Ninja Mask Tutorial

For Will's Ninjago birthday party last week, I made some really simple ninja masks for all of the kids.  Once I had the measurements and pattern created, they only took about 10 minutes to make.  So, I thought I'd share a tutorial in case anyone out there is looking for a ninja Halloween costume or wants to make it for a ninja or Ninjago party.  These masks fit all of the kids at our party, whose ages ranged from 2-8.  This is largely due to the type of fabric I chose to use, which was a stretchy, two-way stretch knit, nylon I think, like you would find in dance costumes.  And because it is a knit fabric, I didn't even need to finish any of the edges, making it that much more simple!  All this pattern takes is one seam and it's done!

Here's what you need:

-Two-way stretch knit fabric (cotton, nylon, or spandex types will work best)

-Matching thread

-Scissors

-Sewing machine

Take your fabric and fold it in half (in case your fabric only has a 1-way stretch, make sure that the biggest stretch is stretching horizontally so that it can be stretched over the child's head).  Place your pattern on the fabric, lining the side along the fold.  

My pattern is 14" from the highest point on the top of the head to the bottom, 10" across the bottom under the eye hole, from the edge to the eye hole is 7", and the height of the eye hole is about 1/2".  Cut out your fabric, making sure to not cut the section labeled "fold", under the eye hole.  Cut from above the eye hole, all the way around the rest of the pattern.  Once your fabric is cut out, it should all be one piece, connected under the eye hole.  

Put right sides together and sew the edges together (I just used a zig zag stitch and a regular needle) from the bottom around to the top of the eye hole and you're finished!  Turn it right side out and try it on your little ninja!

Pipe Cleaner Ninjas

Since finding out that we'll be moving to Japan, we've been talking a lot about ninjas around here.  William is really excited to get there and begin setting "ninja traps" and looking for their hideouts.  I'm pretty sure any ninjas around will mostly likely be able to outsmart a 4 year old's traps, but we'll do our best :)

Anyway, the other day while I was doing my usual pinteresting (yep, I just verbed it.  And I also verbed verb.  Just go with it :)), I came across these adorable pipe cleaner ninjas and knew that William would go crazy for them!  I originally planned to save this project for our 11 hour flight from LA to Tokyo (YIKES, I know.  Definitely not looking forward to that!), but Will spotted the post on my computer and could not get it out of his mind.  So, I gave in and told him that we could make two now and we'll make more on the flight later.  Lucky Will.  So, today we gathered our supplies and created a couple stealth ninjas of our own.  And they turned out so cute I can hardly stand it!  I can hardly wait to make all sorts of fun little guys out of pipe cleaners, straws, and beads with Will and Clara.  Maybe it'll even keep them entertained for a few minutes of our LOOOOOONG flight!  Hopefully anyway :)

DIY Lemon Sugar Scrub

Lately, I've been feeling like my skin needs a little rejuvenating!  (Let's be honest, I'm 3 weeks postpartum--my whole body/mind/soul needs rejuvenating!)  Making a sugar scrub has been on my to-do list for months actually, and I'm finally getting around to it!  I don't really know why it's taken me so long to get done, it literally takes 5 minutes to whip up!  I think I always forget about it until I'm in the shower or rushing to get ready and am not able to do it in that moment. Anyway, enough about me and my reasons for procrastinating . . . The reason I chose to make a lemon scrub is because the scent is so refreshing!  And when mixed with sugar and coconut oil, it seriously smells like lemon cream pies and I just can't get enough of it!  Want to make your own rejuvenating lemon sugar scrub???  Here's what you'll need:

- A glass jar/container that can be sealed shut
- 2 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 1/4 Cup Coconut Oil
- Lemon Essential Oil (you can get some here, or you can use lemon juice)

If needed, melt your coconut oil first so that it's in liquid form.  Mix the coconut oil and sugar together.  If it's still too wet, add more sugar until the consistency is thick and not too oily.  Next, add one drop of lemon oil at a time to the mixture until the scent is as strong as you'd like it.  Store in an air tight container and start pampering yourself!

* Adding to my post about lemon oil, this is another great way to use lemon oil on a daily basis!
** Lemon oil is a great astringent and it also helps to brighten skin.  It also aids in circulation and the aroma can help to lift your mood.

PRECAUTION: Lemon oil is photosensitive, meaning it can react to sunlight or UV rays.  When using lemon oil on the skin, wait a few hours before exposing skin to UV rays.

After exfoliating my hands with this just once today, I can't stop smelling them and marveling at how soft they feel!  I also used it on my lips to exfoliate them and they are feeling super soft.  And I may or may not have tasted the scrub while rubbing it on my lips . . . YUM.  I'll seriously have to use self-control to not just lick it off completely every time I use it!

And, if you're looking for a sugar scrub that will help you relax, calm your mood, and even help you to sleep better, try this same recipe, but use Lavender Oil instead of Lemon Oil!  Or, try Peppermint Oil for a great pick-me-up and to help soothe achy muscles!  You can get Lavender or Peppermint Oil here.

