Free Tutorial Friday - Dress Up Shoes

Every time I see my little one teetering around in her high heel princess shoes, I think first that she is going to break her ankle or fall down the stairs in them and then second that I REALLY need to make some simple dress up shoes for her. 

This is what I came up with out of some fabric scraps and about 10 minutes.

You need fleece, some jersey fabric (I used confetti dot fabric - or you could use ribbon), and either stiffened felt or foamie sheets.

Take a shoe that fits and trace around it.  I used a fabric marker, but you could use a sharpie, pen, crayon, whatever you have.  

You should have 4 soles cut from fleece.  Place them over the stiffened felt or foamie and cut out the lining (2).  If I could have found a decent pair of scissors around here, I would have put the felt down on top of the fleece and cut all 3 layers at once. 

Then, you need to put down one layer of fleece and put the felt on top.  Then, lay the confetti fabric over that.  Then put the last piece of fleece on top.  

Top stitch the shoe.  It can get a little messy because the fleece stretches.  Just trim it. 

Tie a knot or bow with your 2 straps.  Then, trim off any excess.  You could tie it while it's on the child's foot just to make sure the foot will fit.  I just tied it a little loose.

These babies are slippery so you need to make them non skid.  I just used some puffy paint.  It's a trick I learned from crochet.  You could also write your child's name on the bottom in puffy paint which would probably thrill her. 

The other option is to cut your sole bottom from non skid shoe fabric.  It's like the stuff on the bottom of footie pajamas.  It is expensive - I think it's $6.00 a yard, but it's only about 20" wide.  It is hard to find.  Normally it is hidden in with the fusible webbing.  You may need to ask.  It won't fray, so you can just follow the same steps as above, but cut 1 fleece, 1 no skid bottom, and 1 foamie layer for each shoe.  I think that it only comes in white. 

 

Mini Apple Muffins for a Healthy Preschool Snack

I am snack mom again.  It seems like it was just a week ago, probably because it was.  None the less, I came up with this great little recipe for mini apple muffins.  I "frosted" the minis with whipped cream cheese that I sweetened with a small touch of honey.  Mostly, I figured that "frosting" might get the picky eaters to try these little muffins. 

These muffins are low fat, lower in sugar and high fiber. 

Here is my recipe:

Preheat your oven to 375. 

Mix 1 egg, 2 tbs butter, 1/4 low fat sour cream, 1/2 brown sugar, and 1 tbsp milk.

Mix dry ingredients: 1 cup wheat or white flour, 1/2 cup flax seed meal, 1/2 wheat germ, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder

Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients. 

Mix in 2 medium apples diced

Bake about 8-10 minutes in the greased mini muffin tin.


"Frosting" - 1 package low fat cream cheese & 2 tbsp honey - whip with mixer for 5 minutes until it is really fluffy.  Then, pipe it on with a small star tip.  Keep these in the fridge. 

We used fresh apples picked from our local apple orchard, Spicer's on our Friday preschool field trip. 

Inspired by an Autumn Day

'Autumn Warmth' by c1h8r9is

Celebrate the warm colors of fall.

GATHER TOGETHER Aut... bekahjennings $28.00	Boutique Pumpkin Pa... LullabyLamb $28.50	Harvest Gold Leaves... sunflowerexpre... $25.50	Fall Time Charm Bra... juicejuice $30.00
Fall leaves hair bo... BeesBowtique $6.50	Fall Orange and Yel... ArtfullySew $8.00	Fall Chocolate Mix ... happydessertti... $6.00	woodland harvest co... cardinalhouse $29.00
Ginger Orange Gift ... SatinandBirch $10.00	September Special -... Raceytay $35.00	Autumn is magic - P... movezerb $8.90	24 Fall Sugar Leave... sweetpetalbake... $28.80
Pick 3 - Crochet Co... Sweetbriers $10.50	Colorblocked in Cha... CamilleStar $59.00	Fall Harvest Dress ... sarahandjane $50.00	Autumn Celebration ... PhoenixFinery $15.00

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Turn on the oven and bake a batch of these awesome fall cookies. They also give directions for these adorable felted pumpkins.

Check out the free tutorial for fall leaf cookies on Country Living.

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That's it! I'm getting these kids bundled up and going out for a fall leaf hunt as soon as I'm done here!!!!

This free tutorial for how to make roses from maple leaves is amazing and totally free! Life doesn't get much richer than this!

Thanks haha.nu!

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Here's a really easy and fun fall pumpkin free tutorial from Make and Takes.

This is a great site full of tons of useful ideas! Head on over and check it out!!

