Before I kick off this week's Your Way Wednesday, I wanted to point out a new button in my side bar, "Link Parties I <3" My list of favorite link parties was growing and growing, so I put them all in one spot so you can easily find and check them out. And the best part is that I made the list of link parties a link party! So if you host a link party on your blog, you can link it up on my parties page. Happy linking!
Crafting is my way to relieve stress & stretch my creative muscles.
Sewing is my way to have some uninterrupted time to myself.
Bentos are my way to show Elle I'm thinking about her.
Parties are my way to love on my girls & our friends
Tutorials show my way of making this or that.
I want to see your way! I'm really excited to give you an opportunity to do just that with a link party!
Only two rules for you:
Add my lovely "Your Way Wednesday" button to your blog or blog post that you link up to
Please link directly to your blog post, not a giveaway, your link party, your Etsy shop, or even just the home page of your blog.
In exchange for following the rules, I'll leave a comment on your blog post & if you're my favorite post I'll feature you on my blog for my next Your Way Wednesday.
One of my very first Etsy purchases was an I Spy bag for Elle when she was a toddler. I'm sure you've seen these all over the handmade world... but have you ever seen one with photos?!
I love this idea for so many reasons! It's a lot of fun to watch everyone's reaction as faces, including their own, pop up through the window. It's also a great way to introduce your little one to family and friends that they don't get to see on a regular basis. And maybe my favorite; is that this little bag is like a tiny time capsule of everyone who is part of our family and what they look like at this precise moment in time!
Here’s how you can make one for your cutie!
You’ll need: two 9” squares of fleece one 5” square of clear vinyl polly pellets (I got these at JoAnns) photos Laminate (I had a copy center do the lamination)
Make the bag by sewing the clear vinyl square onto the back center of one of the squares of fleece. Sewing over vinyl can be sticky; I put a piece of tissue paper under the foot. Cut the fleece away from the center of the vinyl. I cut it into an “X” and then used pinking shears to trim close to the stitches. Sew the fleece squares to each other right sides together, leave an opening to turn through.
Make the photos by stealing your friends and family’s photos off of FaceBook. In Picasa, crop the photos down to just be their faces. Using the grid option, create a collage out of all the pictures. Adjust the size of the photos by using the grid spacing slider bar. I wanted my photos to be double sided, so I printed two copies of the collage. Cut out each photo and adhere it to the matching photo back-to-back. Laminate the photos.
Finish the bag by turning it right side out, filling it half full with poly pellets, and tossing in the laminated photos. Sew the opening shut.
I’m looking forward to seeing Liv’s face as she discovers Mommy, Daddy, & Sissy in her I spy bag. Hopefully on the trip home she’ll recognize more of the family that she doesn’t get to see as often.
There was a method to my madness in making the magnetic chalkboard lap desk and this was it, magnetic paper dolls!
How seriously cute are they?! Can you even stand it??? I can't! I bought this adorable set from Ms Katie's Art Studio. She has lots of sets to choose from. I picked the PDF file that is made to be colored in. I printed it off on regular copy paper, rough cut them, stuck them to these adhesive backed thin magnet sheets, and cut them out.
All the outfits are ready to be colored and played with. I wanted the doll to be a little more durable though, so I colored her with pencils & covered it with a piece of packing tape before sticking to the magnet. I can't wait to show my Elle, this should be good for at least an hour of play!
Crafting is my way to relieve stress & stretch my creative muscles.
Sewing is my way to have some uninterrupted time to myself.
Bentos are my way to show Elle I'm thinking about her.
Parties are my way to love on my girls & our friends
Tutorials show my way of making this or that.
I want to see your way! I'm really excited to give you an opportunity to do just that with a link party!
Only two rules for you:
Add my lovely "Your Way Wednesday" button to your blog or blog post that you link up to
Please link directly to your blog post, not a giveaway, your link party, your Etsy shop, or even just the home page of your blog.
In exchange for following the rules, I'll leave a comment on your blog post & if you're my favorite post I'll feature you on my blog for my next Your Way Wednesday.
Okay so if automobile primer, chalkboard spray paint, industrial adhesive, and a couple hours of coat after coat of paint seem like a little too much effort for a kids lap desk a) you're probably right and b) I have a cheaper and way easier alternative to my magnetic chalkboard lap desk for you!
The only thing that will make my 1 year old actually keep a lap desk on her lap for any amount of time is seeing her sister with one. While I was picking up the cookie sheet at the Dollar Tree I saw these little plastic trays and matching placemats. I made this version of the lap desk in less than an hour and $5.50 in materials. Here how you do it.
