Fun Easter Crafts for the Kids!

Spring Break has finally arrived for a majority of the communities around here! Which can be a bittersweet feeling for the parents with little ones! Its always wonderful being able to spend time with your kids, but when its raining outside and you are left to entertain them what do you do!

Well here are some fun springtime inspired arts and crafts that you and the kids will both enjoy!

Just Ducky Tennis Ball Chick!

Materials:
Tacky Glue, Orange Craft Foam, One Tennis Ball,
Two Googly Eyes, 1 Two - Inch Yellow Pom-Pom
Yellow and Orange Craft Feathers, and a Black Marker

Instructions:
-To hatch your own duckling decoration, first use tacky glue
to glue together two 4-inch squares of orange craft foam.
-When the glue is dry, cut out a 1-piece set of webbed feet,
 then glue a tennis ball to the feet.
-Next, glue 2 googly eyes and 2 duck bill shapes cut from
more orange craft foam to a 2-inch yellow pom-pom,
then glue the pom-pom to the tennis ball.
-For wings and a tail, glue yellow and orange craft feathers
 to the sides and back of the duck.
-Finally, dot nostrils on the top of the bill with a permanent marker!

  Stained Glass Window Hanging!

This cute window hanging will always make for a cute decoration through out Spring Time! With endless options on what you can do with " Paper Stained Glass" why not make an egg shaped one for Easter!

Click Here to be directed to the instructions!

  

There are endless options on what you can make with just simple household items laying around your house!

So on a rainy day like today have the little ones put the video games down, turn off the TV, and have them enjoy the little things like making a fort, or creating the two projects we have posted above!

Have a wonderful Spring Break, and Easter Weekend!



Springtime Nursery Decor

Springtime tends to be the time for babies to be born! I have a sister who is going to have her little girl at the end of the month, and I can't wait to see her cute little face! 

All the thoughts of having a baby has brought me back around to thinking about nursery decor. It's such a fun thing to think about! As I was browsing around the internet, I saw this idea and thought it was the cutest thing! 

Rain Cloud Nursery Mobile

How fun would it be to deck out the nursery is cute rain clouds and old-time circus banners? You can incorporate large flowers, and maybe even some stars! 

All you need is some felt for the clouds and the raindrops, some basic cotton polyfill, and a gold ring with fishing line to hang the clouds from.

You can do the clouds in multi-color and the rain drops gold, or vice versa! (As seen in the picture to the left.)

This mobile makes me think of home since I have grown up here in north-western Washington. It has a calming effect on me, and makes me want to cuddle up in a big warm blanket in front of the fire. 

So! If you love the idea of this rain cloud mobile, it's simple and easy to make and will be a perfect touch of home to add to your nursery.

This could also be great when added to your car seat carrier! Keep them entertained on the go!

Easter Basket Ideas

Getting tired of giving your kids and grandchildren the same sugar packed candy every year for Easter? As a little girl we had three staples in our Easter baskets:

A chocolate bunny

A Reese's Peanut Butter Egg

A Marshmallow Egg

And then there were some jelly beans and malted eggs, but most of the things we got really excited about were the other things like a new headband, lip gloss, or earrings. The fun things in an Easter basket don't always have to be candy. You can get creative!

Womansday.com gives some great ideas for all age groups on how to fill an Easter basket with non-candy items.

For kids from 2-5 years old, sidewalk chalk and Color Dotz are suggested. Sidewalk chalk is fun for kids to be creative with, and Color Dotz make bath time a blast! They can turn the water ocean blue or grass green!

For your older kids, ages 6-9, give them hair accessories or some balsa wood gliders. They will be excited about them eventually; even if the morning filled with the candy hunt overshadows them for a moment. Give your girls a new pair of earrings and your boys a new water gun. 

And for those teenage girls in your family give them nail polish, make up, or a new lotion. And for your teenage boys give them a subscription to a magazine about cars, boats, or whatever interests them.

Easter is a wonderful holiday, and let's be honest: kids love it for the candy. But you can start to add other things to their baskets that don't have to be candy that can still be fun and exciting! 

Spring Cleaning

I am sure we all have that moment when we walk into our sewing room and all that comes to mind is chaos! Well, since Spring Cleaning is upon us wouldn't you say it is time to find the inspiration for organization. Here is a quick guide for you to start your cleaning festivities. 

One of the first things you need to do is arrange your space so it is easy to clean!

-Raise height of your cutting table with bed risers.

-Stash away your Fabrics.

-Sort Out Threads and Bobbins.

-Organize Needles, Pins and Stabilizers.

-Tame your Laces, Trims and Ribbons.

-Categorize your Patterns, Embroidery Designs, Magazines and Books.

-End the Notions Commotion.

-Sort unfinished sewing projects into individual baskets and store on a shelf.

-Update family’s measurements and post on your bulletin board.
-Rearrange your sewing room.

Now that everything is organized and has a home you can actually start Spring Cleaning!

-Thoroughly clean your sewing machine.

-Have your sewing machine serviced by a professional.

-Change your sewing machine and serger needles.

-Oil sewing machines if necessary.

-Remove residue from embroidery hoops.

-Sharpen scissors.

-Replace rotary cutter blades.

-Clean your Cutting Mat.

-Wipe down sewing tables.

-Vacuum and mop floors in your sewing room.

-Clean your iron.

-Wash your ironing board cover.

-Donate your fabric scraps to a quilter or charity.

Ideas adapted from the blog: Sew, Mama, Sew!

Springtime Centerpiece Filler

It seems like centerpieces are the first step to decorating your home for the season. With St. Patrick's Day coming up this month you probably already have those centerpieces out and looking fabulous, so we decided to give you an idea for an Easter centerpiece. 

