Not hot chocolate…
hot vanilla baby!
– Oh yes!!! –
VBS Lives On
I saw these two posts and decided to tackle Matt and my old stack of t-shirts, most old Vacation Bible t-shirts that have seen their heyday as exercise shirts, undershirts, and “around the house” shirts.
So I made this:
For over here:
1. It’s proof that I’ve been forcing myself to sit down and put my feet up more here at the end of Hannah’s pregnancy.
2. It defines a play space and adds color to that part of the large room.
3. I like it. =)
Win, win, win!Â
Oh, and they approve (and rearrange it) too. =)
Cost: $0, 8 or 9 (I lost track) evenings of time while watching the Olympics and “a little here and a little there” time while watching movies with my kids.
To Do and Done
So in efforts to communicate trust, encourage autonomy AND teach isolation of tasks as well as responsibility to clean up after the isolate tasks, I stumbled across this idea and of course modified it to fit our needs.
With a three year old and a two year old (plus the reality of one on the way soon), I was trying to find a way to offer them choices (within my ability and personal reigns) of activities throughout the day.
So I came up with this idea spurred off of the other ideas I saw on pinterest that were modified chore chart ideas.
I got three small metal pizza-baking sheets from Walmart for $0.92 a piece. I made sure that a magnet would stick to these trays before purchasing them. 😉
Then I bought a roll of magnetic stick-on tape for $2.99 from Joann Fabrics.
Then I got a roll of painters tape because we didn’t have any for $2.00.
After finding colorful clipart pictures of all the 31 activities I can currently offer our children to do in our household or in our yard, I pasted those activities into a word document. Since we have non-readers, I used bright, colorful pictures and put the words underneath the image to describe the tasks. I decided to print off two copies of the four pages of pictures (one for each child) since some activities I wanted to offer both the girls to do at once. I also added in age-appropriate helper tasks into the mix as well (ex. washing the table, helping with laundry, making their bed – I don’t mind what it looks like-, helping with dishes, setting the table, etc.).
After printing those off onto a cardstock heavy paper, I cut them out in small squares. Then I laminated them (I used clear packing tape because I had it around the house and didn’t have any laminating sheets. This required a significant amount of more work, by the way. But I didn’t mind since I was in no rush to get the project finished). After laminating them, I put a small piece of magnet on the back of each task.
The play activities available.
The chore/helper activities available.
We store all these pieces in a hefty bag.Â
I put the chores in a separate bag in the hefty bag so I can easily find them.
I wrote “To Do” on one side of two of the trays and “Done” on the other side of the same two trays, dividing the areas with a line of tape. Then the third tray poses as an options list for the girls to pick from.
With a little bit of sticky tack, all three trays were easily mounted to the wall at “kid height.”
Each morning I pick out the tasks that I am offering the children to do for that day, allowing me to rotate through some of the tasks they forget about because they are not actively in front of them. I also put up on their “to do” lists two responsibilities per day. The girls then get to pick from the 6 or so items on the options list and move them onto their “to do” part of their lists.
 Rachael’s list (arranged by Rachael)
Abi’s list (arranged by Abi)
The “choices” tray that the girls pick from.
We store the choices in a hefty bag with a magnetÂ
attached to the back so it hangs onto the microwave. 😉
We keep the lists by the kitchen table.Â
When the girls finish one task, they get to decide what they want to do next. After one task is completed and cleaned up completely, they get to move the magnetic picture to the “done” side of the list.
The results of this project?
- The girls are THRILLED to pick from the tasks and have control in the planning of their day.
- Things get cleaned up right then and there, not accumulating for a long and exhausting clean-up time at the end of play.Â
- The girls are THRILLED to help out around the house and often pick to do those tasks first.Â
- Creativity and Imagination is fueled by playing with isolated groups of toys (ex. the toolbox saw was used to give “haircuts”) that the girls would have otherwise walked by on the way to their “normal few” toys.Â
- There is more cooperative play due to the variety and newness of toys/activities.Â
Completing the Helper Chores on the List:Â
 Rachael making her bed
 Abi living up making her bed. hehe, look at her smile.
 Not too bad finished product.Â
(I seriously couldn’t care less what it looks like).
Washing the table – oh what fun!
And the chairs too?! Yes please!!!
