DIY Canvas Car Playmat

So, my baby turned two yesterday.

And I just KonMaried my house and I am SO. OVER. the toys. And the kid clutter. Plus he has both a big brother and a big sister, and they have toys that cover all the basics. But we still have loads of birthdays and Christmases in our future, so what in the world am I going to give? Anyway, my internal brain rant ended when I came up with this idea. It meets all of my current criteria:

1. It is durable. 
2. It is open-ended and fosters imaginative play.
3. It folds up small and can be stored with like-items in our toy storage system.
4. It encourages cooperative play.

My hubby had a mat like this one when he was a kid, so I asked my mother-in-law to give me some details on how to make our own. I bought 60 inches x 45 inches of duck canvas and ran a zigzag stitch down the raw edges. Then, (after planning out the city on graph paper measured and accurately scaled proportionately, then folding the canvas to help rescale my plan) I drew in the city using some permanent sharpie markers.

I seriously can't stop looking at it. I love it so much! Maybe even more than the kids, although all three were delighted when Max opened his gift.  Justin has a tin of Micro Machines from when he was a kid and they are absolutely adorable on the mat. But I sized the roads so the regular Hot Wheels cars can fit on either side, and Max's Melissa & Doug Car Carrier will also (barely) fit on the whole road. They will need security to block off the other lanes of traffic. ;)

Before I started, I asked Harvey what places I should add to our city and he surprised me when the first thing he mentioned was the temple. I have to admit, it never crossed my mind, but I added it because he wanted it. Just a little thing that made me smile.

I added a little neighborhood, a church, grocery store, school, and bank.

 Another must-have was an airport -  with a landing strip, a gas station and a restaurant.

One of my favorite things about the original mat was the mountain scene, and river flowing into a lake so there could be bridges on the streets. I added the dirt road going to the mountains... complete with a little camp site at the end. And since the river is close by, I drew in a couple fish for another recreational activity.

I couldn't forget the "city center" with a round-about and a little fountain in the middle. It is surrounded by the city pool, office (aka "the place where Daddy works"), a police station and hospital, with a landing pad for the life-saving helicopters.

And last but not least, the river ends in a lake, with a beach and a little dock so the cars can watch the sun set over the water before they head back to their cul-de-sac for bed.

To make sure it lasts... (and it better last generations! Ha.) I ironed it to set the ink during washing. And I've got to remember to only wash in cold water.

Total cost: $13.50
Duck Canvas: $6.50
New Sharpies: $7

DIY Window Clings

I am a sucker for window clings.

It all stems back to when I was a child. We had these Easter clings made out of reusable vinyl and I loved putting them on our sliding glass door. It was very detailed; I could design the eggs with different colored stripes, and put the facial features on the Easter Bunny. I really need to ask my mom what happened to them.

The only problem, is the window clings in stores now are made from some sort of weird gel. They are cute and transparent, but really don't hold up well after a year in storage. Or through a 5 year old trying to pry them out of their package. Or a 2 year old trying to pry them off the window and re-position them. They stretch and tear.

I absolutely loved the window clings I found at Target a couple of years ago. But when I pulled out my Valentine decor, we had already tossed half of them. This year I was very careful when putting them up, but the gel got weaker each year and a few more of them tore. Then I found all of them in bits on the floor after Avery had tried to play with them. It is embarrassing to admit, but I was sad!

Then, later that night when I was watching the kids stick their foam letters to the wall in the bathtub, I got an idea. I could recreate my same window clings out of craft foam and once they were wet, they would stick to the window. I tested it out with a random foam snowman we had, and he stayed on the window for a whole week so I decided it would really work.

Using our old window clings as a guide, I lightly drew the shape I wanted to cut with a pencil onto the foam sheet. The foam was super easy to cut, and by using my precision scrapbooking scissors I was able to use even the pieces I had cut out from the center (the little heart wings of the birds, and the heart spikes on the dinosaur). I love how they turned out! And the best part, is that my little Avery can play with them to her heart's content, and they are durable enough to last. 

