Most Popular Posts from 2012

I love to look back at the end of each year and see what posts were most popular on my blog.

This is the second most popular post from my entire blog, let alone this year:
#1:  

Last-Minute Christmas Prep.

We have been decorating cookies.

Neon cookies, to be precise.

Baby Bear Hat

Our church collects hats for the newborns at the local hospital. I'd donated a few I sewed a few months back but most of the women crochet or knit, so I made these two from some yarn.

I used this pattern. They are cute!! 

I made a few without ears, too.

Matching Coffee Cuff

A few days ago, I wrote about some zippered pouches I'd made as gifts. I gave this one to my brother's girlfriend this weekend along with this matching coffee cuff. (She loves coffee.)

See tutorial here for making the coffee cuff. 

Zippered Pouches: Using a New Pattern

The school shooting last week was awful. I can't imagine how the families living in the small town in CT are grieving right now. One of my young cousins lost a good friend to cancer last week. He was 13 and had been sick for two years. Sometimes I can't understand why these bad things happen. My husband reads about theology a lot. Both of us believe that God is good, regardless of the evil in the world. As we were talking yesterday, he said a book he's reading now says that since we have free will, there will be evil in the world.

I hope that you have the love of Christ in your heart. That you have the hope of eternal life with Jesus. I couldn't face life's sometimes extreme hills and valleys without placing my eyes on Him and remembering that we live in a fallen world. I am thankful that we can choose to love despite what others may do or say to us.

And sometimes there's just nothing to say that could make the situation better.
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Upcycled Corbel Shelf

I wanted a shelf for school supplies in our study room. If you recall, I painted a chalkboard-topped desk a few months ago for this same room. 

I wanted a shelf to keep certain items out of the little hands of two little boys. I was able to upcycle the corbels I used for this shelf from the old farmhouse that used to sit on our property. Quick explanation of the old farmhouse can be found here. 

Hot Chocolate Mix (Holiday Gift Idea)

I made these cute little jars of hot chocolate mix for my MOPS friends. I wanted to get my three-year old involved in the mixing and filling of the jars, but he declined. However, these would be a great project if young child was willing to participate. As an added bonus, it uses upcycled baby food jars. You've probably got a ton in your basement, right?

Handmade Gifts for Women

Did you see the post I did last week on with handmade gift suggestions for men? Here are some projects I've posted on my blog that would make great gifts for women!

For the outdoor enthusiast:

Fleece Hat Tutorial

Winner of the Fibers & Twigs Slipper Pattern Giveaway

The winner of the Fibers & Twigs Slipper Pattern has been chosen! Using Random.org, comment #20 was the winner. 

It was Hueisei, who commented: 

I've emailed you, Hueisei and we'll get you the pattern. Thanks to everyone for entering.

Handmade Gift Ideas for Men

I have loads of trouble thinking of handmade gifts for men. I can think of tons of ideas for women and little kids, but men? They're tough. Maybe you're in the same boat as me? Not wanting to give the men in your life a gift card?

Fleece Hat Tutorial

Past Christmas Posts

Here are a few Christmas Posts from past years at the Monkey See, Monkey Do home that could serve as ideas for your own Christmas decor!

I can't wait to put these wreaths up again!

Felt Wreath Tutorial

Fire Truck Christmas Ornament: Tutorial & Pattern

If you’ve read my blog for awhile, you know that my three year-old son loves fire trucks. I decided we’d better have some fire trucks on our Christmas tree this year.

So I cut up some felt scraps and sewed them into some trucks. Don't worry, I traced them before I sewed them together to share with you. Here’s the pattern link.  It’s a very rough sketch, but it’s just a Christmas ornament. You get the idea.

Slipper Pattern Giveaway from Fibers & Twigs--Giveaway Closed

I’m super excited that Jan, from Fibers & Twigs is offering one Monkey See, Monkey Do reader a free downloadable PDF slipper pattern!

Her pattern allows you to make slippers from old sweaters or fleece fabric and is available in a range of sizes for men, women & children. (I love those pink and brown striped slippers!)

She has other patterns and items available in her shop, which you should check out!

