Plushie Monsters - The Perfect Present, Goodie Bag Gift or Act Activity at a Little Monster Party

Plushie Little Monsters and Pals - The Perfect Gift, Goodie Bag Treat or Art Activity
(created by my daughter!)

When my daughter came home from her beginning sewing class with these little monster plushies pictured above, I couldn't control my glee. "They are sooo cute," I exclaimed! I was so impressed what a little scrap fabric, some trim, buttons and felt could create, and best of all how easy it was, even for a beginner seamstress like my daughter.

Of course, I also thought how perfect these little plushies would be for a Little Monster party. One quick search on Pinterest proved that many folks agree! For the young party guest, you can easily create simple felt plushies to hand out as a goodie bag gift, or if party guests are older, you can set up a "make your own monster" table art activity. Below are a whole host of plushie links to get your little monster juices flowing!

Plushie <3: Lean How to Make Stuffed Animals and Rag Dolls - This site is plushie heaven! So many adorable ideas, patterns and how-to's you won't need to go much farther than this.

Mix and Match Felt Monsters on It's Always Autumn - A wonderful Little Monster plushie how to including pictures and patterns to step you through the process.

All About Plushies - Tutorials, Patterns and Inspiration on Pure Pleasure Design - Wow! Here is a list of plushie links that will have you crafting for days! Plushie sites, plushie tutorials, plushie patterns, you name it, it's here.

Little Monster and Other Plushie Ideas on Pinterest

... And some of my fav little monsters:

• Party Plushies - From La-bas, dans l'herbe...
• SuperHero Monster Plushie - From La-bas, dans l'herbe...
• Monster Rag Doll - on You Can Make This
• Simple Little Monster Take Home Favors - One Charming Party
• For the Monsters, Inc. Fans - Mike Wazowski Plushie by teczowo.flog.pl

Look forward to seeing your plushie monster creations!

Another Green Craft Project: A Lil'Beach Bag

Our Second Hand Finds

My niece and I went on a green crafting frenzy the other day. We headed to the thrift store with one project in mind, but of course I left with several other potential projects in hand, just in case we decided to get really crafty!

In the kids section, I just couldn't resist some of the fabrics in the second-hand clothes that were on sale. Little flower prints, all ready made patchwork dresses, polka dots and more... oooo, what could be made from these precious items? A little hand bag, of course -- great for the beach, the store for a few grocery items, or where ever you may roam!

We tromped over to the belts to find the perfect straps for our bags... 2 ribbon belts just happened to be there, how perfect!

Back home the project was simple as pie. I just cut off the bottom of the dress with the patchwork fabric, cut 2 pieces, and sewed the open edges to make a little bag. Then cut off the belt loops, and sewed the ends of the belt to the bag as a strap.

Voila! Our little bags... perfect for our upcoming trip to the beach!

What a great model my niece is! Now, off to make more little bags with the other goodies I found!

Craftin' with My Niece: Thrift Store/Green Fun

My teenage niece was in town the other day on spring break and I got a chance to spend the day with her! We don't get much time to spend together since she has lived a couple states away for many years... and when we do, it's usually with the whole family. So, this was a big treat for me to just be one on one together.

I tried to rack my brain of ideas of what would be "cool" to do -- from a teenagers perspective. When that didn't work, I of course resorted back to good ol'crafts!

We headed to the bookstore, and I saw one of Somerset Studios new publications, Green Craft Magazine. Lots of great ideas... perfect for some aunt and niece fun!

We decided to start in on the t-shirt necklace project, so we headed to the thrift store to pick up some old colorful t-shirts. In doing the project, I definitely recommend patterned t-shirts as well as solid shirts. When braided, the different colors in the patterned shirt make for an more interesting design.

Once home, we started to shred! My niece used scissors and I tried my luck at tearing. The trick is you want long strips, so sometimes tearing doesn't work. Once we had our pile, it was time to braid.

We made many necklaces as well as a couple bracelets and anklets too! My niece also did extra braiding and made some bracelets for her younger cousins. Weren't they lucky.

Do you have a fun craft you like to do with your niece or nephew? Would love to know!

La Tour Eiffel

No, I haven't really been on vacation... even though my blog has been quiet for a week... I've been a busy bee getting ready for our French friend's son to arrive! He arrived last night, and in his honor, I thought I'd write a post about the icon of all French icons, the Eiffel Tower.

As I toured around my house, I must admit, I found many Eiffel Tower mementos here and there. Here are just a few I thought I'd share!

At the top is the classic vintage postcard of the Eiffel Tower. I picked this up at a flea market in the south of France. It's just one of those "staples" or must-haves in the ephemera department.

Another postcard-- I love the acrobats and "circus-feel" to it.

Here's my ticket stub from riding up the Tour Eiffel several years ago.... I must say, I had the worst case of vertigo as we went up and down!!

And now for something fun... an Eiffel Tower cookie creation!! I picked up this cookbook a couple years ago after the movie Ratatouille came out. It's a fun book-- with lots of great recipes: crepes, croque monsieur, ratatouille (of course), and more...

It also has this fun cooking project, the Eiffel Tower Cookie Sundae!

I made this with my kids one day. Our towers weren't nearly as pretty as the ones in the book, but it was fun to make and then eat, of course!

Now off to tour our new house guest around California! Stay tuned for more French inspired postings soon!

Chinese New Year Lantern Craft

In honor of Chinese New Year, I dug out some great paper I picked up in Chinatown (San Francisco) and created fun lanterns to put on my dining room table. I had so much fun opening the interesting packaging of all the papers I picked up. I didn't find these paper in a fancy paper store... no, these were in the 5 & dime markets on Grant Street in the heart of Chinatown.
Assorted papers from my Chinatown finds...
More colorful papers. I LOVE the magenta, hot red and green together. Making the lanterns is actually a very easy task... something my kids have both done in kindergarten and preschool! There are plenty of instructions on the web (here's just one to get an idea: lantern craft instructions), but I think the uniqueness comes in with the paper design. I decided to use a variety of the papers I found in Chinatown, and make a collage to create my lanterns. I put several of these papers on my color copy machine and made the copies on to white cardstock. Then I followed the basic instructions in the link above.

After the lanterns were finished, I had fun "shopping" in my house for asian accessories to decorate the table. Here are some shots below-- details of the lanterns, and pics of the table decor. Enjoy, and gung hey fat choy!

A good luck envelope.
Another image from a good luck envelope. I scattered these on the table runner around the center lantern arrangement.




For more Chinese New Year traditions and celebrations, check out the url's below:
Wikipedia: Chinese New Year