This afternoon, I grabbed this scarf from my scarf collection.

It was a favorite when I purchased it months ago, but it really washed me out and was a little bulkier than I cared for.  It’s been hanging unloved for too long, so the Recon-a-Thon was the perfect opportunity for it to be transformed into something that would get worn and loved.

I used my halter top pattern and got busy.  It was very sheer, so I lined it with muslin.

Now Elliott has a fun little hippie halter dress ready for spring!  She refuses to take it off now because it ‘makes me dance so pwetty!’.  Just add sunshine!

So…what do you think?

This tutorial is for you mommies out there with a super-independent little one on your hands.  A little one that insists on doing everything by him- or herself, but just doesn’t realize the limitations that their age and size might bring.  Limitations such as not being able to reach the bathroom light switch during their mad dash to the potty while they’re saying to you, “No, Mommy!  I don’t need help!  I can do it all myself!”

Because Elliott is the epitome of Little Miss Independence, I had to come up with a way for her to reach the switch without moving her stool across the room in back in those 2.5 seconds she allows herself to make it to the bathroom.

Now, there are mass-produced versions of these light switch extensions available.  They work, but they are just not cute.  We just can’t have that, can we??

I decided to attempt making one from scratch.  I didn’t want to use wood because I’m a worrywart and I’d lose sleep at night thinking it was going to catch on fire.  Metal would be scary, too.  So…I bought a sheet of thin, flexible Plexiglas at Hobby Lobby.  I’ve never worked with the stuff before, so I’m sure there are better ways of dealing with it than what I did.  However, I got the end result I wanted and Elliott is very pleased with it…so no worries. (If you want to share helpful Plexiglas hints with your fellow readers and me, please leave a comment!  I would love to learn more about working with it.)

So…let’s get started.

You’ll need:

• A sheet of Plexiglas ($1.99 at Hobby Lobby)
• Mean scissors
• Craft knife/blade
• Sandpaper
• Marker
• Paintbrush
• Mod Podge or similar glue
• Pretty paper or fabric
• Embellishments

First, print out this template.

Then, place the template on a flat surface and lay your Plexiglass on top of it.  When you bring it home from the store, it will have a protective film on it. Leave it in place for now.

With a marker, trace the template onto your Plexi.

Carefully cut out your design.  (This is where I could use tips on using Plexiglass.  The stuff was cracking all around the edges.  Any suggestions on how to cut it and end up with nice clean edges?)  To cut out the inner circle, I used a craft knife to cut a slit through the center.  I had to cut from the top, then flip the Plexi over and go over it again.  Once it was sliced all the way through, I poked my scissors through and finished cutting out the circle.  Please, please use caution not to cut yourself.

Now remove the protective film.

Use sandpaper to smooth your edges and help round out the circles.  They don’t have to be perfect because they will be covered, but take the sharpest edges off.

Now, tear or cut strips of pretty paper or fabric.

Paint Mod Podge onto your Plexi a bit at a time and apply the paper/fabric until the entire thing is covered.

Wrapping the paper around makes for safe, smooth edges.

Apply stickers or any other embellishments, then give the entire surface a nice, full coat of Mod Podge.

Here is Elliott’s new freedom…er….extension.

She absolutely loves it!

Please be very careful in making and using this light switch extension.  It is not a toy and children should be supervised when they are using their light switch extension.  In case of breakage or damage that exposes bare Plexiglas, please dispose of the extension immediately to avoid injury.  Okay, thank you and goodbye.

Elliott’s third birthday is quickly approaching and for her party, she has requested an owl theme.  After scouring the internet and local party supply stores, I came up empty handed.  It seems that owls just haven’t made it into the world of mass-produces party goods.  What does that mean for this mom?  It means I’ve got to get my booty in gear and rack every crafty brain cell I have to pull this party off in style!

Party favors were my immediate concern because I knew there would be a good number of them to make.  Time to get busy!  I didn’t want to spend a fortune, so I went through my mental inventory of craft supplies I already have on hand and came up with felt.  I can do felt!  Since we will have both boys and girls attending her party, I wanted to do something for each gender.  So…the girls will be getting owl hair clips and the boys will be getting owl finger puppets!  Sounds great, but….where to begin??  I couldn’t find a template online, so with the guidance of my friend The Fabric Floozie, I created my own and will share it with you guys along with the step-by-step process of putting these owls together. (For more owl party ideas, look here.)

First, download and print the template here.

Second, gather your supplies:

• Felt
• Scissors
• Hot glue or fabric glue
• Needle
• Embroidery thread
• Alligator hair clip
• 3/8″ ribbon

Then, cut your owl pieces out of felt in your desired colors.  I’m doing quite a few, so I put all my pieces in little piles.

I began by tacking each of the pieces onto the body with a dab of glue.  I used just a dab of hot glue, but any fabric-friendly glue will do the trick.  I did this because I’m fumble-fingers and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to hold the tiny pieces in place long enough to stitch them on.

First, the wings.

Then the eye piece.

The little beak…

And some eyeballs.

