Chair Recovery

It has been a long time coming,

Our dining room chairs have needed some serious TLC 

for quite some time!

(I am so embarrassed to even show them)

BEFORE

Result of two toddlers in 4 years!

 I finally made the time stopped procrastinating 

and found the perfect fabric (on sale too ;)

This was so much easier than I imagined 

and the main reason I dragged my feet on getting it done!

Here is the final result of chair #1

(Using the staple gun was so much fun too!)

AFTER

Being my first attempt at recovering chairs,

I am so happy and kinda look forward to getting to do it again!

But not too soon... 

hopefully I get to enjoy these for a little while 

before they end up like what is underneath!!

(Not sure the Scotch Guard can even protect them from my girls ;)

 One for the desk too!

Here is a list of what I used to get the job done,

* 6 Chairs

* 3 yards of fabric cut into 24 x 23 inch pieces 

*screw driver

*staple gun

*Scotch guard

Then I basically used YouTube to get an idea on how to fold the corners,

since that part can be a little tricky!

Hope you have time to give it a try and spice up your dining table!!

xo,

Erica

Refashioned: Toddler Maxi Dress

I have a stack of old shirts that I no longer wear, waiting to be refashioned, reused, repurposed...  

which ever term you prefer :)

I finally plunged in and was able to get one done this summer!! Yay, me!!

Just took one of my old strapless baby doll tops 

 and added some straps and some extra length to make it a full length toddler maxi dress :) 

 I was so pleasantly surprised with the finished result!! 

 And my 4 year old loved it too :))

xo,

Erica

Planting Project

The past couple of weeks 

we have been saving our used yogurt cups {YoBaby}

for a FUN planting project!

The weather finally cooperated 

and it was nice enough out for us to spend some time outside :)

Cadee was really excited and wanted to do it all herself!

We started with our empty cups all lined up

 Filled them up with dirt

 made little holes for the seeds

She did a GREAT job!

 Close up ;)

 Gave them a little water

And now we wait for them to sprout!

Try it with your little ones :)

Happy planting,

Erica

J. Crew Kids Inspire Me!

Just getting a little inspiration for spring clothes for the girls!!

So many fun styles to play with :)

Girly & Grey

 

Preppy & Peach

 

Purple & Pearls

Sailors & Stripes

{photos via J. Crew}

Check out J. Crew girls

for other great styles :)

Spring on the brain,

Erica

Recycling Crayons

If you have a toddler,

most likely you have A LOT of crayons 

{and unlikely kept neatly in their box!}

I found this great idea to keep all those little crayons,

 {that are constantly breaking}

 in a more toddler friendly form!

I just took a large box of crayons from the dollar store

{48 crayons for a dollar, can't beat that!}

I only used 1 box, 
but I think 2 boxes would make for a better batch,

that way you have more colors to work with!

Then I used a regular size muffin tin,

I think the size is easy for those little toddler hands to hold ;)

This was also a great opportunity 
for Cadee to practice matching colors!!

After she divided the colors, 

I arranged the crayons 

so that there would be a multiple colors 

around the edges!

 Pop them in the oven for 15 min at 250 degrees 

 Pretty cool huh?!

 Let the tin cool a bit,
then carefully place in the freezer for 15 min.
{This makes it easier to take out of the muffin tin!}

Voila!!!

Fun and wacky coloring crayons your toddler will love 

and a perfect indoor activity during these winter months!

Happy coloring,
Erica
xo

Happy New Year!!

All good things for 2011!!!

2010 was a year of transition and changes for my family,

we are looking forward to 2011 being a year of 

doing less and loving more!

Our lives can easily get too busy 

and we soon find ourselves overwhelmed with packed schedules 

and less time for yourself and your family. 

We have decided to take it back to basics 

and make sure to have quality family time this year!

Also, I have a fresh start in my Etsy shop,

all new items for the New Year!!

Here is a look at some of the new stuff ;)

New Makeup Bags

Baby/Child Hooded Bath Towels

Wishing everyone a joyful and prosperous 2011!

Cheers,

Erica

xo

Fabulous Find: Ella's Kitchen ~ Organic Baby Food

We all know toddlers can be picky,

but my toddler will not even touch a veggie!

As an infant she ate all the pureed veggies so well, 

the moment she hit toddlerhood, 

she wanted nothing to do with them!

I suspect, 
I am not the only Mom trying to sneak a veggie or two 
any chance I get 

{most of the time very unsuccessful}
I have tried hiding them in her food, 
telling her they are candy, 
but I think when it comes down to it 
the taste and texture just doesn't work for her.
So the struggle continues... 


Or not,

I may have found the answer to our veggie problems...

~Ella's Kitchen~ 

Organic Baby Food

I gave her the 

Broccoli, Pears and Peas

{I know it doesn't sound very good, but it isn't bad, I tried it too}

and

she LOVED it!!! YAY!!

She even asked for more when she was done,

 that is a complete success in my book! :}}}

I think she likes the packaging too

because she can sit in her playroom 

and drink it with the little straw!

Needless to say, 

{I am so desperate to get her to eat veggies}

we will be having these on hand from now on!

I found them at Babies R Us on sale for $1 each.

If you have a picky little eater like me,

maybe give these a try, 

there are a bunch of flavors!!

Sneaky {and proud of it} Mommy,

Erica

Crafty: Toy Trucks

VROOM!!!

A few months back,

I found myself in the dollar section {again ;}

at Target!

And came across these great little wooden trucks :)

At first I thought about letting my daughter paint them,

but then I thought it would be even better

to Mod Podge them with fun paper!

{I plan to use these colors for the next one, to make it extra girly!}

So I just traced the outline of the car on the back of the paper

Cut it out and did extra trimming where it needed!

Since I was planning to use the monkey paper for the sides,

I wanted to make sure it looked like there was

a monkey in the window area :}

Then I just painted the car with Mod Podge 

and attached the paper.

I applied two coats of Mod Podge all over

once all the sides were covered in paper

to give it a good seal!

What do you think?

My daughter LOVES it!

Girls like trucks too,

BigSis LilSis

xo

Leg Warmers are in!

It seems like I have been seeing a lot of tutorials

on how to make your own leg warmers!

I went to my local Target

{as I have mentioned here, here and here!}

and SURPRISE!

Long socks on clearence for $1.40

so I got a bunch!!

I found the easiet tutorial to follow here

from Baby Night Night Botique.

So here is my take on it...

Cut off the toe and heel of the sock

{you will want to do both socks, but I just wanted to show you the difference ;}

Discard those or maybe use them for another project?!

Take the short piece from between the heel & toe

and tuck it in inward

so the two raw edges are together.

{it should look like the smaller piece in pic}

Then place the smaller piece

around the outside on the end of the long sock,

so that all the raw edges are together.

Next you want to pin it and sew 1/4" zig zag stitch

all the way around...

Then just flip the end around so the stitching is on the inside

and it should look like this when you are done!

So now you can have leg warmers for everyone,

just in time for the fall weather :}

They are especially great for those little ones

who are starting to crawl

 OR

for yourself when loungin' around the house ;}

Warmly,

BigSis LilSis

xo