fawn&forest

Hello? Hello?!!

Playing telephone is not only fun for kids... but a learning experience as well.

Supplies:
2 empty, clean tin cans
Something to poke a hole in the tin can (such as a nail & a hammer)
Cotton string at least 1-2 yards long
Paint/decoration

Do:
1. Make sure the tin cans are empty, clean and any metal or sharp bits are... well, not sharp.
2. Poke a hole in the middle of the bottom of the can using an awl or a make-shift awl (strong nail & hammer)
3. Decorate the cans. I spray painted ours yellow. Kids should not spray paint, so using water-based paints or decoupage would also be good options.
4. Once the cans are dry, thread one end of the string through the can (from the outside in) and then make a hefty knot so the string won't escape out the hole. Do this to both ends.

Play:
1. Each kids holds a can, walking far enough apart from each other to pull the string taut.
2. One kid talks into the can, the other kid holds the can up to her ear to listen. Telephone!
3. The key is keeping the string pulled taut.

How does it work?

Happy Friday! Have a wonderful weekend!

We're celebrating Earth Week at fawn&forest by taking the kids outside & getting messy! Today we have a whimsical outdoor project from Jennifer Ward's fantastic book i love dirt!

How about the birds? All children naturally are amazed by birds. Together learn more about birds & nest building with activity #12 in i love dirt! : Build That Nest. 

"Just how do birds build such incredible nests? After all, when you think about it, they don't have hands. Try to test your own bird's nest making skills. Collect items in nature (such as grasses, leaves, twigs, fiber and mud) that a bird might use to build a home. Try building a bird's best with these materials. How difficult is it? Even though we can use our hands, birds have us beat in the department of nest building!"

The boys & I gathered simple materials found around the yard & home: whirly twigs, a bit a fuzzy string, fiber lint from the dryer, and leaves. Gather a lot of supplies, as you'll need much much more than what is pictured above!  We spent time together out in the grass trying to make our bird's nest. And while we may not have made anything bird-worthy, we giggled & had fun while working together, learning about birds & 'how they get cozy' in their nests.

"Excerpted from I LOVE DIRT! by Jennifer Ward, (c)
2008.  Published by arrangement with Trumpeter, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc., Boston.  www.Shambhala.com."

To purchase Jennifer Ward's book I love Dirt! click HERE.

Just about done with your shopping? Ready to wrap? We have some free gift tags for you to download and print! A fun last minute project. To download (2.9mb), click here.

Best gift pick for last minute shoppers? A fawn&forest giftcard, of course!

Today's project: wrapping paper... it is so fun to make!

Here's how to make wrapping paper with a potato stamp:
1. gather your children.
2. gather some paper (recycled newsprint, brown paper bags, kraft paper...anything that's large enough to wrap gifts)
3. gather paint. acrylic, washable paint is best. i'm keeping with the red/aqua theme and used aqua paint.
4. gather the potatoes.
5. learn how to make a potato stamp here.
6. using the potato stamp, print onto paper. children love the printing part, obviously... so let them have at it!
7. let dry! wrap!

Today's pick are an adorable clique of fabric dolls by Sophie & Lili - fun to play with and quite cozy on your little girl's bed.

Today's project is all about giving, the best gift of all.

There are many ways to give: time, money and things. Have fun connecting with your children on what giving means to them and how you can give as a family.

Here are some ideas:
First Books :: First Book provides new books to children in need addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy – access to books.

Oxfam America ::  Oxfam is an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice.

Voice of the Martrys :: The Voice of the Martyrs is a non-profit inter-denominational Christian organization dedicated to assisting the persecuted church worldwide.

Soles4Souls :: Soles4Souls has a simple mission: To impact as many lives as possible with the gift of shoes.


Also, ideas for giving time: We Are What We Do, Raising charitable children and an exhaustive list of service ideas.

While I am happy to say fawn&forest works with numerous companies who give to charitable causes, one that particularly stands out is Barley & Birch, who is today's pick.

B&B  makes organic cotton clothes for children, and really goes the extra mile in their process. :: they give 15% of profits  to several carbon-reducing initiatives in order to fully offset the carbon emissions that result from the production of their garments... and another 15% is donated to organizations that improve people’s lives around the world. Truly fantastic.

