DIY Valentine's Day Felt Tote

I've been pumping Anabelle up for the past few weeks about giving and receiving "presents" on Valentine's Day. She's so excited. I mean, who wouldn't want presents usually in the form of candy? I wouldn't mind either.

Since I can't figure out what to gift toddlers for Valentine's, I figured I would start with step one. The bag. She needs a bag to hold the outrageous amount of sugar deliciousness and heart punny that will come her way.  

I saw something similar while we were browsing the Target dollar aisle and thought, "I can totally make that." Since Anabelle was super psyched to spend the entire day running errands with me and going to the storwe, we grabbed the supplies from the craft store for less that $4. Cheap crafts around these parts, folks. I don't discriminate. 

Speaking of storwes, she had a meltdown after I broke the news that we had finished all the errands we had to. She was completely heartbroken. You would have thought I told her she could never have another bite of ice cream ever again. That would be heartbreak city. Not finishing your errands for the day. She was like, "Nooooooooooo! Mo' storwes." Homegirl can spend hours browsing like her mama. And she's only 23 months. I can't even imagine what the years ahead will bring. Oh my. 

The whole tote project, as we'll call it, took about an hour because I couldn't decided if I wanted her bag to look like a bag or a tote. The tote idea won. 

Supplies:

- stiff red felt 

- stiff white felt 

- white thread

- adhesive glue

Instructions 

1. Cut into the red felt into two pieces measuring 5x9 (this is the front & back), two pieces meausuring 2x9 (side), one piece measuring 1 1/2x9 (handle) and one piece measuring 2x5 (bottom). 

2. Cut out the white felt into a heart shape.

3. Sew the back piece to the two side pieces, starting with the right side down to the bottom and around to the left side. 

4. Sew the front piece on to the side pieces. 

5. Sew the handle to the side pieces. 

6. Glue the white heart to the front of the tote using permanent adhesive glue. 

I haven't shown it to Anabelle yet, since I'm going to wait until Valentine's. I have a few other crafts I'm working on to give her throughout the month of February. I can't wait to share with you all!

Happy February! And go, Cowboys ;)

DIY Christmas Advent Calendar + Free Printable

 Happy December! I can finally allow myself to start thinking about Christmas. I just can't focus on gifting and decorating until Thanksgiving is over. I.just.can't.


How was your holiday? We laid low, since Anabelle wasn't feeling so well after Thanksgiving. The highlight (lowlight?) of our weekend was our trip to Target turned merchandise tragic. My sweet toddler was sitting in the cart eating raspberries and chattering up a storm about Christmas decorations, I bet. 

No less than three minutes after taking this picture to send to daddy, she broke a snow globe with a precious bunny rabbit inside jumping up and down in the cart. After I told her repeatedly to sit on her bottom. Luckily, she didn't get hurt, but that sweet bunny rabbit globe is gone forever. And it was the last one. I cried a little on the inside.
After I took her out of the cart, I grabbed our stuff, and tried to find an associate to tell. I think I was a little frazzled, because I couldn't find anyone to help me, so I made Anabelle walk all the way to the phone kiosk (she hates walking when we're in public). I pick up the phone kiosk and it's dead. What? When does that ever happen in Target!? After we paid for the one item we managed to salvage, I told her how dangerous it is to be jumping around in the cart! She forgot about it within seconds. I didn't though. I continue to mourn the death of that snow globe...   Anyway, I couldn't wait to share this DIY Christmas Advent Calendar with you guys! I was longing to create a calendar last year, but she was so young that I didn't think it would be too much fun, but this year, oh boy! I'm so excited!!

Supplies:
-Plywood. I used a piece that measured 48 x 24 and painted a few coats of flat white paint on it. -Nails -Pencil -Envelopes (3.5 x 3.5) -Green and white twine -Tape -Embellishments (optional - not pictured)
I sketched out my tree using the twine and washi tape. It was easier to envision exactly what I wanted that way. 

After the outline was complete, I hammer the nails directly through the washi tape. As a safety side note, I recommend putting electrical tape on the back of any exposed nails, in case your kiddo (or animals) decide to explore what's behind the Christmas tree. Remove and discard all washi tape.   Wrap the twine tightly around each nail, and loop it twice all the way around until you reach the beginning of the nail. Tie the pieces together and cut off any excess string. Complete the process until you've wrapped each nail into the shape of a tree. 

Print your advent activities on coordinating cards or plain paper and put inside each of the envelopes. Stick each envelope in between the strings and put tape on the back of any envelopes for extra support. I used this tutorial to print the numbers directly on the envelopes. If you prefer simple, black numbers, here's a link to a free printable of the simple black numbers I used.  

