Homework Station

My kids do their homework at the kitchen table, so that I can help them. It seems like we are always having to run into either the playroom or my craft room to grab something for homework. I have wanted to make a homework station to corral all of the necessities that they might need, so here it is.

Lately we keep getting these drink holders from the drive-thru. I had used one of them for the 4th of July and decorated it with my scrapbook paper. It was on the table the morning of the holiday and it stored all the goodies they got that day. I love reusing something that would have otherwise been thrown away! Plus, it was quite convenient.

So, now that we don’t need it for the 4th of July, I thought I’d repurpose it again. This was a drink holder for 4 drinks. For my homework station I took out one divider (which I’m pointing to…or at least my finger is pointing to) in the above picture. This is to make room for a notebook of paper, which is a must have for my kids’ homework. I also removed the old paper.

I gathered all the supplies I thought I would want to fill it with, as well as the supplies necessary for decorating it all.

Mmmm, I love my glitter paper! I covered a composition notebook, and 3 different sized tin cans in coordinating glitter paper. I added matching vinyl decorations to my 3 hole punch, stapler, and pencil sharpener. I love these supplies now!

Here’s the whole station together. I added the vinyl word to help the kids understand what this is for. I do not want them using these for anything other than homework, otherwise it will defeat the purpose as things will get ruined, or at the very least they will end up elsewhere in the house! Good luck with your school routines.

Rebecca

A Special treat for a special day-Art tote tute

Today is my 35th Birthday! I know, I don’t feel like I’m 35 either;) There is this crazy story about my age. My dear sweet husband is a year older than me. After I was about 27, I stopped remembering my age and concentrated on my children’s ages. I even knew their ages in months for the longest time. So I would refer to my sweet husband to remember how old we were. One year he was 33 and I was 32. We stayed that age for a whole year (as most people do). Right before my 33rd Birthday, one of my dear sweet sisters told me that in fact, I was NOT turning 33 but rather I was turning 32. My husband and I MISSED a year. But we choose to think of it as being 33 and 32 twice;) I will not say with any certainty that I will be 35. But I am about there. Rebecca, Katrina, any help here?

In celebration of my Birthday I am going to share a really awesome tutorial that I originally posted on my personal blog about a year ago. I've been making them for a couple of years but it took me until then to get it into a tutorial. It is a private blog, but this is such a great tutorial that I have been saving it for a special day. Today is that day! It is my gift to you. But it is not intended for you to make money from my tutorial. I worked out all the details for your own personal use and even gift giving, but not so you can make money, thanks.

If you can’t sew, don’t worry. You can visit our little neglected Etsy shop to get one of your own. This project does require a fair knowledge of sewing. I did not go into details of clipping corners or pressing because I assume you know how to do that. Please let me know if you liked this tutorial. It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside to know that I've put up something useful on our little blog…and it is my Birthday and it would be a nice gift to me to know you liked or hated this.

Alright, let’s begin. When I start any project, I always write and draw out what I am making. I walk through the steps on paper and it helps a lot. I strongly suggest you have a written plan before you start any project. For this, I’ve done the work for you. (You are welcome.)

You need a main body material, a contrasting material, a lining material and a trim piece. I've discovered that I like two patterned materials that coordinate and one solid or monochrome material that also coordinates. It seems like three different materials are a good number for me. Too much and it gets crazy looking and less than that is somewhat boring. Oh and if you know me, you will learn that I like all my seams to be hidden. I don’t have a serger so I have to line my totes and all my seams are nice.

Cut 2 from the main body material 12" x 10"
Cut 2 from the lining 12" x 10"
Cut 2 from the contrasting material for the pocket 5" x 10"
Cut 1 trim piece 10"
Cut 2 from the contrasting material for the handles 3" x 18"
I also use scotch tape for sewing the pocket lines so get that handy too.

1. Sew the two long and one short sides of the lining together -right sides together.

2. Sew the top only of the pocket together -right sides together. Turn it right sides out. Press, then sew the trim piece on the very top. I like to topstitch it close to the edge of the ribbon.

3. Take one piece of your main body fabric. Measure about 3 inches up from the bottom. This is where you are going to line up the pocket. Line up the bottom edge of the pocket to this line -right sides together and sew one straight line attaching just the bottom of the pocket. This is a little tricky and I don't have a better picture of it.

4. Flip up the pocket and topstitch along the seam you just sewed.

5. Pin/mark the middle of the pocket. You are going to sew straight lines from the top of the pocket to the bottom. This is going to make 8 individual pockets for the markers or crayons. My little trick to sew a straight line here is to put a piece of tape down to sew along the edge. It is easy to remove and I like this better than using a marking pen or pencil or chalk.

6. Pin/mark for all 8 pockets on both the top and bottom of the pocket and tape for straight stitching.

7. Layer the back piece of the main body material on top of the front piece you just put the pocket on. Sew along both sides and bottom.

8. Sew the length of both handles -right sides together.

9. If you don't have a turner, put a pin on the end of the handle.

10. Tuck the pin inside of the tube. Use the head of the pin to push down through the tube of the handle and turn. (Or use a turner. I love mine and use them all the time.)

