Kids Halloween Pillowcases

I've always had this irrational fear of the sewing machine and have never wanted to learn how to sew because of it. But I finally decided to suck it up and let my mom teach me how to sew.  :P

My very fist project were some halloween pillowcases for my kids. I thought these would be a fun way to add some halloween decor to their rooms. These pillowcases were sooo easy! I used THIS great tutorial but I used slightly different measurements. I wanted my trim to be a little bigger and my cuff to be a little smaller. Other than that I followed the tutorial exactly and am so happy with how they turned out! And now that I'm finally over my sewing fears I can start making more fun projects. :)

Here are the measurements I used:
Main body: 27"
Cuff: 7"
Trim: 4"

I made these while the kids were at school and surprised them when they came home. I added a few candies and crafts to get them in the Halloween spirit. :) I love how they turned out and my kids love sleeping on them. I'm planning to make them some Christmas ones, too. :)

-marie

More Personalized Scriptures

I made my daughter some personalized scriptures two years ago and decided it was time to make some for my boys. After seeing how hers held up, I decided to make a few changes. 

This time I used mod podge to put the paper on the scriptures so that the edges wouldn't come up. I spread mod podge over the entire surface of the scriptures and smoothed the scrapbook paper on top. 

I also made sure to make the paper long enough to go all the way around the front cover and inside a little. I noticed on my daughter's set that this is where a lot of wear came from. 

Since these were for my boys I didn't embellish them but kept them nice and simple. I really like the way they turned out and my boys just love them. We use them for family scripture time each night and it has made a world of difference having them each have their own set. My 3 year olds love thumbing through them and it gives their hands something to do while we are reading. 

Chevron Messenger Diaper Bag

With each of my pregnancies I went in search of the "perfect" diaper bag -- something that was functional (love me some pockets!!!) and also stylish.  I went through several diaper bags but none of them was what I was looking for.  Wouldn't you know it, now that I'm done having kids I have finally found the perfect one?!

My sister had her first baby two years ago and being the talented seamstress she is, made her own diaper bag.  Brilliant! It has about a hundred different pockets and lots of personal touches. And it is CUTE!  I am seriously in love with her bag.  Not enough to want more kids, but you get the idea.  ;)

She's started selling them in her etsy store.  If you or anyone else you know is pregnant, you should check out this bag.  I'm telling you, you will be so happy with it! You can view it HERE.


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Good Books: 8-9 year old girls

My daughter, Cailyn, has always enjoyed reading but over the summer she really found a passion for it and devoured book after book after book.  So I thought I'd share a few of her favorites. Books are ALWAYS a great present for Christmas.  :)

The great thing about this list is that they are all part of a series so there are many, many books to read!

1. The Princess Tales , by Gail Carson Levine

2. Bailey School Kids, by Debbie Dadey

3. Ruby Lu , by Lenore Look

4. Ivy and Bean , by Annie Barrows

5. Dork Diaries , by Rachel Renee Russell

6. Diary of a Wimpy Kid , by Jeff Kinney

7. Janitors , by Tyler Whitesides

8. Dear Dumb Diary , by Jim Benton

Bonus Series (Read Alouds)

I've also been reading the Fablehaven series with her and we are on book 4.  I absolutely *adore* this series!  I'm not sure it would be one she could read on her own, but it is a fabulous read-aloud book and I am more than happy to read it with her. :)

When we're done with this series we will probably read Percy Jackson together, followed by Gregor the Overlander.  I love having a child that loves reading as much as I do!!!

-marie

DIY Avengers Shirt

My daughter is obsessed with the Avengers!  She loves to watch all the superhero movies and even opted for an Avengers lunch tote and folder for school this year.  We've been looking for an Avengers shirt for a long time now, but they just don't seem to make them for girls.  And she's so petite that the boys ones are too big and boxy on her.  So we decided to make our own.  :)





I got the idea from I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar.  She made a super cute Avengers Tee for her son and made a fabulous video tutorial on how to stencil with freezer paper. She has a printable for the icons she used, but Cailyn wanted ALL the Avengers (at least the ones in the movie) and so we scoured the web and found some she liked.  You can download the images HERE if you want to print and cut with an exact knife or HERE to cut them on the cricut.














I didn't have any fabric paint, but I did have lots of craft paint.  So I bought some fabric paint medium and mixed it according to the directions.  (We've washed the shirt several times and it still looks perfect!)

Then I just followed the video tutorial to make the icons on the front and back of a basic gray tee we bought from Walmart.  Cailyn is so happy with her shirt!  I was surprised by how easy this project was.  I've never worked with freezer paper before but I'm already excited for what I else I can make with it! :)

-marie

Pony Royale- Product Review

This post is sponsored by Pony Royale. I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective, and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

We were asked to give these Ponies a try and we were very excited when we got them in the mail. There are 12 different princess ponies to choose from.  Sydney got the pony's named "Diamond" and "Starfire". She was so excited to open them up and start playing! These were so cute and fun cause you can change their hair and even inter change the hair and even the accessories. 

Each Pony comes with a jeweled birthstone blaze, two sets of hair and a hair brush. So, with 2 ponies there are over 60 different ways to change their look! There is a pony for each month of the year! Diamond just happens to be Sydney's birthstone so she was extra excited about that.

