Kickstarting 2016

Apparently I needed a few weeks hiatus from blogging and my shop to recover from the holidays. But I'm back, feeling refreshed, and ready to kickstart 2016! Some of my most popular items on my etsy shop have been the items I offer as instant downloads for primary, cub scouts, achievement day girls, and young women. If you're looking for a welcome gift, a way to introduce the new theme for the year, a birthday token, or just a lesson help--jump on over to my shop and see what I have. And if you don't see anything you like I also do custom orders! I've had a blast designing primary program invitations, newsletters, binder inserts for presidencies, and so many other fun things. You've got the idea and I've got the magic to make it happen!

And stay tuned, I've got you covered for Valentine's Day! Lots of new freebie printables are coming up! Thanks for stopping by!

Making Christmas Magical: 12 Days of Christmas activities for families

I am not one of those moms who usually goes "all out" on holidays. I have lots of good intentions, but very little follow through. But this year is going to be different! I wanted to find some activities that didn't require any specialty-store ingredients and required little prep time. Basically, I wanted something for my preschooler & first grader to do in the days leading up to Christmas--especially those days when there's no school!

I originally saw this idea HERE on katherinemaries.com, but I ended up coming up with some new days of my own and taking/deleting some activities the site suggested. I found a ton of ideas on pinterest (so if some of the crafts or activities don't immediately make sense, just type them in the search bar on pinterest) and I especially loved all the paper plate crafts I found on this site .

The ideas printed on each card are suggestions of things my kids and I can do, but I'm not expecting to get them all done. We'll just pick and choose what works best for us. Also, I hate the idea of constantly having to get online to look for recipes/craft ideas so I included pictures of the crafts and recipes right on the cards. And lastly, there's not right or wrong order for these 12 days! I might let my kids pick a card each day or I'll pick one that fits with whatever else we have that day.

Simple, fun ideas for everyday moms and kids.

This would even make a cute neighbor gift! 

These print on a regular sheet of printer paper or cardstock. Just cut down the middle after printing. Besides the cards, you'll need basic art supplies and a stack of cheap paper plates if you're doing the paper plate crafts. I also own most of the videos/books suggested but you should be able to find them at your local library and on netflix/amazon prime video.

Here are some of our activities for Mr. Grinch Day. We invited two neighbor friends to join us today. We started by reading How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. Then, we made our a Grinch craft out of paper plates.

 Next, the kids helped me bake "grinch cookies" They each took turns putting the ingredients into the bowl. They especially loved seeing the dough turn green. For my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, go HERE

 While the cookies were baking I turned on the classic, cartoon version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. When the movie was over I called them over to the table for their snack. The picture of the cookies looks washed out, but trust me, with 10 drops of green food coloring, they were plenty green!

 For dinner that night I made "grinch rolls" However, dying the roll dough didn't make them green...more like a white and green marble...which the kids still thought was cool. Click HERE for my tried and true roll recipe.

 We also ate "Who Stew" aka Chili. I told my kids this is what the Who's from Whoville eat for dinner rather than saying the stew was made out of Who's (yuck!) And click HERE for our all time favorite chili recipe.

 This was a easy, fun day and my kids can't wait for us to do another activity day soon!

And that's the beauty of these "days" If you get overwhelmed easily, like I do, spread the days out so you're not necessarily doing one every day for 12 straight days. Choose what works best for your family.

 

 To download the GRINCH & NATIVITY DAY, click HERE

 

To download the AROUND THE WORLD and REINDEER DAY, click HERE

Just a side note on this day: you might be wondering why the heck my kids will learn how to say merry Christmas in Indonesian. My in-laws served a mission there for our church so Indonesia is regularly talked about at our house.

To download the St.NICHOLAS DAY and CHRISTMAS TREE DAY, click HERE

To download CANDY CANE DAY and ELF DAY, click HERE

To download the CHRISTMAS KINDNESS DAY, and POLAR EXPRESS DAY, click HERE

To download the FROSTY DAY and GINGERBREAD DAY, click HERE

These printables are for personal use only. Please don't use them commercially in any form.

Don't forget to check out my ETSY SHOP to see if there's anything that will make your holiday bright! And please feel free to like, share, and pin this post! Word of mouth really helps my small business out. I also do custom orders, email or send me a convo on etsy to get started! Thanks for stopping by!

Confessions of a Wannbe Seamstress: Lined Flannel PJ Tutorial

 It's been a long standing tradition in my family to get pajamas on Christmas Eve. Growing up in a family of five children, this often meant our pajamas were made by my mother. One year we we even got lap quilts (or TV watching quilts) to go with our PJs. As I've begun my own sewing journey I realize now just what a labor of love it was for my mother to sew five pairs of pajamas in different sizes and patterns.