Keeping a memory book of the Holidays is such a cozy idea and is today's project. I've been keeping a Christmas memory/scrapbook since my first son was a newborn. Some things, as precious as they are, are easily forgotten. Take notes!

Any journal type book will work -- Moleskine, traditional scrapbooks, or even photo album.  I use a Mokeskine.

What to include in your Holiday memory book?
- hand tracings of the kids
- snippets of giftwrap and ribbon
- cards & gift notes
- lists: what you did, what you made, where you went, things you ate
- christmas card list, or new people to add to your list
- list of gifts received, so you can be sure to write thank you notes!
- memorable moments
- photos & drawings
- recipes

With our days filled with all things digital, it's refreshing to sit down and do something on paper.

Today's Pick is something that's fully fancy and instant heirloom for your little girl: Periwinklebloom's Organic Sherpa Capelet.

Have you done your Holiday cards yet? Truth: I have not, but it's in this weekend's project plan...! My plan? Forest Gnome Cards made using my children's artwork. Yes, time to dig into that heap of artwork  your children have produced thus far!

How to make a card using your child's artwork:

1. Determine he shape you want. Any shape could be used including a snowman, snowflake, angel, deer.. I chose a gnome (do a Google image search  to find the perfect image).
2. Print out your favorite image, cut around it to get a solid shape.
3. Trace the shape onto the back of the artwork (so pencil marks are not visiable on the front).
4. Cut the shape out and punch a hole at top.
5. Using red twine, create a loop and bow (your recipient can now use your "card" as an ornament!)
6. Cut a piece of cardstock to the desired size to fit both your cutout shape and the envelope. I used a flat card, but you could also fold the paper in half to create a folded card.
7. Using double sided tape, attached the Gnome (or whatever shape you use) to the cardstock. This will allow your recipient to remove and use as an ornament.
8. Stamp, write or print a greeting on the cardstock. I used a date stamper to print "12 25 09" in red.

Today's best gift pick? Clementine art supplies for your budding artist. Clementine uses only non-toxic, all natural ingredients and is environmentally friendly.

Happy Hanukkah to you as well! 

Wreath making will bring out your inner craftiness and is today's Project. Wreath making is great fun, the ideas limitless. Evergreen wreaths are perhaps the first sort you think about, but be sure to take a look at the inspiration i have linked to below. Paper? Gumdrops? Oragami? Old books?

I'm rolling with an aqua & red color scheme for Christmas this year (remind you of the gifts + ideas page?) and thought it'd be fun to make sparkly aqua "wreaths" for all the (inside) doors in our home. 

I made the aqua wreath (shown above) in all of 8 minutes using supplies I already had. You will need: cardboard or chipboard (something sturdy), glitter, glue and thread to hang (and any additional decorative pieces ... i used a silver dot sticker garland).

Using a bowl or plate, trace a circle on the chipboard. I then added a star-ish points. Cut out the shape, cutting out the inside of the circle as well. Hole punch a hole at top. Using white glue, cover the front of the wreath then cover in glitter. Let dry + hang!

Inspiration? One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

Today's Pick will keep time.. for yourself. I am loving Decoylab's new bamboo clocks. My 2 favorites? The Squirrel and Birds & Branches.

Today's project is capturing your baby's first Christmas! Next to taking 1.2 million photos, making hand print impressions is a special way to capture the tininess of this incredibly special time.

Using Crayola's Model Magic you can very easily capture your baby's tiny little fingers in an impression. Model Magic is non-toxic, non-sticky, fast drying and comes in basic white and works perfectly for this project.

To start, simply roll a ball of the clay, flattening into a circular, organic shape, about 3/4 of an inch thick. Then, take you baby's hand and gently press into the clay. Take a moment to press each finger down and even the wrist to get a good impression. If you want to be able to hang this keepsake, using a straw or small circular object, poke a hole at top.

Place the impressions on wax paper to dry which generally takes a day or so. Once dry, Model Magic clay can be painted, stained or left plain (as shown in image).

Today's pick? Baby gifts. A few of my favorites: Kina Lamb Booties, Dress Me Up Teething BonBon and Area Alma Baby Blanket.

