March Break

For the first time since Abby has started school, I took the week of March break off work!

Granted, there was almost more work to be done at home, but it was definitely nice to wear sweatpants and spend time with my kids! 

I also took care of a bunch of dogs and it was awesome!

Monday: We started the week off with some face painting for Abby, and then we (Abby, Xavier, Grandma and Aunt Vanessa) all watched a Little Ray's Reptiles presentation. 

Both of which were free! Yay!

Tuesday: It was a pretty quiet day! My mom was wonderful and kept the kids overnight Monday, so I took all 4 dogs to the dog park, and then went up to the woods with Draco, Felix and my sister-in-law and her puppy. Abby requested we take another walk, once The Professor woke up. She walked Draco, and I love seeing people's face when they see a 6 year old girl walking an enormous dog - priceless.

Wednesday: We went hiking with my mom, and even though it was a little below freezing, it was a very nice morning walk!

Thursday: We started the day off with a visit to some friends, had some lunch, then took care of 2 more puppies! 

Friday: I started the day off with another walk and Abby went skiing with Jay!
I also completed my sweater skirt, and made some pretty good progress on Jay's ripped shirt that I am turning into a dress! Of course, now my sewing machine is being funny, and I have googled it and will reattempt fixing it in the morning!
Time to work on Mel's skirt! Here's a little preview of my work so far...

There are a few more projects I want to get done before April, so I better get on it!
March break was a blast!

 * Thank you to all those who let me take care of their puppies! *

{Daily Odd Compliment: I'm so glad I know you because this year would have sucked a lot more if you weren't around.}

The Professor's Present

It's the end of the world! And Xavier's birthday, so I thought I would shake things up this year.

I don't normally get Abby some birthday presents, so this year, I am starting a new tradition (I have been trying to create traditions for a few years now). I am going to take something of theirs, and revive it into something else. 

To kick this off, I converted a playmat, made by my mom, into a quiet book. 

Here's how...

 This is what the blanket looked like... 

First, I took the backing off (the bottom left-hand corner shows it), then I seperated the squares into strips, which is how my mom originally sewed them...

I had my awesome Mel to help with any seam ripping and creative layout...

 We took some of the squares off of the 3 piece strips, because not all of them had something the baby can play with. These are the first pages of the book, when you open it, which I left how they were...

 For the third page, I added a few buckles and will add a few buttons to hook onto...

 For these pages, I just added a piece of ribbon from another square, with a fastner, and sewed the velcro on that was ripping off...

 This is the front (or back, but I think It should be the front) which I got Mel to fringe a collar from a modified shirt, to create and X...

And this is the back, which I left as is (and if some of you recognize it, B, it's because it's from my 2002 Prom dress :) )

All in all, this was a pretty simple project for me! I'm very lucky to have such a great semstrest as a mother because all the ground work for this was already done! As a bonus, this was a lot of fun to put together for The Professor! Hope he enjoys it!

{Daily Odd Compliment: Is heaven missing an angel? If so, I'm sure you could find it.}

Tie into Wristlet

It's almost the end of the year again - crazyness! It means birthday party in 3 weeks and Festivus soon after!

So, now that we aren't knee deep in renovations, or scrambling to put our own house back together, I am getting into the gift making spirit! 

Here is what I did tonight... (here is where I got my inspiration)

First, I folded the tie to get an approximate idea of where I was going to sew it, then I cut off the excess.

Then, I sewed the unfinished edge of the tie...

Next, I folded the tie over, added the piece for the wristlet, and sewed it in place, to create a double pocketed wristlet... 

Buuuut.. the tie isn't wide enough, so when I sewed it, it no longer fit my phone and plastic. Oops.

Yup.

Oh well, it was practice! Off to Value Village to find wider ties! I will keep you posted!

{Daily Odd Compliment: You make me happier than when I see a well-groomed moustache. On a man, though, not a lady}

Big Girl Room Part 2

I thought I should write a post about a few of Abby's bedroom amenities, enjoy! 

 

My personal favourite is the headband holder, for which my inspiration was drawn from Jessica at Sunny Tuesday.

 

I love how easy it was for me to make! In hindsight, I should have measured the area between the buttons because I made a few spaces too tight for some of Abby's headbands. However, I was able to put some hair clips in those spaces.

 

 

My next coolest project I stole from Laura at Come Together Kids.

 

Instead of using a beanbag chair cover, to make a seat out of stuffed animals, I used a Princess sheet that wasn't being loved. I folded the sheet into 3 and measured the length to make it even.

 

How could I actually think I can do work without the help of the dog?

 

This is what the seat looks like once it is sewn. Since I realised it was waaay too big, I cut a section off after it was sewn to make a pillow, where all the doll blankets are kept (when I have a more time, I will sew the opening shut a little more).  

 

 

I think she likes it! Success!  

 

Another neat thing Abby and I made together is her jewelry organiser. I have seen some that are much fancier, but I wanted to make her something personalised, simple, and of course, awesome.

I glued one of Abby's pictures, as well as a few bows I cut out of a colouring book, and some stickers. I used my favourite craft supply - Mod Podge. 

 

To finish it off, I screwed in some picture hooks and attached a ribbon to it.

 

 

And, every room needs some art. This was another collaborative project that my sister and I made.

We took some of Abby's artwork and cut it to fit the 5x7 frames. Then, I laid out the puzzle pieces to get an idea of how I wanted them. I used double sided foam tape to affix the pieces to the glass. You can't really see it in this picture, but the puzzle pieces stick out a little, which I like.

 

All in all, I had a lot of fun putting this room together for Abby, and she is actually trying to keep it clean! Go team!

 

 

{Daily Odd Compliment: I can't live without you. I said to my computer. But I'd say the same thing to you}