A Dupatta Is ... - a New Picture Book that Teaches about Culture

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Today I get to share a new multicultural picture book. It is actually being released tomorrow! This book shares about a cultural view of a dupatta. A dupatta is the long shawl like scarf Middle Eastern women wear often over their heads and/or shoulders. It is part of the national dress of Pakistan and is worn today by people of India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. The book is A Dupatta Is ... by Marzieh Abbas and illustrated by Anu Chouhan. It is recommended for ages 3 to 6.

Learning about Diana Vreeland with a New Picture Book

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I always love learning about new women who made a difference in the world. Today I am sharing a new picture book (just released this week) about Diana Vreeland. Do you know about Diana Vreeland? I hadn't until I read this book. Diana Vreeland was a fashion diva. She was a fashion editor for Harper's Bazaar where she had her own advice column for the modern woman and then was the editor in chief at Vogue. Then she was a special consultant to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Fine Arts. She was known for being eccentric and on the edge of fashion. To help kids learn about her, Violet Velvet Mittens with Everything: The Fabulous Life of Diana Vreeland by Deborah Blumenthal and illustrated by Rachel Katstaller is now available. It is recommended for ages four to eight.

Mending with Love for Earth Day!

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Earth Day is this week. How are you celebrating? I have been sharing books that are great to use with kids for a few weeks now. Today I am going to share a craft book that is perfect for Earth Day. This book is all about making things with rips and stains usable again. The book is Mending with Love: Creative Repairs for Your Favorite Things by Noriko Misumi. 

Sewing Books for National Craft Month

Disclosure: I was sent copies of these books in return for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. The links are affiliate links where I will receive a small percentage of any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Crafty Moms Share!

I am continuing with my craft books reviews. Today we are focusing on sewing. I have three books that include home decor, clothes, and doll clothes. I know I have plans to do some more sewing now that I am stuck at home. We will start with home decor. 

Fabric Fun! Natural Dye and Tie Die -- Crafty Weekends Fun and Link Party

This week we have been having fun with fabric and dye. Back in 2012, we experimented with sun dyeing wool yarn with various natural items. However Hazel really does not remember any of it and she inherited my wool allergy, so we never did anything with the yarn. I thought it would be fun to dye some cotton fabric and let her try it again. I also bought a tye die kit earlier this summer and have been wanting to let her try it. So this week we did natural sun dyeing and tie dyeing. 

Silly & Feel Good Books for the Young

Disclosure: I was sent these products to review free of charge in exchange for an honest review. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.

Tonight I am going to share some books for the younger readers. These books are board books and picture books and are for our youngest kids. They leave the reader with a good feeling or are just really silly. The first book is Vegetables in Underwear by Jared Chapman. From the title you can tell it will be a bit silly.

Sewing a Spring Dress -- Butterick Pattern #4176 -- Crafty Weekends Review and Link Party

This link party is for crafts done by people of all ages!!

So on the Tuesday before St. Patrick's Day, Hazel school sent home the message that Thursday would be green day. The kids could wear something green instead of their uniforms. Hazel of course wanted to but she doesn't have green clothes. I spent Wednesday afternoon before I picked her up and after I worked looking for something cheap and green, but unfortunately I did not find anything. I decided to make her a green spring dress from a really easy pattern I have used before, Butterick B4176.

Just for You -- Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

This link party is for crafts done by people of all ages!!

Disclosure: C&T Publishing gave me a copy of this book free of charge to review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

 Today I get to share a book that is for sewers to spoil themselves!! Just for You by Caroline Fairbanks-Critchefield and Sarah Markos features twenty-four various projects to make for oneself. They range from clothing, bags, and other fun accessories. There are two projects for each month of the year. The projects are a collection of various designers put together to create a book for the sewer to spoil herself.

Girls Style Book -- Crafty Weekends Review & Link Party

 Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation. 

We have had a very busy weekend. Yesterday we went to a local museum because a piece of Hazel's artwork was hanging there (as well as her entire classes). Then I got called into work. Today I was the storyteller for the Sunday School class at church and Hazel had a birthday party. Unfortunately I seemed to have had an allergic reaction to something and slept a good part of the day, so my sewing project is not complete yet, but it is on its way.

