The Artist's Corner

Today I am going to share with you an easy and fun craft project that I did recently, but before I get into that I wanted to give a quick update on our foster care situation.  

I have had a few people inquire as to whether or not we have gotten a new placement, and the answer is...not yet.  We are still waiting and very excited to meet our newest little one.  And rest assured, I cannot keep something that big a secret, so you will be sure to know when it happens!=)

Now, onto my craft project...

A few months ago, I was doing a little re-decorating in my kitchen and I wanted to find something that I could hang where I could display Ian's art work.  Our fridge is stainless steel and magnets won't stick to it, so I needed somewhere to display his artistic masterpieces.  

I thought I wanted something along these lines...

 I really liked this piece, and still do, but there were a couple of problems with it.  First, it cost quite a bit more than the amount that I had budgeted for this project, and second, I already have a whiteboard calendar in our pantry, so I didn't really need another one.  Plus, the hooks at the bottom weren't quite what I had in mind, so I would have had to spend a lot of money to get it, and then I would have had to spend more to change out the hooks.  

So instead, I started looking for something without the whiteboard.  

When I couldn't find anything that I liked,  I decided to just make my own. 

Off I went to my local trusted "Hobby Lobby", in the hopes that I would have some creative inspiration wash over me=)  A few minutes into my search, and several aisles later, I found this...

Next, I bought the exact hooks that I wanted and a few stickers for decoration.  

First, I painted the pallet red to match the decor in our kitchen.  

Then I used hot glue to attach the hooks and applied the stickers to decorate it.

This is what I ended up with.

It was such an easy project and I like that it can be moved easily and changed out if needed.

But of course, the best part is the artwork that I get to display there!!!

 

It's a Bird, It's a Plane...

It's the cutest darn superhero I have EVER seen!!!

CHEESE!!!

Can't talk now...
I'm off to save the universe!

I'm watching you!!

Even super heroes need a snack...

...or two=)

Every Boy Needs A Cape

 

The other day as Ian was watching Sesame Street he suddenly became completely enamored with "Super Grover".  He stopped what he was doing and just stared in awe and wonder.  After the clip was over, he insisted that I tie his "blue blanket" around his shoulders so that he could fly around like Super Grover.

Light bulb!!!

I can (and SHOULD) make him a cape of his very own!  I mean, how can I even call myself a mother otherwise?!?!?!=)

So I looked online and found a great and seemingly simple pattern for a Batman/Superman cape, but I thought I would try it out with a little less expensive fabric first and see how it goes.  (Besides, what kid can have too many capes, right?) So yesterday we went to the fabric store where I let Ian pick out his own fabric.  He looked through several, oohing and aahing over the ones with bugs or tractors, before eventually picking a remnant that he said looked like "fire".  Then, while he was napping, I got my sewing on.  

This project turned out to be SO easy and fun and by the reaction I got from Ian, so totally worth it!!!

This was him, taking a picture of me, taking a picture of him.

Super Baby!!!!

How can you not just LOVE that face?!?!?!

I am excited to make the "real" one for him now, so stay tuned for pictures of the final product!=)

Finger Painting

Sometimes finding ways to keep a two year old entertained can be difficult.  Especially when you're talking about a two year old who LOVES to be outside and current temperatures in the low teens that make spending much time outside next to impossible right now. So what to do in such a predicament, you ask???

Finger paint!

Flashback Friday: No Girls Allowed

Flashback Friday's ~ This idea began one day while I was perusing through some of my old posts on a private blog we had set up for friends and family while our son was in foster care.

A lot of really wonderful things happened to our little family while we had our private blog set up, so every now and then, I am going to re-post some of those wonderful memories. I hope you will enjoy looking back at them as much as I do!

"No Girls Allowed" - originally posted 

March 23, 2010

I have been feeling rather crafty lately.  I have been decorating our newly finished basement, making Ian a "book" of different materials with fun textures and colors, and last, but certainly not least...
the "Fort".  What little boy doesn't love forts?

I found this camouflage material on clearance at the fabric store and decided to make my boys a fort.  It is just a simple cover for the table in our family room, but it will be much, much more than simply a scrap of fabric.

In fact, it has already become a fortress - a fortress in which I was informed upon it's inaugural use that "No girls are allowed."  I am allowed to peak in the door however - aren't they sweet?=)

I finished it one afternoon while Ian was napping.  Mike came home just as Ian was waking up, so he hid inside and I went to get Ian.  He thought it was SO cool!  They took a flashlight in, and of course the blankie... (Doesn't Ian look like he is telling his Daddy a ghost story in this picture?  LOVE IT!!)

...they interrogated their first P.O.W.=)...

...and they checked every so often just to make sure that I was watching the fun from a safe distance. 

Good thing Mike never grew up so his baby boy would have a playmate since "no girls are allowed..."