All you need is a little tray, a placemat, a large and small bag of beans, hot glue, foam core, and super glue.
Follow the instructions for making the pillow (you can find them in my last post, here) and super glue it to the under side of the tray. That's it!
A lap-desk is pretty much an essential for kids on a road trip. I considered buying one, but decided I could design one with more features than what I could find already made... and for less money. I really couldn’t be happier with my version! It’s just right for a kid sized lap, the lip keeps pencils and crayons and whatever other little bits from rolling onto the floor, it’s magnetic (more on why that’s important in a future post!), the “pillow” is comfy and squishy enough to create a level table top, and the surface is chalkboard. Want to make one for your kiddo? You’re in luck, I put together a tutorial for you, with a video even!
You’re gonna need:
A small cookie sheet. It should be a cheap one… I got mine at Dollar Tree. Your life will be much easier if it’s not coated in anything.
Fabric a little bigger than your cookie sheet
Dried beans
Latex primer made specifically for metal – The guy I talked to at Home Depot recommended the automobile primer, so that’s what I used.
Sanding block
Chalkboard spray paint
Industrial strength glue
Foam core, matt board, or some other stiff but cuttable material
hotglue
Prepare your cookie sheet
This seems like a lot of steps, but if you don’t do them all the paint will chip/flake off (trust me on this one!).
wash the cookie sheet with hot soapy water
sand the entire surface (top, bottom, & sides) with a sanding block
wash it again and dry it completely
paint the top, sides, and the edges of the bottom with the metal primer & let dry
lightly sand the entire surfacespray the top, sides, and the edges of the bottom with chalkboard paint & let dry (I had some metal paint in black on hand from another project, so I used it instead of the chalkboard paint... a.k.a. a crafting staple for me... on the bottom of the tray)
lightly sand the entire surface
spray a second even coat of the chalkboard paint on the top, sides, and the edges of the bottom & let dry
spray one last thin coat of chalkboard paint on the top
Create the “pillow”
Cut a piece of your fabric 4” bigger than the bottom of your cookie sheet. My cookie sheet is 9x13, I added 4” to each measurement & cut a 13x17 rectangle of fabric.
Cut a 2.5” square out of each corner of the rectangle.
Match the right sides of each corner and sew to create the bottom and sides of a box shape. I made a little video for you of that piece:
Press the raw edges down a half inch
Measure the opening “top” part of your box from corner to corner and cut your foam core/matt board to that measurement. I had a plastic placemat on hand that had seen better days, so I recycled it for this step of the project.
Hot glue the half inch edge you pressed all around the board, leaving an opening in one of the long sides.
Fill the pillow (now with the hard top of the “box” hot glued on) with dry beans. I like beans best because they make the pillow conform to your lap which is key to getting a level surface.
Hot glue the opening you filled the pillow through closed.
Attach the pillow to the top
Depending on what material you used for the top of the pillow, choose an industrial strength glue to adhere it to the under side of the cookie sheet. Gorilla glue and E6000 are good options for lots of materials.
so the chalk "markers" didn't work so well... I almost had a panic attack when I couldn't erase them... I suggest sticking with plain ol' chalk!
Check back to see more of the projects I have planned for our road trip this summer!
Are you going on a roadtrip this summer? We are! 10+ hours in the car with a 5 year old and an almost 2 year old = this Mommy needs to get creative! A close friend of mine was a Montessori teacher, so I knew she would have some great ideas for little projects my 5 year old could tackle. As soon as she mentioned cross-stitch my wheels started turning! I loved cross-stitching when I was younger and am so excited to introduce it to Elle!
The kit includes a piece of gingham fabric stretched on a little embroidery hoop, some embroidery floss on plastic cards stored on a metal ring, a needle on a scrap of felt, a needle threader & thread cutter, and a matchbox I covered with some fun sparkly scrapbook paper to keep the little bits in (I was hoping the matchbox is cute enough to inspire her to keep track of the needle so it doesn't end up floating around my car... wish us luck!).
For starters she'll use the boxes in the gingham print as a guide to make her "X"s... who knows, if she likes it maybe we'll come home with a masterpiece :)
So I mentioned I liked cross-stitch when I was younger... ready for a blast from the past? I cross-stitched the corners of a baby blanket when I was in highschool for my "some day baby". Who does that?!?! Maybe only me... but none the less, I thought I'd share:
Time for Your Way Wednesday:
Crafting is my way to relieve stress & stretch my creative muscles.
Sewing is my way to have some uninterrupted time to myself.
Bentos are my way to show Elle I'm thinking about her.
Parties are my way to love on my girls & our friends
Tutorials show my way of making this or that.
