45 Minutes a Day: Ideas to Occupy a Six Year Old

My grandson, Mr. B., is now SIX (gasp!). I've noticed over the past few months that he seems overly interested in mildly violent things - video games, YouTube videos, TV shows. Anything that has fight scenes and blood, and he's on it. His mom monitors what he's watching and playing, but if people are playing video games in the room he is in... he's watching. If they are watching movies or TV shows that may not be age appropriate for a 6 year old while he's around... he's watching and/or listening. Grandma's opinion is that if he is introduced to other things, his interest can be swayed in other directions. So that's what I'm working on.

I babysit Mr. B. after school each day, but only for about 45 minutes. (We've come a long way from the 10 hour days of babysitting!). So I've looked for activities we can do after school each day to try and find new things to interest him.

On Monday, we built a kit called a Dinosaur Dome. I just happened to see this kit in the CVS Discount aisle for 75% off a few weeks ago, and thought I'd get it and put it away for a day we needed something to do. It was fun! You re-hydrate what looks like peat moss, then put a "dinosaur plant" in a "rehydration chamber" (plastic cup), then arrange lava rocks and red pebbles for your scenery, then plant palm and pine tree seeds in the spot you think they'd look best. The kit includes a dinosaur figure and a dinosaur skull to place where you want. I supervised and read the instructions out loud, but let Mr. B. do every bit of the work, and he really enjoyed it. Every day after school he checks it to see if we need to add water. We're looking forward to the seeds sprouting and growing our own palm tree! LOL

We also practiced his "sight words" for first grade. His "prize" for spelling 20 of the words correctly was (shout this as loud as you can:) THE WORLD'S BIGGEST HUG! YAY! OK, so he thought at first that wasn't a great prize... but once he spelled his words right and his grandmother chased him around the house a few times to give him his "prize"... he was good :)

On Tuesday, I told Mr. B. I had a BIG job for him to help me with. Cleaning out the kitchen junk drawer! Now this may not sound like fun to you, but to a six year old, a well-filled junk drawer is nothing short of a treasure trove. His job was to empty the drawer, and sort "like with like" -- pens in the pen holder, toys in a pile, tools in a pile to go to the garage, etc. He had a ball. He discovered several magnifying glasses, and played with those for awhile. He found a Lego guy he'd been missing, along with a Flash figure and some plastic animals. He played with all those for quite awhile (though sadly, it got violent). There were bunches of rubber bands, so I got to show him how to shoot those (wait, is that considered violent?? LOL ). He got to stick thumbtacks in a piece of cardboard for me, and use the tiny screwdriver on a tiny screw in a tiny thingamabob we found in the drawer. Again, it took the entire 45 minutes to get the drawer cleaned out, items put away in other rooms, and appropriate items returned to the drawer in an organized fashion. He got to discover new things (magnifying glasses, rubber band shooting) and learned a lesson on organizing (sort like with like).

A success! This was a fun painting project.

Today, Wednesday, I have a craft activity planned. We found some marbles in the junk drawer, so I will lay some art paper in a flat, low-sided box, and let him dip the marbles in (washable) paint and roll them around on the paper in the box to make some beautiful art. We haven't had paint out in awhile, so I do think he'll enjoy this. We can learn about how colors mix to make new colors while we're doing it.

For the rest of the week, I plan to do some baking with him on Thursday. He loves to make bread with me, so I think we'll do that -- but this time without the bread machine. Get those kneading muscles working! I probably ought to look up information on yeast and how it makes bread raise, because I'm pretty sure that will be one of his hundred million questions! I also found several cookie recipes that do not have eggs (he's highly allergic), so I hope we have time to make cookies too. If not, that will move to Friday's activities.

