So this just may be one of my craziest craft ideas yet. I almost didn’t post about them, but I have to tell you, my girls LOVE these cap tappers! They are such a great way to up-cycle all those dried-out markers and to work on that large pile of scraps you have. The idea hit me one day while watching the girls color. They love to take the caps off markers, place them on their fingers and tap with them. My littlest even spends more time tapping with the markers caps (hence all the dried-out markers) then coloring with the markers. I even remember doing this when I was a child… so why not make them even funner by embellishing them! As you can imagine they are quick and easy to make and even the kiddos can help in on the process.

Making some cap tappers is pretty simple and really needs little explanation. Just grab some small scraps of fabric, sewing notions, buttons or whatever else you think will be fun to work with. And of course you will need some marker caps and a hot glue gun.

So I am quickly going to show you how to make a butterfly. Cut three little pieces of fabric like shown below. Each one is a little smaller then the next. Of course they can all be the same size if you want. Glue each of the layers together in the middle of their wings. Place a little glue down the center of the wings and squeeze together. This will give the wings a little more shape.Now attach some antenna to the back of the wings. I just used two pom-poms from some pom-pom trim I had.

Now glue the butterfly onto the cap. Just make sure the opening where the kids will put their fingers in, is on the bottom. Kinda makes since right? Add some buttons down the middle if you want or on the wings. And there you have it, a little butterfly cap tapper. Super easy right? Kinda crazy though…yes?My attempt at an owl.

Now just grab a metal bowl or box and let the kiddos tap away!

This week for Fat Quarter Friday we are making something for the kiddo’s. My little guy loves playing “bat ball” but we never play with bases. So the other day when he asked me to make some bases I thought that would be the perfect project for this weeks Fat Quarter Friday. I thought about making some bases out of wood with mod podge on top. Then I thought maybe I would make the bases big and fluffy similar to real bases, but I ended up just going the simple, practical route. This way the bases are super easy to clean by just throwing them into the wash. Plus these bases are so easy to store. And yes, they lay and stay on the grass pretty good. I was a little nervous they would blow around everywhere but they didn’t. No, they don’t work as good as real bases, but they are way cuter if I do say so myself.

Fabric Baseball Bases {Tutorial}

(allow 1-2 hours to make: beginner level)

Materials Needed:

*4- 13″ x 13″ pieces of cotton fabric

*4 pieces of batting a little larger then 13″ x 13″

*4-pieces of a backing fabric a little larger then 13″ x 13″

* small scrap pieces for the numbers

*cardstock for printing numbers onto if numbering your bases

First make sure your 4 pieces of cotton fabric are cut to 13″ x 13″ and that your 4 batting pieces and backing pieces are cut a little larger then 13″ x 13″. Of course you can make your bases larger or smaller then what I did. It’s all in what you would like.Now take one of your pieces of fabric and trim off the edges like below to make home base. Now if you want to number your bases use printshop or hand draw some large numbers onto some cardstock. Cut out the numbers. Trace the numbers onto some scrap pieces of  fabric. Now cut them out.Stitch the numbers onto the three pieces of fabric. I just zig-zag stitched close to the edges as I wanted the edge of the numbers to fray slightly.

Now take and layer one piece of batting, one piece of the backing fabric right side up and one of the numbered pieces of fabric wrong side up. Make sure that the backing fabric and the number piece of fabric are right sides facing. Pin together. Sew around all 4 edges while leaving a 2″ opening for turning right sides out. Trim off excess fabric. Turn right side out through opening. Iron flat. Now top stitch around edges. Repeat with remaining bases.

 Such a fun, quick project that will get a lot of use. Isn’t she the cutest “bat ball” player you have ever seen?!

