Measure up- Yardstick Projects

 

I am in the process of collecting vintage yardsticks. Here are some of the fun ideas I have come across:


Yardstick clad tables

Country Living

Reclaimed Crafts

Patina White

Yardstick Stair Tread-

Poppy Talk

Funky Junk Interiors

Yardstick Stars-  I could totally see these as part of my Christmas decor!

Mamie Janes

 

Mamie Janes

Lampshades

Roostliving

A Beautiful Mess

Sunburst Mirrors

 Budget Wise Home

 Craft Gossip

Frugal Decor Mom

Summer of Storytime Fun - Giggle, Giggle, Quack

By Doreen Cronin

 Lunch

Theme & tie to book	Activity	Details
Reading	Watch story video	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfontHcnZ_s&feature=related
Meal	Fun Lunch	Farmhouse sandwich with white bread bottom and wheat bread roof,  pretzel square window;  pretzel rod tree with broccoli top;  lunchmeat grass; Garden plot: pudding with cookie crumbs, green licorice plants. Duck pick: printed and cut out from internet search,  surrounded by petite celery sticks . baby carrots, and dill dip.
Meal, Days of the week recognition	Pizza Night (Tuesday)	Order pizza for dinner
Bubble Bath Sensory activity Day of week	Take a bubble bath or give toys a bubble bath (Wednesday)
Movie Night  Day of the week	Movie Night (Thursday)	Watch a movie with popcorn
Writing Skills	Write notes like duck	Write notes to mail out or give to someone at home.
Trip	Visit a farm	Go meet all the animals on a farm.
Links for more ideas

Summer of Storytime Fun - If You Give Pig A Party

My birthday is this week, so this book was a perfect fit.

If You Give A Pig A Party by Laura Numeroff

Theme & tie to book	Activity	Details
Number & color recognition	Coloring Activity Page	http://www.mousecookiebooks.com/activities/pdfs/pickthecorrectpig.pdf
Party & ice cream	Party
Pigs	Themed Meal	Piggy Sandwich:  open flatbread bun, w/slice of turkey face & circle of bologna nose, olive eyes and nostrils   Pig in the mud: Chocolate pudding,  1/2 pink marshmallow w/licorice tail. Fruit pick:  bananas and kiwi on plastic pick with paper pig topper made on silhouette machine. Watermelon pig: slice of watermelon with impression from vintage cookie cutter.
Activity	Hide and Seek	Play Hide and Seek
Activity	Blanket fort & Sleepover	Build a blanket fort and sleep in it!
	Online Matching Game	http://www.mousecookiebooks.com/games/matching/
Links for more ideas	http://geekettebits.com/for-kids-parents-educators/if-you-give-a-mouse-a-cookie-laura-numeroff-felicia-bond-activities/ http://www.bakingandboys.com/2009/05/z-for-zebra-cookies-and-p-for-pig.html  http://cuteyummytime.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/cute-piggy-bentos-teddy-bear-breads-kids-school-lunches/

Summer of Storytime Fun

I bumped into my neighbor at the grocery store today.  We chatted about our summer plans.  Me: swimming lessons and speech class.  Her:  She is thrilled to be finished working away from home and she and her kids will be living up their time together.  She mentioned field-trip Fridays as one example. That got me thinking. Why don't we do something fun daily each week centered around a storybook.  (inspired by this post over at Oopsey-Daisey- she will be posting a new theme every Friday.)

School gets out this week, so next week the fun will begin.  We will pick one storybook a week, read it, and then each weekday we will do some activity that fits the theme of the story.  I am going to try to integrate a field trip of some sort every week, as well as a fun themed lunch.  The other days will have an art, math, or science learning activity.   I will try to post them as soon as they are planned.  If I wait till we do it all and take pictures, things could get pretty behind! Stay tuned to see how it all plays out!