On Friday, he is spending the night with us. Jeff and I both need some Mr. B. time! I will go to the library ahead of time and get some books on dinosaurs that we can read together at bed time. And I'll look for a fun, not-too-babyish!, movie to watch. Perhaps The Lorax, though we saw it in the movies. We'll also play horseshoes and have a campfire outside, which he absolutely loves. He'll roast the marshmallows, but won't eat them. (I told you - he is the world's fussiest eater!) I don't care for them, so it looks like Umpa will eat his share and everyone else's.

On Saturday, Umpa is taking him up to the Air Force Museum in Dayton for the day. This is Umpa and Mr. B's favorite day trip, and they will be gone for most of the day. For anyone who lives in the Dayton/Cincinnati area and hasn't been to this (free) museum -- you are seriously missing a great educational, family-oriented museum.

As Mr. B's grandmother, I need to work at introducing him to new things and help him create a variety of interests. Whether it's a household chore or a leaf rubbing, a game of rubber band target practice or how to do laundry -- it's all fun to a six year old. At this age, I don't think he should be on the computer, playing video games, or watching TV for long periods of time, so for my 45 minutes, I've decided to do my best to get him focused on other, more fun and age-appropriate things!

If anyone has ideas or web links for age-appropriate crafts or activities, I'd love to start a reference list on here, so please share!


Life is good -- and it's even better when you get to give THE WORLD'S BIGGEST HUG - YAY! to your grandchild!

Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do.
Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust over the lives of little children.
 -- Alex Haley

My Quilted Fabric Christmas PostCards

I'm feeling good about where I am in Christmas preparations. Shopping is done. I believe stocking stuffers are done, but I need to go over them and see what exactly is there (I've been buying stocking stuffers for the past three months and I tend to forget exactly what I've bought!). My quilted fabric Christmas postcards are finally done and ready to go to the post office tomorrow. I am absolutely thrilled with how these turned out - a little work of fabric art on each card. I finally attempted to use my printer to print on fabric (much easier than I thought it would be), which really gave me a wider range of embellishments to use on the cards than just fabric. I admit, there is something about precision sewing that just appeals to me. The slower I have to go and the more precise I have to be, the more focused I am on the task at hand, and the happier I am. Go figure.

Mr. B and I have been Christmas shopping for our toy for charity, but the concept of a child not getting toys is difficult to explain to a 4 yr old who believes whole-heartedly in Santa! That whole experience didn't go quite as well as I'd planned.

Today I start house decorations. Our tree will go up, the boxes come up from the basement and it will probably take me most of the upcoming week to unload all the Christmas candles (I've been collecting for 32 years!), but I'm looking forward to it. Mr. B. has never seen my Christmas candles! For the past few years I've not gotten them out because he was too young to understand not to touch something so cute. We have already previewed a few boxes of them in the basement, and he understood how delicate they can be, so this year is the year. I should count them at some point, but I believe I have around 300 candles - from nativity scenes to trains, penguins to nutcrackers, towns and trees, from one-half inch tall to two feet. It's an exceptional collection! I will be sure and take photos to post here.

Mr. B's first school Christmas program is also this week. How exciting! I wish we had a digital video recorder so I could post his big event!

I've yet to plan out the upcoming week, but it will mostly involve wrapping presents and getting them off to the post office and decorating the house. Jeff's birthday is Tuesday, but we're delaying celebrating it until the weekend, as this is one of those "hell week's" at work for him, and it's all he can do to take time off to go to Mr. B's school program on Tuesday night.

Christmas preparations, so far, have been calm and orderly and completely stress-free. Whether it was writing down the To Do List or deciding not to make home-made gifts this year, I'm not sure. (Though I admit, I did make a few!) Whether it remains calm is yet to be seen!

Enjoy your week!

Easy Christmas Craft for Preschoolers

I am trying to do at least one Christmas craft project a week with Mr. B. when he's here, and this week we did a fun project - a "stained glass window" decoration.

I found the original idea at Midwest Mom's blog. We did it slightly different because Mr. B. didn't have the patience to gently place individual squares of tissue paper. He's got another cold and wasn't feeling all that great, so we did the speedy version.

