Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year and this is the year of the dragon.  I had the kids make a dragon mask which I printed on card stocks from Alphamom’s site.  It’s a simple craft that yields lots of fun.  The kids have been running around the house growing with their masks on pretending to be dragons.

I’ve been having fun creating flower bobby pins for my girls’ hair.  They are quite easy to make and my girls like wearing them.  That’s a great combination.

My girls wearing these flower bobby pins.  Even though there are several colors to choose from, all of them chose pink.  Why did I make other colors?

If you’re interested in making these flower bobby pins, I have a simple tutorial.

Materials needed:

Bobby pins

Felt fabric (any colors you want)

Glue gun

Scissors

Instructions:

Follow the above photo from left to right, starting from row 1 to 3.

Step 1: Cut a square that is approximately 2″ x 2″.  This is the size I went for but you can decide on any size.

Step 2: Cut the edges of the square to make a circle.

Step 3: Once you have the circle, start cutting from the outer edge of the circle in a spiral format all the way to the inner circle.

Steps 4 & 5: Start rolling the cut circle from the outer edge.  Keep rolling and you’ll begin to see a flower forming.

Step 6: A perfectly formed flower.

Step 7: Flip the flower over and open the small circular flap.  Apply a dab of glue to the bottom of the flower and close the flap down.

Step 8: Cut a small circle from another piece of felt.  The circle should roughly be the same size as the bottom of the flower.  My circle was cut from a 1″x1″ square.

Step 9: Slip the circle in between the bobby pin.  Apply glue on the top side of the circle where the ridges of the bobby pin run.

Step 10: Put the flower on the circle and squish it a little to make sure the flower is adhered.

Tada!  You’re done and you have a beautiful flower bobbin pin ready for your girl to wear.  My boys enjoyed helping me make these pins that they made more than I had originally intended.  Now we have a lot of flower pins of various colors.  I think it’s time to share some of these lovelies with friends.

My kids like playing the Angry Birds game and as a result they like all things Angry Birds.  I’m pretty clueless when it comes to this game and the current phenomenon.  I absolutely have no idea that it’s so popular as I’m seeing many merchandise in the stores and on the internet.  A friend had to educate me on this game and what each bird does.  I’m surprised that it’s not a mindless game and that there are strategies involved.

When my husband got a pair of Angry Birds PJ pants, all the kids ooooo’ed and ahhhhh’ed over it.  They love looking at all the different birds.  I thought perhaps I could buy some Angry Birds fabric either online or at the fabric store so I can make a pair of Angry Birds pants for all the kids, but to my surprise, there was none to be found.  Sad!  But, I accidentally stumbled upon a blogger who made her own Angry Birds plush toys.  I was overjoyed and knew that my kids would love these plushies.  I’ve been secretly sewing and carefully hiding each finished birds after the kids have gone to bed each night.  They will be presented to them on Christmas day.

Here are my Angry Birds.  I stuffed each one with fiberfill and a little bit of beans to give it some weight and velocity when thrown.  Yes, they’re meant to be thrown.  Keep in mind that I filled it with “a little bit of beans” so that the kids don’t get whacked too painfully by these birds.

I really like photos printed on canvas, but they’re quite expensive even though prices had been more affordable these days.  I think canvas prints make excellent Christmas gifts, especially for the grandparents.  This year I decided to make my own canvas prints so I can generously give each set of grandparents five canvas prints of the recent portraits Evers took.  I came across an excellent DIY canvas tutorial that explained the steps very clearly.  Thanks to pinterest.com!  By the way, the craft section of Pinterest can by quite addicting.

I sent my husband to Michael’s Arts & Crafts (because I refuse to leave my tower) to get plain 8″x10″ canvasses, which were about $1 per canvas (in bulk) after 50% off coupon.  I already have Mod Podge, paint, and other supplies.  We printed 8″x10″ portraits at Costco for $1.49 each.  All in all, the cost was $2.49 per canvas.  Yay!

I deviated from the tutorial a bit.  Instead of adding paper strips to the sides of the canvas, I painted them black.  I tried the paper strips technique using other prints and even though they turned out fine, I found that they were easier to mess up.  I really didn’t want to risk messing up these pretty portraits so thanks to my husband’s suggestion, I painted the sides black.

