Pikichu hat #4

Project 3 of 52
A couple of months ago I set out to make a special hat for Mr. Matthew. 

A Pikachu hat. 

If you don't know who Pikachu is I have one word for you....

Pokemon!

The pattern I found on Pinterest only had 1 size to it but said by using different needle sizes I could easily adjust the size. Well, 4 hats later I finally got one close to his size. I had to make a few more adjustments.

The other hats all went to his brothers. I finished 3 rather quickly but you have to know that my attention span with the same craft wanes over time. By the time I'd finished 3 I just drug my feet to finish the last one.

Matthew reminded me regularly that he was still waiting for his hat. 

Finally just before Christmas I finished it!

What a happy boy he was that day! Of course then mom had to listen to "Pi-ka-CHU!" for the next couple of hours. Still, it warmed my heart that he loves his hat so much. 

Gotta love that cute little man!

~oh and the hat isn't too bad either ;-)~

Manly cards....

I hope youl had a great Father's Day weekend. I worked all weekend but managed to have a relaxing few hours with my sweet hubby and talk with my dear dad. 

Between us, I think my boys were glad to have dad all to themselves. They spent time playing Pokemon while mom was working. My hubby is wonderful with his boys. It helps that he is just a big boy himself but they really do love playing together. It is great for me to watch. 

I made a couple of cards for my dad and my father in law. There are 3 to 1 more boys than girls in my hubby's family so male cards are always on my radar. I was tickled to come up with these.

 I am loving Jim Holtz stuff. It is perfect for the manly card. A while back I found some on sale. I grabbed several items. These just don't go on sale that often.

 So here's what I did....

 Start with a nice brown base....

 Stick the checker print and a thin strip of the striped print on a darker brown....

 I love using a bit of jute. Wrap it around twice then tie a bow...

 I used the foam adhesives to give it a bit of pop. Then stick it to the card base.

 From here I used alphabet cards and a nice pin...

 I usually make up a couple of extra cards. If you have the supplies out for one it doesn't take much more to make a couple of extra.

Now when I need a birthday card or something else I can add a couple more embellishments or alpha cards and have a great card in seconds. It's what keeps me from drowning in last minute, "oh no, I nearly forgot" moments.

Homemade Birthday Cards

Sometimes we just need time to visit and relax. That's what I get when my dear friend comes to visit. We had a great time putting these cards together.

I am trying to send birthday cards to family members so I needed to stock up on them. I get the out, not always on time though so it is a life saver to have some already made and ready to go.

Girl cards are easy, boys well, they can be too they just take a bit more thought. I love the polka dots and bright colors of this one. The dotted edge added just enough to spiff it up a bit.

I LOVE this card. The bright pink. The sharp black. The crisp white. But mostly I love out the tack hangs free. It adds great dimension to go along with the flower. 

Now, if I could just see the smile on their faces. Of course that is probably for the $ in the card. ;-)

Yep, I am the favorite aunt! I earned it with each incentive!

Our love of Legos....

 We love Lego's!

We do. 

The boys (dad included) will spend hours building, creating and imagining. We always give Lego sets for birthdays and Christmas. Ok, sometimes even just because. The Lego creators continue to come up with some of the most amazing sets. The boys always put them together...then over time they get taken apart. We keep all the instructions on a hook ready to be used again but lately the boys have been flexing their own creative minds to build sets of their own.

 I love to see their latest creations. 

Mr. Josh, who aspires to be a chief, built his Lego kitchen.

 Don't get in the way of chief preparing his feast.

Santa even made a stop for Mr Tyler.

Lego's are great for boys (and girls). 

They stimulate the mind. 

They help develop math skills. 

They build creativity. 

They encourage problem solving.

Most importantly...

THEY ARE JUST PLAIN FUN!

Mom's beware. 

If you want a few moments of peace and quiet let your kiddos get lost in the Lego world. They last forever and endure all the abuse little boys can give. They do however, provide a bit of torture of their own. If you have even stepped on a Lego, you know just what I mean. And may I suggest wearing an apron with pockets while vacuuming.

Keep an eye out for sales. They don't go on sale a lot so stock up when they do.

