Gift for Fellow Crafter

As we get older, it seems to be such a struggle to figure out what to give friends or family members as gifts.  Of course,  handmade gifts are always super special to the recipient.  However, sometimes LEARNING a craft can be a wonderful gift as well!

This year for my mom's birthday I signed us both up for jewelry-making class at Joann Fabric.  I had to check around at several stores, as they all seem to offer slightly different classes and schedules.  If you search for the location of a specific store location, you can download their class schedule online, which is quite convenient.  In my experience, the larger "superstores" offer a wider variety of classes and times than the smaller stores. 

Michaels also offers classes, but at the time I called them, they only were offering a scrapbooking and cake decorating class.  Unlike Joann, they do not offer their class schedule online. 

I made a card for my mom stating what the gift was (obviously I had to check with her before booking the class to ensure she was available).  I definitely could have been more creative with the card, but was pressed for time.  

With the card, I framed a picture of my mom and my daughter, so I could actually give her something tangible (and somewhat sentimental). 

She loved the gift and we both look forward to spending time together learning how to make jewelry! 

Baby's New Room

We are expecting our second baby girl in less than three months, which will make she and her sister only 18 months apart!  While it will be very exciting to have two girls so close in age, it is also a little nerve racking.  We have started to get the baby's room in order, but I feel that I'm falling a little behind.  The crib and dresser are set up and I have picked out the bedding (we are keeping the double bed in the baby's room).  My plan is to coordinate the crib bedding with the quilt set I got for the double bed.  While I haven't taken any pictures of the bedding set up in Baby Girl II's room, I found some pictures of the set online. 

Since I wasn't able to find any wall art to match the set, I decided to make my own!  The picture below will go above the dresser (I sent it away to get it printed in 16"x24"):

I am not yet sure how I am going to hang the photo - whether I will frame it or adhere it to canvas and hang it with ribbon.  I also created and ordered three complementary prints that will match (each measuring 12"x16") that I plan to hang above the double bed.  I will post pics when the prints come in and I finally figure out how I'm going to hang them.  Total price of all prints:  $15 (including shipping)!  I ordered them through Artscow during one of their many promotions.  I have ordered 4"x6" and 5"x7" prints as well as photobooks, coasters, and tote bags through the company and been very satisfied with the products.  However, I have never ordered "poster size" prints so I am anxious to see the quality. 

Coloring and Activity Pages

While on Facebook this evening, I saw a friend had posted how much she loved Color Wonder paint.  Having never heard of it, I decided to Google it to find out what it's all about.  The "paint" is clear, but magically appears on special paper.  Gone are the days of set up and clean up...where we had to wear smocks and worry about staining our clothes.

While on the Crayola website, I browsed around to see what other craft ideas they had to offer.  I happened upon the "Coloring Pages" section, which was actually quite impressive - well organized with not just coloring pages but also activity pages.  From puzzles and games to cut and color, they have quite a variety to choose from.  The beauty of it is that you can print them all at home for free, stick them in a binder, and save them for a rainy day.

Activities for Children

Although I am not a full time stay at home, I am always after ideas of little projects I can do with my daughter when she gets to the age where she has the dexterity and understanding of what we are doing.  I happened upon this wonderful website called No Time For Flashcards.  The woman who authors the web site also writes for other parenting blogs and offers some very creative and fun projects for parents and kids to do in order to enhance learning.  You can subscribe to the website via email or Twitter.  I subscribe via email and receive daily emails that I file away for a rainy day.