Need a Helping Hand Getting Organized?

'Get Organized for the New Year' by madaboutscraps

I decided to take a little break from organizing my daughter's room (5 hours in so far) to put together this treasury of organizational items. Getting more organized is always on my to do list. Check out the post on our blog www.boutiqueit.blogspot.com and follow us for a free sewing pattern.

Organized People Ar... NikkisSecretCl... $12.95	GOTCHA GRANDE ... P... madeforyougift... $44.00	Set of 3 Jewelry / ... thejarcollecti... $35.00	New Listing - White... shabbymcfabby $84.00
Set of 20 Square Ma... NaturalesSCENT... $44.00	Buy 2 Get 1 Free S... bradensgracewa... $6.00	Purse organizer wit... DivideAndConqu... $29.95	Closet Dividers camafatis $20.00
Raw Material Log - ... JJMFinance $4.00	Apothecary Cabinet blueridgewoodw... $60.00	Car Seat Organizer ... BLISSFULpatter... $6.50	PAPA'S OLD AMER... cheermama72 $35.00
Vintage Floral Addr... cutthecakedesi... $35.00	Owl Friends Peg Rac... MapleShadeKids $79.00	Create your own Lar... MooreMagnets $24.00	Inspire Me - Shabby... PinwheelFair $84.99

Treasury tool is sponsored by Lazzia.com.

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. 

Free Tutorial Friday - How to Make Mini Hats

See Mini Hats Down And Dirty and 1000's of others - or share your own on Cut Out + Keep

Here is my super simple and speedy tutorial on mini hats.  I use hot glue to make them so simple.

Happy Crafting!

Healthy & Fun Preschool Snack

I was the snack mom at preschool today.  Kamille have been so excited about it that I really wanted to make a special snack.  I looked for healthy snack recipes online, but many of them had peanuts.  I took the idea and changed it to a strawberry cream cheese dip.  I whipped cream cheese and fresh strawberries in the food processor.

I hollowed out the middle of the apple with a melon baller.  I cut a carrot in 1/2 and used it as the antenna. 

I also thought that it would be fun to do a cream cheese and cinnamon/sugar dip.

Happy Crafting!

Saving Art

My 3-year-old daughter has repeated her personal affirmation so many times lately.  Truthfully, I don't know where she comes up with this stuff.  But, I love her motto. 

"I am going to be an artist.  If I can't be a good one, I'll be a bad one."

Up until about a week ago, all of her art looked pretty much like this.  She would present me with a drawing and proclaim, it a rocket ship, or a princess, or a garden. 

Last week she brought me this drawing and said it was an ocean full of animals. 

They actually look like something.  I guess she had a breakthrough. 

Her latest art project from her first day of preschool:

It actually inspired me to start scanning her artwork into the computer to make a photo book for her.  I am going to keep all of the projects, photographing the 3-d versions and mix in some photos from this year.  At the end of 2010 I am going spend a few hours and make a digital scrapbook on snapfish for this year. 

Happy Crafting!

Sarah

Free Tutorial Fridays - MONEY

Check in with us every Friday to get your free tutorial/patterns.  I thought that Friday was a perfect day to find a great weekend project.  You can sew the money double as I did for added durability or make it a single layer if you don't sew.  You could also craft fuse the layers together or hot glue (high temp).

This week's project is a little thing I worked up a few months ago, felt play money.  Also, I realize that this isn't a step-by-step photo tutorial, but on this project, I figured that cutting rectangles and circles should not involve photos for every step. 

I hate that paper money you get at the store.  It ends up ripped, wet, and in the garbage in a couple of days.  This is a really cheap and easy project.  You can make as many pieces as you want and it is a fun way to teach young children about counting and money.  This is also a fun addition to a play kitchen or store.  This would also make a nice donation to your child's preschool classroom if you have a little extra time over the weekend. 

I started with felt-by-the-yard.  I use polyester felt due to my severe allergy to wool (which is not uncommon).  Felt squares will work too, but they usually are not as nice as the yardage. 

Step 1

I cut out 6 bills (doubled) that were 4.5"x3".  Like I said, you can make more if you want more money denominations or more money to play with. 

 Step 2

Then, I cut out many circles in dime, nickle, penny, and quarter sizes.  This is pretty simple, just trace around a few circular objects in your house to make circle shapes.  I would make the shapes larger than standard money or they will just get lost. 

Word to the wise, sizzix makes an awesome circle die cutter for your cuttle bug or sizzix and you can cut felt with it. 