After the sides are completely dry, I spread Mod Podge evenly over the canvas and mount the photo onto it.  After this is dried, I spread another layer of Mod Podge over the photo itself.  I must admit that it was a bit nerve wracking doing that because it looked like I just messed up the print due to its milk streaks on the photo.  But!  It dried clear so all was good.

Here is a close-up of the finished product.  The dried, clear streaks resemble that of a true canvas print.

All five prints finished!

My husband installed a saw tooth type of picture hanger on the back of each one for hanging.  Now they’re all wrapped and ready to be presented to the grandparents.

When I saw V and Co’s jersey knit bracelet tutorial, I knew I had to make it for my girls, however, it did take a long time for me to get to it.  I wonder why?  Could it be the busyness around this house and the protracted pregnancy (at least I think so)?

This bracelet tutorial is very simple and all you need is 1″ jersey knit strips, a pair of scissors, and your fingers.  In short, you knit the bracelet using your fingers, and the thickness of the bracelet depends on how many fingers you want to use, whether 2, 3, or 4.  See the pictorial tutorial for further explanation, and if it still doesn’t make sense, there’s a video tutorial at the bottom of the page.

I made bracelets for my girls and they looked dazzling in their red bracelets and then I got a bit creative.  What if I just keep braiding and make it into a headband?  I was so proud of myself!  All the girls have a matching headband now.  I used the two-finger braid because I like a skinnier bracelet, especially for the headband.

If you’re interested in making these bracelets or headbands, you don’t need to run to the fabric store to get jersey knit.  You should shop in your husband, brother, or father’s closet for an unloved t-shirt.  Those cute red bracelets and headbands I made for my girls were made out of a red t-shirt my brother didn’t want.  I simply cut the shirt into 1″ strips and connect all the strips together.  Now, isn’t this exciting?  You don’t even have to spend a dime and you can get the project started right away.  Happy braiding!  I’d love to see some of your creations.  I’m very fortunate to have a big stash of unwanted t-shirts from my brother, and trust me, I’ve been cutting up those t-shirts.  I made myself a grey headband and I must say that it’s quite comfortable to wear.  I normally don’t like headbands because somehow they’re not that comfortable and they fall off of my head easily.

I’m so pleasantly surprised that the boys have taken to sewing so much.  They’ve been making so many projects every day!  It definitely warms my heart to see them so excited.  I took them to the fabric store the other day to pick up some supplies for their sewing needs, and both of them were giddy to get their own supplies.  Even before we got home, they looked through their own stash and and admired each item fondly.  They were definitely better than toys!  Definitely more useful and satisfying.

The Sewing School book we’re using is a sure winner in our house.  At first I wasn’t sure if the projects were interesting enough because I was looking through the lens of an adult.  But, for a child, it’s absolutely interesting and fun.  The boys have been thumbing through the book looking for projects that interest them.  They have also been blessing their sisters by making them tote bags and eye mask.

Matthew with his finished projects:  tote bag, ipod case, various fabric buttons, and a blanket pocket buddy.  By the way, Matthew is in the process of making me an ipod case.  What a thoughtful boy!

Andrew and his finished projects: needle book, pin cushion, various fabric buttons, tote bag, and blanket pocket buddy.  He’s currently making a pink tote bag for his pink-obsessed sister.

My boys have expressed an interest to sew for quite a while now, but because of my lack of energy during pregnancy, I’ve been procrastinating.  I finally got to it today with teaching them.  They were so excited and it was encouraging for me to see them so enthusiastic in learning.  We are using Plumley and Lisle’s Sewing School: 21 Sewing Projects Kids Will Love to Make.  I like this kid friendly book and the explanations are very easy to understand.  This book mostly teaches hand sewing with few machine sewing projects.

For our first day of sewing class, the boys each made a needle book and a pin cushion for their sewing kit.

While I was napping, my oldest made a bean bag on his own with his favorite camouflage fabric.

The boys already have more projects in mind to make.