Archive for June 2010
Congrats Amber Wiggins !
Thanks for participating in our Summer Reading Challenge! I hope you enjoy Alphabet Crafts and have discovered some cool new books during the challenge.
It’s not too late to jump into our challenge is you missed the first 2 weeks. Here are the details. The prizes aren’t big but the benefits are huge.
My husband doesn’t often read my blog , so hopefully these next few weeks are too busy at work and he skips this post since I hope to surprise him with this on Father’s Day. I wanted to make him something he could carry with him, but not be embarrassed to, or look unprofessional. This little key chain is well, little and won’t clutter up his office.
- Gather your materials. You will need, your child’s footprint, shrinky dinks, a colored pencil, a key chain , hole punch, scissors , some card stock, double sided tape, and a pen or marker.
- Start by tracing your child’s foot on the shrinky dink plastic . As you can see I am tracing my child’s footprint which he did at school for a tee-shirt. I wanted the whole thing to be a surprise so I did this while they were out together at a baseball game. My 3 year old has loose lips lately.
- Cut out the foot and punch a hole in it. You may want to make the hole a little bigger than a plain hole punch size, I had to carefully strtch ours when the shrinky dink was still hot to make our key chain fit.
- Shrink! Follow the directions on the shrinky dink package carefully.
- While it’s cooling write out a poem like the one below on the card stock, back it with some fun paper, tape the two together.
- Punch a hole and thread the key chain through both.
The Poem
My Footprint is small but getting bigger everyday,
I am learning how to be big by watching you work, love and play.
Remember when your days are long and you can’t walk another mile,
That this little footprint makes it all worthwhile.
Time to get in your forms. List all the books you have read ( at least 10!) with your child this week , fill in this form and you will be entered to win a copy of my eBook Alphabet Crafts as well as get an entry for the end of summer Amazon.com gift card giveaway. To be included in this week’s contest you need to fill the form out before 12am on Monday June 7th PDT.
Need more info? Check out the details.
A few days ago I tweeted that I wondered if anyone would want to see a spotlight of all the Etsy.com shops and items that I have used to decorate my baby girl’s nursery. Within moments I had many many replies asking for it so by request the Sunday Spotlight this week are all the shops that have contributed . I should say upfront nothing showcased was given to me to review, I bought everything I am showcasing.
Here is the main themed wall, although we aren’t heavy in a bird theme a lot of the accessories are birds and butterflies, most notably this vinyl tree and bird decal from Styley Walls The room was already tan ( it has been a guestroom and a playroom previously) and I had no desire to repaint. Instead this tree would make it all more feminine.
More birds are on this awesome alphabet print with each letter is in an adorable birdhouse .This was a standard listing from Wall Candy that they happily made into a larger size. I am in love with this and everything else in their shop.
This butterfly mobile from Liv’s Lullaby was a last minute addition, I wanted something light and airy and not pink. This was perfect and I love that it spirals down in size.
This book nook is dominated by my great great grandmother’s rocking chair , to think about how many generations of our family have been nursed in it makes me smile. Obviously it wasn’t bought on Etsy but the pillow comes from Stitch Bandit It was just the splash of chocolate and pink the book nook needed.
Not to be forgotten are these awesome teethers from Little Alouette. I actually won the heart one at a conference and bought the birdy one to match the theme. I can’t wait to see if my daughter loves them as much as I do.
This magnetic frame from Shabby Vintage Mom is a great place for pictures , I love how delicate it is , girly without screaming princess! I didn’t want to open the package when it came it was wrapped so nicely.
Other Non Etsy:
Crib: Ikea- HensvikCrib Sheet: Pottery Barn Kids
Changing Table: Pottery Barn Kids ( discontinued)
Baskets and Liners : Pottery Barn Kids
Lamp: Ikea
Curtains: Ikea ( discontinued)
Paint Color : Benjamin Moore Arizona Tan
The warmer weather seems to have finally arrived. For our family that means more trips: visiting family, off for vacation or just out for a weekend drive. Below are a few books to share with your kids to get them in the trip frame of mind.
The Van (Green Light Readers Level 1)
Written / illustrated by Holly Keller
Published by Harcourt
Green Light Reader, level 1 (getting ready to read)
Sam has a van. Pam, Max, Dan and Max join Sam for an afternoon ride but there’s a problem. Not to worry Pam has a solution and the friends are off. The story is simple with limited, single syllable words, making it ideal for beginning readers. The story is about the simple tale of friends trying to head out in their van, nothing more, but that makes it a great story for discussion. Why couldn’t they get the van to go? where are the friends going? where would you like to go with your friends? The back of the book has a few question suggestions and some prediction activities.
A Trip with Grandma
Written / illustrated by Ruth Ohi
published by Annick Press
Picture book, Age 3-6
Sprout loves his grandma, but when grandma offered to take him and his big sister, Clara, on a road trip, overnight, Sprout became very nervous. He had never been away from his mom and dad before. The day arrived for Sprout, Clara and grandma to head out. They stopped often to call mom and dad to tell them what they were up to on the trip. After a night in the hotel, dancing chickens and gazing at large trees, the three travelers head home. But Sprout didn’t feel the need to stop and call mom and dad about everything they did. This is a great story for kids spending time away from mom and dad for the first time, either on a day trip or a sleepover at grandma’s house. Ruth Ohi (author of the Chicken, Pig, Cow books which I had the chance to review http://cabadov.wordpress.com/2009/09/30/warw-chicken-pig-cow-on-the-move/) really understands kids. She shows how Sprout gradually relaxes on the trip through the phone calls grandma offers in the disguise of keeping mom and dad up to date.
Duck, Duck, Moose
Written / illustrated by Dave Horowitz
Published by Penguin
Picture book, Age 4-8
Duck and The Other Duck are heading south for the winter. Moose, feeling he’ll be lonely, decides to join them. They drive from New Hampshire all the way to Florida. Once there they keep themselves busy with the beach and fishing and the occasional pancake, until it’s time to head back home. Moose reluctantly leaves but he finds a way to keep the memory of his trip alive. Dave Horowitz does a great job with the illustrations showing the friends driving through the different states and the fun they have at their final destination. We do the drive to Florida in the summer so my kids could really relate to this road trip story. The illustrations fill the pages; even the text is used graphically throughout. This is just a great journey story.
Picturescape
Written / illustrated by Elisa Gutierrez
Published by Simply Read Books
Picture book, Age 3-8
A young boy makes a class trip to the art gallery. But the real journey occurs when he’s transported by his imagination into the variety of paintings on display. I’m not a big fan of wordless books. I know they have their purpose but I could never get into them; I’m more a written word type. But Elisa Gutierrez’s book had a completely different affect on me. The images are very muted like a lot of the great Canadian artists’ works (Emily Carr, Tom Thompson, The Group of Seven). The journey aspect is the boys journey through the variety of picture landscapes. This is a great way to introduce the notion of traveling with your imagination. The boy in the story visited farm fields, lakes and mountains without leaving where he lives. Not all journey’s have to be physical.
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Carrie Anne is a contributing writer on No Time For Flash Cards , she is a mom of 3 , Managing editor of EverythingMom.com and an avid reader. You can catch up with her on her blog Another Day. Another Thought…Or Two