Project Sugar Cookies. All kids love making sugar cookies. Cookie cutters, rolling out dough... squirting frosting.. sprinkles.Eating...

My 2 boys had a great time making the first batch of sugar cookies of the season recently.  Even 18 month old Owen totally got into cookie cutter. Your family is likely to have the sugar cookie recipe you turn to, my favorite is Nigella Lawson's.

It's always fun to add to the cookie cutter collection,  this year I am really loving this Northwoods set. And this year forget all about messy icing! These squeeze bottle are absolutely amazing and a lot easier for little hands to use.

Today's pick fits right in. Tea Towels by Tikoli. For Mom, because it's always nice to have towels that are lovely.

Project Garlands. Making garlands is instant satisfaction and fits every skill level.  Garlands can be made of paper, tissue paper, fabric, felt, sicker dots or sequins and can be sewn, glued, or stitched together.

In the image above (view flickr set here) the garlands were made in a variety of ways. The first garland was made of small rectangular pieces of gift wrap glued in half onto yarn. The 2nd green garland was made of green paper circles, sewn together on a sewing machine. The third garland was made of sticker dots painted silver with a silver marker, stuck back to back with clear thread in between.

The last garland (on the right) is made of organic fabric and baker's twine by Periwinklebloom and can be purchased here


For more Inspirational garlands: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve.

Today's pick goes along with the simple fanciness of a garland : wool felt Crowns by Little Red Caboose.

Nothing quite like making a mess in the kitchen with your little ones as you bake cookies together. Children are excellent cookie makers (and eaters!).... which makes for an excellent weekend project. 

Recipes? I'm a big fan of Heidi Swanson's cookie recipes, view here. We always seem to make a big batch of Grammy's Chocolate cookies and be sure to take a look at Smitten Kitchen's collection of cookie recipes.  Yum!

The boys & I made the chocolate cookies (pictured above) from the book Babycakes -- wheat & gluten free (if you're interested.) They were amaaaaaaazing.

Today's pick will help keep the little bakers clean, a Dwellstudio coated apron which is available in a variety of different patterns.

Have a wonderfully cozy weekend!

Putting up the Christmas Tree is monumental and thrilling. Triple bonus points if you can make it through the whole season without having the tree looking haphazard & un-decorated by curious little fingers!

Perfect for those curious little fingers? It's today's pick: Wood. Reclaimed wood rattles by Earnest Efforts that shakes and rattles, making the most lovely noise.

Project: We've created an exclusive Christmas Tree Coloring page for your little ones (and you!) complete with acorn lights.  Bust out the crayons and have fun!

Writing a letter to Santa is a total classic. Your child's imagination is free & inspired. What to ask for? What to tell Santa?

Not only does it get their  creativity rolling, it also sharpens their writing skills -- a plus!

We have the tradition of taking our boys to Macy's to mail their letters to Santa -- for more info, click here for participating stores.  For every Santa letter "mailed" at Macy's they donate $1 to the Make-a-Wish Foundations. Bonus!

For extra fun, print out a few pages of lined or story paper, here and give your child fancy pens, envelope and a special postage stamp or sticker.

For today's pick: Nikki McClure's Things to Make and Do. A journal that will spark your own creativity and urge you to do all those fun little (or big!) things you have been meaning to do.

Welcome to December! December 1st is so fresh & eager. Projects to be done, time to be enjoyed, shopping yet to be finished... Instead of a basic gift guide this year, I have compiled a project &  gift pick guide. To start? An advent calendar of course.

A homemade advent calendar is the ultimate countdown to Christmas and are enjoyed by kids & adults alike. Making an advent calendar need not take much time. I made the "hanging" gathered-cone advent above in an afternoon, using supplies i already had around the house.

