Captain America!

My Captain America!

This was a late birthday gift for Isaac.  I meant to have the shield ready on his birthday to go with his mask that I gave him, but with Drew's bursitis thing and visiting my sister it got put on hold.  I finished it last week since I didn't have to do school prep anymore.  I found this tutorial a while back on Pinterest.  It wasn't hard, but it was a bit time-consuming with lots of steps.  I just worked on it a little every evening and finished it up during a nap time.  It is a lot bigger than he needs, but I didn't want to mess with shrinking the pattern.  It was raining when I finished it and he couldn't wait for it to stop so he could practice throwing it.  It is made out of cardboard, polypropylene rope, and colored duct tapes.  I also cut some straps off a bag that we didn't need to make the straps on the back of the shield.  (You can see the white straps a little in the picture with Drew, below.)  It is light enough that it won't kill anybody or give anyone a concussion (although I am sure it would feel good to have it thrown at you,) but sturdy enough to throw and play with, I hope. 

Even Drewy likes it.  I may just have to make a mini version for him.

First Try

This was my first attempt at a baby sling.  Too short for an adult, but there are two little girls who are greatly benefiting from my mommy brain.  I made two more adult-sized ones immediately after.  I had to go use a friend's sewing machine because my machines would not go through the thicker part of the pleats.  Also, she had a rolled hem foot which is going to have to be on my wish list.  Those are amazing!

Sewing again....finally!

I am trying to get back into the groove of sewing now that baby boy is getting older and I am getting more sleep. I usually don't have to nap anymore which gives me more time to get stuff done. When stuff gets done, I have time eventually...sometimes... to sew. Here's what I created this time.

What is it? A pillow to hold stuffed animals, of course! An awesome idea, especially for Genna who has meltdowns over her bed getting messed up because someone moves a stuffed animal. This keeps them neat and on her bed at the same time. Plus, it makes bed making a lot easier.

I got the idea from a First Steps catalog. Yes, I could have just bought it, but I have such a deep rooted stubbornness about buying something I could make myself. So I pieced one together and then we excitedly filled it with stuffed animals. Then it ripped. Then I took it back down to the drawing board to sew in some reinforcing fabric and then a pretty ribbon to hide the tear and repair.

This was my first ever sewn on zipper. And I managed it without instructions. I had my doubts after the first time I had to rip the seam out and start over. I almost abandoned ship and went for Velcro. However, the zipper prevailed. Yea for zippers!

A nursing cover made in the wee hours of the morning

I was awoken the other day to change out some wet bed sheets at 5am and couldn't go back to sleep. So, I got up and made this before everyone was up for breakfast.

It only took an hour and a half from start to finish which is not too shabby. I already have one of these and thought since it looks so easy that I would make a spare. Another thing checked off my list before Speck gets here.

I got Hannah to model it for me, but she was a bit embarrassed. She said, "I hope this doesn't make me look like I'm having a baby."

My Mommy Made It!

I made this poncho for Genna. I let the girls pick out their own pattern fleece at Joann's. I made one for Hannah too, but it isn't getting worn much because it makes her hair frizzy when she pulls it over her head. Oh yes, she's that particular! I call her "Picky Pants." At least my Vieve is appreciative of my hard work! OK, so it only took me half an hour to make, but still...

W: Part 1

For W week, we have lots going on and may even extend it to two weeks due to some doctors appointments and other interruptions. First things first, though. A good friend of ours sent the kids these cool watches (made of paper!) to decorate for W week. Thanks, Jeff!


This was a fun craft for them to do that didn't just produce another piece of art for the fridge. These are actually working watches they can wear!

Horse madness

For H week (last week) we read a million books about horses. We also made a list of things they learned about horses. Hannah began a paint-by-number horse picture, but it will be a while before it is finished. She doesn't quite have the patience for such a long and detailed project yet. We'll just bring it out again later. The girls also made "hairy horses" with a coloring sheet of a horse and some yarn.

We also read about habitats and homes. So the girls made fairy habitats/houses. We made the fairies during F week. And, of course they needed a home! I found this idea here. They REALLY enjoyed this craft. I think they spent close to two hours on it. It made a mess! I cut the houses the night before out of milk cartons and set out a buck of craft supplies. They had no rules or anything, just to make a house with this basket of stuff for your fairies. Hannah wanted curtains and asked me how she could use a q-tip and a fabric scrap to make it stay. So I helped her to machine sew a slot for the q-tip to go through and used pipe cleaners to get it to stay. Glue wasn't going to cut it. They even made furniture.

Here's Hannah's...

Here's Genna's...

Isaac got to make a house for his trains and cars out of a shoe box. He used the stickers and went to town.

Good, Clean Fun

I like to get messy as much as the next guy, but... Who am I kidding! I actually have to work at letting my kids get dirty. I have to admit with each kid I get better and better at allowing some messiness though. In this case, however, I was excited to have a fun craft to do with Isaac that was mess free. I found this online somewhere, but I can't remember where. All you need is a sponge to cut up, paints, a large Ziploc bag and a piece of paper. You dip the sponge pieces in different colors and zip them up safely in the bag with a piece of paper. Isaac squeezed and shook and pounded and then he threw it on the floor and was ready for a snack. This was a short craft, needless to say. (Side story: He has been a bit of a monster lately eating everything in site. Hannah has actually taken to spelling foods around him so he won't freak out and start asking for whatever it is repetitively. How considerate of her! Genna is usually oblivious to this and starts trying to guess what food she is spelling, rattling off a half a dozen foods aloud. So in the end he is asking for more than the one food Hannah was trying to spell.)

Here he is squishing away.

Here is his masterpiece.


Such easy clean up! Dump the sponges in the sink and rinse them out and voile!

Mosaic Craft

Here are our mosaics, inspired in Rome.

Hannah's: Crucifixion

Genna's: Crucifixion

Mommy's: The Eucharist in a Monstrance

We had a great time with this. It was easy to set up for and easy for them to do on their own. I did draw an outline for their pictures and they did the rest. Genna got bored in the middle and asked if she could color the sky blue instead of gluing more pieces on. Hannah even came up with an idea for her border/frame. She wanted me to cut out a big whole in the middle of another piece of paper so she could glue it on as a frame. I really enjoyed spending this time with the girls.