 Stash them away for future gifts.

You will score big time mom points!

(just sharing our love of Lego's, no incentive required)

Onsie Cupcakes Gift Idea

 My sweet friend is finally having another little one. She has been wanting another baby for several years but it finally happened. They are adding a little boy to their home. With a house of boys I know just what she has in store. Hold on lady, it's gonna be a ride....a FUN one!

I usually give a basket of goodies for a new mom but with the holidays and my work schedule lately I just didn't get it together so I went to Pinterest to find some new inspiration.

A box of cupcakes....how sweet!

These of course would not be your ordinary cupcakes however. Instead of edible they are wearable.
Club Chica Circle has a great tutorial on just how to do it.
In all my excitement (and trying to hurry) I forgot to take pictures of the rolling process, oops. I used 3 onsies and 3 pants. I just rolled the pants together to make the last cupcake. It's a bit bigger than the others but the effect is still there.

She loved it!

Welcome home little man! You are already loved more than you know.
Congrats Millie! You are in for awesome times....get your lego's ready mom!

A fun way to give money

 Our oldest just turned 13. He is a simple kid and didn't want much. 

Dad took care of the toy gifts (he is perfect for shopping for boys toys ;-p)

He does however enjoy a bit of money to spend for himself.

So I took the 'money' into my own hands. 

$1 bills taped together in a long string....

 Rolled all up nicely...

 Then a little packing filler. We had this bubble pack that worked wonderfully...

 Add it to a kleenex box. See it tucked in there nice and snug?.....

Now add your roll of $1 bills....And VOILA! a fun little way to give some cash.

Just wrap the tissue box and you are ready to go!

Duct Tape Lanyards

Thanks to Pinterest for finding another great idea. I made these lanyards for my 7 yr olds birthday party favors. The boys loved them, flames and camo. My older boys enjoyed them too. With so many colors and prints of duct tape now days the possibilities are endless. These came together so fast too.

I measured 3 feet of tape.

Folded it 1/3 over then the other side over, just enough to over lap a bit.

I did little sections at a time to make sure I didn't get off.

Then measure it around so that it lays flat. I had these rings already. Pull the tape ends through the ring together. Then use a small strip of tape to secure the ends together....I hope you can see it.

Give it a try. I wish I had girls so I could play with the polka dots or flower. So COOL! And cheap. My dear mom-in-law is gonna use this idea at family scout camp. They are always looking for simple boy projects.

Thrifty gift bags....

How about Orange

Love these gift bags. Do them up with comics and they are perfect for boys! 

Stocking Stuffers for Boys

Girls are so much easier to fill stockings for. After all you can do jewelry, makeup, barbie clothes, Polly pockets, hair clips of all shapes and sizes and the girls will be happy. Boys on the other hand....

Well, let's just say mom has to pull out all the stops there. So with 4 boys and 12 Christmases of stuffing those red socks I thought I'd share some of the goods we use. Hopefully you will find some ideas to use. Better yet, could ya help me perfect to my list?

Our 2010 master list of Boy Stocking Stuffers:

flashlights

mechanical/fun pencils

fun erasers

Lego guys
(you can get small boxes with just a guy and an accessory)

Candy

Full/King size candy bars
(we're doing Toblerone's this year)

Dragon Universe eggs
 (thankfully dear hubby was on top of things and picked several of these little things up. They have a dragon inside)

Pet shop puppies
(this will be for our 2yr old, a suggestion from his Language Pathologist to encourage frequent word use and since we have a puppy. I thought it was a great idea)

Bath foam/soap

fun pads or doodle pads
(great for church)

tape measurers
(so hopefully they will leave dad's alone)

ear phones for their MP3's

playdough

movie

bookmarks

Deoderant for the oldest

body spray for the oldest.

For Dad:

body spray

tape measurers

pen flashlight

favorite candy bar- Toblerone

Nintendo DS game- yeah, he's the biggest kid of all

movie

Barns and Nobles Gift card

bookmark

Intimate massage oils

deoderant

For Mom:

Scrapbook tools

paper crafting supplies

ink pads

jewelry

body spray

hair clips

Chic Flic

make-up

nail polish