Archives for February 2011

A Little Seuss Inspiration

February 28, 2011 10 Comments

It must be the teacher in me that is so excited...

Dr. Seuss' Birthday is March 2nd.

I wouldn't give up being a SAHM for anything in the world, but there are some days that I really, really miss teaching. The first week of March was my favorite week of the entire school year! Why? Because I created my own Dr. Seuss unit for first grade, and every day was full of crazy-wacky, topsy-turvy Seussical fun!

In lieu of my regular Wednesday's Wowzers, I thought I would stop for just a moment to show you some of my favorite Dr. Seuss ideas. If you just realized that Dr. Seuss' birthday is just around the corner (like ME!), you can still join in the fun!

Last year, I threw a Seuss Extravaganza party for my family. Our menu for the evening included green eggs and ham with cat-in-the-hat cupcakes. We played games and had some fun with activities based on Dr. Seuss books.

Don't you just love these Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes?! Delicious and educational! You can find more inspiration at Good Life Eats.

Fun in First Grade is sharing all sorts of educational Seuss ideas with free printables, too! I am such a sucker for Horton Hears a Who. I love that the students built their own elephants and then wrote about Horton!

Check out these adorable Dr. Seuss activity blocks from Sugar Bee - Craft Edition. You can make your own using Dr. Seuss books. What a fun idea!

I was just wishing that I had created a Mommy School packet for Dr. Seuss... then I realized that someone already had! You can download your own Dr. Seuss unit from What the Teacher Wants. My packet is printing right now. Thanks so much, Rachelle!

And if you need even more Seuss inspiration, visit ObSEUSSed for a boat-load of ideas, including celebrations, costumes, and even home decor! It's fantastic!

I hope you can do something Seuss-inspired this week with your kiddos!

Have a fabulous week, my friends!

Filed Under: Dr. Seuss

Sunday Snippets & A Winner!

February 27, 2011 7 Comments

Happy weekend Oopsey Daisies!

I really can't remember a time when I looked forward to the weekend quite so much as I did this week! Yesterday was a simply heavenly day. After my hubby arrived in town late Friday night, I was in dire need of a break! He played full-time Daddy all day yesterday. I slept in. I shopped at JoAnn's. I sewed for 5 hours straight. It was heavenly!

It was just a normal, everyday week for Little Man and me here at home...

Sometimes I think Little Man is part fish. He could spend all day in the bath tub!

Little Man is learning to feed himself... Independence is so exhilarating (for both of us!)

The highlight of my week was spending a day at my parents' house. My sister and I brought the boys over for a big play date, and even dinner was served! My Dad is the perfect "Pop" to his 3 grandsons. They all enjoyed reading the unanimous favorite, Curious George!

And yes, sometimes we get grumpy! We both miss Daddy a lot!

What a treasure this Little Man is. And he is growing up right before my eyes!

Here is just one lil' announcement that hopefully brighten's someone's day:

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

The winner of the Mr./Miss Lucky t-shirt from Lilsteinstyle featuring sam-n-i is....

Congratulations!! I'll pass along your e-mail so you can order your shirt just in time for St. Patrick's Day!

Filed Under: snippets

Ruffled Easter Egg Basket

February 26, 2011 23 Comments

It's ruffle time!

Last week, I introduced you to ruffle fabric by showing you my upcycled ruffle pillows... pillows that had been quite useless, sitting in my basement until I made simple pillow cases for them using ruffle fabric. I have a few more ruffle projects up my sleeve.

Although Easter is months away, I am a victim of spring fever! I saw Easter baskets at JoAnn's this week, and I couldn't resist! I can just imagine Little Man collecting his Easter eggs...

Come along and see how to make your own ruffled Easter basket liner!

I started off by measuring my basket. I added 1/2 inch seam allowance to all measurements:

* I measured the circular part of the basket's base. This would be the bottom of the liner.

* I also measured the height of the basket's body, adding how much of the fabric I wanted to fold over the opposite edge. This would be the width of the strips. The circumference of the basket's bottom would be the length of the strips. To make my basket liner double sided, I needed 2 strips for the inside and outside.

I used my measurements to carefully cut out the basket liner's bottom and the 2 long strips for the liner.

