My {DIY} Car Play Mat + cute car mat links

I think I may have finally convinced my husband that I NEED a Silhouette.   Here is my big fat sewing project for my boys- which might be a more appropriate title for this post.  Drum roll please...

This was seriously a huge undertaking and a labor of love. I had to recruit my husband and my mother-in-law to help me cut out the letters a few days before Christmas. And then I was up until 3:30 A.M. on Christmas Eve working on it. Since I originally started this TWO years ago, I decided it was time to just get it done! I would estimate I spent around 30-40 hours on it, possibly more.
You can see when and where I started on this thing HERE and a shower curtain version I made years ago here.

I orginally intended for this to be much larger, but it ended up being about 60 inches by 50 inches. I made 4 panels, and pieced them together with my road, which is 5 inches wide, finished. I used felt for the panels and flannel for the roads. If I were to do it again, I would use the same fabric for roads and panels but I would probably NOT use felt. Felt is not really washable, so I think I would use a canvas or denim fabric,  something washable. Flannel tends to stretch slightly so that is why I would use the same fabric for both the panels and the flannel. Since I already had a lot of it done on felt and flannel, I decided just to keep it the same. It was a learning experience!

I cut out all of the buildings, mostly designing them myself using basic shapes and also looked at some photos when I wanted something more than just a square or rectangle. (Many thanks to the wonderful people who share their great photos- which gave me lots of inspiration.)  I also used Wonder Under on just about everything to iron it to the main fabrics, and then I stitched around the buildings after that. To cut out the letters, I printed them off from the computer, then traced them onto Freezer Paper, and then ironed that onto the felt. From here, I cut them out, and then cut them out of Wonder Under. Yep, that is how  I do it when I don't own a fancy cutting machine. The freezer paper peels right off the felt when you are done cutting and you don't have any marks on your fabric/felt.

 I backed this with the same car fabric  that I used over the gas station. I also added a piece of white flannel between the mat and the backing, which acts like a thin batting. I stitched in the ditch around all the roads, after safety pinning the thing together, trying to avoid any wrinkles or bumps in the fabric. Next time, I would use spray adhesive, as in the kind for basting quilts...but I was tired so we just pinned it.   I then made some binding and quickly machine stitched it on--so it is far from perfect. When you are up on Christmas Eve sewing in the middle of the night, you just want to finish!

Since my boys spend a large amount of time on the floor pretending with their cars, I knew they would love it. And I think I was right. I love seeing my children so happy about something I created for them. I love seeing them happy, period.

Here are some fun links to some super cute car mats out in blog land. Some of these ladies used glue guns to make theirs. Since I am the queen of glue gun burns, I opted to sew mine. But these are all super cute-so take a peek at some amazing cute car  play mats.

Girl and a Glue Gun
Homemade by Jill
Living the Sweet Life
Just Sew Sassy
Oopsey Daisy

Happy Holidays everyone! I'm spending mine taking car of sick children....but at least they can play with their cars inside while they recover! Thanks for reading.

Merry Christmas!

Here is a  peek at our Christmas Card this year. I love Shutterfly! Thank you Shutterfly- for our lovely cards! Merry Christmas everyone!

With Love Christmas Card

Turn your favorite pictures into personalized Christmas cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Christmas At My House in Photos

 I am not a very good blogger during Christmas time. I LOVE this season!! And there is only so much time and so many things to do, so blogging and the computer are lower on the priority list. BUT...

I thought it might be fun to show you a few photos of our Christmas this year. And I need to post this, so when I look back and remember that we never got our outside Christmas lights up, I will also remember all the wonderful family fun we had. In our family, Christmas is about Jesus. BUT we do teach our children about the Savior all year, so at Christmas we also like to join the festive fun. Looking through my photos, there were so many fun things we did with our family, and in preschool, I just don't have time to post it all. So here are just a few photos of some fun things we have done. Hope your Holiday is festive and fun at your house!  Enjoy!

 Sometimes the simplest pleasures are the best...wearing a Santa hat and coloring a Christmas picture is one if those simple pleasures.

 Every year we get an ornament. This tree has all those fun ornaments, as well as the ones the kids have made in school or that we may have from our childhood.

 I was going to create a new way to hang cards this year, but time ran out. I do love Christmas Cards!!

 Of all the cool Advent Countdown Calendars we have, these are their favorite ones. For a dollar each, Trader Joe's has out done me... My kids love these!

 After decorating the tree this year, I realized I had forgotten a few important things, that needed to go on first. But I was not going to undo the tree for it. And so... I decided it looked pretty anyway. I love silver and red- even if the latest trends say blue and gold or whatever...I finally bought a tree skirt this year. I know it is just dots. But I love pok-a-dots. love them. And maybe the reds are not exactly matchy. But it works for me.

