end of each week take it to your local recycling plant or nearby paper recycling bin. Most elementary schools (at least in my area) have large dumpsters specifically for paper recycling. If you've got the room, have separate bins for all three materials to recycle. Stacking bins with lids will save the most space.

2. Wash any glass jars you'd normally throw out and donate to your local thrift store or list on Freecycle. People are always looking for glass jars for projects. Speaking of projects, take a peek around the internet (Pinterest is a GREAT resource) for things you can reuse that you'd normally throw away. Some fantastic decorating projects I've come across are HERE, HERE, and HERE. The possibilities are endless!

3. Save all that cardboard! Break down cardboard boxes and store them in a bag or box in a closet or under a bed. You never know when you'll need a box or have a project that requires something more heavy duty than card stock. Save those paper towel and toilet paper tubes too; they're always great for craft projects! If your stock of cardboard gets too big than the space you've designated to store it, take a trip to your local recycling plant or ask a nearby business if they'd be willing to recycle your boxes along with the ones they usually pack up behind the store.

4. Save yourself a ton of money and make your own cleaning products. Not only is it cost-effective, but you can reuse the same container again and again rather than wasting all that cardboard and plastic buying new boxes and jugs of cleaner. I've found some great "recipes" for laundry detergent, dishwasher soap, all-purpose cleaner, and even hand soap! Do some snooping around the web and you're sure to find how to make just about any cleaning product you can imagine.

5. NEVER throw out old clothes! You can always donate any clothing items you don't want anymore, or you can have a little fun repurposing your items; I usually do a little of both. I have a bag in my coat closet for any items that need to be donated, and then save a few items for myself to give a little makeover. Again, there are literally thousands of websites and ideas online to give you inspiration. You can learn how to revamp your out-of-style jeans, turn a sweatshirt into a cardigan, and just about everything in between. I posted a little t-shirt makeover a few months ago on my personal blog. It was so much fun and I was inspired to repurpose more items I didn't wear anymore!

I know I said there were five tips, but here's one last one...

6. Don't beat yourself up if you're not perfect! Okay, maybe I'm the only one who does this. But if you happen to be crazy like me, this is probably one of the best tips out of all of them. I find myself getting upset at every little thing I throw in the trash, which is good because it shows that I care about doing my part and all that, but it's bad because the last thing this over-worked, over-tired mommy needs is to keep herself awake at night stressing about garbage. Like I said before, every little bit helps!

Another thing that couldn't hurt is to ask your landlord if they'd be willing to pay for a recycling bin or dumpster. The worst they can say is no! I plan to take the boys around our complex at the beginning of the year to ask my fellow tenants to sign a petition to get a recycling plan in place. There's no reason not to recycle anymore, there just isn't. And if I have to pay an extra $5 on my rent every month to ensure that 150 tenants can recycle then I'll do it!

Do you have any great, easy tips for recycling as a renter? I'd love to hear about them!

Shoe Makeover

I don't know about you, but I think Pinterest is about the coolest thing on the interwebs right now. I love seeing what other people create and getting inspired to make things I would never have thought of before.

Example: My sister pinned these shoes last week. Not sure what the source is, but aren't they beautiful?

As soon as I saw them I thought, "I could do this myself!" I rifled through my closet, sewing boxes, and craft closet and came downstairs with a pair of dark red pumps, some black stretch lace I had from an old shirt, white glue, a foam brush, clothes pins, and brown craft paper.

I laid the craft paper over my kitchen table to protect it, then mixed the white glue 50/50 with water to make homemade mod podge.

I cut two pieces of lace that would cover the shoes completely. Starting at the tip of the shoe, I applied a thick layer of mod podge, laid the lace on top, then applied more mod podge. I worked like this all the way around the shoe, not worrying too much about the edges yet. I didn't worry about getting any mod podge on the sole or heel because I knew I could clean it later with water. I used masking tape in an attempt to keep the lace in place, but it didn't work so well. I think pins would have worked better.

When I got to the heel, I used my fabric scissors to trim the lace around the back, creating a seam that I overlapped slightly. Because it's lace the overlapping fabric looked fine and the seam wasn't noticeable.

I let this first coat of mod podge dry overnight. The next day I used fabric scissors to roughly trim closer to the edges of the shoe. I then applied a second coat of mod podge, paying special attention to any place there could be more friction (the heel and along the sole).

I used clothes pins to hold any lace in place that wouldn't cooperate. In retrospect I wish I would have put a piece of waxed paper between the clothes pins and lace because when the glue dried the clothes pins stuck and it was hard to remove them without removing the lace pieces.

Once the shoes were completely dry I went over them again with the exacto knife, cutting along the seams and carefully pulling off all the excess lace. I used a bit more mod podge to touch up any areas that still weren't completely adhered to the shoe.

The last thing I did was take some cotton swabs and water and clean the mod podge off the heel and sole of the shoes.

What do you think? They turned out so much better than I thought they would!

Obviously these aren't shoes to wear in inclement weather, and putting a couple coats of some kind of clear sealer would be a good idea.

I think they look great! My husband calls them my vampire shoes, so I may have to wear them on Thursday when I go see the midnight premier of Breaking Dawn!

Tutorial: Yellow Angry Bird Mask

 My son is like most other four-year-olds: he hates eating dinner, he asks the funniest questions imaginable, and he LOVES Angry Birds. Last night I thought I'd break out my sewing machine and some felt and make him a yellow Angry Bird mask. He was so excited this morning when he saw it and spent most of the morning running around with it on.

I thought I'd post a tutorial on how you can make one of these yourself!

*A few notes before we get started:
- I used white thread throughout the project except where noted otherwise.
- You can shrink or enlarge the pattern on a copier to make the mask bigger or smaller.
- The key to going over the curved pieces: go SLOWLY. You'll be much happier with the results if you take your time.


Materials needed:
- Mask pattern (download it HERE)
- Felt (red, black, yellow, gold, and white)

- 3/8" elastic (I used about 14" of elastic; your measurement may vary depending on the size of your munchkin's noggin)
- Sewing machine
- Fabric glue
- Fabric scissors

Instructions:
Cut out all pattern pieces.

Fold beak in half along "fold" line. Sew along fold, as close to the edge as possible.

Once sewn, it should look something like this:

Place beak along one body piece, right sides together, and sew along curve, manipulating the fabric as needed to sew all the way across the top of the beak.

It should look like this now:

Now sew the chest pieces to the lower curves of the body, only sewing along the top and leaving the bottom open.

Position eye pieces, pin, and sew them to the body with black thread, as close to the edge as possible.

Turn over and cut out eye holes, being careful not to cut along the seam you just made.

Now lay both body pieces on top of each other, wrong sides together.

Pin elastic between the two body pieces.

Also pin the hair between the two pieces.

Sew all along body, going over the elastic and hair sections several times to strengthen the seam.

Now it should look something like this:

Sew along eyes, as close to the black pieces as possible.

Turn over and cut out eye holes, careful not to cut across the seam you just made.

Last step! Using fabric glue, attach eyebrows to the mask and let dry completely.

And VOILA! Your mask is done! Pretty simple, and if your kiddo is anything like mine, they'll love it!