DIY | Lego Story Book

The Star Wars obsession continues and the newest facet of it is a passion for Star Wars mini figs. On our 9 day family holiday these mini figures are the only thing they played with and could hold their attention for hours!

Earlier this week I received a free 8x8 Shutterfly photo book through Wyndham Rewards and this morning decided that it was definitely time to make our first Lego Star Wars story book of our own.

Coming soon to our bookshelf.... "Anakin's Rescue" by Kai Willms!

As an ELA teacher I have dreamed of the day of publishing my kids' stories so needless to say I was quite excited about the project. I started by teaching a kindergarten version of the plot sequence.

Summed up it was pretty much, "We need to decide who is in the story and where they are. Then something bad has to happen or we need a problem and then your character has to fix it." Capeesh?

As Kai started the story I wrote it down word for word and then we started staging pictures with their mini figs. Sometimes he would create the picture next and then tell me about the picture after. We just went with the flow.

When we finished I edited all the pics for colour and a bit of cropping. For the cover I used the magnetic lasso to "cut out" Kai's Anakin ship and put it on a black background with text. Easy peasy.

On one page Darth Sidious is using Sith lightning and I just drew the lightning on the picture with the pencil tool and got Kai's approval.

Using Shutterfly was pretty easy once I figured out the system. I stuck with the Modern Black theme and used a full page picture and then one page for tex in each 2 page layout.

You can check out his full book at the link below!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books offer a wide range of artful designs and embellishments to choose from.

DIY | Tapestry Table

As soon as I saw this preschool Tapestry Table on Pinterest I knew I was going to make one for my kids as soon as possible. It was a quick afternoon project and the kids and I both love using it!

Supplies:
- 2 (8ft) 2 x 2's
- 8 screws (2 1/2 inch and 3 inch)
- Burlap

The total project cost for me was $6. 2 x 2's are around $1.99 each usually, I had the screws and I found a bag of burlap for wrapping trees for $2 at Walmart.

Cut list:
- (2) 3 foot lengths
- (2) 2 foot lengths
- (4) 8 inch lengths

After cutting the above pieces I just screwed the frame together.

The girl one loves power tools but she got the sanding job - just like I did as a kid working with my Dad :)

I used the four 8" lengths as legs and screwed them inside the from the edge a bit to avoid having screws run into each other. A 2x2 is not very large and if you center the screw it can be tough to get another screw in their. It'll either hit the screw or split the wood.

The burlap I found. Burlap is usually pretty cheap, even not on sale.

Using my trusty electric staple gun I stretched the burlap over the frame and stapled it down and taught.

I had bought a package of plastic needles last year and we use them for lacing and such so we had them on hand. I let the kids raid my yarn stash, choose their colours and I cut roughly 30 " lengths for them to "sew" with. 

To start their yarn I would have them put it through the burlap and I just tied it to itself around the burlap. Whenever it ran out I'd just tie the next piece of yarn onto the last one and let them keep going. It makes for simple transitions.

What I love so much is that this simple table is the perfect authentic way to teach toddlers and young children how to use a needle and thread and to sew. The holes in the burlap are large allowing them for them to move in and out of the fabric with ease. They can see through it to understand what is happening with their "thread". It's wonderful for fine motor skills and they learn quickly how to hold a needle and thread so that the yarn doesn't keep slipping out.

My kids love to just randomly sew on the table but the boy one of course wanted to make an Anakin. I talked him through how to stitch his stick figure and the light saber and he was so pleased with the results. It was great for following instructions too!

I helped the girl one create a flower.

What I also love is how my kids can use anything to tell a story. The blues are the waves of the ocean and then we had Anakin with his light saber. The next day when we went back to sewing he sewed a "cage" over Anakin and created a story about how General Greivous was putting him away, etc.
Such wonderful imaginations!

I can't wait to see how their tapestries develop. Ours is already getting pretty full. It would be easy to take the legs off and hang on the wall for a time stretched on the frame or you could even take it off and  hang it on it's own.

DIY | Random Quilting

Last summer I was lucky enough for my Grandma to pass on this amazing quilt that she had made from all of her scraps back in the day.

I love it. When I spied it in the closet of blankets I was instantly drawn to its randomness, carefree attitude and whimsy. It's such a happy piece and filled with so many happy memories in each of the fabrics and what the larger section of them was crafted into.

Costumes, outfits, doll clothes, curtains, etc. It's all there. I've been studying the quilt, trying to figure out how I could replicate it. The other night I had the sudden urge and motivation to dive into my scraps bin and just roll with it. Now I'm a little bit addicted.

This random, piece it together as you go, no measuring style of sewing has been one of the most liberating and fun sewing experiences I've had!

All I did was grab a handfull from my stash and ironed each piece out. Then I sat my pile next to my machine, grabbed two pieces and placed them good sides facing with edges together and sewed a seam.  Then I would grab another piece and do the same thing. Every few pieces I'd quickly run the iron over them to flatten it all out and then keep going. So fun!

Once I got to a piece about this size I'd stop and start again with a new section to keep it manageable on my table.

If I had a piece that wasn't lining up great and puckering a bit I would just iron the "pucker" down and sew a top stitch over it. Viola - easy fix!

Once I'd have a few pieces all ending at the same place roughly I'd lay a strip along them all and sew it.

Then you flip it over and it looks like this. (I didn't sew this, just folded for the picture.)



I learned as I continued that in order to not just have a bunch of strips I would at times need to lay a piece of fabric along a section diagonally and sew the seam and then just cut the excess of the underlaying fabric.