I cut out two candles and surrounding circles (cut as one piece) from black construction paper, then layed one on top of clear contact paper, and cut the contact paper the same size as the outer circle. Mr. B. used a shaker to sprinkle silver glitter (I would have used gold, but didn't have any handy). Then we tore up white and green tissue paper and Mr. B. simply dumped it on top of the contact paper and pressed it down with his hand. When the contact paper was covered, I placed the second construction paper candle with matching contact paper on top, and voila! We have the prettiest window decoration!

The GiveAway I *really* want to win!

Etsy is one of my favorite web sites these days -- whether I'm over there clicking to find unique fabric (Japanese fabric has become one of my new favorites) or to find unique Christmas gifts or, heck, just for inspiration or to wile away some time... Etsy has everything. What do you collect? You'll find it on Etsy! Have someone on your shopping list that already has one of everything? You'll find something unique for them on Etsy. Trust me on this one - Etsy is an amazing way to shop from unique artists and find unique products.

So.... when I found this Etsy giveaway, I knew I had to do everything possible to win it. In fact, just writing this blog article about the giveaway makes me eligible for five more entries. Ooooohhhh... I really want to win this one.

The GiveAway is called the 2010 Holiday Gift Guide & GiveAway. The prize is an enormous and varied assortment of gifts from Etsy - and I love every single one of them. From a "Chunky Monkey Flap Hat" to an "Elephant Sewing Kit". From the "Custom Alphabet Print" to the "Modern Bird Dessert Pedestal" - I just love them all. Value of the prizes - $470!!!!

You can enter the giveaway yourself by clicking here and following instructions. Good luck to me!

Time to get ready for colder weather...

Cold weather really snuck up on us quickly this year. Last week we were in the 50s and 60s all week, and this week is forecast to be in the low 50's. (That's 10 to 15 degrees colder than normal for southwestern Ohio.) So I have planned several To Do Projects this week to get ready for Fall and (ack!) Winter. -- Put fabric slipcovers on family room furniture. Our sofa and chairs in the family room are leather. There's nothing worse than sitting down on cold leather in the winter! So I have fabric slipcovers that get put on to "warm them up" a bit. I will also put out different colored pillows, and get the throws and lap quilts out. Getting ready for snuggle weather! -- Clean out both closets in master bedroom. Time to move the summer clothes out and put the sweaters and jackets and long-sleeved shirts in. Also time to get rid of some old shoes and purses that have been around way too long. I'll make a list of clothes I need (sweaters this year, I think) and watch for sales. -- Get out duvet cover with down quilt and put on master bedroom bed. Switch lace curtains to draperies. -- Put away wicker rocking chair from front porch. Clean front porch, windex storm door and window surround. Put out Fall decorations. -- Replace lace table cloth in dining room with heavier cloth, put out Fall dining table decorations. I think that's it for the seasonal stuff. Also on my To Do List this week is to clean out my kitchen cabinets and put down new shelving paper. Jeff is going off on a trip next week, and honestly, I'm considering painting my kitchen cabinets while he's gone. Big debate. They are currently oak stained cabinets, and I'm thinking they would look great in either white or slightly off white. With a glass tile back splash! I have a friend that just painted her very dark wood cabinets, so I need to get over there and see what they look like before deciding if I'm going to do mine. Has anyone tried this? Do they come out looking like nice cabinets, or simply old cabinets repainted? I have Mr. B on Wednesday and Friday this week. I went to Michael's yesterday and purchased a t-shirt and some fabric paints so we can do a spider (hand print) T-shirt this week. I found the project on Michael's web site.

