Mar 30, 2012

Texas Tech T-shirt Dress

Do you guys remember THIS dress I made from old t-shirts?



Well, I made another one using Texas Tech University shirts for a present for my sister when I threw her a baby shower. Miss Emma is finally old enough to fit into it, so I had to share the cute little girl in a cute little dress. This dress was easy to make and I love that it is a nice personal shower gift!





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Mar 26, 2012

Want to be a Guest Blogger?!

First things first, I saw Hunger Games this weekend and was actually impressed! I thought I would be disappointed since I liked the books so much, but I enjoyed the movie. However, if I didn't read the books, I don't think I would have gotten as much out of the movie. I got a different feel reading the book compared to watching the movie since there is so much in the book that Katniss is thinking, or motives for what she does, that doesn't come out that well in the movie. But, I guess that isn't my problem since I read the books!

So, back to the point of today's post. As you know, we are in the middle of selling our house. We actually sold it, but I am crossing my fingers everything follows through with this sale (inspections, appraisals, etc). I am a little skeptical so I don't want to get my hopes up. So, combine that with being sick for two weeks and you can see why my crafting has been put on hold for a bit, as well as most of our tot school stuff.

So this is why I need YOU! If anyone wants to be a guest blogger at lil Mop Top, I would love to have you! Just send me an email at jfj8935 at gmail.com to let me know you are interested. You can post about anything (crafts, cooking, baking, activities for kids, date night ideas, gardening, house decorating...you get the point) and I don't even mind if you have already posted about it on your blog. This can be super easy for you! All I need is the html version of your post in an email and you are set. Be sure to put links back to your blog so everyone can find you later!

And just to make sure you don't think I am just having the boys watch movies all day (only half the day), here are a couple cute pics of my sweet big boys painting on the driveway last week. The sidewalk paint was so easy to make and kept the boys entertained for about 20-30 minutes. If you want to make your own sidewalk paint, mix a little bit of cornstarch with water (should be slightly thicker than consistency of water) and use food coloring to dye it. Easy, right?!







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Mar 23, 2012

Hunger Games - Bingo game

Tomorrow is the big day! I am going to see Hunger Games with my sister and two friends. So, no, we didn't do the midnight premiere (I am too old for that!) but we are going opening weekend so that totally counts. We are going early to stand in line because we don't want to end up in the front row. To help pass the time in line, I made up this little people watching bingo game. Some items are specific to Hunger Games and other are generic people watching observations. Feel free to save the image and use in line while wait for the big show!



Also, comment later to tell me what you thought of the movie!

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Mar 19, 2012

Tot School - Easter

Hey everyone! I am actually posting again today. Are we impressed?! Well, don't be. I am posting a couple tot school activities I did with the boys LAST YEAR for Easter. Way to be on the ball, right?! So, after going through my pictures from a year ago with a little smile on my face, this is what we apparently did...

Nest and Egg Matching:
I used the printables from Confessions of a Homeschooler and had John match plastic Easter eggs to each picture. It was great practice in counting on the picture and counting out the physical eggs. There are more great printable activities from COAH and if I am not too lazy, I will try some more of them out next week with the boys.





One-to-one Correspondence:
I put out a bucket of eggs and had John fill an old egg carton with eggs. This is practicing one-to-one correspondence. Then it quickly turned into throwing practice as John just started chunking eggs across the dining room.





Number Matching:
I revised the egg carton activity. I numbered the spaces in the carton and numbered the eggs. John practice putting the eggs in the correct spot. I was glad to have him practice numbers higher than 10, although he really had been a pro at numbers for a LONG time. If I had to guess, this was probably easy for him, but he liked it!



Egg Shakers:
For Mr. Matty B (look how cute he was in his little helmet!), I made him some egg shakers. I filled eggs with small items like beans, beads, etc. Then I hot glued the eggs shut AND taped around the seam to make sure those bad boys didn't open. He liked shaking them and hearing the noise. Even though it isn't picture, I also gave him a bucket of themed toys to play with on the floor: soft bunnies, Easter books, egg carton, etc.



Shape Matching:
I bought a set of Easter cookie cutters. I probably had good intentions of making sugar cookies or cute lunches. I doubt that actually happened. However, I did turn it into a matching activity. John matched the cookie cutter to the picture. Very simple!



Egg Decorating:
John is VERY allergic to eggs. So I was wondering how I would have the boys dye eggs without him being able to touch them. Thankfully I found a cute decorating set that had little foam roller brushes. So Brad helped hold up the egg and John could paint it without touching the egg. I even found another set this year and it is in the closet ready to go! I also saw online that you can put an egg in the middle of a whisk and dip that into the dye. I will try that one too!





However, I didn't trust Matthew to handle the eggs (he was so young still!) so he played with his egg rattles and watched us have the fun. I am so excited for him to be able to participate this year!



Of course we did all the traditional Easter festivities: tons of egg hunts, presents, making Easter Bread (YUM!), and of course wearing bunny ears Easter morning.



I am getting excited for Easter after writing this post so I am going to force myself to plan activities this week so we can get back into gear. This whole 'keep the house clean to sell it' thing is cramping our style! :)

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Mar 11, 2012

Winnie The Pooh Party

Long time, no see! We are in the middle of trying to sell our house so in efforts to keep it clean for showings, pretty much all crafty projects have been halted. Sorry guys! However, today I have a Winnie the Pooh Party to share! This was a party for my niece Bella (who you have seen around lil Mop Top). I made these invitations for her:



Aren't they darling?

My sister set up the cutest party. Here is a picture of one of the tables. Go HERE to see the rest of the party!




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