Category: Crafts

Like the rest of the world, my heart broke for Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. People jumped to offer money and goods everywhere they could. I’m not opposed to donating money to amazing resources like The American Red Cross, but I always want to do more. I want my contribution to mean more. I want to help the little guy directly.

So when I heard about Cranes for Kids, I knew THIS was it. This was my way to help. And it was perfect because I was helping the little guys, and girls. As a parent, when I hear about disasters like this, immediately panic for the kids. If this happened to us, how could I keep my girls alive and well? How could we provide for their most basic needs?

Well, OshKosh B’Gosh has taken on one of those needs. Through April 24th, they’re accepting cranes, you know, the folded origami kind. 1 crane in exchange for 1 article of clothing for a kid in Japan! How easy is that?! I got really excited and pulled out my huge stack of scrapbook paper and started folding.

We ended up with 14 cranes, and I’m thinking about making more. I feel like this is such an easy way to help, and takes just a few minutes of my time! They ask you to include your child’s name and hometown on each one, because many of these cranes will be sent to Japan and handed out with the clothes!

There are many ways to make your cranes count–mail them in, take pictures and upload them on their Facebook page, or turn them in at any OshKosh B’Gosh store nationwide (and receive 10% off your purchase that day as a thank you!).

My girls had a wonderful time with the creation of these beauties. Sofie helped me pick out paper and they both liked playing with the birds.

And it was extra special that I was finished with these and ready to mail them today–Chloe’s first birthday! I love that she’s learning about the wonderful gift of giving to others already!

                          

                          

I put 7 cranes in a quart size ziploc bag and squeezed all the air out.

Then Sofie helped me address the envelope!

And they were off! We send our love and well-wishes along with our cranes, and hope our effort makes a difference in the lives of some Japanese friends!

                          

Finally, a tutorial!!

To make Chloe’s nursery canvases, I used a mixture of paint, paper, and fabric to create completely unique art for her wall.

I started with the fully painted canvases.

I found an image from one of the fabric prints that I liked, then I blew it up on my computer to the size of my canvas, and traced it on computer paper.

Then, channeling my elementary school art days, I flipped it over and filled in the back using a regular lead pencil tilted at an angle.

Then I flipped it back over, taped it to my canvas in a few places, and made little reference points on the canvas to make sure I returned it to the exact same spot each time. I started with the green pieces, so I traced them first.

Then painted.

Once it was dry, I moved on to the next color, in the order that made the most sense.

Then I washed off the reference points and it was finished!! I followed the same steps for this canvas, also from one of the fabric prints, except it was much simpler to do. I painted all the pink, then went back and added the red on top.

                          

And for the “C” I simply painted the whole canvas pink, went back and taped off 1″ spaces with 1″ painters tape and added the green stripes. Once it was dry I used the same tracing method to draw the C on top of the lines, and filled it in with brown paint.

                          

The apple and pear are painted backgrounds, with paper pieces glued on top.

I enlisted some help with the painting for these while I cut the paper.

                          

Then starting with the bottom shapes, I glued (using Mod Podge because I couldn’t find my Aleene’s) the pieces on.

                          

                          

                          

(I forgot to take a picture of the step where I added the stem and the leaf)

                          

Then to let them dry without rippling, I turned them over and placed a heavy book on the back of the canvas so it would be perfectly flat.

Then for the owl, I used only fabric (other than the painted background).

                          

I traced the shapes on regular (red) Heat n Bond and ironed them on at the same time.

                          

I covered the whole canvas with a scrap piece of fabric and ironed lightly, until all the pieces stuck.

                          

Then turn the whole thing over and iron from the back side to get a good seal on the Heat n Bond.

                          

And lastly, the birds. I used a mix of all the previous techniques to make my birds.

First I freehanded the branch with brown paint. While it dried, I cut the leaf shapes from scrapbook paper and glued them on. I cut the birds from scrap fabric on Heat n Bond and ironed them on, then painted their beaks and feet.

And that’s it!! I already had all the fabric, paper, and some of the paint, so I just bought the canvases (50% off at Michael’s) and a few bottles of paint! It cost me less than $20 and a few afternoons of crafting to create this adorable wall art!

                          

Did you think I disappeared?! I sincerely thought about it! But fear not, I’m here. The morning sickness has been overwhelming and my days have been jam packed with things I have to do, so I haven’t had much time to sit down and blog.

But I did want to share the amazing weekend I just had with my Mom and sister, Meredith. We left the kids with the husbands and ran like hell took a short flight to NYC for a whirlwind weekend of shopping and girly fun!!