11. Press both handles and topstitch along the length of each edge.

12. Turn the main purse right side out.

13. Measure two inches from outer sides for straps. I leave about 2 inches of the handles hanging off the edge to reinforce the handles with later. Flip it over and do the other side the same way.

14. Put the outer bag inside the lining. Make sure both handles are inside/between both layers. Pin.

15. Stitch along the top, most of the way around. Leave it open between one space of handles for turning.

16. Carefully pull the entire bag through the opening.

17. You pull both the lining and the main bag through that opening. I like to make sure my corners are nice crisp points.

18. Tuck the lining inside the outer bag, pushing the corners into the main bag corners.

19. Topstitch around the entire bag. This will close off the opening you left for turning the bag. Reinforce the overhang on the handles that are now inside the bag.

Voila. You have your own art bag! Enjoy

We love to give these on Birthdays. Both my boys have one and we take them to all our zillions of doctor’s appointments and anything else they need to sit quietly for.

~Anjeanette

Creating Traditions around Family Vacations

 

A few weeks ago Anjeanette and I traveled with our families to Greer, Az for an end of summer break vacation. We often take our vacations with one or more of the other families. You could say that it has become a kind of tradition to go on vacation with our extended family. This time it happened to be a trip to Greer Lodge RTE 373 instead of camping or a trip to visit far away family members.

The cousins had a blast together playing in the “back yard” that consisted of “the Little Colorado River”, 3 small lakes, big grassy fields, mountain views and a wild flower field beyond. I say back yard because that is why my boys called it.

Anjeanette is thinking we need to go back for this Thanksgiving and again for Christmas next year. Can you imagine renting a cabin to spend Christmas at? I am dreaming of a white Christmas already. How magical that would be for our kids! Especially since we don’t live where it snows.

I am going to give you a little tour………..

We opened up the windows in the cabin and lit the fire in the fireplace just for fun.

Our cabin had two bedrooms and one full bathroom.

Each cabin has a porch with chairs and a grill to BBQ on.

This is the view from our cabin’s porch. A path on the left leads down to bridge that crosses the “Little Colorado River” and over to a large grassy area with 3 small lakes. I miss it already.

Off to what would have been the right side of the previous picture there was this wildflower field.

The lodge offered free fly fishing equipment and lessons.

All 3 lakes are stocked with trout and I believe two other kinds of fish. The fishing is catch and release only. However, I don’t think that applies to the eagle that came around a couple times a day to snatch fish right out of the water. So awesome to see!!!

Here I am kayaking for the first time in my life. Did I mention that the boat and equipment and lessons were free?

This is a view of our cabin from across one of the lakes.

The lodge had a restaurant and some rooms above for people that don’t want to rent a whole cabin.

This is the “Little Colorado River.” It us just down the slope from our cabin. The only sound you hear from our cabin is this river and the wind blowing through the mountains. Oh and the laughter of our children. Three of the four boys had lots of fun wading in the river. I remember doing creek walks with my girl scout troop and have fond memories of it. I am glad that we were able to give our children a similar experience and memories.

The end to a perfect day.

We made some great memories that weekend!  My boys enjoyed watching the landscape change as we drove up.  They were totally thrilled to be able to explore some place they have never been to before.  The kids are still talking about how much fun they had. I am also dreaming of Christmas with the WHOLE family there. Though we would have to rent a MUCH bigger cabin for that gang. ;) All of our kids are with in about a 10 year age range and they get along really well. They aren’t just cousins, they are friends. As kid, I didn’t have that experience because we didn’t live close to my cousins. To be able to go with other members of our family was fantastic. It builds bonds that last a lifetime.  It provides an opportunity for them to connect to their extended family like nothing else can.  There was never a dull moment for the kids.  Vacations, however small, with extended family members can become great traditions.

