TUTORIAL: Fridge Magnet Cups

I honestly don't know why these aren't mass produced in stores.
Maybe they are?
I just don't know about them?

But if my friend Katherine could bank on the idea, she'd totally be rich.

She was tired of her girls asking for a drink of water every two seconds and pulling new cups out of the cupboard. So she thought...why not make cups that stick on the fridge?  They can grab a cup, get their own water, then stick it back in the same spot.
BRILLIANT.

Then she told me about it.  And I asked if I could share the project with you guys, since our kitchen definitely needed FMCs (fridge magnet cups. too much? okay).

Here's what you do:

 

 

A few notes and pointers:
• Always take precaution when using magnets around kids. I've seen too many stories on the news about kids swallowing magnets....which is why I went with these larger ones. 
• If you're worried about kids prying the magnets off, you might try Super Glue instead of hot glue.  BUT, I did a test and tried to pry off one of the dried magnets (okay, I was really trying to fix a misplaced magnet. It's true)....and it was really hard to get off.  I had to use a butter knife and applied a lot of pressure to pop that thing off.  So I'm not worried about that at all.
• Katherine glued her magnets to the bottom of the cups.  She used tiny magnets and sealed them completely in hot glue so the kids can't pick at them at all.  Do whatever works for you.
• I found that two magnets work better on these cups since the sides are angled.
• Allow about 10 minutes for the glue to dry/cool completely before sticking them on the fridge.
• I've only hand-washed the magnet cups but I assume you could run them through the dishwasher. 

And that's it!

 Our kitchen feels complete.

Summer Shirts

When it comes to kids clothes, I'm kind of a "one or the other" sewer.  Either I sew a shirt and buy the shorts...or sew a skirt and buy the shirt....or buy a onesie and paint on top.  Okay that's not sewing.  But you know what I mean...it's nice to maximize creative time by purchasing some things and throwing one handmade item in the mix (similar to our discussion here)

So I pulled thrifted T-shirts from my stash on Saturday and made Owen new summer shirts.

I used the 90 minute shirt tutorial and created my own pattern. 


But since I haven't used that pattern in over a year it needed some tweaking.  

 It worked!

 Actually, the neck on the first shirt was a little wide (but I sort of like the boat neck).

So I redrew the pattern neckline and shoulders to make it smaller.  Little improvements.

I wonder if he's too old for an envelope Tee.  Maybe it's too little boy for him?  I mean, look how much he's grown in the last 2 1/2 years!

 I guess if he still likes riding this itty bitty bike though, the 90 minute shirt works.  

Owen does have a real bike in the garage but he really loves this thing!   He can zoom around so fast.

So there you go. 

$5 shorts from Target.
$2 shirts from me.

the Pompadour

....just keeps getting bigger.

Mostly, I'm not sure how else to do her hair.   After a bath, I comb the back hair down and the front hair into the middle so she gets a real nice wave.

 It seems to work.

 And it's starting to look like this guy.

 Maybe I should make Clara a girly one of these.

I made some extras last year for Casey and my brother Eric.  Maybe a pink onesie with orange Coney?  Hmmm.

 I guess if she's looking like Conan, then she also looks like the President of Finland?

 Or maybe it's more like this guy....

 Or this?

 

 (her middle name is Rose).

 Maybe she just looks like herself. 

It really is strange having a child with different hair color than my other kids.  I've always wanted that.  And now that we have that I look at her and wonder where she came from.  Of course her face has total family resemblance.  She's just got a cherry on top.

We sure love our Conan-ita.

from Sandbox to Planter box

Things are happening in the backyard.

 And all because of this guy:

Two weeks ago Lucy brought home pumpkin seeds from school and we planted them in a small cup.   And they started growing.
And fast!
Who knew they were like weeds??  We had Little Shop of Horrors on our front porch so we transferred them to a small planter box.  And......a few days later they'd taken over that new home as well.

So.
What to do with the pumpkin plants?
Seemed silly to start a garden on behalf of a random plant.  But I've really wanted a garden for years.   There's just nothing like ripe cherry tomatoes from the vine.  Oh yum.

So I called my mom for her expert advice (she and my brother are avid gardeners).  And like many of you probably already know about, she tipped me off to Square Foot Gardening.

Now we just needed a raised bed planter box.
Should we build one?  Where to put it?  The sandbox location was making it difficult.
So we decided to give our little sandbox a second life.  The kids had enjoyed it for over a year and weren't loving it like they used to.   Maybe they'd enjoy taking care of a garden instead?

So we did just that!  (well, Casey did.  I was busy sewing book projects inside).
It just seemed perfect to make good use of this awesome wooden box, with little benches and so much personality.

Casey poured the special soil right over the sand (we tried to get rid of the sand by posting "Free Sand" on craigslist.  But no takers).  We're hoping the sand helps water drain.   He marked off grids for various veggies and herbs with string (btw....we're complete newbies to this and have little clue what we're doing.  But we're having fun experimenting.  I'm sure many of you have years of experience and tips.  So please leave any links to great websites in the comments for us!)

Lucy wrote all the plant names on colorful markers (which she loved....and even journaled about the next day).

Then we planted our plants and seeds (probably too close together. We're learning)

And the waiting game began.
The kids checked in on the plants the next day after church, gave them more water, watched, waited.

I said it would probably take a week for their seeds to sprout, to keep expectations low.  

Then late last night when the kids were in bed we noticed small buds making their way up.

Exciting!

In the morning the whole family came out to check it out.
Almost like Christmas.

  Rows of new little plants!

 I know, our excitement is a bit silly.  But wow.  It works!  Seeds grow.   And our little pumpkin plant has a new home.

Yes, yes.   Mother Nature is impressive.

So, bye bye little sandbox.

Hello to a season of gardening. 

If we only get one tomato out of it, I'll call it a success.