Crafts

Mommy & Me: “My” Sight Word Book (Printable)

August 24, 2011 by Sara McClure 7 Comments

We’ve entered the world of “Sight Words” around here!

I’ve recently taken notice of some readiness for sight words with Jonah and decided to give it a try. I wasn’t very scientific in choosing a word to start with, it sort of randomly happened one day as we were preparing dinner. Jonah was looking at a book called “My Cats” (a repetitive High-Frequency Reader from Scholastic that I had just found at the local discount bookstore Clearance Sale). He wanted desperately to read it on his own.

I grabbed a piece of paper and a crayon and made a quick “rebus” style poster for him. (I know, I know…you’re impressed with my 2-second drawing. Aren’t you? Hey, it worked!)

We practiced a few times before dinner, but he didn’t seem to show tons of interest. I hung it on the fridge at eye-level and later heard him practicing reading it. Success! It’s still on our fridge and now we read it every time we pass it. He’s confident now and has started going on a “word hunt” in other books.

While “my” is a common word in books, I wanted to extend the learning. There are lots of “sight word” books online to print, but I wanted to start with something more personal that he would be interested in. So, I whipped up a quick book in Microsoft Word, printed it out, and grabbed my favorite illustrator.

Here’s a glimpse of our book….

(Do you see the progress on writing his name?!?! So proud of that orange crayon writing!)

(Jonah started with the door and Mommy helped with the house outline)

(Can you tell we’re STILL obsessed with cars around here?)

(Jonah added even more friends after I took a picture of this. )

After we were done assembling the book, we practiced reading it a few times and finding the word “my” throughout the pages. I showed Jonah how to use a highlighter to highlight the word “my” and he eagerly found them again.

Since I made the book, the least I can do is share…

Click to Download the “My” Sight Word Book Printable for FREE

Filed Under: Kid Crafts, Mommy & Me, Uncategorized Tagged With: Mommy & Me, mommy&me, preschool, preschool activities, Totally Tots

Tutorial: How to Applique Without an Embroidery Machine

July 19, 2011 by Sara McClure 2 Comments

Ok, so I know that I have an embroidery machine to make most of my cute appliques for my Etsy Shop. However, I know not everyone has a fancy embroidery machine to do all the hard work. Fear not, my friends, you too can add a cute applique to clothing, pillows, or anything else you can think of that needs some extra cuteness without an embroidery machine!

How to applique without an embroidery machine

How to Applique Without an Embroidery Machine:

Materials:

Shirt (or item you are adding an applique to)
Fabric for applique
Heat’n Bond Lite Iron-on Adhesive (says “sewable” on the package)
Pattern for Applique (mine is an outline of Africa straight off the internet)
Scissors
Sewing Machine
Thread

Directions:

1. Gather your materials (Forgive me, I switched shirt colors after I took this picture)

2. Iron the Heat-N-Bond Lite on the wrong side of the fabric. Make sure you are ironing the side with adhesive to the fabric…if not, you’ll have a mess on your iron! The smooth paper side should be the part you are ironing. (A word about Heat-N-Bond Lite: There are different kinds. You want to make sure you get the kind that is sewable. If you don’t, it will be really stiff and will get your needle all “gunked” up. Make sure it is the LITE version.) Read the directions if it’s the first time you’ve used Heat-N-Bond.

3. Cut out your pattern (if you haven’t already). Flip your pattern and trace your pattern BACKWARDS on the paper of the Heat-N-Bond. If you trace your pattern right side up, your pattern will be backwards when it is time to place it on your clothing. Trust me.

4. Cut out your applique. Flip it over…see, told you it would look right in the end.

5. Peel the paper backing off the fabric. There will be a “sheen” from the adhesive that transferred to the fabric. Find the proper placing for your applique.

6. Using the proper heat settings (refer to the packaging), iron the applique in place.

**Oops! I missed this picture….imagine an iron

7. In order to make it easier to maneuver my shirt, I removed the bottom portion of my sewing machine. Now I can slide my shirt over the arm of the sewing machine.

8. Topstich around the applique. Go slowly and stop as needed to turn your needle or adjust your shirt. I did a simple straight stitch, but you can get fancy if you’d like depending upon the stitches you have on your machine. Zig-zag is always fun, but might be hard to control the first time using this technique or if your applique is curvy…like my Africa shape.

9. Voila!

See, it is easy to applique without an embroidery machine!

Any questions? Ask it in the comments!

