D.I.Y. Custom Name Art

I first saw this custom name art on Etsy when I was pregnant with Leila.  I wanted to purchase the decorated letters to hang on the wall above the changing table, but just couldn't justify paying someone to do something so simple.

Deciding to do it myself turned out to be easier than I expected!  My sister and I finished these letters for Leila just four days before my due date. 

With Carson's arrival, I figured I should make his name art a priority on my to-do list.  With the help of my mom and Aunt Carrie we finished the letters in just two days.

Custom name art {for your baby's nursery}

What you'll need:

• Wooden letters to spell your child's name (I picked these up from Michael's.  They had a few sizes and colors to choose from.)
• Acrylic paint for the sides (gray for Carson, brown for Leila)
• Mod Podge (I liked the matte finish)
• Paint brush
• Sponge brush
• Coordinating scrapbook paper- one for each letter
• Cardboard or newspaper if you are messy like me
• Scissors
• Pencil

Do-it-yourself directions:

1. Paint all edges of the letters with your acrylic paint. Make sure you do a sloppy job so that a little bit of the front of the letters get some paint too. (Just in case you cut the paper too small or misplace it on the letter slightly.)

2. Trace the letter on the back (or front) of the scrapbook paper and cut it out with scissors. With some of the prints I chose it was easier to line up the pattern by tracing the letter onto the pattern itself instead of the back. This ensures it will be straight if it needs to be.

3.  Paint the Mod Podge on the front of the wooden letter. Be sure to get all the way to the edge. Adhere the paper letter to the wooden letter and smooth out the wrinkles with a clean cloth. (pictured above)

4. Leave the letters out to dry overnight. 

Ta da! It's easy and perfect for your child's bedroom.

Linking up this week with Mama Dish for their{Moonlight & Mason Jars} Monday Night Link Up Party. Go check it out!

Salt dough ornaments {New traditions}

Last Christmas I attempted to make salt dough ornaments with Leila.  I was proud of my accomplishment, but they are so easy to make, I decided to step it up a notch this year.  I saw these adorable Santa hand print ornaments on Pinterest (of course) and knew they would be the ornaments we made this year.

Aren't they adorable?

They were super easy to make too!  The most difficult part was keeping these two friends entertained while Amy and I kneaded, rolled, and cut out the dough into the shapes we wanted.

I used the same recipe I used last year to make the dough.

Salt Dough Santa Claus Ornaments

This recipe makes 12-16 toddler hand sized Santas.

Ingredients:

4 cups flour

1 cup salt

1 1/2 cups water

sturdy cardboard

parchment paper

Acrylic paint- skin tone, red, white, black/brown, blue, pale pink

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Combine the ingredients in a bowl.
3. Knead the dough for 15-20 minutes (knead on the counter, it's easier)
4. Separate dough into equal sized portions and set aside.
5. Roll out one portion of dough onto a small piece of parchment paper.
6. Trace your child's hand onto a piece of cardboard and cut out carefully.
7. Dust one side of the cardboard cut-out hand print with flour to prevent sticking.
8. Cut around the cardboard hand with a knife.
9. Use a straw or similar object to make a hole at the top (base of the hand) for hanging on the tree later.
10. Poke holes with a skewer around the perimeter of the ornament to prevent bubbling.  Poke all the way through the dough for the best results.
11. Place parchment paper and ornament on a baking sheet.
12. Bake at 300 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden. 
13. Let them cool completely before painting. 

Salt dough Santa Claus Ornament painting guide:

(As you can see in the pics above, I also made stars for Leila to paint herself since she is not ready for the detailed Santa painting.  Read these tips on painting with toddlers...no muddy brown if you follow my instructions!)

1. Start by paining the section just above the fingers using the skin tone colored acrylic paint.  (You can see in my close-up picture that the paint I used for the face cracked.  I did not use acrylic for the skin tone which was a big mistake.  Regular washable paint just doesn't work as well.)
2. Paint the hat and the thumb red leaving the tip of the thumb unpainted until later.
3. Let these two colors dry.  (You may need more than one coat.)
4. Paint the fingers and sides of the ornament white.  Leave a little bit of the skin tone paint showing for the mouth.
5. Paint the fur trim on Santa's hat and the tip of the thumb white.  I definitely needed more than one coat of white paint.  For best results let it dry between each coat.
6. Use pale pink for the cheeks and mouth, blue for the eyes, and black/brown for the pupils,
7. Mix a bit of pale pink with the skin tone paint for the nose.
8. Let them dry completely overnight.
9. Add a ribbon or ornament hook and wrap them as a gift of hang it on your tree. 

Next year I'll be making ornaments again!  With inspiration from Pinterest, I'll be tackling something new for our homemade Christmas ornament tradition.

What are your holiday traditions?  Have they changed since having children?

Baby Shower {Children's book theme}

Last Saturday I hosted my first baby shower.

Our friend Courtney is expecting her first baby boy this summer.

Doesn't she look amazing!
I spent some time on Pinterest, of course, searching for a theme that was not too over the top. With the beautiful backdrop of the restaurant patio, I knew simplicity was key!

I loved the invitations I found here.

Our no-sew version turned out just as cute!

I purchased some stuffed animal and book sets at Kohls and used them as table decorations. (If you don't already know about their $5 book and stuffed animal deals, check it out here.)

One of the books was set out for guests to sign. You can see in the picture that I glued the invitation to the from cover.


The dessert was homemade by Betsy! She made Lemonade Rice Krispie Treats and Red Velvet Ding Dongs (Courtney's favorite). I had one of each and wanted more.

I asked everyone to bring a book instead of a card. Guests that were not able to attend sent books too. Thanks to everyone's generosity, Baby boy T has quite the book collection already!



