Super Magnets!

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These Imaginets are one of those perfect toys:

1. They are super fun for kids.  (Ada plays with them for hours at a time).  The cards provide patterns or kids can come up with their own ideas.

2. They are made of wood and painted bright colors.  The magnetic shapes are smooth and substantial and thoughtfully designed.

3.The sturdy case contains all the cards and magnets and has a handle to carry.  When the case is closed, (which can be accomplished easily by a three-year-old), the whole thing fits nicely on a book shelf.

4. The magnetic surface can also be used as a dry-erase board so kids can add habitats for their magnet animals.

Happy kids, happy parents.

Clean

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Dr. Bronner may have been a bit nutty, but his liquid soap smells lovely and is the best for getting fresh stains out of clothes.  The colors and graphic appearance of label rantings look great on the shelf and give me something amazing to read if I ever find myself alone in the bathtub.  The soaps have been made using socially and environmentally responsible practices since 1948.

Squirt some undiluted liquid soap on a food spills and throw clothes into hamper.  The soap won’t bleach out colors and the whole hamper will smell nice until laundry day.

Felt Raindrops

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We were tired of the rain last week so we decided to hang felt raindrops on the curtains to cheer ourselves up a bit.  The colors looked really pretty against the gray sky.  When the sun came back it made the colors so bright!  The felt chains are really easy to make and are good for a little cheer wherever you need it.  You will need:

*Felt

*Scissors

*Sewing Machine

1. Cut circles from felt.  We did various sizes, free hand.  Wool Felt Central is my favorite felt source.

2.  Line up one felt circle behind the other and do a running stitch through with contrasting thread.  Repeat until you have desired length.

3.  Hang up the rain!

Ladder

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The ladder to our roof skylight.  The realtor billed it as a way to “escape to our private roof deck some day for a glass of wine”.  Ha ha.  It is way down on the list of home improvements now, but a nice idea.  Good for drying laundry at the moment while thinking about the future.

Stamps

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I love a beautiful stamp.  It completes an invitation or thank you note and stamps are little works of art. I am still amazed that a letter can get all the way across the country in a matter of days for such a small price.  Unfortunately, my over-worked post office staff seems less enthusiastic with the quest for stamp beauty.  (The boring American flag sheets do not count as interesting in my book).

I discovered you can buy stamps online directly from the USPS site (duh).  There are a ton of stamp options that have never seen the inside of a Brooklyn PO and they deliver them for free!  You can even coordinate custom stamps to match your events.  Aah, the beauty of technology and old-school together on an envelope.

Sparkle Button Cardigan

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I love this cardigan.  It is based off a Debbie Bliss pattern in her Essential Baby book.  I’ve made a lot of projects from the book, and all are well-loved and much-used.  The original pattern is a button down, but I wanted to use these big vintage rhinestones so I omitted the button holes.  Similar buttons can be found here.  I hid chunky snaps under the buttons for easy on and off.  The yarn is a simple Patons Classic Wool.

I love a good balance of utility and fancy.

Hearts and Stars

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We originally got these tiny 1 1/2 inch cookie cutters at a baking shop for Ada’s playdough.  (There are some super inexpensive ones here). They are also perfect (after a good washing), to cut watermelon into Valentine party snacks.  PB&J, cheese and cucumbers may also be shaped in order to trick a toddler into eating something healthy.

Sales!

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Hooray for End of Season Sales!  We recently got our Crewcuts order.  These red shoes are making me smile.  Both the former girl and shoe designer in me are in love with them.  This order won’t fit Ada for another year, but I love to stock up when the prices are good.  We store clothes in clear plastic bins, organized and labeled by size.  It is like having a full pantry.  Very satisfying.

Cross My Heart Garland

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I started working on this flag garland for Josie’s upcoming birthday and realized it would make a great Valentine project.  I promise it is easy and you still have a weekend to make it.  These flags are small enough that we used only scraps from other projects and didn’t have to buy any new fabric.  There is a mix of vintage and some Liberty prints here.  (Oh Liberty of London, how I love you!)

You will need:

*Various fabric pieces.  Hearts show up better on contrasting squares.

*Scalloped Scissors (or pinking or straight will work as well).

*Ribbon.  We used satin 1/4″.

*Card stock to make pattern.

*Sewing Machine and/or needle and thread.  I machine sewed the hearts through the centers, but you could also hand stitch.

1. Cut 4″ x 31/2″ rectangle from card stock. These will become 31/2″ squares as the back is folded over ribbon.  (Any size you choose will work, just remember to leave 1/2″ to fold over).

2. Fold another piece of card stock in half.  Trace half a heart to fit on the size rectangle you choose.  Open and you will have an even heart pattern.  Our heart was 3″ across widest point when open.

3.Trace desired number of rectangles and hearts and cut out.  We had 20 of each.

4. Stitch center of hearts down on rectangles.  Be sure to line up the bottom of the heart with the bottom of the rectangle.  We alternated up and down hearts.  Machine or hand stitching will work.

5. Fold the half inch at the top of rectangles back over ribbon and hand stitch down. Be sure to use tiny stitches on the front side.  We spaced ours out about half an inch between rectangles.

6. Hang.  Hooray Valentines Day!

Valentine Necklaces

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Ada and I made these simple, sugar-free valentines for her classmates.  I cut and she directed, strung and decorated.  You will need:

*Fabric.  We used vintage and Liberty scraps.

*Scalloped scissors (or pinking or straight will work)

*Hole punch

*Yarn or ribbon

*Glitter glue, sparkles, etc.

*Card stock for pattern

1. Fold card stock in half.  Trace half a heart and cut out.  Unfold and you will have an even heart.

2. Trace pattern onto fabric.  We used chalk to trace.

3. Punch hole in corner of heart.

4. Let the kids decorate away.  Let the decorations dry and string onto yarn.

We stuck our valentines inside envelopes and wrote a little message on each.

Happy Valentines Day! XOXO