Sharing Saturday #27

Have you entered to get an invitation to shop at Hullabalu yet? If not you have a couple days to do so. If you don't know what Hullabalu is yet, make sure to check out my meerkat post.

Have you checked out the amazing line up from last week? I featured many of the patriotic crafts and activities from the last two weeks on the Fourth of July. If you were featured there I pinned your post to my Patriotic Pinterest Board and feel free to grab a featured button below! If you haven't checked all the entries from last week please visit them and show some comment love! You will not be disappointed.

Ok, on to this week's features (which are pinned to the Sharing Saturday Board). 

There was a three-way tie for most clicked:

From Science Sparks: How to make a lemon sink

From Wesens Art: Quilled Butterfly

 From Learning Ideas--Grades: K - 8: Fun Fish Crafts for Kids

A Few of My Favorites

From Relentlessly Fun, Deceptively Educational: Post-It Page Marker Math

From True Aim Parenting & Education: Pass the Manners, Please

From Having Fun at Chelle's House: Wall Decor from Kiddo's Art

From 2 Big, 2 Little: Black Changes Colors

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I always am blown away by your creativity and ideas! If you were featured here, please feel free to grab a Featured Button to display proudly on your blog!


 

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From Your Host:

Learning about Meerkats (and a giveaway sort of)

  Now for This Week's Party  
A Few Simple Guidelines:
1)  Please follow both hosts via GFC (or one of the other ways that work for you).  

Hosts are Crafty Moms Share and Mama Mia's Heart2Heart. 

2)  Link any kid-friendly, child-centered post. Please no etsy shops or giveaways, etc.  Remember to link to your actual post.

3) Post the button on your sidebar or somewhere on your blog to help spread the word.

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4. Optional: Like us on Facebook and Google+
Disclaimer: By sharing here, you are giving Crafty Moms Share and Mama Mia's Heart2Heart permission to use your photos for features and to pin your craft at Pinterest. 

All right everyone...This is a PARTY!! Have Fun!!

Chair Cushions

Happy Family Times is still open. Feel free to come share how your family spent some together time this week or get inspired by others' stories!

I guest posted over at Happy Whimsical Hearts today. Please stop by and visit!! It is her Happy Lil Hearts Are Baking Link Party so you can share how you and your child baked (or cooked) this week!

There are a few more days left to get an invitation to shop at Hullabalu from me. If you are interested go register here!!!

Today I got some Mommy time. I caught up on those things that needed to be done but I never get to. You know the list--schedule my mammogram, deal with healthcare receipts, etc. Now I have some down time and am going to relax and then visit all the great entries shared this past week in Sharing Saturday and at Happy Family Times. So I am going to share with you a Mommy Craft today.

Our cheap table w/ 2 of its 6 chairs

We have a cheap white patio set. I bought it when I was single just to have a table outside for one of the apartments I lived in and had access to a yard. It was cheap and is not the prettiest thing. The chairs are fairly comfortable, but not perfect. Every summer I talk to Steve about buying a new one. We look at the prices and decide not to spend the money even at the clearance sales. So I decided to jazz up ours. Awhile ago outdoor canvas went on sale at Joann's. It was the cheapest I had seen it so I bought some. (It is on sale again this week 50% off--I got it cheaper, but don't remember how much now.)  Anyway, my goal was to make some cushions for the ugly white chairs. Since we were having our friends over for the Fourth of July, I figured it was incentive to get them done. On Sunday I went to Joann's to buy some foam (also 50% off this week). I bought 1/2 inch thick foam. It won't provide much cushion but a bit. Then I started on making a pattern.

Bottom View

I took a piece of paper (well actually a couple taped together) to get the basic shape of the seat. I taped it to the chair and cut around the seat part. Then I took this paper and put it on freezer paper and added a half inch to each side. This was my top pattern. For the bottom I wanted two pieces so I could remove the foam and wash them if they get dirty. So I traced the pattern of the top on both ends and added more so I could hem it. In my first one I also added an inch strip to be the sides. I discovered this was not a necessary step and skipped it after the first one. I cut out the pieces and finished the edges that needed to be hemmed and hemmed them. Then I pinned the top to the two bottom pieces making sure they overlapped and I serged (you could zig zag your edges and sew the seams on a regular machine) all the way around. I turned it back out and used the first paper to cut the foam and inserted it. Now it is completely removable and washable. I think it jazzed the chairs up a bit and I have some more fabric so I may work on covering the backs of the chairs a bit too.

I was able to sew all six of them very quickly and it was very easy!!

This is where I share...

Readathon Week 3 at MeMeTales

I'm guest posting over at Happy Whimsical Hearts!! It is the day of her Happy Lil Hearts are Baking Link Party. Won't you come over and share with us?

As you know, we are participating in MeMeTales Readathon 2012. This is week 3 and in the first two weeks they have had 3,000 kids join in. For each child that joins they are donating a meal to FoodforEducation.org, so this is huge!! Plus the kids read 14,688 books this week. Their goal is to have 100,000 books read and donate 10,000 meals. If you haven't joined yet, please do. It is free and you get free books each week to go along with the theme that you can read on your computer or electronic book device.

