Sentimental Dress Curtain

I have been cleaning, donating, and parting with many of the girls' baby items lately. Some are easier to say good-bye to than others. If all three girls wore something it is really hard for me to part with it. With that being said...here is a curtain in our powder room that used to be a sundress that all three girls wore. The colors were just right for the room and it was so easy to turn into a simple little curtain. Just a little sewing and voila! It probably only took me 20 mins and I have a constant reminder of BP, BB, and CC wearing this sundress as babies. Chubby little legs and all!

Basement Project Update

Barefoot Dad's office is almost complete.

The concrete floors are polished, stained + finished. Painting is 99% complete + should be done tomorrow.

More pictures + details i.e. paint colors etc. to come. Just one last thought...do you know how hard it is to find a TRUE "barn red"?

Gingerbread House

From the minute Nana gave us the "create your own gingerbread house" kit, BP incessantly asked to do it. So after 1,000 times of asking the girls created this on Sunday afternoon. BP loved the whole artistic process. BB just liked sneaking the candy.

Projects

Here are a couple of BP's projects that Miss Erika sent home last week. My favorite is the one eyed snowman!

Sap Time

It is that time of year again. Sap time. Warm days, cold nights, perfect for tapping trees and collecting sap. After hearing the weather report for the weekend, Barefoot Dad scrambled to get everything in order and got to work...luckily our new property has a handful of trees.

Step 1 Find the Sugar Maples (hard to do when the leaves are off the trees)

Step 2 Drill hole in tree

Step 3 Put tap into tree

Step 4 Hang sap bucket

Step 5 Listen for the ping of the flowing sap

Today the sap flowed instantly from the trees. Tomorrow we will check all the buckets and begin collecting the sap. It takes 43 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup, and a VERY, VERY long time to boil it down. BP was there every step of the way as Daddy's little helper. She gets really into this whole project. I think it is cute that they do it. I can see BP telling her friends about it someday, rolling her eyes, and saying, "my Dad makes me collect all this sap and it is so much work" and secretly loving it. BB just loves being outside and getting dirty. Since the warmer weather blew in, I have to change her clothes at least three times a day. Where there is mud she finds it in a serious way.

Craft Project: Spring Banner

This fabric banner is my next project. I found it in Country Living at least a year ago. I tore it out and have been saving it since. I am going to attempt to make this banner for the playroom. I don't want to cover the windows with heavy, formal curtains in any of the rooms of our new house. My reason? #1 because it just is not a formal type of home, and as soon as you hang something and start dressing a window, it makes the room and the home look formal. #2 because it would kill me to block the views from each window. So I think this fabric banner would look so cute in our playroom. It is fun and unique and perfect for a playroom. It also has a bird motif stamped on some of the flags, which with luck I will be able to recreate for the subtle bird theme we already have going on in the room. Wish me luck and I promise to let you know how it turns out. Oh, and if you have any other bird theme ideas please, please share!

Crewcuts Headband

Large pink flower headband $16.50 from Crew Cuts.

Craft Project: Headbands

My girls were not blessed with fast growing, long, luxurious locks. Someday maybe, but for now we LOVE headbands! BP wears them all the time and now BB, who learns so much from her big sis, does too. Yesterday we made six new headbands. I have to give all the credit for this project to my friend Allison who inspired me to do it and also to Design Mom, another blog, which is where Allison first saw the idea.

This was simple, fun, and easy. Oh and did I say simple? So, so simple!

All you need is a glue gun, ribbon, headbands, and something pretty to adorn the headband.

I bought a package of three Goody headbands for $3

Then I wrapped the ribbon, starting from each side and meeting in the middle. I recommend satin or gross-grain ribbon. I used the hot glue just at the ends of the headband to attach the ribbon, not as I wrapped it.

Next attach the flower or button by looking in the mirror or using your child as a model.

I liked the headbands more when the decoration was off center a little.

And that is all there is to it.

Crewcuts, J.Crew's children's line is selling very similar headbands for $16.50. It cost us less than that to make six of them!