Next, I precisely pinned the 2 long strips, right sides together. I only sewed 3 sides--leaving one long side open. **Tip for sewing ruffle fabric: Brush all of the ruffles so they fall the same way before sewing.**

Now I pinned the double liner all the way around the circular fabric base, right sides together. I sewed very slowly around the circle, making sure to secure all 3 layers of this thin, sheer fabric.

I needed some way to create openings for the 2 basket handles. I sewed up the double liner's final edge (creating a circle), but only part of the way. I left the rest of the edge open to wrap around the handle. I simply sewed on velcro to hold the liner closed.

To create an opening for the opposite handle, I made a slit from the outside up to the handle. I hemmed the raw edges just slightly, and used velcro once again to hold it closed. Velcro is one of my favorite crafting supplies!

I slipped on that lovely ruffly liner... absolutely blissful. But doesn't it look awfully empty. I dug the Easter eggs out of storage just to get the full effect.

Yes, that's better!

Don't forget that now is the time to order your very own ruffle fabric! Ruffle fabric is offering Oopsey Daisy readers a 10% discount. Just enter promo code "Daisy" at checkout! This offer is only valid for 1 more week!

If you have made something using ruffle fabric, please send me some pictures.

I would love to see what you create!

Filed Under: Easter, holidays, ruffles, sewing

Blog Swap with Positively Splendid

February 25, 2011 15 Comments

Oh my friends, I am delighted to share one of my favorite bloggers with you today! Besides being *crazy* talented, Amy is one of the sweetest people I know. She is a diamond in the rough. I just know you're going to love her!

***********

Hello, Oopsey Daisy readers! My name is Amy, and my home in the blogging neighborhood is known as Positively Splendid.

I am just an average girl striving daily to appreciate the simple pleasures of life by creating something beautiful, meaningful, or delicious. I love to share crafting and sewing tutorials, but I also dabble in cooking, home decorating and organizing. I would absolutely love for you to stop in for a visit sometime!

I truly covet the blogging friendship Alison and I have developed over the course of the last year or so. She is such a gem, and her blog is a true reflection of that! I am so delighted to be posting here today.

There must be something in the air, because where I am, it seems to be raining babies! The cost of baby shower gifts can certainly add up, so today I thought I'd share a little idea to upcycle something you might already have on hand to creative an inexpensive, yet unique and thoughtful gift.

For this project, you will need...

An empty beverage carrier

Coordinating patterned papers

Scrapbooking adhesive and/or glue

Paper trimmer and scissors

Ruler and pencil

Chipboard letters and/or letter stickers

Ribbon

Gift items to fill your finished carrier (see below for some ideas)

step 1 / Measure the length and width of all of the sides of your beverage carrier, and trim pieces of patterned paper to these dimensions. Also measure the length and width of the rectangle surrounding the carrying handle of the your holder, as seen below, and trim 2 pieces of paper to these dimensions, one for the front and the back. If one of the sides if your carrier is oddly shaped as mine was, trace the side onto the back of your patterned paper.

step 2 / Trim the flaps away from the carrying handle of your carrier, as shown. Cut out all of the remaining traced pieces, if you haven't already.

step 3 / Precisely align one of the small handle rectangles in the handle portion of your carrier, with the right side of your paper facing out. Use a pencil to trace the shape of the handle, and then trim this piece away. Adhere this handle piece to your carrier. Repeat on the side of the handle.

step 4 / Adhere your remaining to paper pieces to your carrier to their respective sides in a similar manner, taking care to ensure all sides are precisely aligned. At this point, you can be finished, or you can continue to step 5 and gussy you carrier up a bit!

step 5 / Apply strips of coordinating patterned paper to all sides of your carrier, if desired. (Just be sure when using strips that they are all lined up at each corner of your carrier!) Now, apply chipboard letters and/or letter stickers to the front and back of your carrier. Because I wanted one side of the carrier's content to be filled with items for Mama and the other with items for Baby, I decided to label mine, "For You," and "For Baby." Use your imagination! Finish everything up with a bright bow. Your carrier is finished!

Now, fill your carrier with the items of your choosing. Soaps, lotions and super-soft washcloths are great options for baby, while luxurious items like bubble bath and a loofah are terrific for the new mom!

