Swimwear sewing!

       

Levi needed new swimwear (again) and I found a good deal on fabric so bought a bunch.  I was also offered the opportunity to test a couple sewing patterns from Made By Jack's Mum, one of my favorite pattern designers.   I used the Sunshine Romper for the one-piece suits and the Reef Beach Rashie  for the tops.    For the jammers, I used a pattern from Ottobre, from the Summer 2016 issue.  And lastly, for the speedos, I used a free pattern from Boo! Designs.


This is the Sunshine Romper with some modifications as requested by Levi.   First I chopped off the sleeves and hemmed the arm opening, making it sleeveless.   I used the regular neck band piece to make the neck band and brought the zip right up to the top of it.   I used a fold over method on the zip guard to protect his chin from the toggle.   I like this method best because it gives full coverage and a nice looking finish, and its not difficult or fiddly to do.

This is the basic version of the Reef Beach Rashie and Ottobre jammers.   I appliqued "swim" and added a freezer paper stencil for the shadow, because I can't leave anything plain! 

Super basic ottobre jammers, I got rid of the side stripe here and made them extra tight "so they don't fall off when I dive mom".    

This is the Sunshine romper with a little bit of modification for the zipper.  I added a chin guard at the top of the zip guard by lengthening it a little bit and folding it over the top of the zipper.  This keeps the "stopper" from rubbing his chin.   I also used the pattern piece for the non-zip style giving it square edges at the opening of the zip.     He picked this fabric, and its awfully crazy but I will easily be able to spot him on the beach!     I love that its full coverage for minimal sunscreen use, but the pattern also comes in 3/4 and short lengths for sleeves and legs.

These are the Boo! Design speedos, perfect for swim team (and using scraps) 

This is the Reef Beach Rashie and Ottobre jammers.   Here I mostly stuck with the pattern for the construction of the neckline, but did add the fold over zip guard.    The patterns curved neck piece makes it a bit tricky to get things even.   This is my favorite fabric, but not great for the ocean because blue is hard to see in the water!  

I still have more fabric to use, but this should keep him swimming for a while!  

Some Halloween Pictures

I made Levi an outfit for Halloween, just to wear around this month.  I used a bunch of appliques from Nobbie Neez Kids.    My friend Natalie took these great pictures of Levi at the pumpkin patch. 

Frogs lapbook and unit study

At Levi's request, we learned all about frogs!   For this unit study we read a lot of books, did some art work, jumped like frogs, made a lapbook, did some math, and I even made him a new outfit to wear.  

We found these little guys in our backyard:

I made Levi a frog outfit.  He chose the fabrics for this one, the shirt is super bright "hurt your eyes" neon yellow.  The shorts and applique are a vintage paisley fabric that I think I got at a thrift store.   I wasn't too sure about the combination, but I think it works in the end.  He loves the result! 

Here are (some) of the books we read, the rest were from the library.   Also seen here is a frog puzzle, a model of a frogs internal organs, and a box of model frogs with cards to match.  

Here is the finished lapbook:

Cover

Inside

Inside

This is a frog lifecycle book we put together and he colored.  And a color-by-number multiplication I found.  

This is the artwork we made, I used the lesson plan from "Art Projects for Kids".  I really liked the idea of using a partial template for him to trace, and having him add his own feet to the frog.   We used lemon juice to make the spots on the frog, which were more subtle than I expected.   The frog drawing on the right is copy work from Draw, Write, Now.   The drawing technique for this one had you start by drawing a triangle, and then adding the frog detail on top.  I thought that was a good way of helping figure out placement for the different frog parts.   His handwriting on this is really nice too!

Check out my Frog Pintrest board for even more ideas!

Resources:

Book printable from Worksheet Place
Frog water color painting idea
Frog collage/painting art from Balancing Everything
multiplication color by number worksheet from education dot com
How to draw a frog
lapbook from Homeschool Share
"Froggy" books reading response sheets

Book List:

Frog by Michael Chinery
Why the Frog Has Big Eyes by Betsy Franco
From Tadpole to Frog by Wendy Pfeffer
All About Frogs by Jim Arnosky
Tadpoles and Frogs (Usborne Beginners)
(I Can Read About) Tadpoles and Frogs by Ellen Schultz
It's Mine by Leo Lionni
Frogs by Gail Gibbons
Frogs, Toads and Turtles (Take Along Guides) by Diane Burns
Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel

Fall Plaid

        This outfit was inspired by the fall, not that Florida knows its supposed to be fall!  (It was 90 degrees today!).   Project Run and Play has a "plaid challenge" so I went with plaid fabric, using what I had on hand, brown with teal sparkly pinstripes, and red/cream. 
        I used a ton of embroidery designs from one of my favorite embroidery designers, Lynnie Pinnie.  There are NINE embroideries on this outfit! 
        The knee patches are corduroy, and stitched with darts to give them a "knee shape".   The other fabrics are two different plaids, and some solid brown.   The pants also have a roll up option, with the red plaid stitched inside.   And to top it off, a couple of faux leather buttons.
        The top has a loose, comfortable fit with raglan sleeves accented with a pop of green.  The embroidery designs were first stitched on fabric, and then satin stitched to the shirt.

Levi says he "loves these pants" and that the shirt is comfortable, so that makes me happy!

It was bedtime for my model, so he added some poses of his own!

