Valentine Crafts

 A few weeks ago, I decided I wanted to try some DIY Valentine's Day decorations. I found some simple ideas online (simple is a must), and gathered my materials.

First, I painted some mason jars. I planned to make a couple for flower vases to decorate my living room. I intended to have my kids do fingerprint hearts on them, but we couldn't get fingerprints to look like the shape of a heart. So I just painted hearts on them. 

And whenever I get crafty, my kids want to join in. Thankfully, I have a gazillion mason jars and plenty of paint just sitting in my craft storage corner of the basement. The kids made smaller ones to use as candy jars for their teachers and grandparents. We finished them by wrapping the tops with twine.

My next craft was to sew some felt hearts to make a garland for my living room or kitchen window. 

I cut hearts out of felt, glued ribbon to the back heart, and sewed buttons on the front one. Then I sewed them together with embroidery thread.

The second my kids saw me making these they wanted to join in. They had the idea to sew initials on the front as well.

They all made a couple - again, for teachers and grandparents - and really enjoyed it. 

Alden's hearts for his teacher and school counselor.

Leland's hearts for his teacher and Grandma Jill. He also made several more for other people and just for decoration.

Olivia made these for her teacher and Grammy Patti.

They kept thinking of more people to give these to, and I wasn't sure we'd have any for my garland, but I decided I was okay with that. I love seeing my kids getting crafty and doing nice things for others. Alden also asked me to make one for him to take to school to squeeze when he feels frustrated. We did end up with some for a garland though, so it all worked out.

Not the best lighting, and I have already changed it since we finished some more hearts, but you get the idea.

Leland is now addicted and wants to do some more sewing activities. I'm thinking WAY ahead to Christmas crafts now.

Halloween 2020

For the last few years, my kids have chosen their Halloween costumes over the summer. They make a decision and they don't waver. It makes it easy on me to make their costumes, because it gives me PLENTY of time.

This year, however, they changed their minds a few times, and didn't officially decide until around the time school started. Which meant I had less time to make their costumes, which was okay, because they chose fairly easy things.

Every year, I wonder if my years of themed costumes are over. This year, I thought for sure they were, but I did get to halfway have a family theme.

The boys both wanted to be Minecraft characters: Leland wanted to be Steve and Alden wanted to Herobrine. I know nothing about them, but Google is my friend. Also, the boys told me that they're pretty much the same except eye color? So, basically, they wore the exact same costume.

Olivia wanted to be Chase from Paw Patrol. So I decided to go as Skye. 

Tutorials and templates were very helpful in creating all of our costumes this year.

The kids have already started talking about costumes for next year. They have a few ideas - some themed, some not. So we'll just have to wait to see what they decide.

Halloween 2019

We are (some of) the Avengers!

Whenever possible, I like to make our Halloween costumes. When the boys decided to be Thor for Halloween, I wasn't sure this non-sewer would be able to pull that off. But since I struggled to find the version of Thor that Leland wanted (Contest of Champions from Thor: Ragnarok), I took to Pinterest. Which led me to purchasing a pattern on Etsy.

I was incredibly nervous about it, but thankfully the creator of the pattern also had a tutorial video on YouTube that walks through all the steps. The video made it seem simple enough for me - just cutting, gluing, and painting - so I went for it.

For Alden's (Thor from Infinity War), I found a free template online, but wasn't quite sure how to make it, so I purchased a pattern from the same seller on Etsy (who, again, had a demonstration video on YouTube).

Alden really wanted lightning for his costume, so I ordered these light wires from Amazon. They were under $10, and connect to a battery. He thinks they're the coolest.

Their armor is entirely made out of foam (mostly 6mm, but some accents are 2mm), hot glue, elastic, and velcro. And a little help from a wood burning tool to make it look way more intricate than it is. No sewing whatsoever! Alden's pattern actually calls for some fabric and sewing, but I opted for foam instead. I did use some fabric for Leland's sash/belt, and some fleece for his cape, but I glued it instead of sewing. To be honest, I can sew, but it stresses me out.

