mini mei tais

I made a couple of child-sized mei tai carriers for a couple of little friends' birthdays coming up. Hazel helped in fabric selection and I think they came out really cute!

I made velcro waist straps and tie-able top straps.

I found a few cute little models at my house. 

 

Doesn't Sheep look cozy?!























Back view

salt box

I wanted salt boxes for my kiddos to practice letters in, and googled for some ideas.  Most people just use a cookie sheet or tray, but I wanted lids so that I didn't have to dump the salt in and out regularly.  Other ideas included this plastic shoe box (too deep, I thought), this little wooden box from Joann (my Joann only had one, or I would have bought them), and this DIY version with a photo storage box (does anyone know where they sell those? Again, foiled in my attempts).  

Container Store to the rescue! I had a few minutes to run into Container Store when were in Austin a few weeks ago, and I had this project in mind.  They had *exactly* what I needed.  The Premium White Gift Box, size small.  Dimensions are 11 1/4" x 8 1/2" (about the size of a sheet of paper) and only 1 5/8" deep.  With a lid.  And nice and thick and sturdy feeling.  I bought three, cut down a piece of black construction paper to lay inside each of them for contrast, dumped in a cup or so of salt, and ta-da! Salt boxes!

School Room

So it's not really a craft, unless you consider assembling Ikea furniture a craft, but my school room got  a makeover with my new expedit bookshelf and I had to show it off!

 View from the door.  This room used to be the garage (converted several home owners ago), so it has a HUGE window and lots of light. It's the sunniest room in the house, especially with the a-little-too-yellow paint. The random kitchen chair in there needs a new home, but I don't feel like hauling it up to the attic and haven't found another inconspicuous corner for it.  There used to be a desk in this room that the chair lived with, but it was replaced by the new bookshelf.  Therefore, homeless chair.

The new expedit!  I had to wait for MONTHS until we took a trip to Texas.  I miss living near Ikea!  It has  materials, curriculum, manipulatives, etc on it, and lots of room to grow into.  The door on the left goes into the mud room (and then on to the rest of the house).  The door on the right is a large-ish closet that mostly holds my fabric and yarn (sizable collection of both), and office supplies.  The USA map is mounted on foam-core poster board and just leaning against the wall up there.  It's lightweight and easy to lift down when we want a closer look. Also seen on top of the shelf is Ziggy, our favorite part of our preschool curriculum, who I suspect will continue to be our school mascot long after his use in school time has passed.

 Dumpy Craigslist couch, and old Ikea bookshelf that is holding family (not homeschool) books.  The tiny window annoys, since it keeps me from hanging something large and useful above the couch, but the chevron valance makes me feel a little happier about it.

Craigslist school table.  No, I don't have four kids, nor do I homeschool a friend's kid.  For the (maybe) 10 minutes a day that we actually sit at a table, I usually occupy one of the preschool-sized chairs along with my kids. It's cozy. The orange desk in the corner holds mostly puzzles and busy bag type activities.

So that's the tour!  Now, to get down to USING that room and actually schooling.  Nah--it's summer.  Check back in August.

father's day 2012

I saw this tutorial linked on pinterest this week, and couldn't resist doing them for our Dad and Grandpas. I had each kiddo draw one each of Dad, Grandude, and Grandpa.  I simply adore how they came out! 

The process was a little trying.  Cutting out all of their detailed little drawings was tedious, but worth it! 

Here's the freezer paper, cut out, ironed on, and ready to be painted.  I painted fabric paint on the cut out parts, and then peeled off the freezer paper. That transferred the image that they drew to the shirt.  I love freezer paper stenciling!


My favorite parts of each one:
Grandpa: this one was drawn by Charlie.  It's my overall favorite, due to it's quirkiness.  As you can see, Charlie's fine motor skills lag behind his siblings, and his writing is hilarious.  That "G" is fully upside down. See those vertical lines on Grandpa's forehead?  That is "hair laying down, because Grandpa doesn't have hair that stands up!" Classic.

Dad: drawn by Jono. He was not too into the project and took about 10 seconds to do the drawing.  I was annoyed that he didn't even take time to include a body, but went for the alien head variety, but that's what I got.  Dad sure does look happy, though!

Grandude was drawn by Hazel. I love his belly button.  Her handwriting is really getting nice and even, too.  Otherwise, I appreciated hers because it was clean lined and simple, and easy to cut out. LOL

Overall, super fun project, and I'll be happy to put the Grandpas' in the mail and give David his on Sunday!

baby gifts

Two MOPs friends are expecting babies in the near future.  Andrea is expecting a surprise on or before June 18th.  I made her a mei tai and a pair of hats, not knowing which one she'd need.

Kristy HAS a baby girl, who is still in Ethiopia, waiting for paperwork and details to be finished so that she can come home.  This mei tai was for her (modeled by Charlie, who loves to snuggle).

chemo caps

One of my friends asked me to make a couple of hats for her mom, who has lost her hair to chemotherapy. Here they are!

Can we make something out of this?

Jono picked up a pinecone on our walk today and asked if we could make something from it.  Why, sure! Pinecone & peanut butter bird feeders it is.  We had all the supplies, so we whipped them up.  Lots of peanut butter was licked off of fingers in the process. ;)

2012 NICU hats

Here are this year's preemie hats!

As a reminder, I knit or crochet a dozen preemie hats for NICU every year as my way to thank those wonderful doctors and nurses for their care of my children for a combined 12 days in NICU (10 days for Hazel, 2 days for Jono).  Every summer on the anniversary of Hazel's discharge, she and I take hats to the children's hospital together.

Because of a long road trip to Texas, I had lots of yarn time, and exceeded my goal of 12!  I may even have time to work up another couple, since NICU day is not until the 22nd, but I have some major school room reorganization and a birthday party to plan, clean for, and host between now and then.  So I'm calling this the "set" and if it grows by another, great!

The list:
three knit football hats (2 Who Dats and one regular)
four crocheted butterfly beanies (2 pink, 2 purple)
three crocheted bear ears
several random knit stripy hats, in boyish and girlish color combos