Hanging Gathered-Cone Advent

supplies:
several sheets of pretty paper (scrapbook or magazines, giftwrap, construction paper or newsprint)
glue stick
scissors
several yards of yarn, twin or thick thread. i used about 2 feet per cone.
hole punch or stapler
the numbers 1-24 written out on their own small piece of paper
holiday outings, project ideas & other fun things to do this season written on small pieces of paper
small toys or candy (to be included inside the cones or to be given when the date is chosen)

instructions:
1. print out the cone template, I used this one and followed the cone-making directions.
2. print or write out the numbers 1-24 on small pieces of paper.
3. write out 24 things to do, places to go or project ideas. here is a good list. small toys or candy are fun too.
4. place the paper with the "activity of the day"/toy or candy inside the cone.
5. place the piece of paper that has the number on top of the cone (lightly folded flat at top to "close" the cone) and hole punch or staple together. if stapling, include yarn piece now.
6. attach the yarn by running through the holes and knot off, leaving a 2 foot tail to allow to hang.
7. once all 24 cones have been closed + yarn has been attached, gather all together to create a "bouquet" -- tie all strings together in a knot at the top. you can add a ribbon bow at top or leave plain.
8. time to hang. use the same string or clear line -- determine the length needed and attached to the advent.... and then hang from the ceiling. be safe, you don't want it to fall down!

then...
each day, give your child a pair of child safe scissors (if old enough). let him find the correct number/date and cut the cone free! enjoy your time together doing or making.

For more info on this project, view images in the advent flickr set.

Counting down.... or counting up? Today's best gift pick is the Heirloom Growth Chart by Miss Natalie.

Give Thanks! For love, your sweet children and all the turkeys in your life!

My son Eliot and I made a turkey pinata -- we'll all have fun taking a swing at the (paper) turkey tomorrow at the Farm.

We followed basic pinata making instructions  (links below). Scrounge around the house to see what you already have. Recycle and be creative with your resources.

For more images, see our wee Flickr set.

supplies
- recycled kraft paperto paper mache with
- a 9 inch balloon
- watered down white glue (wheat paste or paper mache paste would also work)
- turkey parts template
- paper + materials for head, gobble, wings, legs, etc.
- string for hanging
- tissue paper for making the feathers
- candy to fill pinata (any leftover halloween candy?!)

resources
paper mache paste
turkey template
basic project idea

Summertime is in full swing! Long days, endless popsicles. Big imaginations. A lot of everything + nothing to do.

My son Eliot asked to paint. One thing led to another, and soon he was driving his cars through the paint. And then, "Mama, can I paint my cars?" ...kids have such vibrant imaginations, that to him, painting his cars made perfect sense. "Sure!" 

Painting cars added a whole new dimension to Eliot's play. He was able to experience his world in a whole new way. Certainly more about the process than the product!

project :: painting toys

supplies:
washable, non-toxic paint
paint brushes
water + container -- i re-use containers (above, right) ... recycle when you're done! no clean-up.
toys -- just make sure your kid knows that the paint probably wont come off -- we don't want any tears!
paper -- the bigger, the the better. newsprint (recycled!) would also work well.
drop-cloth -- an old sheet works well.

process:
Have a happy attitude, big imagination + have fun! Paint the car's wheels and make them zoom across the paper. Paint dolly's feet and she will dance! Fun prints could be made with the marks of the toys -- but really.... painting and playing is enough on it's own. 

Liz Clay, the very talented artist of Cici Art Factory created Valentines goodies for you! She has put together a collection of valentines notes for you to print out + share with your loved ones. For free, how sweet is that!?

Click here to download free valentines sheet pdf!

Thanks Liz + Happy Valentines Day!

Just in time: printable wrapping paper from Karen of Olli & Lime. You know the awesome Olli & Lime George pattern (like this?)... well it's all yours to color in (or print on colored paper) and make into giftwrap or a gift tags! Hooray!

Download the PDF, and you're good to go.

Be sure to view all Olli & Lime products. Thanks Karen!

If December 1st caught you off-guard, here is the most perfect advent count-down project to do with the kids (that you can start anytime!). 

Felt Advent Chain by Psalms of Psalms.

supplies needed:
wool or craft felt
'sew on' velcro
scissors
sewing machine

1. take the felt (i used wool felt because i like the feel of it better) & cut it into 24  two inch by nine inch strips.

2. cut the velro into two inch strips to fit the ends of the felt and sew them on.

3. connect them all together like a chain and hang them in a door way, near your fireplace, or anywhere you like.

4. starting the first of december (or the 5th!) detach one of the felt pieces, counting down everyday until it is christmas.

5. when Christmas is over, pack it away and reuse it next year......