I have to say though, after a week, there are some pieces that don't want to stay on the window more than a day or so. They are always the same pieces, so I am not sure if it is that particular foam piece or how I cut it. But Avery likes to play with them nearly every day, so it's not really a problem. :) I just give her a little cup of water and she dips the pieces in, and sticks them to the window.

I'm excited to make more for different holidays!

California: Sea World part 2

Before we left on our trip, while doing "research", I found that Sea World has characters who pose for pictures and do autographs. So I decided to make a little autograph book for Harvey to collect them in.

I just bought a cheap (I think it was like a dollar) photo album at Michael's and scrapbooked an album cover, then replaced the old one. For the inside, I bought 4x6 index cards - without the lines, and we took them to Sea World with us. When I finally get around to printing the pictures of Harvey and his "friends", I'll slide them opposite their signature. Here's the Elmo page, without the picture (man, I'm a slacker!).

Anyway, after I spent my time making that sucker, you'd better believe we stood in line to get a few autographs!

Harvey's favorites were Elmo, and Shamu...

Calfornia: The Drive

So we drove from Utah... to San Diego. Well, my mom and I drove. Justin had to go on a business trip during the first part of our vacation, so instead of flying home, he just flew out to meet us.

I planned and prepped for the drive as much as I could because I was so worried about how my kids would handle it. I made a couple of things to entertain Harvey:

First, an I Spy Jar. I just tossed in a bunch of little trinkets (Most of which came from my girl's camp necklace, from when I was a young girl. We earned these trinkets for things we accomplished at camp; reading scriptures, cooking a meal, identifying plants, learning first aid, etc.) and a whole lot of rice then sealed the lid on with hot glue and shook that sucker up.

Before I sealed all of the trinkets inside, I spread them out on the table and took this picture. Then I printed and laminated it so Harvey could cross off each item found with a dry erase marker.

This worked out wonderfully... except that I gave Harvey a black dry erase crayon, and that waxy stuff got all over everything. Seriously, it was awful to wipe off, and it got all over my hands, his hands, and a ton of stuff in the "play box." I'm not sure I'm a fan of dry erase crayons. I threw the whole lot of them in the trash at the next gas station.

I also made a little car on a ribbon just like the one at I Am Momma Hear Me Roar (number 5 on her list), but Harvey didn't really get it. I told him that when the car got to the end, we would be in California. He kept messing with it to move it closer to the end because he wanted the drive to be over. ;) Eventually he tugged so hard that it came down and I didn't care enough to set it up again.

I also printed out a couple of great road trip printables from Prepared NOT Scared. Harvey loved the Bingo Game, Tic Tac Toe, and the Alphabet Search. Plus, after I laminated them, the blank backside worked as a great canvas for dry erase markers.

My mom also busted out a ton of books on tape that she had when I was little, and I added some action figures that I had hidden for a couple months so they could be fresh for the trip. But honestly? The all time favorite toy for Harvey during the long drive was.... a pin wheel. Seriously, some plastic 4th of July pinwheel that he found at the craft store for a dollar. He loved rolling down the window a bit and holding it up to see how fast it would spin. I'm surprised it didn't fall off the pin!

Summer Plans

I love summer.

And about 2 weeks ago I started planning out every second of our summer this year with fun, thoughtful, and educational things to do. But then I started dreading all of the structure. Wouldn't it be nice just to wake up, ask Harvey what he wanted to do and then go do it? Or get a phone call from a friend asking if we could fill-in-the-blank-with-something-fun-here, and be able to drop everything and go?

Definitely.

But on the other hand... I don't want our summer to just waste by, either. I want it to be full of fun, thoughtful and educational things. So I decided to implement all of my crazy plans in a casual way.

First, I dug out my old Summer Fun Advent Calendar.

It does have little glittery numbers written on each of the cones, to be followed according to the calendar month. But this year - we're bagging that feature.

