Dog Days Of Summer.

What's this? 

A blog post? 

 Crazy. 

Seriously, it has been too hot to play on the computer, much less craft. We live in a part of the country where Target, the mall, and a few chain restaurants have central air. Thats it. So when it gets above 90 we are hot. 

Instead we have been spending our days playing cars...

Going to the fair...

(B loves the "Lama, Lama"  books so she was very excited / nervous he would bite her to see a real lama. )

...taking B's first ferris wheel ride... better than her first merry-go-round ride where she threw up in my hand... moving on. 

... Drawing on her belly button instead of the chalkboard...

 and making Gage listen to her "read" books.

As you can see we have been very busy. :) 

Hopefully it will cool off soon and I will find some motivation to do something other than swim in our neighbors pool every chance we get. 

A Little More Fun..

Sometimes I feel all I do is correct B. 

"Bristol please don't put the WHOLE roll of toilet paper in the toilet, No, B you cannot scale the stairs, B stop pulling Gage's tail, Get out of what used to be my flower bed..." 

The list goes on. 

The other night I was thinking about this and though necessary it isn't fun for me - or B. 

How would you like to be told "No" or corrected constantly. 

Exactly. 

So I decided to make a plan to have more "positive" experiences with her. More fun. 

This morning was just that. 

We took a quilt and A TON of books outside, sat in the sun and read. She read to me, I read to her, we read to Gage. 

Then we COVERED our driveway with sidewalk chalk. ( My husband LOVES this... not really) 

We traced hands, each other, did hopscotch and drew about 200 hearts. 

Finally, B decided to go swimming - fully clothed. 

It was a nice morning toped off with Grilled Cheese and homemade chocolate milkshakes. 

I need to do this more. 

It was fun. :) 

Flip Flops and Corker Bows

I had seen similar flip flops on Zulilly a while back. But I just couldn't bring myself to order yet ANOTHER pair of shoes for Bristol.

I found these plain sandals at Target for $1.50 and decided to re-create the ones off Zulilly.

First things first though- the curled "corker" ribbon. 

Here is how I make it. 

First, cut ribbon twice as long as your dowel you will be wrapping it around.
Then securing each end with a clothes pin, tightly wrap around your dowel.

 Bake in the oven on a cookie sheet at 300 degrees for 10 minutes.

 Let the ribbon cool completely before removing them off the dowel. 

I burn the ends of the ribbon to keep from fraying as well. 

You can use these for hair bows or party decorations- I know super exciting. :)
Ok on to the flip flop. 

So then to attach them I sewed a button on the front with embroidery floss and hot glued the back on to my flip flop.

Sorry for the "off" pictures. I think someone played with my settings ha. 

Anyway wouldn't these be great for birthday party favors?! 

A Little Gift for Mama - Birthing Gown

First off, I apologize how slow things have been around here. With summer we have been spending a lot of time outside and enjoying things as a family. Living in New England we only get a few warm months out of the year and have to make the most of them! :) 

One of my very best friends is having a baby in August. 

Baby showers are fun to see all the cute baby stuff but after having my daughter I always try to include a gift for the Mama since well, they do all the work. :) 

So for one stylish Mama I decided to make a "birthing gown"- cause she couldn't deliver in just any old gown! 

I made it using a large t-shirt for a pattern, just extending the bottom to lengthen it. 

I decided instead of ties to use velcro to close the back so its easier to put on and adds a little more privacy in the back. :) 

Hope everyone had a great weekend! 

Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July!