Monthly Archives: September 2016

Playtime in the Car II

Feeling Crafty, Keeping the Kids Happy, rainy day project 1 Comment

Another quick way to entertain that back seat driver. This one took literally minutes to assemble, but days to collect the teeny tiny items for inside.

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Yep, why spend over $20 bucks on the store eye spy jars when you can do your own.

Hardest part was cleaning the labels off the Voss water jars. I found mine at Burlington for under five bucks each. The plastic ones have sticker labels on them and are lighter for little hands to shake. The glass ones have painted labels and are heavier. I did both, plastic for Dolly and glass for Gma’s camper. You can use any empty, clean, clear and dry bottle you might already have. The Voss bottles do have a larger opening then the water bottles so we could add slightly bigger items to them.

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All you need is an empty water bottle, lots of teeny tiny items for them to search for, and some rice to hide them in. I think I put over 50 different items in each jar, I also kept track of what I added so I could print out a checklist later on the computer.

Finding items was like a grown up scavenger hunt, Even Papa got helpful once I showed him the project. I’ll give you my list at the end.

Just use a funnel to pour the rice in, and drop in your bits and pieces as you go.

Be sure to leave some room at the top for shaking around, And be sure to super glue the lid on. You don’t want this spilling out all over the backseat!

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We did ours during a camping trip and the “helpers” played with them all weekend. Think we offered a prize for the person who found the peppercorn.

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All in all a fun project, I still find things I want to add, but the lids are glued and I think 50 plus is enough to find. I did print a checklist of items inside. Think the adults are more competitive about finding the harder items but it gives the kiddos what to look for.

ENJOY!

DEBBIE

 

Items in my bottles included: Lots of Bead and Buttons, Items from Papa’s garage, and a few minis I purchased.

BASEBALL 

LADY BUG

BASKETBALL 

LEAF

SPARKLY BEAD

LEGO BLOCK

BEE BUTTON

LIGHT BULB

BIRTHDAY CANDLE

LOCK

BOLT

MATCHSTICK

BOTTLE CAP

NAIL

BREAD TAG

NUT

BULLET

OWL

BUTTON

BARBIE SHOE

CHENILLE

PEARL

DOG

PEPPERCORN

DR SUESS ERASER

POMPOM

FISH

POPCORN KERNEL

FLOWER

PUMPKIN

FOOTBALL

QTIP

FEATHER

ROCK

FUSE

SCREW

SEASHELL

SMOOSHED PENNY

TOY CAR

SPOOL

“H” for HAILEY

SPRING

HAIR CLIP

STAPLE

HAIR TIE

STAR

HEART

SPIDER

JELLY BEAN

TACK

JINGLE BELL

TEDDY BEAR

KEY

WASHER

KITTY

WIGGLY EYE

 

Playtime in the Car

Feeling Crafty, Keeping the Kids Happy, Outdoor and Garden, rainy day project Leave a comment

Here’s a quickie I made for my Grandniece Dolly’s car trip to Disneyland. They’re driving down, and I remember those days of trying to keep an excited

5-year-old entertained in the backseat. I made her a travel box with stuff to hopefully make the ride smoother.

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First up was a travel tic tac toe tin. I found a small metal tin in the dollar bin at Target and it was already red! So I added some cute washi tape around the bottom and painted her a Minnie Mouse on the top.

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I used a small ruler and permanent marker to put the grid on the inside of the lid.

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Collected some bottle caps from Papa, he was happy to help. You need 10 total, 5 of each color. Some button magnets and outdoor glue, attached to the back.

I painted mine black and red, and put a mouse outline on top. You can do whatever shape, or theme suits your kiddo.

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I also made a backup set of caps, using a punch and putting the images inside the cap and the magnet on the back. (I’m sure some of these will end up under the seats! Sorry Mom and Dad…

Enjoy!

Debbie

 

 

Minnie Inspired Headwrap

beginner Sewing, Feeling Crafty, rainy day project, Stitches and Sewing, Uncategorized Leave a comment

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OK, it’s been a while since I last posted. Let’s just agree it was a year not to be forgotten. I’m happily recuperating from back surgery and finally feeling more like myself. “the Happy Crafter” so as we are planning baby Hailey’s first birthday celebration in Disneyland, I’m inspired to make some goodies! If this one looks familiar, it is a variation of the 10 min table runner. Of course, you want to wear a table runner on your head, right? But I was looking at the retro head wraps on Pinterest thinking….. Disney inspired but not soooo mousey.

Supplies needed:

5″ X 36″ dark colored fabric (this is the back and edge fabric)

3″ X 36″ pattern fabric (for the center panel)

thread to match or contrast

Sewing machine or Serger

Steam Iron

And about 10-15 mins to assemble

 

As you can see, I choose a large polka dot in red and pink, and small dot black and solid black. This is what happens when I can’t make up my mind, I choose them all! There’s 10 of us going, so I made several options for us to share.

 

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I like to cut on a mat with a guide. Cutting straight seems to not be my strength. Cut the backing and edge fabric 5″ and the center piece 3″. I just left the length from the fabric store (44′ i think) and trimmed it after I put it together.

 

This project is so easy, I would totally recommend it as a mom/daughter learning to sew tutorial. Let them pick the fabrics and do the cutting and sewing.

 

I measured around my head, it was about 24″ so I added 12″ for the ties and came up with 36″ total. You can alter that measurement shorter if you are sewing for a child, or add if you have that one friend with the really big melon.

 

Sew the right sides together, I used my serger, one of the best investment I’ve made in crafting. But you could totally do this on a basic machine. Make sure to get good seams and turn right side out. Press the tube with the seams outward toward the edge.

 

 

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Now the tricky part, creating the ends. It’s really quite simple, fold the tube backwards. Yep, with the back edges even fold lengthwise.

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Then sew shut the short end. This make the point when you fold it down. Be sure to use your scissors or other pointy thing to get the point out, if sewing on a conventional machine trim the fabric to reduce bulk in the point.

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See? it’s really quite simple!

Now all you need to do it tie it around your noggin!!

 

 

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There they are…all dozen Minnie inspired headbands, can’t wait for vacation!

Enjoy!

Debbie