I added a few Christmas ornaments I had on hand and I cut out a star from gold poster board to stick at the top. Isn't it so lovely in her playroom?  

Here's a list of our advent calendar activities for toddlers:
1. Watch Elf also known as the best Christmas movie ever. 2. Sing Christmas carols. 3. Pick out a Christmas book at the bookstore.  4. Find a toy to donate for the toy drive. 6. Decorate the house and playroom. 7. Help daddy put up Christmas lights. 8. Pick out a Christmas tree. 9. Make Christmas crowns. 10. Make a washi tape Christmas tree. 11. Perform a random act of kindness. 12. Create a card to send to grandma. 13. Donate blankets to the homeless. 14. Take pictures with Santa. 15. Go on a Christmas candy cane hunt. 16. Decorate our cousin's gifts. 17. Bring breakfast to daddy. 18. Make our teacher's gifts.  20. Check out Christmas lights in our festive pjs. 21. Donate supplies to an animal shelter. 22. Make Christmas cookies for Santa. 23. Make Christmas-inspired breakfast.  24. Attend Christmas church service.  25. Make a birthday card for Jesus. We sang an early birthday song for Him yesterday and Anabelle loved it! 
Have a wonderful Monday!

DIY Thanksgiving Placemat

With Thanksgiving less than ten days away (what?!), I wanted to make Anabelle a special place to put her plate when we sit down for dinner with our family. I am so incredibly grateful that she is in our lives, that a simple, "so grateful" sketched out on her placemat is no less than perfect. 

Supplies needed:

- Brown kraft paper (white would work too)

- Ruler

- Scissors

- Writing tool of choice (white pencil, gel pens, markers, etc.)

Instructions:

1. Cut out a 12x18 piece out of the kraft paper. 

2.  Measure out where your child's plate (or grown up plate) will be to the left of the placemat. I made a line in the middle of the placemat as a guide.

3. Write out a special saying to your child or loved one. You can even write out their name, or a place they can write out what they are thankful for this year. There are endless possibilities! 

So simple, yet so meaningful! I hope you give this a try and let me know how it turns out :)

Halloween Monster Rocks

We're knee deep in our October Advent Calendar over here, so things have been a bit hectic because I want to do allthethings. Anabelle doesn't mind it one bit. 


We used the (free!) rocks we collected from our nature walk, and painted Halloween monster rocks. But first, we had a quick snack sesh. Anabelle was running around having a tea party with her stuffed animals, and didn't want to go downstairs to eat. So, I brought snack to her like a princess, and grabbed a kale salad for myself. Kale is my jam. 

We brought out our fancy dishware that consists of a toddler tea cup set, and blue-striped bowls from college. You can even spot a chip on the side if you look closely. True life. I could use a set of new white dishes. My birthday is coming up. Are you reading, dear husband? After we discussed her snack time fullness, I brought out several colors of Tulip fabric paint and let her pick whatever color who heart craved. Her first choice? Red. Probably because she's an intense mini creature on an emotional roller coaster ride. 

While I held onto the paint tube, I let her dip the paint brush inside, and told her to cover the entire rock in paint. I like to take risks and live dangerously, which is why I've never placed a drop cloth on this beautiful table her grandparents gave her. Put that on my list too, husband.

Monster rock painting takes serious concentration. Shhhh, please be quiet while the artist is at work. Also, no feeding the animals.

She made through three rocks, and about ten minutes of painting before she put the paint in her mouth. Game over, Anabelle. Post clean up was a melt down, but eating paint isn't like wine tasting, friends. I didn't want to make my first call to poison control. I imagine the call would go something like this: Mommy: My toddler licked the cap of the fabric paint several times.  Operator: Okay, ma'am. Where did the paint come from? Mommy: Uhh... we were painting monster rocks. Operator: .... That would be a story to tell.  Anabelle isn't coordinated enough for monster faces, so I took over at this point. After the tantrum melt down, I painted a silly face on each rock, and threw on some glitter. What's a monster without a few speckles of super fine gold glitter that eventually landed all over my desk and carpet? And I keep finding on the bottoms of everyone's feet. While I was trying to take a quick snap shot of the monster rocks in the yellowy early morning light, her grubby little hands snatched one away. Take one.

She ran away to her play kitchen, rocks in hand, and threw them in a pan on the stove top. After a few whisking motions, they weren't cooking fast enough, so she popped them in the microwave for a minute or two. Monster rocks for two is served. This toddler is a chef in the making.