Outgrown Favorite Sweater Dress to Doll Dress -- Crafty Weekends Link Party

* Disclosure: The links in this post are affiliate links and I may earn a small commission at no cost to you.

We had another busy week and weekend!! I mean between Steve's birthday and Valentine's Day the weekend should be one big party, but we had some cleaning and getting ready for our guest. My 13-year-old nephew is arriving tonight (after several delays) for a week long vacation!! Hazel is so excited!! It was hard to calm her down today. After I write this post, I am off to the airport to pick him up. I hope he took all the adults seriously when we told him he had to wear warm clothes to come here this year. Boston is experiencing the coldest day in almost 60 years and I can feel the cold even with the heat on in our house. Anyway, one of our chores this weekend was going through Hazel's clothes and pulling the ones she has outgrown. We had a few piles: pass down to friend, donate to Salvation Army, keep as memories and make crafts or doll clothes. Some of her favorite clothes she does not want to part with and so I make some into doll clothes for her 18-inch dolls. She had this fun sweater dress from Gymboree last year. 

Mitford at the Fashion Zoo -- 12 Days of Picture Books Review & Giveaway Link

Disclosure: Penguin Random House Books gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation.  As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation.

Today is the fifth day of Penguin Kids 12 Days of Picture Books Giveaway!! And today they are giving away five copies of Mitford at the Fashion Zoo by Donald Robertson and we get to review it for you here. 

Back to School Lunch Ideas and Clothes: Everyday Bento Book Review & More!

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. They also sent me a copy to giveaway! As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation. I am a Little Passport and a Gymboree Affiliate. If you purchase from the Gymboree or Little Passports links provided I will earn a small commission.  

Are your kids back to school yet? Here in Massachusetts we have between one to two weeks more to go in general, but there is a lot of buzz about the start of school. I also know my Facebook news feed is full of those first day picture from friends across the country. Well I know as a mother there are two things on our minds besides those school supply lists we all get from the teachers--school lunch ideas and new school clothes. I remember as a child going back to school shopping. I always looked forward to it. Since Hazel wears a uniform to school we do not worry so much about back to school clothes as we do just new fall clothes. This summer she definitely grew in fact many people have commented on how much taller she seems as the summer winds down, so she has changed sizes again. This meant a few trips to Gymboree for new fall clothes. But first lets talk about those lunches. 

Mermaid Kisses and Sea Star Wishes Pajamas and Free Printables

Now Hazel and I frequent our local Gymboree store often. Someone Steve graduated from high school works there and through our visits to her we have gotten to know basically the whole staff. Hazel feels at home there and loves to go in to see if there is anything new in stock. She loves their clothes and has quite a few. A couple of weeks ago we noticed the Starfish Wish Two-Piece Short Pajamas .

Starfish Wish Two-Piece Short Pajamas

Sew Sweet Handmade Clothes for Girls Book Review

For Advent, I thought I would share each post where our Mouse and the Miracle Mouse (Holy) has been up to. (He now has an elf friend named Elfie who often is hidden with him.)

Watching the visitors come to see the Newborn King!

Disclosure: Tuttle Publishing gave me a copy of this book free of charge for this review. All opinions in my review are my own and I did not receive any other compensation. They also sent me a copy to giveaway! As in all my reviews I am providing links for your ease, but receive no compensation. 

Today I am going to share with you a wonderful sewing book which I have had for way too long and have not shared. My plan was to make one of the adorable dresses for Hazel, but my serger broke and I have not been inspired to sew as much and well it has not happened. The book is Sew Sweet Handmade Clothes for Girls: 22 Easy to Make Dresses, Skirts, Pants & Tops Girls Will Love by Yuki Araki. 

Pinned it and Did it! Doll Clothes

We have been very into dolls lately and I have been looking at patterns on-line. Now for 18-inch dolls,  Hazel has two What a Doll dolls from Kmart, a BFC doll and a You & Me Doll from Toys 'R Us. The BFC doll is super skinny and an older girl with breasts and jointed everywhere. She came in a bathing suit. The problem being that her straps would get caught in her shoulder joints and then her chest would be completely exposed. I had to make her a dress. I found a simple pattern on Wren-Feathers: Summer Sew-Along Week 7.  She has many great doll patterns on her blog!! Check it out!

