Little Ida

Affordable Artwork with Sweetbeets

I love the idea of taking beautiful greeting cards and framing them as art. So when I saw these clever pieces from Lisa of Sweetbeets, I had to share. Lisa framed the cards in 8 x 10 Ikea Ribba frames. She had the mats made at a local framing shop. I recently learned that you can do this at Joann Fabrics for about $6. So, lots of options!

  
The gift tags pictured above are new from Sweetbeets. The combination of the delicate tag shapes and the boldness of the graphics is fabulous. I think they'd look equally stunning paired with gifts wrapped in natural paper or colorful tissue papers.

You can find the entire Sweetbeets line at Lisa's Etsy shop, and select cards at Craftsbury Kids. You can learn more about Sweetbeets by visiting the modeco Kids blog, also filled with fabulous finds from other cutting edge designers and crafters. Check back here soon for a giveaway including ten Sweetbeets cards!

Fabric House Tutorial

Here's a tutorial to make this great looking fabric house from London Mummy.

Squishy Aliens in Outer Space

Do you have a "bored" kid or kids? Get out the cardboard tubes, paper plates, and aluminum foil; The latest issue of Kids Craft Weekly will show you how to make 'Squishy Aliens,' UFOs and Rockets, with little more than these readily available materials.



What a nice surprise to see that our Rocket Kit was featured in the newsletter along with these great projects. Thank you Kids Craft Weekly!

She's Crafty!

Have you seen the talented Hadley Fierlinger's brilliant knits and patterns? In the past, we offered Hadley's delicious "shescrafty" baby hats and booties at Craftsbury Kids. Hadley is focusing more on patterns these days; You can find shescrafty knits and patterns at her Etsy shop.

Rarely have I seen baby clothing that evokes such charm and beauty. You'll want to sit and stare at your baby all day when she wears these adorable classic knits.
I fell in love with the little coat on the right and bought one for Liam in navy blue. It's every bit as soft and gorgeous as I expected. Though it no longer fits Liam, we plan to pass it on to Jasper just as soon as he's big enough.

Stuck in Vermont

A self-esteem building summer camp that teaches girls how to weld.

Kids Craft Weekly

Amber Carvan has put together an inspiring newsletter featuring new craft projects for kids every week. This week's issue (the theme is machines) features projects to make simple robot pictures, cute miniature televisions, a mobile phone, and moving parts digger. Fun!
Sign up for the Kids Craft Weekly newsletter or view the archives.

Felt Barrettes

 

Make these cute-as-can-be barrettes with Angry Chicken's tutorial.

Pears 'n Blueberries

I think the warm weather (finally) is really getting to me!
I've been enjoying it so much, I've neglected to write a
blog post for almost a week. I have pear trees and blueberry
bushes to show for it though. We planted some in our garden,
and I'm so excited!
Here's a little tribute to pears and blueberries.
From left to right: Birds and Blueberries print by Gale Kaseguma,
'Wooley' Blueberry by erikamade, embroidered pear child's tank top
by lolipopguild, Eat your Fruit pillowcase dress by Plumtickled

Have you planted any fruit this Spring?
What's your favorite type of fruit?

Fabric Covered Thumbtacks

 
Get the tutorial to make these fun fabric covered
thumbtacks at How about orange.

Baby Clothes Swatch Book

I still have a tiny dress that I wore at around the age of two, and even a pic of my two year old self wearing it. I'm glad my mother saved it for me.

Personally I've tended to pass-on a lot of my kids' clothing, but have put aside some special pieces to save for them; This may be just as much for me, as it is for the kids. I love looking back at what they wore when they were babies.

I saw this great idea for a baby clothes swatch book over at apartment therapy - the nursery (via Wonder time). I think this project would work well in tandem with making a quilt from old baby clothing, as an alternative to saving the pieces individually.

Here's a beautiful quilt that Hilary Lang of Wee Wonderfuls made from her son's clothing. It's nice that she also has photos of her son in each outfit she used to make the quilt.