Buttercup Bag

This was a project I completed back in February!  Since my sewing machine was out, I just had to use it to sew something.  What better to sew than a new purse!   I had found the pattern for a Buttercup Bag on Made by Rae about a year ago, printed the pattern, and even bought the fabric, then let it sit in a drawer.  So it was time to bust it out and make it!

I used regular cotton fabric, so I lined it with fusible fleece to make it a little more sturdy.  The bag was pretty easy to put together and I am really pleased with how it came out!  It even has a magnetic snap to keep it closed (the first time I put one it) and a little pocket on the inside!

Its not a large purse, but it has enough room for the essentials!  I just grab my stuff from the diaper bag, toss it in this bag, and go!  (As if I ever leave the house without the diaper bag and baby!)

iPad and Surface Pro Sleeves

Last week, my sewing machine came back out!  It was so nice to have it back out, like greeting an old friend.  I spent the first weekend sewing an iPad sleeve and a Surface Pro sleeve.

The first project on my list was to make a (belated) Christmas present- an iPad sleeve.  I found a great tutorial at Crazy Little Projects.  I found some cute green and blue fabric at JoAnns and got to work.  It came together pretty easily.  I did make one change, putting a button hole and and button instead of a velcro closure.  I was pretty happy with how it came out!  I tried out Daddy's iPad in it, and it fit!  Quite nicely, too!

The next project was to sew a sleeve for my (new) Surface Pro that Daddy gave me for Christmas!  It is a little bigger than an iPad, so I used the same tutorial and made it a little bigger.  Unfortunately, I did not make it as wide as I should have.  While my Surface Pro fits, it is a tight fit.  Oh well!

I used this cute purple chevron print that I also found at JoAnns, and lined it with the cute floral print.  Even though it is not the best fit, it still makes me happy!

More sewing projects coming soon!

What have you made lately?

3 Buttoning Activities

Little Guy has been fascinated with buttoning lately.  Anytime he sees a button, he wants to try it out.  So, I thought I would make some buttoning practice for him, so he could be successful with it!

Since we are in winter, we started with a snowman.  I saw the idea on H is for Homeschooling.  This activity also practices snapping, as there is a snap on the hat and on the scarf.  As you can see, this one was a big hit!

To go along with the snowman, we have been practicing the letter S.  So I made an S out of felt with 5 buttons.  Little Guy had to match the colors to the buttons and then button them on.  All the pieces of felt are also different shapes, to give us more to talk about as he is working.  I hot glued the S to a piece of cardboard.  This did make some of the buttons difficult to do, as there is no movement or give in the S.  Little Guy enjoyed it none-the-less! 

The last activity isn't quite finished yet.  It will be name buttoning practice.  I cut out the letters of his name, twice for each letter.  One of each letter will have two buttons, and the other will have the two button holes.  He will match the letters of his name up and practice buttoning!

I made all my buttoning practice activities out of felt, since it doesn't fray and provides a little thickness for Little Guy to hold onto.

How are you practicing buttoning?

We linked up to School Time Snippets!

Our Advent Calendar

For Advent this year, I wanted to make an advent calendar.  I've thought about it several times since last Christmas, but finally made it over the weekend (nothing like waiting until the last minute!).

I used felt to make the calendar, and then cut scrapbook paper to put into the pockets.  I wanted this to be about family, so on each piece of paper will be an experience or a family activity.  Here's the list:

1. Decorate the Christmas tree.
2. Go see Santa.
3. Make cookies with a friend.
4. Decorate a paper candy cane.
5. Read This is the Stable by Cynthia Cotten.
6. Color a Christmas picture.
7. Drive downtown and look at the state Christmas tree.
8. Clean out closets and donate coats.
9. Make peppermint play dough.
10. Read Frosty the Snowman by Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins.
11. Make a card for Mama's parents.
12. Sit in front of the fireplace and drink hot chocolate.
13. Decorate sugar cookies.
14. Pick out a new family ornament.
15. Drive around and look at Christmas lights.
16. Make a card for Daddy's parents.
17. Take a Christmas themed bath.
18. Go to a Christmas themed playgroup.
19. Read Follow the Star by Rachel W. N. Brown.
20. Make rice crispy treats that look like trees.
21. Get ready to see grandparents.
22. Play Roll a Christmas Tree.
23. Read the Christmas story from the bible.
24. Read The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore.
25. Merry Christmas!

What activities are you doing this advent season?

Very Hungry Caterpillar Felt Board

Remember the Very Hungry Caterpillar busy bag I wrote about here?  Well, I decided that Little Guy and I needed to give it a test drive before we took it out somewhere.

We started with reading the story.  Then we pulled out the felt pieces and laid them on the ground.  As I read the story again, Little Guy put them up on our felt board.  It was a fun process!

First comes the caterpillar.

Add an apple and some pears.

Can you tell that Mommy put up the strawberries and oranges?

Look at all this food!

Yea!  All done!

This felt story was a big hit!  I can't wait to have more!

What stories have you made out of felt?