Little House on the Prairie 6th Birthday Party

Levi had his SIXTH birthday party!  

His favorite book series is the "Little House" books, so he chose that as the theme for his party.   

I found some fun party examples, like this, and this and this, and this amazing party that would be wonderful if you had an unlimited budget.    I saw that every one of these parties was designed with a little girl in mind, so I had to use some of my own ideas to make it a little more boy friendly.   

First is the location.   I immediately thought of "Sam's House" which is a historical site.  Same time period, and a log cabin!  I emailed and found out that they did indeed to parties (I found out later that we were actually their very first party!).    They had a "Little Pioneers" party package that included a tour of the cabin, 3 games and use of the covered porch and grassy area beside it.   They made it very easy for me, and it was perfect for the party theme.   

Next was the invite, I found the file ready to edit from the blog The Decorologist.  A few edits and I had a cute invite which I rolled up and tied with twine.  

In preparation for the party, I ordered straw hats and bandanas for the boys (from Oriental Trading), and sewed bonnets for the girls using a very easy pattern from Pick Up Some Creativity.   At Sam's House, one of the activities was a clothes line relay, but to start out the party I used it to display the hats and bonnets. 

The kids picked out their bonnets/hats/bandanas as they arrived at the party.  Taylor wore hers the entire party, super cute!

Nai Nai helping one of the guests get her costume on.

First, the ladies from Sam's House took the kids to the cabin, where they told them all about what life was like for a pioneer kid. 

They had some costumes of their own to try on!

Next they had some fun games!  The first one was a "harvest" game where the kids had to gather scattered eggs, veggies and fruit one at a time and then sort them into baskets.   They had tones of stuff to gather and the kids had a good time running around.  

On the left side is the covered porch, and the cabin is behind the big white house. 

Next was the clothes line relay.  Having been cleared of hats and bonnets, it was left empty so the kids could take turns hanging clothes using old fashioned clothes pegs.  First they had to "scrub" the item on the washboard and then hang it up, a great challenge for little fingers.

It was supposed to be "relay style" but a lot of the kids went more than once because they liked hanging things up!  They then had to reverse the process and take things down and put the pegs away. 

The last game was one the boys in particular really liked - spear fishing!   Not exactly Little House on the Prairie, but in Florida, I guess people in that time period ate fish.     It was just a simple wooden frame with a fish hanging from it.  Spears were sticks with foam on the end.  

In this pic, you can also see the cornhole game that my dad and I built for Halloween last year. 

The kids also had plenty of time just to play in the grass and with the various activities. 

After the games, it was time for food! 

For snacks, I got an assortment of baskets and lined each with a gingham napkin.  Inside was a piece of cornbread wrapped in parchment paper and tied with string, an apple in a little tin pail, and a mason jar full of lemonade.  
We also had a little popcorn bar (in the book Farmer Boy, Almanzo really enjoys popcorn as a special treat).   This was just a big basket of popcorn with various toppings to put on them and paper bags to "fill and shake" 

The cake was very simple as Levi requested because "they didn't have fancy cakes in the olden days".   It was just a vanilla cake with vanilla/almond frosting.  I made a little bunting with 6 flags on it for the top, and 6 purple candles!     I also made gluten free cornbread and cupcakes for our gluten free guests.  

After the food, each kid re-used their tin pails for the penny store.  They got 10 pennies each to "spend".   

 In the store I had:
- marbles
- pebbles (from the story in Little House in the Big Woods where Laura filled her pocket with them)
- candied orange peel (made in the food dehydrator I got Levi as a gift)
- honey candy (boil the heck out of honey to hard ball stage, pour out, crack up)
- calico fabric remnants
- remnants of velvet ribbon, lace, and trim (all from the thrift store)
- beads (from a story in Little House on the Prairie)
- peppermint candy
- old clothes pegs
-buttons
- little metal shapes, no idea what these were but they were various cowboy themes
-small balls of yarn
- some other small things I can't remember! 


The kids LOVED this activity - it was a big crazy mob of kids surrounding the "store" with Levi, Nai Nai and one of the moms helping take pennies as the kids made their purchases.  

At the end of the party, each kid took home their hat/bonnet bandana, a basket, mason jar, and a tin pail filled with goodies from the shop.    

I think everyone had a good time, it was a nice mix of organized activities and free time, and plenty of things to do and a perfect location for the occasion!  

This is the banner I made for the Mercantile area, it was very quick and easy to do.  I cut scrapbook paper into small squares, and then used my sewing machine to just sew right through each one.   This could be done in any shape, pennants or circles would be cute too, and you could even cut some into letters to make a banner that way.   

They had a big wasp nest hanging up too - Levi and Zach are studying insects for our summer unit study, so we checked this out after the party as well.

The kids in front of the cabin:

And the family + Zach and Taylor.   Grandpa Jack drove all the way over just for the party, it was great to have him there to join the fun! 

And here is a better look at Levi's outfit!  I modified the Ottobre "Poor Little Oliver" pants pattern to make knickerbockers with suspenders, and made a linen shirt to go with it, the shirt has purple and grey stripes.   He also wore his "fancy shoes" and got a different straw hat than the other boys.  

One of his friends is learning to crochet, and he gave Levi this necklace he made all by himself.  

And last of all is a carseat picture - Levi is still rearfacing in his carseat, he has room to grow so rearfacing he will stay! 

Happy 6th Birthday Levi!