Little Leg Warmers

With ballet back in full swing and winter in the air, it seemed a perfect time to whip up some leg warmers.

These are so quick, simple and inexpensive. Grab some adult knee high socks {I bought mine from Target for $2 a pair}.

Measure 12 inches down from the top of the sock, cutting away the foot just above the ankle.

I hesitate to say discard the foot because I would think there has to be a craft possibility for them eventually, right? Anyway, this is what you'll have left.

Turn your sock inside out. Create a 1/4 of an inch hem by folding over the raw edge of the sock. With a needle and similar colored thread begin to do a simple running stitch.

Every couple stitches, stretch the sock {where you just sewed}. This will keep the bottom of your sock from being sewn too tightly. You want there to be some give so you can stretch the bottom when getting it on and off your little one's leg.

When you finish sewing around the entire circumference, turn your sock right side out and admire because you are done.

As promised, quick and easy. The only thing left to do, test them out. Put them on your little one and enjoy!

No matter how much my little ballerina has grown, these leg warmers have not only kept her warm BUT they've also been the sweetest accessory for any outfit.

All You Need Is Love - Silhouette Style

I realize not everyone decorates for Valentine's Day. I obviously do. For me, trying to survive the cold {sometimes dark} days of winter, I look forward to brightening up my house with some Valentine's Day decorations. I also like being reminded that:

So I dug out a few pages of colorful card stock and my silhouette to cut out some cheerful letters.

I taped my bright, colorful letters to some fishing line...

and then hung up my Valentine's Day garland.

No matter how you look at it, neither can be argued.
All you need is love. Love is all you need.

I Heart Fake Food - Felt Apple Tutorial

Gather the following Supplies:
Red, green and brown felt
Fiberfill
Scissors
Needle and thread {green, red and brown}
Sewing machine
Glue

Using the pattern below {copy and paste it into word to enlarge, the apple body is approximately 3 1/2 inches long}.

Cut the apple pieces out of felt.

Starting with two of the four pieces, begin sewing one side together starting a 1/4 of an inch down from the top. Continue until all 4 of your pieces have been sewn together. When all 4 sides are sewn together, you may want to sew across the bottom, to make sure your seams are sewn shut.

Turn the apple right side out.

Generously stuff the apple with fiberfill. No need to worry, I am not running a 'I heart fake food' sweat shop. The assistance I got was short lived.

I rarely change the color of thread on my sewing machine so occasionally you'll notice some exposed seams. Using your needle and thread, you can do a few stitches to close up any exposed seams. This will only take a minute or two at most. While closing up any exposed seams, begin to close in the opening as well {do not close it completely, you need a small opening to insert the stem and leaf}.

To create your stem, tightly roll up the brown rectangle piece of felt you cut. With your needle and brown thread, sew the stem shut. *Optional: with your needle and green thread, embroider veins onto your green leaf.

Insert the stem and green leaf in the opening left in your apple. Using your needle and red thread, sew the opening of your apple completely shut, sewing the stem and leaf in as you go.

I am all about finishing touches, I'd like for the bottom of my apple to look as good as the top. If you feel the same, cut a small circle out of brown felt {the same color you used for the stem}, apply a dab of glue where the seams meet and cover with the brown circle of felt.

Ta da...

How do you like them apples?

If you enjoyed this tutorial and want to see more...simply, click here.

Finger Painting Valentine's Day Cards

No matter how old your little one is, this is the perfect option for a personalized, meaningful Valentine's day card, thank you card or just because card.

What you'll need:
Finger paints
Card stock {white to paint on and colored to create your card out of}
Silhouette shapes {we did a Google image search for animal shapes}
Scissors
Glue
Stamps, markers or pen {to write your card out}

And a willing artist...

When the finger painting masterpiece, your little artist created, has completely dried, trace out a few silhouette shapes of animals {or whatever shape you decide}.

Either you or your little artist {depending on how skilled they are with scissors} can cut the finger painting shapes out.

Using either stamps, markers or a pen add a caption to your card. I am a fan of adding some sort of a pun to my cards. As if ewe hadn't already guessed.

I guarantee, anyone that receives one of these cards will think they are purr-fect.

