Toddler Friendly Paper Doll

A good friend's little girl was turning two and we needed a gift.  Not just any gift.  It had to be something that would keep her busy on her long drive back to Washington.  And it had to be pretty indestructible.
Solution?

Jaylie's Felt Paper Doll

I cut a doll shape

I glued it to some felt and drew the face with a permanent marker.

I made a little case

In one pocket is the clothes

The other pocket holds hair and shoes.

The inside of the case

Now my girls want to know when I am making one for each of them.

I guess I better get started!

Tutu Envy

I have four girls.  Girly Girls!  So how is it that their crafty mommy has never made a tutu before?

Last night I remedied this little blunder.

Dakota & Charly have a friend's birthday party this afternoon and she is all girl, too.

So, I made her this pink, purple, and green tutu

to go with

This Princess bubble wand

and princess crown

I found both at Walmart.

The wand was on clearance for $5

and the crown is in party supplies for $1

I already had the tulle and elastic (yes, I've had the supplies for months now, but still haven't made them for the girls.  Mean Mommy!)

Anyway, so the whole gift cost me $6

I had Cheyenne model the tutu for me because she is about the same size as the friend.

But the other girls were jealous wanted to give it a test drive, too.

The baby even got in on the act

I guess I better get busy and make my princesses some royal attire!

1st Day of Kindergarten

It's here!  The day she has been anxiously awaiting, and I have been not-so-secretly dreading.

My Kota Bear starts Kindergarten today.  **Pause here to wipe away stray tear**

Okay, I'm being a big baby about this, but I can't help it!  I have turned into the mother that I swore I wouldn't be.  I wasn't going to get all emotional about these big milestones!  Oh, well!  That's Karma, baby!

Isn't she Gorgeous???

She wanted to model all of her school clothes for all of you to enjoy, but there just wasn't time.

She is so funny.  She was showing me yesterday all the poses she was going to use.

This was the only one that she actually used in front of the camera, though.

Oh, and this one.

Showing off the Princesses.

1st homework assignment- decorate a paper doll to look like her.

My crafty kid.

You can't tell really well from this picture, but there are white buttons under the blue beads for the eyes.

She wanted to make sure her teacher knew there was white around the blue in her eyes!

I don't know many 5 year olds that pay so much attention to detail!

...Mommy's gonna need a box of tissues and some Dr. Pepper to get rid of the crying headache!

All in a Day's Work

I can't believe it is here already, but I guess it is time to face the music...
My oldest baby starts school in Five days!

I took her for her Kindergarten Assessment today.

But I spent yesterday getting this little beauty ready...

That's right, Ladies!  It only took me a day!  Okay, maybe some of you more experienced friends out there are laughing right now.  I know, I know, simple.  But I'm pretty proud of myself, okay?  I'm a bit of a bumbling idiot still when it comes to the sewing machine.

These, however, come a little easier to me...

So simple and so cute!  I just cut a flower out of the fabric scraps, sewed it to a felt backing and a clip, and Voila!

All of the teachers and aides at the school kept telling Dakota how cute her dress was.  And do you know what my amazing girl said in return?  "Thanks.  My Mommy made it!"  I can't tell you  how proud I am of this little girl!

You can find the pattern for this dress here.  It is a free pattern from oliver + s.  The pattern can be used for sizes 2-8.  For Dakota's dress, I used the 6 for the width, but the 7 for the length.

I'm entering this dress into this weeks contest at

Wish me luck!

Oh my gosh!  Thanks everyone for the support!  I was the most viewed link over at

Which means I get to sport this awesome new button!

Thanks Mandy, for featuring me!

Wrapping Paper...or Not!!!

Anyone noticed the severe lack of FUN, wrapping paper that comes in BULK lately?
I got a little tired of paying the BIG BUCKS for enough paper to wrap one present, only to discover that EVERYONE ELSE bought THE SAME PAPER!  What happened to originality???

Alright, I'm done ranting...I PROMISE!
Okay, what to do with little money and lots of creativity?

Brown Lunch Bag + Scrapbook Paper + Ribbon = UNIQUE gift bag for Kam Man

Did you notice that the bag matches his shirt?

I have to brag about my oh-so-crafty 5 year old for a sec.

I was putting the ribbon through the holes, thinking I would just tie the bag up.

Dakota says, "Mom, is that to make a handle?"

Uh, DUH!  Why didn't I think of that???

I say, "It is now.  Thanks for the idea, Bear!"

And so, we made this one for Bug

We also made a cute can that doubled for the wrapping for another 1st birthday baby.

Sadly, I have misplaced the picture of the actual gift.

And I forgot to take pictures of the can, so this is as good as it gets:

See the can with the tissue paper coming out the top?

I covered an old can in scrapbook paper and used some scrapbook letters to spell out her name.

Kaitlyn's mommy is my sister.  I think she loved the can as much as the gift inside!

Dino Shirt

This cute guy turned One this month.

(Doesn't my family make cute babies?)

Anywho, Someone this cute deserves something just as cute, don't you think?

Kamron's nick name is Kam Man (Duh!)

I got this shirt at Target for $3.50

I cut the dinosaur out on the Cricut

I used some vinyl of a particularly bright yellow that I would never use elsewhere

I printed the font off of picnik.com and then traced it onto the vinyl with a hobby knife

Placed the vinyl on the shirt and used some old paints I just had hangin' around

I forgot to take a picture, but the tail wraps around to the back of the shirt

He liked it so much, he tried to put it on right then and there

I just love having all these little people to make things for!

True to my word...

I am finally getting around to it.  Here are some pictures of the present I made for my sweet niece that just turned 5.

I found this cute apron at Target's Dollar Spot.

It's reversible!

Here's what I painted on the other side

I know it kind of looks blue, but  it is actually purple.

Can you guess what this little girl LOVES?

Happy Birthday,

 Lex!

(Isn't the giant cupcake SO cute?

I am trying to convince birthday girl's mom to co-author my blog.

She has some great ideas!)