Evel Knievel Costume

My original costume idea for my daughter was this cute crochet lamb costume but the more I thought about it the more I realized that it just didn't fit her personality - enter EVEL KNIEVEL!! I think all parents of toddlers can relate on some level to the humor of this costume. She had no fear and is my little stunt woman.

I took a white sweater shirt and sewed on the blue striping and then added white stars with puff paint. After she colored in the stars with Sharpie marker (heart break) I went over them again with red puff paint. 

I made the pants following this tutorial from CraftStylish.  I sewed in the blue panel and then puff painted the stars on the side.

The cape was made with about a half yard of white satin and I sewed sequins in a V shape. I used a freezer paper stencil to write EVEL on the side in case there was any question of who she is.  She also has a helmet that I spray painted white and added sequins and Evel Knievel on the side. She refused to wear it and I was happy that I made a sequins headband last minute. You can kinda see the helmet in the picture below.

I am happy to report that Evel Knievel won 3rd place in the costume contest and Robot won 2nd even though he was screaming and crying by the time the contest rolled around!

Big Girl Bed

My daughter moved into her big girl bed after she figured out how to jump out of the crib this past weekend. She had been asking for one for a while so the transition was really easy.

I scored the damask comforter at Ross for $10 and the hot pink sheets were $7. I am not a huge fan of pink but she loves them and for $17 we can afford to change our mind and not feel guilty.

While we were setting up the bed and taking down the crib my son asked when he was going to get a new baby sister for the crib. We asked him if he was sure he wanted another sister and not a brother and he was sure! So sweet, but I don't foresee that in your near future buddy.

 

The only hard part is now she has access to everything in their room and she sleeps with lots of books in her bed. Here are some ideas I thought might help.

Under the Mattress Book Holder

Source: holycool.net via Nicola on Pinterest

Ikea Spice Racks

Source: wonderfuljoyahead.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Fabric Book Shelves

Source: pennycarnival.typepad.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Cocktails and Crafts - Yarn Letters

Three words - Cake Batter Martinis!!

The craft this week was yarn letters which looked so easy on Pinterest but once again in practice turned out to be a lot harder to complete (I am sure the martinis didn't help us out at all).

Source: bumpsmitten.com via Lauren on Pinterest

I don't want it to sound like ours were awful, just not as crisp as we thought they would be.

Here was our inspiration for the cocktail.

Source: howsweeteats.com via Sarah on Pinterest

This cocktail by far had the most alcohol in it, so the downside is that for a larger party it can  get kinda pricey. 

Cake Batter Martini:

makes a single serving, is easily multiplied

1 ounce amaretto

1 ounce Pinnacle whipped cream vodka (so good and I am not a fan of vodka)

1 ounce creme de cacao

1 ounce white chocolate liqueur

1 ounce whole milk or cream

assorted sprinkles (nonpareils work best)

I used some the milk to add the sprinkles on the rim.

I am sure cream would have been even better but we also had cheeseburger dip and cupcake fondue to indulge in. Isn't this a pretty drink?

 

This crafter went off the reservation and used mod podge to cover the letters in scrapbook paper. They turned out super cute!

I used the larger cardboard letters from Joann Fabrics and some stash yarn. For a 12-inch letter I used about half a skein of Red Heart. You just start wrapping the letters in the same pattern you would write them in. You have to hold the yarn tight to keep a nice crisp look.

Here are our "finished" letters. Please note the time on the clock 11:25 p.m.! This was a long but really entertaining craft night.

Robot Costume Tutorial

Homemade Halloween costumes are the best!!! This year I made my son a robot costume and my daughter an Evel Knievel costume. You can check out the robot tutorial over at Hideous! Dreadful! Stinky! It is a great blog with lots of tutorials and fun writing.

Go check it out!!!

p.s. I will have the Evel Knievel costume posted once I remake the parts that my daughter decided to cover in black Sharpie!!!

A Letter To My Daughter On Her Birthday

Happy second birthday Little Girl!

