Chunky Board Book ~ Personalized

Making a Chunky Board Book at home is quick & easy!

With five grandchildren around, it seems we've purchased countless numbers of board books. Some for a few coins, others a bit more pricey, but all guaranteed to bring smiles to little faces. Babies love them since they are so easy to hold and maneuver, and the brightly colored pictures can keep their attention for quite a while and have them coming back over and over just to look at the very same pictures!

I found this package of chipboard at JoAnn Fabrics with 30 sheets!

Supplies:  

Chipboard, for the pages.

Scrapbook Paper,  2 sheets of 12x12". One for the 'binding strips' that go between each page and one for the outside cover of the book.

Mod Podge, Matte

STEP 1: For the 'pages', I cut one sheet of chipboard into 9 squares, each ending up a 3"x3" square.

The first 12x12 paper I cut into 'binding' pieces.

STEP 2: I chose a piece of paper for my 'binding strips'. I cut one piece to go between each piece of chipboard. This means I needed 8 total pieces. Each piece was a strip of paper that was 3" tall and 2" wide.

I folded the pieces in half, lengthwise.

STEP 3: I folded all the 'binding strips' in half lengthwise......

..... then applied glue to only half of the strip....

...and attached this to the piece of chipboard that I planned to be my first page....

.... after about 30 seconds, I applied glue to the other half of the paper and laid the next piece of chipboard onto it, making sure it lined up. Once dry I stood it up for this photo.

STEP 4: I continued doing this with the rest of the chipboard 'pages' and paper 'binding strips'. Trim any edge pieces that hang over too far, so that you end up with a nice, clean, even edge.,,,

... then I cut the corner tips off on every page, but this isn't necessary. (I actually trimmed mine at the end, but meant to do it at this point. But either time is fine.)

STEP 5: Next I cut a 3"x1" strip of chipboard to help reinforce the back binding.

.... I applied glue to the back of the binding, or spine...

...then I added the chipboard piece and then I let that dry for 1/2 hour.

STEP 6: While waiting for the spine to dry,  I took my second piece of paper and trimmed it down to fit into my printer. (8 1/2" x 11")...

... after deciding on a title for my 'book', I ran it through my printer, ...

... then I cut it down for the outside cover of the book...

...making sure to cut the paper a little bit bigger than the actual book size... (I trimmed mine a little too much on the left & right..I should have left a little more for folding inside.)

STEP 7: Apply glue to the outside of the book; the front, back and spine. (The extra, over-lapping paper will be folded over into the inside once the outside has dried.) Once that dries...

... glue the over-lapping paper to the inside of the book.

Ta-Da! All done! Now comes the fun part of adding your pictures to the inside! Mine will be filled with pictures of our family members, with their names, to help my grand-daughter to learn who's who in our family!

How-To: Ruffled Diaper Cover

Not your ordinary ruffled diaper cover...
but we re-purposed an old denim skirt!

I'm sorry to say I have no more babies in my home. My life has moved on into the 'Grandma' stage where I have the opportunity to spend quality time when it comes to the little people in my life. (As opposed to quantity time... 24-7. Where you feel like your brain is fried & you can't possibly think about creativity or adding something to your day that isn't absolutely imperative!)
Don't get me wrong... I did plenty with my four kiddos around. I chose to home-school (You think people look at you weird now when you say you home-school? Imagine how they looked at my husband & I in the late 1980's & early 1990's!),  I also sewed, tried to fix healthy food, did crafting on the side to make money (usually at Christmas-time), kept our home, baked goodies, etc. But most of what I did were things that were something I would have had to buy, if I didn't make it. Not usually crazy, just-for-fun stuff. So I feel like I can be a little more creative with my grandkids. I can waste time making things for them or with them that aren't necessarily something they need. Just something they may like. Or something I may like. Which brings me to todays project. Not a necessity, but certainly fun!



The Most-Beautiful-Baby-Girl in the
whole, wide world!! My only
grand-daughter, Genevieve Fey.

