it's a crafting holiday...

I had huge aspirations for this Christmas.  Lots of cool toys/crafts to make for DieselBaby.  It seems like every day off I had was spent doing other things (laundry, groceries, sleeping, etc). Finally got a chance to do some crafting this week.  

First, I made some fabric blocks.  DieselBaby got some for Christmas last year and he loved playing with them.  They are a present for some little ones. One has different textures (corduroy, felt, fleece, etc) and the other has rainbow colored fabric. 

Then I made a stocking. I had wanted to cross stitch one last year, but couldn't find a pattern.  Seriously, where do you hide those things Micheals, Hobby Lobby, Prairie Gardens?? where??  So as this year started to run away from me again, I thought I'd just whip one up. Maybe DieselBaby will get a new stocking every year. That will be his tradition. (just kidding since that would be sooo un-EcoFriendly).  The stocking is felt with a minky cuff.  I love minky, but its a *** to work with. 

Lastly, made him a stuffed monkey with velcro facial features. He is learning where his eyes, ears, nose, mouth are.  I thought this would be a great way for him to practice. "where is the monkey's eyes? nose?".  There is little pocket in back to hold all the little pieces so we don't lose them. In hindsight, I'd probably stay away from felt as it snags on the velcro.  The pieces are also a little small and will probably get put in  his mouth at some point. I used old pieces of fabric and the scraps from this project to stuff the monkey. Trying to be EF.... 

(tried hard to flip these pics, but wouldn't happen)

ETA: The monkey pattern was just freehanded.  I'm not one who follows patterns.  If you are interested in my "pattern" or want one for your little one, just let me know. 

Turkey time!

Loving my newest craft project.  I made a turkey shirt for DieselBaby to wear on Thanksgiving.  The feathers are bits of scrap fabric (ok, they would have been scrap fabric if I sewed a lot. The fabric was actually purchased to make this.)  The body is an old pair of corduroy pants.  The eyes and beak actually are scrap bits of fabric from this summer's banner projects. I sewed down the center of each feather so it can move.

Did you know that it is freakin' hard to find plain t-shirts/onesies for kids?  i searched for several weeks to find a plain shirt for this project.  Thinking maybe I'd find a clearance t-shirt i could just layer.  Nope.  Nothing.  I ended up getting a (way too expensive) t-shirt that had a pocket and tearing the pocket off.  Next time I find plain shirts, I'm definitely stocking up.  I have plans for a Christmas shirt and Easter shirt....

finger puppet fun...

I made some pages for a "quiet book" for DieselBaby for our recent trip to Boston.  The pages were not as much of a hit as I had hoped, but the finger puppets were well received. I used them to entertain him on the airplane. He loved putting them on my fingers.

the "quiet book"... but will it work?

When planning our upcoming trip to Boston (yeah!), I was trying to figure out ways to get DieselBaby quiet during the plane ride.  I during my endless surfing, I happened upon this awesome craft blog.  She has a tutorial for a "quiet book" she made for her son.  I used her patterns along with some pages from my book as a child to make one for DieselBaby. I was a bit rushed as my projects always seem to be more time consuming that I had planned. 

This page has a person (well, it's supposed to look like a person).  He has several shirts and pants that can be changed. I had a wonderful cotton print that had lots of Hawaiian print shirts on it.  I cut out a few shirts.  The pants are a bit of corduroy from pants that got a whole in them.

I had a page like this in my quiet book, but the clothes were just pieces of felt. 

Unfortunate placement of a velcro dot makes the un-

clothed person a bit risque...

A rocket that shoots the moon....

I'm mighty impressed with my tulle

 smoke and orange felt fire 

shooting out of the rocket.

Mailbox that has a door that closes. The letter is attached with elastic so he can take it out.  The flag also goes up and down. 

The barn is cool.  The doors open to reveal animal finger puppets inside.  I hope we don't lose them.  The cow has brown spots, so I think that makes him a Holstein cow. The pig has a pink curly tail on the bag (pink rick rack).  The chicken is white minky.  So soft!

sorry the pics suck!

Recently, I received some samples of organic lotions (ok, it was an Earth Day promo and i'm just getting to use them). I thought I'd compare the 2 lotions since they were both organic and both lavender.

First I tried Avalon Organics Lavender lotion. It was thick, went on smoothly and smelled very calming. I plan on buying some as soon as my current lotion stash is depleted (ok, dwindles....)

Then, I tried Dessert Essence Organics Bulgarian Lavender lotion. It was much runnier and had an "off" smell. I couldn't even finish the sample.

(admittedly not the best review....but I'm writing this after the fact, so it's not like I took copious notes....)

Ok, now on to my "hmmm...." moment. I got a bunch of samples in a reusable tote from Drugstore.com during an Earth Day promotion. Doesn't that sort of defeat the whole idea of being good to the earth? All those tiny plastic bottles (only a few of which were recyclable) and tiny foil packets (which aren't recyclable)...

Still channeling Martha....

So I also made a t-shirt for the big day.  It was also surprisingly easy.  

If I had any talent or time, I might think about opening my own Etsy shop....

Channeling Martha Stewart

So with a big birthday coming up, I felt the urge to channel Martha Stewart.  I want a banner that says "Happy Birthday".  In the spirit of being EF, I have decided to make one.  One of the most daunting things about this banner was the letters. Do I do felt? How do I cut them out so they look half-way decent?  How do I attach them- stitch or iron? Searching my favorite place to shop (Etsy), I came across some awesome letters that you just iron on.  SCORE!  

First hurdle crossed, now what colors do I use?  I had a devil of a time deciding between a Stars and Stripes theme or fun colors/patterns.  I opted for bright colors so we could use it for other birthdays.  

There are lots of patterns on the web. I just wanted some triangles, so I made a template and got cutting.  Cutting a gazillion triangles with scissors is a pain in the tushie.  Luckily Joann's was having a sale on Fiskars, so I got a rotary cutter and mat. That thing was a huge timesaver!!

Making sure I spelled "Happy Birthday" correctly...

Done! 

 I'm so proud of myself.  It wasn't really that hard/time consuming either. We'll have to see what I can whip up on my next day off....