Step 3

Then I sewed everything together.  This is the point where you have some options:

a) just use a single layer - this will not be as durable but it will still make your child happy

b) use fabric glue to glue two layers together - you can probably even use Elmer's white glue because you are not going to wash these

c) use high temperature hot glue - high temperature hot glue will hold fabric together practically forever - be careful not to burn yourself - this stuff gets very hot and will blister your finger - I speak from experience

d) finally, you can use craft fuse - you can by it by the yard - you want doubled sized - lightweight or medium weight is fine.  - you can also by it in a convenient roll package that is at Walmart, Michaels, JoAnn, & Hobby Lobby in the craft area - its normally in with the sewing notions 

 Step 5

Once you have the pieces together, you want to print the money template on t-shirt transfer.  I actually use the transfer for white t-shirts on the dark felt.  The dark transfer will leave a white background.  The light transfer shows the felt color through.  Make sure to mirror image the print so that the writing doesn't go on backwards.  You can also design your own money with your child's face, name, etc.  That would be so much fun for them and might be a huge motivation. 

Get the full size image on flickr

Step 6

 Follow the directions on the transfer to iron down. Make sure you use a sheet of paper over the transfer. Felt will melt onto your iron if it gets too hot. That's why you need to use plain white paper as a pressing cloth.

Have fun!




 

Mini Twinkle Toes for The American Girl Doll

Proof positive that I have a sickness when it comes to crafts is my newest project for the day.  I just spent almost two hours making this tiny pair of "twinkle toes" for my daughter's American Girl Doll.  What a pain, but they did turn out pretty cute if I don't say so myself.  They were a much needed break from patterns for the day. 

A Labor Of Love - My Newest Deluxe Felt Toy Patterns

These three patterns and tutorials took me forever to create.  Each one is inspired by my daughter and 2 nieces.  They turned out so cute.  I saw that everyone was making felt food patterns, so I wanted to make something a little different.  I went with a toy pattern.  There is a camp out, pirate adventure, and the doctor kit.  Next, I am going to work on my Cinderella Cleaning Kit.  I made one for a friend's daughter, but it needs some fine tuning.  Can't wait to figure out how to make a broom from felt and fleece.  That ought to take a while. 

Felt Food Patterns - Yum

In my never ending quest to create new patterns everyday, my sister and I just durmmed up three delicious new entrees for our daughters' kitchens.  I love felt.  I almost love it as much as I love fleece.  You can pretty much make anything you imagine.

My Newest Pattern: Animal Inspired Chemo Caps for Newborns

I made some of these little hats for a friend's baby.  I thought that these would be a great place to kick off my newest project, pattern-making.  I finally decided that pattern making combines everything that I love, making crafts, coming up with new ideas, challenging myself, and exploring my creativity without the tedious mass production involved in actually making and selling items.  Eventually, I hope to phase out selling items other than my samples and to completely move into patterns. 

My First Official Pattern: Infant No Scratch Mittens

I finally completed my first pattern and tutorial set for sale on etsy and in my shop.  I think that these little mittens turned out so adorable and the pattern is easy enough for a novice sewer. 

I am so delighted.  It took longer than I expected to work out the details of creating a PDF pattern, but I did it and I am so happy with the result. 

My Little Lady Bug

This outfit was inspired by a client who needed lady bug wings for Halloween.  I pulled together a few things from my daughter's closet for the photos - i.e. her old Christmas tutu, a Valentine's day shirt, and one of our hair bows.  I just love taking the photos in my mom's garden.  The flowers are wild and just give so much color to our pics. 

I saw an idea a while ago for plush wings and I made it my own with some serious alterations.  First, I use fleece for my wings.  It is soft.  It doesn't run or snag.  Most importantly, it is made from recycled plastic bottles, so I feel like it is environmentally friendly as well. 

Five Little Ladybugs

Five little ladybugs climbing on some plants,
Eating the aphids, but not the ants.
The first one said, "Save some aphids for me."
The second one said, "They're as tasty as can be."
The third one said, "Oh they're almost gone."
The fourth one said, "Then we'd better move on."
The fifth one said, "Come on, let's fly!"

So they opened up their wings and they flew through the sky.

These little wings would be so cute for Halloween, Valentine's or a b-day party.  My daughter loves to wear them around the house.  If you don't want to go all glam glam you could go with a black skirt or pants and a plain top.  Totally cute. 

Fun With Monster Whales

The Whale


The whale is swimming out to sea,
Out to sea, out to sea,
The whale is swimming out to sea
Early in the morning.

The whale is diving far below,
Far below, far below,
The whale is diving far below,
Early in the morning.

The whale is coming up for air,
Up for air, up for air,
The whale is coming up for air,
Early in the morning.



I found this great little sing along song at www.canteach.ca.  My preschooler loves to learn new silly songs and finger plays to go along with my creations, so I was inspired by this little song to create a monster of a whale.