Bubble wand flower tutorial

Here it is - finally - the bubble wand flower tutorial! My computer is having some issues, so it takes really long to upload pictures, am trying to get that fixed, but managed to get this on here...

Items you need:

• bubble wands (only $1 at Walmart...)

• construction paper or cardstock in different colors

• adhesive

• scissors

• optional: flower punches

For each flower do the following:

Cut out a big flower shape, large enough to fully cover the label of the bubble wand. Cut some smaller pieces for the center, or use flower punches if you have any. Fold the green paper before you cut your leaves, that way you will end up with two pieces that have the same shape.Then, glue the big flower onto the label, I just used a regular glue stick and covered the whole label with the glue.Glue the center of the flower in place, and put glue on the whole bottom leaf. I dabbed some glue on the bubble wand to where I glued the leaf on, to make sure it wouldn't slip down... If you want to make sure it won't come off, you can use some clear tape to make sure the leaves stay where they're supposed to be.Here is your finished product!I made a bunch of them and arranged them in a popcorn bucket, so that I would have a cute center piece for the party. I just love the way this looks, and it is SO easy! I put some marbles in the bottom of the bucket to make sure it wouldn't tip, and it helped to put a taller can in the center, so that some of the flowers would look taller, to resemble a 'real' bouquet. I stuffed some newspaper in between the 'stems' to keep them in place, and covered it up with some easter grass. All kids at the party (ages 2-9) loved these favors, it's always hard to find something that works for all ages, and even the boys were OK with the flowers, since it was only a 'temporary' thing :) I highly recommend this! (Although my 2 year old needs some help while using it, she tends to pour it all out at once, while trying to make bubbles ;) )

I linked up to:

What I am doing at the moment...

I am busy preparing a birthday party for my daughter! The theme is very simple: flowers.

She loves flowers, and so do I, and it seems to go well with a spring birthday party. I have a lot of ideas at the moment, and will post more as I get more done. We made these large flower party favors, using bubble wands. I love these wands, they can create huge bubbles, and are fun for kids of all ages. To be honest: last year we had some, and I liked to play with them, too :). The price is nice, too, I picked them up at Walmart for $1. They will make a nice centerpiece at the gift table, too. I will post a tutorial on how to make these later, when I have a bit more time. And I will keep you updated on the rest of our flower creations, too. Stay tuned...

Extending the life of clothes - making tops longer

I think most moms recognize how fast kids outgrow their cute clothes. I found a way of making tops last longer, using some old t-shirts from myself that were on my 'donation' pile. It's really fast and easy, I added this extra layer to these 2 pajama tops in about 15 minutes! So why not give this a try?

This would also work for boys' clothes, with one little adjusment. I will give a step-by-step tutorial, I didn't take pictures of the separate steps, but it's so simple that you don't really need the pictures to go with this.

1. Take the top that got too short, and find a t-shirt in a matching or contrasting color. For most clothes, even a simple white t-shirt would create a cute, layered look.

2. Cut off the bottom part of the t-shirt, about 1 inch longer than you want the bottom layer to finally be.

3. Flip the part you just cut off inside out. Measure how wide your kid's top is. Zigzag the side of the part you cut off (inside out) so that it has the same width.

4. Then, trim off the excess fabric. Next, stitch on the inside of your zigzag with a straight stitch.

5. Now there are 2 different ways to proceed, depending if you want a ruffly bottom (like pictured) or just a simple, straight bottom.

For the ruffly bottom: Zigzag the raw edge of the "tube" you created with a small zigzag stitch. It will end up curly looking like the pictures above. Then, pin the tube with the finished edge underneath the bottom of the shirt, and attach with a straight stitch. (I just followed the seams that were already there to make it look neater. So you might want to do that twice if there where 2 originally.)

For a straight bottom: pin the raw edge of the "tube" you created underneath the shirt. Attach with a straight stitch. (I just followed the seams that were already there to make it look neater. So you might want to do that twice if there were 2 originally.)

And that's it!

This would be even quicker if you would use a shirt that is of the same width, so basically combine 2 outgrown shirts. That way steps 3 and 4 could be skipped.

I linked this up to:

I love spring colors!

Just love these pretty tulips my husband brought home for me!

Refashion: Turn long-sleeved turtle neck into ruffled t-shirt and headband

I found some cheap turtle necks this weekend at a sale, and decided to buy them and change them into t-shirts for this summer. This is a great time to buy cheap winter clothes and change them, or use winter clothes that you already have on hand before your child outgrows them!

I started by cutting off the sleeves and the turtle neck itself. To make sure you cut both sleeves evenly, cut off one sleeve, turn it over and put it on the other long sleeve and use that as a guide to cut the other sleeve.

Next, you are going to cut the new neckline. I used a small plate and traced it. Be careful not to cut it too low, since the weight of the ruffles that you are going to attach will pull it down a little further.

Next, zigzag the edges of the new sleeves, I used stitch length 1. The sleeves will end up looking 'curly' like they are in the picture.

Then, use one of the sleeves you cut off, and cut it into strips. My strips were just a little narrower than an inch. You will probably need 3 or 4 strips.

Next, using a straight stitch, the longest one you have, stitch straight down the middle of the strips. Gather the strips, so that a ruffle is formed. Pin the ruffled strips onto the shirt, so that they overlap one another.

Sew the ruffle onto the t-shirt with a straight stitch. (I used length 2)

And the shirt is done!

Next, we're going to make this cute headband using the neck of the shirt... (Can't let anything go to waste, can we?!)

In order to make the flower, find a strip of fabric, about 3 inches wide and 16 inches long. Fold it and sew with the longest straight stitch on your machine. Then, pull the strings at the ends to gather the fabric, as shown in the picture below.

Roll up till your flower has a shape you like, tucking in the ruffled ends.

Then, sew by hand to create the flower.

Next, sew the 2 edges of the turtle neck together, and turn that to the inside of the headband. Attach the flower to the headband (you can sew it or pin it so that you can change it later) and you're done.

Colorful Clowns

Recently I ran into a cute, Bulgarian website, called Krokotak. They have lots of great ideas, and thanks to Google Translate, I am even able to understand what they're writing.

This cute clown is one of the things I found there, it's a coloring page, in the shape of a circle. Once the picture has been colored, you can cut them out, and transform them into a 3-dimensional clown. It's just one piece, so no glue needed. Such a neat, smart craft!!

The download can be found here:

Black&WhiteClownColoringPage

Pre-ColoredClown

Let your kids color the pages.

Let them cut it out, only the black/white stripes, see picture above. (Younger kids will need assistance here.) Twist the legs and arms tightly, uncolored side of paper inside.

Let the clowns play in the yard!

These would make a really cute garland for a clown-themed kids birthday party.

I linked up to It's Our Long Story.

Pineapple Orange Smoothie

I really enjoy this drink, it's so simple, I just made it up last week, but am sure this is going to be one of my summer favorites this year. My kids like it, too! Can you tell I am ready for a change of seasons??

INGREDIENTS

• 20 oz can of pineapple (in 100% juice)
• 2 cups of ice cubes
• 2 cups of orange juice

Put all ingredients in the blender.

Cover and process for 15 seconds or until smooth.

Enjoy!

(Variation: you could add a banana too, for extra vitamins, flavor and sweetness...)