Poor Baby!...

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...tried to steal someones chair when they got up from the table.  In the excitement, he over-shot it and tipped forward right into the corner of the table!  Poor guy!
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 At least he is a super hero...

...and can work through the pain!!!

p.s. To Charlie: when "Melson" watches your movies, he puts his toys right up to the computer for you to see!  He won't believe me that you can't see him :)

Sparkle Dough!

When I taught preschool, I tried several times, unsuccessfully, to make playdough (thank goodness for co-teachers!).   Amya decided she could walk me through and we could do it together...

                                  It worked!! (thank goodness for 4 year old girls!)

We followed this recipe.  And got inspiration from this blogger.

                              Pretty simple ingredients (we added  lavender oil ... just for the smell).
I overheard Amya talking to her dolls afterwards, "Yeah, we made it!  Really.  Mommy and I made the playdough!"  **smile**

 I was even thinking this would make a great party favor!  Hmmm...we do have some birthdays coming up...

                                                             Not bad for a kitty cat!
                                                                  
                                                                     Wait...what?

                                                     Oh, right!  A Kitty Cat!!

This batch has gotten lots... 

...and lots...

                                                              ....of use!

Happy Birthday, Tracy!

                                                     We hope you have a fantastic day!!!

SIX Years



January 2007




January 2008




January 2009





January 2010
Michael Peterson Photography

 


January 2011





January 2012



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!