Patriotic Pom Pom Sparklers

Yay! It's almost the 4th of July. 

I'm so ready for some fun. 

I wanted to make a little something 

sparkly for the girlies. 

Here is how I made these 
mini patriotic pom poms.

*First, I wound the yarn around an index card.

Then I pulled the bunch off of the index card and cut the end of the yarn.

I tied a piece of yarn around the middle of the bunch nice and tight.

Time to cut the loop ends on both sides of the bunch.

Then shape your pom pom by giving it a bit of a haircut. 

Don't cut too close to the tied piece of yarn. 

You want your pom pom to stay intact.

The red, white, and blue yarns together will look like this. 

And of course you can make solid color pom poms also.

Dot some tackly glue all over your pom pom and sprinkle on the glitter.

Dry completely.

 They should look like these.

 Then if you want to make a ring. 

Take a pony tail holder and measure it for fit and cut the excess.

Cut out two felt circles. 

 Hot glue the ends of the ponytail holder onto one felt circle.

Then hot glue the other felt circle on top. 

Once that is securely done,

hot glue your dried pom pom on top for a Patriotic Pom Pom Sparkler Ring.

 I also hot glued them in three on some barrettes. 

A headband would be darling also.

Have a fun 4th!

~Christie

I was Featured!

                    Aloha everyone! 

I am excited about the 
upcoming holiday weekend.
Family time, swim time 
and best of all picnic time.
So many fun things to do. 

I was recently featured on the 
Creative-ly U project parade-4th of July. 

Check out all the great projects people have made over at the Creative Crate. 

 ~Christie

Multi Purpose Teaching Board

I have been sporadically getting things ready for the upcoming school year. 

One thing on my list was to

make a flannel board. 

I decided to use what

I already have. 

 So, I grabbed an old foam poster board and covered one side with flannel. 

The flannel board side will definitely be 

used for picture

stories and such.

  On the other side I covered it in blue card stock 

and then in contact laminate. 

The laminate side will be used as a dry erase board. 

  I measured, cut and pressed some red 

with white polka dot fabric. 

I then hot glued it all around the foam board.

I edged it in Ric Rac and ribbon. 

I came out really cute and tidy.

A great teaching tool for visual aides.

It's lightweight and easy to store...

and I like that... a lot.

Fireworks Dress

I had to make 

a couple of cute sundresses in the spirit of the 

4th of July. That fireworks fabric 

in my closet 

was just calling 

to me. 

So, I did a quick smocked sundress and 

added some wider straps and gave it a 

cutesy star broach just for that holiday flair.

I made some yo yo's and a star out of some patriotic ribbon. 

Then after sewing them all together

I added a rhinestone red heart.

Celebrating the 4th of July is eventful with the family. 
A no fuss sundress to bring along is just the ticket for all day fun.

 

~Christie

4th of July Star Bow

Just a little something patriotic.

Beach Cover Ups

 More often than not 

a trip 

to the beach 

is guaranteed fun. 

It usually involves 

sand castle making, 

exploring, 

and lots of swimming.  

 Then when those

trade winds kick in 

the girlies 

tend to get the chills. 

So, I decided 

to sew 

a couple of cute 

towel cover-ups

for them. 

I found two beach towels 

on clearance for three dollars.

 Gotta love that. 

I  then used an 

old cover-up as a pattern. 

Once I got the initial shape then 

I just eyeballed everything else  

and made up some fun designs.

I added hoods for warmth 

and protection from the sun. 

I added ruffles for the little one and 

 a pretty flower for the older one. 

 They fit well. Not too tight. 

 Anyway, we are not at the beach today 

and yet they are wearing them right now. 

I think they like them...which is good. :)

 ~Christie

Rice Art

 Today was definitely an art project kind 

of day.

I found some old long grain rice and divided it up into pie pans. 

I added food coloring and stirred it up. It turned out beautifully. I especially like how the colors of the rice appear variegated. 

I let each kid draw out their 

picture in crayon first on card stock.

Then with a cotton swab 

they applied the glue. 

Then it was just a matter of

sprinkling on the colored rice.

 They really liked creating their pictures.

