My New Year's resolution for 2012

2012 is here in 2 hours! So, I guess this means it's time to make resolutions. There are many things I'd like to improve on this year ...I'm not going to list them all, but one of my resolutions that I think will be fun to commit (or TRY to commit) to is the following:

Only buy the absolute minimum when it comes to clothes for the kids. I've been going through boxes and boxes of clothing that they have outgrown and selling them (...the clothes, not the kids). I'm sure they did not need so many articles of clothing and it seems so wasteful! So this year I am determined to simplify. My resolution is to reuse fabric from our clothing rejects. I have a few boxes of clothing in the basement that are waiting to be turned into something new and useable. I'll still buy jeans, shoes, and anything that's too hard or time consuming to make, but I'd really like to make the rest.

This past year I have made a few outfits for my kids using fabric from my basement stash. Anja recently acquired her dad's old sweater that I refashioned into dress. I used this tutorial from the blog Make It and Love It.

So, now that I've shared this resolution I feel the pressure to follow through. ...Reduce, Reuse, Recycle... Happy New Year everyone!

Homemade Play Kitchen

Anja and Isla got a play kitchen set (made with love by mommy and daddy). I fell in love with this kitchen. So, I begged my husband to build it and I did the painting, sewed the curtains and made the hardware choices. We were able to make the whole kitchen for about $125, which considering how much the plastic ones are, I think is a pretty good deal.

They LOVE it!!!

Jellyfish in a Bottle

In the middle of November we had a couple of weeks that were very cold. Taking 3 young kids out in that kind of weather is not fun, so I tried to find some new activities we could do indoors. I came across "Jellyfish in a Bottle" from Bhoomplay's Blog. My kids LOVE underwater animals. You can probably find everything you need for this craft at home: plastic bottle, plastic bag, string, water and food colouring. I had to make most of it myself as it was a little too hard for them, but the most fun part (adding the food colouring) can be done by the kids.  My pictures don't show the jellyfish very well, but check out the jellyfish on Bhoomplay's Blog.

Quiet Bags

I FINALLY made quiet bags for my kids to take to church. I've been meaning to do this since my oldest was a baby (& he's almost 5 now). I used this tutorial from Zaaberry to make kid-sized messenger bags. I had a hard time picturing how big the bags would be before I made them, and if I were to make them again I'd make them a few inches bigger. Other than that, I'm happy with how they turned out.

I added pockets to the inside (instructions for this were not included in the tutorial) because I wanted to keep their snacks separate from their toys.  I used their favourite granola bar as a guideline for the pocket size.

Step 1: Cut out 2 rectangles for flap and 2 rectangles for pocket. Sew around edges leaving opening for turning. Clip corners.

Step 2: Turn rectangles right side out, iron, and sew along top of pocket and bottom of flap. Sew on velcro using a zig-zag stitch. (I cut my velcro in ovals just because I like how it looks.)

Step 3: Sew sides and bottom of pocket to centre of lining. Place the flap so the velcro matches together and sew along the top attaching flap to lining.

View of flap when open

Finished pocket

Baby's 1st Birthday Party

So, the baby of our family has turned one. I find all of her milestones bittersweet since we will not be experiencing any of these milestones in our family again. (Yes, I am done having babies! Our family is complete with 3 beautiful children, except for maybe the unavoidable dog in the distant future!) I was quite stressed planning her party because I wanted it to feel just as special as our other children's 1st birthdays. But, I just don't have the same amount of time to plan as I did with the other two. That being said, in the end I was very happy with how her birthday turned out.

I decided to plan the theme of her party around her birthday outfit. I found the patterns for her outfit and shoes in Amy Buttler's "Stitches for Little Ones".  After making her outfit, I used the colours from the fabric to pick out cardstock and make some decorations.

The inspiration from the party hats came from the blog "girl.inspired."

This was my first attempt at cake pops. I should have practiced more before the party! I used a pumpkin spice recipe. It called for pumpkin to be mixed in with the frosting and I think I added too much pumpkin. The cake pops were falling off the sticks as soon as they thawed. :(

I "upcycled" a shirt from Value Village to make hair accessories for the party.

For the wall behind her highchair I displayed photos of her from every month since she was born. I found the idea for the paper bag flowers from "aplaceforusblog"

We had to strip her down after she demolished her cake. I was happy I had taken of her birthday outfit and just left on a onesie. It was completely ruined from the chocolate.

Felt animal mask party favours

All partied out!!!

Giant Ruler Growth Chart

I've been meaning to make a growth chart for my kids for um... about 4 years now. I wanted something that would be timeless and would match the decor of different rooms if we ever move, or if I just want it in a different room. I couldn't decide on what I wanted which is why it took me so long to make one. A couple of weeks ago I came across this one and LOVED it. And, just my luck it included a tutorial. I was able to make the growth chart using materials I already had so it cost me $0. I didn't stain the wood using coffee grounds like the tutorial suggests because I had extra stain left over from a previous project and thought that would be easier.

Felt Finger Puppets

The finger puppets by nichole (nicholeheady.typepad.com) are ridiculously cute. So, here's my take on them:

She looks like she likes them!

(Finger puppets I made for my kids' stockings last Christmas.)

Chevron Wristlet

I just completed the Chevron Wristlet Tutorial from Made by Rae. I LOVE chevron and never thought to make it myself out of striped fabric before. I would love to use this technique to make some pillows sometime.  ...If only I needed more pillows!

I was originally going to use an old pillowcase as the lining, but found some leftover yellow fabric and thought the contrast of the bright yellow would look better.

 Since the fabric for the Chevron was knit, I added interfacing to prevent it from stretching out of shape and to give the wristlet a little more structure.

Robes in Action

My kids have been getting great use out of those robes I made using Dana's pattern. They put them on after every bath and were used on our last vacation to my parent's cabin. So far the robes are holding up very well.