DIY Bangle Bracelets

I ran across a great tutorial on DIY Tipps showing how to recycle plastic bottles into bangle bracelets. I’ve been wondering if there was a cheap material that could be used to create some bangles, and this looks like a great idea. I’m definitely going to try this craft with my daughters. You can find the tutorial here.

Paris Princess Fashion Birthday Party

Coral's birthday theme(s) this year was a Pink Paris Princess Fashion and a Barbie and the Three Musketeers swim party. Yep...she couldn't really nail it down, so that s what we ended up with. That was one seriously busy night.

I made pink cupcakes with wrappers made out of pink and black scrapbook paper. The cupcakes were topped with pink icing and homemade Eiffel Tower cupcake toppers. I really loved how those turned out. To make them I sketched a quick Eiffel Tower, and then scanned it into the computer. Nothing fancy, or even symmetrical, just a very rough sketch. Then I printed it out on card stock, and layered it with another piece of card stock. I around the little towers out, and then glued a toothpick between the pieces. They turned out adorable. I don't think I'll every purchase cake or cupcake toppers again.

I made tutus for all of the girls, and we had a fashion shoot. Loads of fun. Then the girls watched Barbie and the Three Musketeers, and made masks from paper decorated with stick-on gem stones, and ribbon. Above is a picture of them recreating the movie afterwards.

Halloween 2009

For Halloween 2009 the girls were the Statue of Liberty and Kairi (Kingdom Hearts).

The Statue of LIberty costume was a simple tunic made out of green costume satin, with a wide sash safety pinned at the shoulder. Her crown was made out of an old headband with card stock triangles wrapped in duct tape. The torch was a flash light wrapped in tin foil with a tissue paper flame duct taped on. The tablets are two plain jane foam boards from Hobby Lobby.

I didn't keep a running tally on the cost, but overall it was a pretty cheap costume. Of course she wasn't really green, but I thought it would be fun for her picture.

Would you believe Kristen would only let me sneak one picture of her Kairi costume? ..After all the time we spent looking for just the right plaid. Can't remember what my niece, standing next to her was. It looks like maybe she was a cat.

We had a great time trick or treating on Halloween, and enjoyed Hallelujah night at Dry Gulch. Kristen volunteered at one of the games the entire night, and was exhausted by the time we drove home.

My First Blind Hem

Woo hoo! I sewed my first blind hem! No more hemming pleated skirts by hand for me. Maybe my daughter's uniforms will actually be altered in time for school to start on Monday. The pictures in the tutorial at Threadbanger.com made it so easy. I didn't have the correct foot for my sewing machine, but I was still able to get it done without it.

What's next for me? I think I would like to try this ballet slipper tutorial by Shaggy Raggy Roses.I think they would make great Christmas gifts this year.

Camp Dry Gulch USA 2009

These are a few pictures from church camp at Dry Gulch USA. I went along this year as a sponsor, and I'm so glad I did. Kristen went on her own to Teen Camp, but Coral and I had a lot of fun together.

Church camp was never like this when I was a kid. If we were lucky we went to a camp with a pool. If not it was softball, kickball, hiking, and crafts. Dry Gulch on the other hand is a camp dream land, with horses, go carts, a carousel, bumper cars, water slides, canoes, and more.

The chapels each day were fantastic. Really exciting and engaging for the kids. They seemed to soak it up like little sponges. As a matter of fact, Coral went to camp twice, so she had already seen all of the chapels once before we went together. The first time she came home and told me verbatim about the chapels.

It was also wonderful getting to know some of my fellow volunteers, and even employees of the church a little better. A late night game of Pictionary is great way to get to know each other.

This is one volunteer experience I plan to repeat.

Ribbon Blanket

Finished up the baby shower gift! The ribbon blanket took less time than I thought it would. I can see myself giving this gift at lots of baby showers. My eight year old wants me to make a big one for her. I’ve gotten close to perfecting my wipes case technique, but I think I still need to practice a few more times to get it just right.

Hooray! I’m starting a blog. This is something I’ve been meaning to do for a long time. Is it OK to make a blog retroactive? It’s the end of May. Is it OK to post my snow pics from January? How about my Christmas pictures from last year? Hmmm... things to think about.

In the mean time, I’ve got a baby shower gift to make for tomorrow. A friend at work is having his third little boy in a week or two, and this is my first attempt at making something for a little boy. Since I have two daughters, almost all of my crafts are pink, so this is new for me. I’ve decided to make a ribbon blanket and a baby wipes case. Maybe I’ll try a diaper pouch as well.

My fabric is pre-washed and ready to go. It's time to get started.