Meet my Bloggy Friend, Ali!

I am so excited to have Ali from My Third True Love guest posting today! Ali and I "met" because we are both sponsors over at Primitive and Proper (hi Cassie!) and we instantly clicked. I mean, what's not to love...she's a thrifter, collector of swans and lover of chalkboard paint. My kinda gal! Not only is she a talented DIY'er balancing her creative life with being a wife and mother of 2 small children, but she also has an Etsy shop, Ooh La la Co. where she sells the cutest charm necklaces. Seriously, how cute is this Owl necklace?

So go check out her blog and her Etsy shop and I promise you will see why I think she's so awesome! Take it away, Ali....


Hello everyone!! I'm Ali from "My Third True Love" and I am so happy to be guest posting over here at Rebecca's awesome blog! I thought I would share a bit about how I juggle my DIY life with my family life. First and foremost, I'm a mom and a wife. BUT, I do have creative interests and feel like I deserve to dedicate some of my time to this little hobby we all know and love, DIY. It is a bit of a juggling act though, because sometimes the line between my time, and family time gets pretty blurry. Ok, let's face it, the line is more of a dashed line most of the time. That is why I have been making an effort to integrate my life as a mom & wife, with my third true love - DIY. Crafting with kids can be fun. Even the really simple things can be easy and rewarding. For instance, whenever we go to a friend's b-day party, we always wrap the package in brown kraft paper. This way, my son and daughter can color on the package with crayons and markers & make it all kid-fancy. Not only is the package adorable, but it's really personal too.

My son is almost 5 now and he is really into anything that has cause and effect. If I'm printing something on the computer, he's always right there to push the print button and eagerly waits for the printed paper to come out. Recently, he helped me use my Cricut machine (an Xmas gift from my hubby - oh yeah) to make this happy banner that we now have hanging in our kitchen. Baby sister was napping so Noah and I had some good solid one-on-one time together which was an added bonus. Not only did we get crafty together, but I got to remind him about some important safety rules (stay clear of the sharp blade, never touch the electrical outlet etc). Double mommy points there!

When I'm working on bigger projects, my first instinct is to wait until nap time so I can stay tidy and efficient. The less fingers in the paint, the better, right!? Well, I have recently tried to be better about allowing my little ones to explore with me and help. Even though at times it gets frustrating and it would go A LOT faster if I were working alone, the experiences that we are having are valuable ones. I know it. Luckily, kids typically have a short attention span and are on to something else in a relatively short amount of time. I definitely have my moments where I beg my husband to take them to the park so I can have at least one hour of PEACE. But I have to say, my family crafting time is becoming some of my most precious time.

Noah helped me paint the buffet we have in our kitchen and every time someone new comes over, the first thing he tells them is how he helped mommy "make" this. He's so proud & it's very sweet to see his enthusiasm and pride in our nice home.

HOWEVER, there is one thing I would steer clear of if you have the chance. I prefer to go thrifting without my kiddos. I need quiet. I need time. I need to roll up my sleeves and dive into the shelves and dig. The flea market can be hot and crowded and the last thing I want is to have to drag them down the aisles and pacify them with unhealthy snacks in order to keep my sanity (not speaking from experience here, of course).

Thrift shops are usually (always) dirty and crowded and there are lots of breakables very precariously perched on the overfilled shelves (and yes, that is my almost 2 year old daughter in our local goodwill eating a radioactive blue air-head taffy candy). Serenity now people, serenity now!So, If that last picture doesn't force you to call social services on me, take my advice: Craft with your kids when you can, and NEVER take them thrifting unless it's ABSOLUTELY necessary.

Thanks again Rebecca, I had a blast!

DIY Treasure Basket

Although the weather hasn't exactly warmed up yet (we just had record snowfall!), I've already begun thinking about the fun adventures my children and I will have when we can actually play outside again! Children love to be outside and mine are no exception. They love to explore, listen to the sounds of nature, spot birds and squirrels in the trees and at my house, my son loves to pick up treasures from outside. These treasures range from dandelions, to leaves, to nuts, to feathers, to snail shells. I am happy to encourage his adventurous, inquisitive spirit, but I'm not happy to collect all of his treasures on the kitchen counter.

So I decided to make him a Treasure Basket. I needed something that wouldn't get ruined by all things outdoors (ie, no fabric). As luck would have it, I had just finished this Costco-sized vinegar jug (BTW, vinegar is my new best friend when it comes to cleaning! Check out these great tips for using vinegar at home). You could use any plastic jug that you have at home, just try to find one that's a little sturdier than say a milk jug.


I peeled off the label with a little help from some Goo Gone (only up to the point where you'll be cutting the jug). I taped around my jug to mark the line where I would be cutting.

Then I used a box cutter to cut my "basket".


I wanted to decorate the basket to reflect it's purpose, so I cut out a bunch of outdoors-inspired pictures from some magazines. You could really get the kids involved with this part. They could choose their pictures and decorate their box anyway they'd like.


Next, I simply picked out the pictures I'd be using (I cut way more than I could actually use, but that gave me a lot of choices to get the right fit. It's kind of like putting together a puzzle.) and decoupaged them on the jug. My son even gave me a hand!


It's looking good!


