Table Hammock

I first saw this idea a while back and thought one day I’d make something like it for my boys. It’s from Emily’s Joyful Abode and can be found here.

Photo courtesy of Joyful Abode

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So last night I made one. I had a lot of scuba fabric I hadn’t used yet that I had bought from Spotlight and I thought that it’d be the perfect material for a hammock (I didn’t have a blanket long enough to be able to wrap around our dining table).

So I wrapped the scuba fabric around my table and cut it up to size and sewed the ends. Once I sewed it up, it was way too big so I adjusted it by cutting the excess fabric (I had another idea for that extra part).

Here it is!

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And here is my little guy this morning.

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The hammock will be soothing for him, relax and increase his concentration. “The motion of swinging restores balance to the vestibular system, provides proprioceptive input (deep pressure) and generally helps autistic-spectrum children feel more “in balance”. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2123345

As for the excess cut-off, I sewed up the sides length ways and made a tube out of it.

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The stretch of the scuba fabric will give resistance that’ll help my little one’s sensory processing needs through deep calming pressure, heavy work and proprioceptive input (help him keep track of his joint position in his body). It’ll help him develop spatial and body awareness, muscle strength, motor planning and creativity.

These tools hopefully will help him self calm and provide the necessary sensory input he needs for a more balanced day 🙂

Please note, I made the hammock and stretchy tube to help with my little boy’s sensory processing needs with the advice from our occupational therapist.

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Teachers’ Gifts 2015

Here are the gifts I gave my boys’ school teachers this year. You can find previous years’ here (2014) and here (2013).

This is “Sally the Deer” made using my own pattern.

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Rose wrist Pincushion made using a pattern by Michelle Patterns

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Felt Sorbet Pincushion made using a pattern by Umecrafts

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School Uniform Tissue Holders made using a pattern by Sewn Ideas Patterns

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Mirror backed Keychain with lovely quote made using my badge maker and felt gift box made using a pattern by Curbly.

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And finally 3 cute little pouches like these ones (without the bow) – I forgot to take a picture of it before wrapping them up.

Clutch (and bow) were made from patterns by Michelle Patterns

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And for Christmas Favours for their classmates, I made these cute little gift boxes with Smarties in them and a little “glad you were in my class” message – inspired by this Tic-Tac Gift Card idea.

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And that everybody, are my last scheduled arts and crafts creations for the year. I’m spent!

Happy Monday + My Teeny-Tiny Tooth Fairy Doll®

Hello people! It feels like I’ve been away for so long. My last Facebook post was on Friday when I re-arranged my work station and moved the computer from one desk to another.

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Well I’ve sorted that but now working on the other mess that I moved around from room to room LOL! Amazing how tidy and organised you get when an apartment inspection is due 🙂

So nothing much has been happening in front of the scene, but behind I’ve been busy with a few other things and just in the last day, I’ve given myself a little personal project – I’ll let you know soon how that goes.

I’ve been busy making custom requests, so remember, if you see a My Teeny-Tiny Doll® you like and want it customised, let me know and I can see what I can do for you. As the days get closer to Christmas, lead in time for sewing custom is getting smaller so don’t leave it too late.

On Friday, my youngest (6 y.o.) lost his first tooth in the morning and then lost the second tooth later that afternoon.

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The 2 had been wobbly for a while and there were already two teeth that had grown behind it – it was the same for my older boy (now 8y.o.). They like to take their time 🙂

Speaking of wobbly teeth, I had another custom request for a My Teeny-Tiny Tooth Fairy Doll®. The mum’s little girl has shown signs of a wobbly tooth and she’s chosen hair colour and style like her little one as well as the skin tone.

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Ain’t she pretty!

That’s all from me for today, so wishing you a very happy Monday.

Minecraft Torch

Who loves ya baby? Me! For my Minecraft loving boy, this craft posted on Be A Fun Mum’s Facebook page on how to make a Minecraft Torch – link here – it was a quick an easy project that I knew my 7 y.o. Josh would appreciate.

