Andrew's Big Boy Bed - Finally!

About a year ago, I really  wanted to redecorate the boys room!  My mom pointed out that it would be about the time I would be decorating a nursery if we had kept the same time frame of having kids (every 20 months).  I decided that I would redecorate and give Andy his big boy bed at the same time.  I started working on switching the room before Andy's 2nd birthday in August.  I was really hopeful to have him switched to his big boy bed by October, but I realized that the bed didn't have the bolts that went with it!  So I started looking for something that would work (when I remembered), but what I found didn't work so I enlisted the help of my dad, who found some bolts that would work in his stash. (Thanks, Dad!!).  But I still didn't have the time or energy to get to putting the bed together!  Well, I brought all the pieces up today and wrangled it together.  (I had to have Sarah pull down on one leg of the foot board to get the holes to even out enough to screw the bolt in!)  When Andy woke up from his nap, I told him there was something for him in the living room.  He ran in, saw his bed, turned around, ran back to me and gave me a big hug!   Payment enough! ☺

So anyway, here are the pictures:

Loving his big boy bed

All tucked in for bed

Here are some pictures of the new room decor:

I scaned the fabric I used for the curtains and printed up some pictures for the walls

New drawer knobs

Plaques above William's bed

I didn't get any full room shots as their room was rather "untidy".  Maybe I'll post some later!

Valentine's Day Parties

I got to help out in the girls' classes again for their Valentine's Day parties.  Emily's was first thing in the morning and they had pancakes and fruit.  Sarah's was the last thing of the day.

pink heart shaped pancakes ☺

yumm!

mailboxes ready for cards

Emily's mailbox, made out of cereal boxes!

Mailing Valentines

Sarah checking out her cards

Bingo

Sarah made her mailbox into an elephant

What a Difference a Year Makes!

Exactly 1 year ago today was the "Blizzard of 2011" !  Yet today, we have almost no snow and it is 45° out!  Here is my post about the blizzard with pictures of the snow.

Here are pictures from today:

Front yard looking left

Front yard looking right

Back yard

Tutorial: How to make a sock monkey out of 2 pairs of anklet socks

I found some socks that I thought would make cute sock monkeys.  Unfortunately, they were very short and didn't have any part that would come up the leg (if you were wearing them) so there wasn't anything to use for the legs.  I decided to buy 2 matching pairs of the socks and see if I could get it to work!

Here is how I did it:

Take 2 pairs of anklet socks

Cut off the top just under the heel on 1 sock

Cut off just the ribbing on 1 sock

On the sock that you cut off under the heel, cut from the toe to the opening
NOTE:  I would suggest starting at the toe and cutting to within 1" of the top where you cut off the heel (leaving an uncut band at the top)

Pin the 2 socks' cut edges together lining up the top and bottom of the socks

Sew ¼" from edge all the way around

This is what you end up with

Turn it inside out with the heel on top

Sew.  Clicking the picture will enlarge it making it easier to see the marks.
I ended up with more left over pieces having to use 2 pairs.

Turn right side out

This is why I would leave the 1" band uncut at the top

Stuff

I also had to sew this extra area shut, too

Sew him together

Here is the seam along the belly where the 2 socks were attached together

Tutorial: How to make a sock monkey out of one knee high sock

I found a pair of knee high socks that I wanted to use for a sock monkey.  I figured that there had to be a way to get a sock monkey out of only 1 sock since to use both socks on 1 monkey would mean LOTS of left over scraps. 

Here is how I did it:

Take 1 sock ☺

Turn it inside out so the heel is on top

Sew the pieces. 
If you click on the picture it should be easier to see the marks

Cut the pieces apart

This is all that I had as extras!

Turn right side out

Stuff

Sew him together - Ta da!

More Sculpting

I don't really know why I decided to try sculpting other than it looked like something I maybe could do and so I wanted to try. I didn't really need something else to do!

Well, today (or rather yesterday since it's currently 1:50 am - can't sleep, so I'm blogging!) I hadn't intended on doing any sculpting, but somehow I found myself digging out the clay! "Maybe I'll condition some clay for another time" ...Well, before I knew it, I was forming a ball of clay into a head..."Well, maybe I'll make a tiny 3" baby"...."Okay so the head is 1½" tall, not so proportional for a 3" baby. I guess I'm making a 6" baby again!" "Well, then I'll practice rooting hair into the clay"...Nope this head is saying it needs to be bald!

This is what ended up coming together:

He ended up looking up with his back sort of arched

This is the same footed sleeper I made for my 1st sculpt

The eyes are the hardest, I think, and I put his nose up to high

Since I never posted about the 2nd baby I made, here are pictures of her:

All 3 of my clay babies