Shirts 'n Skirts, Swords and More

I've been into making gifts lately. We are invited to a lot of birthday parties each year and we're at the age where we have a lot of friends having a lot of babies. Although 15-30 bucks a kid for 20 or so kids a year doesn't add up to more than a few hundred dollars, I get tired of shopping on the internet or even locally for educational, green, durable, yet fun toys. Plus, some of the nicest gifts my kids receive are gifts that are made by the creative minds of other moms. I've found also that often times I'd rather just spend some time seeing what my imagination can develop.

100% cotton beach skirt for 2 year old girl,

(<1/2 yard fabric, some elastic, some thread)

dragon shirts for boys,

(art drawn by a friend in jpeg format,

transferred to tees-on-sale by local small business)

dump truck shirts for little boys,

(again good quality shirts on clearance for a few dollars,

a tube of fabric paint for a couple of dollars,

and a silhouette cut out and painted with a sponge)

I also had a good time embroidering some onsies. My free-style embroidery skills are okay but I couldn't fit as much as I'd liked ... for one "Baby Frampdizzle" became "(Embroidered Figure of Baby) Frampton" and for another "1/2 Glad 1/2 Grumpy" just became "1/2 Glad," the mom's maiden name. I've made plenty of swords and shields and I've found that some felt and hot glue makes nice and easy handle covers for the swords and hand slots on the shields. I've also been experimenting with wall cutouts of little boy and girl cowboys for our farm-loving cousins. I haven't made all of the gifts ... some have been eco-crafts, some locally hand-made items, and some have been simple craft activities I have developed.

Meanwhile, my husband has been cooking up a storm making giant yummy meals for families of new babies. When we had our first baby, a mom I had never met (a work acquaintance) dropped a taco meal on our doorstep; it was the most helpful and touching thing anyone could have done and so for each new baby since then we have always tried to offer the same gift.

I've also managed to fit in a maternity and a baby photo session, which has been fun for me, because I always love to use my camera and show myself that I still have knack for quality manual photos. They were both challenging sessions (one with feet of reflective snow at only 5F and the other inside (yes inside natural light!) chasing a squiggly baby around)

Spring is always a busy and fun time. The boys sure have been enjoying the snow, slush, puddles, rocks, and mud!