 

Thank you Psalms! Be certain to check out Psalms, the children's clothing collection. (Images from Psalms.)

New project from Karen Ronneback of Olli & Lime! Two fantastic Halloween-Autumn inspired projects using her georgous wallpaper. Crazy fun for a party....... or the playroom!

With the witching season upon us, we thought it would be a good idea to rustle up some Halloween-themed items Olli & Lime style! These mini projects include a Halloween bunting and a unique mobile. Best of all, everything can be made in less than an hour.

We've used our Billie roasted brown and (pumpkin-esque) burnt orange wallpaper to give a real Halloween flavour.

The starting point is to cut out triangles, make a template from a heavy piece of card, mark out on the reserve of the wallpaper and then cut.  Make holes in two opposite corners of each one.

For the bunting (pictured above,left)  thread the triangles  onto string and fix in place with clear tape.

For the mobile (pictured above, right) take 2 triangles and place them back-to-back, thread the triangles onto string, bunch-up and creatively arrange to suit.

 

Thanks Karen! Happy Halloween, kids!

It seems when I am busy like a lunatic, I feel the urge to bust out the glue and do a project. You? So I was quite excited to see this project by Karen of Ollie & Lime (found on her blog) utilizing her gorgeous wallpaper:

Our Carrie wallpaper looks equally fabulous adorning a dressing-room wall or child’s bedroom, but we’ve found another way you can use it.

It took us literally ten minutes to create this shoe storage solution, using a self-assembled ‘kraft’ shoe box, with our Carrie paper over the top. One roll of wallpaper will cover around fifty standard boxes!

 

Take a look at the Olli & Limes collection of wallpaper and their full collection of bedding + wall art! Wallpaper is available in 4 designs in a variety of colorways. Thanks Karen!

This is fun. Go to the Wordle website, type in some text (or copy + paste as I did from the fawn and forest homepage) and create a neat-o word collage-y type cloud! Words that are most prominent in the text show up the largest and the whole cloud is customizable -- font, layout and style.

A fun project: make a Wordle (or several) inspired by your kid's.... name, interests, favorites..... print out + frame in one of those cheap mats + frames from Ikea and you're set. Instant artwork like you know what's up. 

Via Coochicoos. 

Free, well not quite. But you can download your very own Hermes Kelly bag...the paper version! It would certainly be fun for your little girl, and admit it, you too.  

The Hermes Kelly is available for download in 7 beautifully illustrated versions, my favorite is the one above. Though, there is also a blank version, which would be a lot of fun to decorate with an excess amount of glitter glue, right?

Thank you to Summer (yes! not often do I run across another Summer!) of Design is Mine blog, who has also started another blog called Design Freebies... which is where I found the link for the paper Hermes Kelly. 

I was bouncing around blog-land and found this super-simple, ultra-satisfying project on the blog Hop Skip Jump -- how to make new crayons out of old crayons.  Perhaps they could be called crayon-cakes?

As author Fiona points out, there are numerous instructions on the internet on how to make new crayons out of old crayons, but really it is not too complicated, I agree!

Break up "old crayons", placing them in the color assortment as you wish into a non-stick muffin tin. From there, melt the wax in a 250 degrees oven for about 10 minutes, give or take dependng on the size of new crayons your are creating. To speed up cooling process, place them in the freezer for a bit.  

...and then have fun coloring + drawing! I have put this on our "summer time project list" for sure.

Thanks Fiona for the beautiful photos + idea! 

Hopscotch reminds me of being 8 + the endless hours of summertime. A childhood game we all have surely played with much laughter. But have you played the Alaskan or French version? Want to learn how to play hopscotch from around the world with your kids? And if you need standard instructions on how to play hopscotch, learn how to play here.

Hopscotching ideas + variations are endless. You can even hook your kids up with this  indoor hopscotch mat via Martha or for quick action make a masking tape grid on the carpet. Oh so fun + the kids will strengthen their counting skills + calf muscle at the same time. 

Images from flickr, left and right .

Eliot is now eager to be in his "big boy bed" though I am not yet confident that he won't roll out! A guardrail was in order. The bright standard blue the guardrail comes in are quite unsightly and begged to be slipcovered. I feel safe covering the guardrail in fabric...guardrails usually  have mesh as to not pose suffocation to the child. Use your own discretion on this.

