Fun with Kids! Playhouse for Z

I'm back! After Thanksgiving things got crazy busy around here, and I just couldn't post. But I made a bunch of things that I'm excited to share with you, and here is the first: a playhouse for Zoe!

This was Zoe's 2nd Birthday present. She loves to crawl into and under places with her books (boxes, laundry baskets, tables, beds...) so I thought I'd give her a safe, cozy place of her own to "read" and play. After scouring the internet and Pinterest (love! love!) I found this playhouse and this PVC fort frame. We ended up modifying the PVC fort frame to make it a better size for Z (3 1/2 feet wide by 5 12 feet tall.)

Making the sides 42 inches also meant that I could just use the width of the fabric for each side - no piecing - yay! I used duck instead of cotton weight so it would (hopefully) hold up better.

The windows are reinforced with another layer of fabric, an overlock stitch and ribbon trim - hoping they'll stand up to lots of peeking!

There's a flap with a slot underneath for postal deliveries...

And just the right amount of room inside to stretch out and relax!

 

Now the older boys are asking for one their size...

Fun with Kids! Turkey Handprint Placemats

I've always loved the turkey handprints that my kids have made in preschool. You know, where the teacher puts brown paint on the palm and thumb and a different color on each finger and than carefully presses the little hand down to make a turkey - SO cute! I thought it might be fun to have the kids color their own turkey handprints and then make them into placemats for Thanksgiving.

Here's the paper version Zeke made in preschool this year. We just love our preschool!

The boys had a great time with this. Here's how we did it. First I traced their hand onto a piece of brown fabric using a fabric marker.

 

 Then they used fabric markers to design and color their turkeys.

I took the finished turkeys and ironed a piece of fusible web (wonder-under) on the back. Then I cut out the turkey just around the outside of the tracing line. If you wanted to make these with your kids, you could just buy a plain placemat and fuse on the turkey at this point. I had some fabric that I thought would be fun to use, so I made my own. For the front I sewed two contrasting pieces of fabric (2 3/4" by 12") to a middle piece (10 1/2" by 12") using a 1/4 seam allowance. I peeled the paper off the back of the turkey and fused it to the placemat.

 

Next I cut a piece of fabric for the back and a piece of flannel for padding (15" by 12" each.) I found this flannel in the clearance bin at the fabric store, and I'm so glad I snatched it up. It's been great for using as a thin batting in bags, purses, etc. I layered the fabrics (right sides together, then the flannel on top) and sewed through all three thicknesses (using a 1/2 seam allowance) leaving an opening in the bottom for turning.

After clipping the corners, I turned and pressed the placemat. I stiched down either side of each seam and then edgestiched around the entire placemat.

Then I did a tight zigzag stitch around the whole turkey to make sure it stays on there! I added some legs so it wouldn't look like it was floating in mid-air. :)

I used varigated thread in fall colors for the front and in the bobbin I put some varigated thread I had that just happed to match the backing fabric (which is from a sheet!)

 

The boys finished up by writing their names and "O give thanks unto the Lord" on the front.

All ready for Thanksgiving dinner! Zoe made a handprint turkey, too, and I'm hoping to have something else to show you on Monday, but we've got company coming, so we'll see if that happens. If not, Happy Thanksgiving!

Fun with Kids! Pumpkin Pie Playdough

Autumn is my favorite time of year - the changing colors of the leaves, the cool night air and the beginning of the baking season! My friend Kara posted a wonderful recipe on her blog Living Bread from Heaven for Spiced Pumpkin Bread (it's delicious!) that inspired me to make Pumpkin Pie Playdough with the kids.

The recipe for this playdough is super simple to make. It uses ingredients you probably already have on hand and it makes a soft, fragrant, all natural (and non-toxic) playdough that the kids love to play with. It will keep for quite a while in an airtight container.

Pumpkin Pie Playdough

Ingredients:
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2 Tablespoons oil
1 1/2 cups flour

Directions:
Stir water, salt, cream of tartar and spices together in a medium-sized saucepan. Kids love helping with this part.

Then place the pan on the stove on medium heat. When the mixture starts to get warm, add the oil. Then add the flour and stir continuously until the dough is no longer sticky and your fingers leave an imprint when you press the dough. This happens pretty quickly, so you want to stir it well.

Take the dough out of the pan and place it on a heat-proof surface. Knead it until it is soft and pliable (be careful, it's hot!) When it has cooled down a bit, the kids can help knead, too.

Now it's ready! This dough is great for making shapes with cookie cutters...

Or rolling with the rolling pin...

Or making a playdough pumpkin pie!

Fun with Kids! Pumpkin Lanterns

Pumpkins have been a big deal around here lately. We carved ours about a week ago with Grandma and Grandpa B after a trip to the pumpkin farm, and they look great lit up on the porch. But we needed some pumpkin fun inside, so the boys made these Pumpkin Lanterns out of glass jars and tissue paper.

It was a really quick, instant-gratification project, which is the way to go with the boys.  First we cut a bunch of orange, yellow and red tissue paper into one inch(ish) squares.  Then they brushed white glue onto the jars with a Q-tip and randomly placed tissue paper squares onto the outside of the jars to cover them.

They added black construction paper eyes, nose and mouth, then brushed glue over the whole outside of the jar to keep the tissue down and to give it a little shine.

I had been saving this great leaf-shaped jar that came with maple syrup in it. Teddy took his time and smoothed down all the tissue so the veins of the leaf would show.

They put a cross on one side of the jar as a reminder that Jesus is the Light of the World.

We added a tea light to each jar and turned out the lights for some pumpkin glow.




(A word of caution if you make these: the glass gets quite warm when candle is lit, and keeps the heat for a while after the candle is put out.)