Katrina

___________

Rebecca here. I love this topic! I plan family getaways as often as I can. Katrina is right saying that we have most of our family vacations with the whole extended family. I think this makes vacations more fun, memorable, safe, and budget friendly! That's a win win win win, in my book! For me, vacations charge your batteries and reset your priorities. I find this especially true with vacations in the outdoors! Most of my vacations are just for the weekend and sometimes only overnight. You don't have to do big elaborate vacations (truly most of mine are not elaborate or big!). It's just the point of getting away from the day to day life, and devoting your attention to each other. It's also about making new memories with each other. I love the idea of Thanksgiving or Christmas at the Greer lodges! What will my children remember more? Another Thanksgiving with family and friends around the familiar table and food, or a mini getaway with all the same family but so many new things. I believe there would be snow so my children would get to finally wake up with snow outside (we do visit the snow to play in it, once a year but it's just a day trip). We would get to cuddle up under covers before bed, with a fire going because it's actually cold outside. We could go skiing, sledding, and build snowmen. Now we're talking about providing a memorable holiday! The more getaways I can take, the happier I am. Not only are they great for bonding, and memory making but it is also exposing our children to the world. Let them meet people who are different then what we are used to. Let them see how many different things there are to do, and different ways there are to live. This is truly opening up their eyes to more possibilities in life. And I am all about showing my children all the options and possibilities that life holds for them! Life is a fun adventure and should be treated as such!

~~~My turn...this is Anjeanette now;)

We tend to take family vacations. For my 10 year wedding anniversary, my husband and I took the kids on a road trip to California. When I am planning a vacation, I am very interested in making great memories for my kids. We grew up with a zillion cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents close by. (We lived in Utah people.) Everything was about family. I have great childhood memories of playing in the creek (pronounced crick) in my Great-Grandparent's yard with my siblings and cousins. I remember eating warm sweet peas out of my uncle's garden. These are things I cherish.

I was terribly excited for our little weekender in Greer AZ. Our kids got to learn to fly fish, play in the creek and fall down and get soaked, jump in the tub and warm off in front of the fire. They played outside one night and gazed at the super bright stars as we all sang Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. (Katrina's son came up with that one;) I plan these family vacations in hopes that my kids will have amazing memories of their childhood, like I have of mine.

Anjeanette

Dishwasher Clean/Dirty Magnet

I don’t know about any of you, but it drives me crazy when my family puts dirty dishes in the sink when the dishwasher is just a few inches away. The biggest issue is that nobody even checks to see if the dishwasher is clean or dirty. For years I have been saying I want to put a sign on the dishwasher that can be flipped to say “Clean” or “Dirty”. Now that my boys are old enough to start putting their own dishes in the dishwasher it seems more important to have a sign.

Since I have one child that does not read yet, I wanted to make sure it would be easy to know which side is which. To me blue means water and bubbles mean soap. For the dirty side I decided to use earthy colors. Funny enough I used a fall image and used the smudge tool. Because each side is very different even my little guy can tell the clean side from the dirty side.

My sign is fairly straight forward.

You will need:

Magnet sheets or those handy magnet ads that come with the phone books.

Your favorite editing program –You are welcome to use my graphics for your signs. Just right click and save.

Printer-I used plain paper

sticker maker or some other kind of adhesive

Contact paper

1. Create your own or resize my sign images to fit your magnet size. Mine are 4x4 inches since that is the size magnets I had.

2. Print and cut out the images on plain paper. The magnets are not very strong so you want the paper as thin as possible.

3. Run your images through your sticker maker. If you have a cartridge that does laminate on one side and adhesive on the other, use it to save you a step.

4. You need two magnet sheets. The magnet ads that came with my phone books are quite thin so I decided to use two to make sure it would stay where I put it. Put adhesive on one or both magnets on the ad side.

5. Stick the sign images on each side of the magnet sandwich.

6. Use contact paper to put a protective cover over your sign. Trim edges.

Now, when we run the dishwasher we flip the sign to the clean side. After we put the clean dishes away we flip it to the dirty side. Right away my boys noticed the new sign and wanted to know what it meant. I no longer have to remind my family that the dishwasher is dirty. At a glance they know to put their dirty dishes in the dishwasher. Hopefully the clean sign will encourage them to put the dishes away too. ;) It is such a simple thing and yet………

Katrina

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August and September Themes

I am always thinking about what I am teaching my children, or what I want to be teaching my children. I have done fun monthly themes on the back of our front door for years, but it’s been sporadic and mostly last minute. I have now organized this so that it will happen every month. I came up with a list of values that I want to teach my children (Acceptance, Charity, Courage, Commitment, Compassion, Dreaming, Empathy, Freedom, Family, Generosity, Gratitude, Hard Work, Honesty, Joy, Love, Patience, Respect, Responsibility, Self Control, etc ).

Every month I will put up our monthly theme. It’s basically a bulletin board like teachers do in their classrooms. I have a blank wall in my playroom that is the perfect place for this. I want these bulletin boards to be interactive.

For August, I wanted to reinforce to my children that we are kind to one another, especially within our family. So, we are building a school house together. Each time I catch one of them doing something great with their siblings (sharing, etc) that child gets to go and pick a block (from a pocket on the wall, by the theme). One by one we are putting the blocks together to form the above school house. Each block has a reward on the back of it (they don’t get to pick which reward they want). These are all free things such as “A Book To Be Read By Mom”. At the end, we will put the school door on as the last piece. This reward is the biggest one and we will have earned it as a family. It is to go out to eat together (a request my children have been asking for).

For September I am going with the saying, “Picking Our Outlook”. Since it is back to school time and autumn I thought this was the perfect bulletin board. Each child will pick an apple each day and write something they are looking forward to this year. Some examples are, “Playing with my school friends, field trips, learning how to read, etc”. I will be doing a theme of Gratitude in November, so it is not things we are thankful for. It is instead supposed to be helping my children to be happy about what is to come, and to remember all the wonderful things that are coming their way this next school year. I am forever telling my children that it’s their choice if they are happy or not. Hopefully this helps them to see why they should be “picking” to be happy.

Each month I will be doing another theme and I will post it here. I will do them ahead of time to give you time to do up something similar, if you want to.

What are themes that you would like to see? What are themes you have used with your children?

Rebecca