To create the guardrail "slip cover", I measured the length (taking into account seem allowances) and also the height, including both the inside + outside height of the guardrail, allowing extra for the hems. After cutting the fabric roughly down to size and hemming the top + bottom hems, I pinned the fabric, (right-side in) to the guardrail, tracing the curve of the guardrail onto the fabric. I pinned the fabric in place which gave a guideline of  where to sew.  From this point, I just went for it, sewing the slipcover together  with hopes I got it right the first time!!

After a few minor adjustments (ahem...) and about 30 minutes later, the guardrail slipcover was ready to be iron + put in place. The fabric? I bought it at an antique-ish type of store years ago. Someone had originally used the fabric as a valance. I took that apart and sewed it back together to create one big piece of fabric, which explains why it looks, well, pieced together. The plant pattern is fantastic, is fairly nuetral + heavyweight. 

And, thankfully was just enough to create a guardrail slipcover for my son's Kip Platform Bed. 

No matter what age, Play Dough is indeed a lot of fun. Eliot has recently brought it to my attention that it is even more fun to fill innocent tiny truck motors + flatbeds with play dough and do a little 4-wheelin'. Sound effects are a must! Apparently he is not the only one to crash cars and play dough, images above via  here and  here. I love it.

If you are not a huge fan of the gasoline smell (ugh...) of Play-Doh from the store, Organic Play Dough is also available. I have not tried it myself, but it looks good enough to eat (which, perhaps could be a problem....!). I have tried numerous homemade play dough recipes and have not come up with the perfect recipe thus far; I detest the dry salty feeling left on my hands. Eliot on the other hand does not mind it or the gasoline smell!  Here is a basic play dough recipe, tagged Mr. Rogers. 

Mr. Roger's Homemade Play Dough
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Food coloring

Throw everything in a pot, cook for 3 minutes on low heat, stirring constantly. Turn off heat, allow to cool for a few minutes. Knead with hands until smooth. Add food coloring.

Fun!

Here's another project that will help alleviate that huge stack of kid's drawings + other such thoughtful scribbles: impromptu notebooks! I have pledged to no longer scratch heaps of notes to myself on small pieces of paper + post-it notes. Instead, I keep a lively notebook of reminders, grocery + dinner lists and other bits I would otherwise forget. 

I also have found it sad to toss out any of my son's endless amounts of artwork. A great deal of the drawings + scribbles are exciting and fun, but not so frame worthy. Recycling my son's  artwork into notebooks is a useful way to use up that big stack of goodness.

Most of Eliot's marker + crayon drawings (paintings would not work so well for this project) are on large 15x20" pieces of white drawing paper. As long as the stack of papers are cut down to the same size, you can create a notebook any size you wish. With that in mind, I made between 2 and 4 notebooks per stack of 15x20" paper. Depending how thick you want the notebook, use between 10-15 sheets of scribbles.  

With the paper cut down to size, fold each piece in half. Once you have a stack of the folded pieces, nest the pages together to create a book. If you choose to put a cover on the notebook, cut a sheet of paper (I used colorful cardstock on some, other I left without a cover) about 1/2" longer and wider than the inside pages.

To bind the notebook, I used regular 'ol office staples + stapled the spine of the notebook in the middle a few times. You could also use a sewing machine (depending on the thickness of your pages) to bind the notebook or use other simple bookbinding techniques, depending on how fancy you want to get.

Though the pages of the notebooks are not totally blank, I find writing over + around the scribbles to be quite charming as it reminds me of my son's unbound enthusiasm. 

When Eliot was a newborn everyone told me the first year will be over before I know it, they grow so fast. It wasn't until I was putting away the newborn clothes + pulling out the 0-3M size that I really realized Eliot really was new + different each day. He was growing. Fast. And I had not even taken him to the photographer yet! In my sleep deprived daze I was not quite ready for him not to be a newborn. 

And those tiny hands and feet! So in addition to sniffing the sweetness of baby skin until I was over the moon, a bit of detailed documentation was in order. Geared with a big tub of  Model Magic by Crayola  and determination, I put my plan in action. Every three months I would smoosh Eliot's tiny little hands + feet into the clay and at the end of the first year display them in a specimen box.