Baby "Shower"

We held a baby shower for my sister-in-law last weekend.  I put my silhouette machine to work.  Thanks to my wonderful mother and sisters-in-law who made it happen. (And if you girls have any pictures of the whole patio, I didn't get one in all the stir! Send it over and I'll add it.)

This is the entry to the patio,

Guests signed in by leaving their advice for the Mommy-to-be.

The buffet table:

It was a little breezy- the raindrops dangled and twirled- they looked great, the photos don't really do them justice.

 
Little cloud picks in the sandwiches.

Thanks for "dropping" by!

Creative kid's lunches

Little Miss S was talking about getting to eat lunch at school next year.  She is under the impression she can try the hot lunch every day and bring a backup cold lunch in case she doesn't like it.  I am inspired to find some creative cold lunch options for her.

I love the ideas served up by Kristen over at Cookie Cutter Lunch. 

We'll have to give some of her ideas a try this summer.   Here are links from the store where she buys her containers.  There are tons of mommy bloggers making bento style lunches.


Check out cutefoodforkids for tons of cute ideas, including this one little Miss T just called "hungry birds."  Appropriate, no?

Check out these other fun ideas:
MuffinTinMom
 
AnotherLunch
 
What's for Lunch at our house
 
Kitchen fun with my 3 sons

School Lunch ideas .comFamily Fun has some great ideas, including this one for a sandwich on a stick.




I also remember the idea to collect cute and fun paper napkins to tuck into school lunches.  And with that writing notes on the napkin from time to time.

My Fabric Rosettes

I have been loving the rolled/twisted fabric rosette tutorials and singed posie tutorials around the web.  I have been making them for everything!  They fit the vintage taste I am developing.


Here are some tutorials to get you started:
Posie Style:

• Make It and Love It
• Grace Laced
• I attached my layers and decorated the centers by stitching "X's" on my posies.  I wanted to avoid any small parts for use on baby items.

Rosette Style:
 

• My Sparkle
• Studio 5
• House of 3
• I used parts of different tutorials.  I folded the strip lengthwise and tied a knot for the centers, hot glued to a felt circle (or a spare piece of the same fabric) and maintained the fold while rolling and folding around the center.  I hot glued as I went, attaching it to the base.   Try these with satin type fabric for a fancy sheen and good fray, or jersey knit for a softer, more casual look.

Satin

Jersey Knit

ThickMuslin

What to do with them?  This batch is for baby headbands.  I made mine with velcro dots to make them easily interchangeable. Plus, no hard clips to scrape or poke little baby heads.  I have also seen them for bib necklaces (like on the Studio 5 link,) as pins to decorate scarves, purses, etc., made out of muslin and glued around lampshades, or to decorate pillowcases,the sky is the limit.  My first batch went to personalize my diaper bag, to help me discern it from my Sister's, since we both fell in love with the same one.

If you make some, I would love to hear how you used them.

Labeled Laundry Bins

I am trying to get our laundry system back in order before the new baby comes. It helps a lot having a kindergartner who is learning to read! This is my most recent project with my Silhouette machine. I love it.  Each bin is the perfect size for a load, so when one is full, we just dump it in. What laundry tricks do you use?

Thrift Store Cherubs

 I have been working on my Valentines decor for the Hutch.  I thought some kind of little cherub or cupid statue would be great, but didn't want to fork out the money to buy one.  I don't go to the thrift store often, but found myself there one random day. And I spent 50 cents a piece on these beauties.

 Why yes, that is some gold leaf type finish on there.

Out came the spray paint. Love that stuff!

The one on the left has been painted and glazed. The right one has only been painted.

 

One of the best days of my craft shopping career? The day I came across this can of mistinted glaze at the building supply store.

See the tannish gold color? that is what it was. I talked the guy at the paint counter into re-tinting it for me.  A nice shade of gray. It has been the perfect color for all my antiquing. And nothing beats a whole can for $2.50!

In the end, these two came out perfectly, and will make their grand appearance on an upcoming post of my Valentine hutch decor.