We flew in Friday afternoon and got to the city about 3:30. We checked into our hotel, which just happened to be in the heart of Times Square, dropped off our bags, then made our way over to the Park Avenue Armory to the most amazing quilt show I’ve ever been to. And trust me, I’ve been to my fair share of quilt shows!! It was sponsored by the American Folk Art Museum and featured 650 red and white antique quilts on loan from 1 collector! While we were there we read more about the collection and learned these 650 were just part of the over 1000 quilts she has in her collection, and this display was her 80th birthday gift from her husband, and was a gift she wanted to give to NYC. She’d never seen them all displayed at once before, and let me tell you, it was a sight I’ll never forget!! It’s hard to capture the grandeur of these quilts in pictures. Simply incredible.

(that’s my cute Mom checking out the sight)

After the quilt show, we grabbed dinner and headed back to the hotel to get some rest. After a day of traveling, and the shock of the cold to our bodies, we were ready to snuggle in our beds. We got up Saturday morning and headed out into the blustery 28 degree day!

                          

We started the day in the garment district. It was the main focus of our trip and boy was it worth it!! We wandered up and down the streets, peeking in windows and occasionally going in when something really sparked our interest. I could have spent days in the trim shops alone!!

                          

                          

We found an amazing menswear store that had rows and rows and ROWS of shirtings, followed by suitings. I also adored their madras prints!!

Then we made our way to Mood. If you watch Project Runway at all, you’re very familiar with Mood! This actually wasn’t my first trip to the store, as The Hubs and our Manhattan friends took me on my 27th birthday when we visited NYC, but it was a first for Mom and Meredith.

                          

Then we made our way over to the most amazing trim shop I’ve ever seen!! If you go to Manhattan, you’ve GOT to stop by M&J Trimmings. It’s modern, fun, reasonably priced, and absolutely mindblowing!!

Then we wandered down 6th Avenue for awhile and passed this gorgeous Catholic Church somewhere along the way (we ducked in to get a peek at the inside–and discovered Mass being said in Latin!! Such a sweet little surprise for our Catholic family during this Lenten season!). I HAD to take pictures of it because I was mesmerized with the shadows the sun cast through surrounding buildings.

                          

We had lunch, then made our way down to Chelsea to The City Quilter–the only quilt shop in Manhattan!! I forgot to take any pictures while we were in there, but it wasn’t all that different from any other quilt store you’d find anywhere else. Kind of comforting in the bustle of NYC!

After TCQ, we headed even further south to SoHo to the Purl Bee!! I was really looking forward to this stop and it didn’t disappoint! The people working in the shop were unbelievably nice and it was so precious in there! I could have stayed all day!

I *almost* bought some yarn to teach myself to knit. Like I’ve got time for that! But seriously, look at the yarn!!

Every where you looked in the store there were sweet details that captivated my attention.

                          

                          

I’m getting ready to make up my own stuffed dolls for my girls, so I especially loved these!

And the ceiling!! It was gorgeous!!

When we left Purl SoHo, we headed even further South to Ground Zero to check out the new construction.

Then we made our way back to the hotel, dropped off our bags, and headed East to this amazing 2 story Anthropologie, then we looked around a little in Rockefeller Plaza, and had a delicious dinner before heading back to the hotel to fall into our beds.

                          

We got up Sunday morning, which just happened to be Meredith’s birthday, and headed straight for the airport to come home. Like I said, it was a whirlwind trip!! We’re all exhausted, but agree it was worth every mile walked. I got out all my little purchases last night to show The Hubs and I think he was pleasantly surprised at how little I brought home. I did make a New Year’s Resolution to not buy (with MY money, money and gift cards given to me is totally allowable!) any more fabric, so I really limited myself. But I’m thrilled with what I got and I can’t wait to start sewing!! Thanks for a fun and memorable trip Mom and Mere! I can’t wait to go back!!

(The fish and blue stripes on the top came from Mood. The 2 NYC prints and bag of buttons (fill a bag with buttons for only $2!!) came from The City Quilter. The blue and white elastic came from Daytona Trimming, the Scottie Dog ribbon and Owl ribbon came from M&J Trimmings, and the circle belt buckle came from C&C Button.)

My sister posted a tutorial on some really awesome wire pumpkins. I was at Michael’s picking up a wreath (for something I’ve wanted to make for forever!) and I found this stuff. It’s like wired sticks. I knew immediately it would make pretty good looking pumpkins, too!

For instructions, please go to http://mymagicmom.com/beaded-and-wired-pumpkin-tutorial/

These were fun and easy to make, and festive enough to last me through Thanksgiving. Right now they’re on my mantle, but I’m thinking they’ll make a great centerpiece as well!