Pay it Forward... with a twist.

The artist at work

I'm sure by now if you travel in crafty circles, you've seen one of your Facebook friends or a blogger you enjoy pledge to send something handmade to the first five people to comment on their post and to make the same offer on their own facebook page or blog.  If you haven't, well, YOU HAVE NOW.

Welcome to my Pay It Forward... for Babies post.  I'm sure you remember (and if you don't, there are plenty of links in the sidebar where you can check it out) that last year I pledged to donate money for every mile I walked to save babies.  This year, of course, healthy babies are more on my mind than ever.  One is banging away on my bladder faster than I bang away on the keys, after all, so it would be hard to forget it.

This year, my due date and the March for Babies date come awfully close to being the same darn date- so I can promise you I'll be at "The March" only in spirit.  Ian and I will definitely make our own trek for babies again, just like last year, but January's weather has not been kind to us.  More on that later.

So, right now, I'll be paying it forward this way.  You make a pledge on my March for Babies page, and Ian and I will make something for you.  (Some of his friends may help, too!  And he has a lot of friends.)  Then, you post a photo of that item on your facebook page or blog, or send it in an email, or host a reveal party (kidding) and let folks know that the first person to make a donation on my March for Babies page and say you sent them will ALSO get something made by me and Ian.  We'll surprise you, depending on where you live, and how much time you give us before this baby shows up, with something we sincerely hope you'll LOVE.

(See, the original "Pay it Forward" had YOU making things for the next person to respond.  Notice how Ian and I do the work... all you do is enjoy your Thank You gift and share the news with friends, while spreading the word that we are trying to help the March of Dimes save some babies.  That seems like a good deal to me.)

If you've got a blog, hustle on over to join our team, whether you'll be walking on March Day or not, regardless of where you live- you can change your personal walk location once you join- and make a post just like this one.  Then link to your post from this page by clicking the link and following the instructions below.  You can post the Linky List of other Pay It Forward posts in your post, too, so you can join the party.  Just use the "get the code" link.

Help us make the world a more beautiful place... for you, for babies, for parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and, lest we forget, Big Brothers everywhere. 

Pay It Forward For Babies

LOVE, HUGS, KISSES 4EVR

I am blessed with a serious surfeit of alphabet blocks. As in, once I culled an entire set for my kid, I still had an small shipping carton full.  Yeah, thrift stores have been good to us.  And I have a lot of thrifty friends who know I Like That Sort of Thing, so they pass them along.  Although I'll never approach the heights of elaborate holiday preparation I'm seeing on some of the blogs I read, I still thought I'd get a little creative and have some fun.

Here are some of the letters in their natural state:

Since I want red for my end result, I spray-primed all the ones that weren't red to start with:

Next, I gave everything a coat of red metalllic paint.  The ones I'd primed, I gave two coats:

Have you figured out where I'm going yet? No? 

Does that help?

I did a very slap-dash job on these, but that's okay, because if you have looked at a lot of alphabet blocks (heh) you notice that they have varying quality paint jobs and that, over time, some of them get worn and dinged.  So even a lacksadaisical job looks pretty authentic, when you're done.  I considered gluing the blocks together so that little hands can't disarrange and lose them, but then I thought... seeing what else we can spell will be part of the fun in coming years and... you know I'll need to add another initial next year. Have fun!

Just for fun, I'm trying something new that I've seen elsewhere.  You can add a link to your own Valentine's Day blog posts by clicking the link below.  Try it out!  (Please link to a specific post, not your whole blog, or the list won't make any sense!)

Yes, my son...

There are holidays which are not Christmas and are still fun.

 This is a garland I made using the heart pattern from my Valentine's Day Heart Locket.  I made a dozen hearts, wove in the ends, and chain stitched them together, attaching a heart every 20 chain stitches or so.  For extra fun I am considering doing some white ones with picot edging...  This was a good "purse project" for a couple weeks, I used up leftover yarn, and the little dude loves it.

DIY Pet Stain Help

This concoction did a good job of heavy duty odor and stain removal on my light-colored basement carpet, which I had thought a total loss.  (We bought the house with the carpet.  Knowing how many pets we have, we'd have chosen something different.  Note to the world: Step away from the beige carpet.  Do not install that in the basement.  Pick a nice Berber that will work with you when you try to clean up after the occasional damp issue.  It's a BASEMENT.)

This works on mildew and pet stains, but you'll need to try something else for rust- lemon juice, salt, and Barkeeper's friend have all proved minimally effective for me.

1 quart hydrogen peroxide
1 cup washing soda
3 quarts hot water
1/4 cup CLEAR liquid laundry detergent- optional

Mix well.