Thank you so much, Alison, for having me over today! It's been tons of fun. 🙂

--
Amy

www.positivelysplendid.com
Twitter: @splendidamy

Filed Under: baby, gift ideas, swap

Wednesday’s Wowzers: A Few Favs With Stumble Upon

February 23, 2011 9 Comments

Hey Oopsey Daisies, I just have to take a minute to say THANK YOU!

I have the best readers ever! I had been dying to share my Toy Story birthday party with you, and your kind comments were the icing on my post-party cake! It is so fun to share my latest and greatest with you! I definitely appreciated the kind thoughts about Mommy School also. You've given me a little pep in my step this week.

Now on to our weekly Wednesday's Wowzers. Are you ready to be wowed??

Can you believe that this "Love" display is made out of foam board?! I am in *love* with this LOVE!! This genius came from Made With Emily Love.

Talk about eye candy. Isn't this gorgeous?? Noodlehead shared this tutorial for vintage hankie pillow covers on Elsie Marie. This is guaranteed to brighten up your room!

Now I've seen vinyl on all kinds of things. But check out this vinyl knob makeover by my gal Michele at The Scrap Shoppe. I am lovin' that quatrefoil!

I am always looking for ways to spruce up my craft room. I was definitely drooling when I discovered this "sew cool" specimen art from Living With Punks.

I've always loved the slimming power of black. Black and ruffles seem like the perfect marriage. You must see this ruffle shirt from Welcome to the Good Life (guest posting at Blue Cricket Design).

I have been having a whole lot of fun since i discovered Stumble Upon. I am finding even more amazing crafting ideas. This bow belt from Momtastic is now on my to-do list. What a fun way to dress up an outfit!

By the way, I have just added a Stumble Upon badge to my posts. If you like what you see, feel free to "Stumble" a post!

Thanks for reading!

Filed Under: wowzers

Mr. & Miss Lucky Giveaway {Lilsteinsyles featuring sam-n-i}

February 23, 2011 105 Comments

(This giveaway is now closed.)

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day...

I am SO excited about the items up for grabs today! Today, you can enter to win an adorable Mr. Lucky/Miss Lucky t-shirt (or onesie) from Lilsteinstyles featuring sam-n-i. I mean, these are so stinkin' cute! You can enter this giveaway to win your very own tee for your little guy or gal.

O man, I am already imagining Little Man wearing one of these "Mr. Lucky" t-shirts. This is SO darling!

Or how about a "Miss Lucky" shirt? Perfect to avoid getting pinched!

Amazing, huh? And the Lilsteinstyles featuring sam-n-i shop is loaded with great stuff for kiddos. Go stop by and check out all of the goodies for your munchkins!

The winner of this giveaway can select a tee in the size of their choosing.

Here is how to enter:

(Please leave a separate comment per entry.)

1. Be a follower of Oopsey Daisy or let me know you already are.

2. "Heart" Lilsteinstyles featuring sam-n-i on Etsy. (Add this shop to your favorites.)

3. Become a follower of the lilsteinstyles blog.

4. "Like" their shop on Facebook.

You can enter this giveaway until Saturday, February 26 at midnight. A winner will be selected and announced on Sunday. Good luck!

Filed Under: giveaway

Toy Story Birthday Party

February 22, 2011 87 Comments

Invitations

Outdoor Decorations

I created this Etch-a-Sketch image in Photoshop and mod-podged it onto wood. (I photoshopped Little Man's name off of everything. It really does have his name on it!)

This sign was hanging on our front door as guests arrived. It was meant to look like the sign that hangs from Andy's bedroom in the movie. (Can you tell that I have watched Toy Story about a million times?!)

Indoor Decorations

Cardboard birthday banner. (You can see the tutorial here.)

Toy Story character pennant banner using felt and fabric transfers. (You can see the tutorial here.)

The army men were parachuting and repelling from upstairs to downstairs.

Toy Story themed birthday subway art. (You can see more about this here.)

I downloaded these Toy Story replica drawings from Pixar Planet forum here. They look just like the originals!

Dinner Table

We started out the party with dinner for family. I didn't want to use the commercialized Toy Story paper products, and I wanted to keep things simple. Instead, I made this bandana tablecloth and used blue paper products.

Each guest had a personalized "Happy Birthday" candy bar by their place setting.