Swap-bot Penny Pocket Swap

I'm hostessing my first swap on Swap-Bot. It's a Penny Pocket Swap! Penny Pockets are small fabric pockets used for decoration or cute storage. The photo above is one I made to hold buttons for a recent vintage button swap. These are quick and simple to make. You can find more photos at The Happy Zombie's web site, and a complete pattern from Happy Zombie here. In this swap, you will receive one partner's name and mailing address, and you will mail your partner 3 penny pockets in coordinating colors and fabrics. Although the original pattern doesn't call for a hanging loop on the top of the Penny Pocket, the swap does. You must use the pattern given, but you can embellish your pocket, add a button, lace, ric rac -- whatever you think your partner will like after you've read their profile. Sewing machine is required. The swap is open to USA folks only. Sign up by Feb. 15, 2009, and mail the pockets out by March 8, 2009. If you're not a member of swap-bot, it's easy to join! New members find it hard to get into swaps (most don't allow "newbies") but this one is open to newbies as well, so it's a good way to get your foot in the door at Swap-Bot. Come have some fun with me!

Trying new crafts

I tried my hand at some Christmas postcards. I've not done postcards before, and enjoyed the process, but found it a little more time consuming than I thought it would be! Brayden and I worked together on the "fancy stitches" Christmas ornaments, and came out nicer than anticipated (don't you love when that happens?). I'm using them for name tags (below) as well as Christmas ornaments for the tree. In both projects I used a product called "Stiffy" that I found at the Long Creek Mills web site. It's far less expensive than TimTex or Fast2Fuse, at $1.79 a yard vs $15 and $5 a yard (on sale it's $1.29 a yard! even better!) It has a nice firmness to it that was perfect for both projects, yet it's thin and lightweight so it doesn't add bulk to the postcards. Sorry about the dates on the photos -- I changed my camera battery last night!!

Quilting, sewing, making lists

I finished another quilt top last night. Wow -- is that actually TWO in one week? That may be a record for me -- or simply the fact that I suddenly realized Christmas is a little more than two weeks away! The one I completed last night is a nap-cuddle up on the couch quilt for Brayden. Cutting and sewing the quilt only took me about six hours -- but choosing the colors -- lordy, that took me two days! Almost 3 yr old Brayden is all about propellers lately, so I'm going to quilt the spinning wheels with propeller shapes (it makes sense in my head -- not so much in words!) The Pine Tree Quilt should be completed tonight. Just have to hand sew on the binding, and I'll do that while I watch TV tonight. (The last episode of The Amazing Race is on the DVR waiting for me!) I finished the socks I wanted to get done, and those all get mailed out this week. No photos -- family reads the blog. Really all I have left to do for homemade gifts are two quick wallets to "gussy up" gift cards. Maybe three. Oh, and an Mp3 player case. Or two of those. Shoot -- I need to quit thinking. The more I think, the more gifts to make I come up with... This is a busy busy week for me, with the exception of today. Today I will spend at least an hour cleaning my quilt room. It's gotten messy from the sewing that's gone on lately, and once it gets messy, I don't want to go in it. So clean it I shall! (Can you hear that determination in my voice?) (No, I didn't think so.) The rest of the afternoon will be spent sewing. Tomorrow is hopefully my last day of shopping. I really only have stocking stuffers left, plus gifts for my daughter but if she doesn't give me some ideas soon, she's going to get a lump of coal a gift card. Wednesday and Friday, of course, I'm babysitting for Brayden. We'll be making those white felt Christmas ornaments I showed in a previous post (scroll down). Brayden will sit on a stool beside me at the sewing machine for hours IF he can help me with pushing the buttons on the sewing machine. I have a Janome 6600P computerized machine, so there are a LOT of buttons he can push for me! With this craft I will let him select the decorative stitches we use, and we should be able to knock out a whole bunch of these sweet ornaments! My husband will be on vacation Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week, so he'll be around to help with Brayden. Ha! Who am I kidding? Brayden would rather spend time glued to "Umpa" than with any other person in this world. I will hardly even see them! Hear them? Yes. See them? Not so much. I won't be able to sew unless Jeff takes Brayden out somewhere... which I will suggest. Jeff's birthday is this Sunday, and his birthday dinner choice is lasagna and garlic bread. Much of Saturday will be spent cooking, since Lasagna is always better the second day. I make a GREAT lasagna, taught to me by an elderly Italian lady more than 25 years ago. I'll write it down as I make it and post it here next week. Worth coming back for! On Sunday after the birthday dinner and opening presents, I hope we (Jeff, myself, daughter Mary and grandson Brayden) will pile into the car and head to a local park that has a wonderful drive-through, old-fashioned Christmas light display, and then get Brayden's photo taken with Santa. Hopefully, he won't scream like he did last year. Hopefully.

