Child Art Supply Totebag {a sewing project}

This weekend, I made three of these. I know there are probably dozens of tutorials out there on how to make something like this....so this isn't a tute. BUT if you would like a tutorial for this, please leave a comment and I'll be happy to post one. :) 

(update: The tutorial will be posted on May 2nd. I will add the link to this post when it is up! Thanks)

 There were two reasons for making these this weekend. One was for a birthday gift for a little girl, who loves art! And the second reason, was that my boys -who think they have to have toys at church- were just being too darn noisy! So I made them each their one little "quiet coloring bag" to make coloring fun again.  And guess what? It worked. Everyone sat in their chairs, and was really pretty quiet! A miracle! Truly- if you need your kids to be quiet somewhere- you need this. :)  (My youngest one played with his car cozy, but all he does it take the cars  in and out of the pockets-then drive them all over my body- he must like all the "hills" I have going on these days---- so he was pretty quiet too!)

 The bag fits coloring books and art paper, and the crayons fit in the pockets on the front of the bag.

I think I'll be making more of these for birthday party gifts!

It is simple, fun, kids love it, and you know -no one else will be giving the same thing :)

Easter Bunny Craft from Cardboard Tubes

Sometimes, I look at lots of super cute craft blogs, while my children are present.

And sometimes, we see a really cute craft, and my children beg me to make it.

And so we did.

Crafts by Amanda had a very similiar bunny from a cardboard tube. It was really cute, so we made our own version with things we had on hand.

Cardboard Tube Easter Bunny Craft:

We used:

Cardboard tubes from toliet paper

Acrylic paint (I let my kids paint and then I touched it up

Buttons

Staples and stapler

Brads

Ribbon

marker

Elmer's glue

Hot glue gun

This is a pretty straight forward easy craft, you can do with your kids or family members. And it is super cute too.

First-cut the tubes in half.

Paint both pieces. One will be the bunny, and the other part will be for the ears.

  I used colors I had already.

Cut out bunny ears for one piece.

When the paint is dry, use Elmer's glue to glue on the ears.

When that is dry, use a stapler that will fit inside of the tube, and add staples for the bunny whiskers. Next add brads or buttons for the eyes and nose. Using my scrapbooking tools, I just punched a hole first for the brads, and then inserted the brads.

Using a hot glue gun, (don't let the kids do this part!) glue on the button. You can add ribbon or even a cute cotton bunny tail on the back or whatever you like.

AND another reason these are cute- they double as holders for your Easter Eggs!

The eggs these ones are holding are from this post. I think these would be cute with a delicious chocolate egg...for a small gift for a friend, etc. :) Bring on the Cadbury!

Here are some more cardboard tube Easter Crafts and others:

Kids Craft Easter Bunny

Family Fun Cardboard Tube Crafts

Cardboard Tube Bunny by Amanda

Cardboard Tube Lamb at Crafts by Amanda



Creative Estates!

 

I'm going! To a blog conference! Whoot!

Let's face it, I need some time away from my darling little boys.

And-- I am hoping for some blog help and inspiration.

Plus- "hello blog-expert-people-I-LOVE"- that will be there!

Can't wait to meet some wonderful people & learn some new things!

Hope I can recall how to be "social" in real life....it has been a while.

YAY to trying something new!

☺☺☺☺☺☺☺

 

Dinosaur Activities for Preschoolers and Young Children

We had a fun week of Dinosaur Activities! Here are just a  few things we did.

We made dinosaur feet using foam sheets and stickers, and pipe cleaners. (note: washable markers and foam sheets don't mix.)

 We had so much fun stomping around to We Are The Dinosaurs by Laurie Berkner.

You have got to see these cute dinosaur tales! I have to make these- my kids would love them! Next year we'll add the tails to the mix- so cute!  (photo from Running with Scissors)

We used toy dinosaurs to  make dinosaur fossils from playdough. We pressed their feet into the playdough.

When we were done, it looked like a fossil!  (The kids took the playdough home for fun later.)

Here are some of the dinosaur books we read:

(sorry the pictures are not the clearest- if you can't read the author/title- please let me know!)

 

 

 

We also made a fun T-Rex Dinosaur Puppet. I made the blackline for this. (for personal use only- click on it; open in new tab, save on your computer, and print in 8 by 11 format )

Here is one of my own little dinosaurs- asleep. I found his hat at the dollar store- and I really wish I would have picked up more of them! I'll be on the lookout for these- if you see them somewhere- please let me know. :)

Have Fun!

Another BOY Quilt: Riley Blake Wheels

Finally...another boy quilt is finished! This quilt measures about 51 inches by 60 inches.

I used the fabric line from Riley Blake called Wheels. It is adorable, and when it came out, I knew I had to have it!

I stitched this one straight across in a wave pattern, so it went rather quickly.

I am still working on my "machine quilting" and "hand stitched binding" skills.....☺ It is a continual  process.

I really like the blues, oranges, greens, and browns together. These fabrics inspired me for a color scheme for the nursery. I am using another line of Riley Blake Fabrics for it though- love their designs!

I'm sure this quilt will get a lot of use, just like the other boys quilts....being that boy #4 will be here soon!

thanks for reading!  

Layered Smore Bars & Shabby Apple Dress WINNER!

I have a great recipe for you today for Sweets on Sunday! But first...here is the winner of the Shabby Apple  Dress Give-a-way! A big thanks to Shabby Apple for the give-a-way- and to everyone who entered! For all who did not win, there are a few fun give-a-ways in the works, so stay tuned!