Instead of having name cards, each guest (who was dressed up as a Toy Story character) had to find their own famous character quote. This was Little Man's place setting because he was Buzz Lightyear for the evening.

Food

For dinner, we served:

Buzz Lightyear's UFO Burgers, Slinky's Wiener dogs, Bo Peep's berries, Bullseye's baked beans, Mr. Potato Head's french fries, alien juice (lemon lime juice), and Barbie & Ken's crisper (veggies & dip).

Costumes

Our guests were asked to dress up as a Toy Story character. Of course Little Man dressed up as his favorite character--Buzz Lightyear.

Our family was kind enough to dress up as other Toy Story characters. I made Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head costumes for my husband and me.

Games

Army man estimation.

As guests arrived, we asked them to estimate how many army men were in the jar. Each guest wrote down their guess.

Toss the snake in the boot.

I cut out the cowboy boot from a cardboard box. Each guest had 5 chances to throw the plastic snake in the boot.

Toy Story Bingo.

Instead of marking a free space, each guest marked the spot for their own character.

Pin the star on Woody.
Just like "Pin the tail on the Donkey", we blindfolded everyone and they tried to pin their metal star badge (from Hobby Lobby) onto Woody. I made this poster in Photoshop and just had it printed at Costco.

Pass the space rock.

Played just the same as "Hot Potato", we passed a tinfoil ball while listening to the Toy Story soundtrack.

Buzz's Laser Gun Show.

My hubby got the best Nerf gun he could find, and we took turns shooting darts at the Toy Story villains--Sid, Lotso, Al, Zurg, and Prospector.

Mr. Potato Head relay.

We divided the guests into 2 teams: Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. Each member had to run to their potato head, create the potato head according to the picture with all of the correct accessories, have it checked off, and then take it apart for the next team member. The first team done, won!

Party hats

I made each party guest an alien hat. The aliens have the Pizza Planet logo on them.

Cupcakes

Instead of making a cake, we made s'mores cupcakes. If you remember, in Toy Story 3, Lotso rides around in a dump truck. I found dump trucks in the dollar section at Target, and we used these to serve cupcakes. Of course they were well guarded by army men.

Fun!

Enjoying our cupcakes and ice cream!

Opening up LOTS of Toy Story toys!

The winner of each game won a prize--a Toy Story character Pez machine!

Favors

I washed the dump trucks after we ate the cupcakes, and they made perfect favors!

Credits

* I used this digital kit from Sweet Shoppe Designs for most of my designing. It was perfect!

* I found TONS of amazing Toy Story birthday ideas (including the cupcakes in dump trucks) from Rook No. 17. Jenn shares tons of printables and ideas here. Thanks, Jenn!

Wow, ~~I'm glad birthdays only come once a year.~~

That was a lot of fun!

The End.

Linking up to

Filed Under: birthday, craft, party Tagged With: birthday, Toy Story

Toy Story Character Pennant Banner

February 21, 2011 6 Comments

Another crafting first...

To create this fun Toy Story character pennant banner for Little Man's birthday party, I used fabric transfers for the first time! I had been wanting to try this for a long time, and Little Man's birthday seemed like the perfect occasion. This was a piece-of-cake project--and no sewing is required!

I created a triangle pattern using cardstock and cut out several red, yellow, and blue pennants out of felt. (Once again, I have found a fabulous use for my felt scraps left over from my quiet book!)

You can find a package that looks just like this at your local office store or even Wal-Mart! You can find dark or light fabric transfers. I chose dark for this project.

I simply found images of our favorite Toy Story characters on Google images, printed them out on the fabric transfer paper, and cut them out.

I followed the instructions on the package to iron the characters onto the felt using a piece of transfer paper in between. Then you just peel it away, leaving the character. It's like magic!

I did sew the ribbon across the top, but you could use a hot glue gun just as easily. (Again the cowprint matches Jessie and Woody). We hung this banner in our kitchen. I have to admit that we still haven't taken it down. Oops! But Little Man sits and names all the Toy Story characters while he eats. So cute!

Guess what?! I finally have my party photos edited...

So look for a post about the entire Toy Story party tomorrow--it's the final shebang of my Toy Story birthday party ideas!