Glitter bottomed feet and rock filled bellies in this household. I bet older kiddos with imaginations can draw any kind of monster they desired! 

Toddler Essentials Emergency Car Kit

Alternatively titled, "Your safe line to sanity." Or how about, "When You Realize Your Diaper Bag Is Empty." 

I've left the house many times without critical essentials like diapers and snacks. If I don't have a snack on hand for Anabelle, you better believe there is an impending meltdown. 

When Anabelle was a newborn, I created a baby essentials emergency car kit that had a few diapers, wipes, a change of clothes and a bib. I took that out of my car about seven months ago and finally saved myself from a few tantrums by putting together a toddler essentials emergency car kit. A snack-hungry toddler is a dire emergency in my Volkwagen. Think the end of the world doom with fireworks and lava.

Here's a list of what's in my car kit.

You know, the basics. Since I put this together a few weeks ago, I've already used several of the diapers, handfuls of wipes and all of the snacks. On a few occasions, she's been offered the Winnie the Pooh book and My Little Pony. She chucked both across the car. Good times.

All of the toys that are in my tote are from the Target dollar section. I used an old mint container for extra hair ties and let Anabelle put stickers on it for a brief rainy day activity. The snacks are non-perishable items that won't melt in the back of my trunk, and snacks I know she loves to eat. Those Plum Organics Mashups? Genius. Anabelle always wants two. That doesn't happen, though, and I get an ear full for it.

I bought this adorable tote from Marshalls for about $15 bucks and put everything inside. I wanted this larger tote so I could stuff it with more junk she needs like a blanket, socks, extra utensils, a stuffed animal and way too many toys from our house. I also have four library books I desperately need to return. 

Do you have an emergency car kit? I'm telling you, this has saved my sanity several times over since I tend to leave the house unprepared a lot. Maybe I should create a check list at the front door? Hah! Who am I kidding? I wouldn't look at it.

October Advent Calendar

I thought it would be a fun to put our toddler friendly October bucket list into an Advent Calendar. I've wanted to do this for quite some time, but I'm so disorganized, I can't seem to get it together! New Year's resolutions, anyone? See, I'm getting ahead of myself again, and it's barely October.  I bought black paper sacks from Michael's along with some "grown-up" stickers. Inside each sack is an activity written on Halloween themed scrap book paper. I really love the way it turned out! The calendar gives our mantle a festive pop, and Anabelle already exclaimed, "ooooh!" #winning

I won't take credit for this brilliant idea, though. I originally saw it on Pinterest, and after much digging, found the original link at The Coterie Blog. I modified the design and made it more suitable for my taste. 

The activity to kick off the first day of October was pumpkin planting. I found this cute little pumpkin starter kit in the Target dollar section aka the black hole of all things you really don't need, but somehow negotiate with yourself in two nanoseconds. 

Anabelle planted the pumpkin seeds, with her helpful mommy assistant. She insisted on dumping the seeds and dirt out on the grass. It took several coaxes to get her to gently place the pot inside the garden. I think she did a pretty fine job.

And like a skillful gardener, she went back to check on the new addition. Like a sneaky smart little toddler, she scooped up the pot, seeds and all, and took them to her playhouse when I wasn't looking. 

Her sidekick, Joey came by to help, too. They are like Batman and Robin, these two.

Fall has got some major fun plans for us. I can't wait to enjoy them with Anabelle and share them all  with you :)

Flashback Friday - Anabelle's 1st Birthday Party

I wanted Anabelle's first birthday party to be classic, girly with a twist of fairy-tale thrown in. Since the husband didn't have a traditional wedding ceremony and reception (we got married on Superbowl Sunday after church with our pastor wearing his Dallas Cowboys jersey), this was my first time planning an event.

I stayed up every night for a week (who am I kidding, a month, really) prepping and assembling all the decor. I was so stressed out trying to complete everything. I didn't realize how overwhelmed I let myself become. I barely finished decorating and setting it up with about 30 minutes before the party began. It was just enough time to have a mimosa or two. I hope you enjoy a glimpse into her birthday. The links to all the decorations are below!

One banner \\ You are my greatest adventure print \\ Paper crowns - DIY \\ Flower crowns - DIY \\ Heart balloons \\ Dishes and cups via Homegoods \\ Tablecloth via Homegoods \\ Carafes \\ Ice bucket \\ Faux Polariod Prints \\ Mommy's dress - similar here \\ Anabelle's dress - similar here

You can find a lot of my inspiration for the party on my Pinterest board  here and here. Have a great weekend everyone!