I have chosen not to limit the play to the “to do list” activities alone (sometimes dolls just have to be a part of the lego play because I have two little “Mommies”), but I have found that the things I thought the girls “needed to play with” each day has grown in variety and their creativity is really blossoming.
I also enjoy about this new way of doing things that I can always adapt the “to do list” options as they grow older. It’s simple to print off a few new choices, laminate them, put a magnetic strip on the back of them and add them to our rotation of activities offered. I like the flexibility, as well, of offering tasks based on the day’s weather, my level of pregnancy restrictions, and the level of mess involved. For example, I coupled painting with washing the table one day. It was nice to have helpers cleaning up in more ways than one. =)
Hopefully this idea is helpful to you too. It has added much joy in accomplishment and independence to our household while allowing Mommy some free time (which will soon all belong to Hannah. hehe) to get some “Mommy only” housecleaning done.Â
Total Cost:
$7.75 (excluding cost in ink/paper to print colored pages – since I already had this- and excluding laminating costs – since I just used the tape we had) and about 5 hours from researching the clipart pictures, printing them off, cutting and applying lamination (my method would take longer than laminating them through a machine), putting the tape on the trays and then mounting them to the wall.
Total Items Needed:
- 3 flat pizza or cookie trays
- Painting tapeÂ
- 4-8 cardstock pages for clipart signs
- Colored Ink/Printer
- Lamination (packing tape or actual laminating sheets)
- Roll of tape-backed magnets
- ScissorsÂ
- Sticky Tack
- Ziplock/Hefty or sandwich bag
- Time and patience. 😉
I also used the lamination time to pray for my little girls and ask God for help in encouraging their individual likes/dislikes and blooming character more in our daily lives. This provided a nice opportunity to thank God for the blessing of serving my little girls as well. =)
– Enjoy!
Cheap and Easy Done Right
Had the joy of making my dear friend, Kassie, a nursing cover last week. I got so excited after making it that it was hard to contain my joy in getting it to her.
The project cost a total of $12 ($6 to Kassie for fabric and I grabbed a $6 cost for the D-rings and the boning).
$12 total is much better than the $30 that these things sell for. Plus, we got to custom pick the fabric and the dimensions for Kassie.
It was fun to see something, think “I could do that”, find an easy and free pattern WITH PICTURES online and then make it in 2 hours from gathering supplies to calling Kassie for a drop-off time.
Starting materials:
Finished nursing cover (as modeled by bear):
=D
It was a fun and relaxing project done after the girls went to bed.
The Zoo of Stuffed Fluff
When our $5 Ikea stuffed animal hanging toy tower bit the dust due to weight, I started brainstorming what could work better in the corner space.
I looked into these hanging hammock things, but they seemed way too big for our small space. Plus, at $10 a piece, I didn’t want to make an investment in something that wasn’t what I really wanted.
Other storage ideas were cute, but bulky. And quite honestly, I thought they still looked messy.
In efforts to limit the stuffed toy explosion – seriously they can NEVER play with all of those toys and it just gets too crowded, I have been known to pick off a forgotten stuffed toy here or there to reuse the stuffing for other projects. 😉 Shhhh, don’t tell the girls.
But since they still have the beloved ones, I wanted to find a way to display them, keep them out of reach (therefore allowing special ones to be picked for play and not the whole stinkin’ zoo needing to be cleaned up), and still allow for easy clean-up as needed.
So I checked out my space and modified this tutorial to make my own stuffed animal hammocks from my sewing/material supplies here.Â
First off, I thought the hammock this lady made was WAY too big for our space. So I measured the corner walls and decided on how far I wanted it to hang out.
I came upon a general idea of a 19″ by 19″ by 29″ sketch of a triangle, used the general explanation of making a stuffed animal hammock from the aforementioned website, and started my cutting part of the project.
I cut two by two (layering the fabric) to cut down on the amount of time to cut. I had some brightly colored fabric, nice addition to our cheery playroom, but not really “my style” when it comes to “non-kid” sewing projects. Since I had a good deal of it and it was a little stretchy, I thought it a nice choice.
