Freezer Paper Stencil Bags

We were at it again!  An afternoon craft seems to be the thing to do around here lately.  I got inspired from this blogger's post.  I've been wanting to do freezer paper stenciling since I saw this post.  I wasn't sure it would be possible for kids (in both tutorials an adult did all the painting).  But I thought Amya would like to try!

We started with:

1) these bags (I got mine from Walmart)

2) watered down acrylic paint (you could use fabric paint, but I didn't have any).  

3) freezer paper (must be freezer paper)

I had to help Amya cut her "stencil" (she wanted hearts).  After we cut the paper, we ironed it right onto her bag (but you could use a shirt, pants, an apron, whatev) shiny side down.

                                       Then she PAINTED!

                              While Amya's bag was hanging up to dry, Nelson got intrigued..........

.......so we set up Nelson with his own bag, stencil and paint.

              It wasn't long before Nelson caught a glimpse of Mater.  Then he wanted to paint Mater.

                                                                And paint he did!

             Back to Amya:  When her paint was "dry enough", we slowly peeled it off.  One side done!

                                                    These two painted. for. thirty. minutes
                                                           without. talking.   ahhhhhh!

                                                  Amya was pretty happy with her bag!

          I think it worked pretty good as a kid project!  She needed help, but she really had fun!

Nelson could care less about his bag  But he had fun giving Mater a bath in the sink!

Morning!

 ...we usually light a candle (or two or three)

 ...lately we've been eating parfaits (Amya's pick)

...we usually watch a little Curious George or Cat In The Hat

(whatever it takes to get through "the grumps!")

Putting the Kids to Work...

...it's about time they started earning their keep!

Matryoshka Dolls

**UPDATE**

The fabric we used for the dolls is actually fleece.  I had quite a bit left over from another project and it doesn't fray (neither does felt).

The fabric "patch" behind the doll is a re purposed sweater!

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 Amya and I have been making Matryoshka dolls to keep her busy through the bad weather this week.  I love these little ladies!

This one ended up on a pillow, for my friend's sweet baby girl (I don't know if she reads my blog...guess I'd better get this in the mail!)  Her tummy is a little pocket for small treasures to hide.

 I love snaps!...even though it would have been easier to make an envelope back , I really thought she needed snaps.

 I used this tutorial and cut enough material for several dolls so Amya and her friends could mix and match and do whatever they wanted.

Once she glued all her pieces on, I sewed eyes and a mouth, then sewed on her back.  I think Amya has made three in past few days!

 Now she wants me to make this one into a pillow for her!  OK....twist my arm!

Seriously?

Nelson and I are off to pick up Amya early from school!...another snow storm.

(Our decorations seem a bit redundant now)

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Nelson thought Rudolph might like to play with the wooden spoon puppets.



 

Rudolph did not.

Ice, Ice Baby

What a week!  It was fun and beautiful.....at first. 
Then the weather did something naughty...it didn't do what the forecasters "predicted" it would!  The warm up didn't come, but the freezing rain did. 
In summery:  the trees turned into giant icicles.  The roads turned into a skating rink.  The power lines turned into a joke!  For two nights we had a slumber party on the living room floor (which the kids loved) because a tree was leaning towards the bedrooms, with candles lit (which the kids loved) because we didn't have power.

ICE WAS EVERYWHERE!

  But we stayed warm and cozy with our wood stove, clean with our gas powered hot water heater, and fed with our gas oven and stove top!  (I'm so thankful to the previous owners who made all these decisions for us!)

The ice is still outside.  Friends still don't have power, five days later.  And everyone seems a bit frazzled.  But...

...we all fared better than our lilac tree!

Home Tour: Playroom

Welcome to the CRAZY room on our house.

We tackled this room last year!...ikea shelving really helped clean this room up!

 I bought fabric from fabric.com and stapled it behind all the shelving, bookshelf and dollhouse (stole that idea from Kara).

 Doesn't this room scream that it needs a fresh coat of paint?  I'm thinking white, to brighten up the space. (beige, beige, beige, blah, blah, blah)

Music!

I painted an old frame white, which we call, "The Art Gallery."  We rotate projects in and out of there.  We also have a map up so we can show the kids where we are going every time we get on a plane to visit family!

 We put Amya's old crib mattress on the floor, originally for a "quiet space", but of course it turned into a trampoline!  I'm very grateful for our trampoline during weeks like this one (snow, freezing rain, rain, freezing rain, snow, trees snapping all over the place).  I made the sheet for the trampoline using Dana's tutorial.

 My favorite thing about this room is all the original works of art from so many different people!

This story page was part of a college assignment of Auntie T's!  (snagged that up right away!)

 Dan made the doll house, which is decorated with Aunt Danielle's Christmas ornaments (how could I put those in a box for 11 months out of the year?!).  The moustache skateboard leaning up on the right is Aunt Danielle's handywork as well!

Uncle John painted this panda bear for me when I was in high school.  I've brought it with me everywhere I've lived.  I love her.

I actually pulled this beautiful piece out of our friend's scrap fire wood bin!  It's original intent was to be part of a handmade wooden balance bike.  Slip of the saw = lucky me!!

That's it for now!  Doing these posts has given me the "renovation" bug! (sorry Dan)  Time to put some of the new ideas to work! (thanks Kara!)

Yuck!

This is what we all think about the weather lately!!  Yuck!

Home Tour: Guest Room/Sewing Room

 I just finished organizing this room!  I love to sew, but I've never been very good at organizing my material.  It took me a week of naps, but I'm (mostly) done!  Yeah!

 The color in the bottom picture is more accurate of what the walls look like.

 I have a little more work to do, but for the most part this room is ready for both company and a new sewing project! (Any takers??)

 Of course there have to be toys at hand, for when I don't quite finish a project before Nelson wakes!  When Amya keeps me company, she goes through all the ribbon and "decorates"! (is it any wonder this room has always been a disaster?!)

...still snowing!

Next....playroom!