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Here's another way to honor the beautiful colors of fall.

Head on over to Build/Make/Craft/Bake to get this free tutorial on how to make leaf prints.

How fun!

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Check out this fall paper bag scrapbook album.

What a fun way to house all of those new/old memories of autumn!

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Happy Crafting!!

Crowns for Kids Round Up

I got to thinking today about how much kids love to accessorize as I watched my two year old put her sun glasses on her face with a very pleased look. She always needs a bag, or a back pack or a purse. Always wants a pretty dress or a sparkly pair of shoes. She's not into princesses per say but she loves hats and crowns. So here it is... a roundup of easy crowns and a felt hat that you can make with or for your own special little people!

Maureen and Shanti over at Twig and Toadstool show you how to make this awesome fall crown out of nothing but leaves! So get outside, go for a walk, and collect some beautiful fall leaves!

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Homemade by Jill shows you how to whip up this super cute birthday crown.

She even gives you a free template for the design!

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One Hour Craft has a great tutorial to show you how to make this beautiful flower crown.

With a change of flower color this could go for any special occasion holiday!

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Crochet?

Check out this tutorial for an absolutely adorable crocheted crown from Oh So Happy Together!

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4 Crazy Kings tells us how to make this great green craft. Recycle your paper coffee sleeves into fabulous paper crowns with a little help from some sequins and tissue paper!

What fun and easy way to use what you have on hand.  

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Bitter Betty has really out done herself with this awesome gold crown!

I love this one! Looks so professional! What a great addition to any Halloween or dress up outfit!

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Nikki over at WhiMSy love has a very clear and fun tutorial on how to make these adorable newspaper crowns with your kiddos!

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Just my Rambling has a very easy an innovative way for your little one to make a princess crown.

A paper plate, some crayons, and some foam stickers; that's all you'll need!

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Katydid and Kid has a wonderful fall crown tutorial made from felt.

Aren't the colors so soothing and warm?!

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One more felt crown! How sweet!! Little Lizzie gives a tutorial on how to make this sweet crown!

Look at all of that embroidery work!

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I just plain ol' love this one!! It make me want to fall in love allover again!

No Knows Weddings shows us how to make this most beautiful crown

for the little girl in all of us!

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And last but not least, our Renaissance Crown pattern which is available in our etsy shop.

Super fun and easy to make with all of those fabric scraps that you have around.

Happy Crafting!!



Yum! Candy Corn Crochet

I found a quick and easy crocheted treat bag pattern for free over at Crochetville.  I was able to whip it up in about 20 minutes. My girls are already asking for more to use as treat bags for Barbie. These would make great favor bags for friends. Just fill with candy, close with a ribbon threaded through the hadles and voila ~ you have a super fun and easy treat for you child's friends, teachers, bus drivers, etc.

To see full sized photo click here

I had also considered making one for Isabella's teacher and filling it with this yummy cappuccino mix recipe that I found on All Recipes. The treat bag will hold three to four servings placed in a plastic ziplock bag and sealed. Put the mix in the treat bag and tie the directions to the candy corn with a decorative ribbon and your sure to make someone's day!

Cappuccino Mix ~ Makes 24 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer
• 1 cup instant chocolate drink mix
• 3/4 cup instant coffee granules
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions

1. In a medium sized glass jar, combine the non-dairy creamer, chocolate drink mix, instant coffee, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; mix well.
2. To prepare, place 2 tablespoons mix in a mug, pour in 3/4 cup boiling water, and stir until dissolved. Serve hot.

Happy Crafting!!

Free Kid's Craft Idea Everyday

When checking my email this morning I came across an email update from Free Kid's Crafts. I can't believe I haven't shared this site with you guys yet! Everyday in my email I recieve a new kid's craft that goes along with the season or holiday that is currently approaching. The projects are generally very inexpesive and use materials that I have on hand. It's the perfect way to keep little hands busy while you do a project of your own.

This morning's craft came as this tissue paper pumpkin:

Click for directions.

To subscribe to the newsletter and get a free craft idea emailed to you everday just fill in your name and email address under the Subscribe tab on the left hand side of the page.

They make it kind of fun because you can't see the crafts for the coming days but you can access the craft archives by clicking a previous date on the calendar an left hand side of the page (under the subscribe tab).

Check out Friday's Craft ~ an October Coloring Calendar

Click to print

 

Let your little one color this to uses as a chore chart or a count down to trick or treating on Halloween by placing stickers on each day until Halloween! It's a simple yet fun way to get them excited about the holiday.



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