A big tub of the Model Magic in white has 4 individual packages of super light weight air-dry clay. Using one package for each 3rd month was enough clay for 3 hand prints + 1 set of foot prints.  I found it beneficial to make 3 sets of hand prints as, in the quickness of working with tiny hands, they don't always turn out as you would expect and grandparents will always appreciate a set of handprints. I did not cut out a particular size of clay for each handprint (but a circle or rectangle would work), but rather rolled out a ball about 1/3" thick into an organic form, as shown above. For the footprints (not shown) I rolled out a 5x7" rectangle, 1/3" thick, which ultimeltly ended up being big enough for Eliot's 1 year old foot.

To assemble the specimen box, I adhered orange cotton fabric to the inside back + sides of the box. Using a date stamper I dated each handprint with a small piece of paper, tacking it in place with a pin. Before adhering the  handprints to the background, I wrote a  simple descriptions of each age on a paper card (for 6 months, "silly + thinking about crawling") and glued it to the background so it would appear behind the handprints when fully assembled. With a big glob of hot glue, attach the handprints in place. Using another bit of paper, I titled the collection with my son's name + birth date, attaching it to the inside of the box.

Another option would be to create specimen boxes with each month's hand + footprint displayed together. If you cannot find a specimen box big enough to hold your precious collection, use a clear acrylic box frame as I did. It's a bit more work figuring out how to repurpose the frame, but creates a very streamlined presentation as a result. Clear acrylic box frames are available in a selection of sizes, perfect for this project.

Fun. We'll have to have another Memory Keeping week as there are still so many good ideas, projects + products to share!

Memory keeping meets organizing + recycling: keepsakes in a jar. I'd like to think I came up with this idea all on my own, though I am certainly not the first one to put tiny memories in a jar and call it a keepsake!

For this project you can use new, empty jars or recycle one of those  condiments jars from the fridge.  With a clean jar in hand + tiny bits of this or that (relating to a particular time or event) + a bit of paper to create a tag, you're set. Place the goodies in the jar, write something meaningful on the tag and in a snap you have a very sophisticated keepsake.

I was initially inspired by Eliot's first trip to the beach last Summer. I could not part with all the smooth rocks + pieces of shell Eliot's little hands discovered on the beach (in addition to the sand that inevitably ends up making its way home!). With a stash of little jars I was saving for something, and the goodies from the beach, the first memory jar was assembled. I have yet to complete the rest of the memory jars that I have saved bits + goodies for. Once complete, however, it will be quite a lovely collection.

Welcome to Memory Keeping week! As I mentioned in my previous post, I have become borderline obsessed in the memory keeping department.  I am not a 'scrapbooker' (which is the latest craze it seems) but a run-on sentence writer of motherly love mixed in with saved receipts, garment tags and other seemingly useless but meaningful scraps.

One of my favorite memory keeping books is the Moleskine. It is simple, unassuming + fresh. The history of the Moleskine itself is also quite special + it is available in a wide variety of styles + formats. 

To document each of my pregnancies, I have used small sketchbooks, dedicating each open set of pages to a week in the pregnancy. In addition to weekly entries I have also written about our family, preparing for their arrival + decorating the nursery. Along with each weekly entry I have glued a small picture of me + my progressive belly. I will write more about photo-journaling later this week. But as you would guess, my husband takes a snapshot of me with a post-it note (with the corresponding week written on it) on my belly. I then include the post-it note in the book along with ultrasound images, doctor appointment cards + strings in accordance to the baby's aproximate length each week.

I could not stop there! To document the first years, I have used large blank notebooks. As it is, I have filled 2 Moleskines for the first 2 years of Eliot's life. Mostly writing + as I mentioned before, scraps of this + thats. In the first year, I would write a weekly entry about what exiting + monumental event happened (which of course, something huge really does occur each week!). In the 2nd year, I made monthly entries, taking notes on post-its to remind me what actually happened, later taking the time to write a month's worth of memories + other funny things I would certainly have forgotten if not written down.

Could I reasonably stop there? Nope. Now that Eliot has past the 2 year mark, I have continued in a 3rd Moleskine. 

The best friends of my Moleskines? A mechanical pencil + a lovely cup of decaf. 