The theme for this weeks (and sadly, the last week) Project Run and Play challenge is your signature look. Yes this week was hard, especially since I am still figuring out what my signature look is. I like a lot of different styles and fabrics. I guess you could say my signiture look is a casual, comfy, easy wearing look with a little twist of sweet girly-ness in there. Like I have said before my girls love a twirly skirt and ruffles but not an over the top girly-girl look. Cotton is definately the fabric of choice. We love prints, solids and of course we cannot forget stripes and polka dots. I love my little girls in overalls, but I also love the ease of dresses especially with all the trips to the potty. So I decided to combine the two. I really wish I would have had enough material to make exactly what I have envisioned but I’m still learning on the amount of fabric it takes to make all those ruffles. Crazy how fast one yard of fabric can go isn’t it?  My little girls love their layers and ruffles so. Want to get them excited about a dress…sew some ruffles on there I tell ya! I’m a bit disappointed in my pictures this week, but it was really sunny out and none of us are feeling well. As you can tell, the girls were just not into taking photo’s this week. Plus there were so many butterflies flying around I couldn’t get them to stand still. The bodice  for both of the girls dresses were simply made by using a pair of their overalls as a template. Then for the skirt part of this dress I used whatever I had for leftover material to make her skirt. Basically it is a layered simple skirt attached to the bodice. I planned on making a circle skirt but I just didnt have enough material. Then of course on the bottom of the skirt has ruffles.I decided to use buttons this time just because I knew they would look cuter and I wanted a little pop of color with the denim dress. But for ease I wish I would have used snaps. I just love snaps. Have I told you that before? I almost mod podged some snaps. Think it will work? Maybe I will give it a go, how cute would that be?!I made a simple little peasant shirt with flutter sleeves to be worn under the dress. I love the look of them together. But more importantly I love when my girls can dress themselves with ease and peasant shirts allow that. And really, even though they are super basic I just love the looks of a peasant shirt.

This little munchkin’s dress was made from a stretchy denim that I had. I should have really thought about exactly how the denim was going to work before cutting it, because a circle skirt made out of a stiff denim really doesn’t lay well. It really stuck out, like bad. Oh yes, my girl LOVED the fit of it, but I didn’t. So I just fixed it by putting in a few pleats in the front and back. It still gives a great shape without sticking out too much and luckily she still loves it!

I layered another circle skirt underneath with matching fabric to her sister’s dress. Again matching, but not too matchy-match. And of course more ruffles around the edges of both skirts.I made another peasant top to go underneath the dress. So there you have it…my signature look. Thank you so much the challenge girls! It really made me step out of my comfort level each week and try something new. I have learned so much about sewing clothes for these sweet little ones and now my girls have a bunch of handmade dresses from Momma. But more importantly I have some really sweet photo’s of my little girls and that right there is PRICELESS to me!

 My little girls have been obsessed with bracelets since I made them a few weeks ago to match these dresses. I love the larger beads for them, but the larger beads are kinda pricey. So I was so excited when I found two adult necklaces at the thrift store the other day for some insanely cheap amount. Here are the necklaces I found. Aren’t those colors great? And just so you know, when finding necklaces to up-cycle make sure the beads have holes all the way through them and are not the type of necklace where the beads are attached to one another with sting. Unfortunately those types of necklaces won’t work for these types of bracelets.Besides the necklaces you will need some elastic cords. I bought this type at Walmart, but most craft stores carry it. Cut the necklaces apart to get the beads off. Make sure you place your beads into a bowl or you are going to have a big mess, especially if the kiddo’s are helping you.Now comes the fun part…making the bracelets. Cut a piece of string a few inches larger then the measurement of your childs wrist. Start stringing your beads onto the elastic. Make a pattern with the beads or just go crazy with them. Once you have enough beads on the elastic just recheck t size to your childs wrist before tying a knot. If it fits, tie a few knots at the end of the elastic cording. Pull it tight so that none of the elastic is showing. And that is it. Super easy right?   They spend hours playing (and fighting) over these beads. I love the elastic cording so they can play with them without help. And really, I think they spend more time taking them off and on them wearing them.My littlest even discovered that they could be worn as anklets and make a great sound when paired with play high heeled shoes.

This is such a great, cheap and easy project to do with the kiddo’s. Just keep your eyes open for cheap beads, I know I am.

We got our 30 baby broiler chicks this week.