If you’d like to win you should be a follower of Monkey See, Monkey Do and may leave up to three comments:
1) Let me know if you would make slippers for by leaving a comment on this post.
2) Let me know what item from Fibers & Twigs is your favorite by leaving a comment on this post.
3) Follow Monkey See, Monkey Do on Pinterest & leave a comment on this post.

Good luck! Contest will end at 9 pm on December 7th.
And if you're new, perhaps visiting from the Sew Mama, Sew Giveaway Day list, please check out these posts you may like:

Yoga Skirt with Flat Front


Upcycled Pants with Flannel Lining


Refashioning with Shirring

Disclaimer: I did not receive goods nor monetary compensation for hosting this giveaway. All opinions are my own.

Teach Your Child at Home: Part 3

I got this idea from a Montessori book. I played a game with my three year-old that helped him learn to distinguish between sounds.
Just fill four same-sized containers with items that sound different when shaken. We used what we had in the pantry: rice, beans, corn kernels, and sugar.

Let your kid shake them and test how they sound different. Then blindfold him and see if he can tell which is which.
Another game to help your child with tactile learning is putting items in a bag (we used a ball, a small pumpkin, a hairbrush, a washcloth, and a pencil), blindfolding him, and telling him to figure out what the objects are without looking.
Two more and easy games to play with your child.
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Oh, and my Monkey See, Monkey Do shop is being spotlighted over at So You Think You're Crafty today. Go check it out. And if you're a considering becoming an Etsy user, check out ShopLocket while you're at it.

Blogging Questions: Running out of Picasa Space

If you’re not a blogger or a tech-y person, you may want to skip this post.
I blog using the Blogger platform. I keep thinking of getting my own domain, but haven’t decided to take the leap just yet. However, I ran out of Picasa space. I knew that blogger stores all my photos for my blog in Picasa, but I didn’t know that it was limited on space.

Five Children's Books We Love: Part 3

Are you looking for some great lesser-known books to add to your home library as or ideas for Christmas gifts? I've compiled another list of some current favorite books we've tested from our local library. (See Children's Books We Love Part 1 or part 2, if you missed those posts.)  Click on each image to get more info from Amazon.com. 

This is a cute book--on the shorter side, but the pictures and text appeal to me! 

Long Sleeved Robot Stenciled & Appliqued Shirt

My 3 year-old really is interested in robots. Maybe concerned about robots is the correct terminology. He's asked a lot of questions about them lately. I described them as 'a computer with a face'. My engineer husband laughed. 

Here’s a close-up of the stencil and applique. I freezer paper stenciled the yellow robot then stitched around it to make it stand out a bit more.

You can see how anxious he was to try it on. 

Guest Posting at SYTYC

I'm guest posting at So You Think You're Crafty (SYTYC) today!

I'm showing how to make some nifty zippered pencil cases. Come check them out!

A Wreath Made of … What?!

Wood Shavings. And a coat hanger.
 
My dad uses a plane to smooth wood in his shop. And the plane makes these curly wood shavings which he felt were rather decorative. And he was trying to think of a way to use them. Because he (like me) can’t bear to throw away scraps of anything.

So he challenged me to use them.

And maybe by itself, it isn’t that great of a wreath. But behind some glass jars, it looks decent and adds some texture to my shelf.
 
I think I’ll keep it there for now.

Would you like to make one?

Printed Bias Tape

I am working on a project that I needed bias tape. And you might recall I made some bias tape a few weeks ago. And still haven’t used it.

Single Loop Infinity Scarf Tutorial

I’ve been planning to make an infinity scarf for awhile now. As in planning for two years or so. I finally got around to it. Here's how I did it.

Healthier Macaroni & Cheese (Contains Vegetables!)

My boys love their mac and cheese. And my oldest loves vegetables in most any form. He’s truly an amazing eater. But my youngest won’t touch vegetables except the occasional (fresh, in-season) green bean. Not frozen. So…I have started hiding vegetables in our macaroni and cheese. And it isn’t really ‘hiding’. I don’t lie to my family. I tell them what’s in it. But they eat it anyway. And the one who turns up his nose at most veggies is only 15 months old.  And so far, he thinks it’s just mac-n-cheese and eats it with no complaint.
So. Let me tell you how I hide veggies. Specifically cauliflower, butternut squash or carrots.