Happy Independence Day!!

For the Fourth of July we often just have a few friends over for a small barbeque. We find many people have plans with family, etc., but with Hazel's age we find most of the local events are just too late for her schedule. This way we plan our barbeque around our schedule and invite our friends with young kids. I always have Hazel help me make decorations and then we have crafts and activities for the kids. I will share pictures of how everything came out later this week, but for now I thought I would share a round up of Patriotic Crafts, Foods, Activities that have been shared on Sharing Saturday the past few weeks.

1) Dramatic Fireworks Display from Mama's Little Muse

2) Patriotic Books and Bento Lunch by Keitha's Chaos

3) Red, White and Blue Snacks from Mama of Many Blessings

4) Fourth of July Tie Dye T-Shirt from School Time Snippets

5) Patriotic Candy Bark from The Iowa Farmer's Wife

6) Stars, Stripes, and Coffee Filters from Art Mama Says

7) Fourth of July Pudding Pops from We Made That

8) Fourth of July Shaker from We Made That

9) Independence Day Flag Manicure from Tessacotton

10) Patriotic Ice Cube Painting from Mama's Little Muse

11) Roarin' Rockets by Tippytoe Crafts

12) Patriotic Dresses and More on Frontier Dreams

13) Firecracker Pops from Pam's Party Planning and Practical Tips

14) Interchangeable Wreath from The Crafty Scientist

15) Patriotic Mason Jar from The NY Melrose Family

16) Patriotic Wreath made by me

Center) Our centerpiece complete with toilet paper roll rockets Hazel and I made.

We made many toilet paper roll and paper towel roll rockets to decorate for the party including ones with all the kids names on it. We discovered that the sparkly scrapbook paper does not glue or tape well!

We also made some shell sailboats. I got this idea from Family Fun. I used sticky foam and put scrapbook paper onto it for the sails and used toothpicks for the sticks and included a flag on each one since I had a bunch of flag toothpicks. Hazel loved doing this. She wanted to make ten boats but I had cut out enough for twelve so we went for it. She wants to play with them now.

In honor of our holiday, I pause from my celebration to say a prayer for all those who have fought for our freedom and all those still fighting and their wonderful families that sacrifice so much. I hope you will join me in the prayer!

Dear God, thank you for being with our brave men and women who have fought for our country and have provided us our freedom. And please be with all the men and women still fighting and protecting us. Also please be with their families as they sacrifice their time with their loved ones and protect them all. Thank you for letting me be a part of an amazing country and please help me to make it even better by following your ways. Amen.

Happy Family Times #15--A Trip to the Mall

Have you done something fun with your family this week? Kelly over at Happy Whimsical Hearts and I love to hear about them. Come share it below and read what we have done as well as get inspired by all the other ideas shared.

Hazel's new shoes

Well on Thursday, Hazel had a now unheard of three hour nap. Needless to say we knew she would not be going to bed on time. We thought it was the perfect time to head to the mall and get her feet measured at Stride Rite, have her pick out a set of Legos at the Lego Store (I tried to tell Steve to pick one out as well, but he showed control) and then we went to P.F. Chang's for dinner. Hazel was so excited that they had chopsticks with their place settings there. And of course she had to eat her entire meal with them. She loved it there. I of course did not bring my camera. I don't know what I was thinking. 

However I can share a few pictures of what we bought. Hazel picked out a new pair of shoes. They were on sale so they did not have all the sizes. She wanted the purple ones, but had to get the pink ones. The pink ones will match more of her clothes.

We also had let her pick out a set of Legos. Steve and I had visited the Lego Store awhile ago and had decided it was time to get her a regular set instead of the Duplo since she has mastered them and gotten bored. We let her pick out the set. I did influence her a bit and got her to get the starter kit that wasn't to build a themed thing. Needless to say the Legos have definitely given us more family time. She hasn't completely mastered some of the finer details with them and wants help.

Steve and I grew up loving Legos. In fact Steve still has his Lego castle from when he was young. We want to buy ones that will let her create whatever she wants like we had when we were young. Her kit did not have enough roof pieces and she could use more than one person as well. We will have to go back and supplement, and Steve is talking about picking out something for himself. 

Hazel loves the horse and the cart attachment. She however thinks the cart needs the windshield and steering wheel. Oh, well. She likes it. After playing with her Legos this weekend, we took a family nap. At one point all five of us (Steve, Hazel, me and the two cats) were laying on the couch. I did get a picture of Hazel with Fluffy. Hazel did get up and go get all the dolls and stuffed animals she could to join us as well. Steve moved to our bed first since he did not have much room. I moved Hazel to hers and went to Joann's to hit their One Day Sunday Sale and Fourth of July Sale. More to come on that another time.

Now it is your turn to share how your family has spent some quality time lately.

~ please link up (family time oriented giveaways are ok, but please no Etsy shops)
~just crafts will be deleted since this is to share family times ~ use our button so others can join the fun

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Ok, now for our PARTY!! Please share your FUN Family Times!!