I linked up to Whipperberry, I Heart Naptime, Too Much Time On My Hands, and The Answer is Chocolate!

Marshmallow Snowmen

This simple craft is nothing new, but it's fun!  And easy!  And quick!  And simple!  Did I mention that already???  I like simple kids crafts that we can whip out quickly and that my kids will enjoy making and playing with.  And the easy thing about this craft is that you most likely already have the supplies in your pantry!  Plus, it's an extra special treat for your kids to be able to sneak bites of the supplies as you go :)

All you need are marshmallows (we happened to have a bag of the super jumbo ones on hand), 4 toothpicks, chocolate chips for the eyes, and either candy corn or slivers of carrots for the nose.

To make your own snowman, simply stack two marshmallows on top of each other and stick a toothpick through them so they're connected.  Then, place another marshmallow on top of the two, connecting it to the others with another toothpick.  Once that's done, stick your remaining two toothpicks in the sides for the arms, and wedge your chocolate chips and candy corn into the face (you may need to pinch a little mallow out to make holes for the eyes and nose to fit nicely)!  And you're done--and now you've got a cute little marshmallow snowman or two or three, and a happy kid!

Stained Glass Paper Valentine Hearts

I have a fun and easy Valentine's Day project for you today: easy, kid-craftable stained glass hearts!  This is such a fun project, and can really be used any time throughout the year for a fun craft or to make holiday decorations.

I think these turn out better with the more color you put into them, but William was determined to make spiderman's web on one and Wall-E on the other (his Wall-E and spiderman obsession continues).  And, since this project was really just about having fun with him, we went with it . . . I also like his heart shape the best as well :)

Here's how to make your very own stained glass decoration . . .

1.  Draw a picture on plain white paper with crayons.  (The darker you color with the crayons, the better it will look.)

2.  After you're done coloring, brush vegetable oil over the entire picture so that it's completely covered.

3.  While the picture is drying, wipe off any excess oil.

4.  Punch a hole at the top of your decoration and tie yarn or string through it so that you can hang it in front of a window.  Or . . . just tape it directly to the window and let the light shine through!

This was fun and Will loves to see his hearts hanging from the window, but I'm excited to give this stained glass paper craft a try next time!

I linked up to Make It and Love It's link party!  Click here to see it on Make It and Love It.

Surgeon's Cap Sewing Project

A few months ago, my husband was in the OR rotation of his pediatric dentistry residency, and he came home asking me if I could make him a simple surgeon's cap so that he wouldn't have to wear the boring, disposable caps that the hospital supplies.  So . . . we did the obvious and went to a local army surplus store to buy an old BDU (aka military fatigues) jacket that we could cut up for the fabric!  Okay, okay.  Not such an obvious step here, but we figured the sturdier fabric would help the cap keep a good shape, and we had a feeling there wouldn't be as many cool fabric options for him at our local Joann's.  Anyway . . . we got our fabric and then began looking for patterns to make his cap.

The pattern we finally decided upon (it also would have been easy to deconstruct a disposable cap and use its pieces as pattern pieces, but we didn't have one at the time) is this one from craftster.org. The only change I made to the pattern was that I made the band that goes around his head 3 1/2 inches wide rather than 4 1/2 inches, just because it was too wide and hanging down to his eyes and over his ears.  So, if you're using this pattern, just fit the cap to your head before you sew your binding on at the end.  Otherwise, the pattern turned out great!

And about these pictures . . . Peter wasn't too thrilled about being my model so I made him put it on while he was making a dessert with Will tonight.  I did get him to smile for one though!  Then I put it on and then I figured I'd just make the teddy bear be the model because it was a lot easier :)

Sharpie Tie Dyed Onesies

In preparation for baby #3, I thought I would include William on a fun little craft: sharpie marker tie dying.  Not totally necessary for a new baby :)  But it's something that I've been wanting to try for some time now.  Plus, I thought it would be fun for Will to make and to have something to give his baby brother when he's born.

It was easy to do and fun for Will to draw on the onesies and to drop little droplets of alcohol onto his designs.  I do have to say though, that I'm not sure how pretty sharpie tie dying can ever be!  Maybe someone with years of experience and far superior artistic skills could make it look really cool, but for a fun crafting afternoon, I was happy with our results :)

The steps are quite simple:

1.  Gather your supplies.
- Baby Onesie or Fabric of Choice
- Sharpie Markers
- Rubbing Alcohol (at least 70%)
- An eye dropper, squeeze bottle, or children's medicine dropper
- Cardboard, magazine, or a plastic bag to place beneath the fabric

2.  Draw your design onto your onesie/fabric of choice.  Be sure to first put your cardboard between the two layers of fabric so that the ink won't bleed through.  When drawing, be sure to leave white space around your designs so the ink will have space to bleed.  Also beware of the colors that will bleed into one another so that you will be left with pleasing colors.

3.  Fill the dropper with alcohol and drop the alcohol onto your drawings.  The more alcohol, the more bleeding.

4.  Let the alcohol dry completely and then set the ink with either an iron or in the dryer.  Wait another 24 hours before washing your fabric.

