Toddler Snowflake Art with your Cameo or Cricut
My girlfriends and I had our annual Holiday Cookie Exchange last night!
Now that the kiddos are older, we decided to add a craft to the mix. We scowered Pinterest for ideas, and came across this idea for a snowflake painting using tape. I had done a similar project several months back with my son using his initial. We agreed that something like this would be perfect for 2 22 month olds, as well as for a 4.5 year old. I recently purchased a Silhouette Cameo (yay!) and am always looking for more crafts to use it for. So, instead of using tape to make the snowflake, I used the Silhouette Studio to make a snowflake! I used vinyl (had to use the Cricut brand since my store did not have the Silhouette brand), but it worked beautifully! I made a large snowflake, roughly 8 inches by 8 inches and hit cut. The Cameo did the rest. I’m sure the Cricut would do just as well as long as you have a cartridge with a snowflake.
I did this before we left for the party. Once at the party each mommy took a cut out, peeled the shape away and attached it to a 12×12 canvas. I would recommend not doing a super intricate pattern, as it was a bit tricky peeling it off, but we all did so successfully without any tears!
Once the canvases were prepped we got the kids ready to paint! For the two boys, it was easy, they just wanted to make a mess. It was also my son’s first time using a paint brush instead of his hands! We let them go to town, covering as much of the canvas as they would. This craft is best if the snowflake pattern is covered in paint!
My friend’s daughter proved to be very meticulous with this craft, and was very careful about coloring inside of the lines!
Once enough of a mess was made and everyone’s canvases were (mostly) covered, we cleaned the kids up. I had some glitter on hand, so we added a bit of glitter to each one for good measure.
Now, it was time to wait and let the paint dry. Here’s what everyone’s almost-finished projects looked like:
Ok, ok, I filled in the edges of my son’s! 
I think they turned out great! Once they dry, it’s time to pull back the vinyl pattern to reveal the snowflake! Some of the areas on the canvas got a bit goopy with paint, and seaped through the edges of the vinyl. To avoid this, ensure you push the vinyl pattern down very firmly, and try to avoid really think areas of paint!
Precious Car-N-Go Ponchos
Did you know that it is not safe for your child to wear a bulky winter coat while buckled into their car seat? Watch this short slide show to find out why. My Precious Car-N-Go Ponchos are the perfect solution to keep your child warm and safe in these cold winter months! You can get your own Precious Car-N-Go Poncho in my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/JeniLynnDesigns?section_id=10742494
Toddler Football Blanket Tutorial
I saw a picture of a football blanket on Pinterest and just HAD to make one! I’m always looking for great ideas that are cute but also geared towards boys. My husband is a huge Broncos fan, so this was a perfect project!
There were no instructions with the picture I saw, so I decided to just make my own pattern and create this tutorial in case anyone wants to make their own! It’s actually very easy and quick!
I chose to use brown bubble minky for the front and Broncos print fleece for the back. I used white felt for the pattern on the front, also fleece would work just fine.
First, cut out a football shape from one of the fabrics. I folded my fabric into quarters and cut it that way so the blanket would be consistent shape on all sides. It took a few tries, to make it perfect, but it was just trimming the edges to make it look right.
My finished blanket is roughly 34 inches by 25 inches at the widest points, so my fabric cut is about 35 inches by 26 inches to allow for the seams. Once you have the first fabric cut, fold your second fabric and use the first cut as a pattern. This will ensure that both sides are identical shapes.
Next, it’s time to cut the white accent pieces for the front of the football. While I was doing this part, I decided to embroider my son’s name to the front in case he wants to take it to daycare at times. I got it set up and let me machine do it’s thing while I measured and cut white felt.
While my machine was stitching away I began measuring for the white strips. I started 6 inches over from the point and measured the width. It was roughly 20 inches.
1 inche width looked good visually, so I cut 2 1 inch by 22 inch strips. I eyeballed the middle and cut a 1 inch strip 10 inches long. Then it was time for the “stitches”. I cut 4 6 inch pieces for that. Once I had my white pieces ready, I pinned the two long pieces on either end and the horizontal strip to the middle.
