Iron Craft #16 - Cha-ching!!!

This week on Iron Craft it is all about money. That word makes me think of Pink Floyd's song Money and the cha-ching sound. We had fun this week with this theme- lots of different projects going on here.

I had to work on Saturday so the Things spent part of the day with Kathy and Matt ( I am lucky to live 9 blocks away and that they are nice enough to help out when I need it!!!) Thing 1 loves the book The Encyclopedia of Immaturity, Vol 1. Among the many things it has that make boys laugh it shows you how to make a ring out of money so...Thing 1 made a little Rupee Bling for his pinky.

Thing 2 worked with Kathy to make a paper mache piggy bank.

We came home with both of them to be decorated. Not to be left out, Thing 1 decorated the other one.

Thing 1's is on the left and Thing 2's is on the right.

My mom made a great card that could be used to hold money. I guess it is not my birthday card since that is not my name on it....

But, the child who has a birthday next week is standing next to me as I work on this and sees his name wondering if Grandma is giving away a birthday secret. (He says he can't believe Grandma would spend the time on making the card and not send it) He says the money does not need to be in it- he just wants the card.

I was excited for this week's theme. I have been wanting to make a little coin/money pouch for awhile. There are many times I just want something to hold a few cards, my driver's license and my phone. I used the pattern found here -I tried to add a pocket on the outside but as my son would say-"epic failure" . I chose some springy fabric as we cannot seem to leave winter behind. I love my new pouch!!!

Looking forward to seeing what next week's challenge brings.... the one thing I really hope is we have some warm weather!!!

Until next week...

Iron Craft #15-Bunny or chick???

It use to be that one sign of spring was the Peeps showing up in the stores around Easter time. Now they have peeps for almost all the major holidays. You can even get them covered in chocolate. I wonder if they still have the sugar coating on them or not. This week for the Iron Craft challenge we were tasked with doing something with Peeps. Peeps was the material.

Thing 1 knew right away what he was going to do- set up a scene with Peeps. So he got to work- all 4 packages of peeps were opened and sugar galore was sent all over the living room. I walked in and saw his work... Attack of the Peeps!!! ( I secretly think he just wanted to eat them as I know there were peeps missing between photo shoots)

My project was rather simple- use a model of the Empire State Building that Thing 1 made and create- Peep Kong

Grandma, who is a regular now decided to make a nice spring center piece with her Peeps. Truth be told- I buy my mom Peeps at each holiday as they are a favorite of hers-she eats them but only after being opened and getting a little hard. I love the arrangement she has put together.

Thing 2 was excited to make something that is a favorite around here this time of year....S'mores. What kid ( and most adults) doesn't like marshmallow, chocolate and graham crackers. However, when I went for the chocolate bars there were none to be found- not saying who but I know a couple of Things that might be guilty. Since we were using Peeps, why not use chocolate chip cookies for the outside. We even included who I guess could be called Thing 3, Lucas' buddy Charlie.

The only one not to make an appearance yet is my husband, the Big Cheese. I challenged him to come up with something this week. Not a lot of time or places to find Peeps or marshmallows in Saudi Arabia but he did send a photo of a couple of camels in a pickup truck. Is it dinner or a pet?

Maybe one of these weeks when he gets back he will join us for a challenge. My other goal is to get grandma to use her "real" camera and not her iPhone....got to get here to branch out on the technology.

Until next week.....

Iron Craft #14-Wish you were here

This week the challenge on Iron Craft was to make a postcard. It sounded simple enough. But boy did I struggle- I was the last one in the house done.

Grandma went over the top by making cards for Thing 1, Thing 2, Kathy, myself and for the swap. Each of hers is a little different. The boys will love getting mail.

Thing 1 decided he was going to draw the Van's logo that is on his baseball hat. He loves his hat and his Vans.

Next to finish was Thing 2. He and I talked one night about what he wanted to do and we came up with using a thumb print to make a bunny. He was going to make a card for the swap as well as one for each of his grandparents and his cousins in North Carolina. He loved getting his hands dirty and doing this project.

When it came time to finish the bunnies and write on the card I really struggled with letting him do it without my input. I wanted it to be simple and not say much- he on the other hand had a whole different take on it. I need to remind myself that he is 8 and it is his project. I can't tell him how to do it. I think the recipients of these cards will love them.

By Tuesday I still did not have an idea, so my friend Jen at work said let's take a break and go over to the art building and come up with something. One advantage of working in recreation is having lots of resources at your disposal. After looking at a ton of stuff I decided on using some tissue paper, art paper and oil pastels. I put the tissue paper on the art paper and "painted" over it with water and let the colors bleed through. After that was done I used the oil pastels to outline the colors. I scanned it to make it postcard size. A fun break in the pre-summer chaos that is my job.

After I posted some photos on facebook and on here of the Things meeting their namesakes Grandpa asked where is photo was. So making his first appearance in this space is Grandpa and his namesake :)

Looking forward to next week's challenge. Wondering as the warm weather stays, spring fever really hits and baseball season starts will getting the projects done be harder.