Photo courtesy of Be a Fun Mum

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I printed it off on printer paper and laminated it for durability as per instructions and used one of the flicker candles I had bought from IKEA a while back. And the result …

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One happy little boy 🙂 And here he is with his Steve’s head I made for his school Halloween disco.

“School is fun!”

I just woke up from my nap (it seems I do quite a lot of napping here at CYSN). I couldn’t sleep last night due to the anticipation of my youngest starting Kindy today. I didn’t want to go to bed and not be able to sleep, full of anxiety on thoughts of how today would go. So Hubby stayed up with me and we played “Who Wants to be a Millionaire” app until I was sleepy enough – I did still wake up in the middle of the night though.

I cried my eyes out this morning after I said goodbye to him, comforted by Hubby and my older son ❤ I managed to take only one picture of him before the battery died on my camera and was thankful it was a great shot.

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We are transitioning him into school by having shorter days these next 2 days. Hubby was to be on standby incase the school called if he was too distressed. He didn’t get any calls and my heart eased a bit more as the morning progressed. Hubby was told that Zach was giving high-5s to the staff during the school tour and was in good spirit.

When he was picked up after a few hours, Hubby told me he was eating his morning tea with his classmates (that was a bit of a worry too whether he was going to have anything to eat at all), so that was great! These pictures were captured by his teacher who let me know that Zach had a great morning and eased into his activities without any distress.

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He came home to me with the biggest smile and said “School is fun!” My heart eased and knew what I knew in my heart of hearts … that he will be Okay!

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I guess the anxiety had built up for over a year and a half when we decided to delay him starting Kindy, but glad we did as I believe he wouldn’t have handled it as well if we started last year. After knowing the great day that was had, Hubby and I looked at each other and smiled. We tried to nap on the couch before picking up our older boy and realised how tiring it is to be worrying parents.

Whatever the next few days, term or year bring for my little one, I will remember this day and think he will be Okay! He is my different kind of wonderful little man and am happy that I am his mother that worries about him ❤

 

Christmas gifts for school friends and teachers

I made a few things this year for the boys’ school friends and teachers.

For Zach’s preschool and daycare teachers and his OT, I’ve made them each cute little make-up bags, which totals to 13 make-up bags (the ones below as well as in different prints)

These are made from Michelle Patterns

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For Josh’s school friends as well as other teachers who’d taught him along the year, I took a picture of him in a red t-shirt and asked him to stand in front of our Christmas tree fabric. Then I used picmonkey to erase the graphic that was on his tee and replaced it with the “Merry Christmas 2014” text, as well as added the Santa hat and rosy cheeks.

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I placed 4 copies on a single word document and had it printed at a printers (to save my own ink at home), bought candy canes and cut out 2 slots near his hand and inserted a candy cane in each card so it looks 3D

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And finally, I made his Year 1 teacher a Christmas stocking, which I thought turned out pretty good (yes, I do surprise myself sometimes)

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I chose a nice font from picmonkey, printed it out and cut each small letter on felt and glued and sewed each of them on the fleece part of the stockings. I also cut and sewed Ms Goode’s first name on the other side, so she can either use it in class or at home.

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Josh’s original Year 1 teacher went on maternity leave in August and this is what I gave her for a teacher and baby shower’s gifts – blogged about here

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Tomorrow is Josh’s last day of Year 1 … where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday that I took this photo of his first day of Year 1 (left) with his last day of Kindy 2013 (right)

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Then on Friday is Zach’s last day of daycare and then starting Kindy next year … aaarggghhhh! Happy and anxious time for me! 2 boys in big school!

Book Week Parade 2014 – Master Yoda

Book Week Parade has come and gone for another year, and it was a success.

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Joshua wanted to go as Yoda as he already had the Jedi Knight costume, as well as a sample Yoda hat I had made a few years back. I thought “Hooray!” I don’t have to make the costume this year.

So as the day approached and looking at Pinterest for make-up/face paint ideas, I had seen that Yoda’s cloak is in a lighter colour and that he was wearing brown underneath. The perfectionist in me had mentioned this to Josh and told him, if I had time, I’d make the costume in the right colour way … was I nuts!?

Well, I did have some spare time yesterday and the right amount of fabric, so off I sewed the day away.

