~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).     

      

~embellished girls boots~

 My little lady LOVES boots and she has outgrown

the 2 pairs she had. She keeps trying to squeeze her

little chubs into them and gets seriously pissed 

that no matter how hard she tries they just WILL NOT fit.

I pulled out these little winter boots I saved 

from when our son was a babe.

Truth be told, they were fine and feminine enough

just like this. In fact-I tend to think they tip more

on the feminine side than the masculine side.

BUT-they were the only warm boot we could find

for our son when he was a babe and we went with it.

When he wore them they actually didn't look 

girly at all because the fur was always covered.

I don't know if it's because I associate them with

my son or if it's because I just love to embellish things

but YOU KNOW I had to add a few little things to

make these scream, "GIRL! girl! GIRL!"

 I found some embellishments in my collection here at home

so I didn't have to buy anything. I have intended to make

some leg warmers for her with the long socks but 

need to wait until she gets a little bigger. I cut a little off

the top to use for this....leaving enough to still allow

for the legwarmers when I am ready to make them.

 It's easy.....just pull out your glue gun and start gluing!

I did it in 5 minutes.

I slipped the sock over the top of the boot to see if

I liked them (which I DIDN'T) but my little lady 

threw a fit when I tried to take it off. Here's a picture of

them on her feet.....cute huh?

 I like them better without the sock around the top.

 What do you think?

~duck tape hair pretties~

 Have you seen all the amazing things people are

making out of duck tape? My nieces are a part of

the craze and they make some really cool stuff.

If I could ever get them to e-mail the pics of their stuff

I would show you (hint, hint). 

Check out the hair pretties they made 

for my little lady out of duck tape.

Aren't they sassy rock-n-roller retro'ish cute?

Thanks TJ-they are adorable!

Susie-I know her part isn't straight....settle down.

~zipper bracelets for tweens~

 Remember all the August birthdays I told you about 

a couple weeks ago? Three more of my nieces had 

a birthday last week and this is what I sent them:

They've been asking for zipper bracelets for 

awhile now and I've finally got around to making

them for the girlies. I think they'll really like them.

 I added the little piece of ribbon to this one

because it's for my younger niece and I 

thought it would make it look a little 

more age appropriate.  

And to my other niece who had a birthday last week...

I sent kisses to heaven.

Miss you everyday Sissy.

~little girls wire heart bracelet-EASY GIFT~

 Four of my eight nieces have birthdays

less than two weeks apart from each other in August.

YIKES.

I made a littler version of my heart wire bracelet for

my niece's 4th birthday party.

To package it I had my kids trace their hands

on a piece of card stock and we poked holes

thru it where a bracelet would be worn.

We looped the bracelet thru the holes and 

the kids wrote her a little note. 

I decided to wrap the wire with a piece of

fabric to give it a more juvenile look.

I loved the way it turned out and I think she did too.

 We wrapped it in tissue paper and put a pretty ribbon on 

it and.....VOILA! 

Done.

Easy. Personal. Realistic. Unique.

~bunny hair pretties for little girl~

I saw a cute idea for some Easter hair pretties

in the dollar store the other day. I would

have bought them but they were too big for

my little lady's head so I came home

and tried my own version.

See:

 

I love them with the little piggies on top 

of her head.  

 They were easy to make.

All you need is a hair clip, felt and

whatever you want to embellish it with.  

I was thinking of making a set and doing 

a giveaway but as I started thinking about

my schedule this week and next,

I realized I wouldn't have a chance

to make it and get them out before Easter.

Sorry.

  

It's Wednesday...the week is half over.

I've got a baby shower I'm throwing on Saturday

and a family Easter dinner on Sunday.

It's going to be busy....

I'll be posting pics of the table and decorations.

On a totally different topic....

have you seen The Hunger Games yet?

I'm interested to hear people's opinion

about the movie. I read the books

and LOVED them (surprisingly).

After seeing the movie the only word I 

can come up with when people ask me

what I thought is, "Eh."

I know, it's not really a word.

It just lacked the oomph that the book had.

For me, the emotion didn't come thru in 

the movie like it did so strongly in the book. 

Doesn't that always seem to be the case?

It was anti-climatic. 

However, the casting and the acting was

phenomenal.....superb.  

 Thoughts? 

Linking up with Kojo Designs 
and
Positively Splendid