Out of five grandchildren, our youngest is the only girl! She is now not quite 10 months old. You can imagine how much fun I've been having making various little things for her! Before the birth, we started on her crib quilt with Mommys chosen theme: pale pink & mint with a bright red ladybug thrown in. Then I bought this great fabric to make a ladybug rug for her floor. I've made her tons of hair clips with little bows & other 'bling'. Made her a personalized stocking for her first Christmas (2 months old) with her nursery/quilt theme on it. Made her a few crocheted headbands of various colors. (Can't even remember the colors now!) But then I saw this diaper cover and knew I had to try it out!


My youngest daughter recently ripped this skirt while climbing out of a truck. I found it in her garbage can & I snagged it! Free fabric. Score! (She & her sister hate it when I dig through their trash & find things I think we should keep! On more than one occasion I will ask them about an item, and they will inform me that they 'thought they threw that away a long time ago'! Ooops!)

This rip is a little higher than I thought...gonna have to be creative... 

Anyway, I washed the skirt and put it with my sewing fabric for a later date. I knew there were lots of ideas out there on Pinterest that would show me how I could make good use of this bonus piece of fabric!  Then when I started this diaper cover project I thought, 'why not'? I can make more than one style & I really wanted to try the denim. So here we go.


I got my pattern & needed materials list from: http://katiejgibson.blogspot.com/2011/07/diaper-cover-tutorial.html .

Materials Needed:

1/3 yard fabric for diaper cover

1/3 yard fabric for ruffles

1 yard plus 6" of 1/4" elastic (I used 1 yard plus 6" of 1" wide, colored elastic instead, shown in later photos.)

First I cut the back panel away from the waistband & front of skirt,
leaving the side seams attached to the front piece.

    

Couldn't place my pattern here or
I'd lose my pocket.

This was a much better placement spot.
Time to start cutting.

I originally wanted to use the back exactly as it was, with the seam in the middle and the two pockets on either side. Turns out it would make the back piece much too wide, or it would have cut off the bottom far corners of each pocket. So I just decided to cut each back piece, making sure the pocket would be saved. Then I had to make sure I cut a bit extra down the middle where the fold would have been, since I would now need to sew a seam along this edge. There was also the problem of the rip, which I should have just sewn up first, then I could ensure I would have the correct width when done, but I did it the hard way. Oh well. Seems it turned out ok.



I cut each piece out, but not on the fold.
 (It wasn't possible.) 

Now I've got one of each. One front piece and one back piece. Next I used the back piece pattern to cut the next back piece. Again, making sure I saved the entire pocket, seams and all. I really didn't  want the headache of trying to fix a problem like that later, if it was un-necessary.



Here are the two pieces for the front & two
for the back laying beside each other.

After I cut the second back piece, I cut out the second front piece. Then I started sewing.


First I sewed up the rip, shown here in the pic to the right. (Right below the pocket.) Then I sewed up the back where the fold would have been, ending up with a back seam up the middle. Next I sewed up the front in the same way, creating a seam up the front middle.




My next problem was trying to figure out how to cover up this old paint splatter! I decided to add ruffles here, coming out of the pockets, instead of across the entire back, which would cover up the cute pockets I tried so hard to save!



This is a paint splatter that needs to be covered up!



I had some cute fabric that was already washed, dried & ironed. I cut 2 strips, each 10" x 2" long:

I sewed up the shorter ends of the strips with the right sides together. Then I flipped them right-side-out...

                            Next, I ran a 'gathering' stitch along the long, bottom edges...

     I pulled the thread & gathered the pieces until they fit into the pockets... Then I sewed them in.

For the edges I decided to use a colored elastic that was 1" wide. I just used a zig-zag stitch on it & stitched half of it onto the inside, pulling it as I went. (Half meaning 1/2" of the 1", as if there were an imaginary crease down the long center of the elastic. That crease should end up on the raw edge. Just as if you were working with bias tape.) Then I folded the other half of it up and over the raw edge and sewed onto the outside with a zig-zag stitch again, pulling the elastic as I went.

