Noah's Ark

For Christmas this year, my husband crafted this Noah's Ark set for our son.  Each year he plans on adding a few pairs of animals, and will continue to add to it even when our boy has outgrown playing with it. Our ark is now one of our family's treasures, and I hope it will be an heirloom that will be passed on for many generations.
 

This is the ark before it was assembled.  After looking at a lot of handmade arks, he designed this one using Tom's Arks as inspiration.  Tom was even kind enough to respond to questions. 










Here it is assembled, ready to be painted. 


















This ark has a one-story cabin attached to the deck.  The deck and cabin lift off the ark to make it easier to access the inside of the ark, and the cabin's roof also lifts open.


 



















Each animal's rough shape was cut using a scroll saw, and shaped using the sanding sleeve on a rotary tool. The figures were then shellacked and painted using acrylic paint, then shellacked again.  I love the detail and character he was able to carve into them.
 

This Christmas he focused on the traditional African large mammals, and carved a pair of African bush elephants, Rothchild giraffes, plains zebra, and African lions. Yes, we are biologist nerds :), and the patterns of the giraffe, length of tusk and ears on the elephant, and width of stripes on the zebras mimic these species and subspecies.  I can't wait to see what animals climb aboard the ark next year!

 

 I must admit the zebras are my favorite!

The ark was a hit Christmas morning, and though we've needed to make a few repairs because of rough play, I think I like a well-loved ark much better than one that is just a nice piece of art.

Homework Stations

There is no quick and easy way to get kids to do homework, but these stations might eliminate some of the excuses and avoidance tactics kids sometimes use.  In addition to being portable, they are fun and easy to put together-you certainly don't have to dress them up as much as I did-but I don't have girls, so I love the excuse to make something girly once in a while.



Some things I like about this idea:

• All supplies are in one place.  No more "I can't find a pencil!  I need glue!" and so on.  This prevents the child from having to embark on the dangerous supply safari, from which they may never return...
• The sign on the front flips back and forth between "Working on it!" to "I'm done!".  This may be an incentive in itself for some kids.  It also allows the parent to see how it's coming without having to nag as much, shifting the responsibility for making sure it gets done more to the child.
• There is now a specific place for homework to be deposited when it comes in the door, and a place to leave it when it's done out of the dog's reach.  If used regularly, it will become a habit to check their station for completed homework as they head out the door. 
• I always work better when things are organized-and cuteness makes me want to use it even it if it's for a task I'm not looking forward to all that much.  I think the same applies for kids.  
• This idea is easily customized to fit the needs of your child, any box or container from a decorated cereal box to a little basket will work.  Just fill it with supplies that are used often, and decorate it up with something the child likes.  Involve the child and they'll be even more likely to use it.

Filling the crates:
I color-coded the baskets and items in the baskets so each girl knew who the item belonged to.  In addition to a pencil case full of things like scissors, glue sticks, colored pencils, pens etc.  I added a ruler, and a blinged-up monogramed notebook.  The cover is removable so the notebook can be replaced as it is used up. If the girls had been older, I might have included a calculator and calendar. 


To make the crate liner:
I used some mini milk crates that were going for $1 during the back-to-school sales.  They were ok, but I wanted to line them to help contain items, and to spiff them up a bit.  These instructions include dimensions for the mini crate I used, but can be used to make a liner for most straight-sided containers.  If you want to line a basket that narrows at the bottom and don't know how to adjust the pattern, make a straight-sided liner based on the widest point, then insert the liner into the container with the seams towards you.  Pin the seams to fit your container, and re-sew the seams.  Do this before hemming the liner or inserting elastic.

1. Measure the opening of the container you want to line.  The mini crate I used had an opening of 8x6 3/4".  Halve both measurements, and in the corner of a piece of tissue or larger paper draw a box using these dimensions (mine was 4x3 3/8").
2.  Measure the height of the interior of the container.  The mini crate I had was 6" tall.  Extend both lines by that amount.
3.  Draw a line parallel to the height lines to form your seam allowance line.  I put my seam allowance at 1/2".

4. To allow yourself enough give in the fabric so you can wrap it over the top, lay a ruler between the corner of the box and a point about 1/2 inch short of the end of the height line.  Extend the seam allowance line along this angle for about 3", or more if you'd like the fabric to extend down further.  Remember to allow an extra 1/2 inch or inch for hemming. Repeat for the other corner.  Extend the line back to the edge of the paper to complete the pattern.

Your completed pattern should look similar to this.

5. Cutting: fold the fabric in half, then in half again.  Position the corner of the pattern over the corner of the fabric, then cut. (I bought some fat quarters to use for this project, but found they are slightly too small.  Oh well, more for the stash).
6.  Fold fabric so two adjacent cuts are together, and sew.  Repeat for each side, so your fabric forms a box.
7.  Trim extra fabric from the corner and press seam open.Check fit at this point.

