Shoulda whoulda coulda

We are just going to skip over the whole "I am sorry I haven't blogged in forever, I have a million excuses" thing. I am simply lazy, and busy, but mostly lazy.
I do feel the blogging urge right now though. So here is just a little something on my mind.

Do you ever think about doing something, but never get around to doing it? And when you finally do it, you wonder what took you so long? You realize you should have done this long ago. This happens to me often.

Today, Bryson was once again trying to pull out everything out of my wallet at church and spilling everything everywhere, leaving my credit cards who knows where. Then later today he pulled everything out of Jeremy's wallet, mistakenly left on our bathroom counter. It was time. I was going to finally make time to get this baby his own little wallet.

For some reason Jeremy had an old wallet, and I had an old coach wallet (you can't throw that away!) So I found old cards I had given to the boys to play with, like old insurance cards and store loyalty cards. We always have a billion of those. I stuffed them all in the wallet, and voila.
I am telling you it was genius. Both boys were occupied with their little wallets for at least a total 45 minutes throughout the day. So why did I not so this sooner? I should have done this long, long ago! Now I am trying to decide if I should take away the wallets for a few days, and then bring them back.

This one is fun, the pen would make me a little nervous though.

Source: the-acts-of-grace.com via Melissa on Pinterest

Next on my list to keep my little guy busy....

Source: aspottedpony.com via Melissa on Pinterest

So you have to tell me, what is something that I should have done long ago? It's the simple things that make Mom's lives easier, and they are too great not to share! Hopefully see you soon friends :)

Celebrate

Everyone has different preferences when it comes to celebrating certain holidays. We are the same way.
One day I struggle with is Halloween. Every year I kind of dread it. Growing up I did many different things for Halloween. My hubby did a church festival, and I think that is it. Now that Brady is 3, and in school it is even harder to figure out what our family will participate in, and what we won't.
We definitely do not do scary. No ghost or witches, or anything like that. I decorate the house in fall decor, but nothing really Halloweenish. We get pumpkins, and carve them, but they are nice pumpkins.
It is hard to find where to draw the line. We could ignore the day completely. If that was the case, Brady would not have been able to attend his christian pre-school for the last month and a half. They talk about Halloween, and pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns. We probably would not go to our church's harvest festival, which kids dress up at, and are encouraged to do so. I struggle with having innocent fun, and letting the world influence our behavior too much. On one hand, Brady has no idea that Halloween is associated with anything other than candy. On the other, shouldn't we be teaching him that we are held at a different standard? So I dread it every year. And we are taking it year by year.

Last year Brady dressed up and went to our church festival, which is so much fun and also introduces kids and parents to a church and God when they otherwise might not have.  On the 31st we went to our zoo and got candy, and got to see all the animals at night. It was a great night.

On Thursday Brady had a costume parade and a little party at school. Very cute. We brought his little friends treats, and they were a big hit.

Last night we went to church and the harvest festival. My nephew, niece, and her friend won a contest for their costumes. Brady was Buzz, even though I offered to make him a great costume. Bryson was a little toy story alien with a hat I made him.

On the actual day we are going to have a few friends over, eat pizza, watch Monday night football, and pass out candy. This year, I think we are going to add some bible verses to our candy. Something about this day can be to glorify God, and hopefully touch someones heart.

So that is what we are up to this year. We reserve the right to change our minds at any time. What do you do, what are your opinions? I would love to hear input!

It is actually also my Grandma's birthday, maybe we should just start celebrating that. Happy Birthday Grandma, We love you!

New, old shoes

Brady had some super cute converse shoes that he never wore because they would take too long to tie the laces. And those laces would come undone all the time. They were just too frustrating for him to wear.

I decided that if I added just a little elastic, I could make them much more wearable for him.

 I simply took the laces out, and cut some 1/2" wide elastic to fit the size of the opening of the shoe.

 Little shoes are just too cute! 

Once I had the elastic where I wanted it, I sewed it on the shoe. It was pretty hard sewing with the shoe in the way, so it might be easier to hand sew it. 

 After I sewed both sides, he is ready to run, jump, and play. Easy fix, and now it is like we have a brand new pair of shoes.

Disney Shirts

These little projects were kinda a fail, but Brady liked them, so I guess that is all that matters. I wanted him to have a special shirt to wear to Disneyland on our trip last week. Little girls can wear cute princess outfits, but boys do not have many options. (Kinda glad, we saved a ton of time skipping princess nonsense.) So I made him two shirts to wear for his first Disney trip.



This is the best photo I could get!

The first shirt was an iron on transfer that I made on the computer and printed out. Sadly the iron transfer was not good at all. After my second try I just gave up really, and made it work. It was stuff I had on hand, but really terrible, and did not work. I am sure there is something better out there...anyone have any suggestions? The entire thing peeled off by the end of the day, but it served it's purpose, and Brady still has a white shirt for something else. 