Ta-Da! All done! It didn't turn out exactly the way I had envisioned it... but I did cover up the paint! And I realized when I was done that this isn't the type of 'ruffled' diaper cover I was planning to make at all. Now I'll have to make another!

Homemade Oatmeal Bath (like Aveeno)

Many, many folks have been buying Aveeno Oatmeal Bath over the years for all kinds of skin irritations. I'm one of those folks. Both of my sons, who are now both grown, have a terrible reaction to Poison Oak. (Just to quickly describe the extent of his allergic reaction, my oldest was in the hospital with his most recent encounter.) But when they were younger, an oatmeal bath was one of the steps we could depend upon to bring instant & soothing relief.

Needless to say, they've learned to steer clear of the offending plants, and now that they are both married,...

My younger son with his wife & daughter.

 and out of the house, 

My oldest son with his wife & son.

I no longer find it necessary to make sure we have a stash of  'Oatmeal Bath' under the bathroom sink.

Until now....


Gavin, just 2, playing with leaves this past Fall.

Meet Gavin, my third grandson. (AKA: "Pun'-kin") He is now quickly approaching his third birthday, but is not yet speaking. He was premature, which in and of itself keeps him in a continuous state of playing catch-up. His doctors, therapists & specialists all give him room for being slightly behind in certain things: size and development. But then at age 8 months he was diagnosed with Williams Syndrome. (Yet another possible size & developmental threat) All this to explain why he wasn't talking yet. So for a while there you could find him at any given time, laying on his back, wiggling around like he was dancing. We couldn't ask him what's going on. We just thought he was playing or being silly, and it actually looked pretty cute. Then we started noticing his skin. A trip to the doctor confirmed it. Eczema.

Arrgh! Yet another health concern for the little guy. Not life-threatening. Just annoying.  It pretty much makes him miserable & itchy all over. (ie...the floor dancing!) The usual advice given by doctors: keep the skin hydrated. Put lotion or cream on him constantly. Don't let the skin dry out as this adds to the itchiness, irritation & discomfort. Only problem with that is he has extremely sensitive skin, like his Mommy. Just about anything that touches the skin can cause redness, possible welts and general irritation.

Enter: Super-Grammy! (In my mind) Complete with quilted cape & horn-rimmed glasses!

Assignment: Find something for Gavins skin that is not irritating! (Something cheap, too?)

After a little bit of 'surfing' (Yes, the internet....although instead of an awesome surf-board, I may only be the embarrassed owner of a boogie-board. And instead of standing, I may be lying on my stomach, paddling with my arms...wearing my jean skirt & sandals....but you get the idea, right?) I found a few things.

Thing One: Olive Oil is the best thing for your skin. It's natural. It causes no reaction, whatsoever. It hydrates the skin. It's already in my cupboard. It isn't harmful if swallowed! The biggest bonus: Gavin absolutely loves massages! So I take some oil in a small bowl or squeeze bottle, lay Gavin on a towel (so as not to get oil on the carpet or my bedspread) wearing just his diaper, and he gets a head-to-toe Olive Oil massage! He just lays there and enjoys every minute of it. I just keep adding more oil as it gets absorbed into the skin. When that area seems slick enough, I move on to the next section. He especially loves when I do his feet & his head/neck/ear area.

Thing Two: I remembered using oatmeal bath for my sons to relieve itching... and found out it works for eczema, too! Actually it works for almost any skin irritation. Turns out that oatmeal has an anti-itch property (*avenanthramides ~ see below). This also helps with the 'need-to-itch' associated with chicken pox, poison sumac, and other itching and scratching rashes or 'itch' associated with bug bites such as mosquitoes or chiggers.

How-To Make: Use regular oatmeal from the grocery store. Just make sure it's not instant. Use your blender or food processor to grind the oats as small as possible. (You'll want a powder. To test if the grind is small enough, stir a spoonful into a glass of water, it should make the water look milky.) Store in an air-tight container. If you don't have a way to grind the oats, you can purchase oat flour. It won't be as cheap as grinding the oats yourself, but still should be much cheaper than buying the 'Oatmeal Bath' packets.