 For the past 7 Christmases- I have been pregnant or nursing so I had to show you why- isn't he cute?

 Again, Trader Joe's wins..with their Gigantic Gingerbread Boys, and even their Gingerbread houses...it is always a hit each year.

 I can't even begin to list the fun preschool adventures we had this season. Some days, we did paint, and frosting in the same day. It was so much fun and I love finding new things to do. Sigh...that will have to be a future post.

Each year, I try to have a "Kids and Cookie" party. We invite a few friends, and decorate sugar cookies.

 Probably the highlight for our family this year so far, was traveling North to play in the snow and ride the Polar Express. The snow was so fun- that I almost missed it. I actually wanted to move back to the snow. (and I kind of still do...)

I hope you are having a joyful holiday season! I have so many gifts to finish so I will probably be a little busy. Thanks for reading! Happy Holidays!

Handmade Star Wars Ornaments {DIY}

 I love Christmas Traditions. We have "the one" where you give your child an ornament, that  reminds you of some events of the past year. This is the year my boys really took an interest in Star Wars. We had Star Wars costumes for Halloween this year. We are also having a little bit of a Star Wars Christmas (sshhh don't tell) this year. I looked and looked for some cute ornaments, and could not find any I really liked. SO, after a long late night last night, I made up these. I had to do 4, since I have 4 boys...and these took long enough, so I think I'll stop at 4 for now...although with Star Wars...I'm sure they will want more.

If you are interested in my "sketches" or patterns, please let me know- I'm happy to share....mostly I just looked at pictures on my computer and cut up shapes. ha ha. But I did draw out the basic parts.

Hope you are having fun getting ready for Christmas. I have about 4 or 5 more projects to do!

It's going to be an "EPIC" Christmas...if I get it all done!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas Scented Playdough

 Last night I started out making Peppermint Playdough from the Idea Room for my preschoolers. I originally had the idea to make it 1/2 red and 1/2 plain, and twist it into candy canes and wrap it up in cute bags for 10 little ones. Well, I found an easier idea in the process. I ended up making  3 colors, and formed it into "Christmas ornaments"- as in the above photo. I cut a piece of a sparkly pipecleaner and inserted it into each one to make it look like those pretty ball ornaments.
Here is the what I did:

Christmas Playdough:
For RED:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
2 TBSP. Cream of Tartar
1 1/2 TBSP extract (peppermint for red)
Red food coloring (quite a bit to get a red color)
1 cup water
Combine dry ingredients in a sauce pan. Add liquid ingredients, except for food coloring and stir over medium heat until a soft ball forms. Add the food coloring and knead the dough until the color is distributed evenly.
FOR GREEN: Add MINT EXTRACT instead and green food coloring
FOR WHITE/PLAIN: ADD PEPPERMINT EXTRACT and no food coloring
Extracts can be found in the spices aisle at your grocery store. I found mine at Wal-mart for a good price.

This was my Christmas gift for my preschoolers. Playdough can be a mess, but the thrill for the children is worth it to me. My kids had too much fun making "Christmas pancakes" with it. And yes, there was a big mess to clean up. My sweet husband took care of that part!

Fabulous Find: DownEast Basics

I recently visited my local DownEast Basics in the Tucson Mall. Last time I was there, I got the most amazing purse. It can hold everything- I love it! I was happy to see they had tons of new purses and bags. These are only available at the stores, and not online. They also had a great new Holiday Collection. I wish I had a dozen Holiday parties to go to- because I could not decide on one outfit.

I loved so many of their Holiday Looks. Here is a peek from their website:

The Dangerous Curves Dress- a gal was trying on this dress and it looked amazing!

It is a perfect black dress- and made from polyester/spandex so it does not wrinkle. Seriously, if I was about 50 lbs. lighter I would be buying this dress. It reminded me of a basic black dress I had years ago-- just brought up-to-date- for today and it was very cute on.

The best thing about having a store in your mall, is that you can try things on! I hate when I order online and it doesn't fit.....

DownEast has instore deals and online deals.

(did I mention that all their skirts and dresses are 40% off right now? ONLINE) use code: DRESSUP40

 This top was featured in "O Magazine". That is right. The big Oprah knows about DownEast Basics.
I am loving this shirt- very flattering on anyone, and love the bling!

This skirt is called the "Fairytale Skirt".

It is very pretty and also comes in green. I think it would look great with one with one of their lace camis, and a cardigan on top.....

You really must pop on over to your local DownEast Basics. They have amazing sales going on all week long! I am planning on heading back to mine this week to get some great basics that will be on sale. (hint hint)

And if you don't have one near you, there is always their website.

And gift cards.

