Phoebe's Sweater

Here it is.... finished and modeled!

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Calm Balm

As some of you already know, my little Finn, who is 7, was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder when he was 5. Over the past 2 years, we have seen huge improvement in how he deals with his anxiety, but we still have a long way to go.

So, when I saw a recipe for an easy to make anti-anxiety balm that was safe for kids, I couldn't resist. The recipe comes from Hands on Healing Remedies by Stephanie Tourles. I have dubbed it "calm balm".  And it is super simple.

Warm 4 tablespoons of shea butter in a saucepan until it melts. Into your storage container add:
- 30 drops lavender essential oil
- 25 drops bergamont essential oil
- 10 drops geranium essential oil
Add the melted shea butter. Stir. Cap. Let sit for 24 hours.
Makes about 1/4 cup and stays good for about 1 year (keep it away from heat and light)

To use, either inhale deeply a few times, or (as I like to do), take a tiny (less than pea-sized) amount and place it either on the wrists or behind the ears.

Although I don't think this is a cure-all that has saved our family, I have felt a sense of ease when I used it and I have seen small, yet positive results, when used on Finn as well. Plus, it just smells nice.

Do you have any favorite herbal remedies? Anything that works to curb your anxiety?

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Reusable Snack Bags: A Quick Tutorial

One of my goals for this year is to cut back on my family's resource use and the waste that we produce. For about 9 months, I have been meaning to make some reusable snack bags for Finn's lunch and packing snacks on the go. And this past week I finally did just that. Finally. Sometimes I just don't know why I put things off so long.

These are pretty easy to make, once you get the process figured out. I bought a half yard of ripstop fabric from the store for the linings of the bags, and used fabric from my stash for the outside. Here is a quick run down of the steps:

1.  Decide on the size that you want your bag. Fold your cotton fabric in half (the folded side will be your bottom of the bag). Add 1/2" seam allowance to each side and the top and cut out your fabric. Do the same thing for the ripstop. Make sure you cut the fabric the same size (don't just guesstimate). If the 2 pieces are not the same, the bag won't sew together evenly.

2. Fold your fabric along the bottom edge so that the right side is on the inside. I like to iron my fabric folded flat at this point to make things nice and even. Sew the fabric together on each side seam, leaving a 1/2" seam. Leave the top side open. Do the same for the ripstop. Now iron the side seams open.

3. Now you will need some sew-on velcro. Turn your ripstop fabric right-side-out and sew a strip of velcro about 1/2 inch down from the top edge on each side of the ripstop (note: make sure your two pieces of velcro make a set that will stick together-- one side should have loops and one side should have hooks-- this is how your bag will close later).

4. OK, now turn your ripstop fabric back so that it is wrong side out (with the velcro on the inside). Next, turn your cotton fabric so it is right side out and place it into the ripstop fabric. At this point, the right sides of each of your fabrics should be touching.

5. Now top stitch all the way around the top of the two bags, closing them together. Leave a 2" opening.

6. Next. pull your bag through the 2 inch opening so that the right sides are both out. It's hard to explain this part, but just do it, and you will see what I mean. Now you (almost) have a bag! Just top stitch again, this time without leaving a gap, and make sure you close the gap that you left earlier.

You're done!

Sorry I don't have pictures of each step. I sew-by-night and there is just not enough light for a quality shot. Just leave a comment with any questions you may have!

Finn has been using his new bags all week. So far I have hand washed, but I don't see why they can't go in the machine as well.

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Birthday Gifts

The post is quite belated. The presents were given on time, but finding the time to post about it has been another story...
For Miss P's 3rd birthday, I decided to make her two gifts. A robe, which she needed, and a carrier for one of her dolls.
The robe I figured I could just wing it.. no pattern (if this sounds crazy, this is how I have sewn for most of my life). But, I also decided that I wanted her robe to have a hood. Have I ever sewn a hood before? Nope. But, really, how hard could it be? Well.... the robe turned out really well actually. Except for the hood part. I made it too wide and too short, and to make a long story short, I had to cut it down and now the robe has this weird sort of elvis-collar thing going on. But, aside from that, I think the robe came out pretty good. And, I have now put learning how to sew a hood onto my sewing to-do list.
To make the doll carrier I used this tutorial. It was actually super easy, way easier than I thought. I will warn you though, that this is not a tutorial for beginners. She doesn't list every step or explain how to do each thing, and if I hadn't had previous sewing experience I would have thrown up the white flag. But, in the end, I was happy with how it turned out. And I think Phoebe is too...

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Handmade Holidays

I just realized that I never blogged about any of the finished gifts for my Handmade Holiday 2013! So, here they are, a little late... but maybe they can inspire some gifts for birthdays throughout the year.

I made a few different sets of handmade ornaments this year, the first was a state-of-Oregon ornament and the idea came from this blog.

 I also made some Waldorf-inspired gnome ornaments. Some had their own pouch.

Phoebe got a hat and legwarmer set for her doll.

All of the my young girl nieces (and Phoebe) got a glittery tutu for themselves and a matching one for their doll. Each set was a different color. Phoebe has loved hers.

My mom got a beach bag as she spends a lot of time in Florida

And, my favorite gifts were the coaster sets I made. These are so fun! I will say that it does take a bit of practice to get them right.... I definitely had quite a few do-overs during the process. You can find instructions here. I used recycled tiles from our local building re-use center. I made some nature-inspired tiles and also made a bunch with pictures of my kiddos on them. Apparently I didn't take any pictures of those before I sent them off. Oh well.

