Basketball Picture Frame

This year the hubs and I coached E's Upward Basketball team. It was filled with lots of surprises, and it was a lot of hard work, but all 5 boys seemed to have a great time playing.

We had the awards night this week, and I wanted to give them something special. I'm not a fan of trophies, and at this age, the trophies usually are broken to bits within the first few days of receiving them.

After our very last game, I got a candid shot of the boys. 

I decided that I would make picture frames for the boys as their gift.

I found all of the items at Hobby Lobby.

-Picture Frame

-Purple Spray Paint

-Wooden Basketball Cut-out

-Hot Glue Gun(had on hand)

I laid the frames(minus the glass and backing) on a cardboard box outside where there was plenty of ventilation.

 

I sprayed 3 coats of purple Krylon paint on the frames..waiting 10 minutes between each coat.

Once they were dry, I glued the little basketball guy to the corner of the frame making sure not to let it hang too low across the bottom. 

Now they will have something to look back on and smile about...it's not a faceless trophy, but a keepsake to help them remember the friendships that they developed in their very first basketball season.

18" Doll Bed, Quilt, Pillow and a Mattress Tutorial

Are you guys ready for Christmas yet? Do you have all of your gifts bought, wrapped and tucked neatly under the tree? We are done for the most part. I think I am going to make one more thing for E and then we will be done. 

Today's post is about what we(the hubs and I) made for S.R.

She has asked for an American Girl Doll for Christmas this year. She is 4 years old...she ain't gettin' an American Girl Doll. However, she is getting a "Famerican" Girl Doll...(Faux-American). Ole Santy Claus is bringing her the doll from Target that looks just like the real deal, and it's 1/3 the cost.

So, I came across a really cool building plan for a doll bed on Ana White's Blog. It is perfect!

I knew the hubs could make it, and so he did:o) 

I decided that I needed to make some really cute bedding to go along with it. 

This Famerican Girl will be resting in style:o)

(I got a little impatient, and decided to take pictures before the hubs could get it stained..pics of the final product will come after X-mas)

This is my very first quilt to actually quilt myself. I found an easy tutorial at Mommy by day, Crafter by night. I was able to make this little quilt in about an hour and a half. The fabrics were from a fat quarter bundle purchased from the Hob.

 The pillow was an absolute must as well:o)

 Here is the under-side of the quilt.

When I laid the quilt and pillow across the bed, the quilt wouldn't lay right. The spindles were in the way, and it just looked like it needed an extra something, so that's when I realized this bed needed a mattress.

This is sort of a tutorial, but not really a step-by-step because I was in a rush to get this done before S.R. got home from school yesterday:o)

I started with two fabrics, you could use the same fabric, but this was leftovers from the fat quarter pack, so I used what I had.

I stitched them together to form what looked like a pillow. I realized I didn't have enough to cover the base of the bed, so I had to add a strip across the top to lengthen it. Once it was re-stitched, I laid it across the bottom of the bed to make sure it fit.

I then stuffed it with poly-fil, and closed the end up by hand-stitching. I usually avoid any hand-stitching at all cost because I am too impatient. However, I really wanted this to look nice, so I bit the bullet, and used my little needle and thread. 

To prevent the mattress from looking like a big pillow shoved into the bed, I tufted it. I had a fabric button covering kit(is that what they're called??), and I used the purple polka dot fabric to cover the buttons. This task was a little more labor intensive. I used a long needle, and lots of patience. At one point, I really thought I was going to need a Band-Aid as well...OUCH! 

This is the back-side of the mattress. Yes, I realize that there are two sets of buttons...why, you ask? Because this was a last minute project, and I didn't have time to go buy matching buttons:o) And, yes, it's staying that way.

So it's complete, and I am thrilled with the results. 

 Perfect for her Famerican Girl Doll!!

Participating in these parties:
Classy Clutter

D.S.C.C.W.-Angel Tree Topper

I'm so sorry I missed yesterday's post! I was down for the count. I had a pretty nasty 24-hour bug...but I'm doing much better today. I'm not ready to go for a run or anything, but I am alive, and that's saying a lot:o)

So..Angel Tree Toppers are on the agenda for today. These were a little more involved than the Snowman Ornaments. You will have to do a little prep work if you have little munchkins like me.  

The picture below is what I started with...as the process went along, I had to change some of my supplies because a few didn't work out like I thought they would. 

So here's what you need:

DT=Dollar Tree Puchase

-Cemetery Vases..creepy, but it's what you need:o)(DT)

-Styro Foam Balls(DT)

-Coffee Filters(DT)

-Craft Paints(Flesh Color, Pink, Black)

-Paint Brush

Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks

Scissors

Gold Pipe Cleaners(DT)

Yarn for hair

Eyelet lace...I had 3" wide, and 1" wide already on hand

Pinking Shears

Start off by painting the foam ball with the flesh colored paint. It will take a little while to dry.

While the paint was drying, I went ahead and constructed the dress for the angel. I squirted a bit of hot glue on the vase, and started wrapping the lace around the "body"..(make sure the vase is upside down..the spike is where the head will go). Once I got the first layer glued on, I cut the excess with pinking shears. 

