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Visit England in 2012 {Guest Post}

2012

Beatrix Potter World – Lake District, Cumbria

Go on a journey through the life and work of Beatrix Potter and get acquainted with the landscape that inspired her animal characters. This award winning attraction in Bowness-on-Windermere brings the stories of Potter to life and gives children the opportunity to meet some of the most famous characters, like Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-duck. Finish your day off with a snack in the onsite tea room, which serves a selection of delicious treats made from local ingredients.

Eureka! The Children’s Museum – Halifax, Yorkshire

The Eureka! Children’s Museum in Halifax is fun for the whole family. Spend the day wandering through hundreds of hands on exhibits which encourage children to learn about themselves and the world around them. The entire museum has been designed by experts in play and learning, with the ethos that play is essential for helping children and families to learn, laugh, and gain confidence together. There is no better place to spend the day should you get a rainy day on your Yorkshire cottage holiday!

Blue Planet Aquarium, Chester

On a ten minute drive for the centre of Chester you will find the Blue Planet Aquarium, one of the largest aquariums in the UK. With two amazing underwater tunnel experiences and the chance to dive with sharks, the Blue Planet is sure to be an experience like no other! If the kids need a break in the middle of the visit you can visit the Pirate Playground, while you enjoy a refreshment from the restaurant. What’s not to love?!

If you are planning a UK cottage holiday for this summer then consider the cottages offered by Sykes Cottages, the UK’s leading independent cottage rental agency. Whether you are looking for a large family cottage in Cornwall, or a romantic cabin in the Scottish Highlands, Sykes Cottages are sure to have the perfect accommodation for you!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

{Creative Gifting} Superhero Capes

2011

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I made these reversible superhero capes for my kiddos last year with the help from this Free Superhero Cape Tutorial by Georgia Leigh Designs.

It is a really easy project to do and cost me under $3.50 per cape to put together. Perfect for a beginner sewer (yourself or an older child) and the kids love theirs. I loved how I could personalize it any way I wanted. Georgia does a great job on breaking down the instructions on her tutorial and even includes some templates for the Superman and Batman appliques. She even sells the pattern (I bought it for less than $5 last year) in her Etsy store so you do not have to make any guesses on the sizes/shapeof the cape and has templates for many other appliques…i.e. letters, shapes, Super Y, etc. (If you do not see the pattern in her store, just email her). This will make a perfect gift, Halloween costume or a great addition to any child’s dress up clothes. Seriously, it really is easy!

Here are my versions and variations:

For my daughter’s cape I used Georgia’s Superman applique and then I created the SUU T-Bird the same way I did the applique for the Pirate T-Shirt Tutorial and similar to Georgia’s instructions, but just a few more layers. I found the SUU Thunderbird logo online, copied it into word so I could enlarge it (and reversed it), and then printed it out (and yes, it was a little pixilated, but I had the basic outline I needed). Then I traced the main layers, ironed them on one layer at a time and once completed secured each layer/section with a zigzag stitch to the cape. So the purple layer is across the entire back of the bird, then the dark pink on top, then the light pink/yellow and then another layer of dark pink, then purple for the “SUU”. It is a lot of layers, but totally worth it! I think it turned out really cute and it is the side my daughter loves to show off the most! This cape was her Christmas present last year.

For my son’s cape, I used Georgia’s Batman applique and then again I created the Thor Helmet applique the same way I did the Pirate T-Shirt applique (thanks again, to my mom’s ability to sketch and scan it to me). I wanted to create a Thor logo for my son and looked a lot online, but could not find anything that did not include the mallet. I was a bit afraid to go put a mallet on this boy’s superhero cape for fear what he would interpret his powers to be! lol So the helmet with wings was the choice and I think it looks pretty good. The helmet overlaps the wings just a little bit. My son actually prefers the Batman side most of the time. I think red just isn’t his first preference! I made this cape for his Batman costume for Halloween.

Tips and Suggestions:

Make sure you use something like a think paper towel to put between your iron and the felt when using the Heat n Bond Lite. I got a little of the adhesive on my iron and it started sticking to all the felt and I have not been able to get the color off of it since. No bueno! It is not my craft iron only!
I used Iron on velcro to fasten the cape at the neck. It was awesome for getting it to line up just right, but I do recommend doing a quick stitch around or through it to secure it on. It is really easy to do once it is ironed on! The iron on velcro came off of my daughter’s cape and I have yet to fix it. So do it first, while you have your sewing machine out, so you do not forget, like me, later!
Enjoy it! I just love the feeling that one of their favorite things to pretend with is something I made for them!