Now that I've started my own family I've incorporated this same tradition with my children. In fact, pajamas on Christmas Eve was a tradition in my husband's family too! In years past, we've bought our kids PJs, but this year I decided to make them. And let me tell you, it was so simple! Depending on the size of the PJs I could get 1-2 pairs done in an afternoon while my son took his nap and my older two were at school. I loved doing this so much, I even made a fourth pair for my nephew.

Let's get started! Around Thanksgiving, JoAnne Fabrics has seriously crazy sales on their flannel. I got flannel for 75 % off! That was only a little over a $1 per yard. I bought a yard of fabric for each pair of PJs I made. Also, these are lined with flannel too to make them extra warm and cozy. So I bought a yard of white flannel for each pair too.You'll also need elastic for the waist.

For the basic pattern I used this pattern and tutorial from danamadeit.com. I printed the pattern out (it's sized for a 3 year old) so for the other sizes, I used an existing pair of pajama pants to make the pattern longer/shorter. I found the waist size and the leg width to be good for the sizes I made: a child's 6x, 4T, 24 months, and 12 months. The waist size was good because once you add the elastic for that specific size, it will cinch up to the right size.

First, print and cut out the pattern and tape it together. If you're making a size bigger/smaller then have a pair of pants on hand to see how much bigger/smaller you need to cut the length. TIP: leave PLENTY of extra length for folding the waist over and hemming the bottoms. You can always cut off excess later. If you're making a pair for a larger child that needs extra width on the pattern, just use your existing pair of PJs as a guide and trace around it. Just be sure to give yourself extra room for sewing your seams. In my case, I always give myself LOTS of extra room... I tend to sew pretty wide seams.

Since these are lined, you'll need to cut out a set of front and back pieces on white flannel and a set of front and back pieces on your patterned flannel--so you'll have a total of 8 pieces cut out (or 4 sets). Again, if you're making you're own pattern look how the original pattern has a slight angle on the waist of the front pieces. This gives the pants a better fit.

After your pieces are cut out, you'll need to turn them so right sides are together and sew along the curved part from the waist to that little point in the bum. TIP: after I've sewed this part, I lay the pieces flat on my machine and do a zig-zag stitch right through the seam I just sewed. I figure these PJs are for kids and this area is the bum/crotch area and is going to see lots of running, jumping, climbing, and crawling around on the floor. I like to reinforce them so they'll be as sturdy as possible.

 8 pieces become 4 So now you'll have your 4 main pieces to work with.

 Find your front and back pieces (the front pieces will have a slightly dipped waist) in the white and pattern and match them up. You'll pin them wrong sides together (right sides facing out)

 The easiest way to pin is to start with the crotch. Line the crotch of each piece up, pin it, then pin the inner legs. Then I pin the corners up by the waist and then down the outer legs.

 Start sewing the inner leg first in one continuous line. Then sew along the waist. Finally, sew each side of the outer leg. I don't sew the very bottoms of the legs because that's the part I'll cut off to adjust for length. I do another zig-zag stitch from crotch to waist to help reinforce the two layers of flannel. Now your 4 pieces just became 2.

 2 pieces become 1: Now you'll pin your two pieces wrong sides together. again, line up the crotch and pin there. then the inner leg. then the two points on the sides of the waist and finally the outer legs.

 Sew starting with the inner leg so it's one continuous line. Then sew up the outer legs. DON'T SEW from the crotch up to the waist in this step or around the waist or you'll sew your PJs together!!! I do sew a zig-zag stitch along the leg seams to help reinforce and this also keeps the edges from fraying. Once everything is sewed, turn them right side out and give it a good iron. They're starting to look like PJs already and don't they feel so soft and cozy? The two layers of flannel really make a difference.

 Now for the waist. I do this by making a casing. You can see a tutorial here. After the elastic is in, I sewed around the unfinished edges of the casing with a..you guessed it...zig-zag stitch to prevent fraying.

 Finally, hem your pants. This is where you can cut off any excess length (remember, leave it slightly long so you can still hem them. I also a little bit extra length beyond that so the kids can wear them longer and to foresee any shrinking from washing. Pin your hem to the length you want. Then I iron my crease before I sew. After, I did another zig-zag stick around the hem to prevent fraying.

And Ta-Da your're done! Sadly I don't have any pictures of little ones modeling them because these are for Christmas. But they all turned out so cute and I can't wait to give these to them on Christmas Eve! I'll probably find some inexpensive thermal jammie-type shirts at Wal-Mart or KMart to finish the set.

Don't forget to check out my ETSY SHOP to see if there's anything that will help you this holiday season. And feel free to like, share, and pin this post. Word of mouth really helps my small business. Thanks for stopping by!