Quick Christmas crafts for your sewing machine

I wish I could say I come up with great creative ideas on my own -- but I don't. I read a web site called Dollar Store Crafts and am constantly amazed at how creative people think of the things they do. Me? I'm a follower in world of craft ideas. Give me a pattern or written instructions, and I'm good to go. But don't ask me to think of them on my own! I have several blogs I go to on a regular basis just because they are THAT KIND of creative crafter -- they do the thinking and let me do the copying. Today was one of those slap-my-forehead and why-didn't-I-think-of-that days, when I saw this Christmas tree ornament (or gift tag if your sewing machine can embroider names!) on a website called Craftlog: Alright, how easy is that? In fact, I'm going to do this project with my grandson, and take advantage of his love for my sewing machine. Or how about these little Scrappy Tree ornaments (or, again, gift tags) from the afore-mentioned Dollar Store Crafts web site: I think a little jingle bell sewn to the bottom of the tree would add another degree of "cuteness" to this project! A big thank you to all you creative bloggers out there who take the time to make tutorials to go with your wonderful creations! You make the rest of us look so darn creative too!

Quick Craft - but so cute!

Cruising the web (again) and found a great blog called "Insightful Nana". First, I fell in love with the name, then I fell in love with the web site! And then I fell in love with this great inexpensive craft for a Christmas gift idea. Perfect for stocking stuffers, teacher gifts, or just to give a friend a little something... These little magnets are made from mason jar caps, black spray paint, and glued on magnets. The adorable center graphic? A FREE printable offered on Insightful Nana's blog! You can find them here. I'm sure Brayden could help me with these, but I think I'm going to have a little craft night to myself, and make some of these up to include in cookie baskets for the neighbors.