According to Random. org the winner is CRYSTAL

who said:

"I follow your blog and I liked Shabby Apple on FB."  

Please email me your contact info so I can get you your cute new dress!

little gems crafts {at} gmail {dot} com

If you would like to purchase a Shabby Apple Dress remember, to use the discount code

mylittlegems10ff

to save 10%. Make sure to check out their site for other special offers and sales too!

Here is your Sweets on Sunday recipe. This one I sort-of made up - using my Seven Layer Bars Recipe.

I just changed a few ingredients so it was more like a smore.

Disclaimer: I am not responsible for any weight gained due to the consumption of these in large quantities. ha ha ha! That is how good these were....

Layered Smore Bars

 1 cup Graham Cracker crumbs (about 16 squares)

 1/2 cup Butter or margarine, melted in pan

 1/2-1 cup Shredded coconut (optional)

1 cup Milk Chocolate chips

 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips

1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)

mini marshmallows (enough to cover the top of the cookie pan)

Melt butter in a 9 by 13 inch pan. Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs and coconut in to the butter. Mix and pat into the pan to form a crust. Top with both kinds of chocolate chips. Pour the can of milk over the top. Bake at 350 for 23-28 minutes, or until the edges are brown and it is bubbly. Take out and pour the marshmallows on top while it is hot and bubbly.

Let cool completely before cutting.

(note: mine was much easier to cut into squares when it was completely cooled. It can still be pretty messy to cut, so cut carefully. Using a small spatula worked best for me.)

Enjoy!

OXOXO

Award-Winning Curried Spinach Soup

 Just in time for St. Patrick's Day...here is a green recipe we just love! We make this soup all the time. Even if you are not a fan of spinach, this is delicious! I found this recipe in a magazine several years ago- it was actually the winner in a recipe contest. We love this soup, and since it is GREEN... I thought it would be a great time to share it with you! ☺ If you use All recipes, you can find it here- look at the reviews- you'll see just how good it is :)

Curried Spinach Soup

1 large potato peeled and chopped

1/2 cup sliced green onions (I buy these on sale and chop them up and freeze them)

6 TBSP. Olive oil

1 lb. Fresh spinach, washed, &stems trimmed (about 12 cups)

OR you can use bags of frozen spinach-enough to equal about 12 cups

1/3 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp. Curry powder (or more if you love curry)

4 cups chicken broth

1 TBSP. lemon juice

1 carton (8 oz) of fat free sour cream (you can use light or regular)

1. In a large saucepan cook potato and green onion in 2 TBSP of the olive oil over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.

Slowly add spinach, a little (1-2 cups) at a time, stirring until the spinach is limp and dark green.

2. In a food processor, or blender, process the blend of spinach mixture, HALF of it at a time, until smooth.

3. In the same saucepan, (if your saucepan is not that deep, you might want to transfer the mixture to a larger pot)  add the remainder of the olive oil. Stir in flour, curry powder, and cook and stir for 2 min. Slowly add the broth, whisking until combined. Stir in spinach mixture and lemon juice.



4. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture is slightly thick and bubbly. Cook and stir one minute more. In a medium bowl, stir about 1 cup of the hot mixture into the sour cream.  Return the mixture to the pan. Heat through but do not boil.

Top with croutons or corn chips- or anything crunchy! ENJOY! Makes about 8 servings. You can freeze it or refrigerate it for several days. Enjoy!

And in case you put it off- just a reminder- the Shabby Apple Dress Give-a-way- ends tomorrow night!

Shabby Apple Dress Give-a-way- ends Tomorrow!

Don't forget to enter the Shabby Apple Dress Give-a-way! It ends tomorrow! They have adorable and flattering dresses for every woman and little girl! Make sure to check it out!

p.s. I have two really good GREEN recipes for you--- just need to access my photos! Just got the computer thing going again- yay!!

Rainbow & Green Activities for Kids

We did a few fun rainbow and green activities in preschool, and  at home.

First up- Rainbow ice cream sandwiches- m&m cookies, ice cream, rainbow sprinkles

Painting a rainbow using cut up sponges

We also made Rainbow Crayons in Muffin Tins (but my computer w/ those photos got shipped away...:(

Candy Rainbows using colored licorice and Hershey's Gold candies

Add this cute tag, a celephane bag, and bow for a fun neighbor/friend/child gift

Green Shamrock Collages- using anything green

My version of Green Eggs to go with Green Eggs and Ham-

green pudding, vanilla wafer, and rainbow sprinkles

What fun St. Patrick's Day activities are you doing?

Make sure to scroll down and enter the Shabby Apple Dress Give-a-way!

{p.s. I'm still having computer issues...ugh.}

Organizing my Craft/Mulit-Purpose Room

Have you entered the Shabby Apple Dress Give-a-Way yet? Go HERE to enter!



Several weeks ago, I started reorganizing this craft space.

This room houses my preschool stuff, computer, sewing, crafting, and  even use it  for guests.

It is FAR from finished. It is one of those spaces. In fact, since taking these photos, it has already been changed. I still need IKEA. {sigh} Which is just over 100 miles away... Now we are thinking of buying another shelf like this and doing a whole wall of shelving....

And I need some paint on these walls.

At least I cleaned up my sewing space. Except...you should see the pile of half- finished projects.....

Better get sewing....

Happy Monday!