She played for hours and came up with several different looks and is already talking about wanting to get another one of the ponies. The hair and accessories were very easy to change and Sydney did not have any trouble doing it herself. The back of the boxes that they come in have pictures of all the available ponies and their names and she has her eye set on getting "Rosie"!

These are really fun and cute ponies and I wish that I had something like this when I was a kid. You will be able to pick one up for your little girl at Toys R Us towards the end of July!

Check out this cute video on the Pony Royales and how they came to be:

Visit the Pony Royale website for more information. Look for Princess Ponies in stores starting late July! Meanwhile, be sure to check out Pony Royale’s Facebook page and follow them onTwitter!

Frugal Friday: DIY Magnetic Play Sets

My kids love to play with little magnetic play sets but they can be quite pricey.  I found this idea on Pinterest to make your own so I thought I'd give it a try.  I bought these  Avery Magnet Sheets from Amazon. I've never used the magnetic paper before but was very pleased with how easy it was to use.

First, I found a couple of places with images to use.  I found these Toy Story ones and these Angry Birds ones.  (I actually used Photoshop to put all the Toy Story images on one sheet and same with the Angry Birds.)  For the other sets I just used google to find some images I knew my kids would like and pasted them into a word document.  Then I printed each set and cut them out.  The magnetic paper is really thin so it was very easy to cut them out, just a little tedious. :) 

I've made 4 sets so far: Nick Jr characters, Toy Story 3, Angry Birds & Superheroes.  (I still haven't figured out what to do on my last sheet!) You can download the documents I used HERE. 

We took these on a long car ride and my kids loved playing with them.  Some dollar store cookies sheets worked perfectly with them.  It was only $8 for pack of 5 magnetic sheets, so that made each set just under $2. Can't beat that!

 




Linked to: Craft-O-Maniac, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Keeping It Simple, Becolorful, C.R.A.F.T.  Sugar & Spice, Fine Craft Guild, Classy Clutter, Michelle Paige,

The Bowling Alley

In Heber, they have an old bowling alley that we love to go to! It is retro inside and has a fun atmosphere. The kids love to bowl and we love the food! Every now and then I just love a good ol' greasy burger and the ones here are worth the calories. 

I always order their "English Chips" instead of regular fries. They are just so good. When I was in high school we lived in New Zealand for 18 months, Buff was born and raised in New Zealand, and I just miss the fish 'n' chips there. These English chips hit home for me! Although the food is great I think the drinks are even better. They make old school syrup homemade Cherry Coke and Vanilla Coke! It is worth going there for just the Coke alone, I think! 

If you should ever find yourself in the Heber Valley in Utah, you should stop in the bowling alley and give it a try!

-chelz

Frugal Friday: Dollar Store Car Oranizer

We recently took a long road trip with the kids and I found so many great ideas on Pinterest to keep the kids happy on the way.  One thing I loved was this idea to use a dollar store organizer on the back of the car seat to put the kids stuff in.  It worked perfectly for my kids!  They started out with some books, treats, markers, etc and as the trip went on they got some new things to keep them busy that they stored in this, too.  (I'll share some of my other travel ideas next week!)  Usually the kids' stuff ends up all over the car when we travel, but this helped so much to keep things in one place. 

"Pin"spiration: Masking Tape Speedway

This was one of my very first pins on Pinterest.  I thought it looked so cool and I knew that my boys would absolutely LOVE something like this!  (I've tried to find the original source but never could.  :/ )

Thursday was Landon's 5th birthday so I thought it would be the perfect time to do it. It was such an easy project and very cheap.  I used one roll of masking tape that I got for $1.99 at Target.  On Wednesday night my husband made the tracks (and I "decorated" it with signs & trees from our train sets) so that it would be a surprise on Landon's birthday morning.  He (and the rest of my kids!) loved it and played with it all weekend long.

Linked to: Rae Gun Ramblings, Teagan's Travels, Craft-O-Maniac, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Keeping It Simple, Becolorful, C.R.A.F.T. 
Sugar & Spice, Fine Craft Guild, Classy Clutter, Sugar Bee Crafts, Michelle Paige, Oopsey Daisy, Lil Luna, I Heart Naptime

Countdown to Valentine's

My kids love doing any type of countdown to holidays.  Pretty much every holiday in our home is a big deal and Valentine's is no exception.  This is what we are doing for our countdown this year.

I've filled 14 paper bags with all kinds of Valentine goodies.  There are crafts we can do together, games we can play, and yummy treats we can make.


Here's what the bags are filled with:

• coloring & sticker book
• water color paint book
• foam picture frame crafts
• valentine bingo
• "pin the heart" game
• sugar cookie mix
• valentine decals for their windows
• tic-tac-toe craft
• heart cookie cutter for rice krispy treats
• hugs & pretzels to make holiday "buttons"
• crazy straws & juice boxes
• valentine memory game
• small valentine party favors
• foam door hanger crafts

I know it seems like a lot of stuff, and yes maybe I go overboard a little, but I love creating memories with my kids and this is a great way to make sure I set aside some time every day to spend with them.  I got everything from either the Dollar Tree or on clearance after Valentine's last year.  And a lot of things can be used year after year. The internet is also a great source to find printable games & crafts!





We also went to the library and picked up a bunch of Valentine's Day books and the kids get to pick out one a day to read.

I created a download for the numbers if you want to make your own countdown.  I used my 2.25-Inch Scallop Punch to fancy 'em up a bit but you can always keep them square and use them however you want!

Linked to: Michelle Paige, Destination Craft,