Activities With Children

::::Here is how I fixed the tag issue on my Carter’s clothing::::
Muslin+thread+ fabric marker = this

Yesterday was exactly one month till my *due date*. Forgive me for constantly talking about how I can’t believe it. When I say to Zach ( as I hold up a newborn onesie)
“Can you believe we are going to have someone in the house this small?” he says “Yes, I know”. I guess he too is scared and excited.. but doesn’t vocalize it as much. I’ve read sometimes men don’t bond with the baby till they are born. Whereas I bonded I think before the first kick- at the first sonogram. I think he’ll be a great father, he loves playing with toys for starters!

In the craft world- there is someone whose work is so beautiful and inspiring. I regularly read her blog and look at her shop with yearning. With two little ones- she finds the time to make gorgeous quilted goodness. She’s having a giveaway- where by linking here it adds me to become a possible JCASA quilt winner! The fabrics she uses are so crisp and pretty. I can only hope one day I’ll learn to quilt with such skill! One of my favorites from her new quilt is the tiny pink clothesline fabric- who thinks of this adorable stuff?! I think my favorite colors would be a brown, green and maybe orange together.(thinking fall) I wonder if that could work? Maybe yellow?

Last weekend I mentioned going thrifting and getting some sheets::::


::3 Full- Size Flat Sheets:: One day I hope to make a skirt and maybe a tote and something for Hazel and pillows and, and, and….

We also found this Sesame Street Twin sheet set:::

This is one of the little crafts I made a few years back. It is a Styrofoam cone- covered in fabric and then decorated to look like a holiday tree. I used some tape measure for the bottom trim. I’ll be posting a tutorial in the next week or so, along with a scrap garland tutorial. They’re both very easy- but I am a visual learner- maybe you are too.

I felt like I needed to take this silly photo- just to have..

:::A little project I started this past week::::

Happy Halloween all you Tricksters~

Maybe next year Hazel can sport this little costume, by Beckaboo!
She has a great shop
full of monsters!

:::I hope you have plans for a wonderful candy coma or a silly costume party or maybe just a horror fest on the couch with your special someone- either way enjoy the moment!

On a scale from one to ten this craft is a solid three in terms of difficulty. Meaning if you have a preschooler like I do, he or she will have very little difficulty making these homemade trees.

Sergey wrote up this neat instructable on making a simple puzzle from paperclips -

As a kid growing in Soviet Russia before Perestroika began, there were not that many toys, games and crafts available to you.

This puzzle is an example of the game that we were making using simple tools from father’s toolbox and regular paper clips (bureaucracy provided infinite supply of paper-clips so they were quite easy to get)

As the author mentions, fun projects like this can definitely help one to think outside the box. One of the commenters mentions making a bigger version out of wire coat hangers - good idea! - Puzzle made of paper-clips

More:

Paperclip art

HOW TO - Make a homade puzzle, or “Why I love my jigsaw”

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Digg this!

I know, how original a title. Even though I work from home, I like the weekends. This week has been blah for my tummy. I just haven’t been inspired enough or had enough energy to do too much.

I’ve been knitting and finished my first super- soft baby blanket or lap blankie. After using 3 skeins each, I still ran out. So there is a funky stripe at the end in a soft angel hair in orange & tan- but I’m pleased with it.

(Before the stripe was added)

Yesterday, Jasper and I watched from our kitchen window as two little stray, black kittens ate a plate of food. They can’t be more than 3 months- totally black. I think there are 4 or 5 in total with a mom. The whole complex gives them food, because it does take a village to raise kittens.

Last night as we listened to Barack Obama’s speech I stitched the curtains for the changing table. Well I got through the 2 side panels. The two front are pinned- but I need to cut & stitch them up. The bright yellow matches perfectly with a stripey rug we picked up at Ikea on sale awhile back. So I guess yellows & oranges are in our sleeping future!

Speaking of an Ikea future, I think we’ll try to make a trek there tonight to get the crib and a few extra little things, like lampshades for the bedroom night stand lamps. I hate to get rid of something that works just for an aesthetic reason. So I thought getting matching lampshades would tie our un-matchy lamps together- yet we don’t need to buy new lamps.

Today I am determined to make applesauce. I have a big Pyrex bowl full or organic apples- waiting patiently. I also have a basil plant that has been getting kinda agitated by the heat, so I have that sitting on a chair in the kitchen. Seems it is time for a big batch of pesto ( without the pine nuts). Maybe I’ll add a little bit of almond meal.
Here are a couple of new items soon to be
available here

The pin cushion is made from a recycled cashmere sweater. It had a bunch of holes, but I managed to salvage enough for this. Blondie, you may have seen before. I’m happy with how her little blonde highlights came out. Lastly, the coffee cuff. Inspired by project runway- it has soft fleece with scissors,tape measures, needles & other sewing finery along with a patch of colorful safety pins and a vintage piece of measuring tape.

For inspiration I’ve been reading through archives,
here. After listening to this podcast I was so delighted to hear a story I could relate to. So I’ve been enjoying her entries and the adorable photos of kids & crafts.

Another bit of inspiration was found in this issue of Hallmark Magazine.