Or maybe you already knew from all the squeals, screeches and aww’s that were heard. We have spent a lot of time holding, feeding and patting them. A lot of time!

We even “tuck them into bed” at night. As you can imagine there are a lot of “good-nights” heard.

I can’t blame them. I find myself loving these baby chicks  just as much as the kids do…well for the time being that is. Because the truth is, while I love the meat and fresh eggs they give us, I’m not much of a chicken lover. And may have even been seen in the past running away from a few chickens that were chasing me. Seriously I was scared. There is just something about birds that slightly frightens me. So I will enjoy these cute little baby chicks while I can, because they won’t be cute very long.

For this weeks Project Run and Play challenge the theme was at the movies. It could be an outfit inspired by a movie or an outfit recreated from a movie. I chose to recreate an outfit from one of our most beloved movies…The Lorax. The kiddo’ had already decided that they wanted to be characters from The Lorax so this was the perfect opportunity to get a head start on their Halloween costumes. I had high hopes of making the lorax and a brown barbaloot for the girls but after spending many-many hours on one pair of pants I knew that that was just not going to happen. Maybe if I would have started working on the design before Monday I could have done it, but for some reason I never seemed to be able to start until Mondays.Here is the Once-ler’s outfit that I used as an inspiration.

It seemed like a pretty straight forward design, but really this outfit took more time to make then any of the others, by far!But it was well worth it, this little guy couldn’t be more excited about it. Plus watching him act out the scenes in his Once-ler outfit is just ridiculously cute!What I love  most about this little guys Once-ler outfit is that it is handmade from top to bottom. I will admit, I almost bought a white tee and a hat, but that totally would have been cheating. Way easier yes, but cheating.

The first item I made was the hat. I basically just made it up while I went along. I measured his head and then just made the brim a few inches larger then his head measurement. Then  from there I just basically made an oval fabric basket and attached that to the brim. The hat is even  fully lined with the same fabric that is on the outside. Next was this basic white tee, but instead of just folding over and top stitching the edges I tried to stay true to the actual Once-ler’s outfit and sewed on an extra folded edge to the sleeves and collar. It definately gives it a more professional look. Then came the pants… oh those pants! They seemed pretty basic in design, but if you look really close you will see how perfectly all the stripes line up on his pants and yes, I decided I had to do that. Unfortunately I wasn’t working with just stripes, so I had to make sure that the lines were lined up vertically and horizontally. I knew that uneven lines would make all the difference between an ok pair of pants and a great pair of pants.

I can’t even begin to tell you the amount of times I seam ripped these pants. The pockets were by far the hardest thing to do. I have never made a real pair of pants (other then pj or yoga pants) before let alone a pair of pants with real pockets. Then put in the challenge of all those stipes…oh frustrating!  Oh and did I mention that I only had 1/2 yard of this fabric? So I had no room mess-ups. Plus when I first decided to sew along with this seasons Project Run and Play I told myself that I would not refer to any patterns or tutorials if I got stuck…no matter what. I just felt that referring to them would change my design and get me more confused. I am one that learns best by trial and error even if it takes me hours to figure it. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I almost googled “how to sew pants pockets,” but proud to say I didn’t. Now that they are done, I just love them! But more importantly so does my little guy. And trust me, he has been the hardest critic! Oh just look at those lines and humor me because my son surely hasn’t! In the back of the pants I put in an elastic waist and kept the front of the pants a straight fit. The reality of it is that these pants are going to be worn for Halloween and that is months from now, so I had to make sure they would allow for growth. So they do look a little bunched in the back and a little longer then they should due to that reason.Of course every Once-ler needs an axe. I made it mostly out of brown felt and leftover wool from the hat. I filled the handle with a wooden dowel and lots of batting. Like a whole bag of batting to be exact.

Now all I have to make is a lorax and a brown barbaloot costume and we are ready for Halloween.