I have yet to get a totally awesome picture in their capes, because they are always too busy playing to stand still!

I am linking to these parties!

Filed Under: All Ages, Creative Gifts, Halloween, Older Children, Sewing Tagged With: Crafts

Placemat Tote Bag

2011

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Don’t forget to link up your crafts, tips, and fun to the Hi-5 Friday link party right now!

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I made these fun placemat tote bags for my kids. Pretty cute, right?

This is my daughter’s bag….

and this is my son’s bag….

Last year I found this Placemat Tote Bag Tutorial and wanted to use it to make my kiddos each a bag to hold a few things in at church. The only problem I had with this tutorial is that I could not find any cute placemats at the store, but what I did have was a lot of denim and scrap fabric. So, I made my own variation of a placemat and went to work. The fun part about making my own “placemats” is that I could pick the size I wanted to make the bag and I could easily personalize each bag. I gave them to my kiddos for Christmas last year and they love them, so much so that they use them constantly 9 months later!

My Variations:

Follow the main instructions of the Placemat Tote Bag Tutorial (linked above) if you have a placemat or after you “create your own” with my variations below and be sure to add your embellishments prior to sewing the placemat together (depending on what you want to add.

Creating a Placemat:

1. I estimated the size of a placemat and cut 2 pieces of fabric the length and width of a placemat.

2. Faced them right sides together and pinned.

3. This is where it gets trick. I added the straps here (you have to lay them on the inside and make sure you pin the middle of the strap near the center of the bag so it doesn’t get stuck when sewing the edges. Make sure the straps are pinned a good 1.5-2 inches in or more and try to keep them even with each other (so each strap is the same when all together). I tested the look of the straps when it was inside out and when I decided where I liked them, pinned them inside.

4. Then I sewed the edges together except for the last few inches, so I could turn it right side out.

5. Once it was right side out I folded in and pinned the remaining unsewn edge. Then I ironed all the edges flat and did a quick stitch as close as I could get to the edge all the way around the “placemat” securing everything.

Adding Embellishments:

My Son’s Tote

1. With my son’s bag, I made sure to cut a part of denim that still had the back pocket on it. Make sure you leave enough on the side and top of the pocket so you can stitch the sides together without running into the pocket, itself. Make sure when you follow the tutorial that you know where you want the pocket (inside or outside?) and sew accordingly.

2. I cut the decal (the shield and CTR) using the same process I did to attach the pirate decal on to this Pirate T-Shirt Tutorial and added it before I sewed the two sides of denim together (I was afraid my machine wouldn’t be able to handle sewing all 3 layers of denim together, otherwise I would have sewed it on after the “placemat” was made. Make sure you attach the iron on adhesive to the reverse side of the fabric you want to be using. The CTR is made from the inside a pair of jeans, ironed onto the shield and then secured with a good zigzag stitch. Once the shield and CTR were together I add it to the right side of the denim that I was aiming to be the front of the bag and secured the outside of the shield onto the bag. Then I proceeded with the “creating of the placemat” (above).

The left is the outside/front of the bag, the right is the bag turned inside out

3. I used an old fabric belt of mine for the straps of his bag. I did not have any boy looking ribbon.

My Daughter’s Bag

1. I added a strip of ribbon to the front of the bag, secured it with pins and stitched it as close the edges with a quick stitch. I added the ribbon after creating the “placemat” and before sewing the sides together. To be honest, I think I actually sewed the sides together and then unstitched the top few inches to add the ribbon…it was an afterthought! lol

The left is the outside/front of the bag (with a strap to attach a flower), the right is the bag turned inside out.

2. Then I added a skinny strip of ribbon and secured it on the top and bottom with a strong stitch so I could add a flower clip or something cute. I made it detachable because I wanted to be able to wash the bag and not ruin the flower or maybe even change it up every now and then. The clip kept falling off because it would move up and down the clip slip. So, I added another stitch in the middle to keep it tight when it was clipped in. (It’s the pink stitch on the left photo above.)

ENJOY!!