Next, I finished off the top edge by hot gluing some double-folded binding tape around it, just in case there were any sharp plastic edges.


Then I made the handle. Using some fabric scraps that matched, I cut a piece about 14" by 3" (yours may be different depending on the size of your jug). I sewed down the middle (wrong side out) and then turned it. I used some boning (from my local Joann's, used for corsets and wedding dresses) to slide in the handle so it would keep it's shape. Then I cut a small "x" in each side of the jug, fed each end of the handle through the "x" and tied them off inside the jug. I did have a little slack on the inside, but I just cut it off. And voila! a Treasure Basket to house all of those wonderful treasures my son will surely be finding this Spring!


Despite the cold weather, we had to take it for a test drive. And I am happy to report that it was a great success!

Travel Distractions...er...Games

I have been traveling with my children since they were both only a few months old. They have always done great on airplanes, even amidst long delays, late nights, early mornings, full flights and all of the security inconveniences (Really, I have to take my 2-month-old's shoes off?). However, now that my son is almost 3, I have to admit that I have begun to rely on the power of the almighty DVD player. Sure, I still bring toys, books, markers, snacks, etc...but I can't deny that the DVD player holds some magical power of distraction.

I'm taking the children (solo) to see their grandparents and Tia in Arizona soon. I decided to see if I could find some new ideas for toys, games, and distractions of the non-battery-operated kind. I found these wonderful ideas from Obsessively Stitching's blog

My first project was an I Spy Book. I grouped the kids' toys together and took pictures of them. Some I just piled together,



others I lined up.



Then, I bought some $1 photo albums from the Dollar Tree...



printed off my photos...



and voila! An I Spy book that will hopefully provide some new and exciting entertainment on the airplane.



This project was great because it was almost free! All I spent was $2 for the photo albums, and I printed the pictures right here at home. If I had more time, I'm sure I could find more things to take pictures of to add to the book, but for now I have about 13 different I Spy pictures. Maybe for our next trip!

My second project was an I Spy Bag. I got the idea from Obsessively Stitching's blog, but then I found this tutorial and pretty much followed it. I had never seen these before, but I can see how kids must LOVE them! I didn't have a lot of time to collect small objects, so I actually just went to the Dollar Tree (gotta love that place!) and bought a bunch of little toys and party favors. And I still have a ton of toys leftover to make more bags! I added a few other items from around the house (paper clips, coins, buttons). I made sure to take pictures of everything before I put them in the bag so my children will know what they're looking for.



I cut my fabric in a 10" x 10" square so that the finished project would be 5" x 10".



I cut a 3" x 3" opening in my fabric so that once I folded back the fabric as the tutorial suggests, my "window" is about 3.5" x 3.5". I could not find the Poly Pellets but I found this Vase Filler instead and it works great (they're like little acrylic beads).



As Obsessively Stitching did, I used a plastic bag from a set of sheets (you know the zippered bags that new sheets, blankets, etc... come it) since it's pretty heavy duty plastic.

Then, I sewed my bag, filled it with about half the bag of "beads" and all of the toys. Then I sewed the opening closed and voila! an I Spy Bag that I hope will rival the DVD player in entertainment value.



Although I will still bring the DVD player on our trip, I hope that it will remain packed safely in my carry-on. I am now armed with a whole new arsenal of distractions...I mean games!



If you have any suggestions for kid-tested travel games, I'd love to hear them! Leave me a comment!

The best things in life ARE free

If you're a parent, you've no doubt experienced the excitement of buying your child the PERFECT gift. You bring it home and wrap it ever so beautifully, all the while imagining the joy you will be bringing to his little face when he opens this amazing expression of your love for him. It hardly seems fair to all the other gifts that will be so carelessly tossed aside as they will surely pale in comparison to your gift. Finally, the moment arrives, your child tears open the present, and... all he cares about is the box it came in.

We've recently had a similar experience here at our house. At our PTA Valentine's party, my son exchanged Valentines with all of his friends. One of the Valentines could be MAGICALLY transformed into a football goal post and football simply by tearing along the perforation and folding the pieces. As you can imagine, this Valentine was a HUGE hit at our house! He actually sat still for longer than 5 minutes to play with it. The other Valentines paled in comparison to the football Valentine.

Unfortunately, the goal post did not survive his one year old sister. My husband and I didn't have the heart to tell our son that his sister single-handedly destroyed his new, favorite toy. I instead suggested that we make a new one since we "lost" the old one.

We took a Diet Coke box from the recycle pile and simply cut out the new goal post, folding it to stand upright.


In case you didn't play this game in elementary school (like me), I'm including pictures of how to make the football. Fortunately our football survived but you could make your own out of the same box you use for the goal post. Simply start with a rectangle with one corner clipped...


...and then begin folding your "football", one triangle at a time...


...and again...

...then fold the last triangle (with the clipped corner) to tuck it into itself, forming your triangular "football".

And here you have your finished "football." You could even get the kids involved to decorate their own football and goal post.


I am happy report that it's been 10 days since the Valentine's Party and my son still LOVES to play "football" with his FREE football game. My husband has even had a good time teaching him to "flick" the football through the goal post.

Sometimes the best toys don't cost a lot of money or require batteries. Sometimes the best toys are the ones you make yourself and require you to use your imaginations!