Very Hungry Caterpillar Busy Bag

I love the idea of busy bags.  Since I will be a stay at home mom, there will be times that Little Guy will have to come with me to appointments or other places where there may not be toys for him, so I want to have activities ready to go.  In fact, I am so intrigued by the idea of busy bags that I have a Pinterest board dedicated to them!

I love the story The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle (whom Little Guy shares a birthday with!).  The first thing I did for this bag was to make the story out of felt. (I had a lot of felt leftover from making the Quiet Book, so I only had to buy one piece of purple!)  I got this idea from Familylicious via Pinterest (of course). I cut and hot glued all the different types of food together.  To get Little Guy involved, I had him help me create the butterfly.  I pre-cut the pieces, and had him lay them on the butterfly's wings.

Getting ready!

Hard at work!

Here is our beautiful butterfly!

The complete set of felt items for our busy bag.

The next idea I also got through Pinterest.  This idea is from Here Come the Girls.  I used a craft foam sheet and cut a leaf shape. Then I used a hole punch to put holes around the edge. The caterpillar is made from a red shoelace, a piece of a red pipe cleaner, a piece of a green pipe cleaner, and of course some googly eyes. I hot glued it all together to help make it secure.

Isn't that a cute caterpillar?

The last activity included is bead threading.  I picked up a bag of large wooden beads at the thrift store recently. I painted one red for the head and nine green for his body. I used a green pipe cleaner and glued it into the red bead, which also helped to create a nose. I added ears and eyes (of the googly variety). Little Guy can thread the beads onto the pipe cleaner to make the caterpillar.  This activity fits nicely into a large spice jar.

String a caterpillar.

All done!

All the parts of this busy bag!

So here is the completed bag. It has the felt story, the leaves for lacing, the caterpillar to thread, a book, and a small stuffed caterpillar. I can't wait to try it out!

What ideas do you have for busy bags?

Library bag

Since the beginning of the summer, Little Guy and I are working on establishing routines with what we do daily and weekly.  One of our weekly activities has been to go to the story time at the library.  Naturally, we are getting books every time we are there.  So I decided Little Guy needed a bag to carry his books.  Here it is!

I love that the bag is reversible.  The fabric is all extra fabric that I already had.  The blue fabric matches the apron I made for him and the green is leftover from his Quiet Book.  I ironed in some fusible fleece to give it a little weight.  I did have to purchase the red straps, but that's not too bad for such a cute little bag. The bag ended up being 9 1/2 inches by 10 1/2 inches, just the right size for a little boy!

What have you made lately?

Quiet Book: It's Done!!!

It's done!  I think it took me a little over a month to do, but the Quiet Book I made for Little Guy is completed (for now)!  There are lots of pictures.  I hope you enjoy looking at this Quiet Book as much as I do!

Here is the front cover.  The flap has velcro to keep it closed.  Don't you love this fabric?  I love the bright colors to get Little Guy's attention.  The handles are made of felt, and are just the right size for him to carry his book.

The back cover is equally as cute!  There is a little pocket on the back to hold things, like the car for the road page.  I got the basic pattern for the cover and how to put together the pages from Adventures of Our Family.

The first page has Little Guy's name in blue letters (not shown).  They attach to the page with velcro, so he can practice spelling his name.

Get ready to play ball!  Count the beads and shoot a basket!

The number page is really interactive, as not only are the numbers attached with velcro, but you can also move the beads.

Daddy is a big basketball fan, so we had to include this great sport!  The basketballs come out of the ball rack and can be put through the hoop.

 Next we practice colors and shapes.

The shape page is all snaps.  We will practice colors now and shapes later.  I love how this book will grow with Little Guy!

The zipper page, although not very exciting, is sure to be a favorite of Little Guy's, as he LOVES to zip!

Beep, beep! Coming through!

The road and car pages will be fun!  The car will be stored in the back pocket.

 

Don't be scared!  The dinosaur is next, along with the kite!

The dinosaur's spots and spines all have snaps.  He also has a zipper on his back, turning him into a pocket!  The template is from Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows.

The kite page might just be the neatest page!  Inside each kite piece is a magnet, and there is a magnet hot glued onto the page.  The kite puzzle pieces can go on in any order, as well as either direction (there is no front or back).  Daddy helped with this page!  The original pattern is from Serving Pink Lemonade.

Time to visit the farm!

Apple picking is fun.  The apples have snaps and go in the basket.   I wonder how long until an apple is snapped where the sun goes?  The template is from Adventures of Our Family.

Don't forget to stop in the barn.  Open the doors to see the chicken, pig, and cow finger puppets.  The template is from Homemade by Jill.

Mail call!

The mailbox holds a small pad of paper to write notes on.  Don't forget to put up the flag!  The template is from Homemade by Jill.

Want to pick some flowers?  This will be great fine motor practice to take the flowers off and on the buttons.  The template is from Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows.

Don't forget your tool chest!

The tool page was the last page to be completed, although that is not why it is last.  I think Little Guy will be a great fan of the tools!





So that is the Quiet Book for now.  It is held together with binder rings, which makes it so I can add and take out pages.  Already have a few more in mind (thinking about a birthday cake)! 

What's in your Quiet Book?