Preparing for Toddlers in Yellowstone

Before heading out on our summer adventure to Yellowstone, I knocked out some simple crafts to make all our outdoor time a bit more fun, and dare I say, educational. 

This is an egg crate that I painted.

Within minutes of it drying, our little guy was already on the hunt for matching items. Plus, you probably have everything you need for the craft in your house right now! 

I also found a few printables for our walks and car ride. (A quick Pinterest search if "nature hunt" or "car bingo" will give you plenty of options.) I printed them back to front and laminated them. I embellished a few with cutout color circles, my own little drawings and some ribbon. 

Our little guy got to pick them for hikes or when we needed something to do in the car. He was able to draw on them with the crayola window crayons and it wiped right off. 

The clear favorite was a map of Yellowstone that I found online. Our two year old loved giving us "directions" both on the road and trail. 

Purple Quilt

Can you believe it? I have finished all the projects that were started and sort of sitting in my craft area just waiting! The next few posts will be covering those - probably not in much detail since my goal is to get the posts done before this baby comes. 

The purple and blue quilt is done! I can't even remember what the pattern name or fabric line is - I'll have to do some digging. It's an oversized lap quilt. And I'm obsessed with the backing fabric. 

Outdoor Dining Chairs.

We found two new chairs today at an antique market that we ducked into after the March of Dimes.

The two thrift store chairs have been painted and are ready for use. Oh summer...I am so ready for you!

Nautical Quilt

I promised myself I would finish Little Peach's Nautical Quilt for his big boy room before Baby Peach made his arrival. I'm happy to say that the quilt is done and in the room. 

The pattern is Garden Path and the fabric is Land Ho! 

Back to Quilting

I think it has been over a year since I finished a quilt!

Two of my dear friends from Little Peach's playgroup just found out they are having little girls. I had partially pieced this "Lawn Chair" quilt, but did not have plans for it. I snipped it in half and found backing to for the ladies personalities and  "Tada" two baby quilts ready for their summer baby showers! 

Spring Nesting

Just a few weeks to go before Baby Peach makes an appearance. Spring has also finally, hopefully, come to Colorado. The combination means we are spring cleaning and nesting all at once.

Projects abound! 

Music Wall 

We wanted to make the backyard a place little peach could really enjoy this spring/summer. What kid doesn't love to make noise. The husband built this little holder and a few thrift store trips later it is ready to be moved into the yard. I'm sure we will attract the attention of the neighbors but our little one is bound to love the freedom to make noise! 

Outdoor Dining Table 

I have pinned several of those "make this Pottery Barn Table for $100." The husband finally caved and built a beautiful outdoor dining table. We are still working on the bench and chair situation, but the table looks lovely upstairs on the deck. 

Little Picnic Table (picture above) 

In addition to the adult table, the husband threw together a picnic table for the littles. It is another Pinterest find, but Little Peach wants to eat out there every night since we moved it to the deck. 

Under Porch Seating Area 

Little Peach's play area is accessible under the deck so we decided to move the outdoor furniture we already had down there. Using drop cloths for curtains we eliminated the sun problem and cerated a nice area to both sit and play. 

*My Rug finally arrived! I love the punch of color it adds! 

Growth Chart 

I asked the husband to pick up a piece if wood for me to make into a growth chart - I figured I should participate in the wood based crafting. There are so manycute growth  charts out there, but I'm obsessed with this Mary Popins themed one.  I had yellow paint left over from the tiny playroom under the stairs for my background color. After marking off the measurements I started playing around with wording. 

Craft Area Clean Out 

The craft area had gotten a bit out of control. I had put things away when we moved in a year ago, but never really reorganized. My sister and I pulled everything out, categorized it and thought about how to store it. We went to ikea for boxes and jars and got everything into a well labeled home.

Baby Hats with Huge Pom Poms

I was gifted a knitting loom and Pom Pom maker for Christmas. Four months later I have finally gotten the hang of this thing. Ok...I can make baby hats and that is about it. I may branch out...eventually. In the meantime, enjoy all these adorable little hats with huge Pom Poms! 

Car Carrier Wallet

There are so many great tutorials for these car carriers on pInterest. It may be the most practical gift I've made my little one so far. This is going to provide hours of entertainment, in one cute little package. 

The cars (6 of them) for in the little red pockets and amazingly do not fall out when the wallet is folded over. 

I'm hoping to knock out a few more for gifts. Head over to Pinterest to find a pattern that works for you! 

Color Matching Fabric Square

I promised my husband I would complete a few scrap projects to whittle down my stash before baby comes. (I secretly am only doing it so that I have an excuse to purchase more fabric after baby!) 

My little one is still working on mastering colors. I saw this little color matching game on Pinterest. I always have clothes pins laying around, so it was a quick easy project.

A few thoughts. 

1. I made two quickly since I cut the fabric into squares and then into triangles. 

2. I used markers to color the clothes pins and wrote the color name on the other side. The marker will wipe right off if you don't spray it with a sealant or use paint. 

This is headed for my son's Easter basket. The duplicate is part of a birthday gift for a friend.

Moms Night Out: Painting

I'm part if the most wonderful Fit4Mom group. We workout and have playgroups during the week, but we also do moms night out activities on weekends, and this morning we went to Painting with a Twist. 

The majority of us are either pregnant or nursing, so not so much "with a twist," but we did complete these Pikes Peak at Night painting.

This is a great girls outing. We had plenty of time to talk and all took home a really fun painting! 

This is actually the exact same painting place we went to on our house hunting trip to the Springs two years ago when I was pregnant with H. 

Car Seat Cover

The nesting must be setting in because I am getting through projects these days - although I'm seriously neglecting a quilt for little H that I was hoping to get done before the new little one arrives.

One of the girls asked me to make her a car seat cover, she wanted to have a split front. I toyed with magnets or Velcro, but ended up using simple ribbon ties. I used a car seat cover I already had as a template. This sucker came together in under and hour.