CYBER MONDAY SALE

offer ends December 04. Don't wait, you won't see an offer like this until next year. I also have some spots left for custom Christmas cards. Email or send me a convo on etsy to create yours today!

Thanksgiving Printable Roundup!

Give Thanks Subway Art--click here

Each Day I am Thankful for Subway Art in gray--click here

Each Day I am Thankful for subway art in white--click here

In everything give thanks..white--click here

In everything give thanks...striped--click here

But I think I love fall most of all--click here

Don't forget these freebie printables are available for personal use only. And check out my etsy shop to see if there's anything that help you this holiday season. I'm currently taking orders for custom Christmas Card designs. Send me an email or etsy convo for more information.  Thanks for stopping by!

Monthly Milestone Stickers--Just $7 SHIPPED!!

My monthly milestone stickers are back on groopdealz! For just $7.25 shipped, you can choose one of several sticker set designs. This is a 60% discount from their regular price on my etsy store. But hurry, some of these patterns are already selling fast!! These sets are perfect to have on hand for a last minute baby gift and make great stocking stuffers for new moms!

Just follow the link to the groopdealz website: http://www.groopdealz.com/deal/monthly-milestone-stickers-set-4-styles/77433

Fun With Felt Pt. 3

 This is the third installment of my fun with felt series. We've already done felt food and felt play-mats. I was inspired for this next project because my sister in law, after seeing my own kids' Halloween costumes this year, jokingly asked me to make one for her 18 month old son. I don't think she expected that I really would! But once she told me he was going out dressed as a doctor, I had so many fun ideas running through my head, and I couldn't resist whipping something up.

Materials Needed:

• half yard of white felt materials from the bolt, not the little squares.
• scraps of other felt colors to make the Dr. tool accessories. You'll have plenty of white felt materials left over from your vest to make the pockets and Dr. accessories that need white.

First, cut out your vest using this tutorial here on danamadeit.com This is my go to vest for all things dress up. There are SO MANY variations to this vest (so far I've made a vest for Woody the Cowboy, a pirate, and now a doctor)  and it's so simple to make.

Once you have your vest pieces cut out, don't sew them together yet. First, add the dr. details. At the end I'll tell you the exact order and how I assembled my vest.

The hardest part of this project was getting the tools proportioned to the vest and to look good. I was inspired by this pin from the storytimekatie website. However, she said when she made the Dr tools she just printed out clip art images. I had a really hard time finding images that would work for what I wanted/needed so I just freehand drew my own. But the good news is, you don't have to! Drawing and erasing and redrawing took a lot of work, so I made sure to save my patterns. All you need to do is print the patterns out on a regular-sized piece of printer paper.

Click HERE to get the pattern

The easiest way to make your dr. accessories is to print them on paper or cardstock, cut them out and then pin them to your material and cut them out using a good pair of sewing scissors. The reflex hammer-thing (what is that thing actually called?) is two pieces. I just sewed the grey part over the top of the blue part. The eyelight is one piece of black felt with a tiny circle cut out of white felt. The band-aid is flesh colored felt, a square of white felt and a red felt heart on top. I secured the white pad and red heart to the "band aid" separately before I sewed the entire thing to the vest.

 I didn't include the cross with my pattern, but you can print out or draw a plus sign on a piece of paper and use that. For the medicine bottle, I cut out the entire bottle on white felt then cut out just the lid on gray and sewed it on. then cut out just the bottle shape on pink and sewed it on. The thermometer is all on white and I used red and black markers to add the details.

 The stethoscope was tricky. It's 3 pieces. I sewed the back piece on first. then I lined up the two side pieces so it would look like all one piece. I cut the entire stethoscope out using black felt. I sewed the grey circle over the black one for the little pump. For the ear pieces, I cut just the U shape out in gray, then I actually trimmed the black U shape down so I could lay the black piece on top of the gray U. I hope that makes sense. The gray U shape kind of comes over the middle of vest, so I hand sewed just the "ear pieces" in place.

Tips for assembling the vest:

• Sew the back piece of stethoscope first. Then line up the two side pieces and pin in place so it looks like one piece. sew the two side stethoscope pieces in place.
• Sew the red cross on the back
• sew the red cross on the front
• pin all your dr. accessories (except the band aid) in place. Sew them.
• cut your pockets to the size you want. Place them over the accessories and pin and sew pockets in place (leave the top of the pockets open)
• Pin and sew the band-aid in place.
• Sew your vest together. Don't forget to sew it right sides together so your shoulder and side seams are hidden!

It's always fun to see an idea become a reality. I thought this vest turned out really cute and I sure hope my little nephew loves it. Don't forget to visit my etsy shop to see if anything catches your eye. Thanks for stopping by!