Challenges #12 #13- Lucky & Best In Show

Well, we here in our house "got lucky" and were able to head south and leave the Frozen Tundra for 9 days. We were able to spend a few days on the beach, head to a few theme parks and enjoy time with the Big Cheese who was back for a few weeks.

There was not a lot of time for crafting and such on the trip but Thing 2 did do some sand art while in Cocoa Beach....

We were also able to see Grandma and Grandpa on this trip. Being that Grandma was away she did not have time to do up a craft but she did submit a photo of the "Rabbits Foot Fern" that she is growing and tending to. I have never seen one of these before but it does look like rabbit's feet.

While on our trip we made a stop at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. The Things had been saving their money to visit Harry Potter and find their wands. Little did we know that while there we would meet their namesakes.
Week 13's challenge for Iron Craft-Best in Show- was a hard one us to find something to put together especially in 3 days. Prior to leaving on our trip we had to say goodbye to our favorite four-legged friend, Lambeau, who had been with us for over 14 years. The only other pet in our lives right now is Fred, our Betta fish and I am not sure what you would make for a fish. Even though I did not make it this week, I decided to use a project I had made for Halloween for the Things & Lambeau-who we feel is BEST IN SHOW !

After a few weeks off from crafting the boys and I are eager to find out next's week challenge. We are back in the game.

Iron Craft #11- Easy Bein' Green

What perfect timing for this week's challenge in Iron Craft. We have had snow on the ground here in the frozen tundra for well over 120 straight days and it is wearing on me. I love snow but this year has been too much- over 80 inches of it and now it is all dirty and gross - I am ready for some green.

When talking with Kathy about ideas for this project she said she was thinking of making a terrarium. I said I had wanted to make one for a while so we decided to work on this project together. It seemed to make sense since a lot of the supplies came in big bags and it would be easy to share. Thing 2 wanted to join us so we made a day out of it. Kathy and I went and got all the supplies-you need gravel, charcoal, potting soil, plants and decorative rocks for the top if you want. And you need a container for it to all go into.

Having never done this before it was a learning experience. We had fun doing this together. Thing 2 wants to keep his in his room- I am trying to convince him that there is better light in the living room. But then again it finally might warm up and we can take the plastic off his windows and open up the blinds. COME ON SPRING!!!!

You can read Kathy's instructions here on how we assembled them.

Iron Craft #10- the Fat Quarter

I was so excited to see fat quarters as the challenge this week for Iron Craft. I knew right away what I was going to make. A couple of weeks ago I had gotten some new makeup and some new brushes. These brushes needed something to hold them in and I knew just the thing. A brush roll. I had made crayon and pencil rolls for the boys a few years ago to hold crayons and colored pencils. I knew that all I needed to do was adapt it to hold the brushes and I was set. I am super happy with the results and even left room for a few more brushes. Now I need to make a pouch to match.

Grandma joined us again this week. My brother has twin girls- Sophie and Gwyn who are 6 years old. Both of them have American Girl dolls. Grandma decided to use a fat quarters to make some clothes for the dolls. Each piece in the outfits is made with a fat quarter but with the two girls she had to use more than one to make clothes. And being grandma, she did not stop with just one outfit for each doll. I know these outfits will be loved.

I had another idea for Thing 1 and Thing 2 to do for their project. Both of them love to draw and write in journals so I thought that covering your basic composition book with a fat quarter would be the perfect thing for them to do. The hardest part was getting them to go with me to pick out the fabric.

This project is really easy. Just measure out the dimensions of your book you are covering. Cut a piece of a fabric about an inch bigger and a piece of heat and bond. Adhere the heat and bond to the fabric. Once that is done you attach the fabric to the notebook. It is that simple. Now Thing 1 and 2 are set with a cool notebook to take on spring break.

Looking forward to what the next challenge brings.... the boys wake on Thursday and always ask what we are doing next.

Challenge #9-....and the Oscar goes to.....

Well, our movies are not Ocsar winners but they are winners at our house.

Thing 1 and I are the only ones participating this week and we chose Harry Potter and Toy Story 1. I took the easy route this week and finally finished my golden snitch from a few weeks ago. I know, kind of cheesy but I could not think of anything to do- it is weird but I don't really have an all time favorite movie. My boys are lucky to have lots of Harry Potter stuff around thanks to the great scarfs and mittens knit by Kathy. I thought it was perfect backdrop for the photo of my snitch. I followed Kathy's pattern for the golden snitch but I am not happy with how the edges of my knitting turns out. I think I need some help there- it always tends to be too loose.

Thing 1 on the other hand loves all movies it seems. But for this week he settled on Toy Story 1 and the little green army men. He chose to make these out of clay and they turned out awesome. He wanted a whole army of them but they took more time than he had this week..... but I think they turned out great.

These little guys measure about 2 1/2' inches tall, are formed out of clay and then baked. My son would spend all day working with and molding clay if it were not for school and homework. It is so fun to see what he creates.

Looking forward to the next challenge- maybe it will be something that all of us can do. Who knows?