There were also lots of cowls, more hats, and some pajama pants for the kids. I just never got around to taking any pictures of them. I am sure you know how it goes...

How did your handmade gifts go this year?




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Phew.

This weekend I heaved a big sigh of relief that Halloween was over. Don't get me wrong, I love Halloween. Actually, it's one of my favorite days of the whole year, but, it happens to be a lot of work: visits to the pumpkin patch, making costumes for a family of 4, carving pumpkins, decorating the house.... it is all fun and creative work, but work nonetheless.
This year I kept the Halloween costumes pretty simple (you can see our family Halloween photo here). Finn wanted to be Darth Vader (apparently he has moved to the dark side). We already had a mask and a black cape from his Batman costume from 2 years ago, so I just did a freezer paper stencil on a black shirt to make Darth Vader's shirt. You can see instructions for how to do freezer paper stencils here.  It's super easy and slightly addictive. Todd decide to be a clone trooper. We splurged on a mask for him, and I made him a clone trooper suit out of a painting suit with felt "pads" glued on. Sadly, the hot glue didn't work very well on the knee area and he lost a few pads along the way.. if I would have had more time, I would have sewn it on. Oh well.
Several months ago, Phoebe saw bee wings and a bee antennae headband at the craft store, which inspired her to be a bee for Halloween. We bought the wings and antennae (as I knew those would be hard to make) but I made her an easy no-sew tutu in black and yellow glittery tulle and knitted her some striped leg and arm warmers. Simple, but boy did she look cute. I was a beekeeper, which I pulled together from things I had around the house. I didn't get any good photos of Phoebe Bee on Halloween eve, so I made her dress up again the day after, and we did a photoshoot outside.....

Anyways, my big sigh of relief was short lived. Finn's 6th birthday (and birthday party) is Thursday, and even though he is having a small, simple party, there is still lots to do. And, I recently decided to sign up for a craft fair at the end of the month in hopes to earn a little bit of extra holiday money... and I have absolutely nothing made. So, I need to step it up into high gear. Pin It Now!

Halloween Spirit

Finn is throwing a Halloween party on Saturday. It was his idea, he came up with the guest list, and he provided a lot of input for food, activities and decorations. I (obviously) have had to do a lot of the actual planning, but this party was 100% inspired by Mister Finn.
Anyways, we have been hanging skeletons and spider webs to make the house spooky, but we decided to add a little more hand-made flare. Most of these ideas came from pinterest (I love pinterest, yet I also feel like it squashed some of my creativity as there are too many cute ideas to replicate!).

Footprint ghosts (inspiration here). Note: Finn and I have really high arches and our print did not make anything that really resembled a ghost. Flat-footed Phoebe's came out pretty good though!

Alien leaf bugs, inspired by this.

An eyeball tree. This idea was actually my own. I bought styrofoam balls and used glitter glue to paint eyeballs on them. Then i used thin wire to make loops. I gathered some branches and spray painted them black with a glitter final coating, and arranged the whole thing in a vase.

Our Halloween wreath. I bought the actual wreath, spray-painted it black and glittery, and used hot glue and jewelry wire to add store bough spiders and Halloween bells.

Jack-o-lantern stained glass. We have done these before, but was reminded of them here.

What have you been crafting for Halloween?? Pin It Now!

Summer TeePee

Apparently, backyard teepees are all the rage this summer. I have seen them posted all over the blogosphere, and I guess I was feeling either jealous or inspired (or both). This morning, the kids and I made our own front-yard teepee. Neither our front or back yards have grass, but inside our fenced in front yard, we do have a patch of mow-able clover. The area was originally supposed to be a planting area, but our dog, Moshi, ate everything that we planted (including a whole apple tree). A few days ago, Todd and I decided that a teepee would be the perfect thing to cover up the weeds: cute, and hopefully, the dog won't be able to eat it.
I gathered some bamboo poles, an old sheet, some hemp twine, and some clothespins. I found some simple instructions here, but honestly, I mostly just winged it. I think next time around, I will be more orderly when I pin the sheet to the poles, but hey- it works. And the kids do love it.

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Happy Valentine's to All My Gnomies

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Handmade Holidays

Now that everyone has opened their gifts, I can finally share the handmade gifts I made this year. I posted awhile back about how, for many reasons, I tried to make as many of my holidays gifts as possible this year. And while I didn't hand make every single one, I did come pretty close. Here is what I made for family and friends this year....

A Small Things Sweater for one niece

A hat and mitten set for her sister

And matching Minnie Mouse bags for them both

The Minnie Mouse bags each had a wee gnome inside

My dad got some mittens

My mom got some jewelry

Finn got a monster hat and Phoebe got a cotton gnome hat. Aren't they cute?

I made Finn some Star Wars pj pants

Finn, Phoebe, my sister-in-law and a niece and a nephew each got a bag (I was on a bag kick this year). Each bag was very personalized, and the kids were filled with a tiny (store bought) surprise.

Phoebe and her same-age cousin each got a Sweet Little Dress (I LOVE this pattern)

Santa brought more wee gnomes for my children

Finn's teachers got felted bowls filled with yummy treats

A few special people got bath salts

Lots of folks got home-made lip balm

I made a few felted ornaments for faraway friends

And this cute knitting basket ornament for my knitting friends

Now when I look at the list, it seems like a lot, but somehow I was never terribly overwhelmed. Did you make handmade gifts this holiday? I would love to see what everyone else made (or received!). If you have posted about handmade gift, please share the link in a comment!!

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