How-To Use: Add to warm bath: 1/3 cup for infants, 1 cup for adults. Soak for 15 to 20 minutes. Pat dry, don't rub!

Oatmeal baths contain 100 % Colloidal Oatmeal. The word "col·loid (k l oid) n. 1. Chemistry. a. A system in which finely divided particles, which are approximately 10 to 10,000 angstroms in size, are dispersed within a continuous medium in a manner that prevents them from being filtered easily or settled rapidly." In other words: finely ground, like powder, making the water milky. No large oatmeal pieces floating in the water. So don't be fooled into buying the Oatmeal Bath for that reason.

* Check out these two websites for all the scientific jargon related to this topic: http://pediaview.com/openpedia/Avenanthramides or   http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/584277.html .

'Acorn' Treats!

The finished 'acorns'..with a few peanut butter smears!

Fall is so full of fun & interesting crafting ideas for children... it's hard to decide which to do!      (Pinterest)  We opted for a quick, easy, edible idea that was also educational! (We went outdoors & rummaged around for different leaves, trying to choose a variety of shapes & colors....and of course, we found oak! Ps..these leaves were saved for yet another fall project!)

So we tied in the oak with the acorn, and had lots of fun producing our own little 'acorns'! The only problem we encountered was that I had to ask my grandsons to stop eating them so I could have more than one finished 'acorn' in the bowl at a time! (Pictures!!) 

What you'll need:

Nutter-Butter Peanut Butter Cookies, round - 1 pkg

Hershey Kisses, Milk or Dark Chocolate - 1 bag

Chocolate Chips - Appx. 20 - 30




STEP 1: Grammy shows them what to do: Twist the cookie as you pull apart, ending up with two pieces.

 




'Peanut butter & chocolate' is an irresistible combination!

 

 


STEP 2: Using the cream filling as glue, just squish on a Hershey Kiss.

  


STEP 3: Using a tiny bit of the cream filling, add a chocolate chip to the top.


That's it! We're done!    Yum!!

Looks pretty in the bowl...

Don't mind if I do!...






Homemade Cough Drops

The idea of making my own cough drops/sore throat drops is especially appealing when I think of all the unknown ingredients that are in the cough drops available at the store. My interest is peaked even more when I think of my grandchildren, and my daughters concern over what they eat, including trying to limit their sugar intake. This is a simple solution to both concerns.

This first website lists different flavors (Herbs) of cough drops and for what use each particular herb is used. http://snappyliving.com/homemade-cough-drops/

Once you're there, they have a link (which I also added to the end of this paragraph) to a site with the actual step-by-step recipe and method. (Including lots of great photos!) http://homesteadinghomemaker.blogspot.com/2008/12/make-your-own-horehound-cough-drops.html

I can't wait to try this!

Doll Bed for Barbie-sized Dolls: A Childs Craft

When I was a little girl I felt compelled to give my dolls all the comforts of a real home. So when I first saw this idea I knew I had to make it! I was still young and the idea was in a library book about mice. They talked, and lived just like humans, of course. They made their furniture from discarded things they 'collected' from the humans... and they made this bed in the book.

I thought it was pretty cool & a fabulous idea. My Mom helped me to make the bed & later she surprised me with bedding: a mattress, a quilt and a bedspread with two matching pillows! I loved them & yes!.. I still have them. Maybe I'll dig them out soon and post a few pictures. In the meantime, let's get started!

Items needed:

4 pencils
4 thread spools of the same size
1 empty cereal box

Pencils @ 12 for $1 from the Dollar Store!

STEP 1:
Cut off the top, bottom & sides from a cereal box. Glue the two pieces
together with the plain side out. 

STEP 2:
After the glue has dried, use a hole punch on each of the four corners.

STEP 3:
Choose four spools of the same size. Insert pencils.

STEP 4:
Slide pencil up from the bottom, through the holes.