Framed Wreath with Felt Garland

We have nothing decorating the white walls of our downstairs bathroom. Nothing. I decided it was time to change that.

Two Zippered Pouches

More zippered pouches, finished. What to do with them?

GiftCard.com

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of GiftCard.com for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I used to think giving someone a gift card was sort of a cop-out gift. Then I realized that I really enjoy receiving a gift card for a gift. Not offended at all. So if I like getting them, they must be fun for others to get, too. GiftCard.com has all the gift card options you could ever need.  

The men on my gift list are the hardest for me to shop for. I often decide to give gift cards to men since I have a hard time coming up with gift ideas for men. They're hard to craft/sew for (though I do have some ideas for craft or sewing projects in the archives of my blog) and it is challenging to buy gifts they really need or want. I often end up getting my dad a Lowe's gift card (which he loves). Giftcard.com would be great for coordinating the purchase of various gift cards.

You can even use the personalized feature to make the gift cards from Giftcard.com more thoughtful. That means you can upload your own personal image that will be displayed on the card. That makes your gift card far more meaningful! It shows you put prior thought and effort into the gift for the recipient and it wasn't just a last-minute gift card you picked up at the grocery store.

What gift card would you choose? How would you personalize it? Leave me a comment letting me know! You can follow Giftcard.com on Twitter (@GiftCardLab) @GiftCardLab

Hoot, Hoot! Stuffed Owl Pattern & Tutorial.

I love owls! I have made large owls, owl hats…I should have a specific board on Pinterest to use solely for owl inspiration. Do you love owls, too?

Woven Belt Tutorial

This tutorial is for a nifty belt. It’s made out of t-shirt yarn! If you don’t know how to make t-shirt yarn, see my tutorial. (You’ll need yarn from 1-2 t-shirts for a belt like this. My belt is 38” long.)

I have several ‘swing’ type cardigans and I wanted a belt to make them look more fitted.
Want to get started?

Easy Two Ingredient Pumpkin Bars

Two ingredients. Yummy pumpkin bars. I am not the inventor of these things, but I think they're great. Heard of them? Make some. Read on.

Kid’s Craft Project

Do you get Family Fun magazine? We do. I always like their craft ideas. So I decided to make the owl that appeared in their October issue. I saved a few TP rolls and we went to work.
As you can see, ours didn’t look tremendously similar to the original (well, mine sort of resembled an owl). But it made me laugh how my son’s turned out. Love it.
And no, this post is in no way sponsored.  Happy Friday. Thanks for reading.

Bias Tape

I never thought I’d make bias tape. I actually have a really hard time sewing with the stuff! But I’ve got a project I’m thinking of doing…and it requires bias tape.
Being the frugal crafter that I am, I wouldn’t actually buy bias tape. At least, not since I’ve seen so many bloggers swear how easy it is to make. So I’ve made some. I used the continuous bias tape tutorial found here. It was time-consuming, but worked pretty well. I did 1/2 yard of the blue fabric (above).

Fireman and Firedog Halloween Costumes

Our 3 year-old loves fire trucks. He got a beautiful handmade fire truck from my dad last year for Christmas. I made him fire truck shorts this summer. He also got a fire hat and a hose that my dad made. So this year, despite how I don’t love Halloween, I figured I should step up and make some costumes for my sweet boys.


Note: Please don’t pin the photo of my kids! If you would like to pin a photo of these costumes, I’m honored, but use one without them. Thanks.

Newborn Hats with Buttons

I love using old t-shirts to make something fun and new. I made a whole bunch of baby hats from old t-shirts awhile back; you can use my tutorial to make a knit newborn hat.
However, I ran across a tutorial on this website and liked the way the pattern had a different seam on the top. So I tried a few using it. My church collects hats for new babies at the local hospital (where I had my younger child) and I decided I’d make a few of these hats to donate.

Business Card Holders: Mass Production.

And by mass production, I mean I made seven. If you are interested in making one, you could use my tutorial for ruffled business card holders.