A Hen Made of Chicks?

When I saw this decorative hen I couldn't help myself. I was planning on making a living wreath today, but that got put on hold. There are a bunch of hens and chicks (the plants, not the real birds) on the side of our house that are growing like crazy. They can grow just about anywhere, so why not make a hen out of them?

Started with the wire hen.

Lined her so she was ready for the plants.

Then got to adding some chicks.....

......and hens.

I'll add in some more plants tomorrow, but leave enough room for them to grow and make more chicks.

I think she makes a sweet addition to our patio.

It will take a few months for the roots to grow nice and secure into the body of the hen, and in a couple of years her whole body should be covered in hens and chicks.

B's Birthday Bag

It feels so good to have a project completed and sent off to a good home. B's birthday bag, as I mentioned in the last post, is for her very own diaper bag to take care of her baby dolls. Hopefully it will come in extra handy when her mom has a baby in a couple of months. She loves to copy what her momma is doing, so these should help keep her busy.

The "diaper bag" is a bag I found on sale at Michael's in the clearance rack. I also picked up a couple exactly like these (this link is what came up when I googled homemade baby doll diaper bags and helped inspire me) that were on clearance with an additional 20% off my total purchase. Hooray.

Reversible baby doll bibs, although the big one will fit B if she wants to wear it.

The other sides.

Her healthy snacks.

A baby doll burp rag . B LOVES Curious George so I hope she loves the little monkeys on this.

Of course I had to add some baby doll diapers. I had my sister measure B's favorite baby doll and then things took off from there. I really liked this pattern tutorial and this one too. I found that once I had an actual baby doll in hand to try diapers on I made my own pattern that seemed to be a better fit, for that doll at least. There are three different patterns in this mix of diapers!

There are so many fun fabrics.

These could be reversed, although it might be a little awkward. I made another pattern for a friends daughter that is reversible and looks the same on each side (hard to do if you don't have the doll on hand.)

A peek inside the bag once it is stuffed with the goodies.

The end pockets are a perfect fit for the magic sippy cups.

Happy Birthday B! You are such a fun loving, tiny gal who brings big smiles to everyone around you.

Toys for a Toddler

One of my nieces turns two this month and I wanted to make a special gift that she could play with. She loves to mimic her mother, who is due to have a second child soon and rock B's world. I decided to make her a diaper bag full of goodies so she could have her own new baby things to play with and be just like mom. B already has a few baby dolls that she adores, so I had my sis send me some measurements and went to work. Diapers, bibs, burp rags, and even wipes soon littered the project room (pictures to come later.)  Searching the toy isle at stores I found all kinds of cool plastic toys that I just couldn't bring myself to buy (I had already felt mildly guilty buying toy sippy cups,) knowing that they would just end up in a landfill someday. I wanted to have some healthy snacks for B to give her baby's besides the sippy cups.So I got to work on designing some healthy fruits and a vegetable made of fabric......watermelon, an apple that has velcro seeds to hold it together, a carrot, strawberries, and an orange. Hopefully little B enjoys them and possibly learns to love fruit even more.

Burlap Bag to Bison

 Last weekend started out cloudy and ended with snow flurries. Tim started the garden on Saturday while I started a bag for his sister Krista. Her work had some extra burlap sacks that she thought I might like to play with. It was definitely a challenge to work with, but I really enjoy the final project and can't wait to start playing around some more.

The beginning of the garden. At the far left there are two rows of peas, a square of spinach, and a square of onions. The rest will be put in when it is a little warmer.

Handles for the bags.

Lola loves to lounge in the project room.

The handles turned and ready to add to the bag.

I did a few stitches to keep the burlap from unraveling after cutting it to size and before putting the bag together.

 

 

 

 

The bag after turning it.

When I turned the bag it all had to fit out this little hole.

The finished handles.

The design that came on the bag. One of Krista's co-workers made a bag with this same logo on it and I love it!

The reverse side with a pocket. Tim picked this material because it reminded him of the actual coffee plant. The bag was used to ship coffee beans, so I agreed that it was a cute idea!

The coffee beans on the plant!

This weekend we spent all weekend outside playing. Saturday we ate breakfast on the patio with all of the animals, hens included. Then we headed up to Antelope Island with my brother and his cute family. I have to say that I went with very low expectations. I had been warned of biting gnats and other bugs, but we lucked out. There were hardy any bugs and the weather was perfect. The water was warm and we could wade out with the boys for a long way. When we were done at the beach we went for a pleasant hike and finished by driving around looking at the wildlife.

Today we spent at the Chariot Races with Tim's family, a yearly tradition we enjoy (pictures to come later!)

What beggars.

Such sweet faces...they might have gotten a little breakfast burrito.

The lovely view at the beach.

Playing in the water.

My brother, his wife, and their youngest.

Me and the middle child.

Me and the oldest of the three children. Poor kid had just ran in front of his brother while rocks were being thrown and was hit by two. He recovered quickly when he learned bison and doughnuts were in his future.

It is so refreshing to see green coming up.

This is what we found that the end of our hike. The boys called this the "Big Rock Playground."

Pictures don't do justice to the size of these bison.

The view coming back across the causeway.