Drawstring Bag DIY

Thanks for visiting! 

Today I am at How Does She talking to you about the game "Story in a Bag." Check it out to find more about it!

But don't worry- I will be going further with you this week about the importance of using story telling with your children and how to watch for themes and signs in their stories that may mean something is going on deeper than you know. 

But first you need a bag! 

Here is a simple bag you can make from a scrap piece fabric. 

Warning: I have limited sewing experience so don't look to closely at my skills... 

 here is how I made a bag for this game.

1. Cut out a rectangle and pin right sides together.

2. Sew up both sides until you reach about 2 inches from the top.

3. fold down seams and iron them flat

 4. Iron 1/4 inch of the top 

 5. Fold down over and iron again

 6. Sew across both sides to create casing for the sting to go therough. 

7. With the seam in the middle fold your bag like this: 

8. Measure and draw a line straight across parallel from the top. 

9. Cut on the line.

10. Sew each side along the line

11. Turn it right side out...and Voila! A bag!

12. Find some cord or string and thread it through the top casing.

 And enjoy your bag!

besitos

xo

We SO need a visual schedule.

I have had one of those days where I look down at the end of the day and realize my shirt has been inside out the entire day. And it's not like a t-shirt where it's easy to notice- it is a full blown button down ruffly shirt. How? I have no idea.

It was a non-stop day getting ready for a photo shoot for Proof and finishing up my How Does She post. 

To make matters worse little man was extra needy for a me and took a very short nap in which I was supposed to get everything I needed done. He must have sensed the slight frazzleness I had going on and wanted to give me support...

To add to the craziness- we are still not sleeping over here. Little man wakes up two or three times a night lately with nightmares from this incident. Stupid sick bug...why did you ever come here.

So, I decided we needed to have a constant nightly ritual that we do every night and he can see. So, I came up with this:

That way he can see everything we are going to do for the day. 

You can read more about it on How Does She where I talk about how I made it. 

The one thing I found difficult was finding cute images that I wanted to use. But at last- I found some and thought I'd share. 

 These are activities that little man can choose to do- you can always make them rewards for doing the other stuff.

 These are chores or things he can do to help me with around the house.

 This one is fun summer activities that we can plan.

I have several more of these...so, if you are a Weeds to Wishes Blog follower and you leave me a comment somewhere on my blog- I am happy to share!! You can now download the zipfile right here. Right now I have 60 individual images with more coming soon.

Enjoy! Besitos!

Easter Eggs into Shaker Eggs.

In case you missed it... this week over at How Does She I talk about how to transform old easter eggs into musical shaker eggs...

Check out the DIY here.

and we have Bee sing us a lovely song! 

Happy Easter!!

besitos xoxo.

I heart wrapping paper...

One of the best things about giving a gift is the wrapping part.

Year after year, I set off to find the perfect wrapping paper and ribbon combo for my gifts. And once I have found it-  I sit in front of the fire with my wrapping paper and gifts all spread out...and I go to town.

The sound of paper cutting and  pieces of scotch tape tearing accompanies the Christmas Music (in this case Mindy Gledhill's Winter Moon) I have blaring through my speakers. 

I spend time mindfully placing the ribbon as I work on getting the bow just right. 

 Then, my favorite part...  with my best handwriting, I write on the tag who the gift belongs to and sit back and think of the person I am giving the gift to.

To me, taking the time to enjoy the act of giving gifts, not only brings the spirit of Christmas in my home, but it reminds me of the importance of the action to give...not the importance of what is in the box. I find that I develop a greater love for the person who I am giving to as I think of them while I am wrapping their gift.

It sounds silly I know.

But to me, that is what Christmas is all about. 

He gave us his only son to be born on this earth. 

That is an amazing gift that you can't even place in a box.

What do you do to bring  you in the Christmas Spirit?

besitos,

Turkey Song over here...

I am over here today-  with another song from Bee for Thanksgiving and we made these lovelies to flap around to the song...check it out! 

visit www.howdoesshe.com

Besitos, 

Music Monday- Kernel song

Today I am grateful for my sister Bee and her music. Little man could watch her sing for hours.

Happy Music Monday.

I found these at Hobby Lobby for less than $1 each....

besitos,

MTV CRIBS: LITTLE MAN'S SUPERHERO CRIB

Baby Lifestyles got Word that I have superhero-comic book nursery and wanted to feature it soon on their "real nurseries" section of their site. So, ladies and gentlemen, here is our version of MTV Cribs: "Little Man's crib edition."

View of what you see when you walk in

Across from crib

Superman painting 

 Coordinating pillow

Leather recliner couch

View from bathroom

Superhero details

Action figures above crib

Crib

Detail of blanket

All fabrics coordinating

Superman blanket custom made

Coordinating superman valance

Painting on the wall next to crib

 Lauren (the editor of Baby Lifestyles) sent me a questionnaire about the room- (please excuse any grammatical or spelling errors- it was right before we left town and I was a tad rushed):

Q. Did you know whether you were having a boy when you started decorating?

A. Yes, we waited to find out he was a boy before we even got started…make life a lot easier.

Q. How would you describe your personal design style? How is the rest of your home decorated?

A. I think my personal style is modern meets vintage. I love a clean and simple look with a touch of retro vintage decor. Our home is more on the modern/contemporary side.

Q. Before it was the nursery, what was this room? How was it decorated?

A. I am a photographer and it used to be my studio. I always knew it would be the nursery one day- so it wasn’t really decorated.