I printed out a list of fun things to do during summer, and cut it into little strips. Then I simply folded each one up and stuffed it into a cone. When Harvey and I get done with our morning routine and nothing is planned for the day, I'll let him choose a cone, pull out the slip of paper and we'll do that activity. On the days when something better comes along, we'll do that instead. I really have no idea what activity is in each cone. It's a little thrilling, and a little nerve-wracking at the same time. But pretty much all of these activities don't need a whole lot of prep; maybe just a run to the store. No biggie.

Here's our "back-up" fun list:
1. color scavenger hunt
2. take a treat to the librarians
3. edible jewelry
4. homemade bubbles
5. ding dong ditch a neighbor with a gift
6. run through the sprinklers (I'd like to make this one)
7. make popsicles
8. make glow in the dark slime
9. play on a water bag
10. make watermelon waffles
11. obstacle course in the hallway
12. kool-aid ice cubes in sprite
13. make a bird feeder
14. visit a temple
15. handprint art
16. write/mail letters to family
17. potato stamps
18. make a pinaqua
19. make fossils and dig for them
20. play in our wading pool
21. fly a kite
22. bug hunt with a magnifying glass
23. make a rocket
24. make a smoothie
25. play restaurant
26. design/decorate a t-shirt
27. design marble art
28. have a puppet show
29. make cookies and deliver them to a friend
30. take a gift to the local police or fire station
31. give stuffed animals a pretend bubble bath/groom
32. go to a farmer's market
33. make a fort
34. tape popcorn to a RedBox
35. make your own puzzle
36. play with PlayDoh
37. bubble art
38. make a park passport
39. go to a photobooth
40. make crayon rubbings
41. make a watercolor resist picture
42. have a backwards day
43. make something with a box
44. host an unbirthday party
45. picnic at the park
46. make oobleck
47. mail a message in a bottle
48. go feed the ducks
49. go fishing
50. bathtub puffy paint
51. neighborhood scavenger hunt
52. play super heroes
53. fingerpaint with pudding
54. paper airplanes
55. face paint
56. wash the car
57. make a felt car mat
58. marshmallow guns
59. play post office
60. go on a treasure hunt

If you need more summer fun ideas, check out my Kids Page for fun "at home" activities, as well as places to go! Happy Summer!

General Conference Journal

I'm so excited for General Conference this weekend! I've been printing and preparing all sorts of fun activities to keep Harvey busy. Then I got a little jealous and wanted to make a little something for myself. I decided to make myself a special journal just for taking notes during General Conference.

I found this customizable journal at Target for 4 dollars, and I made a special cover in Photoshop.

Then I slipped in inside. I love how it turned out, and it makes me that much more excited to take notes this weekend.

 

EDIT: If you'd like a copy, e-mail me at dayinmylifeblog@gmail.com. I used digital scrapbooking supplies, but all of the products have been discontinued, so I feel okay sharing the flattened image. :)

Custom Recipe Book

I'm a visual person.

Before I go grocery shopping, I sit down to pick out recipes for the next couple of weeks and add the ingredients to my shopping list (I have this one, and I LOVE it). I started to see a trend. Most of the recipes I chose had pictures of the dish in the recipe book. I just seem to gravitate toward the recipes that look good. Even if something sounds good, it doesn't have the same pull. I had a little thought about taking pictures of recipes I had made to help with that problem, and decided then to make my own recipe book. (And check off another item on my 101 Things in 1001 Days List.)

(uses Stir It Up:  The Kit, The Alphas, The Journaling Bits, and The Word Art Bits by WM[squared] Designs)

Here's my thought process behind all the details:
1) I used to get Martha Stewart Living, and her tear-out recipe cards fit 4 on a sheet, with the photo on one side, and the recipe on the back. I loved the design, so I mimicked it when making up a template of my own.

2) I thought about having a book made up, but I wanted to be able to add and delete recipes as my tastes changed. Plus I wanted each page to be wiped free of inevitable spills, so I opted for a three ring binder with Postcard Sheet Protectors.

