Coloring Book Bag and Crayon Roll

For my nephew's 4th birthday I made him a coloring book tote bag and a crayon roll. These are great things to take with you anywhere and keep a child entertained! 

Inside view of the bag (with pocket to hold crayon roll). 

 Crayon Roll

My Crafting To Do List...

I have already been busy searching for fabrics for next year's Christmas gifts (hey, I am going to be a mom of 4 children ages 6 and under come March and Christmas comes VERY quickly!) I figure if I make things little by little I can be stress free come November (here's to wishful thinking! LOL).

So far on my list of things I need / want to make:
coloring book tote bag - for my nephew's bday in January (crayon roll is already made)
Valentine chair bags for all 4 boys
burp rags for my SIL
a book sling for Zachary and Ethan's room (made from the 2 valances I don't need)
baskets (again, out of a valance that goes with the boys new bedding)
nursing cover for myself :)


Next Christmas gifts:
Lego sacks for 9 boys and 4 girls (their's will be Barbie sacks)
BBQ aprons for my BILs
aprons for my sister, mom,  MIL and SILs (and Bryan too)

Better get busy!

Mama's Got a Brand New...

SEWING MACHINE!!!

For a couple of years now, I have wanted a sewing machine for Christmas but other crafting gifts has preempted it - my Cricut, my Gypsy.  Since our family is about to grow to 6, we are in need of a large vehicle so I figured Christmas wasn't going to be a big deal this year.  Boy was I wrong!

My hubby surprised me with a fabulous sewing machine!  The 26th of December that puppy was out of the box and I was reading the instruction manual.  After quickly figuring out how to thread the bobbins and the machine, I was off.  I had some fabric scraps on hand and I set about finding patterns I could download.

I soon got to sneak away to JoAnn's for some fabric and I found some amazing things!  I found fabric to make the boys tote bags for their Awana books, fabric on clearance for purses and for next year's Christmas gifts (Lego sacks) and the like!

I have had the machine a little over a week and have already made the following:
3 purse type bags for "my" girls (my BFF's daughters)
2 tote bags for the boys' Awana materials
2 Buttercup bags
a crayon roll
a nursing cover

Christmas Crafting

So I made all the gifts we gave away for Christmas, however, I didn't take pictures of ANY of them :(  So horrible!  I guess I need to get back into blogging so I am in the habit of taking pictures of my creations.

Coming Soon...

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the ladies over at How Does She?  Their blog has given me LOTS of inspiration for projects.  I am in love with all the 2x4 crafts they create and have been wanting to try some of my own.

I have an idea up my sleeve for an adorable 4th of July decoration, so check back soon!  I am hoping to get a bit of crafting in this afternoon.  I will try to take some pics.  Waiting on vinyl from Expressions Vinyl to arrive so I can do lots of cute projects!

My Hubby - The New Cake Boss!

Nope, this cake did not come from a magazine (ok, well the idea did). It came from my kitchen and my hubby! B has gotten VERY into cake making lately - we TIVO all the cake shows like Ace of Cakes and Cake Boss. It all started with our second born, CJ's, birthday cake. Then he made a cake for our friends 2 & 4 yr olds birthday party. And finally THIS creation, no this masterpiece!!! I am so proud of him and can't wait to see what he does next!!!

End of the Year Gifts

My oldest son just finished his second and final year of preschool. It is both exciting and sad at the same time. Exciting because that mean we are heading into school years and I will be embarking on the roller coaster that is homeschooling. Will it be challenging, yes. But will the rewards outweigh the challenges, definitely. I can do all things in Christ. He has led us to the decision to homeschool our children, and He will equip me (yes, a credentialed teacher needs to be equipped! Teaching YOUR OWN kid is VERY different from teaching a room of 35 sixth graders).

Above is the adorable card I made using my Cricut (have I told you lately how much I LOVE that little machine!). CB (my oldest son) was certainly blessed with TWO #1 teachers this year! What a blessing they were.

For the gift, I had saved this one for just this occasion! As some of you know I have a large list of blogs that I read on a regular basis. When I see an idea that I love I save it in my Delicious list (an online bookmarking list, so your bookmarks are available anywhere that has Internet.) Anyway, a few months ago while I was peeking at Nap Time Crafts I saw this beautiful idea! You can't get much more simple than that: crayons, some Tacky glue, and a shadow box frame.
I cut out each teacher's first initial in a very large font so I would have a guide for where to place the crayons. I backed that paper with black so the letters would stand out. I love the All Mixed Up font cartridge! Such a cute font!!!
They loved them!!! I was so happy with how they turned out and even the wrapping was super cute. I had found bags that were covered in apples in the Dollar Spot at Target a LONG time ago and had put them away for teacher gifts. When I started planning on making these, I thought the bags would be too small since I was going to get 12x12 shadow boxes. However, when I was at Michael's I didn't see any I liked so I grabbed these 8x10 frames. They fit just right in the bags!!! With the addition of a bit of yellow and green tissue paper and a cute bow, they were the perfect way to say thank you for all CB's teachers had done this year!