 Marking the middle for the triangle.Â
 Folding to make the triangular shapeÂ
Instead of wasting some of the fabric, as suggested in the cutting out of the triangle in the tutorial, I decided to sew my fabric down as a reinforced hammock since some animals have beans in them (making them a little heavy in bulk, and also the material itself was a little thin and not what I’d consider “industrial strength home decorating fabric.” But I wanted to use what I have and not add any additional cost to the project beyond time.
After sewing the one side down, I folded and sewed the other side down and hemmed each side excluding the front of the triangle (since I planned on using bias tape to reinforce that).
Pinning before hemming.Â
Instead of using bias tape all around the project, I decided to reserve the bias tape for only the hooks at each triangle point and the front of the hammock. This not only saved the bias tape for other projects, but seemed smart since the animals would be filling the other sides of the triangle. So I got a nice clean finish on the front and a frugal cheat on the other sides. 😉
Make sure to have an extra 4-5 inchesÂ
of hemming on each side for the hoops.Â
Pinned 1/2 the bias to one side of the material.
When putting on the bias tape I found it important to hold out the one side, fold over the other side while sewing it on (just for added support due to the stretchy material). [I also chose to fold over the material (since it was a raveling, stretchy material) and then sew the fold to the 1/2 bias tape side. I cut off the extra material after the bias tape was completely sewn on.].
And then pinch the fabric whenÂ
sewing down the other side.
Then I sewed the hoops (this one shown 1/2 sewn on the right side) and stitched horizontally across the base of the hoop for extra support.
With all hoops sewn on each triangle edge, my project was complete. =)
Plus it came with a free cat!!!
It hung nicely and easily with three nails (I didn’t use special wall hooks) and serves the job quite well.
 Looks like a flying carpet with no animals in it. 😉
[See my zoo of stuffed animals on the floor beneath the hammock – they were just DYING to be in their new home.]
It took me about an hour to complete hammock one, 40 minutes for hammock two and 35 minutes for hammock three. I like to go at a nice slow and not stressful pace so as to enjoy the project with no real “time limitations” and nap time provided just that environment. But I did increase in speed as I learned the tricks of the trade for this project.
Three hammocks total should get the job done and still limit our stuffed toy space so as not to overrun and not add an addictive hoarding behavior. 😉
 And Project Done!
(See that there are no more animals on the floor… SEE?!?!?!?!)
Cost: Total of 2 hours and 15 minutes of time (over 3 days) from scraps to hanging.
=DÂ
P.S. I’m sure there’s some other way to sew these a lot more simply and quickly, but for my amateur skill level this method worked great!
Last Piece of the Room Flip Puzzle
A little while ago now, I started a series of home decorating/organizing projects to use our space more effectively. It involved building the wall-mounted bookshelves and moving the toys out of our living room, remember?
Well I changed around our “office space” too and promised I’d let you see the finished product. That project sat a little more on the back burner and I finally finished it earlier this week. So….. drum roll please…..
Before:
After:
  Viola!
Our new office space has everything in it there was before (ta da!!!) hehe. PLUS all our “please ask Mommy” homeschooling supplies.
In order to avoid tempting disobedience, I went to the thrift store and purchased two sheer-ish curtains. I wanted them to be sheer-ISH because even the wonderful organization in clear tubs, etc behind them can begin to look messy with all it’s business.
So with these cute little curtains cut, reinforced at the top and stapled onto my bookshelves, it helps with the “no touchy, please” hint, keeps with our black/white “office” furniture theme, and makes it look not quite as cluttered. I also added a panel of sheer curtain to the underside of the desk to follow-suit and really section off the space.
And again, for my non-reading crowd, I added my stop signs as a reminder that while I don’t mind them standing around in this space, curious hands need to stay in pockets.
The girls have been very good and respectful of the privacy of the space/items in the space as well as their happy little welcome selves in sharing in electronic fun with me.
To give you a general feel for how “the office” falls in the layout of the room, here’s a pic to help.
I like how open the “office” remains despite the fact that I turned the desk to cut the room up a bit. And now I have this gorgeous sliding glass window to gaze out while blogging [Sorry in advance for the spacey posts. 😉 ].
It’s not ridiculously impressive, but I’m happy with the space changes and I like that it allows for function, some cuteness, and still being a part of family life while getting a few “officey” things done.
Thus closes the chapter on the living room/fireside room flip.
=)