What was on the shirt

The second shirt was Buzz Lightyear fabric in the shape of mickey's ears fused to the shirt. I just did fabric paint around the edges instead of applique, due to time constraints, and I know he will not wear it much. 

I forgot to take a picture of the shirt, but you can kind of see it in this picture.

He was so excited to be at Disneyland, that no matter what we dressed him in it would have been great. He really did like his shirts, though, and for that smile I would make millions more! 

Hearts Decor

While we were stuck inside during our -20 degree weather we decided to do a craft. I had to laugh when Brady kept asking, "When are we going to do our crap?" I would laugh and correct him, but he kept getting it wrong, love that boy. We added to our Valentines decor by making these fun hearts, thanks to Martha.

They turned out cute, and Brady was able to help with picking out and working on colors, as well as cutting the hearts with his safety scissors.

Now they are hung all over the house adding a bit more love.

Doll and Doll bed

When I was a little girl, my grandmother made me this beautiful doll. I can't remember what I named her, but thankfully I knew to take really good care of her.

My favorite thing about her is that she also has beautiful undergarments that make perfect pajamas.

My Great-Grandmother made me a doll bed with pillow and quilt. It was a perfect place for my dolls to sleep, and rest. This is one thing that I now keep in mind to make as gifts for other little girls in our life.

So much fun to be a little girl and play with dolls. I hope one day I can find another little girl to enjoy these things as much as I did.

Well that is probably the end of the homemade showcase for now. I enjoyed sharing everything that has been lovingly handmade for us, but I am ready to get back to making some things of my own! More crafty things coming soon, have a wonderful weekend!

Felt lunch

Also from my mom, Brady got a felt lunch. It is too cute. We got him a play kitchen for Christmas, (so he can be a chef and between him and his father I will never have to cook again), so it goes perfectly with it. It is all felt, and all hand sewn. Such great detail, she has a ton of patience.

First is a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich, with a bag of chips. I love how the chips look like ruffles. Brady loves to count how many chips he "eats". 

 Next is a sandwich with american cheese, swiss cheese, bologna, tomato, and lettuce. The tomato and lettuce are my favorite.

 What a perfect meal! Thanks Grandma!

Tooth Fairy Pillow

As you will see from the next few blog posts, I come from a line of very talented women. Both of my Grandmother's are excellent artists and painters. They are also fantastic seamstresses. My Great-Grandma was an amazing hand quilter. Looking at some of her quilts just amazes me. My Great-Aunt was a great quilter and she made a living making beautiful ceramics. And my mom is a great crafter, when she wants to be.

Today I wanted to show off  a Christmas present Brady received this year. It is a tooth fairy pillow made by my Grandma.

Isn't so cute? I love the hand embroidery. And of course the back has a little pocket for a newly lost tooth.

Even though Brady is awhile off from losing any teeth, he loves it and sleeps with it most nights.

It reminds me of a certain pillow I had when I was a girl.

It also has a perfect pocket for lost teeth.

My Great-Grandma made it for me, and I slept with it long after all my teeth were lost. It has had a lot of use, and it shows, but it will make another little girl happy someday, I am sure.

The Hat Parade

For Christmas presents this year, I made a million hats. Okay just 15 or so, but it felt like a million. They are all crocheted in different styles. Most patterns and ideas came from this wonderful site. I am not good at following crochet patterns, so I mostly used them as a guideline, and learned on my own. (Therefore, I really have no patterns, sorry  if you are looking for some. But I can point you in the right direction, just ask.)

I made this frog hat the most. Brady, my nephew Zack, cousin Justin, and friend Hudson all got one.

 

 I made a hat like this for my niece Chelsey, and cousin Riley.

 This one was for tween nephew, Shawn.

 This one was one of my favorites, for little Megan, my friends daughter.

 One like this for cousin Jordan, and my friend's other daughter, Maddy.

 This one was for teen cousin, Nick.

 My favorite, so tiny, for newborn baby cousin, Olivia.

 And the last picture, teen cousin, Alex.

Here are my cute cousin's modeling their hats.  

Sadly I forgot to take pictures of one of my favorites. I made my stepsister a fun beanie in all different colors. It fits her personality perfectly. Even Jerm said, "that is funky, but she will love it."

Lastly my stepbrother got a plain black beanie. I even made a plain cream beanie for myself on the long drive home. I had done so much crocheting, that I vowed to not do any for at least a month, maybe two. At least now I get to crochet fun tiny baby things, so sweet. 

If you are contemplating crochet, go for it. I was self/book/you tube taught, and I love it, and it is a great skill to have. Good luck!