What you're doing here is creating an oxygen bleach, chemically similar to OxiClean but at the right strength for the job at hand.  (AND CHEAP.) 

The laundry detergent will help where there are visible stains.  DON'T use a blue variety or you risk staining your carpet or upholstery blue instead.  It's important to use laundry detergent because it's low-foaming.  It's very important to note that WASHING soda, which is very inexpensive, made by Arm & Hammer, and carried around here by Giant, is not the same as Baking Soda.  You'll find it in the laundry aisle.

I apply this mixture liberally to stains, let it sit for as long as a half hour, and then use my carpet steamer to remove it and rinse the area.  I can't say it's restored the carpet to "like new" status, because the repeated application down there has resulted in some wear on the fibers.  But what it DOES do is remove the odor and stains at a fraction of the price of some of the things I tried that didn't work nearly so well.

You can store leftovers in a closed container.  The hot water is to dissolve the soda; I don't know that it makes the product more effective to use it warm.

So before you throw something away because you think it can't be saved, try this.  You'll be out a couple of bucks if it doesn't work, which is nothing compared to what you'll save if it does.

Winnie the Pooh Day

Winnie the Pooh Day (not to be confused with Pooh's birthday) happens on January 18th every year. We have now officially added this holiday to our family "Wheel of the Year."

For our celebration this year, we made cupcakes and decorated them to look like bees, and I made a Bundt cake with a honey glaze to represent the beehive.  Unfortunately, the bees' stripes started sliding off the icing about half an hour after we decorated them, and the honey glaze was so watery it soaked into the cake and made it mushy.  So we'll work on refining our techniques for future years.  The only absolute keeper was the "smackerel of honey" cream cheese frosting we made for the cupcakes.  Well, I suppose we can keep the pretzel wings, as well.

We hosted a little party and the kids really enjoyed putting their own wings on the bees.  Ian received a copy of The House At Pooh Corner from Mommy as a gift in honor of the day, and it has become a story time staple ever since.

Ian and Sophie eating their bees.

Making Little Red Riding Hood

Mom, Red Riding Hood, The Big Bad Wolf, The Woodsman, and Grannie

Okay, so you know the thing in the middle doesn't look terribly wolfish, and I know it doesn't look terribly wolfish, but my three year old thinks it's The Wolf. You know, the actual archetype that appears in so many of his favorite stories. (Actually, I'm pretty impressed that it came out even looking remotely canine, since at one point it most resembled a wingless, gray duck.)

What's going on here is that I'm assembling a "table play" set to use in a preschool lesson. I'm planning to use a small box to make Granny's bed and then I'll be done. Ian loves these wooden little people and we've also done the Three Little Pigs this way. You can buy these wooden peg people very inexpensively here and customize them to whatever story you want using paint or (as in this case) props and clothes. I've also seen it suggested that you create a set as party favors for children's parties, which is an idea I LOVE and may have to use.

This is a very quick, approachable project.  I created the forest backdrop as a mini-felt board using sticky-backed craft felt, a USPS shipping box, an exacto knife, a ballpoint pen, and a pair of scissors from the dollar store.  The dolls' clothes are felt scraps and yarn.  I opted to sew them so that when the kids rip them off the dolls they aren't ruined, but you could just as easily glue them on if your child is more enchanted by dolls than by seeing how they are put together.  I plan to create a crochet pattern for what I did with the wolf, but you could also put grey felt ears and snout on one of the peg people.  The less realistic the figures, the more details the kids fill in with imagination, so "perfect" is "finished so we can play with them," not "incredibly detailed and realistic."

Christmas Fudge

We may or may not be enjoying Christmas Fudge this year.  I love fudge.  (I know, who doesn't?)  Normally, my mother makes it, and when I do it it's just a bonus.  This year, she didn't happen to make any.  (Not a problem- we will manage to achieve obesity by New Year's regardless.) But, since we like it, I thought I'd make some.  Seeing as how I'm done with almost all the other holiday tasks, and all.

Let me begin by explaining that I have gotten a different set of pots and pans since the last time I made fudge.  They are, in fact, a NICER set.  But different, nonetheless.  So when I picked out the pot I thought would work and diligently hooked up the candy thermometer, it came as something of a surprise that as the level on the thermometer rose, so did the contents of the pot.  Apparently I either forgot all about this phenomenon, or it wasn't nearly as noticeable in my wider, shallower pot last year.

So the candy continued to swell until I had twenty more degrees to go before the candy mixture and the chocolate were supposed to meet, but about one more degree before the pot boiled over.  Have you ever tried to "stir constantly" while transferring a boiling hot, sticky substance from one pot to another?  Well, it wasn't pretty, but everyone came through okay except, possibly, the fudge.