I am linking to these parties!

Filed Under: Sewing Tagged With: Crafts

Gelatin Fish Bowls (Cup Size)

2011

Pirate Pizza

2011

2 Comments

My son wanted “Pirate Pizza” for his birthday. I am not sure if I would categorize this as a failure or success. The final picture does not do it justice and I think it would have looked better minus the sausage. BUT my son loved it, told everyone about it for over a week after I made it and still talks about it months later, so I think that makes it a huge success! I think he thought it was cool, too, because he got to help make it and saw what we were attempting to create. lol

What You Need:

A pizza ready to add the cheese (great pizza recipe here)
Paper with a cut out of a scull & crossbones (or other object you want to create)
Cheese

Directions:

Step 1: Make/prep your pizza with all the toppings you want except the cheese. We always use our favorite pizza recipe.

Step 2: This part can be for your little helpers, if any…Place cut out on pizza and then add your cheese. This is obvious, but be sure to remove the paper before placing the pizza in the oven to bake! Try not to add too much cheese around the edges of the paper because once the cheese melts it will melt into your design if there is too much. I attempted to add cheese where the eyes were (see the far right picture).

Step 3: Bake! If you look closely you can see the design and I will admit that you could see it better in person. BUT it is all going to get eaten, right? Luckily, since my son helped make it, I think he was more excited by the idea of it.

Step 4: Serve with some “Pirate Root Beer” and you will have one happy group of Pirates!

ENJOY!!!

I am linking up to these parties!

Filed Under: All Ages, Birthdays/Celebrations, Food Projects, Kid Friendly Recipes Tagged With: Fun, Recipes

Make A Personalized T-Shirt Design {Pirate Style}

2011

5 Comments

My son wanted a Pirate T-Shirt for his birthday. Having just seen this this re-purposing t-shirt post by Ashely over at Make It and Love It and I was inspired and was prepared to give it a go. It would be fun, right?!?! The day before I was about to start the project I found a perfect plain baseball styled t-shirt for $3 bucks at a local store. That saved me a lot of time and now all I had to do was add the pirate. I realized I applied my design differently than Ashley did (it is about half way down her post), so I will show you what I did, too. It is a super cute and fun idea!

My son was beyond excited about his new shirt! Kind of makes me want to make him some more. ;-)

What You Need:

2 t-shirts (pre-washed) - 1 in will be the main t-shirt to put the design on and the other will be the scrap t-shirt which you cut the design out of (can be an old shirt/another size).
Paper
Sewing machine (or needle and thread)
Iron
Iron-on adhesive (I used Heat-n-Bond Lite)

Directions:

Step 1:Decide on the design you want to have on your shirt. You want to aim for a silhouette look (one solid piece/not a lot of small pieces). Draw or search for images on the Internet that can be enlarged in a word document and printed. I am not talented enough to draw things other than doodles, but my mom is and she was awesome enough to sketch out the pirate design! I also recommend choosing something a little thicker than my pirate patch straps. Those had a hard time being sewn on.

Step 2: The iron-on adhesive has paper on one side and the adhesive on the other. Place the design/drawing under the side of the adhesive with no paper on it. Trace your design with a dark marker on the paper attached to the adhesive.

Step 3: Follow the directions for your iron-on adhesive and with the iron apply the adhesive to your ”scrap t-shirt” (not the shirt you actually want your child to wear).

Step 4: Leave the paper attached to the adhesive/shirt and cut out your design. Remove the paper once your design is completely cut out.

Step 5: Flip over your design so the adhesive is now down and layout it out on the main t-shirt where you would like it to be permanently. Iron the design again securing it permanently to the t-shirt. You may want to use a light cloth between the iron and the t-shirt during this final process. I always seem to get the adhesive stuck to the iron which makes a mess later or if I use a paper towel (instead of a cloth) it gets stuck to the design (which is not pretty!).

Step 6: Finally secure your design in place by zigzag stitching around the entire design.

Step 7: Sit back and enjoy your child’s excitement about their new shirt! To see how excited my son was about my silly creation really made my month!

I attempted to get nice picture of the shirt just after he put it on. I could not get him to stand still or give me a happy face, to which he replied “Mom, Pirates are supposed to be mean!” lol Gotta love 5 year-olds!

ENJOY!!!

I am linking up to these parties!