Christmas Crafts for Toddlers

'Tis the season - for Toddler Crafts! Christmas was always my favorite time of year to do crafts with my kids. So I'm looking forward to doing some crafts with almost-3-year-old grandson Brayden. There are so many ideas on the Internet -- and so many ways to display his "art work" -- hanging it on the Christmas tree, garlands on the mantle, hanging on the front door, or even outside in the trees for the birds. I've been looking around the 'net for good Toddler activities, and found several I plan on trying with Brayden. My favorite, hanging Christmas ornaments for Birds, is from "Kids Craft Weekly" -- a free newsletter I get in email every week. You can subscribe here. You can also purchase a copy of her ebook Christmas Crafts for $5.00 (PayPal). If her newsletter is any indication of what's in this Christmas Craft book, I'd say it's a good buy! OR you can sign up for a Giveaway of 10 copies of this book at The Crafty Crow. Christmas Ornament for the Birds General directions (it's copyrighted, so you'll have to subscribe to the newsletter to get more specific directions or photos!) From slightly thawed frozen pie crust dough (rolled out flat), use Christmas cookie cutters to cut out shapes. Poke a hole in the top for adding ribbon later. Brush cut-outs with beaten egg yolk, and then press bird seeds and nuts onto the shape. Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes or until lightly brown. Cool completely, add ribbon, and hang outside to decorate the trees for the birds! I'm thinking we could also do cookie dough cut-out Christmas trees with M&Ms for decorations and a ribbon to hang on our tree. Easy Gift for Friends and Family I also want to help Brayden make Christmas gifts for family and friends. He needs to know the joy of giving before the "gimme gimmies" set in in a few years. Read a good article titled "Helping Toddlers Learn about Sharing at Christmas time" here. His gift to others will be a desk calender made from his art work. I saw this idea on a crafty mother's blog, but I simply can't find it again to give credit where credit is due. But here's what I'm planning for Brayden's gift to others. We're combining his fingerpainting artwork, an acrylic frame, a calender and sticky notes to make the desk calender. We're using smaller two-photo acrylic frames (that stand up and bend in the middle) for the base, putting Brayden's art work inside the frame, then attaching sticky mini-calenders on one side, and sticky notes on the other. Brayden's fingerpainting is done and dry, and I'll cut out and put the "art work" in the frames, then have Brayden help me stick on the calender and notes. An option would be to put both the calendar and the sticky-notes on one side, and Brayden's photo on the other... we'll see! This is a very low-cost Christmas present! As you can see by the sticker, I found the frames for .59 cents at a dollar store, the mini-calendars were $2.00 for 10 and the sticky-notes have come from my desk! Christmas Card I'm going to keep this one simple. Brayden is not yet old enough to cut with scissors with any accuracy, however, he can brandish a glue stick with the best of 'em! I will cut out white circles of different sizes from construction paper, as well as snowman hats and carrot noses. I purchased a package of small googley eyes. Hopefully some time before Christmas Brayden and I can get outside and make our first snowman so he knows what a snowman is! Then we will make simple construction paper Christmas cards, letting him glue on the pre-cut shapes and eyes to make a snow man for the cover. As I'm writing this I'm thinking I might introduce him to the fine art of using a paper punch, and have him punch out circles from different colored construction paper, and I'll cut out a Christmas tree. He can glue on the tiny circles to decorate the tree on the front of the card! Sewing Activity I've mentioned before that Brayden and I sew on my sewing machine frequently. He's very good at it (he's a pro! He's been on my lap at the sewing machine since he was 6 months old!) and is excellent at keeping his hand away from the needle at all times. I thought I would cut out some mitten shapes from fabric or muslin scraps, and Brayden could help me sew them together, leaving a small gap which we can stuff with -- jingle bells, Christmas-y spices or catnip (for a gift for Joey the Killer Cat). We could add a ribbon to hang, and possibly use the glue stick again to put some glitter on the front (not for the catnip one, obviously). Holiday Sewing Cards - from FamilyPlayandLearn.com Cut the fronts off greeting cards. Punch holes around the edges of the cards and tie a shoestring to one of the holes. Let toddlers use the cards to learn to 'sew' Reindeer Paper bag Puppet - from FamilyPlayandLearn.com You'll need a brown paper lunch bag, construction paper, glue, red pom poms, felt markers, and googly eyes. Leave the bag closed. Put your hand inside to make a puppet. Now, put your puppet on a table and take your brown construction paper. Trace your hand and cut out the shape to make antlers. Glue the antlers to the top of the puppet. Glue a red pom pom for a nose and googly eyes onto your puppet. With markers, draw a mouth and any other reindeer stuff you want on your puppet! Glitter Bells - from PreschoolEducation.com Need: Cereal Box,Glue, Glitter, Ribbon or Yarn, Misc. Craft Items - such as fabric scraps, beads, etc. Directions: Cut bell shapes out of light weight cardboard. Put the glitter in a plastic sandwich bag. Paint the bell shape with glue, put it in the bag with the glitter and shake until it is coated. Make as many as you want. Let the bells dry. Poke a hole in the top and tie bells together, letting each one hang down about 5-6 inches. You can also decorate with misc. craft items. Glittery Pinecones - from AssociatedContent.com These enchanting ornaments will add an outdoorsy touch to your Christmas decor. And your toddler will be so proud to have his own ornaments hanging from the Christmas tree. Materials: Pinecones of any size Glue Red, green, silver, and gold glitter Coordinating ribbon or string Directions: Either collect pinecones outside or purchase them at a craft store. Let your toddler> drizzle pinecone with glue; then sprinkle with or roll in glitter. Tie a ribbon or string to top of pinecone. Jingle Jingle Jingle! A favorite of my kids when they were ages 6 months to about 4 years -- just tie a few jingle bells on a string, attach the string to each of your child's shoelaces. And watch them dance and jump and stomp and jingle! Other Christmas craft ideas Snowman ornament Brown paper bag Gingerbread men Printables Find the Difference in the two pictures of Christmas items Simple Christmas Tree to Color Simple Snowman to Color Basic Christmas Shapes - Angels, Bells, Snowflakes, Christmas Tree and more. Bookmark this one for your own craft ideas!