7. Create a rolled hem around the top by folding the fabric over 1/2 or 1/4 inch, depending on how thick you want the hem (be sure to allow enough room to thread your elastic through).  Fold over again, press and sew.  on the corners, create a rounded corner by rolling it as shown in the photo.  Trim extra fabric at the corners if needed.  If threading elastic through the hem using a safety pin, leave one opening, if using a threader (I love these!), leave another opening halfway around.  The corners can be a bit tricky to thread elastic through, so if you keep all the folds going the same direction it helps.  Another option is to set your machine on a zig-zag the same width as the elastic, and sew the elastic to the inside edge of the fabric, pulling the elastic taut as you sew to create a gather.  The unfinished edge can be hidden by ric-rac or ribbon once it is on the container.

8. Measure elastic length by wrapping it around the exterior of the container, and cutting it about 3 inches short depending on the give of the elastic.  You should be able to take the cut piece and stretch it around the box without it being too taut, but having enough give to overlap the ends about an inch.
9.  Thread elastic through the hem and sew ends together.  Finish hem by stitching the opening.
10. Place liner into container and adjust the gather so it is even.

The finished boxes are ready to decorate!

Quick Quiet Books

I'm working on an overly ambitious quiet book but in the meantime I wanted a few quiet books for my little buddy. I just used what I had around the house, and this is what I came up with.

Changeable Albums
I have two little accordion style photo albums I'd picked up on clearance ages ago but hadn't done anything with, so in one book I put pictures of grandparents and our family, with the idea I could teach him names, especially of those who don't live close. I had an extra spot so I put in a picture of the cats too. :) The other book I cropped some pictures of him so I had a closeup of his eyes, nose, mouth, hands, and ears, and one picture of his face. Once he learns these words, we can change the pictures to teach him colors, numbers, etc. He likes looking at these, and likes playing with the snap. I thought I'd also pick up a few mini photo albums and put cut out pictures from magazines, or put postcards in them. They will hold his interest longer if some of the pictures change occasionally.

Magazine Saver

Little Buddy likes reading his magazine but insists on turning pages himself. He does pretty well for a one-year-old, but in the meantime I've been putting his magazine into sheet protectors to help it last until the next month's issue. I simply cut the magazine along the fold line, and insert one page into each protector. I used heavy weight sheets and this has worked well. I keep a few favorite pages from each issue and just leave those at the back, and I've been saving some of the coloring and activity pages for when he's older. I also save a few pictures for clip art and projects before recycling the rest. This magazine is available online so I can always go back and get copies of stories, so I don't feel bad cutting it up. Judging by how often the stacks of magazines get touched in our library, I feel I'm getting more out of it this way.

Warm Fuzzy

For my sister's birthday, I wanted to make her a corn heating bag. I had some green fleece, and as I cut it out I decided to embellish a little.

These are simple to make, just pick up some feed corn (DON'T use popcorn!) from your local farmer's store, or rice will work as well. Fill a cotton bag with the seed, leaving enough room that it can wrap partly around feet, your neck, etc. Sew the bag shut, and create a case out of fleece, flannel, or something else snugly.

To heat the seed, place the cotton bag in your microwave for a few minutes (don't overcook) and insert it in the case. It will stay warm for at least a half hour, sometimes longer, and is a nice alternative to a plug-in heating pad. A sachet of herbs, like lavender can be included in with the seed, or you can sew a pocket on the outside of the cotton case for a little aroma-therapy.

Wool Dryer Balls

I saw some wool balls that were supposed to cut at least 25% off the drying time if you put them in the dryer to roll around with your clothes. The tutorial said to make a yarn ball and then felt it.

You need a yarn that will felt, it will usually say it can be felted on the label. If it doesn't then you can assume 100% wool yarn will. (Another tutorial I found didn't use yarn at all, but used wool batting. I'll get some and try it, then post the results here.) The wool yarn I found was a bit pricey for me to make several balls out of it at $5 a skein, so I dug around in my craft stash for some wool remnants I'd used for some needle felting. The bits I had left over were just some matts and little snips that were left over after wool was carded, and though I'd been able to use a bit here and there for needle felting, I was about to toss it because I thought it wasn't any good. It turned out to be perfect for the core of a dryer ball!
The snippits of wool wouldn't roll so I just matted it together into the toe of a nylon sock and tied it off. You can hand felt it like this, or do it the easy way. I plopped them into a pillowcase and tied it shut, then ran it through a load of laundry. I wasn't sure it would felt well since some of the bits were so short, but it held together well enough that I could move on to the next step. The picture shows the raw wool, the nylon sock that has gone through the wash (the fuzzies on the sock are good, they mean the fibers have worked their way out and the inside is probably nicely felted.) Just peel away the sock and you have something like the felted balls on the right.