 The second layer wraps around the lip at the top.

Next I made the hair. I decided how long I wanted the hair, and then starting making loops. Once it was thick enough, I tied a piece of yarn in the center and snipped the loops.

 The halo was a really easy construction. I used a paint bottle to form a circle. 

 I then slid it off of the paint bottle and twisted the pipe cleaner around itself..then trimmed the ends to make them even. 

 This is what it should look like when you're done.

We tried to get fancy and use fake flower petals for the wings, but they wouldn't stick, so we went with coffee filters.

 The kids actually getting to participate;o)

I hot glued 4 filters on each angel.

By now, the head was dry, so I attached the hair to the head form, as well as the halo. I forgot to mention that I added the 1" eyelet lace around the neck region to cover up the "spike".  I firmly pressed the ball on the spike...sounds awful doesn't it?

The last part was to paint the faces on.

Here is the boy angel.. 

 And here is the girl angel...

Aren't they sweet?

The kids thought they were really cool, and they were really fun to construct..I love it when a craft comes together:o)

D.S.C.C.W.-Snowman Ornament

Hey Everybody! I am so excited to get this week started with the Christmas crafts the kids and I have been working on. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do. 

I tried to come up with different crafts by using items that either came from the Dollar Tree or were $1 or less.

Today we'll start with a Snowman ornament.

Here's what you'll need to get started:

-Wooden Round disk..found ours at the Hob for 67 cents, I believe, in the clock making section. 

-Craft paint-White, Orange, and Black(already had on hand)

-2 Spools of Ribbon (1 for "scarf" and 1 for hanging the ornament)

-Glue Gun and Glue sticks

-Scissors

-Craft Foam, red & black(had on hand as well)

-Craft glue

-Paint brush

 You will need to paint the wooden disk first with the white craft paint. Then mark out with a pencil where the eyes and smile go.

 Let your little ones use their fingers to put a black dot on each spot you marked with a pencil.

 Just small little dots

 It should look something like this:o)

Next you want to cut out a hat from the black craft foam. I folded the foam in half lengthwise, sketched out a hat, and then cut it. Just trimmed a little here and there to make it look even. You'll also want to cut out some red for the "ribbon" above the brim of the hat(see pics below), and attach it to the hat. You'll want to do this BEFORE you put the hat on the ornament. I did that part backwards and had to remove the hat while the glue was still wet.

 Squirt a little glue on the top of the Snowman head, and attach the hat.

 It should look like this when you're done. 

I painted a little carrot nose on his face. You can let your kids do this, but mine are still a little young to wield a paint brush:o)

 Next is the scarf. I used ribbon I already had. I tied a knot, and trimmed the ends on an angle. I attached it using my hot glue gun at the Snowman's chin.

 Once everything is dry, you can flip it over and attach ribbon to the back so that it can be hung.

This is what our Snowmen looked like when they were finished...so cute!

Make sure to come back tomorrow!! I'll be sharing Christmas Angels using some very interesting materials:o)

Participating here:

Allowance/Money Holders

Ok, so I said I would post about these on Monday...well Monday has turned into Thursday for sure...but I am finally getting around to sharing with you our newest endeavor....allowances...enter shiver/shudder.

We now have to make our children be responsible little helpers...which makes us have to be more responsible because we have to remember to remind them to do their chores....and on top of that, we have to remember to keep $6 in 1's on hand, so that we can make sure they get their $3 a week.

Sheesh!

Who knew it was going to be this involved:o) 

I kid, I kid:o)

E and S.R. have been great about getting their chores done for the past two weeks, and we are so grateful. Not only are they learning valuable lessons in doing a job and doing it well, they are lightening the load on their poor pitiful mother;o)

So here are said money/allowance holders.

All items used to make these money holders were purchased from Hobby Lobby except the buckets. I found the buckets in the dollar section at Target.

 I've seen and heard, for the past few months, of parents using three categories...Share(or give), Save and Spend. I think that teaching the kids to divide their money up now is an awesome life lesson. The earlier they learn to save their money and to give of their means, the better off they will be when they are adults. 

Last Sunday they were actually able to give their own money to the collection plate at church. I didn't get to see it because I wasn't feeling well and stayed home, but I know that before they left for services that morning, they were really excited about giving their dollar.

It's the little things, right?

So what do you think? Are you inspired to make little helpers out of your rugrats? I promise it is well worth the effort!

 Here is a list of items if you want to make your own.

1 plywood board

3 oval shape wooden discs(optional)

scrapbook paper

letter stickers

Mod Podge

Paint for the plywood board(optional)

Drill(for holes)

Ribbon(to hang)

3 buckets with handle

3 mini cup hooks 

Wood Glue

I hope that all of you who started school this week have had a fantastic first week back. I know we sure have. I am still adjusting to getting up early....too bad I can't drink coffee...boo!

Family night tonight...I'll post recipes tomorrow...maybe;o)