Kids Duffel Bags

I saw this tutorial on making a Retro Duffel Bag.  I decided to make one for Bubbles and JB.  I thought it would be perfect for a weekend trip to Grandma & Grandpa's.  I made mine bigger than in the tutorial so it would hold all their clothes for the trip.  I wanted to use up some fabric from my stash, but didn't have any heavy weight fabric that I wanted to use for this project so I used some heavyweight craft fusible interfacing.  It was a pain to work with, but in the end I'm glad I used it.  the duffel's are very sturdy.  I also used the tutorials instructions on making your own handles, again using stash fabric.  The only thing I would add, if making one again, would be to add a little loop pull tab at either end of the zipper.  It would make it easier to zip open and closed.  It seemed like it took forever to get them done, but that was because I only had a few minutes at a time to work on them..  In actuality, they came together quite quickly.  Tutorial on Saltwater Kids found via MADE.

Rain Painting

The kids and I took advantage of a rainy day last month and did some rain painting.  I took our Crayola water colors and crushed the cakes into powder.  Then we sprinkled the colored powder onto water color paper and set them out in the rain.  I came to the conclusion that less is more.  Less paint powder needs less rain means less pooling.  Also, the globs of paint powder didn't dissolve well, so make sure the powder is not caked together.  It was a fun process, and the kids had great time (and so did I).  You never know how they are going to turn out.  Found on The Crafty Crow. 

Making an Art Gallery

I love this idea, and it's so simple. I don't know why it never occurred to me. Sarah Jane Studios tell what to do with all those masterpieces your kidlets create. Cut them up Eric Carle style. She even gives you some free templates if you need them. The little 3 year old in my house loves to paint. He will spend hours at it. He painted a whole paper with different shades of blues and green. In fact, he used up the whole pot of blue in about 2 days. It was so lovely, but I didn't know what to do with it. I hope I saved it, 'cause this would be a perfect use of it. Link found through The Crafty Crow.

Hanging Book Display

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am about this hanging book display. Lately I have been feeling very disenchanted with our book storage. We have one small book shelf that is filled to the brim. I do have shelves in the boys room, but they never get put back there. If they do happen to get back to the shelf, they are just thrown on top. I have tried baskets in the girls room, but Eliza ends up using it as a bed for her stuffed critters. I still want some nice bookshelves for my books, but I think this would solve a big problem in the kids rooms. How easy to coordinate it to their rooms with some cute fabric. I'll have to keep my eyes open for the hardware. Found on Ohdeedoh.

Paper-Cutout Night-Light

Aren't these night lights cute? One by day, two by night. They are from the Fog and Thistle blog (also sold in her Etsy shop). Today she was on Martha showing how to make them (Martha comes on at 2AM the following day here, so I haven't seen it yet). You can get the instructions and the template for the birds and the koalas here. My kids already have night lights, but I want to make some anyway because they are so cute and clever.

Button Button

I first saw the idea, on Martha, of cutting out felt hearts, putting a slit in the middle and buttoning your (or your kids) shirt button through it. I thought it was such a cute idea. I love the different take on this, found on Maya*Made. See how she put buttons around the bottom of her little girls skirt, and then buttoned the hearts onto that. It's so cute! And aren't those little red shoes darling! You could change the hearts out for shamrocks, flowers, stars, you name it. Now to find the perfect skirt for my littlest girl.

Felt Pencil Toppers

If only I had a sewing machine again. I would make some of these. Wouldn't your child love to get a pencil topped with a cute little heart with their own initial for V-day? I know mine would. I'll have to remember this one for next year. Hopefully by then I will be sewing again. Found on Roots and Wings.