3) Sometimes I get frustrated when recipe books have a billion categories. I know what I'm looking for... but I can't find it because I can't think of the right category it might be in. So, I kept mine simple. They are hard to read in the photo... but I have Main Dishes, Drinks/Dips, Sides/Snacks, Breads, Sweets, Holidays & Canning.

It will probably be a forever work in progress, but I have typed up my favorite recipes and printed them 4 to a sheet of cardstock. For now, I just slid them in a regular 8.5x11 sheet protector. As I make each recipe, I take a photo, and after I get photos of all the recipes on each sheet, I can print them, cut them and add them to their spot in my book.

How do you organize all of your recipes??

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Football Onesie

We love college football in this house. The BYU Cougars are our team (although both my hubby and I graduated from their rival, the U). Justin's family has had season tickets for as long as he can remember, and it's a tradition for all of his brothers to gather at their parents' house to watch the away games. I like having a "team." Not that I keep track of the scores and players and such very well, but I like getting our family dolled up in fan-wear on game days.

Here is Harvey a couple of years ago in his football jersey, compliments of my cousin who worked at the BYU Bookstore:

Since then we have mostly just adorned t-shirts, but I wanted my baby girl to be in something cute and festive. I searched all over creation for a cheerleader outfit, but the smallest one I could find was sized for 12 months. Bummer.

I did find a tutorial to make one, (which I had almost followed but might come in handy in the future), but then I found this adorable football onesie on Pinterest. I decided to make a version of my own.

I followed her instructions to the T: brown onesie and felt from Hobby Lobby, hand sewn using a backstitch with an embroidery hoop for ease.

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I love it. And it was a big hit at the last football gathering. Although I think it might be missing a tutu. We'll see if I get around to it by the bowl game.

Little Mermaid

When I saw this adorable baby prop on Pinterest, I knew I had found Avery's Halloween costume. I set to work crocheting it and finished it even before she was born. (Thanks Rach for helping me estimate the size of my large baby to your tiny one ;)

I hadn't ever really crocheted anything without a pattern, but a few hours of trial and error resulted in this:

And I couldn't be happier.

Operation: Baby Book

**These templates are now available for purchase in my store, scroll to the bottom of this post to purchase! Also, I have a tutorial on how to use them in Photoshop (HERE), and another tutorial on how to use them in GIMP (HERE), a totally free downloadable program similar to Photoshop.**

When I was pregnant with Harvey, I found this fun and funny pregnancy journal: The Belly Book. I adored it. 

This book includes pages for each doctor's visit, a monthly spot for cravings/aversions, ultrasound pictures, one page for each week with a spot for a picture and journaling, pages for why and how we chose his name, the labor and delivery story, and MUCH more.

Plus it does it all with a humorous twist:

• Is the baby a girl? a boy? or a boxer?
• What is my current disposition? sunshine and happiness? partly sunny with a chance of showers? hormonal hurricane?
• I'm starting to feel like.... a fertility goddess? Humpty Dumpty? 

I thoroughly enjoyed filling it out. And no - I didn't take a belly pic EVERY week. In fact, some weeks are empty. Or sometimes I added a pic of other stuff going on; the house we just purchased, or Justin and I in our Halloween costumes. Sometimes I filled in the prompts, and other times I crossed them out and used the lines for journaling about other things.

However, when I started looking for a baby book... they all included things my Belly Book already took care of: how and why we chose his name, baby shower momentos, how we prepared for the baby, a place for his birth announcement, hand/foot prints, etc. And I didn't want a duplicate book...

So, I decided I would "make my own." And well, anyone with kids knows that it's much easier said than done to keep up with something like that when it's just a fill-in-the-blank-er. I kind of feel like I dropped the ball because I didn't even have a plan.

However. This blog saved my butt. I DID take monthly photos of the kid and posted them with a list of all the current fun/embarrassing milestones he was going through. Plus, I got lucky and made it onto a couple of creative teams which forced encouraged me to keep up with scrapbooking pictures of the kid.