Christmas Tree quilt almost finished

Wow - it's been way too long since the Quilt Bug bit around here. But bite it finally did! I'm almost finished with this wallhanging for my family room -- just need to finish tying the tree squares (I like the dimension the tying adds to the tree - the off white background is actually machine quilted, and the tree outline-quilted to give it some more dimension.), and add a bit of machine quilting to the outer border, then add the binding. Can you see my major mistake?? (Click on the photo to view a larger image.) I put in a "knife edge" narrow red border before adding the dark brown border, and didn't realize it was going to hide the top of my tree! I appliqued in this little red bird: The off-white background is already machine quilted, I just need to do some quilting on the borders and add the binding. I may actually finish this one! There's a link to this free pattern on my Quilting on a Budget blog -- look at the posting for November 25th.

My crafty project for the Kitchen

I was cruising around the Budget Decorating blog on About.com, and saw the cutest idea for hanging up measuring spoons. I fell in love instantly. This is truly my kind of decorating! My kitchen is decorated in a coffee motif. I actually collect electric percolators (anyone remember those??) from the 1940's through 1960's, and have other coffee paraphanalia around the kitchen. (By the way -- "collect" means I buy them if I can find them for $2 or under at flea markets, yard sales, estate sales, etc.!) So I headed to Ebay to see if I could find a coffee pot or tea pot picture frame. No luck. But I did find this: And fell in love with it -- except for the rafia and the curly-cue wirey thingie on the top. The sign arrived in yesterday's mail. It is 8 x 9.5 inches and the colors are just perfect for my kitchen. Hi ho hi ho -- a'crafting I go... and gather up 5 small cuphooks and a picture hanging hook, and a pair of wire cutters. Snip! Off came the rafia and curly-cue wirey thingie on top. Luckily, the frame is made of soft pine, so I didn't need to pre-drill the holes for the cup hooks. Just a ruler to figure out how to space them across the bottom. And now I have this hanging in my kitchen over the sink!

Sweet little sewing project

Here's a very sweet sewing project found at The Stitching Room blog -- she calls it a Thread Holder and has a complete tutorial on this quick craft. I was trying to think of other uses for it, and can see it as a holder for a tiny potted plant or potted herb. Or use some bright Mexican or Southwest themed fabrics to hold a planted cactus. Halloween fabric - a tiny party candy holder? Bandana fabrics - condiment holders for a picnic? For a cat lover, use kitty fabrics for a cat treat holder? Fill it with paperclips on your desk? Can you think of any more uses? Of course, you could always use for a thread holder!

Let's get a little crafty

I should be grocery shopping, but am waiting for Jeff to [get the lead out] get out of the shower because he wants to go to the library with me. So, I've been cruising around blogs, and found a great tutorial on how to make fabric covered switch plates! This is SO easy and would add a wonderful whimsical touch to any room.

This quick little craft takes just the smallest amount of fabric, and the tutorial shows how to do this without puckers around the middle of the plate. Generously shared by Pink Chalk Studios web site.

I can already see how appropriate this would be in my quilt room! If you try it, post a photo on your blog and let me know and I'll link to you.