Secret Subject Swap - February 2015

Welcome to a Secret Subject Swap. This week, 15 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:

 Baking In A Tornado

 Stacy Sews and Schools

 The Bergham’s Life Chronicles

 Spatulas on Parade

 Dinosaur Superhero Mommy

 The Momisodes

 Climaxed

 Confessions of a Part-Time Working Mom

 Southern Belle Charm

 The Lieber Family

 Someone Else’s Genius

 Evil Joy Speaks

 Disneyland in Kentucky

 Sparkly Poetic Weirdo

 Juicebox Confession


Your “Secret Subject” is:
Uh oh. You accidentally broke Cupid's leg, and he's unable to complete his duties. Thankfully, the Cupid you hurt is the one tasked with celebrity relationships, not with relationships in general. It is up to you to complete his quota for the two weeks he will need to heal. You're tasked with creating three new celebrity relationships and ending three current celebrity relationships. The created relationships can be rekindled romances. Who are you making fall in love and who is falling out of love?

It was submitted by: The Bergham Chronicles 

Oh, my! I've really done it this time. 

I didn't mean to hit Cupid with my van! I was backing out and he was in my blind spot! 

Now I have to take over for 2 weeks!!!
THE PRESSURE!!!! NOOOOO!!!!!!!

And I HAVE to break up 3 couples. OUCH!!!!!! 

The putting couples together part should be fairly easy. 

Well, I had better get on with it then.... 

SIGH...

So for my first couple I am going to have to break Anderson Cooper and his partner up. SORRY! It just has to be done!! Everyone knows he should totally be dating Tim Gunn!! Yes, there's a bit of an age difference there but who cares???? Anderson Cooper's mom is Gloria Vanderbilt! OF COURSE he should be dating Tim Gunn!!! 

Couple number 2...... Ok, so Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson should definitely be a thing. I'm all for Hermione and Ron in the HP world but in the real world they would just be SOOOOOO stinkin' cute together!!!! 

Number 3..... Maggie Smith and Patrick Stewart. Y'all know that would be awesome!!!! It might just be too awesome for the world to handle!!! 

Break Ups

That's tough.... 

How about no more Kim and Kanye. BLECK!! Just so sick of hearing about them. Blah, blah, blah!!!!

Miley Cyrus and Patrick Schwarzenegger??? Just no!! No, No, NO!!!!!!

For the last break up, I'm going with Posh and Becks just because that is too much perfection for one relationship, people. My goodness. 

I am so glad that I don't have this job! YILES!!!!! I couldn't take it!!! All those love lives! No thanks!!!!! 

DIY Doll Carrier

I had SO MUCH fun with this project!! My cousin is about to have her 2nd child in a couple of months and she commissioned me to sew a doll carrier for her son! He'll be able to carry his own "baby" around just like his mom and dad!!

I wish I had a model for this but it's just too small for my youngest kiddos. :( But I might have to make a couple of bigger ones. ;) 


WHAT I USED 

Less than 1/2 yard of 2 coordinating fabrics
2 coordinating buttons
Paper bag to draw out my pattern
Pinking shears used on the pocket and straps


STEP 1

The first thing I did was grab Cailey's Build-a-Bear bunny to help me measure out the pattern. 


STEP 2

I folded the pattern in half and evened it up where needed. 


STEP 3

Cut out 1 pattern piece for both coordinating fabrics.


STEP 4

Next, cut out the straps. 
Mine are 6" wide by 18" long. The length will vary on how big/small your child is. 
Measure from the center of their chest, diagonal across the back to the side. Then add 4".
The additional length will be for seam allowances and so there will be room to move the button as your child grows.


STEP 5

Cut out your pocket (if you want). Fold the edges over and press.
Sew a line across the top.
Pin in place on the front of piece of the carrier and sew in place.


STEP 6

Pin both of your pieces with right sides together.
You will sew them together EXCEPT between the pins and the across the very bottom.

We will be adding side straps where the pins are to hold the doll in place. We will also be adding the straps to the very bottom.