I want to see your way! I'm really excited to give you an opportunity to do just that with a link party!
Only two rules for you:
Add my lovely "Your Way Wednesday" button to your blog or blog post that you link up to
Please link directly to your blog post, not a giveaway, your link party, your Etsy shop, or even just the home page of your blog.
In exchange for following the rules, I'll leave a comment on your blog post & if you're my favorite post I'll feature you on my blog for my next Your Way Wednesday.
I haven’t posted pictures of the bentos I’ve been making for Elle in quite a while, so I have a bunch for you!
Liv will be starting at the Montessori school Elle goes to next year and I’m feeling a little nervous about making 2 bentos every morning. I admit that sometimes I dream about how much quicker it would be to pay for a school lunch or easier to just send a sandwich and chips every day. But seeing all the bentos I’ve done the last couple months in one spot like this is at least a little reassuring… somehow I manage to pull them together even on our busiest mornings & most importantly I feel really good about the variety of foods she eats and that we’re teaching her about making healthy choices!
In this round of bentos we have – corn, blueberries, chocolate roasted almonds, rotisserie chicken, banana, hard boiled eggs, veggie chips, prunes, ritz crackers, baby bell cheese, Hawaiian rolls, cinnamon raisin bagel, dried cranberries, ham, dried cherries, fig newtons, trail mix, quiche, corn bread, edemame, string cheese, fruit leather, pink grapefruit, beets, apple sauce, pickles, granola bar, dry cereal, raisins, triscuts, pretzels, celery, lunch meat, jello, grapes, water chestnuts, natural cheetos, almond butter and jam sandwich, cheddar cheese, strawberries and whipped cream, hummus, and green bell peppers.
It's been entirely too long since I featured my favorites from my weekly Your Way Wednesday posts, so buckle up, I've got three for you. Starting with a little something I would love to be gifted... a file box of ideas!
The Polka-Dot Umbrella submitted this post and I've been thinking about it since. I love reading my favorite blogs, and I'm pretty good about filing the things I want to reference again later, but when it's time to make that project I've been meaning to tackle I'm probably gonna print off the tutorial... or when my 5 year old is begging for a "project" searching through my blog files and printing them just takes too long. This is a great solution... inspiration at your finger tips!
Next up is this camera strap Originate and Renovated submitted. I love everything about this strap! The colors, the giant rick rack, the flowers, the big buttons, it's all so pretty! I don't have a fancy camera or even pretend to understand how one works, but I would be beyond impressed if my photographer showed up with this beauty around her neck!
And from last week's links is this pretty ring One Artsy Mama made. I love silver jewelry and the robins egg blue beads in the nest ring are perfect!
It's your turn!
Crafting is my way to relieve stress & stretch my creative muscles.
Sewing is my way to have some uninterrupted time to myself.
Bentos are my way to show Elle I'm thinking about her.
Parties are my way to love on my girls & our friends
Tutorials show my way of making this or that.
I want to see your way! I'm really excited to give you an opportunity to do just that with a link party!
Only two rules for you:
Add my lovely "Your Way Wednesday" button to your blog or blog post that you link up to
Please link directly to your blog post, not a giveaway, your link party, your Etsy shop, or even just the home page of your blog.
In exchange for following the rules, I'll leave a comment on your blog post & if you're my favorite post I'll feature you on my blog for my next Your Way Wednesday.
The party I've been neglecting you... errr planning... for the last few months was last weekend. I'm super excited to show it to you all! My lovely photographer has lots of work to do to get all the pictures ready, so you'll have to wait just a bit longer, but I thought I'd at least show you the invite and give you a little teaser of what's to come.
As I mentioned earlier, we've been picking produce at a local hydroponic farm nearly every weekend for the last few months. Elle always has a great time and thought her friends would like to pick too, so we hosted an end-of-school-year party at the farm. I found these invitations in Rethink Ink's Etsy shop early in the planning process. I love the natural look of them, the seed catalog liners for the envelopes, and the hand drawn feel! They were the inspiration for the design of the rest of the party.
I was super busy with projects for this party! There were 4 party favors, 2 activities, a food table, a sit down breakfast for the kids, a photo taking spot, and party decor so I'll have lots of how to posts for you as soon as the photos are ready, stay tuned!
Stacey is a business analyst by day and blogger/seamster/ crafter/party planner/aspiring Super Mom by night & weekends. When she's not solving fortune 500 companies system and process problems she's making whatever inspires her at the moment. Her uber supportive husband, Doug, and adorable daughters, Elle & Liv, are her motivation, inspiration, and sense of accomplishment.