Filed Under: Crafts, Sewing, Tutorials, Uncategorized Tagged With: applique, boutique, Budget Living, Crafts, DIY, embroidered clothing, embroidery, etsy, Frugal Tips, how to applique without an embroidery machine, My Etsy Shop, Sewing, Stitches by Sara, Tutorials

Frugal Fun Snacks & Learning, too!

July 14, 2011 by Sara McClure 2 Comments

Just wanted to let you know I have a guest post up on Pennies and Blessings showing a frugal fun snack for the summer…Grapesicles! In addition to that, we made some Fruit Kabobs and practiced making patterns. Super easy to set up and a fun way to let kids help prepare part of a meal!

And because I love you…I leave you with a link to Amanda at Impress Your Kids and the Fruit Of The Spirit Series…she made Fruit of the Spirit Kabobs! While you’re there, click around a bit and see some of the fabulous ideas to incorporate fun into teaching kids about God’s Word. You’ll thank me later.

Filed Under: Kid Crafts, Mommy & Me, Uncategorized Tagged With: Budget Living, family fun, Frugal Tips, Just For Fun, Mommy & Me, mommy&me, preschool, preschool activities, Recipes

Sneak Peek

July 13, 2011 by Sara McClure 5 Comments

Jonah’s birthday party is coming up. I thought I’d give you a sneak peek of something we’re working on…

Hmm….I wonder what that could be? Any guesses? The party turns out glorious in my head…

Filed Under: Budget Living, Crafts, Our Family, Uncategorized Tagged With: Budget Living, Celebrations, Crafts, Jonah

Toy Story: Jesse Cowgirl Outfit

May 26, 2011 by Sara McClure 10 Comments

My niece’s birthday was last weekend. She’s a huge fan of Jesse from Toy Story and I was inspired to make her an outfit. Since I don’t have a girl of my own yet, I loved getting the chance to sew something extra girly for her present….I live vicariously through the little girls in my life.

I embroidered the shirt using the Cowboy Applique Alphabet from Planet Applique. The skirt is a a three-tiered twirl skirt. I also made ribbon ruffle socks. The cowboy hat was a lucky find at the Dollar Tree! I used my hole punch to poke holes in the edge of the hat and added some white cording to mimic Jesse’s hat. I can’t wait to see her in her outfit!

*Tutorial for Ruffle Socks and a Three-tiered Twirl Skirt coming soon! (Taking pictures for tutorials is a lot of work!) Make sure to subscribe so you won’t miss these adorable tutorials!

Linking up to:

A Crafty Soiree @ Katie’s Nesting Spot, Feature Yourself Friday, Just Something I Whipped Up @The Girl Creative

Filed Under: Crafts, Sewing, Tutorials, Uncategorized Tagged With: Crafts, Disney, Sewing, Tutorials

Tutorial: How to Make a Knight Shield

May 25, 2011 by Sara McClure 12 Comments

Jonah and I have been having some knight adventures! He’s taken an interest into castles and knights after reading the book In the Castle by Anna Milbourne. As an extension of the book, we made a shield and pretended we were knights. Making a knight shield is really simple!

How to Make a Knight Shield:

1. Cut a shield shape from some cardboard. I did this part freehand, but you can always look up some shield pictures and copy the shape. We used the cardboard piece leftover from making the portable puppet theater.

2. Let your little one color or paint the shield shape.

3. Attach a “handle” for the back. I basically cut a strip of cardboard from a cereal box and attached it to the back. I had Jonah place his arm on the shield so that I could see the size he needed. I folded the strip (envision an upside down horseshoe) and taped it down.

4. Grab your foam sword and storm the castle…er, um, I mean swingset!

To see more activities involving knights, visit the Totally Tots Knight Theme!

Filed Under: Kid Crafts, Mommy & Me, Tutorials, Uncategorized Tagged With: Crafts, family fun, Mommy & Me, mommy&me, preschool, preschool activities, Tutorials

Mommy & Me: Portable Puppet Theater

May 10, 2011 by Sara McClure 8 Comments

Jonah and I have had some puppet fun this week! I got tired of our fancy puppet theater that kept coming apart and made up a portable, easily stored Puppet Theater with a science project display board. Now Jonah can play puppets whenever he feels like it, without Mommy having to get everything set up. He’s loving the independence he’s gained…and so is Mommy! He’s been retelling a few of his favorite stories which encourages all kinds of literacy skills.

Want to see the tutorial?

You’ll have to visit Totally Tots to get the full details.

Here are a few favorites we found on Amazon to go with our Portable Puppet Theater. Save up your Swagbucks and get a set! (Remember how I got $40 worth of books for FREE? I’ve got another $20 waiting on me to decide what to get from Amazon for FREE!)