Sculpting For Kids

In the past few weeks we've been focusing our homeschool themes on skilled crafts and it's been a blast because it encompasses so much great knowledge. While covering ceramics we learned about the science of what clay actually is, the history of pottery, the various tools & skills involved in producing ceramics, ceramics in our daily life & art, etc. Who knew it could cover so much ground? We also did some field trips to a paint-your-own pottery place & our local treasure Greenfield Village to see an actual pottery workshop in action. Ethan was riveted by how the spinning potter's wheel would produce such amazing things from lumps of clay within seconds so I was kind of bummed there weren't any places that offered classes in throwing for young children. That is, until I found this while on holiday this weekend: Creativity For Kids Pottery Studio.


This kit is beyond cool. It has a functioning kid-sized potter's wheel with foot pedal, 3 lbs of air dry clay, tools, non-toxic glazes, paintbrushes, very simple and educational manual - even a tarp & apron to make clean-up easy. It was super simple to set up and is just the right size for little hands. It says ages 8+, but my 6 yr old caught on immediately and my 3 yr old will enjoy just modeling with the clay and the painting after it dries. I had a lot of fun trying it out too.


Within 24hrs pieces are ready to paint so it's really like having your own pottery studio available at home. It also doesn't take up much space or dent your pocketbook (our recent paint-your-own visit was just to paint pre-made pieces and was over half the cost of this kit which can be used over & over!). Two big thumbs up on this being something that is educational, affordable & provides a lot of constructive activity. Who knows, we may have a sculptor-in-the-making in our house!

Summer Styles for Moms In A Hurry

After viewing my summer wardrobe, it appeared plain I needed some summer dresses. My criteria was pretty specific though: had to be comfortable, flattering to my ever expanding waist/rest of pregnant body and had to be something I could wear again next summer when I'm back to a normal shape.  Not a tall order, right?  It's easy to say you'll just wear/find loose fitting stuff when you're in the 1st trimester, but now that I'm 6 mos in, it's obvious a lot of stuff just isn't cutting it (read: sausage casing) or looks like a tent (read: makes my middle look even larger than it is).


Enter these two dresses. These are from a fabulous book by Sheila Brennan: One Piece Wearables. This is THE book for quick, easy to make stuff that looks good. Like the name says everything in it is made from a single pattern piece (which is included), so there's a minimal amount of work involved - no pieces to match, fairly simple steps, most involve just 1 yard or less of fabric and the stuff is really cute. These are definitely projects that can be completed in a short sitting. I decided to use stretch knit instead of cotton to make these more belly-friendly and I like that with virtually no adjustment, they work for any body shape. For instance, the pattern for the leaf print dress was trapeze style and just called for using a ribbon as a belt, so instead of around the waist, I just tied it above the bump. Easy and effective!


My only issue is that for some weird reason the patterns come in S-M-L, but with no indication of what those are.  Way too vague - that could mean ANYTHING!  While I am considered petite in size, I am pretty round in the waist at the moment, so I was surprised to have to remove a full 6 inches from the back of the swirl one to make it fit properly, but maybe using a non-stretch fabric would have prevented that. Either way, I'm happy to have a few new items that look and feel great for summer!

Sew what? Anything & everything!

I'll admit it - I'm officially addicted to my sewing. Having a baby on the way has really kicked my habit into high gear and since my husband pointed out that there will be precious little time to do projects after baby arrives, I'm really motivated to do project after project right now (wish I was this inspired to clean my house!).


I started out just planning on the kimono, but made a matching set to utilize every bit of the fab fabrics. The bird print fabric is from Joann's and I knew I HAD to get it the second I saw it. Not only was it ridiculously cheap, but it has that pricier designer look and a unique color combo that can go with anything. The patterns I used are all from the fabulous book Sweet Booties! which has become a fast favorite of mine. I love the variety of projects, how simple the instructions are, the beautiful photos and that it includes all the patterns in a range of sizes. The patterns are printed on freezer paper as well (instead of tissue) & there's a handy pouch to store them in, so it's easy to keep them fresh & organized.


I lined everything with organic bamboo velour so it would be cuddly-soft & organic on the inside and practical for the iffy weather that tends to happen here in late summer/early fall. I also love it because it's natural color and wears like iron, so the spit up stains that ruined countless outfits in the past will get a run for their money. Added bonus, there's still some fabric left to dream up another coordinating item...hmmmmm. Stay tuned for some summer fun items for mom soon!

Favorite kid's icons from the 70s are very nowtro!

I fondly recall my collection of Strawberry Shortcake dolls & miscellaneous gear, so I was thrilled to find this fun knit fabric with one of my favorite toys from childhood. The hat pattern I had was ridiculously big (they actually did a one-size fits 0-24mos, um, right....), so I fiddled with it a lot to make it actually fit a newborn to match the gown. I always thought it was so dumb how any sets I bought had hats that would never fit at the same time as the actual outfit, but I think I succeeded with this homemade one. Here's hoping this little ensemble is the start of Strawberry making a comeback! If only I still had some of the toys left!

Slippers, slippers everywhere!

Those tiny baby slippers I made were so darn cute I didn't want my boys to feel left out since I've been making loads of mommy & baby stuff lately. The thing is, both my guys have much, much bigger feet, so I decided to blow up the pattern to make some for them. The first enlarged pair turned out what I call "smurf" style meaning they are way oval looking & a bit cartoony. Declan loved them anyway and I was thrilled to use some of my leftover French vocab fabric (educational & fun!).


I used some scrap denim I had to make the bottoms be able to handle more wear & tear.




I made my own slipper pattern to accommodate bigger kid feet that is more slimmed down , so Ethan's pair turned out a little more normal and I used some scraps left over from the pyjamas I made a while back, so he has a complete nighttime ensemble:


The best part is they both want to wear them all the time and I had loads of scrap fabric left from previous projects, so our slipper supply will be never ending!

Hip Styles For Baby

We found out our baby-on-the-way is a girl, which was a real surprise to me being a mom to just boys for so long. I'd always felt like there were tons of choices in little girl clothing & not much for boys, so that forced me to get inventive with making things for my little guys. So a few weeks ago when I started looking I was disappointed at the surprising lack of choice for girls. Suddenly everything girly looked the same - either pink overload or teenager-in-training, neither of which I'm crazy about. The few things I liked were from the neutral/boys section, so I decided to get inventive with my own "girly" styles.



Using my fave layette pattern set and the amazing baby accessory book, Sweet Booties, I came up with these stretch knit items: a fun dress that's feminine, but not fussy and this vine romper & bootie set.


Both outfits are lap shouldered and the romper has a snap open leg area for easy diaper changes. I just loved how these prints stand out from the usual stuff, but still look cute for a little girl. The booties were so fun to make. This is the fab "won't kick off" style and are fleece lined. I shrunk down the pattern so these would be real newborn size to match the romper - they are only 3 inches long!