Happy Holidays! (above photo is from a few months ago)

DIY LETTERING {without a fancy cutting machine or stencil} NOEL BLOCKS

I want a Silhouette machine. Or a Circuit would do. But I don't have one and I don't have funds for one right now. So I make do. I recently figured out  a new way to do lettering-which I used on my "Save the Date Blocks". No vinyl. No cutting out Freezer Paper stencils. Just printing off letters. This is super easy and anyone can do it.

DIY LETTERING:

1. PRINT OUT YOUR LETTERS ON THE COMPUTER.

I used a very large font size, about 300; and used an outline style letter, so that I did not waste all my computer ink. The blocks I made here, were about 5-6 inches high.

2.TAPE THE LETTER TO YOUR BLOCK. Paint the block and let it dry before putting your letters on the blocks.

3. TRACE YOUR LETTER WITH A BALL POINT PEN- PRESSING HARD.

Now your block should have a light outline of your letter on the wood block.

4. REMOVE THE PAPER.

5. PAINT IN THE LETTER. I used my old tole- painting brushes- some had flat bristles and others were very small and fine. You could probably use your child's watercolor brushes if you did not have anything else.

To paint these blocks, I used acrylic craft paints.

 When you are done painting your letters, they will look something like this:

Not perfect, so an easy solution to make them look better, is to distress them a bit with some sandpaper. After that, they look like this:

And that is it. No special letter cutting machine, no stencils, just a font from your computer.

The possibilities are endless- but I'm sure if I did something more complicated, I would prefer a stencil or vinyl. But for now, this works great!

Happy Holidays!

IF YOU CAN'T SAY SOMETHING NICE...

It seems that every holiday season, people either decide to be nicer, or meaner.
I have recently had several people decide it was their job to "cyber-bully" or be a GRINCH .
Most of the time I ignore this immature behavior. Most bloggers know, that when you put yourself out there, someone is bound to find fault with you or what you have done or written. Some "know-it-all" who you have never met, is going to be rude.

I have had a few rude comments in the past, but for some reason it is always around the holidays.
For example-
I recently had someone quote "Wikipedia" to prove me wrong.
I recently had someone set up a blogger account with an insulting name, just so they could leave a RUDE comment. Seriously?

I don't understand what kind of results these people are trying to achieve. They don't know me. Are they trying to change me? Are they trying to cut me down? Would they say or do those kind of things to my face if they did know me? Are they trying to discourage me from writing anything more of this silly little blog? Are they trying to make themselves feel more important? Are they really so unhappy that it makes them feel good to insult other people online? Are they just desperate to be right? Do they get some kind of a thrill from being mean?
 I think these  kinds of people need to get a hobby.

I never claimed to know everything or write everything I put on here perfectly. I know it is flawed, as I am.  And I am my worst critic. I never claimed to raise my children perfectly, or be some sort of "super mom". I never started this blog as a way to earn money or become "blog famous." I have no desire for that nonsense. Sometimes I even think about deleting this blog and just focusing on family  and myself.
So take it as it is. If you read anything I write, know you will find mistakes.  I know there are post that have errors or did not explain everything  just perfectly. Please know if you read this blog, you will be reading something I probably did at 2 a.m.  Please know that anything on here comes from a regular mom, who enjoys creating beautiful things to make her home life lovelier, and her children happier. Please know she is trying to do the best she can with what she has been given. Please know I am just a person, sharing things I love for no reason at all...except that perhaps something I write- as flawed as it may be- may help someone, or encourage someone to try something new. Mostly, I just  really enjoy sharing ideas.

So this is just a friendly reminder to those mean people- who I still don't quite understand...

"If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all."

Apple Caramel Pie in the Slow Cooker/Crockpot

After making my Apple Pie in the Crockpot, I found this recipe on the Fix-It and Forget-about-It site. And it was really  really good. And now I know I can make almost any flavor pie in a crock pot. yay.

I t was simple and yummy, but obviously, don't make it if you don't have self control when it comes to dessert. It is too good to resist! And I'm glad my husband ate most of it.

You really only need 3 ingredients:

Pie Crust (2- top and bottom pieces), Apple Pie Filling (about 3 cups- we used some we had made in the Crock Pot) and about 12 Kraft Caramels.

I learned a few things when making this: DON'T spray your crock pot with non-stick spray. It will slide down the sides. Don't overlap your pie crusts too much when placing them in the crock pot.

Cook the crust on HIGH for 1 1/2 hours first.

Then add the apple pie filling, mixed with the caramels-which I cut up, and cook for 1 1/2 hours on LOW. Every crock pot or slow cooker is different, so keep an eye on it.

The entire recipe can be found HERE- and there are lots of good questions that are answered there too!

Thanks for reading!