I purchased enough fabric to make this double sided pennant banner. I wish I could take credit for how perfect this turned out! My mom and aunt Carrie planned and executed the whole project. I love the buttons they sewed to each corner. The weight of the bottom button held the fabric in place in the breeze.


Courtney was showered with love and gifts. I think everyone had a fun and relaxing time.

We cannot wait to meet her little guy this summer!

Toddler art {Mother's Day gift}

This project couldn't be easier, cheaper, or more adorable...and BONUS!...it fits right inside the cards Leila got for her Grandmas and her Great-Baba.

Materials:
paint
paper
paintbrush
craft stick
green pipe cleaner
Sharpie or other kind of marker
white glue
stickers (optional)

1. Paint your child's hand and carefully press it onto the paper. Let it dry before you cut around the outline of the handprint.
2. Paint the craft stick green to look like a stem.  I used a sponge-like paint brush but fingers, Q-tips, or a regular paint brush will do the trick.  Set it aside to dry.
3. Put glue on the back of the handprint flower and position it onto the painted craft stick.  I wanted mine were short enough to fit nicely into the card/envelope I was mailing.  Lay the flower flat to dry.
4. Make a small loop on one end of the pipe cleaner to look like a leaf and secure it to itself.  Wrap the long end of the pipe cleaner around the painted craft stick, make a loop for another leaf and tuck the remaining part of the pipe cleaner into itself.  (You can also use paper to make leaves. Melissa suggested making green footprints for leaves!)
5. Add the year, a message, and stickers if you'd like.
   

Happy Mother's Day!

Toddler art {Mixing paint}

It's getting messy in here.

Two weeks after making play-dough (a decently clean activity) I took the plunge and brought out the paints.

Stripped down to her diaper I let her "loose" with red and white paint, two paint brushes, and thick white paper.


I painted her hand and showed her how to press it on the paper. That was her favorite part!

Paint ended up in her hair, mouth, and on the floor. There is still some paint on the bookcase. Not surprised? Me either. I'm sure there is paint on the window too.

I ended up tracing hearts on the back of the dried masterpieces. Our first homemade Valentine cards were a hit. xoxox

Bonus: The mess didn't kill me!

What messy things do you let your toddlers do? Did your mom let you get messy?

Toddler activites {Microwave Playdough}

After reading about brave Mommas painting with their toddlers, I convinced myself play-dough was like painting for the Type A parent. She could get her hands in it, and if she threw it across the room I wouldn't be cleaning it up for days weeks.

I was also skeptical about making play-dough with Leila because I was worried, of course, that she would try to eat it. I mean, what child can resist the taste of play-dough on their lips?

When I saw the ingredients in this recipe posted by Annie at It's Just my Life... I figured if Leila tasted a little bit it wouldn't kill her. (It's pretty similar to my stove top recipe but without the chance of ruining my pots and pans.)

Here's what you need:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 cup water
1 tablespoon oil
food coloring

Mix all the dry ingredients in a medium sized microwave safe bowl.

Add water, oil, and food coloring to the dry ingredients.

Microwave on HIGH for 3-4 minutes, stopping to stir every 30 seconds.

Let it cool enough so you are able to knead the play-dough. Store in an airtight container after it is completely cooled.

Leila has been really into her toddler-sized kitchen utensils these days, so I knew she would love helping me mix up all the dry ingredients.

I should have known she would try to feed it to herself...


...and then get really mad when I wouldn't let her.

Live and learn!

The secret to making this microwave play-dough is to stop and stir it every 30 seconds! I found other microwave play-dough recipes online that did not instruct me to stir that often. Theirs turned out lumpy and gooey. Not mine! I stirred every 30 seconds while it cooked for three minutes.

See...not lumpy at all.




Leila, Jeff and I had a blast playing with the play-dough. I threw some wooden craft sticks and pipe cleaners on the table to play with since all of my play-dough tools are packed away in my former classroom. She mimicked what we did, ripped it apart, smashed it back together, and of course enjoyed the salty taste on her lips.

For teacher appreciation week this year, I made a triple batch and gave it to Teacher Lee! The kids love how easy it is to manipulate. I even got a little on my pants today and it came right out with just a little water. Hooray!

Like this recipe?  Share it!

Organize ME {Earrings}

This October I was inspired to organize our home thanks to Kelly at The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking. I showed you how I used a diaper box to organize my gift wrapping supplies. I know, lame, but that was all I photographed.

In November I got creative with the help of my sister and Pinterest. Neither of us have a lot of dresser space to store our accessories (even though Val has more than double the amount I have). But we have wall space! So we set out to make an earring holder we could hang like this.

When we finished we each had one like this...

Isn't Jeff a beautiful hand model?

December brought adorable toddler art and beautiful packages under the tree.

Now, it is more than half way through January and I've yet to commit to a new project.

Ideas anyone?

Oh wait maybe I should tackle my utensil drawer in the kitchen. It just took me five minutes to find the tongs.

Toddler art {Christmas}

We all know Leila can draw and color a masterpiece, but she is much more talented than I lead you to believe. This toddler can paint and make salt dough ornaments. Amazing stuff only family can appreciate!


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Thanks to Pinterest for inspiring me again!

The decor details

I just HAD to show you all the craftiness my friends and family managed to dish out for Leila's first birthday party.

We were inspired by the Queen Bee Market and Pinterest, and this is what we came up with:

Thanks Betsy for the awesome photos and gorgeous cake!

The banner


Rainbow fabric garland


Dessert and gift table


Pom Poms!


Six layer RAINBOW layer cake


Tie Dye cupcake, just Leila's size


If you're not on Pinterest, you should be. It's not something that you need, it is something that you WANT. Trust me. Check me out by clicking the Pinterest button on the right.