With white thread in my sewing machine, I simply sitched around all sides of the white strips, close to the edge. Once all pieces were securited to the minky I added the 4 6 inch white strips. I eyeballed the placement and pinned them in place. Once pinned, I stitched around all 4 edges of each piece.
Now it’s time to stitch the blanket together. When working with minky lots of pinning is required! Lay your two sides together, right sides together. Pin around the edges, every few inches a part. Once pinned head to your sewing machine and sew all the way around, leaving an opening a few inches long.
Once you stitch all the way around, turn your blanket rightside out. Top stitch 1/4 inch from the edge, all the way around the blanket, ensuring that you tuck in the opening and stitch it closed.
That’s it! You’re done! Blankets are such an easy and functional project, I love it! An idea I had after I had finished was to put a loop of grosgrain ribbon on one of the edges to hook it to a loop on a stroller. I’ll do that next time!
My son loves it!
Love the blanket, but don’t want to make one yourself? Send me a massage and we can work something out! These are not yet posted in my Etsy shop, but soon will be!
Kids Finger Paint Initial Art
I’ve seen it on Pinterest and have seen friends do it, so we had to give it a try! I’ve mostly seen it done with full names, but since I just had a 12×12 square canvas on hand I decided to just use my son’s initial.
This project was super easy, super fun, and SUPER messy! Before we got started I decided to paint the background of the canvas in shades of blue as a nice backdrop and to cover the sides of the canvas. So while my son was napping I got it ready. I first took some masking tape and made a letter T in the center of the canvas. I used 2 strips for each part of the T to make it more full
I wanted the background to be gradient blue so I pulled out 2 shades of blue and some white and put some on a plate so it was easy to mix.
I started at the bottom of the canvas and brushed some solid dark blue along the bottom portion, ensuring to also get the sides of the canvas. For the next row I took the dark blue and mixed in just a tiny bit of white to make it slightly lighter and brushed it on. I did this a few times, adding more white each time until I reached the top of the canvas. Paint right over the masking tape letter.
Knowing that most of it would be painted over I only spent about 3 minutes on it and didn’t worry about imperfections. I let it dry outside.
Once it was dry I got things ready for my son to go to town on this project. Knowing that he gets crazy distracted outside, I decided to do the project inside, on the kitchen floor. I laid a bunch of newspaper down (lesson learned–TAPE the paper down first!) and put some colors on two plates. I had sponge brushes available incase he wanted to give those a try.
Knowing this was going to be messy I stripped my son down to his diaper and set him in front of the canvas. He immiately reached for the warm colors plate, stuck his fingers in…and tried to eat the paint :/
Fortunately, I stopped him before it made it to his mouth. He was having a great time, experimenting with his hands, the brushes, and even his feet a few times.
Like I said, this was a super messy project.
Once the canvas was mostly covered and he began losing interest it was bath time. I had the bath set up and ready to go so I just had to drop him in and rinse him off. Here’s his completed canvas:
I set it outside to help it dry faster and got the mess cleaned up. The paint did get on my tile in a few spots where the newpaper had moved, but fortunately cleaned up super easy. Once the paint was completely dry, I pulled the masking tape off to reveal the letter! It was really easly to peal off. I think next time, though, I’ll paint the background first, before applying the tape. That way, the letter will be a coordinating solid color, rather than stark white…lessons learned
DIY Car Seat Kick Protector
My 18 month old son is still rear facing in his car seat and has recently started to wear shoes more and more. What does this mean? My car’s leather seat is taking a beating. I’ve seen a few tutorials that showed how to make one that goes under the car seat as well, but since that is NOT safe, I wanted another option. This super easy project took just a few minutes and cost just $2! Even better, it can be reversible with no additional work, and when it’s dirty just throw it in the washing machine!
I used 2 Fabric Quarters from Joann’s. They are regularly $1.99 but often go on sale for $1.29. They were regular price when I bought them, but I happened to have 2 50% off coupons so I picked them up for just $1 each! They have a wonderful variety of colors and patterns, it was hard to choose! I opted to do 2 different prints so we can switch it up for fun.
