Hobby Craft!

I knew it was coming, but didn't totally believe it until I saw it with my own two eyes...

Yes! There's a HobbyCraft in my local shopping centre! It's a good one, too. The day I took this pic, I was in a hurry and popped in just to glance around for a few minutes. But on the weekend, I had a good amount of time to browse around and helped my little girl pick out some paints to make a rainbow for her room. She's been asking to do this for months! Of course, I couldn't leave without letting CW get something for himself...a paint-your-own train piggy bank. I'll be posting pictures of their artwork soon. 

This is such a blessing to have locally...but a bit of a danger, too. 

Pink Dragonfly Girl, Spider Boy, and Ladybug Girl

I am really too tired to write but wanted to get these pictures up before Halloween is totally and completely a thing of the past. My little spider and pink dragonfly. Aren't they cute? Were they worth a week of late nights and over-stressing? Maybe. I'm still deciding. The biggest problem is that I started too late when I had promised myself that I wouldn't. I was supposed to start making these in September, but way back in September, Halloween seemed so far away. Then there were a few weeks of labelling clothes and toys for the NCT sale. Then there was duty. Then there was a week in Cornwall (loved it!). Then...one week until Halloween and three bugs to make!!

Pink Dragonfly Girl wasn't so bad, but Spider Boy gave me all kinds of trouble that I won't get into. I'll just mention one thing: the pattern said to stuff the legs firmly, so I did...too firmly. Seams are still busting from how firmly I stuffed those legs! Ladybug Girl's was by far the easiest. My favorite part of our Halloween costumes was the giant bug catcher net I made from a hula hoop and netting. I enjoyed chasing and catching my little bugs. 

It also made a good candy bag for Trunk or Treating! Yes, I said trunk. Picture a school parking lot, rows of cars decked out with Halloween decor, trunks filled with candy. Instead of door-to-door, we walked car-to-car and said "trunk or treeeat!"

Boy Doll Pajamas

My little boy has recently adopted one of my little girl's baby dolls as his own. He carries it around, pushes it in the buggy, and takes care of it in his own way (which includes sometimes treating it like it's a ball and not a doll). The other day, both my kids decided they wanted the babies to be boys instead of girls -- a small problem because we only have girl doll clothes. But what a great opportunity to make something! I pulled one of CW's baby pajamas out of the charity bag and used this tutorial as a guide to make some boy baby doll pajamas. I made a paper pattern instead of just pinning an outline with the hopes that it would turn out wonderfully and I'd be able to make more in the future. I wouldn't say it was perfect. It's a little snug around the belly but at least it zipped. And now we have a baby boy!

Remembering

Remembering 10 years ago.

image link from http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14681384