Homeschooling My Kinetic Kids

For Christmas this year, I made my niece a bunch of play food.  In the crazy days just before Christmas, I had a "wonderful, awful idea." (to quote Dr. Seuss).  What if I could continue making play food even after Christmas?  So,  I opened an Etsy shop !  Without any research, planning, or weighing of my options, I dove in. I did try to do a bit of research as I went along, but I was disappointed about what I found.  I didn't want to read articles (and join the membership program/ take the class) of people who claimed to make thousands their first month.  I didn't want to read stories from people who had been doing it for years.  I just wanted to know what I needed to do first, to get my immediate questions answered, and to have someone say, "Ya got this." My shop has only been open about three weeks (two at the time of this writing), so this will not be a definitive article on how to do everything absolutely right.  This is just the t...

Oh, the weather outside is frightful... time for a hot cocoa break!  Is there anything better than a creamy, chocolaty, warm drink on a cold day?  Top it with whipped cream, marshmallows, candy canes or whatever you please for yummy treat.  What's your favorite way to sip this awesome confection? Oh, and if you have little kids, I recommend picking up a sleeve of these tiny latte cups  with lids (grab by custom "Cup of Cheer" labels too) for sharing cocoa with friends or these reusable spill-proof mugs for the whole family!  It's always nice when family movie night, campfire time, or special drinks with grandpa can be a bit less stressful.  An open cup sets me on edge waiting for that cup to spill (Anyone else?  I can't be the only mom like this). It's not good for anyone, and especially kids, to have this much sugar all the time, but that shouldn't mean that the fun of hot cocoa season needs to end.  Instead, I've rounded up all the...

A week ago, I posted about a felt hot cocoa pattern with snowman marshmallows.  I had wanted to add a whipped cream option with the cocoa, but hadn't figured out how to do it yet.  I also planned to make an "adult" size latte cup to go along with the set, so I figured I'd just make is a separate blog post. Supplies This homemade felt food whips up quick for a fun gift or stocking stuffer.  I use "eco" felt for my projects, since it's readily available at Hobby Lobby, Michaels Crafts, and Joann Fabric, but I also love to buy wool blend felt from online retailers.  Some of my favorites are  American Felt and Craft  (they also have patterns for felt food), Prairie Woolens (who match their felt to DMC floss), and  Over the River Felt  (so many colors).  Click on the links below for more information about the products I use. -  2mm thick felt  in white and red -  1mm thick felt  in white, light brown, and dark brow...

I meant to get this blog post up before Christmas, but I didn't get it done in time.  Instead, I started my own Etsy shop !  I've been very busy trying to get that store stocked and full of unique items.  I didn't realized how much I had to get done to start a new project like that- oops.  Anyway, I have a fun set of circle-based cookies to share with you.  Like all my felt food, it also includes free patterns! As I already stated, all six of these cookies are based on a simple circle shape.  It makes it so much easier to cut out and sew up if you're not dealing with a lot of extra pieces and shapes.  The pattern lists which circle sizes to use for each cookie, so you should be able to reproduce them very easily.  The main supplies you need are felt, thread, and needles, which I've listed below along with links to where you can purchase the products. SUPPLIES -  2mm thick felt  in cream, white, and brown -  1mm thick fel...

Winter always makes me want to dig out the felt and start hand sewing projects.  I love creating magic with sheets of felt and thread!  It's usually short projects that can be completed in an evening (compared to my knitting that takes many months) and they're just so adorable when I get done.  I've got a very wintery craft to share with you today- snowman cookies and cocoa! Supplies - 2mm thick felt in cream and red - 1mm thick felt in white and brown - scraps of 1mm thick felt in orange and black - sewing threads in black, orange, white, cream, and brown - hand sewing needles (or sewing machine ) - straight pins - packaging tape - sharp fabric scissors - polyfil stuffing (optional) - printed pattern (scroll to download) Cut the Pattern After printing the pattern pieces, cut each of them out individually and lay them on the table in front of you.  I like to use the  packaging tape  to adhere the pattern pieces to the felt ...

For day two of Mickey week, I thought I'd do some  Mickey play food !  I ended up with two felt food pattern ideas, although their shapes are very similar.  It's not an easy shape to sew, but the results are fun, and I'm sure your kids won't care too much how it looks.  I know my kids love these projects.  Scroll down for supply lists and directions! Mickey Ice Cream Bar SUPPLIES: - black felt - DMC floss - large popsicle stick - stuffing or extra felt Cut out the Mickey heads from the pattern (I used the medium ones for my ice cream) and cut out two heads from black felt .  I like to use packaging tape to hold down the paper pattern while I cut it out.  If you're using fabric (like extra felt) or quilt batting for stuffing, cut out extra heads out of that material, too. Decide which thickness you want to make your ice cream bar and cut two 12" x N pieces of black felt.  Also measure around the width of your popsicle stick and the length of you...

I really enjoy making felt foods.  My kids don't really enjoy playing with them, though.  They'd rather look for frogs or dig in the dirt than make and eat fake food.  I'm not going to stop creating it, though, which is why I put together this fun Smore set for the end of camping week.  Like the watermelon , these marshmallows have been something I've been wanting to make for several years. The Smore is very simple to make; although, the roasted marshmallow is a bit trickier.  Hopefully, I've explained it well below.  I hand-sewed my felt food, but you could machine sew parts of it.  I also made the unroasted marshmallows white and the roasted ones in cream.  You could do whichever color you want.  Fabric markers can be used to color burnt marks on the marshmallows, or you can cheat like I did and use tan felt.  Happy Crafting! SUPPLIES - 12" dowel rod - 3 shades of brown felt - white felt - DMC embroidery floss - poly fil stuffing - se...

I have been wanting to make felt watermelon slices for years, since my kids were 2, 1, and newborn.  Back then, there was a craft company that offered foam wedges in 2 inch "pie" slices and 4 inch "cake" versions.  I didn't buy them at the time, because I had 3 kids under 3, had just started this blog, and thought we were a few years away from wanting felt play food.  When I did decide that I was ready to make them, the store no longer sold them.  For years, I put off this project waiting to find foam wedges. Related: Felt Food Patterns When I decided to do watermelon learning activities this summer, I forced myself to bite my lip and just try watermelon slices without foam filling.  After looking at piles of felt food on Instagram and Pinterest, I learned that quilt batting will also give me a nice, flat sided, wedge.  I already had a big scrap of polar fleece in the house, so that's what I used.  Here are the rest of my supplies: Supplies - sharp, no...