Alphabet posters

I've had my eye on various alphabet posters for quite some time now.  When it came time to move Blake into Hadley's bedroom, I decided that I'd finally buy one, but I couldn't make up my mind.  Here are a few that I like, all from Etsy.com:

 So, it's obviously numbers, not letters...but it's so cute!

Indecision won and I ended up going with alphabet cards instead, used as a border by the ceiling.  I love how they turned out, and I thought that it satisfied my inner desire to cover my kids' room in the ABC's.  Well, apparently I wasn't truly satisfied, because my heart skipped a beat when I saw this post on Design Mom.  I love this idea and I've been itching for a project, so I think I just might take this one on.

photo via designmom.com

Read the tutorial for more details, but basically it's a cheap plastic stencil (spray painted white), scraps of fabric, and an inexpensive Ikea frame.  Love it!

Silhouettes

Hadley and Blake, 2010

Last January, I made silhouettes of the kids after reading a tutorial online.  I framed them and they have lived on the mantle ever since.  I look at them multiple times a day and they always make me smile.  I decided to do new ones every January, as a nice, simple visual of how the kids are growing and changing.  I think there is something so classic and beautiful about them. 

Hadley and Blake 2011

2011 compared to 2010

Here's what I did:

1.  Take a profile picture of your child.  This is much easier said than done, as I learned that it is really, truly impossible for a 2 year old to sit still for more than 2 seconds.  I already knew that this was the case for a one year old, so no surprises there.  Here are a couple of pictures that from the photoshoot, while cute, had to be rejected:

2. Resize image to your preferred size; I used the paint program.  Alternatively, print your photo out.  

3.  Turn of the lights, tape a thin piece of printer paper to the computer screen, and trace around the child's profile.  

4. Staple the profile tracing to a piece of heavy black paper.  I used cardstock.  

5.  Cut out the profile, glue to white paper and frame.  

6. Cry when you realize how old your kids are getting.

Sew, it snowed in Boise today...

It snowed today.  Big, fat snowflakes.  They melted before they hit the ground and it only lasted a few minutes, but Hadley talked about it all day.  The kids watched with excitement from their bedroom window, then the living room window, then the kitchen, and finally out the backdoor.  When it was decided that this was the best viewing spot, Hadley announced, "I'm going to make a snowman!  Mom, I need boots and what I put on my hands?"

These mimitens mittens were on babysteals.com about a week ago and they sold out right away.  Apparently other parents love them, and they seem like a great idea to me.  Blake does not keep mittens (or shoes, or socks, or hats) on.  I think he'd still be able to pull these off, but at least at would take a little longer than normal.  The problem is, these gloves are $31 plus shipping and tax.  I'm hesitant to spend that kind of money on something that my kids might refuse to wear.

 I decided to break out my mad sewing skills and whip up my own version of toddler proof mittens, just in case we get a more substantial snowfall. A quick trip to Target for supplies, 15 minutes of cutting and sewing and we're in business!  Here's what I did:

I bought two pairs of toddler mittens ($5.99 each) and one pair of knee high socks ($2.00).  They had several cute patterns and colors of socks.  I bought white socks so they could be used for both kids, as I was thinking I would get two pieces out of each sock.  Well, I must have been distracted by Blake trying to climb out of the cart, or Hadley repeating, "Mom, we need mustard!" (what?), because you need a pair of socks for each pair of gloves.  I only used upper portion with the cuff, but I saved the foot part- I'm thinking they'll make a mean set of sock puppets.

Put the raw/cut end of the sock inside the cuff of the mitten, and start sewing.  It's hard to see from the picture, but I rolled the sock down to make it easier to sew.  

There you have it, the finished product.  Easy peasy.  Seriously, I can't sew and I'm not very crafty, so I was pretty proud of myself.  They certainly aren't as cute as the real thing, but for $7.99 they'll do.  

I still need to make Blake's pair.  I think I'll use an old pair of Tyler's socks instead of heading back to Target to buy new ones.  I'll post an update when the mittens go through a trial run.