Q. It’s so amazing and bursting with detail, where did you find inspiration for the comic book design?

A. Originally, I really wanted to do a vintage owl (love them) theme whether we had a boy or girl. However, my husband insisted they were not “manly enough” and he brought up comic book heroes…I hesitated but thought if it was vintage comic book heroes with more muted colors…then yes- I am in!

Q. You said people thought you were crazy for doing this theme. Why do you think this is? What do they say when they see the nursery?

A. People would just give us funny looks when I tried explaining the color pallet and theme of the room. I think it just didn’t seem “baby enough” for them. Everyone loves it now that they can see it.

A, Did a decorator help you or did you do this all yourself?

Q. My husband and I came up with the concept- but my mother-in-law has an amazing eye for décor and putting together fabrics. So, she would find fabrics and we would choose…of course she did all the sewing! So yes, we had our own personal decorator!

Q. If you don’t mind us asking, what was your budget for your nursery?

A. I didn’t really have a budget- but we just shopped smart. For instance, I REALLY wanted a really fancy crib I found in a boutique…but settled for something that still had the simple look yet a better price.  The couch was purchased in the “as is” section at IKEA because it was pre-assembled. My mother-in-law sewed up the bedding and curtains and we designed the paintings and stretched them ourselves.

Q. What was your nursery decorating timeline? (Did you start when you found out gender or finish before you gave birth? What items did you get first? Last?)

A. Haha our baby came a month early- so, we didn’t really have it finished until he was here. Our first item was the crib- we knew that he definitely needed that. J Décor came later. We are STILL looking for a lamp to put in there in the corner to hang over the couch for good lighting- so, that will be our last item once it is here.

Q. Where do you find all the super hero items?

A. It has been a slow accumulation- but we really created most of what is there. It is hard to find muted colors with superhero so we had to be creative.

Q. If we were entering the nursery, what would we see first?

A. Depends on what door you enter. If you enter from the main entrance you would see the window with the drapery then followed by the crib with paintings. If you entered from the bathroom you would see the leather couch and big superman painting.

Q. Details are what make a room. Take us on a comic book nursery tour.

A. The detail was really in the fabric. See photos…they show the details the best.

Q. I love the pop comic art on the wall. Where is that from? How did you pick the characters?

A. I designed the paintings in Photoshop with images I found from real comic books but changed the color scheme to have them blend together. We then had them painted and my husband stretched them himself to save cost. I really didn’t want “scary looking” superheroes so when we were choosing what to get- I was particular about what could go on the wall. I wanted them to seem happy and heroic- rather then angry and mean. I know that sounds silly, but I just wanted his room to be an environment of encouragement that he was surrounded by superheroes- not being scared to go to sleep at night. Of course I had to put a wonder woman in- represent girl power…she is my favorite!

Q. What are some of your favorite details of the room?

A. I love the paintings! And I love the details of the piping how it matches the fabric from the drapes.

Q. How difficult was it to find the perfect super bedding?

A. It was easy for me- BUT time consuming I am sure for my mother-in-law (thank you Mimi!) who did all the sewing. Everything is custom made- except for the bed sheets (although, we she did make us some extra sheets as well) I am lucky to have her!

Q. Nurseries tend to be the smallest rooms in the house often making furniture difficult to fit. Explain how you decided on your placement of furniture, mainly the crib.

A. Before anything was in the room- we tried different options for the crib (we only have two walls that work) and we chose to put on the opposite wall that you walked in so it kept the room open when you walked in. Plus it was a perfect size to lay out all the squares of superheroes.

Q. How many DIY elements were involved in this nursery? Tell us about your DIY projects.

A. A lot of DIY- like I mentioned, all the fabric items where custom made by my fabulous mother-in-law. Even the Superman emblem was drawn up and cut out to match. We put together the valance by gluing the fabric on a board and stapling it to the back. We then drilled it into the ceiling- that won’t be coming out for a while! I designed the prints in Photoshop and had them painted and my husband stretched them in our garage. The quilt you see in the photo was given to me by a dear friend.  Everything is pretty much custom made. I am lucky- I had a lot of outside help!

Q. What’s your overall favorite part of the nursery?

A. All of it! I also really love being able to read to my son on the chair before nap times and bedtimes!

Q. What was your biggest indulgence?

A. The Leather reclining sofa – IKEA leather couches are my expensive than you would think…but it is also my favorite piece of furniture!

Q. What was the biggest challenge of creating your nursery?

A. Finding the time and muscles to put up the valance… I had a lot of help with the sewing- or I would say that would be the most challenging part for me! Once again…thank you Mimi!

Q. To what extent did you factor in how much you would need to change in order to transition this room from nursery to super big kid room?

A. That was one of the reasons we went with a theme that could also be a big kid room. We can convert the crib into a toddler bed and we are good to go. Easy-breezy…nothing else needs to change really.

Q. What’s your advice to other parents out there attempting to decorate their own theme nurseries? I think just do not be afraid to do something even when you get weird reactions. Think of things that can convert into big kid rooms to save on time and money later.

Q. A hot trend is decorating baby’s nursery in similar style of your baby shower. What was your baby shower like? Was it a super hero or comic book theme?

A. I wish!! That would be amazing. We still were still negotiating the theme and design of the room when we had our baby shower. But I have been planning in my mind the most amazing comic book birthday party for our little man. We are also doing a comic book strip photo shoot for our Christmas card. Can’t wait!

Anything else you want to add!

Create a space that you can enjoy spending time together in! Ignore what others think… Go with what you love. 

besitos, xoxo