I took my wool yarn and wrapped it tightly around the felted core. I only wrapped enough around it to cover the felted ball, then tied off the yarn. This way I got the yarn to last for nine balls.








I put the wrapped balls back into the nylon and ran it through another load of laundry. I wasn't sure if you were supposed to take it through the drying as well, so I did, and it seemed fine.









The yarn felted to itself and will continue to felt more as it is used in the dryer so as long as it felted enough to hold together for now it will be fine.
Most people use four or six balls per load, I figure with nine, I have enough to alternate between loads, and have a few to spare for my little buddy, who found them irresistible. I might just have to make a few just for him, they are nice and lightweight and wouldn't do much damage if thrown.



If you'd like to see a tutorial on making these using wool yarn, try this one at Good Mamma.

Update:
After doing several loads of laundry using the dryer balls, I'm pretty impressed. My loads are done in 30-40 minutes, where I'd previously set it at 50-60 minutes. Maybe I was overdrying it before, it would be nice to test these in a dryer that shuts off when the clothes are dry. I had two balls unravel a bit, but I think it was my fault for not tying the yarn off well, and it was easy to tie them off again.

Another little tip: Put a few safety pins on two of the balls to cut down on static.

Birder Family Tradition

My hubby complained that he wasn't done but I wanted to show you my early Christmas present. He carved a nuthatch for me last year, and continued the tradition with a waxwing this year. Isn't he the best? I wonder what I get next year? (Ok, I'm greedy!)

Sushi Fish

When I saw this fish I HAD to make one. It was surprisingly quick and easy, and has been a big hit with visiting friends (and their kids).

A Good Idea

Little Buddy is starting to crawl around, and I've been one step ahead of him getting things childproofed. We needed somewhere to charge the phones, camera batteries, I-pod, etc. and the outlet we usually use is easy for baby to get to. I saw this idea on a crafting blog (when I find it again I'll post a link), their basket was fancier, and used a big rivet in the back for the power cord to leave the basket.

I found a basket with a lid, put a power strip inside, and ran the cord out of it. It probably would be a better idea to find a metal basket, I'm not sure how much of a fire hazard this would be, though baskets seem to be a common solution to the spaghetti of cords people accumulate trying to keep their gadgets powered. It seems to be working for now-though who knows how long until lil' buddy figures out the lid opens. It obviously will need to be moved soon.

Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

While I was expecting my little buddy, my sister gave me a fun Farber balloon mobile from Ikea. I'd been browsing through many many ideas for nurseries, but the ones I thought were cute were out of my price range, and I hadn't seen anything I just had to have. I liked the colors of the balloon, and there was a cute little frog in the basket which gave me the idea...why not design a nursery around the old nursery rhyme-"Frogs and Snails and Puppy-dog Tails"? So I started searching the internet-and for such an obvious nursery theme for a baby boy, I didn't find anything! So with all the energy a working pregnant lady has I decided to do it myself. I did get most of it done before he arrived, and added a few touches later.
A neighbor gave me a changing table-but I wanted to hide the supplies, so I sewed some simple hanging curtains with a red pleat and tied it on at the corners. I used iron-on interfacing to applique a dragonfly onto a diaper holder, which also ties to the changing table.
My hubby snuck out of the hospital sometime on the day we took the baby home, and bought me an antique rocking chair. It is perfect! I'd looked for a rocking chair and hadn't found one I liked. I love this one because it is small, doesn't dominate the room, but is still wide enough for me :) I sewed a cover for a cushion to go on the chair (because the antique cushion wasn't as comfy as it could be). The crib had a gap between the drawers and the mattress when the mattress was set at it's highest, so I made a dust ruffle that matched the changing table. The thing that took me the longest to get done was the crocheted rug-the actual crocheting went really fast but I made it out of inexpensive sheets from Wal-mart, and tearing the fabric into strips and connecting them together took as long as making the rug. I also underestimated how many sheets I would need, so the project was suspended a few times. I sewed a nursing pillow cover out of denim and red fleece and the white afghan was made by grandma!

We had this organizer already, and I found some drawers for it-but still need to get two more that match...if I get around to it.
I found some green fleece to make a little receiving blanket, and on a whim I made a little red puppy out of leftover fleece from the nursing pillow. It's been chewed a bit around the nose but you get the idea :)
I had to show you this frog lamp a friend gave me that fit perfectly into the theme and colors. It might need to be packed up once little buddy is mobile.
The valence for the blinds matches the changing table and crib ruffle, but I appliqued a paw print on it to see what it would look like. I'd originally planned on adding a few more designs like a dog bone or shell, but I decided less was more here.
The quilt was the first thing I made, and was my first attempt at iron-on applique quilting. It turned out ok, but I learned a few things for next time. It was too big for the baby at first, and it gets really hot here, so it ended up as a wall quilt for now. You can also see the Farber balloon.