I also saw lots of ideas on using baby clothes to make doll clothes.  Since we donated most of Hazel's baby clothes except a few favorite things, we had to purchase some new onsies and a newborn outfit. The first thing we tried was adjusting old baby dresses like the ones I saw at Doll It Up and A Doll for All Seasons. However I started by adjusting one of our favorites of Hazel's baby dresses.  This dress was a 6-9 month size. It had been a gift for Hazel's baptism. I just adjusted the side seams to make it fit the dolls. It is a bit long on them because it was so big, but I didn't want to adjust the length.

Here is Hazel in it as well. I also adjusted the headband so the dolls could wear it.

While shopping we found the cutest newborn outfit/dress. We thought it looked the right size for two of Hazel's baby dolls. 

It fits pretty well except the onsie part underneath is a bit too long, but since you cannot see it with dress, I didn't bother adjusting it or cutting it off.

The final idea we had was to use newborn onsies to make tee shirts like I saw at Nest Full of Eggs. I have not finished the edges yet, but Hazel wanted to use them right away. To make these you simply cut the bottom part of the onesie off. Then finish the edge. 

We also found a pair of 3 month onsies with flamingos on them. I cut the simpler one of them and made a doll night gown. The other one has tulle ruffles it, so I think I am going to try to make it into a dress.

Tomorrow I will share my birthday party at the American Girl Doll Store. Yes, we did it for Hazel, but since my birthday is coming up my mother-in-law went all out for the celebration. 

For more doll ideas check out:

• DIY Doll Sandals
• Doll Mermaid Tail (Tutorial Coming Soon)
• Leather Doll Clothes
• Baby Doll Clothes and Changing Area
• Making a Waldorf Doll
• My Doll Clothes and Craft Pinterest Board

Sewing and Family

This is a very busy and somewhat stressful week in my house, but I wanted to hop on here and share a few things. I have my 12-year-old nephew visiting because he was staying with my parents, but my mom is having surgery on her heart tomorrow, so we are watching him while my parents are in the hospital. As a result, I have not had much time to share things or make things. Here are a few things I have sewn lately.

I made Hazel a fun pillow case dress with fairy pockets. I hoped to make one for her doll as well, but I didn't have enough fabric. Oh, well. There are tutorials for these dresses all over. Here is one on Sew Like My Mom: Easiest Pillowcase Dress Ever.

Hazel has been wanting a mermaid tale for her dolls (well actually she wants a couple in different colors). I have been playing with patterns including one I found at Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop: Dressing Up Dolly: Mermaid Tail. She had a pattern for a 15-inch doll, so I made my own. I also am making a green one using a method someone showed me that sells them professionally. It is not done, so I won't share pictures yet.

I will post a pattern and tutorial for the mermaid tale once I have the pattern finalized to what I like best. Sharing Saturday will still be happening, so stay tuned!

Dearfoams Slippers for Autism Awareness -- Product Review & Giveaway

Disclosure: I was sent this pair of slippers to review free of charge from Dearfoams. All opinions in this post are my own. I did not receive any other compensation for this review. I am including links to each item for your convenience but do not receive anything if you purchase them. They are also providing a pair of slippers for the giveaway.

You may have read the wonderful post by my good friend, Scarlett. If you did not, please do so. It is so moving and will help anyone be kind and helpful to parents with an autistic child. Well I was contacted by a company representing Dearfoams. Dearfoams has an amazing program going on right now. For every pair of slippers ordered from dearfoam.com this month, they are donating $1 to Autism Speaks. They are willing to donate up to $3,000. Now Autism Speaks is a charity Scarlett holds dear and near her heart. As a result, it is one I hold dear and near my heart as well. So I hope you will go over to Dearfoams and check out their great slippers. They have many fun styles for the summer.

Now they sent me a pair of the Summer Fur Slides in blue for Autism Awareness month. They gave me a few choices, but I liked the blue ones for the month. After all we are lighting it up blue this month. They are so comfortable and soft. They are fun and can be worn outside since they have a rubber sole.

Can you see yourself out by the pool in these? Talk about comfort shoes!! It gets better--they are machine washable!! So if they get some dirt, water or food on them, you can throw them in the washing machine for easy care.  Let's face it, as moms we need everything to be machine washable.

