skirt to sundress

I have recently seen so many great re-purposing ideas out there. I found a great tutorial on Make It and Love It for a cute sundress made from a men's dress shirt. After looking at this I decided to try it with a skirt I had. I love the pattern but every time I tried it on I didn't love the fit soooo... it became a sundress.
I cut off a strip from the top to make straps, gathered the top with some elastic, and sewed the straps on. I did not have enough fabric to make the cute flower like on the other one so I just stacked some flowers together, added a button, and then attached it to the dress with a bar pin. (I will post a tutorial on these flowers soon along with the many way that you can use them.)

twirly jean skirt

My little ones each had a few pair of jeans that had holes in the knees. I had been keeping them in my mending pile trying to figure out some way to still use them and then I found a tutorial for this cute little twirly jean skirt while I was blog jogging.

I love the way it turned out and as you can see it is great for twirling.

berry blue umbrella with a chance of pink lemonade

A little while ago we posted homemade play dough. Today we mixed up another batch with Kool-Aid and glitter. It has been a big hit. Instead of adding food coloring in the recipe we added a little 20 cent Kool-Aid packet. My little ones picked Berry Blue and Pink Lemonade. This makes fun colors and adds a fun scent.

foaming hand soap

Everyone once and a while I venture in to Bath and Body Works to get some of their foaming hand soap. I love these soaps but we go through them quickly and they can add up fast when they may not be a necessity in your budget.

I love the foaming soap especially with little ones. No more soggy soap bars and no more sticky liquid soap left all over the sink. When the soap is gone I just refill the container half way up with liquid hand soap( from the big refill jugs), and the other half with water.
Shake it up good to mix it and give it a few pumps. It doesn't smell as good as the original but it sure saves on $$ and messes.

growing up growth chart

Everyday kids are growing a little bigger. Some days it feels like a lot bigger.
This "life size ruler" growth chart is a fun way to track how fast they are growing.


Here is how to make it.

1" x 8" x 6' piece of pine wood -- I found mine at Home Depot pre-cut and ready to use.

Use paint or a wood oil (like linseed) to finish the surface of the wood.

Use paint, a sharpie marker, or a vinyl sticker to create the look of a large ruler.
A vinyl sticker makes the project a little easier and is available in our store. 
To apply the sticker:   Without removing the backing, tape the entire sticker into place with masking tape.  Pull back the bottom 12 inches and remove the backing.  Press this part of the sticker back down into place.  Now that it it secure, pull back the rest of the sticker, remove sections of the backing and press into place.  Be sure that the markings are staying aligned with the edge of the board.  When all the vinyl is in place, press on the markings to ensure that they will stick and then remove the top masking.

Start the lettering at zero if you want to just leave it standing on the floor. If you want to hang it on the wall, figure out how far up you want it.(ie. 6 inches from the floor) and start with that mark.

The fun part: Measure and mark kids heights.

Start a fun birthday tradition of measuring and marking the growth chart.

Many families already have a growth chart marked on a wall or door somewhere. Transferring that information to a board like this, protects it from the inevitable renovation or move.

I didn't start on this project until most of my kids were older. I used school and medical records to mark their heights from the past so we could compare everyone's as they grow.