A 30 Minute Spring Bunting

I do believe that Spring has come to stay here in Southern Indiana.  We'll still have some chilly days, but I think the highs will now be in the 50s, 60s, and above.  Yay!  I just enjoyed a lovely week of Spring Break...I homeschool our 16 year old son, and so it was nice to have a full week off of school to do some deep cleaning, organizing, reading, and of course, crafting.  :)  The mantel needed a new Spring bunting, but having already done lots of crafting this week, I wanted it to be quick and 'semi-homemade' so here's what I did.

I used some cute cardstock cards that are designed for Artist Trading Cards or scrapbooking, and just embellished them a bit.

In between each embelllished card is a little book-page square that I punched from a vintage book, layered with a punched flower and a stick on center.

Mini clothespins made it a quick project too, and within 30 minutes, my bunting was hung.  I like it!  And I could reuse any of these elements for a different project sometime, if I wish, since they are not glued or sewed to the string.

Thanks for popping by!

Happy Spring!
Donna

Being a Mimi Across the Miles

My husband and I had the joy of becoming Papa and Mimi to TWO little love bugs 2 years ago!  Our grandson, Carson, was born first, and then just 7 weeks later, our granddaughter Eloise was born!  Oh how we love and enjoy our precious little grands! But they both live 6 hours north of us, so we have to be creative in building our relationship with them in between visits.  Now that they are both two, I'm having alot of fun adding some 'friends' to our Face Time visits.  They both grin, reach out to try to touch them, and sometimes say, "Want it!  Hold it!"

Carson and Eloise love Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood on PBS.  Recently I went online and found some Daniel Tiger coloring sheets to print.  I colored the two main characters and cut them out.  Eloise was surprised when Daniel Tiger and Katarina Kitty came on the Face Time screen to say hi!  I made these little friends talk to her and play peek a boo with her.  Her grins were worth it all.  :)

Carson has taken a new liking to Caillou and his sister Rosie, another kids' show.  So I found Caillou and Rosie printable paper dolls online and had fun coloring and cutting them out.  Carson was pretty surprised the next time we did Face Time to see that Caillou and Rosie were at Mimi's house!  

I had planned to mail these little friends to the grands, but for now I'll keep them for our Face Time fun.  :)

Another fun way to connect long-distance is to make a short little video with your smart phone and send it by text or email to your grand's parents.  I have a Raggedy Ann and a stuffed Charlie Brown that often make appearances with me on videos to the kids.  I sing a song with Ann or Charlie and ask the kiddos to sing or clap with me.  Yes, I look a bit silly, but who cares!  The kids like it!  :)

So those are just a few ideas of ways to connect with your grandbabies long distance.  And have you read my post HERE about keeping a journal for your grands of the times you spend with them?  I'm having a ball writing down the cute things they say and do, as well as adding photos of our times together.

Do you have some fun ideas for building relationships with your long distance grand darlings?  We'd love to hear them!

Be Blessed,

Donna

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Upcycled Knit Top...From Too Short and Too Low to Sassy and Sweet!

Once upon a time, this pretty cotton knit top fit me well.  I loved the print and the colors.  Plus 3/4 sleeves work for almost 3 seasons for me here in Southern Indiana.  But then, after some washings and partial dryings, it became too short and the neck line began to stretch and be too low.  Rather than put it in the Goodwill pile, I started researching ways to upcycle it.

Then one Sunday at church, I saw such a cute top.  It was made from some kind of Chiffon type fabric and had a lacy gathered 'skirt' around the hem.  Ooohhhh.  I liked it!  And then I remembered I had some white lace in my fabric stash.  And within an hour, I had an upcycled top!

I just cut a piece that was about 8 inches wide and about 1.5 times longer than the bottom edge of the top.  I sewed a basting stitch along the top of the lace in order to create slight ruffles in the fabric.  I pinned it with, inside the existing hem of the top, trying to keep the gathers mostly even all the way around.  Then I sewed it in.  

I also took up the neckline about an inch by increasing the seam on each shoulder.  And lastly added a lace panel above the pink crocheted neckline decor.  

I left the lace unhemmed, as I like the slightly shabby chic look.  It washes up great and does not ravel.  I even made a little lace embellished pin to wear with it, as seen in the 2nd photo, but mostly will wear it without.  

So enjoying my 'new' top that now fits nicely and has a sassy little lacy skirted hemline.  This is my 2nd or 3rd attempt to upcycle or refashion clothing.  Such fun...can't wait to try something else!  Thanks for reading!

Be Blessed,

Donna

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