Halloween Overload

Things have been pretty festive around here lately. Festive, and crazy! Pumpkin picking, jumping in leaves, and cookie decorating sandwiched in with a nasty fall cold, some major appliance drama and lots of visitors. We have been busy busy busy to say the least.

As for Calvin, he has had the best week of his life! He spent the beginning of the week running around with cousin Sawyer and showing off for cousin Hazel. As if that wasn't enough, he spent the entire weekend being spoiled by his Grandma and Grandpa. What more could a tot want? If you ask Cal the answer would be PUMPKINS!!!- and that's just what he got. A weekend of pumpkiny, Halloweeny, sugary goodness. After weeks of being on full pumpkin alert and pointing out every "punk" he lays his eyes on, a bit of an obsession has formed.

(Displaying some serious pumpkin love.)

He hand-picked two pumpkins a few weeks ago and has been lugging them around the house ever since.  After rolling the large pumpkin to his room all by himself, it now lives next to his bed where he can look at it before he goes to sleep. At one point this week I even found Calvin and Sawyer playing soccer with it in the hallway.

The smaller pumpkin was used for an art project this weekend.

An edible one.

 Thankfully, the finished product turned out quite cute.

Much to his sprinkle loving delight, he also spent some time making Halloween cookies with Grandma and cousin Jack this weekend.

(Gotta love little Jack snacking on a yummy dough bat.)

(Cuties and their baking noses.)

As for myself, I am more than ready for Monday. After a crazy (and fun/busy/frustrating/long) week, Calvin is quietly tucked in for the night next to his pumpkin, my nasty cold has taken a turn for the better, the new washer and dryer are finally up and running (and I immediately did 7 loads of laundry to break them in), and I am sitting on the couch watching Scandal and browsing through potential Christmas cards. Bring on the week!

Playdough

Today it was 98 freaking degrees. It's September 10th, that is just not okay. I have been daydreaming of chilly days, fall decor, homemade applesauce, and pumpkin muffins for a month now. A hundred degree day was not in my plans. Summer, you have had your turn, now kindly back off so I can get my sweaters out thankyouverymuch.

That being said, after venturing out into the heat this morning, Cal and I decided to skip the great outdoors this afternoon and lounge at home together. Thinking back to my days of teaching preschool and needing to fill many long afternoons with toddler friendly activities, homemade playdough came to mind. I figured it was worth the risk. The risk being Cal eating large goopy globs of the stuff just prior to tracking it around and smashing it into the numerous rugs around the house. Much to my surprise, he rose to the occasion and had perfect playdough etiquette. Somehow, without any prompting, he even knew how to use the roller to flatten out his playdough canvas. I was so proud (and immediately began daydreaming of making pies with my boy down the road). But I must say, the absolute best part of our playdough date was the fact that it entertained Calvin for well over a half hour.. that's more that 3 hours in toddler time!! It was magical.

What's even more magical? The idea of watching Cal kick around fallen leaves at the park as I sit back and sip on a pumpkin spice latte. So come on fall, let's get this party started!

*Here's the recipe we used if you are looking for a good one..

Homemade Playdough

- 1 cup flour

- 1 cup water

- 2 tsp cream of tartar

- 1/3 cup salt

- 1 Tbs vegetable oil

-  food coloring

Instructions

- In a saucepan, mix together all the ingredients, except the food coloring. Stir and cook over medium heat until well blended (there may be a few lumps). Once it begins to thicken (about 1-2 minutes) add several drops of food coloring. Continue stirring until the dough thickens and sticks to the spoon.

- Remove dough from pan and cool on wax paper.

We followed the step by step photo instructions at this blog and it turned out great!

DIY "Beanbag Chair"

For the past few weeks Calvin has been obsessed with Marshall's dog bed. He is constantly bringing books and toys over to the dog bed to sit/lie/stand/sprawl/jump. Brushing dog hair off of Cal 457 times a day didn't bother me (okay, maybe it bothered me a little). What really bothered me was the fact that Marshall no longer had a place to sit in the living room so he was constantly up on the couch and on my lap. A girl needs her space! The time had come for Calvin to have his own dog bed. And let me just say, this was the easiest no sew project I have ever done!

2 yards of music lovin' froggy fleece

+ 

1 large pile of old stained/torn/stretched un-donatable clothes

+ 

1 hair tie 

(for the optional "swirl" effect)

 =

 1 child approved doggy bed

 Grand total: $6.37

Time spent: 20 minutes 

Can't argue with that!

Directions:

-Cut fabric into two equal rectangles (or you can be all fancy and make a circle/star/hexagon)

-Find the center of one of the pieces of fabric- pinch and turn to create a swirl. Secure with a hair tie

-Lay fabric down with one piece on top of the other

-Cut fringes along the outside of the fabric cutting through both pieces at the same time (approx. 1" x 3")

-Tie top and bottom layer together by knotting the fringes- leave approx. 10 undone

-Stuff with old clean clothes

-Tie the remaining fringes and toss your tike on their new doggy kiddo bed

Now everyone has a their own space in the living room again!

..and I don't have to feel quite as guilty kicking Marshall off the couch.

DIY Tile Coasters

My dear friend Kirsten let me in on a little DIY secret last month- tile coasters! They make the perfect homemade gift. And for under $1 for a set of 4 coasters (yes, you heard me right - $1 for a SET of coasters), you can easily make a set for everyone you know! 

Here's what you need:

Ceramic Square Tiles (4 1/4" x 4 1/4")

Decorative Paper

Paper Cutter (for the perfect square)

Mod Podge

Brush (for applying Mod Podge)

Felt

Scissors

Tacky Glue

Acrylic Sealer

Here's what to do:

Cut paper into 4" x 4" squares. Cutting 4" squares will leave a small boarder of tile around the edges of the paper. You can make the squares larger or smaller depending on your boarder preference- whatever your coaster lovin' heart desires.

Next, brush a layer of Mod Podge directly on the tile. Press paper down onto the tile making sure that there are no air bubbles. Let dry for at least 15 minutes.

Brush 2-3 coats of Mod Podge over the tile, allowing time to dry in between each coat.

I went ahead and lined up dozens of tiles and brushed on down the line. Please note that I tackled this project in the BC (before Calvin) era of my life.

Next, take tiles to a well ventilated area (ie: outside) and spray with one coat of Acrylic Sealer.

Once dry, glue felt squares to the back side of each tile.

Stand back and marvel at your tiny masterpieces.

Wrap up each set in a cute little bow and Voila! The perfect homemade gift!

Happy crafting!!

Pinterest Love

My love for Pinterest has only grown with late night diaper changes and 3am feedings. To keep me from falling asleep and landing head first on my nursing son, I have spent countless hours on the site dreaming up delicious meals and admiring creative DIY crafts. And while I would love to say that I tackled all sorts of fun new meals and crafts during my all too short maternity leave, I would honestly rather stare at a certain handsome boy all day long. However, I did manage to whip up this quick paper heart wreath from this site - just in time for Valentine's Day.  

Paper, ribbon, glue- it doesn't get any easier than that!