Beginning stages of Thor: Ragnarok armor

Thor Ragnarok armor complete

I intended to take pictures throughout the process, but pretty much failed at that. Overall, it wasn't terribly complicated, just very time consuming. While they're not quite on par with the ones from the Etsy seller, I'm happy with how they turned out. I'm no professional cosplay maker, but my boys are THRILLED and so proud of their costumes. Leland tells everyone, "My mom MADE my costume. MADE!" And he keeps saying how amazing it is. So, even with a few imperfections, they are happy and that's the whole point, right?

Thor Infinity War armor ready for paint

Leg and Arm armor ready for paint

Olivia's favorite superhero is Iron Man, and even though I told her she didn't have to be a superhero, that's what she wanted to be. I decided to make hers and mine more comfortable to wear, and add some feminine flair in the form of a tutu.

For Iron Man Girl, as Olivia calls it, I bought her a red shirt and red pants, as well as a white thermal shirt (because Northern Michigan Halloween is COLD). Then I used felt to make the emblem and wrist bands. For her tutu, I tried to find a red and yellow one, but I could only find red, so I hot glued some yellow in between the red layers. I bought her mask (and mine) on Etsy for super cheap.

For my Captain America outfit, I bought a Captain America shirt and layered it over a white long sleeve tee. I made wrist bands out of felt, similar to Olivia's and purchased a red, white, and blue tutu on Amazon. I forgot to make myself a shield though...oops.

The kids all love their costumes, and even though I wasn't terribly excited about the theme they chose in the beginning, I'm super excited about it now. I don't know how many more years I have of themed costumes, so I'm soaking it in while I can. But I know the days of me having any influence over their costume/theme choices are over.

Baby Shower

I don't hop on here so much anymore, but I wanted to post about Lincoln's baby shower.

A month ago, I had the pleasure of hosting a baby shower for one of my dearest friends. Kristina and I have been friends since the 7th grade. We have been through everything together - puberty, boyfriends, break-ups, make-ups, our own fights, my wedding and babies, her moves across the country and back, and everything in between.

I jumped at the chance to throw her a shower, and was super excited about the theme. Kris and Jeff are doing a woodland bear theme for sweet Lincoln's bedroom, which was so fun to do for the shower!

I am all about a cute, fun DIY craft, so this was right up my alley. I started by making a bunch of burlap & twine acorns. This was SUPER easy. I found some tutorials on pinterest and went to town. Then I asked my sweet, handy husband to make some candle holders out of some tree branches that we had in the shed. He spent a whole 20 minutes making them and they were perfect! I set them on a sheet of moss from the Dollar Tree for table centerpieces.

I had a picture in my mind of the perfect cake; however, since I was doing this party on a budget, I wasn't sure I would be able to afford what I wanted. But my amazing and super talented friend, Rachel, made this cake and cupcakes for super cheap. It couldn't have been more perfect. (Topper from Etsy.)

For my baby shower, my sister-in-law requested that everyone bring books instead of cards. This was a really sweet sentiment, but we now have notes in lots of different books instead of in cards or a guestbook in one spot. I knew I wanted to get Lincoln a book, and I found this adorable one (goes with the bear theme and is seriously the cutest book) and had the guests sign it as the guestbook.

She is the cutest, right?!

So happy for Kristina and Jeff, and I cannot wait to meet precious Lincoln. He is loved so much already.

Gift Idea

I always struggle a little with what to give friends and co-workers for gifts. I love to give personal gifts that they will enjoy and that will actually get used, but I don't want to break the bank. 

Last year, I did some homemade bath and body gifts (sugar scrub, body butter, and bath salts). I did those again this year for a few people that are new to my list. But for the people that got those last year, I wanted to do something different. I always love mason jar gifts though. So after a little pinteresting, I found a pretty fun idea: DIY etched glass!

The etching was super easy. I bought a package of Armour Etch Glass Etching Cream from a craft store and used some contact paper and my cricut.

I used my cricut to cut the stencils out of contact paper. I suggest using contact paper or some other sticky paper. I tried it with card stock first but the edges of the letters didn't turn out very crisp that way (because the cream leaks under the paper). 

Here is what it looked like with cardstock taped to the jar.

And here is the much nicer version when I used contact paper.

