Sensory Bin

My grandson's educator and sensory therapist both recommended a sensory bin. After some pinterest searching, I went digging through my pantry and school supply drawers. Here's what I came up with.

The neon colored gummy looking things were pencil/pen grips that were buried in the school supply drawer. Not too bad for a first try. The boys liked playing with it.

Now for a trip to the dollar store! I found tons of links with wonderful ideas for other bins.

Play dough

Pinterest can be evil.

Pinterest inspired me to make homemade play dough.

Forget the fact it came out pretty well. Forget the fact it made my grandson very happy. Forget the look of pride on my husband's face when he kneaded it.

Well wait... don't forget those things. Those are the little things that make everything worthwhile.

I just wish there had been a way to get that nice play doh smell in there.

It finally happened...

You know those shaped winter hats you see everyone wearing. I'd sworn I'd never get one. (You know where this is going now don't you)

Yep. We took my mom shopping with us today. She wanted one of those cute hats. She collects frogs and we actually managed to find a frog hat. She then talked me into getting this hat. I have to admit, it is warm and does look cute on me.

The new, used couch!

It was time for a new couch for the rec room. But there was no point in buying brand new, definitely not when there was going to be 2 little boys (my grandsons) all over it constantly.

So, here's my great find off of craigslist. They even delivered it for me for a small fee.

Not bad huh? As an added bonus, its real comfortable too!!!

Little buddy

This little guy made himself at home in my yard. Isn't he cute!

More drawstrings

I'm really liking making these.

Drawstring bag

Well, why not. I had the material. I had the sewing machine all set up. I love buying handmade drawstring bags. Here's my attempt.

I found tutorials for lined and unlined bags, for a single drawstring and double drawstrings.

I think its time for another trip to the fabric store.

Holiday Stocking

After the disappointing bandana attempt, I started researching holiday stockings. You would be amazed how many different ways there are to sew a stocking. I had the worse time finding a method that would produce a stocking that looked the way I liked. To be fair, I had a pretty high standard set.

Years and years ago, when my children were younger, my husband had a co worker that handmade holiday stockings. These stockings were gorgeous and huge!! Perfect for spoiling little kids and adults too. I wanted to make stockings that would match them.

I also figured if I could duplicate the pattern, then I could make matching stockings for my grandchildren.

Here's my first dog stocking. I think its pretty close to looking the way I wanted. I do need to find a better way to get the toe sized properly.

Now I just need to figure out how to duplicate the way our names were put on the stocking.

An attempt at sewing a bandana...

While window shopping online for dog stuff, I saw the cutest handmade bandanas. Well, I have a sewing machine, I thought to myself, why don't I see if I can do it and save some money.

I spent nearly an entire day looking up patterns and tutorials. Then I spent half a day at JoAnn's looking at fabric.

Well, after all that, here's the result. I cannot stress enough, measure twice, cut once! That's all I'm going to say about it...

For a first attempt, it's not too bad though.

Another organizer

I'm very big into totes of all sizes to help organize my crafting supplies and anything else that doesn't have a regular place to stay.

That being said, I could not pass up this cute little gem. Not only is the bag purple, but it came with a bunch of organizers inside!! Finally, a simple place for all those little things you can never find a place for.

Baked Ziti

I love looking up recipes for variations of things we already eat. This was a combination of a recipe I found on the web and the back of the ziti box.

And yes, it was definitely yummier than it looks. I do think it looks pretty good though.

Crochet Stuff

I have been crocheting for years. It's definitely one of those hobbies that leave you with a ton of "to be finished" projects. I decided I needed to get some of them done before the end of the year.

First up was the baby blanket I had started for my first grandson. It's now earmarked for the second grandson, due February 2012. (No worries, grandson #1 did get his no-sew fleece blanket in a timely fashion!!)

The lighting isn't great in this picture but I think the blanket came out beautifully.

I had started a fancy afghan for my mother a few years back. It was "Angels and Clouds". I managed to get that finished up and gave it to her as a Christmas gift. (I didn't think to take a picture of it before I gave it to her. Hopefully, I'll remember to do so next time I go visit.)

My boys brought their girlfriends to Christmas dinner. So, I crocheted these cute little trinket bags for them and another friend.

 

 I filled them with potpourri and let them know, the bags could be used for anything really. Cute, don't you think!

Then while I was looking through my totes of yarn, I came across an afghan I had started for my living room. I was actually kind of sad when I managed to finish it within a few hours. 

It's just another basic ripple pattern afghan. But I like it!

I also did scarves for my boys and my husband. I just don't have pictures of those either. DS #2 didn't seem to like his. Or maybe he just really doesn't want to wear a scarf. DS #1 absolutely loves him AND found out if he wraps it just so, it'll hold his phone to his ear for him. That's a win - win in my book !

Super Mario Nostalgia

I don't remember where he said he found it. But my oldest son, picked this up yesterday. Not only is it completely adorable. It was a real joy to watch him and my husband play together. It's been a while. Maybe this cute chess set will make that a more regular thing.

and now the other side of the board