Doorway Puppet Theatre

For Kids Can Do week I made a doorway puppet theatre.
 

Then my son and a good friend of his made some paper bag puppets for a puppet show. I got the print outs for the puppets from DLTK's Growing Together website. 

Here is a closer look at the puppet theatre. I used left over fabric from my Backyard Beach project. This would be super easy to create with a drop cloth or a sheet or a curtain, really anything that is already hemmed, just like this one from Kojo Designs. Since I was trying to use fabric that I already had, I added the red binding myself. I topped the theatre with a pleated awning. I also added a colorful bunting to the top of the window.


 

Here is a look at the backside of the theatre. I added a pocket to hold all of the puppets.
 

 

It is so fun to play with whether you are behind the curtain or just watching the show.
 

 

We love our new puppet theatre!
 

It also provides a fun new way to play with our Disney Pook-A-Looz Puppets.

Spring Veggie Hummus Wrap

I officially have a new obsession! It is this very delicious hummus wrap. I am not the only one in love. My husband begs me to make this for him on a regular basis. I originally was given the idea for this from a friend who was telling me about a yummy sandwich she had with radishes and carrots. I thought it sounded kind of odd at first. I don’t eat radishes very often and I wasn’t even sure that I liked them. When I saw some at the store the other day I picked a few up and decided to give them a try. I am so glad that I did.

Here is how I assembled my hummus wrap. I’ll be honest I am not exact in my measurements when I make this. I’ll do my best to guess. It will still be yummy even if there are a few extra carrots :)
Serving for one:

• 1/2 Carrot sliced
• 1 1/2 Radishes sliced
• 1/2 Avocado
• Handful of Spinach
• Handful of Baby Arugula
• 1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
• Hummus
• Tortilla

Spread a layer of hummus on to your tortilla. Next sprinkle the red pepper flakes on to your hummus. Then top with your spinach, baby arugula, carrots, radishes, and avocado.

Look at all of those yummy veggies!



The red pepper flakes give it just the right amount of heat. I love the crunch of all the veggies. Give this a try, you will not be disappointed.

No More Excuses

In light of the most recent Biggest Loser Season I thought I would do a spin off of the "No Excuses" campaign, which encourages contestants to forego their excuses for bad habits. With that in mind, each of the next four Tuesdays I'll debunk common excuses reasons for not exercising and living healthy.

Excuse #1: I don't have time...

This is pretty common. Like most of you, my days are jam-packed. I believe that for each one of you there is time. Whether it is 20 minutes or an hour, exercise and eating right can happen.

Here are some ideas: 

1. Break it up: 10 minutes here, 20 minutes there — it adds up. You might not have a full 30-minute block of time in your day, but that doesn't mean you can't break up your exercise. Go on a 10-minute walk at your lunch break. Get up just 20 minutes early to get in a quick walk, run or bike ride.

2.  Incorporate exercise into your daily routine: Without having to add extra time, mix exercise into things you already do, such as parking farther away from the office and walking in. Or walk to a park to eat your lunch, or maybe volunteer to be your child's sports team coach and exercise with them during practice.

3. Plan ahead: Planning ahead is extremely important when trying to exercise and eat healthy. Make it a goal to set aside 30 minutes on one day during the week to plan out your meals for the week and go buy those ingredients. It is easy to use the excuse of "I dont have time to cook or to exercise" when you have not already planned what you are going to do. By planning ahead you will have set more time aside for the things that important.

4. Add it to your scheduler: Make exercise an item that is on your daily list. By making it a priority and a part of your everyday routine, you are more likely to get it done. Make it another item on your list that must get done before your day can be over.

Upcycle- iPad Case

Angela is competing on So You Think You Are Crafty. Voting for Week 6- Sunshine Week is up over on SYTYC- don’t forget to go vote for your favorite project. Thanks!

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Last week was upcycle week. I took two napkins (both purchased from World Market) and one thrifted belt…

I created my own iPad case.

