As Promised. . . .

. . .here are 2 projects I used the shrinky plastic for.

First:

NO MORE EXCUSES!
Remember these little PJ bags I made for the boys to help organize their room? Well, they worked like a charm for about a month or so. Since then, I keep finding them piled in a heap behind their door, usually with dirty clothes inside. When asked why they weren't using them, the boys said that they couldn't tell whose was whose and it took too much time looking inside to figure it out. So. . . here are their custom made tags. No more excuses!
Second:
WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!
I have been teaching ballet for so long that many of my classes I can teach off the top of my head. Others, I have lesson plans for that I keep in big 3-ring binders and use year after year. I hate lugging the binders around, so lately I have been just pulling one page from the binder and taking just that one page with me. The problem--the one page usually gets stuffed in my bag and badly wrinkled, if not completely ruined. So I bought a clipboard from the dollar store and got busy painting and gluing on scrapbook paper. Now when I get home from teaching, I bring the clipboard in, switch out my lesson plans for the next class and I'm all ready to go. So here's the new and improved clipboard complete with shrinky tags. Cute, huh?

Well. Last night I was getting ready to put the final coat of clear sealer on it when I find this.

Someone has put 2 lovely X's on the back of my clipboard in ink pen. So now I have to seek out the criminal responsible for defacing my property. My first instinct was that my little 3-year-old graffitti arstist was the culprit (she draws on EVERYTHING). I would expect it from a 3-year-old. I would even expect it from my 6-year-olds. Kids often do things "just cuz" without thinking and without respect for someone else's stuff. So you can imagine my surprise when I discovered my 31-year-old husband was the guilty party. Seriously! What were you thinking? Apparently he was talking on the phone and felt the urge to doodle--totally understandable! But WHY my clipboard?*@#$ I guess the stack of junk mail right next to the clipboard just wasn't good enough. AHHHH! You know if it were one of my kids, I would probably just leave it there as a mark of their childhood. 10 years from now I would look at it and smile and think "Remember when. . ." But somehow it's not nearly as cute when it's your husband. All I can think is, "How can I cover this up?"

Don't worry. The criminal was punished accordingly. The boys put him in the time-out corner and Rylee took care of the spanking and lecture. And his restraining order, issued by the Honorable Judge Heather, dictates that he is no longer allowed within 10 feet of any and all craft projects.

Shrinky-Dinky-Doo!

I got some of those plastic sheets that shrink when you put them in the oven and they are so fun! They come in clear and white. And I love that the ones I got are ink jet printable. Oh the possibilities!

My first batch failed miserably--there is a reason it says not to cook them on metal (That will teach me to follow directions!)

The second batch turned out great! More photos to come of the "stuff" I used these cute little tags on.

The hardest part was getting them to lie completely flat while they cool--the edges tend to curl. So here's my solution:
While the oven is pre-heating, I stuck a 9x13 Pyrex pan in the oven. When it had reached 325 degrees, I took the pan out and put the shrinkies in on a piece of heavy cardboard with a piece of vellum on top. When they were done, I took the cardboard out, set it on the counter, and then using hot pads set the still-hot 9x13 pan on top, smoothing it back and forth to flatten the pieces. It worked great!

Conference Weekend

I love Conference weekend! This one was particularly wonderful. All the messages shared were so applicable. So much good information and things I need to work on!

I usually have some type of project going while I sit and listen. This time, after a quick reminder tutorial from my Gram, I have started knitting again. I have been a long-time crochet-er, but love that knitting doesn't hurt my wrist as much. So this weekend's project was dishcloths. All the women in my family make them and they are so much better than the store-bought ones, and they are better than the crocheted ones too (believe me I know)

The pattern (using 100% cotton yarn):
*cast on 4
*knit 2, yarn over, knit across
*repeat above until you have 42 stitches
*knit 1, knit 2 together, yarn over, knit 2 together, knit across
*repeat above until decreased down to 4

My first one had a few dropped stitches and came out a bit funny shaped, but the second one was much better.

Candy Corn Hat

How cute is this!!! Hmm. I wonder if my knitting skills are good enough. I have never used circular needles before, but I just might try it! Here's the link if you are interested.
http://www.materialwhirled.com/Candy-Corn-Hat-Pattern-pr-344.html

Skirts

I was in need of some new skirts for when I teach ballet. So I found this pattern and it seemed simple enough. My measurements were a bit off, but it still turned out! Rylee then said she wanted one and I managed to have just enough fabric leftover. Because I was reckless with my cutting of my skirt, I ended up having to piece hers a little bit more. But it still turned out cute.

My little barefoot model all ready for the runway.From the back

Then my little fashion designer took all the leftover pieces and used them to accessorize Missy and Jo Jo, her 2 stuffed horses. Her next equine collection will be available in the Spring. . .stay tuned! :)

How adorbale is she???!!!

This was the second one I attempted. It turned out even better than the first, but I don't know that I could replicate it. The peices ended up being cut on the bias and the bottom hem has a curve to it. I say this like I MEANT to do it this way, but that would imply that I am a competent seamstress who actually knows what she's doing. NOT! Instead, it started out as a mistake (as many of my projects do). I started with the intention of making a circle skirt, which I did, but soon decided that me and circle skirts, especially short ones, don't mesh--I looked like I was wearing a tent! So I then cut the pieces for the wrap skirt out of the circle skirt. Anyway, they were super easy and fun and I think I might have to go buy some more fabric!

Happy Fall!

My kids were sick with the stomach flu this weekend, so we had a pretty mellow few days--perfect for finishing up some crafts!

I saw this tutorial and made these cute pumpkins for my kitchen table. I have to admit that my impatience led me to omit the little bag of sand at the bottom of the pumpkins, but they still work for my purpose. They were so fast and fun! And I just made them out of scraps of stuff I had at home already. Jason later handed me a plaid shirt of his that has a hole in it and my first thought--that would make cute pumpkins! I think I am obsessed!

We also finished up my scarecrows. I wanted to make them last year, but never got around to it. I saved old clothes from my kids and made 3 scarecrows--one for each child. My face painting skills need some work, but I think they turned out ok.

I made a "t" out of old lumber my husband had laying around and them dressed and stuffed the "t". The faces were made from an old curtain panel I had laying around and the hats came from the dollar store. Score! While I was proud of my thriftiness, my poor husband had a heck of a time trying to get the darn things to stand. The wood I used was so old that screws and nails just split it and the epoxy he tried using to put the stakes on stuck to the stakes, but just peeled the old wood away. Finally he resorted to electrical tape. Not the best looking, but whatever works!!

Origami Bookmarks

I saw this idea and loved it! Especially since I love to read so much. I didn't have any Origami paper, but scrapbook paper worked too. It was just harder to get the precise folds. Fun!