Here's what I've done with the milestone lists: (I used the fonts Century Schoolbook and Century Gothic, as well as Ali Edwards Hand Drawn Brushes for the 'you'.)

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I'm not sure what happened around 3 months, but I didn't have a list on my blog. Maybe I'll try to compile one from photos and videos, but maybe not. My plan is to insert these pages on the opposite side of his "montly photoshoot layouts" in his scrapbook. The colors match his outfits, or the paper I used, etc. 

I flipped through a couple of baby books at Walmart, and I found a few ideas that my belly book didn't include:

• a family tree
• immunization fill-in-the-blank page
• what things cost (when he was born)
• a letter from Mom / Dad / Grandparents

Besides my monthly stat pages, the regular story-told scrapbook pages and the above list, am I missing anything? What else should go in a Baby Book? What systems have you put in place for recording your children's memories?

These pages are now available for purchase in the following bundles:

Homemade Play-Doh

This afternoon, Harvey and I made Play-Doh.

My mom gave me a recipe a while back that I have been meaning to try, and to be honest... I wasn't a fan. The batch turned out way too moist. Sticky almost. So I did some research.

I mixed and matched things from a few different recipes and I made another batch. And, well, it turned out pretty much perfect. The consistency is just wonderful!

Here's the final recipe I used:
(Makes about 3 cups)

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup salt
• 1 tablespoon alum (or you could use cream of tartar, both found in the spice section)
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• food coloring

1. In a medium saucepan, mix flour, salt and alum.

2. Add in the water and oil. Cook over medium-low heat stirring constantly until the dough pulls away from the sides and sticks together. (About 5 minutes).

3. Remove from heat and add in vanilla. This is optional, but it smells much better than the regular recipe.

4. Divide the batch into balls, and knead in food coloring of your desired colors. Use the Wilton Gel food colors for vibrant colors. I divided my batch into 3, and the amount fit perfectly into the 1 cup-sized freezer jars made by Ball (you can find the purple-lidded jars in the canning section of the grocery store). Or a ziplock bag would work great as well...

We decided to make ours patriotic for Harvey and his cousins to play with at our annual 4th of July barbeque. Can't wait!

Why I'm a Binging Blogger...

For real. I blog everyday for 2 weeks, then I don't write a single thing for another two weeks. Good thing my blog doesn't have feelings, or I'd be in trouble. And hopefully all of you forgive me.

But... I do have a good excuse. I was making this little appliqued t-shirt (and dealing with the side effects of all the craft implies):

We decided to use this shirt to spill the beans to our families. And it seemed like FOREVER before there was a party where all of us would be together.

First, we headed to a Sunday dinner with my side of the family. It is a pretty small group, so once we were all sitting around the table, we took off Harvey's jacket to show them the shirt. It was pretty fun to see the reactions...

After dinner, we headed to a party with Justin's side of the family. We were one of the first families there and we thought about driving around a bit so we would be the last to arrive, but decided it would be fun to see how long it took each family to notice Harvey's shirt. We headed in, took off his jacket and waited... and waited... for 2 and a half hours. It was hilarious. Harvey even ran to his Grandma with arms wide open to give her a hug. But no one noticed the message.

In retrospect, I think the fabric design I picked out was a little hard to read. I'm sure everyone would have noticed much sooner if had just cut the letters out in plain ol' white.

Finally, toward the end of the night, Justin asked his mom if she had seen Harvey's shirt.

"No. What does it say?"
"Just look at Harvey's shirt..."

After she figured it out, she came into the kitchen and told everyone else to check it out. And that's how we told the family our good news.

We sure are excited about it around here...

And for all you friends from Primary that thought I couldn't keep a secret for more than 3 days... I'm 9 weeks along! (I even surprised myself that I made it that long.)

12 Days of Valentines

My friend, Anna, is doing this for her hubby this year, and I've decided that I really want to do something special for my two boys as well.

