While Daddy's Away...

...the kiddos will play!

Daddy is on a 14 day trip to India.  To help the short ones keep track of the number of days until he comes home (and to keep me from answering the question a zillion times), I came up with a little countdown.

Each notecard has an activity written on it.  The Bug loves tearing off his card each morning and finding out what the day's activity will be.  He then counts the remaining cards to see how many days it will be until Daddy comes home!

Here are a few of the "adventures" I listed:

Make a fort

Take a trip to the Children's Museum

Go for a nature hike on the farm

Create a pillow pile

Make a race car track around the house with masking tape

Fingerpaints

Bagel date

Mommy makeover (complete with lots of funky eye shadow and hair bows)

Bake something new and share it with a neighbor

Make flubber

Make homemade playdough

Decorate the house for when Daddy comes home

These cards, along with bathtub paint have been my sanity saver!  We may have to do this every time Daddy heads out of town.  It's great for that the kids have something to look forward to each day.

We also created cards for Daddy to open while he's away.  He has an envelope for each day, and inside the kids helped write one thing they love about him.

It's a sweet life when you have little ones to keep you on your toes!

Random Acts of Kindness Week

I recently heard that this week is Random Acts of Kindness Week!  Have you done anything to be extra kind?

We made and delivered dinner to a great friend who has a lot on her plate.  The meal even included my favorite from-scratch chocolate cake with sprinkles.  It made the house smell so great while it was baking!

We've also been working on a little suprise for Daddy while he's away on a long business trip.

And, I've been sewing up a storm.  A shipment of beautiful spring fabrics just came in, and all I want to do is hide away in my sweat shop!

Here's a peek at some recently listed items.

Lots of Ultimate Knot Dresses!  I'm working on another new dress style too!

If you made it this far down the post, here's your reward!  

Use code LOVE15 for 15% off your Lois Pearl purchase!  

Head on over to the shop and check it out!

Stenciled Burlap Pillows

Sometimes it's just fun to dig through my crafty closet and see what I can create.  It can be a rewarding challenge, especially when it works out!

I found some burlap, fabric scraps, acrylic paint, and an old sheet.  Here is a quick glimpse of what I created!

I free-handed the little branch onto the burlap first.  One it had dried, I stitched the little birdie on so that the raw edges are exposed.  I like that it will fray over time.

I printed an "H" out on the computer in the font and size that I desired.  I then cut it out and used it as my stencil.  I love that it's personalized!  Wouldn't these make a great gift?

It's funny how something as simple as a few new pillows can really brighten up a room!

Happy Crafty!

Upcycled Stripey Dress

The Peanut has hit a huge growth spurt over the past couple of months.  She must have inherited her Gam's height genes!  (my MIL is 6' tall and very willowy, lucky lady!)

As a result, all of her old t-shirts are too short in the torso, but fit through the shoulders.  I decided to try my hand at crafting up a little dress from these old t's.

First, I cut her t-shirts off about 4" from the underarm seam.

Next, I collected several old knit shirts of my own, and cut 12" x 6.5" strips.

I then serged the striped together, creating a seam down the long side.  

I continued this process, until I had sewn 6 strips together to form a skirt.

I then attached the skirt to my top, and had a dress!

I chose to embellish the dress with a little flower created from my knit scraps.

What could be better than a new dress....that is one-of-a-kind, made with love, and free?

Happy Crafty!

What I Love Wendesday: Neater Feeder

I'll take a bit of a break from crafty posts today to tell you about a life altering giveaway.  If you have a canine, particularly of the slobbery or sloppy variety, this will change you life!

We received a large Neater Feeder in a family gift exchange of the holidays.  It is the perfect solution to having a water bowl in the house for our boys.  You see, this guy, he's not the neatest when it comes to water.

Note the slobbers on Jakey's nose.  Just imagine that inside your house!

This little Neater Feeder catches all his slobbery drips, so they don't land on my floor.  Genius!

  

The New Home Ec is giving a Neater Feeder away to one lucky reader.  If you have a sloppy friend, go on over here and enter!

Note:  I am in no way compensated by The New Home Ec or Neater Feeder.  I just love sharing great ideas and products with others!

Valentine Crayons

This is such a fun and simple craft to do with your kiddos! We love crayons around here, and always seem to have an ample supply of broken ones. Creating our own crayon shapes was an easy and inexpensive way to create a homemade Valentine gift for our friends!

First we rounded up all of our broken crayons. The kiddos helped peel the outer "shells" off, and we broke them into small pieces.

My little people then sorted the pieces by color, gave our mold a good shot of non-stick spray and filled it with the colorful bits.

We then popped them in a 275 degree preheated oven and baked them for about 8 minutes, just until the crayons began to melt.  I pulled them out of the oven and swirled them with a toothpick.

I'm impatient, so instead of allowing them to cool on the counter, I then put them in the freezer.  About 20 minutes later we popped the little guys out and had crayon hearts galore!

They will make darling little Valentine gifts for the preschool friends....and the mommies will appreciate that they don't result in a sugar high!

XOXOXO