As you can see it's a big mess on the backside but who cares - it'll be covered!



I couldn't believe how fast the process was. After only a couple of hours I had 4 or 5 large sections done and when I put them all together it's a big chunk of what I hope will be a quilt.

It's such a gratifying project because it moves quickly and you get to use all the pretty fabrics that you love and piece them all together into something new and unique. The smash up of fabrics makes me super happy to look at and evokes a whole new set of memories and fondness.

Already there are bits of Elsie, the kids room, vintage sheets, my bedroom pillows, little boy aprons and little girl skirts. 

Happy, happy, happy. 

3 is Fabulous!

My baby is 3. She is a fabulous 3. Apparently 3 year olds never look directly into a camera lens. That's so 2.

I am so proud of who this little girl is. She is fiesty, strong, sweet, gentle, kind, empathetic, passionate, funny, smart and persistent. She's a whole bundle of awesome.

It struck me the other day how grateful Hannah is, I was a bit sobered to realize I was just now catching on to her immense spirit of gratitude. She eats virtually every meal with out complaint, she exclaims to me multiple times a day "Mommy - I'm not coughing! I'm not sick!" After a long winter of every virus she is so thankful to be healthy. It doesn't get old for her. Wow. Randomly throughout the day she will grab something we've bought or made her (even it was a month ago) and squeal, "Mommy you made this for me? You made this for meeeeeee! Thank you!"
I need to be grateful like Hannah.

I love how creative she is in her humour and that she has literally an endless repertoire of facial expressions. She is always making us laugh and amazes us with her impersonations. My current favourites are definitely Yoda and Kung Fu Panda. She is fierce!

I adore how she loves Bear. I treasure every little conversation she has with him that I am lucky enough to eavesdrop on.
"Bear! Did you miss me? I missed you too. You had to stay here so you're safe and don't get lost. It's O.K. I'm home now."

She loves to play with her friends and any new kids she meets but at some point will always end up on her own for a little bit. Deeply immersed in imagination and fully content. She'll often sit and create characters out of her little hands. They run all over and talk to each other. I wish I could be in her head sometimes. It's so sweet.

She loves to learn. Loves to read. Loves to sing. Loves to dance.

I'm amazed by how much she can keep up with her big brother. I see her push herself and work towards goals to be able to do what he does. She's a little adventurer and I love it.

I love how much she adores her brother. How she doesn't last more than 7 minutes without having to go and find him. "Mommy, I just need to see Kai."

I affectionately call her a punk... because she is one. She's a little punk, in the best sense of the word. I don't know how else to describe it.. she just does punkish things, in the most cute and funny kind of way :)

Hanny loves Princesses and mostly Cinderella. Her princesses play with Buzz Lightyear and Anakin Skywalker a lot. They're good buds. We were playing princesses the other day with her carriage and this is literally what happened.
Hannah: Snow White would you like to come in my carriage?
Me: Why yes Cinderella, where are we going?
H: To Minot.
M: Awesome. Let's go!
(we arrive, Cinderella gets out of carriage and falls down immediately)
H: Oh no! A bad guy got me!
(Cinderella gets up)
H: Pew pew. It's OK. I shot him.

Uh.... moving on!

She dresses as a super Princess quite a bit. Beautiful dress, cape and wielding a light saber. Isn't that how it should be?

Hannah I love you so much and I am so proud of who you are. I pray that you always know that you are a daughter of the King and that you fully embrace how powerful, fierce and passionate you are as well as how kind, gentle and sweet that you are. I pray you realize your purpose and destiny and above all that you know deep deep down how loved you are.

Love,
Mom

The Boy One Turns 5

My first born is 5. What the what?



It's been a wonderful 5 years full of adventure. Can't you just tell that he's an adventurous one?

I'm so proud of who he is. Fun loving, kind, smart, creative, hilarious, sensitive, athletic, passionate and loyal.

His enthusiasm and zeal are fresh every day and he makes each day so much more full and great. I see his Dad in him in the way he embraces people and makes them feel loved. He and his Dad are also "Words of Affirmation" kind of guys. Kai is always encouraging, thanking and complimenting.

I love how he loves and cares for his sister. How he plays with her all day long and truly enjoys himself and how he politely asks for "space" when he needs it and tolerates her when her definition of "space" is an extra 6 inches.

I love that he's always putting on a show, doing funny things to make us laugh and impressive things to wow us.

I love EXCITED he gets. There is no filter on his joy, no holds barred. I love love love his laugh. Words will never do justice to his from the gut, joyful, gleeful laugh. It feeds my soul.

 I don't know if it gets more awesome than this.

I love to see him learn. I love that I get to be his teacher. To see his love for stories grow.

I love that he is loyal - even to his toys. I love that he is passionate about his BLUE lightsaber and that that makes him Anakin Skywalker (literally forever).

I love that he carries wields his lightsaber all day long and that he sleeps next to it at night. I love that I hear the lightsaber power up at 3am when he needs to find his way down his bunk bed stairs.

I love that his favourite colour is still yellow.
"Blue is my favourite lightsaber but yellow is still my favourite. It's just in my heart."
I love that he knows what's in his heart.

My boy, you are fearfully and wonderfully made. I pray you always know to whom you belong, how priceless you are and that you are here for a great and mighty purpose.

Love,
Mom



** Thanks to the our fave library, the Estevan Public Library for so graciously letting me shoot in your space. **