First up.. I made this advent calendar (just like my Halloween one). I LOVE that I can use the cupcake tin for things other than baking, and that all the pieces don't take up any room in my storage boxes throughout the year.

(credits & comments)

I added some fun "lovey-dovey" candy and a little activity on a slip of paper for each day:

Here's what Harvey and I are going to do:

- Watch a "love story" movie. (We'll probably watch Lady and the Tramp, but other options are The Princess Bride, The Love Bug, or any Disney Princess movie.)
- Color a Valentine Picture.
- Eat an ice cream sundae - decorated with hot fudge and pink sprinkles!
- Drink hot chocolate with a heart shaped marshmallow.
- Decorate the house with hearts/streamers
- Pink pancakes for breakfast
- Create homemade valentine cards
- Make a heart shaped treat
- Make a Valentine hat
- Make Crayon Hearts
- Eat dinner by candlelight
- Eat a heart shaped sandwich for lunch


For those of you with older kids.. here are a few more ideas I can't wait to incorporate when Harvey is older:

- Bake some sweet treats and give them to a neighbor
- Sow seeds of love... start seedlings on our windowsill for Spring.
- Make a bouquet of paper flowers
- Play love song charades
- Play Valentine bingo
- Play steal my heart


Now.. onto my number one, Justin. I printed the same circles that I made for the advent calender at half-size, and laminated them to use as tags. I can write the sentiment on the back with permanent marker, and use them year after year (by erasing the marker with rubbing alcohol.)

Day 12: 12 love songs on a CD.
Day 11: 1 "one night from heaven". Umm. That was probably too much information. ;)
Day 10: 10 "sweet treats" (of whatever Harvey and I make for his advent... hehe)
Day 9: 9 sticks of gum (did you know most come with that many in a pack?)
Day 8: 8 chocolate kisses
Day 7: 7 chocolate covered strawberries
Day 6: 6-pack of his favorite soda
Day 5: 5 ways to say I Love You. I think I'll call, e-mail, text, facebook, and write him a note on this day.
Day 4: 4 of his favorite candy bars
Day 3: Make him breakfast in bed. 3 heart shaped pancakes...? Or this cute version of eggs/toast.
Day 2: 2 tickets to a movie.. of his choice
Day 1: 1 little book...

... made out of a deck of cards.

I got the idea, and the free downloadable template from Miss Mint at peppermintcreative.

What are you doing to make the special people in your life feel special this holiday??

"Notes" Plate

Every year at our Christmas Eve party with the Keetch side of the family, we do a little gift exchange. The kids all draw names, and the adults buy (or make - in my case) a simple little gift, identical for each family.

One year I made magnet boards. The next year I gave photo blocks with each family's children on each side. Last year I made up perpetual calendars with everyone's birthdays and anniversaries already added in. This year.. I was stumped.

I mean, I love giving things that are useful or personal. And I just couldn't think of anything good. Then my good friend, Kim, got an early Christmas gift: a Silhouette craft cutter. I think I was just as excited as she was for that UPS guy to deliver her package!

We got together, figured out how to use that thing, and I whipped up these adorable plates (inspired by this plate):

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The black is just vinyl that we cut out using the Silhouette. I got the plates at Tai Pan, and I forgot to get self adhesive velcro, so I hot glued it on to the plate and the marker (literally like 20 minutes before the Christmas Eve Party...).

I love how they turned out!! (Kim - thanks for your help!)

Picture Matching Book

When I saw this cute craft on NannyGoat, I knew I had to make a copy for myself. It is SUPER easy...

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1. Print doubles of the pictures you want to use.

2. Separate the two copies, and cut the heads out of one copy.

3. Laminate the full sized photos (I put them back to back to save space), and laminate the cut out heads.

4. Buy clear velcro, and place the clear side on the full-sized photos, and the other on the back of the heads.

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5. Punch a hole in the corner of all the photos.

6. Attach them with a ring.

That's it! (See YOU really can do this one...)