Felt Penguin Dress-Up Busy Bag

A few weeks ago I was talking to my sister about how to keep the kids occupied when you are trying to get something accomplished that requires a little more concentration and brain power- like taxes. One thing that I like to do is to keep certain toys and activities out of reach so that they have that novelty factor when I do pull them out. It can be puzzles, play-doh, or a box of toys with tiny pieces that I do not like cleaning up. Sometimes I also look for busy bag ideas on Pinterest. I found a cute felt penguin idea HERE so I decided to make my own. Of course, I over-achieved a little bit and made the accessories more detailed. All it took was some felt scraps, hot glue, and a few googly eyes.

It is fun to mix and match, but it can also be used for color sorting.

Everything fit inside a regular sandwich bag, so I just keep it in a drawer to pull out on special occasions when I need a few minutes.

If you want to pin this one to save it for later...

If you are super ambitious, I have lots of quiet books I have made that you can see HERE.

If you are looking for some easier ideas, try these...

DIY Doll Bunk Beds

For Christmas 2014 I got my husband to build our daughter bunk beds for her American girl dolls. Of course, it was finished just before Christmas, and I was sneaking down to the basement for a few minutes at a time to paint them red, her favorite color. I was so surprised that I was able to pull it off! (I also had a gigantic trapping basket in the tub hidden behind the shower curtain that day! I am pretty sure I inherited a gene for last-minute-homemade-gift-making.)

To build the beds, I found free plans from Ana White (available HERE). My husband did find a small error in the directions and it is important to note that these beds are not made to withstand children climbing on them. Not that ours would do that...

The other part to this gift was that I took her fabric shopping to choose fabric for the bedding. It was a painful experience. I did a post on the sampler quilts HERE. They took forever.

It fits the dolls nicely and it coordinates really well with their bedroom. (You can see the collage wall and free printables HERE).

Of course, with five girls in this house, you can bet that one doll bed is not enough! I will be posting about that one soon!

Link Parties where I sometimes hang out…

Sew Can Do, Motivate Me Monday, Inspiration Monday, Take a Look Tuesday, Naptime Creations, The Gathering Spot, Carolyn’s Homework, Your Whims Wednesday, ,Create It Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Wildly Original, Thriving on Thursday, Grace at Home, The 36th Party, Freedom Fridays, Simple and Sweet Fridays, Craft Frenzy Friday, and Threading Your Way

Fleece Kittens

I finished something!!! YAY!!!!!

Pretty sure that kitten is cheering for me here!

I am really on a roll lately! (Pats self on back.) To be fair, I am finishing up all of the things that were *this* close to being done. You can see my Finish-A-Long list HERE.

These fleece kittens were supposed to be party favors for my daughters second birthday party last August. There were too many kids coming and not enough time to finish the kittens. So, they sat around in various stages of production in this basket for the past 6 months.

They are done now, but I am not sure what I am going to do with them.

I adapted a free bunny pattern from ikatbag found HERE. Some of them came out a little wonky, but they are still cute.

And, we have real kittens that kinda' match them!:)

Yeah, those kittens are cuter. :)

Link Parties where I sometimes hang out...

Sew Can Do, Motivate Me Monday, Inspiration Monday, Take a Look Tuesday, Naptime Creations, The Gathering Spot, Carolyn's Homework, Your Whims Wednesday, ,Create It Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Wildly Original, Thriving on Thursday, Grace at Home, The 36th Party, Freedom Fridays, Simple and Sweet Fridays, Craft Frenzy Friday, and Threading Your Way

Mommy Pig and Piglets

I am really serious about finishing up all of those projects that I blogged about! Right away, I finished that big mommy pig. It just needed more stuffing, a small repair, and a nose. I bought the pattern about 5 or 6 years ago from ikatbag HERE.

Part of the reason that I procrastinated so long on this one was because I wasn't too thrilled about how it was turning out. When I started it, I wanted to do it right that minute. I was trying to make do with the fabrics I had instead of fleece, which the pattern called for. Frustrated, the project I was so anxious to start was unfinished for a very long time. About 6 months later, I found the pink fleece I had bought years ago when I bought the pattern. I would highly recommend using fleece instead of a woven.

Besides the cute, curly tail...

...this pig has some other fun features.

Yes, this mommy pig has a little zipper compartment that holds 6 piglets!  I used scraps of quilting cottons to make the assorted piglets. One is even a runt. Now, these piglets were made about a year and a half ago, so they have been well loved and played with while waiting for their mommy. It was sad, really.

I was so glad to have this one finished, and glad to make a little girl and six piglets very happy.

This is the first finish I have checked off of my list of goals for the second quarter of the finish-a-long.  You can see my goals for this quarter HERE if you want to feel better about your list of incomplete projects. :)

Link Parties where I sometimes hang out...

Sew Can Do, Motivate Me Monday, Inspiration Monday, Take a Look Tuesday, Naptime Creations, The Gathering Spot, Carolyn's Homework, Your Whims Wednesday, ,Create It Thursday, Thursday Favorite Things, Wildly Original, Thriving on Thursday, Grace at Home, The 36th Party, Freedom Fridays, Simple and Sweet Fridays, Craft Frenzy Friday, and Threading Your Way

Furreal Friends Monkey Diapers and Pillowcase Top

My daughter got this adorable Furreal Friends monkey for Christmas. It really is super cute, even if the nose ripped in the first day or two. (She also got a dog two years ago and it broke in the first few days. If these things weren't so cute that she still loves them immensely I would stop buying them due to the poor quality). There was also another problem. The bottom holds the batteries and there is a furry flap to cover it, but there is nothing to keep that flap in place other than the cheap disposable, plastic diaper that it came with. Those tabs had ripped long ago and she kept taping it back together.

Well, just before Easter I was in a mood and didn't feel like sewing the Easter dresses. So, when all of the girls fell asleep early and the boys were out fishing on Good Friday night, I had some peace and quiet(ish) with my sewing machine. Sewing is my therapy. But I wanted to make something that was easy and could be completed in one sitting. I have too many unfinished projects.

I originally had a doll diaper pattern that I thought would work, but after I had made two of them, I tried them on the monkey only to find out they were too small. So, I started over and drafted my own pattern.

I even pulled out some of my "good" fabrics for this because I want to stop hoarding so much. The insides of the diapers are made of flannel remnants I got for super cheap at Joann's.

Then, while I was at it, I made a little pillowcase top to match one of the diapers. I didn't finish the inside seams or anything. It was just a quick project because I was just starting to get my sewing groove back.

I tucked these in her Easter basket and she loves them! Sometimes it is nice to do a quick and easy project like this.