Tutu's for my girly girls

Not to be out done by the other mom in my 5yo dd's ballet class, (but, certainly inspired,)  I was determined to make her tutu for the Christmas Open House mini recital, myself.  Pinterest to the rescue. 
I found a couple of sites that give great tutorials for making your own tutu.

You Seriously Made That!? is the one I chose to use for this particular project since it uses elastic, which is what the other mom uses.  It is so easy.  The only time I used a needle and thread was to quickly sew the elastic together.  (Once I figure out what the zigzag stitch is on my sewing machine, it will go even quicker.)  Here are a couple of pictures of the tutu that I made...

The site mentioned above, gives awesome, easy-to-follow directions, so I won't even bother to go into that.  The only thing I altered was the length of the tulle, so that it was the same size as the other girls' tutus.  I will also say that I used a 3 ring binder, probably a 1 inch, to hold the elastic while adding all the tulle.  I have no idea how much tulle I used.  I had a 100 yard roll, and used well over 1/2 of it.  But, the binder gave it enough stretch while adding the tulle, that it was perfectly full and thick when I finished and pulled it off the binder. 
This site, Modern Day Moms, makes the tutus with ribbon at the waist instead of elastic.  I think this is a cute variation and will be trying it in the future.

I stocked up on tulle of different girly colors at Hobby Lobby when it was 50% off, so I can make many more for both of my dear daughters, nieces, and little girly friends.  


To save the best for last...here is the tutu, being worn by the cutest 5 year old ballerina ever. 

Enjoy!!

Hand (and Feet) crafted Turkeys

This simple and cute craft was all my mother-in-law's doing.  Trace your child's feet to use as the body of the turkey and trace their hands with fingers for the feathers.  Then draw or add the rest of the turkey to your child's delight.  These are the turkeys my 2 oldest did-proudly displayed on the fridge.

 Have fun and God bless!!
                                                          

Picture Perfect Placemats

This is my first ever blog on Three Kids & We!!  So, if you are reading this...thank you and welcome!  Since this blog is about sharing cool crafts and 'schooling' ideas, my first blog is this super easy, but well enjoyed, handmade place mats.

I came up with this idea when preparing for a fall brunch the ladies at my church host every year.  I was hosting a table, using a "Homeschool Family" theme this year, and needed place mats that reflected that.  You can choose any number of themes to go with...Birthday, Christmas or other holidays, any special event...the ideas are endless.

1st- Decide which pictures you want to use and have them printed out.  (I had them printed at a store since I was making 8 mats with 3 pictures on each and wanted to save my own ink.)

2nd- Choose the paper you want to use.  I used card stock for the extra strength and just regular sized paper-because it's what fits in my laminator.  I think a 12x12 piece of scrapbook paper would also be nice if you have a way to laminate that size.  I do know that clear contact paper works well for laminating, too.  I also grouped the pictures together, according to what I wanted on each mat.  Example, I did one mat for each child, a couple with all 3 kiddos together, and the rest were of different activities that reflected my homeschool theme.

3rd- (and the most fun step)- Let your kiddos have fun placing the pictures on the paper and decorating it with stickers or other decorations.  I would recommend something flat, however.
I used glue dots to secure the pictures on the paper because it's what I had nearby.  I would recommend using something a little less bulky, though, since the glue dots make bumps.

4th- Laminate!                                                       

The place mats were a hug success.  Everyone enjoyed stopping by my table and checking out all the pictures.  My kiddos are very proud of their handy work and we often use them at home to make dinner time a little more fun.

These place mats would make great gifts for mothers, grandparents, or whoever!  Let me know what you think and what you are going to do with this!! 

Enjoy!!