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?