This is such an easy way to involve your little one {regardless of age} so they can create something truly unforgettable.

What a sweet way to let some bunny, any bunny know how much you care.

I hope you and your little artist have fun making some of your own cards and creating some memories in the process.

For the love of birds...

Yes, we have begun to think about Valentine's Day around here. If you feel like hearts and love and all other things Valentine's Day related are for the birds, you might be right!

While poking around Land of Nod's blog I came across a tutorial for making bird seed ornaments from Homemade by Cameron. So, with an ample supply of heart shaped cookie cutters, I decided to show our birds a little love.

After adding bird seed to my husband's Home Depot list, I had everything I needed to make my own bird seed ornaments {full tutorial here}...

including a willing helper.

To hang our bird feeder, we filled our cookie cutters halfway up, added a looped ribbon and then with the bird seed mixture covered the ribbon and filled the cookie cutter the rest of the way up.

This recipe yielded 10 bird seed feeders, which happened to be more than the number of heart shaped cookie cutters I had SO we improvised with some non heart shapes.

After the gelatine set, I removed the cookie cutter and added a few hearts to our flower boxes {which I suspect will be more for the love of the squirrels}.

And we hung a few.

Ironically, the same weekend Grace and I made our bird seed ornaments, a good friend of mine and her son also showed the birds some love.

What I love about her bird seed ornaments is the simplicity. She used some stale bread, peanut butter {to act as a binding agent}, bird seed and cookie cutters. Her version is perfect for toddlers that want to do everything themselves.

*In the Made by Cameron's version, there is a step that requires boiling water to dissolve the gelatin in, definitely requiring adult assistance/supervision depending on how old your little helper is.

Happy 100th Birthday

This may not be a birthday that Willard Scott will recognize...

but this year {2012} our house turns 100.

Let's put this into perspective. 100 years ago, the Titanic sank {wow}, a loaf of bread was 5 cents, New Mexico and Arizona were admitted as the 47th and 48th US states AND my house was built {and still stands}.

Though it was not a love at first sight feeling with this house, with each project we tackled, each room we put our mark on, this house has invaded our hearts and our souls. We may not have the biggest house, we may not have the fanciest house BUT we have a house that feels like home and one that holds some very happy memories.

So happy 100th birthday house.

I am honored to be part of your 100 year history.

Over the course of this year, I'll share with you a glimpse into our home, hopefully paying a tribute our 100 year old house deserves.

Picnik, say it ain't so.

I just learned that on April 19th Picnik will be shutting down their free photo editing website. I am still in shock over this announcement. It's like preparing to say goodbye to a dear friend you talk to everyday.

As an ode to Picnik, I'll be sharing my favorite Picnik project: Grace, a year in review.

Head over to Picnik and upload a picture that has some empty space to either the left or right of your subject {in this case Grace}.

Under the edit tab select the text tab. Select a font you like and add your text. I entered one line of text at a time, changing the font and font size with each additional line I added. As soon as you enter your line of text, press add. The text will appear on your picture. You can move it around, change the size and/or change the color. Repeat these steps to add more lines of text.

When you are finished, go to the save and share tab and save your picture to your computer.

Enjoy Picnik while you can.

Is anyone else as devastated by this news?

Birdie's Big-Girl Shoes

For Christmas we bought Grace, Birdie's Big-Girl Shoes by Sujean Rim.

The illustrations in this book are bold, bright, colorful and clean with great sense of fashion and design. I have visions of matting and framing any of the pages in this book and hanging them in Grace's big girl room {and/or maybe in my new closet}.

The story, paired with these beautiful illustrations, is just as sweet. Birdie, a doe eyed 5 year old aspires to be just like her mom. Birdie daydreams about how glamorous she'll be, if only she'll be allowed to wear a pair of her mom's high heels.

In the end, Birdie realizes that she prefers her beautiful bare feet over the high heels. Such a sweet story about not rushing through childhood.

Of course, this book is a BIG hit with my own little Birdie, who also loves to wear mommy's heels.

*I bought our copy of this book through Amazon. Ironically, when the package arrived, it turns out the Amazon seller was Goodwill. Is this some sort of a sign? Even when I attempt to shop some place other than Goodwill...Goodwill finds me.