I have become documentation-obsessed. While my mother is quite loving, as a second chlld, I was severly neglected in the baby-book-childhood-documentation category. Very few pictures were taken + not a single locket of hair was saved.  I love my mom + do not hold it against her but as a result have commited myself to documenting every last bit of my pregnancies + details of my children.  There, I've admitted it!  

And it's fun. While I have a son + another son on the way, who will perhaps never care to read the ushy-gushy lovey bits I have lovingly written about them, I still enjoy taking the time to slow down, relax + write about my children, my family + my time spent as Mom in the early years.

The First 1,000 Days (shown above) is a simple way to document your child's first thousand days of life. Each page has a beautiful paper-cut illustration by artist + author Nikki McClure, with inspiring suggestions of what to write -- "your first day, first visitors, first yawn" and "all the new things you learn everyday, new words, new skills, new friends" in addition to 2 pages dedicated to each month of the first year, celebrating the first birthday, songs, games and books you read together. All tied up in one compact book with nearly 130 pages of goodness.

So, as a salute to my documentation obsession, all next week will be devoted to Memory-Keeping in various formats. Fun!

I looked forward to having children's artwork of my very own before having our son Eliot. It has always reminded me of one of my favorite artist, Cy Twombly. Beautiful scribbles are not an easy accomplishment!  As soon as Eliot was able to hold crayons in his chubby little hands, I eagerly plopped him in front of a pad of paper for him to get to work! Before too long, however, you end up with heaps of artwork, endless amounts of scribbles. Between art class + the open art cupboard, it can pile up quickly. I can't bear to throw it out (or ahem, recycle it!) and really, not every drawing is frame-worthy. 

So, what to do? Make notecards. To create the cards, use standard size blank prefolded notes or cardstock, cut in half to the appropriate size. Then, trim a pile of  artwork down to fit the front of the notecard, leaving an even amount of space around the edge for the border. Sew the artwork onto the card using a coordinating color of thread + the sewing machine. However, using glue, decorative staples or brads would also look nice + be just as effective. 

It's that simple. With a sweet greeting, use as a thank you or birthday card or give a set of 8 to grandma + aunties (don't forget the envelopes). They would appreciate the thoughtfulness + will thank you.... how much artwork can fit on the 'fridge anyways? 

A bean filled felt heart for your sweety. What could be more charming? Gather a few simple supplies (one piece of felt, a large needle, embroidery style thread and some beans, lentils or rice) and you're set. This project is brilliantly simple + completely adaptable.  

Felt is a nice fabric to work with as it does not need to be hemmed + it does not fray. Layer the 2 equal size pieces of felt on top of one another. With free-hand scissor action, cut out a heart. A loppy one is fine, just be sure that the 2 hearts you cut are roughly the same size. I embroidered my son's first 2 initials "eq" to the top side of the heart. If you choose to embroider, do this now. For more information on embroidery + for simple stitches, visit DMC.

I think it's more charming to hand stitch the heart closed, but by all means, use a machine if you have one. Start by sewing the hearts together at the top "valley" point of the heart (about 1/4" in from the edge), stopping an inch before the ending point. Funnel in beans, lentils or rice. Best if you do not fill the heart too full, leaving room for some floppiness. Carefully finish stitching the heart closed, doubling up the stitches at the end so your beans don't fall out.

Making a bean filled heart need not be too fussy + would be a special project to do with the kids. 

It's always fun to start a project you can realistically finish. Motivation from the start!  I am not a fast knitter (or very talented at that) but with the simple "knit stitch", 1 ball of  medium weight yarn (i used a soft chocolate wool) size 7us needles + 2 hours I made my sweet son a cute + cozy scarf (or 'karf as eliot calls it).

The scarf  measures 3"wide by 26"long (I initially casted on 14 stitches and knitted until i ran out of yarn). The 'karf  is long enough to comfortably tie around eliot's neck without too much excess length. This seems to be good proportions for a toddler, but adjust according to the size of your child, amount of yarn + motivation. 1 ball of yarn was enough to give me that warm-fuzzy feeling of accomplishment  + provided an enjoyable evening curled up on the couch.

For more information on knitting + yarn, visit purlsoho.com.