My only complaint, which is more about my feet than the slippers, is that I have slightly wide feet and slightly high arches, so they fit a bit tight. I think the fur straps will stretch over time though so that complaint will go away. (However my issues with all shoes will not as a result of my feet--this is why I tend to be in socks or barefoot at home.)

Now I have been affected by autism as a teacher as well as a friend. I consider Scarlett's children like family. I am on the emergency contact list for her son's school, because I am one of the people she trusts with him in an open space. He is what we call a bolter. Now Hazel LOVES to chase him and they play chase all the time, but it can be difficult in an open space. He knows with me to hold my hand, and he is such a sweet boy. My biggest struggle with all of this is trying to explain his behavior to Hazel. He has a very hard time understanding people's emotions. So when he is running away from Hazel for a game of chase and she is laughing is the same to him as when he is running away and she is crying and/or screaming at him. For awhile I used the excuse that he was younger than her, but I knew that would not work forever and thought it was time to try to explain a bit more.  Hazel now knows he has a disability. She understands disabilities since she has seen people with different ones. I am not sure she completely gets the lack of understanding emotion cues, but we are working on it. She at least knows if he is doing something she does not like, to come get me or Scarlett to help her. How I deal with Chickadee is to do my best to mimic Scarlett. She is so amazing with him and I just try to copy what she says and how she says it.

This past weekend we had my nephew visiting. Steve and I took him and Hazel to the Science Museum in Boston. Hazel was being her typical slow eater self and the boys had finished lunch. I suggested Steve take our nephew to the gift shop since our plan was for him to choose a birthday gift there since his birthday is a month away. Well a mother and a boy came over and asked if they could sit at our table while it was just me and Hazel. The boy noticed my soda bottle and asked where I got it. He had a cup for soda, but had not seen the bottle. I could tell from how he was speaking and acting he had a slight disability and his boldness definitely made his mother uneasy. I answered him and told him the truth was we didn't know there were cups or we would have gotten those. His mother seemed to relax as I acted like it was completely normal conversation. It is moments like this that I understand more about how Scarlett says our behavior is supportive and how easily it can be to not be supportive. Yes, the boy at the museum reminded me of Chickadee (just in a few years). So I try to remember when I'm out not to judge people by their child's behavior. You do not know what they are going through. Just a friendly reminder.

Now onto our giveaway!! If you want to wait and see if you can win a pair of these fun Summer Fur Slides, enter below. Please follow my Giveaway Rules! Or if you cannot wait (and want $1 of your purchase to go to Autism Speaks) head over to Dearfoams and order your pair!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sewing Leather Doll Clothes Review and Giveaway!!

Disclosure: I was sent samples of leather for free to write this review and use in my church event but was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are my own.

Today I am going to share my first experience with sewing with leather. I was approached awhile ago by Leather Hide Store and Kyson Leather to see if I would be interested in creating something with leather and reviewing it here. I struggle with what to make with leather. I started a Pintrest board on Leather Projects to get inspired. I was not sure if I wanted to make a bag, a purse, or something totally different. Then I decided to make Hazel's doll some leather clothes.

Now Hazel has asked Santa for a "Hazel" doll--a doll that looks like her. I found a Madame Alexander What a Doll doll with brown hair and brown eyes at KMart and it happened to be on clearance (which I did not realize when I picked it). You can see her above. I have not completely taken her out of the box yet so her hair will not get too messed up. I figured since she loves to change her dolls clothes and have them have purses, I would make her a leather jacket, purse and boots and I would make them bright pink since that is her favorite color. I figured since it would not take much leather to make this, I could make two and give one away to a lucky reader. Well, they loved this idea and also threw in a $25 gift certificate to go with it so the winner can experience working with leather as well.

Now while I was trying to decide what to do, Leather Hide Store sent me three pieces of remnants for my church's Night in Bethlehem which will be Saturday. One of the pieces was used to be a map of the journey Mary and Joseph took from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The other pieces and some scraps from the first piece will be used to decorate our Leatherworking Shop in our Marketplace. The Bethlehem Marketplace will have eight shops where a demonstration will be done or a craft will be made by the families visiting. The Leatherworking Shop will have leather lacing to make into bracelets, so we just needed something to help give it the leather feel and smell. All of us at my church are so thankful for this amazing donation.