Filed Under: banner, birthday, felt

Sunday Snippets & Announcements

February 20, 2011 26 Comments

A few bits of announcements today that I think you may be interested in:

First up.... My friend Michelle from A Little Tipsy is celebrating her second blogiversary with a big music video. Guess what?? About 20 bloggers are strutting their stuff in this video including me. It's definitely worth a good laugh. So come and check it out! I made a complete fool of myself and had a lot of fun doing it!

Also, I have been receiving A LOT of e-mails and questions about Mommy School. The big dreaded question was, "Are you going to continue Mommy School?"

The answer is a definite "YES!" I just didn't know when I would be ready to dive in again!

If you are new to Oopsey Daisy, I started a simple at-home preschool program to help Little Man learn letters, colors, numbers, shapes, and themes. However... I was spending upwards of 14 hours preparing printable packets to share. Unfortunately, I feel that something's gotta give. After moving in to a new home, celebrating the holidays, etc, I finally feel ready to start up Mommy School again with Little Man. I desperately want to share our weekly learning fun with you. I am just not sure the best format for sharing my ideas. Perhaps I will just show pictures, a simple lesson plan, or a much slimmer packet of ideas.

I want to keep it real here on this blog, so let me be honest with you about a few things. The large packets I prepared require A TON of work and a lot of late nights, but I wanted to share them with you because my attitude is I made this for my family, and now I want to share with you. Too many people have taken advantage of my willingness to share what I have created. The negative feedback and the work required to deal with negative comments and demands can quickly become overwhelming. My family must come first. I want to continue creating printables for the readers who stop to say, "Thank you." Isn't it amazing how those two words can brighten someone's day?!

With business out of the way, let's move on to the good stuff! Here are a few little rays of sunshine... some of my happy snippets during this week:

Let's start out with this handsome man. After letting me sleep in on Valentine's Day, I woke up to see Mr. Daisy cleaning house! I don't know if he has ever looked quite so handsome to me!

What do you think of my Valentine's Day roses?? Not bad, eh? Little Man helped his Daddy select these roses from Costco. It was meant to be a surprise, but Little Man spilled the beans! He loves Costco too much to keep it a secret!

We went out for lunch on V-Day, too. (Have I mentioned that I have the best hubby ever?!) Little Man was chowing down on a pickle, his new favorite food!

After a long week of being out of town, some father & son time was in order. They did a little reading..

They quickly moved outdoors, where Daddy was launching Little Man into the air! Of course he loved every minute of it!

He was flying through the air!

While Daddy was trying to melt the snow by spraying it with a hose, Little Man was looking on from his play house. He is so interested in everything his Daddy does!

What were the best moments of your week this week?

I am very excited about this week on Oopsey Daisy, so stay tuned!

Filed Under: snippets

Birthday Subway Art

February 18, 2011 22 Comments

My Little Man is now 2.

My sweet babe is no longer an infant, and now we are welcoming the dramatic toddler years. I am learning a lot about temper tantrums and time-out already! It seems like just yesterday that he was first placed in my arms. Where has the time gone?

As soon as we saw Toy Story 3 in the theaters last summer, Little Man fell in love with the characters. For the last couple of months, Little Man requests to watch "BUZZ" just about each night. I try to oblige and watch one of the trilogy perhaps once a week. We listen to the music. We discuss the characters. We act out the characters. We play with the toys. We are definitely Toy Story crazy here in this house!!

We all love subway art. Are you tired of it yet? I think I've seen subway art for just about every holiday... but I've never seen birthday subway art. So one of my first ideas was creating this Toy Story-themed birthday subway art:

Although I wanted it to be personalized for my Little Man, I also wanted a touch of "Toy Story." Mr. Daisy and I put our heads together to include some of our favorite nicknames and phrases. It couldn't be any more perfect--this is SO Little Man! I used the Toy Story colors: Red, yellow, and blue. I created this 16x20 image in Photoshop and had it printed at Costco. (By the way, the actual print does not say "Little Man." It shows his first name, but I do try to protect his privacy as much as possible. So I Photoshopped the image below a bit!)

Another very proud moment. I loved this project! The best part is we are going to hang it in Little Man's bedroom. So this party project will live on.

If you are just tuning in to the party planning, you can check out other Toy Story party details here:

Invitations

Cardboard Birthday Banner

Have a happy weekend!