Would you like to make one? It is super easy. Let me show you how.

What you will need:

• 2 napkins
• 1 belt
• 2 8 x 11 inch pieces of fleece
• Velcro
• Glue gun
• Sewing machine

How to assemble your iPad case:

1. Cut the fabric for the back side and top flap of your case. You need to cut two pieces. Cut one piece 8 x 11 inches. The other cut 11 x 11 inches.

2. Cut the fabric the front side of your case. Cut one piece 8 x 11 inches.

3. Cut two pieces of felt 8 x 11 inches.

4. Cut two pieces from your belt each 6 1/2 inches long.

5. Cut off the pointy end of your belt. (I don’t know what it is called. Feel free to fill me in on what it is called. )

6. Cut the pointy end in half. You should now have two pointy ends. One from the front of your belt and one from the back of the belt. See picture below or let me know if you need a better explanation.

7. Sew two button holes on your 8 x 11 inch piece of fabric you cut for the top flap of your case. The buttonholes should be the same width of your belt. They should be located 2 inches from the side of the top flap, and two inches from the bottom of your top flap.

8. Open your button holes with your seam ripper.

9. Pull your belt through the buttonhole on your top flap and glue it to the backside of your fabric.

10. Sew together your top flap with the belt glued in to your 11 x 11 piece of fabric you cut for the
 backside of your case. Make sure the front side of the fabric is facing each other. It should be a little lumpy with the belt, but just hold the fabric as tight and straight as you can as it goes through your sewing machine.

11. Once you turn the fabric right side out it should look like what you see in the image.

12. Glue on your Velcro to the 8 x 11 piece of fabric you cut for the front of your case. I cut my Velcro 1 3/4 inch long. I placed it 2 inches from the side and 1 1/2 inches from the bottom.

13. Sew on the Velcro.

14. Pin your fabric together in the following order: Felt piece #1, Backside/top flap fabric(with belt), front fabric(with velcro)  , felt piece #2. Sew around the 3 outside edges.

15. Turn inside out. Then glue the other side of your velcro to your belt.

16. Remember those pointy ends of your belt? Glue those to the top of your belt. Then you are finished!

Front side

Backside

Inside without iPad.

Inside with iPad.

I love my iPad case!

Let me know if you have any questions on how to make your own.

Pacifier Clips

Voting for Week 5- Up cycle Week is up over on SYTYC- don’t forget to go vote for your favorite project. Thanks!

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For scrap week I chose to make pacifier clips. These will shortly become a necessity in our home as my baby girl will be here in about 6 weeks.

Pacifier clips are the perfect way to use up any left over scraps of fabric, felt, lace, or ribbon. And since I have an unhealthy obsession with felt, and keep every last scrap of it. Adding cute felt bows to the end of each pacifier clip was a perfect way to use up some of the felt that I seem to hoard.

I basically used MADE’s pacifier clip tutorial from Sew Mama Sew. I cut 2 inch x 14 inch pieces of fabric. I folded the fabric in half, and then I used a rolled hem to sew the edges. I also sewed Velcro to the ends of the fabric. My only alteration to the original tutorial was that instead of using suspender clips, I used badge clips- you know the ones that you use for a name tag at work. Badge clips are a much cheaper option. If you go to Joann's or your local craft store, a 2 pack of suspender clips costs $3. A pack of badge clips also costs $3, but you get 21 of them. Since I was planning to make a bunch of these I went with the cheaper option.

If you want to go with the badge clip option, it is pretty simple.

1. Use hot glue to glue on the badge clip. 2. Then to protect from the sharp end of the badge clip, glue on a felt bow.

The felt bow adds a cute touch to the pacifier clip. It also protects from the pointy edge of the badge clip.

Here are a few of my favorite ones. Although, really I love them all!

These are super simple to create. You can use your old scraps to create them. They also make the perfect gift. I’ve got lots of pregnant friends. I also have a sister and a sister-in-law that are due the same week as me. I have a feeling that I will be making a lot of these.