I finished it just in time for school pick-up and Josh was very excited to discover the costume in the cupboard as he was changing from his school uniform. The BIG SMILE was enough for me!

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Today was the big day. I had purchased face paint by Global Colours in green …

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… and got up a bit earlier.

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And Master Yoda is ready.

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The school had a Father’s Day breakfast this morning, so off he went with his Dad … and success!

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Josh’s 7th Birthday Star Wars Themed Party

So Josh wanted to have a Star Wars themed party for his 7th birthday. He already had his Jedi costume from the outfit I made him back in May.

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So we started making plans and I suggested maybe he can have a Jedi training party and his friends can be Jedis too. I got a lot of inspiration from Pinterest and collected a few ideas.

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First, I used picmonkey to make the invitation

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Then, I wanted to make Jedi cloaks for all his friends … was I nuts

I made 15 in total with sizes ranging from size 18 months to a 13 y.o. To make things a bit easier for me, the cloaks are hooded long capes only (I omitted the sleeves – or else it would have taken forever to make)

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To make these, I used the hood pattern from Everyday Princess Collection Hooded Capelet by Made for Mermaids and used the child measurements from here. For the cape, I just made a rectangular piece: for the length, I took the Shoulder to Ground measurement minus 3″ and the width of the cape I used the hip measurement on the chart.

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Then for the light sabers, hubby and I first thought maybe we could just buy the toy version from the shop, but for 15 that would’ve cost a bit. We then checked out party supplies and there was a version cheaper but thought against it because, just imagined the kids having sword fights with them and then snapping and breaking in the first second. Really wasn’t up for littlies upset with broken light sabers.

So with all the great ideas on Pinterest, we went out and bought pool noodles (green and blue ones from Clark Rubber). The guys at the Haberfield store were lovely enough to cut each in half so we didn’t have to do it. We also bought silver duct tape and black electrical tape from there to make the handles, so it was a one stop shop.

So while watching telly one night, I finished 16 green and blue light sabers.

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After these big items were finished, I then concentrated on some handmade labels to customise some of the party food label. I downloaded a free Star Wars font and was able to use it on picmonkey.

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Again, to make things easier for myself, I printed these on adhesive paper that I could just cut out and not worry having to use glue or sticky tape. You can buy full A4 adhesive sheet from your local office supply store.

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Now I’m not a baker and just used store bought birthday cake and cupcakes, but wanted to add Star Wars cupcake toppers to them and I found this free printable from Skip to My Lou.

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I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut up each cupcake cardstock printed topper and I added a few “Joshua” toppers to customise some of them.

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And finally, no Jedi Training Academy is complete without Jedi Knight Certificates.

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The Jedi certificate is from Star Wars Party Ideas which has lots of “ideas” to create your own Star Wars party. I used the Libby Grove Design and edited on picmonkey using Josh’s information. Each of his friends received a certificate at the end of the party all signed by Josh.

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I’m just waiting on permission from the parents of some of the children in the party to post their pictures here, so will save the party pics on the next blog.

Zachy’s Bird

I use a utensil holder for my scissors and there is a little bird on top of it.

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He’s loving birds at the moment and “tweet, tweets” everytime he sees one. Problem is, he tries to climb my cutting table to touch the little bird on top of the scissors holder.

So I thought, I’d better make him one. I bought a felt bird plush pattern from typing with tea and quickly made one for Zachy.

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I think he loves it!

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Have a great day all!

Cool Yule, Darling Harbour

We made a quick dash to Darling Harbour tonight to see some of the attractions of the Cool Yule, winter celebrations, while it wasn’t so busy.

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The boys under the Let It Glow, giant snowflake.

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Slid down the Thredbo Snow Slide

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And finally, a walk through the Frozen Forest … .

… with Josh “ooing” and “aah-ing”.

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Ending with a wrestle in the snow!

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Next visit, we have to go on the Winter Festival Ice Rink, Lindt Lindor Snow Balls, let the boys go on the Cool Yule Snow Pit and finally watch the Frosty Fireworks. Great to live in the city of Sydney!