You are my child of extremes, my saint and my sinner. Strong willed is and understatement!

You love your brother and want to do everything he does at the exact moment he is doing it. At the same time you don't let him push you around and that will serve you well in life.

Your favorite foods are pizza, fresh pick raspberries and waffles. You also love to steal sips of my coffee even though you have no need for caffeine. Your favorite book is the baby body part book. You love your cowboy boots.

I don't think you feel fear when it comes to testing your body's and gravity's limits. You love to jump off just about anything whether we are ready to catch you or not.

We are told how beautiful you are almost every time we go out, but you refuse to let me take a picture of you smiling- or your face for that matter. You are beautiful even when you are pouting.

You love your baby dolls, but not one in particular, and get excited when you see horses, dogs, cats, and big trucks. You love having your toe nails painted and desperately want to wear earrings. You have been banned from using crayons, pens, pencils and markers unless you are under direct supervision because you love to decorate any flat surface that isn't paper.

You are my spitfire, hellion and stick tight. I cant imagine our lives without you. We love you so much!!

Happy birthday little bean.

Bubble Party

This past Saturday we celebrated my daughter's second birthday with a bubble party. I made two homemade bubble solution recipes, giant bubble blowers, a human bubble and bought a ton of bubble blowers from the dollar store.

Here is the bubble skirt I made using the new Children at Play fabric from Michael Miller. So easy to make! I will try and post what I did to make it later this week, but trust me it was really easy!

Love the cowgirl boots!

We also tried our hand at bubble painting. I read that you just take water soluble paint, add baby shampoo and water, but I think my version had a tad too much water. The kids had fun blowing bubbles into the solution and then you put a piece of paper on top and the bubbles pop on top. Going to try this one again on a rainy day - less messy than finger painting.

Here is a small portion of the bubble paraphernalia. Thanks Dollar General for having all your summer stuff 50% off.

I also tried cake pops - don't try and make these with small kids. The mixing part was good for them to help but the melted candy part... not so good. I did use peanut butter instead of frosting to hold them together and that was yummy!

This is the tutu I made her. I would post a tutorial but I think there are about tthree million out there on the interwebs, so go find one of those. They are really easy and the only thing I did slightly different was not sew the elastic together but opted to add a satin tie on the ends of the elastic.

This was my view of the present opening chaos.

I love her expression in this picture. Grandma got her a real pretty that she will get to enjoy when she is older and has outgrown (or broken) all her toys.

There isn't a picture of it but we also fried whole chickens (no, not my pet chickens) as the food. We could fit two into the turkey fryer and they took about 20 minutes to cook. They were sooooo good. So good in fact that the crowd may not have noticed that chicken and cake was all we made to eat.

Here is a link to the one of the bubble solutions we tried and how to make those big bubble blowers.

Source: rhondas3boys.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

We also tried this and it worked but eventually the pool got dumped because it turned into a swimming pool and apparently a pool filled with soap and young children doesn't mix too well (especially in the eye area). Also want to try this again. I am bummed that I didn't get to take the kids pictures inside a bubble.

 

Source: onecharmingparty.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Here is the other bubble solution/giant bubble blower tutorial I referenced. This solution didn't work as well for me, maybe because the cornstarch didn't dissolve.

Source: designdazzle.blogspot.com via Sarah on Pinterest

I think the bubble party was a hit, especially with the birthday girl. This may also be the only party where the kids left cleaner than when they arrived, or maybe just ready to be cleaned since they were completely covered in a thin layer of soap.

My Monochromatic Flock

We got two new Silver Laced Polish hens (hopefully hens)! All our chickens are some variation of black and white. Not something I planned but they do look pretty all together.

The two new ones are still teenagers and going through their awkward stage. 

We named one Stewart, after one of my favorite Polish ladies, Martha Stewart. I couldn't go with Martha because that is my grandma's name and she might not take too kindly to that.

The other one is named Bock as in the sound a chicken makes - bock bock bock

They are insane looking and we already love them!