Then I stuck the stencil to the jar, painted the cream on and let it sit for 30 seconds. 

Then I rinsed it off, removed the sticker, and voila! An inexpensive, personal gift. 

For Leland's teachers and a few friends, I etched their initials in mason jars and filled them with different things. For most friends, I filled them with Ghirardelli chocolates and added a gift or gift card. For example, for one friend who loves Christmas socks (like, serious obsession),  I filled hers with two pairs of socks and some nail polish. For another friend, I made a "hug jar" which included uplifting notes and quotes about friendship and added a Starbucks gift card. I thought it was a fun way to personalize a gift without breaking the bank.

The only issue with these jars is that the etching doesn't stand out a lot, so some friends didn't even realize they were etched at all until it was pointed out. But I still think they turned out cute.

Halloween Costume Tutorial (sort of)

When Leland told me he wanted to be a backhoe loader for Halloween (and that Alden should be a bulldozer), the first thing I did was turn to pinterest. I saw a few ideas that I pinned and chose two as my "inspiration."

I intended to take pictures throughout the process so that I could write up a step-by-step tutorial. But I forgot.

The first step was to cut a hole in the boxes. I used a diaper box for Alden's, but had a bigger box for Leland's I cut the hole and taped the edges with duct tape.

For the buckets, I cute half-circles from cardboard for the sides and then poster board for back. For anyone using this tutorial, my husband says I made the buckets the wrong shape. They are supposed to be flat on the bottom. I could have changed it, since I had plenty of cardboard and poster board, but I just didn't feel like it. I also should have made the rear wheels/tires larger than the front ones, but - again - didn't feel like changing it. 

For the wheels of the loader, I cut out a large circle and small circle. I cut triangles in the edges of the large circle to give it the look of a tire.

For the bulldozer wheels, I used oatmeal containers. And for the blade, I just bent some cardboard into a blade-ish shape. I glued them on with hot glue.

At this point, I made the decision not to make the cab of the loader. I was going to make it because it was in my "inspiration" picture, but I decided that it would probably be frustrating for Leland to have it on, and it would be more difficult to paint and transport to trick-or-treating locations.

Dave painted them: the vehicle bodies, buckets, and wheels yellow, and the tires black.

Then I assembled them. I used hot glue mostly, except for the backhoe. For that, Dave cut a slit in the back of the body. I glued the logos (printed from a google image search) where I wanted them, and hot glued some nylon webbing straps (crisscrossed so that they would stay up on the boys' shoulders better) on the underside of the body opening. I added some other details with black cardstock, like loader arms and a blade on the loader bucket.

For the bulldozer, I glued black cardstock to the blade. The cardboard was wrinkled from bending it, and I wanted a smooth blade - it worked nicely. Then I cut strips of black cardstock, folded them accordian-style, and attached them around the wheels with hot glue in a couple of places.

Dave said I needed smoke stacks, so he painted a paper towel tube black and we cut it down. We put one on each machine.

At that point, I was pretty much done. I ordered some construction vests and hats on Amazon (the hats were awesome because they are very durable and have adjustable straps on the inside for a snug fit).

And voila! Adorable DIY costumes for my sweet boys.

We received lots of compliments on them when we were out trick-or-treating. A few people said they were the best they had ever seen, and someone said we "win Halloween." That's not why I did these, but it sure was nice to hear that people liked them. Mostly, I was just thrilled that my boys loved them so much. They were SO excited to wear them.

When I first started this project, it seemed like it would be SO difficult, but once I broke it down into steps, it really wasn't bad. I probably worked on them 5 times - sometimes during nap and sometimes after they went to bad. I'm sure it took less than 5 hours total. Assembling them took the longest, but the rest went pretty quickly.

Unfortunately, it always seems to rain on Halloween, so they don't look brand new anymore. But they did last through trick-or-treating (twice) in the rain, and the parts that need fixing won't be too hard to do. A little glue and tape and we'll be good as new so I can give them away to someone else to use next year.

Big thanks to my husband for painting them and for being my construction consultant. Teamwork makes the dream work.

If you use this "tutorial" for your own costume inspiration, let me know in the comments. I'd love to see what others come up with!