Foam Bath Fun

One night, while I was giving my son a bath, he just sat in the water and would splash a little but nothing else.  Those of you with a little toddler boy know that something isn't right if a little boy isn't getting into mischief, making a mess, or creating a ton of noise!  I looked into the tub at the bath toys and quickly realized the problem.  Poor kid has been playing with the same exact toys since he has been able to sit up in the tub!  

My solution to the problem.............FOAM!

 For the dress up figure, I used my scrap booking template called TracerKins (EK Success used to make them but I don't think they do anymore.)  The templates have all sorts of different cloths, hair, and accessories.  I will eventually cut out more and draw faces on the "doll" to make it more fun to dress up.  (I know I have a boy but they still enjoy dressing things up.  Most guys won't admit it but they probably dressed up a doll or wanted too at least once in their life!)

For the letters, I just traced them out with a stencil.  You could also print letters from the computer to get the exact size and shape you wanted.  This project did make me yearn for a Cricut Machine that much more!  Can you cut foam out with a Cricut Cutter? Now I need to make some numbers and if I get REALLY ambitious (or my son gets bored again) I'll cut out a shape to go with the letter.

This fun project and activity for bath time didn't cost me more than 50 cents and I have a lot left over.  This would make a great gift!

Finished Product

Hey, Keri deserves the credit for this project! I'm just the one who volunteered our services. Did we know what we were doing? We may have been winging it, but it was SO MUCH FUN! I was able to leave my husband and son for most of 2 whole days to hang out and sew with my best friend. Would I do it again? YOU BETCHA! Thanks for all of your creativity and help Ker! You are amazing!

Bridesmaid Dress

This past week, I had the opportunity to visit my family the same time my friend Mandy and co-author was visiting hers.  While we were shopping, Mandy ran into an old friend that was getting married in a few days and couldn't find bridesmaid outfits that matched her colors.  Mandy being the generous and giving person she is, volunteered our skills in sewing to solve the dilemma. 

We first found a cute and simple pattern from New Look 6975, then found fabric as close to the brides colors as possible (trust me these colors were tricky especially in a town with very limited fabric selection options!), and finally found some beads to draw the outfit together.   

We went with elastic for the waistband instead of a zipper because of our limited time and also we didn't have the exact measurements from the bridesmaids.  The pattern was simple and fairly easy to follow (are they every REALLY easy?)  We were also able to modify the pattern without problems for different sizes.

The necklaces were a headache at first.  We tried to do it several different ways until we settled on this style.  I love how they turned out and once we figured out what we were going to do, it only took a few minutes to make.  Just cut two pieces of ribbon the same length and tie a knot in the middle of each one.  Then, thread a needle and tie a knot on the end. Next, push the needle through one of the knots of ribbon and then through the string of beads and finally through the second knot of ribbon.  Tie another knot in the string to finish it off.  We left the ribbon long and untied at the ends so it could hang down the back of their necks.

To complete the outfit we picked up a very cute shirt at Maurices.   The entire outfit ended up being around $30 to complete. So, yet again, the skills of sewing have come to the rescue!