Sharing Saturday #32

Once again you have amazed me with your creativity. There were so many great ideas shared last week. Please stop by and check them out and leave some comments.

This Week's Features:

From A Happy Song: Foam Printing

1) From You'll Thank Me One Day: Chalk Farm (I love this idea!! We are definitely going to be trying it!)

2) From No Doubt Learning: Hatching a Dinosaur Egg (Oh, how fun!! Definitely need to try this one as well! Oh, and Hazel has a certain Dino Boy pen pal that would love this!!)

3) From Mandy Made: The Fairest Cottage of Them All Tutorial (I featured this before but now she is sharing the tutorial!! Isn't this a great play cottage!! I so love it!!)

4) From Bean Bug Crafts: Bird House Hair Bow Holder (Isn't this adorable?)

We had several delicious looking recipes shared, and I picked three of them that really made my mouth water to share with you, but you really should check them all out!! BUT make sure you are NOT hungry when you do!!

1) From Making Memories With Your Kids: Campfire Eclairs (Oh, how I wished we made these when I was camping!)

2) From School Time Snippets: Chocolate Banana Bites (I'm trying to figure out how to use these and make them look like teddy bears for Hazel's Teddy Bear Picnic!!)

3) From We Made That: Pinkalicious Pancakes (Oh, we are going to have to check out the Pinkalicious books and make some of these!)

Thank you to everyone who shared last week!! I hope you will join us and share again!! If you are featured here, please feel free to grab a featured button to display proudly on your blog.

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From Your Host:  Butterflies Part 2 (Origami) and Part 3

  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. A reminder: Mia is taking a blogging break. Hopefully she will be back soon to host again!!

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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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!!

Teddy Bear Ears (Teddy Bear Picnic Preparation)

We had a wonderful family day today. I will share the details for Happy Family Times. As a result we have not done too many crafts, but we are preparing for Hazel's teddy bear picnic that we are hosting next week. So here is a simple craft I have been doing at night. I have been hand sewing them, though the machine would probably be faster, but I've been doing them in front of the television and like the quiet of hand sewing. We are making a pair for each person coming to the picnic. 

Materials:

4 felt/fabric ear shapes (I used a furry felt, but any fabric would work)

1 headband

thread

needle

pins and scissors

Take two of your fabric ears and put right sides together and pin to hold in place. Then stitch around the side (I did about 1/2 inch seam). 

Then clip the curves. (This means make small cuts up to the stitches where the object is curved. This will help it lay correctly when you turn it the right way. Be careful not to cut the stitches!) Note: I did not cut the thread until the end and just kept using it.

Turn the ear right side out.

Baste stitch the bottom shut. (Basting are long stitches that are used for gathering.)

Pull on your thread and gather the bottom of the ear. I actually put a few stitches in the bottom to keep it folded in half there.

Then decide on where the ear will be placed on the headband and stitch it securely on the band. I used fabric covered headbands so this was easy. If I hadn't bought fabric covered, I would have covered the head bands with brown ribbon or fabric.

Make another ear for the other side and sew it on! Now give to your teddy bear and get bear hugs!

Daddy was resting after our long day out while I finished up another one.  Then I got my teddy bear hugs from her!

Post Card Swap Map

So remember a few weeks ago, I mentioned we are participating in the USA Post Card Swap that Beth at Living Life Intentionally is running. I showed you the post card we picked and a map of the USA and promised a project to tie it all together. Well today is the day. Since Hazel is not quite ready to really get all she can from these great post cards I want to make them usable for when she is older. Well I took our map (I got it at AAA for free as a member) and Mod Podged it onto two pieces of poster board (I think I would use cardboard or foam board next time). I also put a layer of Mod Podge over the map to seal it. I bought a package of very small Velcro dots that had 56 of them. I started putting one side around the map and the other part of the Velcro on the post cards so we could see all the post cards around the map and then take them off to read all the wonderful things people wrote about their states.

Once we have all fifty post cards we will hang this up in our craft room. When Hazel is a bit older we can use it to learn about where the states are and a little bit about each one. I have to say I love this post card swap idea!! I may have to try something like this. Would you be interested?

