~girls quiet book~

 I can hear choirs singing as I post this....

the quiet book is done and gifted.

It was a big hit. My little lady loves it.

I am pleased with the overall result but I feel

like it's not as good or detailed as the other

quiet books I've made in the past. My Mom

reminded me that in the past when I made the

other 2 quiet books, I wasn't chasing around

a 2 year old. TRUE! Good news is,

I made this so that I can add pages to it as

time allows. What you see here is just the

beginning pages. I already have ideas for

pages I will add to it. Lots of pictures here so 

I'm going to get on with it. 

   

the book is bigger than the last girl's quiet book

I did. It measures about 9 X 12. I really like how

my son can throw other stuff in with his quiet book

in the bag so I decided to go with a bag for this one too

rather than handles on the actual book.  

Here's the bag:

 Messenger style made with vintage denim.        

 The book fits in nice and snug but leaves 

enough room for additional books or gadgets.

 The front: 

 I used these round binder clips to hold it together.

I thought it needed a little fancying up so I 

added the bow to each clip. These are her little hands.

 The first page is balloons that spell her name.

She can take them off and put them back on.

 The next page is filled with shapes for her to match up.

 This page is a cookie jar filled with cookies.

 OREOS and chocolate chip cookies of course.

 This is her favorite page.

Make-up and a mirror......she LOVES this!

 I made the make-up with lids to lift up.

I used clear plastic material for the lid.

I wanted it to seem real to her. 

 I made a make-up bag to hold the brushes and felt

lipstick and mascara. I also threw a real chapstick 

and some hair clips in there.

 I attached a ring and some clip on earrings I made

onto the page with the hand held mirror and comb. 

I'm sure you've guessed by now that my little

lady loves to play dress up.

 

 Here is the front of the mirror.

I made it with a plastic mirror and very thick

Pelon in between the felt layers.

I put her name on the back of the mirror. 

 This was the easiest page:

 A puzzle to put together.

I put a little dab of Velcro on each puzzle piece.

Velcro sticks to felt for those of you who don't know.

I also did this with another puzzle and put it in 

a ziploc baggie to go in the big bag.   

 I like the way this page turned out too:

 An apple tree with apples and a bucket on one side

and the clothesline with little clothespins and 

felt clothes on the other page.

 I always put a big pocket in my quiet books to

put stickers, paper, crayons, etc. in

I made this pocket with some vintage corduroy I have. 

 I filled it with these things....all found at the dollar store.

 To close it I attached some ribbon to the front and back

covers and tied it off. That holds it together enough

to keep the goodies in it. 

I'm so glad I finished it on time and that it's loved.

 I feel bad it's not as 

great as my son's but I'm hoping as time

goes on and she gets a little older and

can play with more things (without breaking them)

I will add some really cute pages to this.

My son still plays with his and I feel that these

quiet books are going to be one of those

"special toys" that my kids will keep and cherish....

even when they are too old to play with them.

Maybe give to their kids one day :) 

I still have some of the special things my momma

made for me growing up;

a purse, a doll, doll clothes, a doll carry-all,

my first school bag, a graduation dress 

(that I never wore-I feel so bad about this!),

I should show you some of this handmade love.

It's what inspires me to do these things for my kids.

I remember how special it made me feel

when my Mom made me stuff.  

I'm going to dig it out.

Now that I've shared this I can get on with some other 

projects......AT LAST!    

To see my son's quiet book click (here).

To see the other girl's quiet book I made click (here).     

      

~kids pilgrim ship art project~

I'm the room mother for my kid's classroom.

This is the project we will be doing tomorrow

after their Thanksgiving Feast.

I found it on Pinterest (here).

So simple.....a ship with their hand print.

We'll see if I'm saying "so simple" after

trying to stamp 18 different 5 year olds

hands and clean it off before they end up

with hand prints all over their clothes too. 

   

~a little tiny peek at my Thanksgiving decor~

 I haven't had time to do a full run down of

my Thanksgiving decor this year....

Here's a little taste of it:

As you can see-I'm all about the fall foliage.  

GOOD NEWS!

 I am finished with the quiet book and all other

birthday projects for my little lady. I will be taking

pics of them today and posting on here within

the next few days......PROMISE.

  

~semi-home-made bracelets~

On top of the already busy season, I have

many birthdays in the month of November that

I like to acknowledge. Because of my time limits

this year I decided on some semi-home-made gifts.

Semi-home-made meaning I bought them and 

just embellished a little to personalize them.   

This bracelet was already made, I just had to change

the loop for the closure (it was really chintzy) and

added the charms. A wish for a year full of "love"

for a dear friend who's suffered much heart-ache 

the past 1 1/2 years. Love is on the 

horizon for her again :)

 

   This set of bangles was for my cousin. 

I added the charms to these by connecting the

thin bangles together with a large O-ring.  

It looks so cute on her....so much so that now

I'm wishing I kept it for myself.  

 And this bracelet was full on home-made....

 ....another little wire heart bracelet for my son's friend.

I attached the key charm to this....been thinking of 

making one with a charm for awhile and just

now got around to it. I think it turned out cute and

I'm pretty sure the little lady liked it to. Apparently

she thinks it's a key to "the city".

See....good things do come in small packages :)     

~Favorite Things Holiday Swap 2012~

Hello eveyone.

I am two pages away from being done

with this quiet book and

after that I PROMISE I will be sharing

more often. I've been going thru my pics

(for another holiday project) and I've

found sooooo many pictures of projects

that I haven't shared with you yet.

Moving on.......

Have you ever participated in a Holiday Swap?

One of the blogs I read, Design Gal and Her Handyman,

is doing a Favorite Things Holiday Swap.

Basically, when you join the swap you are paired up

with someone and you send them a nice little

package that you've crammed full of your favorite things.

The limit is $20 so it's not impractical.

In return, you also get a package from someone.

Check it out (here) and join.

Maybe you'll be paired up with me and

let me tell you, you want the package I'm going 

to send you!                

~still here....~

It's been a busy month and I have some fun

projects to share....if only I could find the time.

Halloween has come and gone-did you dress up?

My husband and I went to a Halloween party.

The theme was dead celebrities.

Here's my costume: 

 Amy Winehouse...the cigarette is a prop....

but it is real. I was terribly afraid that I would

be tempted to start smoking again by the 

end of the evening. I didn't smoke it but it sure

was fun holding it all evening and posing with it.

It turns out, the accomplishment of 13 years being

smoke free is a greater feeling than the urge

and desire to smoke the cigarette was. 

woot woot!

I did make my son's costume.

He was Kick-Buttowski..suburban daredevil.

       His costume on Halloween night had a big 

collar on it like this but I forgot to attach it

when I took these pics.     

  The costume was simple to make and he loved it.

Only problem is, he tries to actually BE

a daredevil when he wears it. Right after I snapped

this picture he and his bike fell of the rock

and skinned his leg. In real life my kid has a face....

but you'll never see it on here.  

Now we begin the busy season of birthdays,

family, Thanksgiving, Christmas and a 

MILLION projects to be finished before it 

all comes and goes. My current project,

a quiet book for my daughter's 2nd birthday.

Less than three weeks away.....

and I haven't started it yet. 

I foresee some very late nights in the near future.