Q-Tip Drop

Every time I go to the bathroom Beatrix pulls all the Q-tips out of the box in the cupboard. I decided to harness her interest and turn it into a fine-motor-skill-honing activity!

This has been such a hit and it couldn't have been easier to throw together.

Supplies:

• Cardboard (I used a cereal box)
• Mason Jar with lid
• Q-tips
• Scissors
• Utility knife
• Writing utensil (optional)

I think it is pretty self-explanatory. I traced around the outer edge of the ring part of the lid and cut out the circle. I trimmed it a little to the inside so the lid would screw on. I used a utility knife to cut a hole in the center (ish) and decorated it with some arrows pointing to the hole. I think you could potentially use a hole punch, if it was big enough. screw the lid on the jar and voila! 

I love the look of pride on her face when she gets one in! It is just difficult enough to keep her occupied for minutes on end without being so hard it frustrates her. She has asked me to take the lid off a few times - the little smarty figured out that it would be so much easier to get them in the jar that way. Work smarter not harder! She was so pleased that she was allowed to play with some Q-tips and has actually left the ones in the cupboard pretty well alone. Now instead of them being all over my bathroom, they are all over my living room, haha.

DIY No-Sew Carseat Poncho (and One for Your Build-A-Bear Too!)

I advocate for a lot of things: breastfeeding, babywearing, cloth diapering, and carseat safety! If you choose not to do the first three, that is your choice and I do not judge you for that. But if you choose to be flippant about carseat safety, that makes me upset. One big rule with carseats is no coats! Last winter we had one of those Cozy Covers on her infant seat and just zipped that over the top. This year it is not so easy. I am not a fan of fussing with the coat on and off in the car. (In fact, many times I don't wear a coat, because I don't like to fuss with it.) This idea seemed so genius to me! A lady in my mom group was making these for some other members and so I decided to make my own version!

  

The first step was choosing the fabric. Beatrix quickly fell in love with this print. She really loves puppies! We went with a solid gray for the back (you could just do one layer if you live somewhere not quite as chilly.) I got 1 yard of each. Since we did two layers this is reversible! Then I measured from her shoulder down to about halfway between her knee and her foot. I doubled that length for my measurement of where to cut. So hers is 1 yard wide by however tall x 2 (I could not find my measuring tape so I just used a string). Mr. Fish suggested we make Cupcake a matching poncho with the extra. Cupcake is the puppy she made at Build-A-Bear on her birthday and she is quite attached. The pictures I took of the process are with Cupcake's poncho, but it all works the same way.

Disclaimer: I tend to just wing things and I did not follow a pattern, nor do I have exact measurements. That is just the way I do things. This was really easy and no-sew fleece projects are very forgiving. You could also hem this instead of tying the edges if you like. I just didn't feel like dragging out my sewing machine. I just put it away last week after finishing up Christmas presents.

Set both of your fabrics on top of each other and cut to the desired size. You could make the end shape a circle or a diamond if you like - make those cuts now. We went with a rectangle for simplicity sake. Next you want to cut the neck hole. Fold the fabric in half the hamburger bun way, then the hot dog bun way. Mark the center and then make a small cut down into the fabric and then across the fold on each side. It should look like the picture below on the right. I just guesstimated the neck hole size, but you could measure the neck of a shirt that fits.

Next, cut each of the triangles that make up the neck hole in half and in half again like you see below.

(Can I just add how I hate cutting fabric with animals or people on it? It is so freaky cutting through their heads and limbs!!!)

Next tie each of those little triangles with the corresponding triangle in the layer below. You could trim the ends if you like. Here it is with the neck hole tied and the fringe cut.

Below on the left is Cupcake's poncho all finished! Cupcake is modeling the print and the gray below in the middle and right pictures, respectively. (She holds more still than Beatrix.)

Above is Bea's finished poncho, folded, like it would be if it were on her. Below it is all laid out.

We also had enough fabric to make a small blanket for Cupcake or her dollies. Below are the two matching cuties! She was not too thrilled that she could not see her arms, but she got used to it quickly.

Here it is in action! The idea is to flip the back up over the back of the carseat, lift the front and buckle underneath that. Keeping your little one warm and cozy AND safe too!

Winter Window Squish Bag

With Christmas decorations up, it was time to say goodbye to our Fall squish bag and hello to our new Winter squish bag!

Beatrix plays with these every day, she just loves looking out the window while smooshing the contents of the bag around with her fingers and toes.

Here is how I made it!

Ingredients

Some kind of gel (I use Dollar Tree clear hair gel)

Glitter (I used blue, silver, while, and black)

Beads (I used red, white, and green)

Poms (I used red and green)

Snowflake window clings

A good quality gallon-sized freezer zippy bag. (cheapo ones tend to rip easily.)

I have found it to be easiest if you put the "dry ingredients" in the bottom of the bag first, then add the gel. 

The dry ingredients - you don't need to put as much in as you think. This was actually a LOT of glitter. It would be just as pretty with about half that amount.

Here I am trying to show about how much gel I use. Just enough to keep everything moving around nicely. Again - not too much. Don't fill the bag full!

I put up some snowflake window clings under where I was going to put the bag, for a little peek-a-boo surprise! It is fun to move the glitter around to find the big flakes. 

I think this is my favorite bag I have made so far! Mr. Fish says it reminds him of when Jack Frost paints the windows. Beatrix seems to like it as well! 

Fall Sensory Squish Bag

Squish bags are cheap, easy to make, and all sorts of fun. They can be filled with a variety of materials - the possibilities are endless! Here's how I made this one!

All you need to make your very own Fall Squish Bag is:

• A sturdy quart or gallon-sized zippy bag (I used a gallon this time, but I have done quarts in the past.)
• Some kind of clear gel for filling (I used dollar store hair gel, you can also use shower gel/body wash, or hand soap.)
• Fake fall leaves (the first fall bag I did I used real leaves, but the leaves turned the gel an icky brown.)
• Small beads
• Glitter!
• Duct tape to seal the zipper edge

Just dump the "dry ingredients" - the beads, leaves, and glitter - in the bag and scoop or squeeze in the clear gel of choice. LESS IS MORE - that goes for the little items as well as the gel. Too much and it is harder to interact with. Tape off the zipper side and all around if you like. I tape ours to the window and Beatrix sits on the couch and plays with it. It is pretty with the sun shining through!

Happy squishing!

"Gone Batty" Lampshade Tutorial

Something I really enjoy doing is decorating for various holidays - especially DIY decor. I hope it is something Beatrix will enjoy doing with me when she is just a little older!

I have to admit, I tend to break out the fall decorations as soon as Labor Day is over (and it is hard to wait that long!) Somewhere in the middle of October I like to start adding in some Halloween flair.

Here is a fun, and quick 10 minute spooktacular DIY for Halloween!

All you need is:

• Black construction paper
• Chalk
• Scissors
• Tape

Step #1: Draw some bat shapes. I just drew a bat shape freehand on paper, but you could also trace around a bat-shaped cookie cutter or print and trace this bat shape or something similar. I used chalk because it is easy to see on the black paper. 

Step #2: Cut out your bats!

Step #3: Put a small piece of tape in the center of each bat. I just looped regular tape, double-stick would work great here as well.

Step #4: Attach to the inside of your lampshade. 

Here they are, all attached!

      

      

Step #5: Turn on the light and enjoy! 

This would be a really fun craft to do with preschoolers to work on scissor skills. You could do as many or as few bats as you like. You could also vary the sizes! I might make a few smaller ones to add around the sides.            

If you do this, be sure to share a picture with me - I would love to see what you made!