A woman tells her story about becoming more aware of the environment,what her & her family eat and the overall quality of life. My favorite quote of hers is
“It’s the beautiful, messy wild life experience that I want to give my children.” -Rebecca Barry

To that I say Hell Yeah! Have a great weekend- experiencing your own

messy, thrilling life.
xo

Sunday Night Tomato Sauce, originally uploaded by hobocampcrafts.

Yesterday’s plan was to do some laundry& screenprint Snuggle Bunny all while visiting my parent’s house. We visited ( I even ate some dark chocolate w/ a pretzel stick), we did our laundry ( a ton of little girl’s hand me down adorableness)- we even screenprinted 3 shirts, till our screen kinda went kaput! So we’re working on getting another S.B. along with a different design.

A stop to the market and we were back home. I made some delicious tomato sauce for dinner. It is a great thrill using your own herbs, I can only imagine if they were my tomatoes as well. I was able to freeze 3 containers for later use- which is what it is really all about, right?

Stomach issues still happening- wondering could it be soy? I have no idea!

This week there will be new coffee cuffs & onesies in the shop- I’m trying to crank up the creativity. I also have 2 dresses to photograph, and a few other kids & ladies pieces. We haven’t done any shows this whole season, so we have one planned in September at some point and I’d love to have enough product. Plus as I get bigger & bigger, who knows how much sewing my stomach will tolerate! I need to stock up!
Keeping with my constant theme of ” always the last to know”, I’ve decided to share with you my new cute music fave.
Her name is Andrea Simms-Karp,
Meet her here! From what I gather, she plays banjo & guitar and possibly more. She has a really upbeat, folky tone - kinda reminds me of The Be Good Tanyas, who I also adore. I only just downloaded 3 songs to check her out, but really like them already.

Zach also found on iTunes, the Target commercial song, where the two girls are dance/battling while decorating their sides of the dorm. I’m ridiculously all over the place with music and a sucker for fun commercial music. Just WAIT till the holiday commercials start!

Well have a great Monday!
xo
M

esme front page! YAY, originally uploaded by hobocampcrafts.

Just when you think the same shops are on the front of Etsy, you see your own shop and are totally floored! Yay! My little Esme doll made the front yesterday.

Along with that I am nearing my 300th Sale! The 300th Sale gets a free gift!

So be sure to check out the Shoppe for new pincushions, coffee cuffs and other wonders. Going through my inventory, I realized I have a bunch of items that were created and then not listed- so I’ll be listing them as well.

In the mail yesterday I received the most adorable & thoughtful gift.
Vanessa of
QueenVanna Fame sent me the most adorable wooden picture frame, with what might be my most favorite design ever. It has these gorgeous little animals kitties, giraffes,lions, walrus,raccoons etc. with their names in glitter. Basically the cutest frame EVER! This is perfect for baby’s first photo- and will fit in perfectly with our baby nook.

Queen Vanna, has such lovely things in her shop. I was first drawn to the adorable clothespins she creates. She finds the coolest paper to work with and has picture frames, wooden-block perpetual calendars, buttons and a bunch of other things- you’ll love. So check her out!
QueenVanna . I’ll be posting a pic on Flickr, once the sun comes up, for those interested!

Have a Happy Friday!
xo
M

hobocamp logo, originally uploaded by hobocampcrafts.

So We’ve redone the bloggie! Zach designed some cutie headers, which I had never had till now. I changed the font size & color up a bit. I even went through some of my first flickr posts to find our old school illustration of Camp Hobocamp. I love this little drawing Zach did.

So due to stomach issue I missed PR Wednesday night, luckily they replay that bad boy like ten times. So I am catching the 1:30am airing. All I can say is Melissa doesn’t care too much for Suede.

Well more tomorrow- hope you like the new look.
xo
M

Riot = Not Quiet, originally uploaded by hobocampcrafts.

I bought this patch like a million years ago from Sticker Sisters way back in high school. I was really happy to see that they are still around and just as cool as I remembered. I hope I can get pencils that say “Girls Can Do Anything” for my little girl. I still have mine, they’re sparkly & silver with hot pink font. Very cool. very special. Now the patch adorns a onesie I hope our baby girl can wear.

My parents came over for a little visit. We gave them all our milk products, since we’ve both been having issues. They brought us some delicious dinner rolls we’ll enjoy with our carrots, mashed potatoes & chik’n dinner tonight. Along with a big ol’ bag of baking soda- to clean with.
I’ve changed my Prenatal pill and I think it may have helped and may have even been my stomach culprit.

I finished 3 cute pin cushions yesterday and appliqued some recycled little girl clothes for the baby. Just freshing or refreshing them up w/ a dab of Melissa/Hobocamp.

Mom also brought along brown sugar, so I can make Zach’s Mother’s Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Tonight is Project Runway night, so we’ll yum up our dinner and get nestled on the couch to veg. This is where I get my knit-time in.

Well have a great time whatever you’re doing! xo
M

Keeps Me Moving Forward, originally uploaded by hobocampcrafts.

A little bit of the things I adore on this lovely Wednesday
xo