What you need:
- 2 fabric quarters (or other material)
- Iron-on stabilizer (optional)
- Ribbon
- Scissors or rotary tool
- Sewing machine and thread
I measured the seat in my car, from the top (just below the headrest) to where my son’s carseat touches the seat and then across it as well. I got 17x19inches. Fabric quarters are 18×21 so they were just about perfect! I trimmed 1 inch off of the 21 inch side to allow for a 1/2 inch seam all the way around.
This part is completely optional, but I decided to add stabilizer to my kick protector to well, stabilize it a bit. This just gives it a bit of structure. I had the iron on kind on hand, so I just pressed a rectangle a little bit smaller than the fabric to the fabric.
I wanted to have a tie to secure the protector around the headrest, so I cut 2 24-inch long pieces of grosgrain ribbon. I found out I didn’t need quite that much, but that’s what you get when you don’t measure how much you actually need . Next, lay the fabric on top of each other, right sides together.
Now, pin your two pieces of ribbon to the top edge of your kick protector. I put mine 4 inches in from each side. Be sure the length of the ribbon stays tucked in between the fabric.
Pin the fabric to one another and you are ready to sew! I did mine with a 1.2 inch seam all the way around. Be sure to leave an opening that is a few inches wide! I like to go back and forth over the ribbons 2-3 times to make sure it’s really secure since they will be getting tugged on. Once you are done, remove the pins and turn your kick protector right side out. Press if you’d like. Now it’s time to top stitch. I stitched all the way around the edge at a 1/4 inch seam. Tuck in the opening and top stitch it closed.
That’s it! Seriously!
And in action, my son was intrigued by the shapes and colors!
If you wanted, you could also make it out of a waterproof and wipeable material like PUL or Oil Cloth. You could add some pockets to it for additional storage, too!
DIY Reusable Swiffer Pads
I went to mop my floor the other night and found I was out of pads for my Clorox Ready mop (same idea as a Swiffer!). I have a ton of scrap fabric in my sewing area, so I decided to make my own resusable pads instead of having to buy more pads! This was a super easy project, if you have a sewing machine you can do it! I used velcro (both the sew-in and the sticky back kind) to attach it to my mop instead of making pockets like you see many made with, seemed easier to sew and actually use to me.
First, I measured the head of my mop. It was 9.5inches by 4 inches. I cut 3 pieces of fabric 10 inches by 4.5 inches to give a 1/4 inch seam allowance. I used one layer of cotton for the top, a layer of fleece for the middle, and finally a layer of terry cloth for the scrubbing part. The fabric doesn’t have to be pretty, or even coordinate for that matter since it’s just going to be scrubbing dirt off of your floor, but since I had some scraps I went with pretty
Next, I made a sandwich of fabric, starting by putting the terry and cotton pieces with right sides together.
Then I put the fleece on top, like this:
Next I stitched around the edges with a 1/4 inch seem, leaving about 3 inches open. I like to start somewhere in the middle of a long side, as it makes it easier to finish it off when you aren’t top stitching corners closed.
Now, turn your sandwich right side out. The fleece will fall into the middle.
Top stitch around the entire pad, folding in the opening and stitching it closed. It should look something like this:
Now, add your velcro to the top. I used 2 long strips of the sew-in kind. I chose to use the soft part of the velcro on the fabric, as it’s much easier to sew than the rough side. I just stitched it on, through all 3 layers of fabric. I suppose you could stitch it just to the cotton layer before making your sandwich too! You could also use the sticky backed kind here, but I worry about it’s durability through repeated washes.
Now take that sticky backed velcro and attach 2 long strips of the rough kind to the bottom of your mop, like this:
Attach your brand new pad and you are ready to mop!
That was super easy, right?! I made 3 pads in under 20 minutes. I’m so excited to never have to buy disposable mop pads again, what a savings! When they are dirty, just throw them in the washing machine! You can iron them afterwards if you are so inclined, but remember to be careful around the velcro as it could melt.
Custom Embroidered Shirt Giveaway!!
Enter to win a custom embroidered shirt! The lucky winner and I will work together to design a fun custom shirt! It can be done in any size, and in any color. We can pick out fun designs; whether it be a football, an adorable owl, a saying, a name, etc…the possibilities are endless! The design will be no larger than 4×4 and will be applied to the front of a T Shirt.
Simply enter through the Rafflecopter widget below! Good luck!
Here are some samples of embroidery that I have done:
