Quilting Time

It has been exactly one year since my last quilt (it was also my first quilt). I made it for my mother for her 60Th birthday and for a first quilt it was a great learning experience. I did an applique, which means stitching shapes onto the top of the finished quilt before quilting the entire top. My aunt helped me with the finishing touches, I made the top of the quilt and all the appliques. She and her friends did the back, binding and quilting design. It turned out good.

Since it is time to decorate my sons big boy room I wanted to make a quilt for his bed that he could keep forever, rather than a store bought comforter that would end up being sold at a garage sale. This time I am doing the entire thing. I started with inspiration from a magazine, it is very simple so hopefully will be quick. The first steps in making a quilt for me is:

1. Find inspiration, look through books and magazines.

2. Decide on color scheme (this always changes a bit when you go to pick out fabric)

3. Formulate your plan (the ladies at my quilt shop help immensely in this, you might also want to consider purchasing a quilting book)

That will help get your feet off the ground. I will post the steps as I go. Keep checking back for more tips.

Kicking the habit......tv that is

So as reluctant as I am to admit this, here goes. My toddler watches TV. Ugh. I know, I know. I have read all the studies and know what they say, kids who watch TV are bullies, no TV before age two, lessened creativity, and so on and so on. I also may add that before I had my son I thought I would not allow TV to be watched....but here is the kicker. My husband and I both enjoy watching TV. Not to mention we have a GIGANTIC one in our 110 year old home (historic home/huge TV....a little incongruous). I am informed that a gigantic TV is necessary for the months between September and January. Football just doesn't look as good without it, apparently. So I have come to the conclusion that TV, at least in our lives is somewhat unavoidable. Unless we kick the habit ourselves, which we have no intention of doing, (come on, it's my only vice.....a girl needs something to feel guilty about!) then it is probably going to be watched from time to time by our children.

So I have done some soul searching and decided it is all about balance. I tried to justify for awhile that it was okay because we do so many other activities with our son. I try not to be a hyper scheduler but I am borderline. So he is exposed to PLENTY outside stimulation. I also feel that the guilt I have about letting him watch a little TV drives me to do more educational things with him throughout the day. So all this has to be okay right?! Well, according to the studies...NO.

But you know what I've decided about those studies and the people that conduct them? They can say all they want to about incidences that happen in their little controlled study bubbles but then, real life happens. Sometimes when you have had a crazy day and dinner is late and your knee deep in raw chicken, you have two choices; 1.walk around the kitchen with a toddler hanging on your leg screaming MAMA or 2. turn on Elmo, get a little peace and quiet, finish your fabulous dinner or whatever it is you need to finish and hope for the best. The hope that not all the studies turn out exactly in real life like they do in the lab.

So the craft today is dedicated to all the moms out there like me. A fun little craft to do with your toddler to help you feel better about the (insert your time here) your little one just spent watching his/her favorite "educational" program.

Paper Wreath

This craft can be done during any season/holiday. The one shown here was done with leaves for fall. You can easily change the shape for whatever you please. Hearts for valentines day, four leaf clovers for St. Patricks Day, etc.

You will need:

• Construction paper in your choice of colors (depending on the holiday). The stiffer the paper the better. Card stock works nicely.
  
• Scissors (adults do the cutting).
  
• Shape of your choice. I use my computer to download printable shapes, easily found by googling what shape you are looking for. Or you can also draw by hand.


• Glue. Stick or bottle, your choice.

Directions:

1. Print or draw desired shape. Using a least three different colored papers. Doing a variety of sizes is also nice.



2. Lay out the shapes in a circle. You can use a place turned upside down if you need help with the circle, or just wing it. It is a craft for your toddler so perfection should not be expected.



3. If you feel that you need a base to follow, cut out a 2 0r 3 inch wide circle using a piece of poster board to your desired size of the wreath. Glue the shapes to one another overlapping slightly. Enough for stability but not too tightly together. Show your toddler how to do this by demonstrating with one or two to get them started.



4. Then let your child do the rest. You hold the shape and help them or let them depending on their motor skills put the glue on the shape.



5. Let your child place the shape on the wreath.



6. When your wreath is finished you can attach a ribbon to the front or back and hang anywhere you'd like. It also makes a great grandparent gift.

See pictures above.

Disclaimer:

Yes my son does have the glue in his mouth. This is a possibility.

Valentines Day crafting with my beloved one

This week has been all about the love. I have started to get in the valentine day spirit and do some lovely (play on words) decorating. Plus it gave me an opportunity to see just how ready my 17mo old and myself were for glue and glitter. Usually glitter can be my arch nemesis. I love the look of it, or should I say the idea of it, before it ruins my otherwise wonderful time consuming crafts. I have tried using glitter in all ways. Techniques handed down from master crafters before me, but to no avail. So this week i figured I would let glitter win. Why not? So my 17 mo old and I set out to make a mess, glueing and glittering everything we could. I found out a lot in the process. 17 month olds and glitter can be a lot to jump into so be warned my fellow crafters.....be warned. My dogs will have glittered paws for months to come. But with that said we both had fun and made cute cards for daddy.

To make the hanging hearts seen at top left you will need:

1. floral wire or fishing line

2. paper (your choice, cardstock or construction or even colored printer paper works fine)

3. tape

4. glue (spray adhesive works best but is a little messy, regular glue leaves the paper wrinkled)

5. Scissors

To Make

1. Place two pieces of paper together and fold in half (you need two of the same size hearts)

2. Draw half a heart shape with the center of the heart on the fold of the paper (like you did in grade school)

3. Cut out hearts

4. Place one heart underneath the floral wire centering the wire. It is best to have all hearts cut out first so that you can visualize the distance you want between them. Tape wire to paper. Be sure to leave enough wire at the top to attach to ceiling and to hang to your desired length.

5. Placing newspaper underneath the heart to catch any spray, spray the heart with the adhesive and carefully place the other cut out directly on top.

6. Continue the same steps for each heart. Make as many strings as you want.

If you are feeling fancy spray each side of the heart with spray adhesive (one side at a time) and sprinkle with pink, red or white glitter. Disclaimer: see my post about glitter first :)