The owls looked a bit untidy after I pieced them together, so I used some very pointy, very sharp scissors to trim and neaten up the edges.

Once you get your little guy just how you want it, get your embroidery thread and split it into 2 3-strand sections.

Start stitching around the edges of the wings and eye piece.

When you’re done sewing, your little owl should look something like this:

For the girl guests,  I lined an alligator clip with coordinating ribbon and attached the owl with hot glue.  For more details on this, check out my trusty hair clip tutorial.

I fixed the owl lengthwise rather and across the clip so that no matter which side a little girl’s hair is parted on, the owl will be upright.

I’d wear it.

Now, obviously the boys aren’t going to be into hair clips, so I took the two felt finger puppet pieces (see template) and stitched them together.  Then I attached a prepared owl with….you guessed it!  Hot glue.

I think he needs some little orange feet.  When I go to the store next, I’ll grab some orange embroidery floss and stitch some on.

Note:  Please use caution in giving this to small children as they could potentially become a choking hazard.  Be safe, be fun!

GIVEAWAY!  I made an extra hair clip and an extra finger puppet and I want to give them as a set to one of my readers.

To enter:  Leave a comment (only one, please!) telling me what themes you’ve done for children’s parties.  I love hearing how creative moms can be!  Enter by 5pm tomorrow (Saturday, January 2, 2010) to be eligible to win!

The winner is comment #11.  Congratulations, Amy!  Please contact me within 7 days to claim your prize.

The other day I was out shopping with Elliott when I got this feeling in the pit of my stomach.  That feeling was the fear that maybe–just maybe–I had become one of those moms who didn’t work with or stimulate their second child as much as she did her first.

I couldn’t live with that fear festering inside me, so we rushed to a teaching supply store in search of preschool teaching tools.  I found little to nothing that suited what I had in mind.  As we roamed the aisles, I tried to think back to my school days and dug deep in the recesses of my scattered brain for hands-on learning tools that I might have enjoyed as a kid.  FELT BOARDS!!!  I had to find a felt board and fast!

I did find one in the store.  It was small, plain and expensive for what it was.  It just didn’t feel right.

So, I ran next door to the craft store and gathered supplies.  And…enter the felt board tutorial!

What I used:

• 1   20″x30″ foam board (like poster board, but…foam)
• A large section of felt (I bought 1 yard of 72″ wide felt and had enough for 2 boards)
• Scissors
• Hot glue gun & glue sticks
• Trim & decoration

Spread your felt out on a flat surface.  Place the foam board on top and trim felt about 4-5″ larger than your board in all directions.

Take one corner and fold it inward, securing with plenty of hot glue.

Repeat with remaining 3 corners and your board should look something like this:

On 2 opposite ends of your board, fold the felt over and glue.  Make sure to pull it tightly and evenly so that your finished product will look nice and tidy.

Repeat with remaining sides.  Remember…nice and snug.

Now it’s time to make it pretty.  Flip it over and decorate!  Elliott chose green rick rack.

And it just wouldn’t be right without some purple eyelash trim…right?

Finished product and my little satisfied customer…

And the letters?

I got our felt letters in the scrapbooking section of the craft store, but you can find all kinds of felt cutouts on Etsy, Ebay, teaching supply stores and your local craft store.  I plan to cut some of the more simple shapes by hand when I have more time.  Also…I thought little families of felt stick figures would be fun!  And maybe a little felt house, pets and a car!  Oh man, felt boards are fun for moms, too!

(Green alternative: rather than using foam board, use a good sturdy piece of cardboard from a leftover box if you have one available.  Use scraps of felt and trim that you have around the house or find at a garage sale.  Reduce, reuse, recycle!)

Now, if we can just be patient for the next few weeks until Halloween is here!

She asks to wear the outfit at least once a day and has become quite the prima ballerina.

Now if that doesn’t melt a mother’s heart, I don’t know what will.  I love my little ballerina.

I’m looking sooo forward to my ooey gooey cheesey squash, fried okra, stuffed peppers and fresh, crisp beans. Oh, MAN, am I ready! There is just nothing quite like fresh garden veggies! Let’s just hope I’m able to keep them all alive and producing in this heat!

Oh…quick gnome update. I asked my neighbor if maybe the gnomes would like dinner as a thank you for tilling my garden. He said that they happen to LOVE my buffalo chicken strips, so it looks like I’ll be making lots of those tomorrow night!

On another note, I’m excited another auction that Diane from Pampered Bunz and I are doing this week. It’s a Mickey Mouse outfit this time and I’m going to have a really hard time parting with it! Here’s a little preview of my contribution to the set (Elliott thoroughly enjoyed modeling it for me!)…

Another random thought…my town is having a cajun festival this weekend and I’m kind of excited about that! That in itself is funny, because Shayne and I have really become pretty reclusive lately and the chances of us actually going and facing the crowd are pretty slim. Maybe I’ll just buy a box of Zatarain’s and call it a day.

***Pampered Bunz is now Doodle Bunz!