While I was waiting for my magenta leather, I started looking for some patterns for doll clothes that might work with leather.  I found two McCall's patterns that had different things I liked. I luckily got them on sale at Joann Fabrics when they were 5 for $7. Then I talked to my mother who told me I needed to get special needles for my sewing machine. I found them at Joann Fabrics as well and while I was there I asked if I would need special thread. They suggested getting an upholstery or craft thread so it would be stronger. I found the perfect color in a denim thread and figured this should work.  I also did some research on line for suggestions when sewing with leather. World of Pineapple has some great leather sewing tips and tricks.

The magenta leather came and I could not wait to try sewing with it. The first thing I made was the two purses. I used the McCall's MP327 (the pattern pieces had the number 6669 instead). I bought some sequined appliques for them instead of trying to make the one the pattern had. I have to admit one of the hardest things to sew was the straps for the purses. Doll scale made it a bit harder to work with the thickness.

Doll in Giveaway Outfit

Then I started on the boots. I used McCall's MP325 (the pattern pieces had the number 6804 instead) for the boots and jackets. After making the four boots, I started the jackets. I intended to make the jackets identical, but I started following the wrong jacket instructions and missed sewing on the collar on one. Now some tips for working with leather. Copy the pattern pieces onto the wrong side of the leather. You cannot use pins since the holes will not go away. You can use clips like paperclips or clothespins. One of my favorite things was you did not have to finish the edges like you do with other fabrics.

Doll in Hazel's Doll Outfit

I grabbed one of Hazel's other 18-inch dolls to model the outfits for us since I have not taken her Christmas gift out of the box completely. Our plan is to have her new doll sleeping in a sleeping bag under her small tree in her room with the fancy dress hanging on the tree. I have to finish the dress and make the pajamas for the doll. I also want to make matching pajamas for Hazel. I found some cute gingerbread men flannel to make them.

Ok, back to my review. I have to say how wonderful it has been to work with  Leather Hide Store. They are a family run business and have been in business for eight years. They sell at Leather Hide Store website or on ebay as Kyson Leather. My experience with them is that they are a company that remembers what customer service is suppose to be. They will send you five free samples, and if those five do not work they will send you five more and this is without entering payment information. The quality of the leather they sent me was wonderful and I am so happy I had this experience. I expect I may have to get some more magenta leather to make a purse for Hazel so she can match her doll (my purse happens to be the same color too). So if you are looking for leather for a project, please check out Leather Hide Store. I know you will not be disappointed.

Now for our giveaway. You can enter to win one leather doll outfit which includes a pink leather jacket, pink purse and pink boots. (I made all of them and will admit they are not perfect, but I know any child would love them for her/his doll.) The clothes should fit most 18-inch dolls.  In addition to this, Leather Hide Store is adding a $25 digital gift certificate. To enter you need to follow my giveaway rules and follow the Rafflecopter. The giveaway ends on December 16th so I can get the outfit to you hopefully by Christmas depending on the mail!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

A New Skirt for Hazel's First Day of School

Since September is National Sewing Month, I have been doing a lot of sewing. Ok, maybe not because it is National Sewing Month, but they are happening at the same time. Hazel started school last week. Since she has been very anxious about starting at a new school, I thought I would make her something special to wear the first day. I had this beautiful pink little girl fabric that I had bought ages ago to make something for her. It has wonderful little sayings like "Mommy's Little Helper" and "Fairy Princess in Training" on it as well as pictures of girls playing. I used a simple pattern that I have used before. I found it in Little Girls, Big Style by Mary Abreu. I also let her wear my gold cross that I wear every day. My grandparents brought it back from Jerusalem when they visited the Holy Lands. 

Now I figured if the skirt made her this happy just trying it on, it had to work for the first day.

And she had a great first day. She was brave and her teacher was wonderful with her. She went in and had a great day. Then we went to the bookstore and did our first day tradition of letting her pick a book. Although I was not thrilled with her selection, she did choose a cheaper one, so I bought her a few.

Ready to go

The novelty of the Minnie Mouse backpack and lunch box ran out after the first day. The second morning she cried and screamed for an hour and a half, but then once I got her there had a great day. This morning it was only 20 minutes of crying with some great "reasons" to stay home--"I'm too young for school" and "I'm too tired today." However after school she thanked me for making her go. She had another good day. Hopefully it will get better each day.

What are your strategies and traditions for the first day of school?