Spud & Chloë — Blog Hi Spud & Chloë Friends, After an overwhelmingly positive response for the Oink preview and for adding wings….. here he is! This project is so fast to work up you will barely blink an eye and a pig will be flying around your house. I promise. Oink’s body has a Hi Bounce Pink Ball inside but it is optional. Here is some information you might like to know: Finished Measurements: 3 ½ inches tall by 2 ½ inches wide Yarn: Spud & Chloë Sweater (55% superwash wool, 45% organic cotton; 160 yards/100 grams), 1 hank each in Watermelon #7512, Popsicle #7501 and Igloo #7517 (optional for the wings only) Needles: US size 5 double pointed needles, set of 4 or size to obtain gauge Tools: Yarn needle Scissors Tape measure or ruler Polyester fiberfill (small amount) Hi-Bounce Pinky Ball (optional and available on Amazon.com) Black embroidery floss Stitch marker Gauge: 6 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch Pigs really do fly! Have fun and hopefully Oink will bring some smiles to you and those around you.
Teaching Kids Patience: 3 Tips for Keeping Them Calm Good luck trying to explain the difference between “now” versus “soon” to an impatient toddler. At this age, it’s pretty tough for toddlers to understand the concept of waiting and why it’s even necessary. Some kids are naturally more eager than others, and most just don’t have the self-control to be patient even if they wanted to. But with a lot of patience of your own (and a hefty dose of role-modeling), you can teach your toddler how to handle delays, maybe even with a smile on her face. Avoid Waiting While your toddler needs practice to learn patience, not every situation is ideal for teaching it. Improve Waiting Keep your bag stocked with small toys, board books, or crayons to busy your child during a long wait (and don’t forget to stash an emergency nibble). And speaking of time, you can help your toddler learn that a minute really isn’t very long by setting a timer. See more toddler growth and development tips.
Tutorial: Homemade Sidewalk Chalk by Michelle Vackar, Modern Handmade Child One of our favorite outside activities at our home is drawing with chalk on the driveway. You can play hopscotch, four-square, and of course draw and create silly stories. My daughters and I were talking one day as we played hopscotch about how to make chalk and I thought to myself, let’s try it! It ended up being quite a lot of fun. What you will need: • Toilet paper or paper towel tubes • Scissors • Duct tape • Wax paper • Small bucket or disposable container to make the recipe • ¾ cup of warm water • 1 ½ cups Plaster of Paris • 2-3 tablespoons of tempera paint • Paper bag or a “mess mat” ** we made six tubes of chalk – we simply doubled the above recipe Step 1: If you are using paper towel tubes, cut each tube in half, so it is roughly the length of a toilet paper roll tube. Step 2: Cover one end of each tube with duct table to hold the contents within. Step 3: Cut as many pieces of wax paper as you have tubes.
Noa’s Owl Themed First Birthday Party Today I’m happy to share this owl themed first birthday party that Brie and Karon of Sugarcoated Events planned for Brie’s son Noa’s first birthday. I love all of the sweet little details from the owl cake to the owl cookies to the owl cupcakes to the candy buffet. Sweet lovers beware! This party will have you on cuteness and sweetness overload. I just adore all of the cute party ideas Brie and Karon came up with here – thanks so much for sharing! {Photos from Sugarcoated Events.}
{Tutorial} Color Your World with Handmade Watercolors by Michelle Vackar of Hi Mamma With all of the daily activities of running your business it can be difficult at times to relax, decompress and enjoy life. Some people will find their escape in cooking, walking, yoga, reading a good book …really the list can go on and on because we each enjoy different forms of relaxation. Back in my mid-to late twenties, I was working at an advertising/public relations agency and putting in an average of 50-60 hour work weeks. So I was rather quite excited to take the class, although I must admit, at first, it seemed a little odd to be leaving work at 6 p.m. to go take a watercolor class, when I was so much in the habit of working late or taking work home to do. Today, one of my most favorite forms of relaxation is doing art/craft projects with my daughters. Instructions We made four batches of the above recipe, pouring each into a separate container to dry. An unexpected bonus of mixing up the paints was a little science lesson for my daughters.