Apparently my Momma’s new blog is still in the works…much like my clothes for this weeks Project Run and Play challenge. I’m pretty sure she will work on her blog once my pants are finished. Sorry that some of her tutorials are not working and that she has no idea how to fix them. She is having the same problem with my pants.
Now how am I going to be the Once-ler without pants?!

Dyeing fabric is so much easier then I ever thought. I got a few emails wondering about the colors I used and just some basic questions about the whole process. Now just remember I have only done this twice now. Once with the boxed powdered dye and once with the liquid dye.  So I don’t know everything there is to know about it, but really it is pretty basic and all you have to do it read the back of the containers and have about 30-60 minutes worth of time. It really is one of those things that once you do it, you will want to keep on doing it…soon you will be dyeing everything within site. So to dye fabric using the bucket method and with the powdered Rit dye in the packages you will need:

1. Some powdered Rit Dye that comes in the boxes. It can be purchased in any fabric/craft store and even at most supermarkets. 

2. THREE yards of white cotton fabric WASHED. You can use a light colored fabric as well but that will make a difference in the final color once dyed. It is best to use 100% cotton, linen, silk, wool and other blends that have mostly cotton in them. Just refer to the back of the package of your dye for more details to which fibers can be dyed. I used just a plain white muslin that cost $2.99 a yard at JoAnn’s. I have to be honest, it may not have been 100% cotton but it still worked great and the colors were pretty true to what I thought they would be once dyed.

3. A 5 gallon bucket or a few. Obviously one bucket per color.

4. Something long to stir the fabric with. I used a wooden dowel cut in half, but you can use anything. Just keep in mind that it may dye it along with the fabric.

5. Gloves. I didn’t have any, but wish I did. It will dye your hands.

To get started you will need to be close to a sink or a place where you can easily transfer hot water to your buckets. I just used hot water from the sink and dyed my fabric in the kitchen. Of course you can just fill your buckets with hot tap water and then bring them outside. Now fill up your bucket with about 3 gallons of hot tap water per one package of powder dye. (The powder and liquid dyes do call for different ratios and slightly differ in their methods so just make sure you are following the directions on the back of the packages or bottles. It may sound confusing, but really it is so easy! And remember I am showing you the powdered method in a bucket.) Dissolve your whole package of Rit dye into 2 cups of hot water then add it to your 3 gallons of water in the bucket. Stir. Now take your 3 yards of fabric and run it under some hot water. Just make sure that your fabric it is not folded. Place your fabric into the bucket.Now it is time to stir and stir away! You are going to have to stir for about 10-30 mintues…constantly. 30 minutes seems like a lot but just so you know ahead of time, with the liquid Rit dye you have to stir for 30-60 minutes. So whenever possible I would rather choose to use the boxed dye instead of the liquid.  Now no, I didn’t stir constantly, but close to it and I still came out with a great result. As you would imagine the longer the fabric is in the dye to more vibrant the fabric becomes. I left my fabric in for the whole 30 minutes. Now gently pour out your liquid from the buckets and start rinsing your fabric. I just poured my buckets down the sink while the water was running to keep from staining my sink too much. Start with warm water and slowing end with cool water. Rinse until all the water is clear. I have an old cast iron sink that did slightly dye but it cleaned up very easily. Just refer to the package if you are worried about staining your sink.Place your dyed fabric directly into the washer and wash with your regular detergent. Dry as usual. And that is it…Easy peasy? Yes, it is time consuming, but worth it. At least I think so!Because the color of these dresses couldn’t be any cuter!

This weekend we headed out in search of some fiddle heads. But quickly ended our search when we saw these two geese swimming in Paul’s pond.

It’s amazing how quiet three little ones can be when you tell them that they have to be quiet or else the geese will fly away. I’m gonna try that this weekend in church, think it will work?Then like most adventures we go on it turns into the perfect place for worm hunting.I enjoyed the beauty around us while the kids ran around searching for worms and playing with rocks.

It was a great trip up the road to the pond and of course every fun adventure ends in some interestingly-unexpected-messy way. Yes, that is cow poo…but if you ask my little one, it’s a circle. I couldn’t be prouder…she sure knows her shapes.