Will wanted to draw a Spiderman design on his (of course!).  I think his drawing is supposed to be some sort of web :)  I actually think it looks pretty awesome.  I tried the lines design, and was pleasantly surprised by the natural circle that resulted from the bleeding.  And lastly, my attempt at making a cool little top, that even has a little sneak preview of what baby boy's name will be! Okay, little man, we're ready for you to come and we hope you'll love your custom-made onesies!

Flying Red Minions

The other day, while Clara was sleeping, William and I decided to give this simple craft a try.  I'd spotted it a while back on Pinterest and I had a feeling that flying minions would be a hit around here . . . and I was right!

For some reason, we were all out of yellow construction paper, but that didn't pose much of a problem because red is Will's favorite color and he wanted his minion to be red anyway!  Perfect.  This project was really fast and easy to do.  It only took about 5 minutes to make and then Will spent the afternoon making his red minion jump and fly all over.  It was especially fun to lift it up and aim it at different things :)  (When making your minion, you just have to be careful with your scissors to make sure your hole doesn't turn into a split/crack up to the top of the cup.)  Anyway, we definitely give this craft a thumbs up!!!

Moon Sand

Have you seen Brookstone's Sand???  My mother-in-law has some and over the Christmas holiday while we were in Utah, William fell in love with the stuff.  It's pretty cool, actually!  It feels just like sand, but it's moldable and doesn't stick to your hands like sand does.  Anyway, since playing with this Sand, Will has been asking to get some.  But, instead of going to the mall and buying some, I decided that we'd make our own!  After looking up different recipes and combinations online, (and because we don't have any regular play sand on hand) I decided Moon Sand was what we'd make.  This Moon Sand has a different consistency than Brookstone's Sand, or any regular play sand; it's a lot softer (because it's used with flour), but is still moldable.

To make Moon Sand, it just takes two ingredients!  Here's the simple recipe:

4 Cups Flour

1 Cup plus 1 Tbsp Baby Oil

After pouring the flour and baby oil into a large container, mix it together until the oil is entirely incorporated and the flour is no longer sticky, but moldable instead.

I put half the mixture on a separate cookie sheet for Will to play with and kept the remainder in a baking dish for Clara (I was hoping the raised edges of the baking dish would keep her from getting too messy.  I was wrong . . . ).  I gave the kids a bunch of different cooking utensils, including some cute little panda and bunny egg molds to play with, and Will also brought his ninja turtle along to snowboard down his Moon Sand hills.

This project was a total success!  Both kids had a fun time playing with it--and it entertained them for over a half hour!  Pretty good, especially for my messy little 21 month old who usually can't sit still, and she only tried to taste it once . . .  or maybe twice :)  My only complaint is that it's super messy!  But, as messy as it is, it's really easy to clean up.  Anything on the table was easily swept back in with the rest and all of the Moon Sand that ended up on the floor vacuumed right up.

Will's Halloween Shirt

Last week, on a whim, William and I decided to make him a quick Halloween shirt for all of this week's festivities. I'm glad we did it--it didn't take long at all, but was a fun project for us to work on together and it ended up really cute! (Or at least we thought so :))

It's definitely not perfect--I'm no artist, and Will helping me with the paint caused a few smudges, but he loves it and has already worn it twice! Plus, it's just a festive shirt that will only be worn during this time of year, so we're embracing its imperfectness and getting into the Halloween spirit!

This shirt was super easy to make. I just drew our pictures onto freezer paper, cut them out (creating stencils) and ironed them onto the front of the shirt (glossy side down). Then we just used acrylic paint to fill in the stencils. So easy. This was actually my first time using acrylic paint on clothes, but so far it seems to be equal to any fabric paint I've used in the past. But just in case, treat it as if you were using fabric paint and make sure to set the paint (after it dries) with an iron and then wait 72 hours to wash it.

Monsters University Window Silhouettes

Last year, sometime around Halloween I pinned this picture:

The source says it's from styelsight.com, but I couldn't get in to that site and don't have another source. Does anyone know where it came from? 

Since we never got around to making any of our own window monsters last year, I thought we should give it a try this year. So, about a month ago I bought some black poster board, but since then, it has just sat on our living room floor. UNTIL . . . this last Sunday when all of a sudden my husband was motivated to make some monsters! He's a good dad. And William was thrilled to say the least. 

The two of them decided to make monsters from Monsters University, so Peter pulled up some images on his computer and started freehand-drawing Terry and Terri, Art, Mike, and Sully. After he sketched them onto the paper, he just cut them out. It's probably a good thing that Peter took charge of this project, since I don't have any artistic/drawing skills whatsoever. And he did an awesome job.

Here's a picture of the cut-outs with Will's little Monsters U guys on top of them :)

A shot from inside the house:

It's so cute, every time Will walks by the windows he says, "Mom, it's like we have Monsters U in our house!" He LOVES them.

And here they are from the outside looking in!

Between these guys and our spooky wreath, our house is starting to feel like it's time for Halloween!