These fabric eggs are simple yet elegant, and work with filling any centerpiece whether it be a basket, vase, or cute springtime bowl. 

Fabric Eggs

On the blog Retro Mama, she writes a tutorial for making these adorable eggs. All you need is:

-10"w x 5"h Quilting cotton, linen or other non-stretchy woven fabric in one or more prints 

-Thread

-Fiberfill, Nature-fill or other similar polyester or natural stuffing

-Disappearing Ink Pen

-Scissors

-Pins

-Hand sewing needle

-Pattern (I recommend printing it on card stock for easy tracing)

For full instructions on how to make these eggs, click here.

Picture from Sewfaithful on Etsy.

Tutorial taken from Retro Mama.

Dress It Up!

As I was having a conversation with a friend the other day, she said, "You know, I wish there was a way to have a really cute and functional sewing room. I always feel like I can get a cute table or desk, cute lamps, but then I have all this thread and fabric that I don't know what to do with besides hide it or throw it in a basket." 

And that got me to thinking.

What if there was a really cute way to organize your thread? Well, after a search on the internet for ideas, I found one that I LOVE!

Framed Thread Organizer

Basically, all this is, is a dressed up thread rack. All you'll need for this project is:

An empty picture frame

Piece of fabric large enough to fill the empty frame

Thread rack

Paint (to paint your thread rack if desired)

This project is so simple and easy, but it's so cute! Fill the empty frame with your piece of fabric, and then hang your painted (or unpainted) thread rack from the top of the picture frame, and voila! You have an incredibly cute way to not only organize your thread, but to display it in your "cute and functional" sewing room.

Project idea found at Sew Many Ways.

Fun Holiday Wreath!

February is almost gone! I can't believe it. There have been so many fun things going on that the month has flown by, and is about to leave us all behind in about a week.

Crazy.

So I was browsing the internet looking for a fun and easy St. Patrick's Day Craft (because Valentine's Day is over, so now we move on to the next holiday!) and I found this! Not only will this wreath work perfect for St. Patrick's Day, but you can switch up the colors and use it for any holiday!

St. Patrick's Day Rag Wreath

This is such a simple craft, and yet it will look not only beautiful but festive hanging on your front door! 

All you need to complete this project is a wire hanger that you can bend and shape into a circle, and 15-20 different fabrics that will coordinate to make a theme.

Whether this wreath is going to be for St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas it will be perfect and oh SO EASY to make!

This project was taken from The Magic of Ordinary Things.

Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday Event!

On Tuesday, February 21st we will be celebrating Mardi Gras here at Parkland Parish!

Yes, that's right, IT'S TOMORROW! 

So! Get ready for a fantastic deal on fat quarters that you will be unable to pass up! 

Our pre-cut fat quarters will be priced at just $1.00 each with a purchase of 25 or more! 

Think of the savings!

And not only will we have an unimaginable supply of fat quarters for you to choose from, we also have books, books, and more books all for making quilts and baby quilts out of fat quarters!

So come visit us tomorrow! We will be staying open until 9:00pm to make sure that we get to see each and every one of you that we possibly can! Let's get out of the rain and celebrate a little with one-dollar-fat-quarters!

Woohoo!!! See you tomorrow!

A Day of Love

Valentine's Day is here! 

Today is a day that is traditionally seen as the time to express your love for that one special person in your life. Whether it be through flowers, candy, a home-made card, candle light dinner, or a scavenger hunt through the house, expressions of love are always appreciated by those who are recieving them. Some people may be cynical about Valentine's Day, believing that they "don't need an assigned day each year just to tell the person that they love, they love them." I find myself agreeing with these people... to a certain extent.

I believe that Valentine's Day is a great opportunity to express your love for your spouse or significant other. However, I don't see it as the "make-this-day-special-and-you're-good-for-a-year" kind of event. My personal view on Valentine's Day is kind of like a "New Year's for Love." I see it not only as an opportunity to express my love for my Valentine, but to also re-committ myself to making every day a Valentine's Day. Maybe not go with the whole candle light dinner and expensive gifts, but do little things each and every day.

So I am a believer in Valentine's Day. I don't need my husband to go over the top with any gifts or any elegant display, but I do think that the holiday is a nice moment to honor our relationship, friendship, and love.

So how do you feel about Valentine's Day? Does it seem like a silly tradition to sell candy and hideous stuffed animals? Or do you see a purpose to it? Let us know by leaving a comment!

February Recipe of the Month!

Are you looking for that perfect bite-size sweet to woo your Valentine? Even those of you who feel that you are all thumbs when it comes to baking, you can make these brownies!

With this simple and easy recipe from FoodNetwork.com, these Red Velvet Swirl Brownies are a breeze!

Click on the picture below to download our recipe!

Some tips from me on how to make them just right!

1. Don't be afraid to "over-swirl". There is no such thing as over-swirling. You can make the top of your brownies as swirly as you want! I didn't swirl my first batch enough and was incredibly disappointed with the way they looked after they had baked. But, I swirled my second batch to my heart's desire, and they turned out beautifully! For proof, look at this picture on the right.
2. Don't be afraid to bake them longer than 30 minutes. The recipe tells you to bake for 30 minutes. I used a glass 8x8 pan, and at 350 F it took between 34-36 minutes for each batch. Now don't set your timer initially for 34 minutes! Still stick with 30 minutes to start with, your oven most likely bakes differently than mine, but don't be afraid to put them back in for a few more minutes. If you get it to where a toothpick comes out almost completely clean, then you will have a dense, moist, fudgy, and YUMMY brownie to enjoy!
3. Cut the 8x8 pan of brownies into 36 small squares. Yes, a full sized brownie is delicious. But these are really rich, so a small bite-sized piece will do just fine. Plus, they're so much cuter in mini form, don't you think?

Good luck and enjoy this delicious treat!