5 Minute Craft: Color Your Own Wrapping Paper

We were invited to celebrate my beautiful niece's first birthday last Saturday.  Unfortunately, we didn't have a scrap of child appropriate wrapping paper in the house.  We did, however, have a bolt of plain butcher paper and lots of crayons.  Both very useful items to have around. Am I right?

First thing in the morning (which ought to explain what they are wearing), I taped a large piece of paper to the floor and let Jellybean and Buddy go nuts.  If you don't have any wrapping paper, just make some.

Buddy was certain she'd like the ABCs as well as an "Icy Monster." Apparently, that is a monster that is mean to people.

The "Icy Monster" looks pretty mean.

Buddy writes out the ABCs every chance he gets.

Jellybean, just let's the creativity flow. She's a big fan of orange, but I tried to convinced her to branch out a bit.

No, Mama. I don't want to use another color.

A fun time was had, wrapping paper was created and it turned out kind of cute to boot.  I think I'll have them color all of our wrapping paper from here on out.

 Have a Happy Day!

~MJ


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Book Review: Going on a Bear Hunt

It is amazing to me when a simple story can spark the imaginations of my children and inspire hours of creative play as well.  Recently, we picked up a copy of We're Going on a Bear Hunt, retold by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. 

The repetitive text and beautiful illustrations combined with an adorable story have made it perfect for my 2 and 4 year old. Books that use onomatopoeia are especially good for this age group. I also find that, for me, sound effects make reading a book out loud over and over again more palatable. The "squelch, squerch" of the mud and the "hoooo woooo" of the wind are particular favorites with my kids.

Since purchasing a copy of this book, we have read it and re-read it.  Each re-reading is followed by an enthusiastic, "again!" Jellybean likes to say the words with me, especially the phrase, "Oh no! We'll have to go through it!" Her sweet, "oh no!" gives me a kick. Every. Single. Time.

When reading is done, I've had fun acting out the story with my children.  The front door rug becomes the oozy mud, the carpeted dining room becomes the wavy grass and Daddy's office becomes the gloomy cave.  We've even discovered the bear a few times, rushed up the stairs, run into my room, jumped into bed and hid under the covers. Buddy loves to wander the house now, hunting for a bear.  He's very vigilant and doesn't let any obstacles get in his way.   

It's not a new book.  I'd heard the name and seen it on bookshelves before, but hadn't ever read it myself.  In fact,  I may be the only person who hadn't read it until now.  If you are like I was and haven't had the opportunity, it's well worth adding to your collection. I'm looking forward to all of the bear hunts I'll get to go on with my children in the future.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Project: Sew Skirt

I found a great tutorial on MADE recently. In fact, all of Dana's tutorials are fantastic.  Anyway, I usually have a ton of fabric laying around, so I decided I needed to sew my daughter a skirt.  I took her measurements and pulled out some fabric. Then I proceeded to do absolutely nothing else for two months.  Fast forward to today.  I buckled down and sewed my daughter a skirt! I'm saying that I actually created clothing for my child to wear and it was really easy! If I can do it, anyone can.

I'm pretty proud of the end result. Not only does it look cute, but it actually fits! Jellybean liked it enough that she wanted to try it on the minute I sewed the last stitch.  She's pretty particular about what she wears, so it was a huge compliment.

The t-shirt doesn't match it perfectly and I didn't brush her hair, but she is still adorable.  I have a vision of creating a t-shirt to match it, but that may be another two months down the line.

 Buddy had to get in on the photo shoot action in his new Target pirate outfit.

A HUGE thank you to Dana at MADE for helping me feel like a super mom!

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

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DIY: Embroidered Onesie

I have two sister-in-laws that are expecting right now, so I'm starting to think about baby gifts. I thought as part of the gift I'd give a plain onesie an extra sweet touch by embroidering a design on it. This is a really simple project, probably one that most people know how to do, but it was new to me.

Here's a short tutorial. First, find cheap onesies. I purchased mine through a mom bargain site so they were super cheap, but a bit higher quality than just the Gerber brand you can buy at the craft store. Also purchase waste canvas. You can find this at the craft store.

Hoop your onesie and waste canvas. Now you are ready to embroider. I actually used a small cross stitch pattern that came on the back of the waste canvas package. I didn't want anything too large, but you could definitely do more than I did.

Once you are finished with your design you can take the hoop off, cut off the excess canvas and start pulling out the strings. I ended up grabbing a pair of tweezers to help pull the final strings out.

That's it! Now you can wash your little onesie and package it up with the rest of your gift. :)

I think it's nice to add a little personal touch. Especially to something that ought to get a lot of use.

There you have it. Have a Happy Day!