Homemade Play Kitchen Erin Woodward, who runs the blog Sutton Grace, has created a fabulous play kitchen for her daughter out of an old entertainment center. You know, the kind you see for sale at almost every garage sale you’ve ever been to in the burbs. Although the one she used in her reuse project was a bit nicer than those, with some nice detailing along the bottom. Lucky for us, Erin included a thorough step-by-step of the project, so any of us can make our own. Related 2010 guest blogger series: make a bale of turtles with Jodie September/October brings change of season, and fresh starts and frivolity and seriousness too. So for a break from whipup realtime I am introducing a few weeks of guest bloggers to liven up your crafty experience. To bring you something fresh, and hopefully invigorate you to make and do and be and think! Its going to be a fun few weeks so come along for the ride. Today I want to introduce you to Jodie from vintage ricrac . My name is Jodie and I blog at www.vintagericrac.blogspot.com where I make toys and not-toys. Hi, I’m Jodie. Apart from the crazy need to dream up little back-stories to all sorts of inanimate objects, especially toys, I also love the crazy terms given to a group of things. These teeny turtles have been haunting my blog for a very long time. Pattern Pieces For Party Turtles Tagged as: softies , toys , tutorials
You just broke your child. Congratulations. En Español Dads. Stop breaking your children. Please. I feel a need to write this post after what I witnessed at Costco yesterday. As Noah and I stood in line to make a return, I watched as a little boy (he couldn’t have been older than six) looked up at his dad and asked very timidly if they could buy some ice cream when they were done. The line slowly progressed and the child eventually shuffled back to his father as he quietly hummed a childish tune, seemingly having forgotten the anger his father had just shown. I was agitated. We were three from the front now, and the boy started to come towards his dad yet again. And we wonder why so many of our kids grow up to be screwed up. I’m going to be blunt. Damn it. [sigh] I am far from a perfect dad.
Recycled Glove How-to: Make a Chipmunk Softie Gloves (like socks), while born to be part of a pair, often end their days in lonely solitude, separated from their mates by the forces of the universe that conspire at every turn to pull them apart. Alone, they sadly serve little purpose (aside from the occasional show biz appearance for only the most sparkling among them), and are left to languish in the backs of a drawers and bottoms of closets — that is, if they’re not disposed of all together. Ah… but it’s a new day. Thanks to the Penguin Group for sharing this project from Happy Gloves. Author Miyako Kanamori is a crafter who lives in Tokyo. She is also the author of Sock and Glove. For more cute critters made from recycled materials, search “Recycled Softie“.
Anti-Bullying: schooled by a 6 year old Apparently, Korax, the class bully, had finally gotten around to Zuna. It's a Montessori classroom and quite often the children work sitting on mats on the floor. Zuna was sitting on the floor when Korax came over and stomped on her leg. In response, Zuna looked him in the eye and demanded to know, "Why did you do that?!" She wouldn't let him walk away without answering her question. In the room, Zuna told the teacher what had happened and said that she wanted to know why Korax had stomped on her. Zuna replied, "So, why didn't you just tell me you didn't like it?" Korax pouted with arms crossed and furrowed brows for a bit. Zuna reached out, gently rested her hand on his shoulder, looked him in the eye and said, "I promise that if you have something to say, I'll listen, if you promise not to hurt me." Silence. Zuna replied, "Ok." Then she said, "Korax, I don't think you want to be so mean. The teacher said he had never seen anything like it. I learned a few things from Zuna back then. 1.
Pipe Fox Tutorial by ~rallamajoop on deviantART Chloe Says Bye To Shoppers On Escalator At Boston's Copley Place Mall Let's face it. Sometimes those trips to the mall aren't all fun and games for the little ones. They get impatient, run around the store and hide under clothes racks, but every once in a while, if you're lucky, kids learn to entertain themselves with some pretty awesome activities. Take Chloe, for example. Although the video is about three years old, the footage of Chloe's random act of kindness is just now making its way around the web. Via Buzzfeed Knitted Bunnies « Jo so and sew This bunny is so simple as it is made from a knitted square – any size is fine. (This one is in 8ply wool on 4mm needles and 28 stitches across.) With the same coloured wool (I have used contrasting wool here so you can see more clearly) and a very big running stitch – stitch across the middle of the square (fold in half if you want to be accurate.) Knitted Bunny tutorial - Step 1 Then stitch up into one half of the square to make a triangular shape – as in the picture Knitted Bunny tutorial - Step 2 As you start to pull this thread you can see the head and ears of the bunny start to form. Knitted Bunny tutorial - Step 3 Before you pull it too tight – push in some stuffing (I have used pure wool here but you could use polyester) Knitted Bunny tutorial - Step 4 Pull the thread tight and make a couple of stitches through the hole to secure. Knitted Bunny tutorial - Step 5 Next – stitch down the back of the bunny (square section) leaving a hole big enough to stuff this section. Like this:
Never Ending Chores (and a chore chart I'm loving) | Keeping Life Creative One of my main challenges in this motherhood job is keeping the house clean. It’s not that I don’t try–it’s just that it seems like my efforts are always undone about 3.5 minutes later. Welcome to life with little kids. In our discussions about housework, Jared is always supportive and helps out where he can, but most often our conversations lead to teaching the kids to clean up after themselves and helping with household chores. But sheesh, it’s hard sometimes, isn’t it? So one of the most popular design requests I receive is for a chore chart. I tried sticker charts for a while but got tired of the maintenance of printing new charts and buying more stickers each week. Then we started using weekly dry-erase checklist chore charts that I found at the dollar store. We also tried drawing slips of paper for chores everyday. Finally, I think we’ve settled on a chore system I like. It’s really simple, but I think that’s why it works for us. Hi!