You've got mail

I am hooked on felt crafts right now.  I can't tell you about some because they are Christmas presents (shh...).  I can tell you about the adorable set of letters I made for the boys.  I thought of it because I just notced the mail slot in our playhouse (We've had it over 3 years).

I made TJ some letters with regular envelopes but they were destroyed in a few minutes.  I love to use more natural materials and homemade toys are much more meaningful.  The "letters" inside were made of stiff felt with pictures made of regular felt, beads and such glued on.  The envelopes are just a simple rectangle folded in thirds and sewn up the sides (leave some length for the flap).  I made one end of the rectangle into the flap and glued some velcro dots for closures.

Felt letters for the envelopes

Felt envelopes with velcro to change the name and stamp

Felt envelopes with changeable names and stamps

Found my old classroom mailbox in my teacher stuff

TJ has been playing mail a lot, but somehow we lost his letter in the house.  I think he put it somewhere for safe keeping and can't remember where it is.  I guess I'll be making another one soon.

For more ideas check out the felt-o-rama blog.  There are tones of free patterns on the left side of the screen.

The Boy Mom BlogHop

I'd like to welcome you to my blog.  I am so excited about the Boy Mom Bloghop!!! I am new to the M.O.B. (Mother of Boys) Society. I happened across it from one of the blogs I follow.



My name is Meaghan and I have two wonderfully energetic boys.  They are always on the move, "helping" mommy and daddy, playing in their sandbox or playing with anything that has wheels!  TJ is 3 (born on Mother's Day weekend) and MJ is 13months (born on Father's Day weekend).  My husband has his own business, Integrity Fire and Control Systems Inc., that I also help with as the office manager.  We are a Christian family living in Southern Ontario.

I originally started my blog to journal life with my family.  This blog is a mix of things.  I like to share activities that I do with the boys, crafts that I make, things that we are learning as a family, how the Lord is working in our lives, and anything else that comes up.

I forgot to add this so I've updated my post.  Both my boys love books.  It doesn't really matter what kind, they just love to read with us.  Right now MJ loves to read books with flaps or touch and feel books.  He is very fond of trucks and dogs too. TJ likes Richard Scarry, Curious George, and Little Critter, and anything else he can get his hands on.

Your feedback is very important to me.  I am relatively new to blogging and want to post things for myself and also for those who read it.  If there are some craft tutorials, activities or suggestions for me, PLEASE do let me know.  I am always looking to improve myself and life with the boys.

I hope you take a few moments to look back at some of my posts or at the page about my family.

Setting the table placemats

For almost a year TJ has been helping set the table.  We try to involve him in as much around the house as we can.  MJ is of course very interested in everything we do and tries to "help".  I have seen these placemats on several different blogs and Etsy too.

Materials:
placemat to trace
large piece of material for front and back
scraps for utensils
stiff interfacing (optional)

How to:
1. Trace an existing placemat on to the material you'd like for the front and back.
2. If both pieces of material are thin, then also trace some interfacing. I used denim for one side so I think mine are stiff enough.
3. Trace some cutlery from your kitchen onto scraps of material.
4. Cut out the cutlery and applique to one large piece.
5. With right sides together sew the two large pieces together (also include interfacing if needed).
6. Trim corners, turn right side out and sew opening shut.
7. About 1/4" in from the edge, sew around the placemat to finish off.

Hope your kids have fun with the table.  Enjoy!
I made a set of six for our table.  My mom gave me some beautiful fabric from France.  Of course I forgot to take a picture so I'll try to update this post soon.  I chose to make the other side without appliques so that we can use it for different occasions.

Curtain Tip

Do you have a room where the sun shines in so brightly that you have pined up a blanket or sheet to block out the light?

Well MJ's room was so bright during the day that he wasn't napping very well.  I tied a bed sheet across the window, but after a while it starts looking a bit collage student like, and the curtains aren't functional.  In a stroke of genius I thought to my self, why not just sew some bed sheets to the back of the curtain!

I took off to the thrift store and bought a large dark coloured sheet, cut it in half and sewed it to the back of each curtain.  Tada!!!!  MJ's room is darker now and all the blankets are off the windows.

Playing with nature: Part 2

The other day I posted about how we have been playing with nature.  I made a set of Waldorf inspired tree blocks for the kids and an extra set for my niece.  Here we are having some fun outside.  We are going to leave them outside for a while before taking them all inside.

It's a castle

I found this awesome basket at Value Village

TJ breaking my happy face

Rocks in a yellow box TJ picked

Next week I'll be posting about some crafty things I've been doing.

Playing with nature

This nice weather has been fantastic for our family.   We have been un-cluttering the home,  using less noisy plastic toys, and spending more time outside.  Recently we have been using a lot of nature objects in our play.  Rocks have become furniture, food, and a number of other things.  We have made houses for our toy friends and even started a nature table in the house to collect things on our walks.  TJ's imagination is blossoming with our creative play.  It is wonderful to see.  Every morning (very early) MJ walks me to the front door and bangs to go out.  He is learning to sign "outside" and "shoes"!

Here are some pictures of TJ with his toys outside.

Beds for the toys

Family room

TJ adding sand to the playground

Playground

Dining Room

Playground again

TJ was taking all the photos

A while ago TJ came over and said he was going to the other end of the yard to watch the leaves grow.  He invited me to join him and we lay on the grass watching the trees.  I saw all of TJ's friends laying down and he said they were watching the sun with their new treasures.

What have you been doing outside?

Nature Treasure Hunt

I saw this idea on I am Momma Hear Me Roar  a while back.  TJ and I have been enjoying playing outside more often so I thought it would be fun to try out our own nature treasure hunt together.  He got all dressed up and brought a friend with him.  I loved to watch how excited TJ got when we found something on the list.  Afterwards he reviewed what we had found for several days and talked about the pictures on the box. We'll have to do this again maybe with different items.

The blank spot on our container was for TJ to choose his own treasure.  He picked some flowers to add to our collection.

Happy Canada Day

We chose all red and white objects from the house for the mantle,
TJ's painting has maple leaf shapes and his hand prints. 

We are having a great day today.  Daddy is helping Grandma and Grandpa at the cottage while mommy and the boys are playing at home and getting together with family tonight for dinner.

Our morning has been so busy.  We started the day with a great Canada coloured breakfast (strawberries, yogurt, and pancakes with maple syrup).  After that we decorated for Canada Day, chose some Canada clothes to wear, made oatmeal raisin cookies and homemade soft pretzels, tidied, played outside, had a picnic and then a nap.  This afternoon we still have to clean a little inside before going to a family BBQ.

How are you celebrating the day?

Enjoying a yummy breakfast

Not so sure about the pancakes, but likes his banana

Hanging a barrel of monkeys with our decorations