Butterflies Part 3

Special Note: My dear husband is off this week, so if I miss a day it is because I'm enjoying some quality time with my family!!

Sharing Saturday is open until Wednesday at midnight EDT! Please stop by to share your child-oriented ideas or to be inspired by the amazing ones already shared!

Happy Family Times is still open as well. Please come share what you have done with your family this week!

Now onto our butterfly post. If you missed the first two, please stop by and check them out. Butterfly crafts and books is the first one and Origami Butterflies is the second one.

Today I am going to share a butterfly craft I thought of on my own--or at least I don't remember seeing it anywhere, but I'm sure it has been done. We made some toilet paper roll butterflies. We covered the toilet paper rolls in black construction paper, but they could be painted as well.

Then I folded some construction paper in half and cut out the wings. We glued this to the black toilet paper rolls after Hazel colored on them.

Then we added antennae. We cut a pipe cleaner in half. And used one half for each butterfly.

Next we folded the half pipe cleaner in half and curled the ends. 

Then we glued (and taped) the antennae on to the butterfly. We taped since we got sick of waiting for the glue to dry while holding them. 

Hazel could not wait to play with them. Last night we read Fancy Nancy Bonjour, Butterfly by Jane O'Connor, and she loved it. She started making a story about the butterfly and the blue one is named Fancy!

The next four are ones that have been shared at various Sharing Saturdays or Happy Family Times. I have tried two of them. One is from The Mini Mes and Me: Dolly Peg Butterflies. (Sorry, I can't provide a picture, but check them out. They are so cute. We ran out of time to do this one today, but may try it soon!)

The next three are from Wesens-Art. The large one is her Swinging Butterfly. Then there is one of her Quilled Butterflies. And finally her Gift Boxes which include a butterfly. I attempted the gift boxes and the swinging butterfly. 

Although I would make the pattern bigger next time, I liked these. My swinging butterfly, however needs some work. I rushed to finish it and haven't gone back over it yet. I think I may have miss threaded something.

So that is the end of our butterfly crafts for now. We have plans for a few dragonfly crafts, but we need to start working on our teddy bear ones since our teddy bear picnic is next week!

Happy Family Times #20-- Birthday Celebration

Have you done something fun with your family this week? Help us inspire others by sharing here! Kelly over at Happy Whimsical Hearts and I are collecting everyone's family times so we can all be inspired to have more family time! Please join us below!

This past week I celebrated my birthday. Hazel was so excited and wanted to have a party. So we made decorations. Well actually Hazel made most of them with some help from one of her babysitters. I helped hang them and provided supplies for them. The morning of my birthday Hazel had a dentist appointment and swimming lessons. Now she is a bit afraid of the dentist and usually cries whenever we go. I told her if she was a big girl and didn't cry and did what they asked I would get her a balloon for the party. She behaved and for the first time did not shed one tear and even sat in the dentist chair without me. So I went to the Dollar Tree and bought her two princess balloons and a a balloon holder. Now the trick is making sure they are somewhere the cats cannot get their ribbons.

I also picked up some "Happy Birthday" streamers and some horns and birthday hats.

My birthday cake is the only one I do not bake, so Hazel and I went to the local bakery/caterers and ordered it the previous week. We put it under Steve's name so he could pick it up. He also picked up some dinner while there (Chicken Parmigiana).

Hazel was so excited to give me my surprises which they had wrapped. She picked each one out herself. Steve warned me that they may not be what I wanted but they truly came from her. He helped her wrap them.

I opened them while dinner was in the oven heating up. Hazel could not wait for the party to start.

Even Ducky wore a party hat.

We had a nice dinner and then we had the birthday cake. Spinelli's always makes a delicious cake!

They even sang "Happy Birthday" or I should say we sang since Steve is not much of a singer and Hazel needs help. Then I made my wish and Hazel and I blew out the candles. How does your family celebrate birthdays?

Don't forget to go read what Kelly and her family have been up to this week!

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