Doll Clothes

My Beautygirl decided that we needed to make doll clothes for some of her dolls.

I did not have any patterns, so I suggested that we call grandma and see if she did.

I was thinking "quick trip".

--Go to grandmas
--get doll clothes pattern
--go home and begin project...


When I got to grandmas, she was already in the midst of one doll dress for another granddaughter. Grandma accused me of getting her involved in a NEW project. I told grandma what my plan was and then.... I discovered that my Beautygirl had set up a very different event. Little did I know that Beautygirl did not just call grandma, but she arranged that grandma would be making the doll clothes for other cousins at the same time. And Beautygirl had talked to the other cousins and told them the plan as well. It was to be a day! Not only that, but Beautygirl had brought some of her fabric scraps to make the doll dress.

She set up a project day at Grandmas--without my knowledge.

Hmmmm.....

So, this time, I figured "What the heck! I am already here."

This could be an opportunity to teach a little sewing.
I let Beautygirl design the dress.




I then made up a pattern (because after all that, the patterns at grandmas were WAY to complex for a doll dress)
I showed my Beautygirl how to pin the pattern to the fabric and how to cut it out.



Well, that was about all she could handle. (After all, she does have a hyper-focus issue that we deal with often)

So guess who made the rest of the dress? You got it...ME!




However, I did require Beautygirl to sew on the buttons.







In the end, The dress turned out pretty darn cute.

Soda Pop Tops

Storage...



I recently needed to be able to hang more things in my Beautygirls closet. I create outfits for school, so the torment of the morning routine is lessened. But! Problem....

How do I get the outfits to hang together. If I hang the skirts on the bar of the hanger, the shirt wrinkles and hides what is under it.








Here comes the awsome part! take a pop top and use it as a hanger connector. Cheep!!!! and the clothes hang like a dream.









Viola...

--Tara

When all the world is...HOT!

Oh... what do you do in the summer time, when all the world is hot!


We make ice cream.


--Take a little milk, half and half, cream and sugar...














--Put them in the blue smurf (tiny ice cream maker)




















--Mix until it is mostly solid














--Pour into bowls
















--Eat with feet in a play pool.













Aah... the world has been cooled for a little while.

The case of Mistaken Identity

All of these items have been mistaken for something they are not.

See how you do:

What is this?





















































If you guessed the first photo is mozzarella cheese: you would have guessed the same as my daughter.

The next photo looked like little balls of cookie dough (notice there is one missing in the bottom corner, you can see the remnant of a white ball stuck to the tin foil). My husband tasted one of these.

And the last photo? Did you guess milk?

All of these identities are mistaken! These are none other than a humble

bar of soap.

Did you guess Soap?

Magical Fire Starter

The perfect fire starter. Pine Cones!



I was looking for things to do with my nephews and niece when I went back east this last summer. I came across an "activity" of make your own fire starters.

Basically it is dry pine cones, covered in wax--(and a little salt while still sticky).

They work fantastic!




I took old candles that have a tunnel burned out of the center and melted them in a pot of hot water.



Then I poured the melted wax over the pine cones... and hurried... and sprinkled salt.


Don't they look like they have been frosted!




I just put one or two under the logs I am going to light (in the fire place). Strike a match and the magic begins.
I am not sure (exactly) why this works. It has something to do with the wax though. I think it gives the fire some staying power so it will actually burn the pine cones. What ever it is... It works!

Try it!

P.S. I did not actually get to make these with the little guys back east.