A rainbow of colors was the best way to go.

The older kids got more detailed.

And...nobody fought. It was nice.

It turned out fabulous!

Surprisingly... everyone helped clean up.

Summer Purse Made

I have had this project in my basket for 

over a month now, waiting to be put together. 

I finally got to 

it today. 

And I 

absolutely 

love it! 

I used the Folklore Bag pattern 

from 

the book 

One Yard Wonders.

 The bag is 

completely lined 

with a little 

pocket on the side. 

I also made a 

little zippered pouch 

out of the same 

heavy fabric. 

I really like how pretty and durable it is. 

I also like that there is enough room for all of my stuff and yet it's not too big to carry around. 

All in all...

it was a fun sewing project.

The ABC's of Fishing

The iconic

fishing game. 

Played everywhere and altered for many different purposes.

I just had to put my take on this

whimsical wonder.  

I figured that I really need an activity this summer to inspire reading and letter recognition. 

I decided to make an alphabet of colorful fish. 

This would definetly reinforce letter recognition

as well as letter sounds. 

"What letter did you get?

Flip it over and let's sound out the name of the fish. 

K for King fish." 

*Players take turns fishing and naming their catch. 

*You could also make a second set of fish names and 

put them into a basket. 

Players could draw a fish name and try to catch that fish. 

*You could also roll a die and have 

the player catch that number of fish. 

This would be more challenging. 

More fish...more letters and words to read. 

My kids loved it.

  How did I do it?  

I made 3 fishing poles out of wooden dowels. 

I wound colorful yarn around the base of the pole then loosely wound it up to the top and glued the yarn in place. 

I then knotted the end of the yarn twice loosely 

and hot glued it to a ball magnet. 

This made it look like a bobber. 

  For the fish I printed out capital letters 

of the alphabet on colorful paper. 

I then printed out the names of the fish on white cardstock and cut out the shape and glued them together.

For durability I laminated each fish with 

contact laminate paper. 

I used a circular paper clip as the fish eye. 

This was my magnetic catch.

 Here is the list of fish names I used alphabetically. 

Angel fish

Bass

Catfish

Damselfish

Elephant fish

Frogfish

Goldfish

Halibut

Ice fish

Jaw fish

Kingfish

 Lionfish

Marlin

Noodle fish

Oarfish

Puffer fish

Quill fish

Ribbonfish

Sardine

Tuna

Unicorn fish

Viper fish

Wrasse

X-ray tetra

Yellow tang

Zebra fish

Hope you catch lots of fish this summer!

Daisies and Ladybugs

I love to sew a cute dress. 

Especially a no fuss summer dress. 

I had this cute daisy print that was perfect for a smocked dress. 

I used this smocked sundress pattern.

Although, I altered the straps. 

I liked the idea of a wider strap 

for coverage and support. 

I also needed a reason to use

that cute ladybug ribbon.

It's what summer fun is all about!

 The pattern calls for the use of elastic thread. 

A favorite novelty at best. 

It's a wonder thread to me.

I seem to make things in twos. 

I have two boys and two girls.

So, what I make for one...inevitably I have

to make for the other. 

It's just the way it is. 

I don't mind though. 

It gives me plenty of practice to sew better.

A Craft for the Kids

  Today, the kids crafted. 

We needed a purpose for a bag of old t-shirts 

that no longer were welcome for wear. 

We also needed a summer project for some energetic children. 

So, I found this Hula Hoop Rug craft at Family Fun.

  The instructions they give are great and this is a simple craft in which my kids enjoyed working at together. 

It also helped them learn a new skill. 

They weaved the t-shirts into two cute small rugs that

 I plan to use for circle time. 

Perfect size for the little girls. 

Tree

  I recently photographed this wonderful tree growing in the sand near the ocean. It is a Tree Heliotrope. They are an exotic species that grow near the Pacific Ocean. Which is where this one is located...right next to the Pacific Ocean.The tree trunk itself is something unusual. Like branches reaching down into the earth...creating tunnels on the surface of the sand ready for exploration. It's driftwood appearance worn by sun and sea... I thought it was a beauty.