Time will tell, and, you know- the proof is in the pudding.  Or, the fudge, as the case happens to be.  I have a feeling we will choke it down somehow.

As a sidebar, the Little Dude observed part of this process (thankfully, not the incredibly ridiculous and possibly dangerous pot transfer) and immediately pointed out that Auntie Tarra needed to help us eat the fudge.  To which I replied in two parts.  One: Auntie Tarra, this little person has got your number.  And Two: as soon as she gets here, we will share our fudge.  Which may or may not be any good.

PS: The fudge is fine.  One billion calories per square inch, and all.

Making Christmas

 

Best Christmas Tree Ever

The kids decorated this at school today.  (Ian's first paper chain... I'm so proud!)  I want to keep it FOREVER.

Friendship Firehouse

What could be better than a visit to a historical firehouse with a friend? Well, how about following that up with a trip to the candy store? We enjoyed the Friendship Firehouse and then we went to The Sugar Cube, where we enjoyed free samples, the holiday atmosphere, and the old-fashioned pleasure of choosing and scooping out candy to purchase.  Santa should stop by- it seems right up his alley.

Now, there's a Pizza Dude.

Notice that we did not skimp on the flour.

Splat the Cat Came Back

You may remember that Ian wanted to be Splat the Cat for Halloween. Also, you may remember that, lacking confidence in Splat's availability as a commercially produced halloween costume, Mommy was knitting Ian a Splat the Cat Hat. So now you are thinking... "yes, very funny... and the child wearing it is adorable and IS NOT IAN." You're right. She's not. One of Ian's friends graciously agreed to model it for me, because the total time this thing has spent on Ian's head since I completed it two weeks ago is about 48 seconds.

It's not that he doesn't like it. He does. In fact, he loves it. He thinks it is hilarious. He thinks Mommy should make its mouth. And he likes to stand in front of the mirror and play putiton takeitoff putiton takeitoff putiton takeitoff for long periods of time. Too bad this is not at all photogenic.

So I went to Target and spent $8 on a mass-produced Fireman costume. That, he'll wear.

Moral of this story...

If you want your gingerbread house to look really nice when it's done, do not, I repeat, NOT allow me to apply the icing. Next most remarkable thing about this experience: Ian did not eat any of the candy OR FROSTING while building the house with a friend.

Mommy, I want to be...

Yes, I know what you are thinking. In most circumstances, I'd agree. There is little with less snob value than NOVELTY YARN, and in a great many cases it does produce a "please step away from the needles" end result.

But Halloween is coming.

And in an effort to teach my Santa-obsessed child that there are holidays worth getting excited over that are not Christmas, I am working on Ian's Halloween costume. So far, about 80% of the time, he wants to be Splat the Cat.

So that's where we're headed- A Splat the Cat Hat. (Insert Dr. Seuss joke here.) I am holding some black eyelash yarn double with some black Impeccable, and I'm working 3 stitches to the inch on 6 mm circular needles. I cast on 54 stitches for my three year old, or 18" around. I'll begin the decreases after 4.5" of stockinette.

Stay tuned for the ears, eyes, and tail.

The Pirate Fairy

I asked my son if he could find any pirate things for a pirate costume.  This is what he came up with.

I now really would love to know what, in his mind, a pirate does, because it seems it is a beautiful thing.

Loving Hands

Ian and his pals made this project today in class:

"This is a pencil."

(and it was.)

The world's lowest quality educational aide

Well, what was I supposed to do? The kid asked me "Where is October, Mommy?"

I thought surely some better artist than I would have thought of this, created a nice version, and have posted it on the internet SOMEWHERE, but no. So hear me, those of you with even the smallest smidgen of artistic ability: design a calendar wheel and sticker set for the Gregorian Calendar. Make it cute. Make it colorful, laminated, and sturdy, and I'll totally buy that off you. In fact, I'll set it up to sell on the Joy Troupe website.

Seriously, just look at me trying to draw "in like a lion, out like a lamb" for my kid. Take my $10 and spare me the embarrassment.

Learning at the Farmer's Market

"M&Ms have letters. But they are for eating, not for playing."

And, an update on the Christmas Tree Query.  Mommy got a 4' artificial tree from Freecycle.org, which we are looking forward to decorating with our friends this year.  Ian was carrying part of it around this morning when I overheard this conversation:

Daddy: Ian, what are you doing?
Ian: I'm breaking ground here.
Daddy:  That's a bad idea.
Ian: Well, I'm just trying to plant this tree.

Mommy interjected at this point to request that we please not either break ground OR plant any trees inside the actual house.

Knit Night

Everything's better with babies.