Weekend DIY - Big Paper Bunting Photo Backdrop

I got this beautiful Chinese traditional dress from eBay earlier this year for my daughter for Chinese New Year. At that time, she was a little bit too short for the dress. Now it fits her perfectly.

This morning, I just got this idea of taking some good photos of her wearing this dress. So I searched ideas of DIY photo backdrop.  What I'm looking for is something really easy and quick (less than 10 minutes). This is what I came up with, big paper buntings in a white background.

All you need is some spare scrapbook paper you already have at home, a pair of scissors, a pencil, a ruler and twine.

After the photo shooting "session", I used the bunting as the decor for the kid's room. 

On the right corner, there is a DIY hair clip organizer/display I made. Go ahead and click this link to check it out. http://cis4crafting.blogspot.com/2015/11/organization-monday-diy-hair-clip.html

Hair Clip of the Month - Felt Strawberry Hair Clip 9/9/2015

After making this felt strawberry yesterday, I realized I should have made an apple since September is the back to school month. Oh well, being a mother of two kids, I admit I don't think things straight anymore.

I totally go this cute felt strawberry design from the website "madeit". This is the first time I ran into this website. It looks like another version of Etsy. Check out the link below.

Pictue from  http://www.madeit.com.au/Main/Item?itemId=937497

Again, since I did not come up with the design and someone is actually selling these hair clips online, I don't feel comfortable making a tutorial. I think once you see the clip and have some spare felt fabric around it is pretty easy to make.

Next month, the hair clip theme should be Halloween related. I'm collecting ideas right now. Let me know if you have any cool Halloween hair clip ideas.

Hair Clip of the Month - Loopy Puff Ribbon Hair Bow 8/9/2015

I used the tutorial on YOUTUBE to make the hair bows. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ7pVCMvmEM

What I did was I gathered ribbons from white, baby pink to hot pink around the house and cut them into small strips (~3 inch long).

Then I stacked the folded ribbon strips into the white thread using a needle.

After all of the strips got into the thread, I tied a really tight knot.

The ribbons need to be adjusted a little bit into this puffy shape. Last step was to attach the alligator clip to the puffy bow using hot glue.

I made two of these Loopy Puff Ribbon Hair Bows, the hair clip for my elder daughter and the headband for my little one who was born in August. I was hoping that I could take a picture of my two princesses together with the matching hair bows. In my imagination, it would be so cute.

However, the toddler considers this hair bow a toy rather than a hair accessory and the headband is way too big for the baby. My bad. I probably have to wait a few more months before getting the photo I want.

I will be posting the hair clip I made for the month of September tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Kid's fun Wednesday - DIY nesting cats

I recently found this great channel in YOUTUBE, The Purple Alphabet. She posts multiple posts on toddler activities. I got lots of ideas from her posts. Make sure you check it out if you are looking for some cheap and fun play with your toddler.

The DIY nesting cats is straightforward from her post. If you want make these cute cats, she's got step by step tutorial out there.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0fosJSaPX0

Now look at my girl playing with them. Good job, girl!

Organization Monday - DIY earring organization/display

With two thrifted photo frames, a embroider hoop and leftover cross stitch fabric, earring organization is achieved.

Crafting materials I used for this project:

Photo frames, $2, from local Goodwill

Embroider hoop, I already have one that's too small for my big project.

Acrylic paint in black, leftover from previous project

Cross stitch fabric,leftover from previous project

For under $5, I was able to display my earring and keep them organized. How fun and easy it is to pick out a pair to match my outfit of the day in the morning.

Weekend DIY - felt cat applique (fix hole in kid's pants)

Here comes another post on patching up my daughter's pants.

The hole came from one of the playground adventures, like always.

Inspiration is from one of the pins I collected for kids' clothes. I can't find the original post so here is the link to my pin.

picture from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/248683210650439125/

A close look at the felt cat head.

Oh my. This cat looks kind of creepy. I would call it a failed knockoff. Luckily my daughter doesn't mind. 

Kid's Fun Wednesday - upcycle old music mat

I bought this mat last year from the local Goodwill. I knew there is some water doodling feature but my daughter was too young to draw anything at that time. I used this mainly as a music mat. It sings "Old MacDonald" and when you touch the animal drawing, it gives you the animal sounds. My daughter loved it for a while when she just learnt how to walk. 

Now it is just a old mat that is wrapped up in the closet. Until....now.

I came up with up-cycling the music mat when I saw this product on Target.com.

This is a pretty cheap toy. However, I already have something I can turn into this. 

I have this "Water WOW" from Melissa & Doug which BTW is a great, mess-free drawing activity book. However, my daughter played with it so many times now she barely touches it.

So, I grab the pen from this toy and have her use it on the mat. You've got a new toy!