After you have it all sewn, turn right side out and press. 


STEP 7

Time for the button holes!!!
With my old machine, button holes were a pain in the rump!! Thankfully they are a breeze with my new machine. They come out right every single time! SHEW!!!!


STEP 8

Now for the straps!
Fold your pieces in half and press. 
Sew a seam down the raw edges.
Turn right side out.
Fold in half again and press.
Top stitch down both sides.

Fold the bottom over, press and sew across. 


STEP 9

Add your buttons to the ends of the straps!


STEP 10 

Insert the straps into the bottom of the carrier and pin in place.

Insert side straps into the sides of the back of the carrier and pin in place.

Top stitch the bottom half only!!!! 

Insert the side straps into the sides of the front of the carrier.

Top stitch the rest. Be careful to keep the rest of the carrier out of the way of the needle! It's not as hard as it may first look. ;)

                                      ALL DONE!!!!!!

Cailey's bunny looks so cute!! I am definitely going to have to make her one. She's never been big into dolls but she LOOOOOOOVES stuffed animals!!! They have always been her favorites! 


Let me know if you have any questions! 


HAVE FUN SEWING!!!

Valentine's Day Fun Learning Resources

WOW! Valentine's Day is coming up VERY soon!!! Seems like just yesterday it was Christmas!! Are the days going by faster????

I have put together a great list of Valentine's Day printables and activities! I can't wait to try them out!!

Here is a great list of books at Amazon. Some of our favorites are Splat, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rose, and I Love You, Stinkyface.


PRINTABLES

Love Quotes Copywork

The History of St. Valentine's Day 

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Rose 

Q-Tip Painting Pages 

Math Games (Toddler to 4th Grade) 

Montessori Inspired Printables 


Do a Dot Printables 

Color by Number Pages 

Love Tot Pack 

Learning Pack (Pre-K to 1st) 

History of St. Valentine's Day (Pre-K to 5th) 

I <3 Trucks Pack 





ACTIVITIES

 9 Heart Experiments 

Montessori Activities 

30 Crafts and Activities 

Toothpick Structures 

Heart Art  

Montessori Inspired Activities 

Valentine's Slime 

Valentine's Playdough 

Science Experiments 

Love Potions (Science Experiments) 

Facts, History and Symbols 

Crafts 

Heart Bird Feeder 

History of Valentine's Day 





FOOD STUFF

Cupid Floats (We are SOOO doing these!!!)

Rice Krispie Treats 

21 Healthy Valentine's Day Treats 

Robot Treat 


Learn about the Heart

Montessori Heart Actvities 

Info and Activities 

Activities, Printable and Videos 

Circulatory System Lessons (Printables and Activities)

Circulatory System Notebooking Pages 

Worksheets 

Cardiovascular System Actvities 

Infographic 

Heart Activity 

How the Heart Works Activities 

Heart and Circulatory Activities 

Videos 

Videos 



 
         HAVE FUN LEARNING!!!

Friday Funny - January 2015

January Funny Friday

Today’s post is this month’s Funny Friday, a regular feature published on the last Friday of every month. Funny Friday is a collaborative project. Each month one of the participants submits a picture, then we all write 5 captions or thoughts inspired by that month’s picture. Links to the other bloggers’ posts are below, click on them and see what they’ve come up with. I hope we bring a smile to your face as you start your weekend.

Here’s today’s picture. It was submitted by Baking In A Tornado .

1. I didn't chose the slug life, the slug life chose me.

2. I was playing the lava game and then the volcano collapsed.

3. Moooom, I said I didn't want my picture taken!!! Jeez.... (Insert eye roll)

4. Help!! Help!!! The couch is eating me!!!

5. Knocked out in round 8 of the pillow fight.

Click on the links below and let some other bloggers make you smile:

The Bergham’s Life Chronicles

Follow Me Home

Baking In A Tornado

Someone Else’s Genius

Confessions of a Part-Time Working Mom

The Momisodes

Sanity Waiting to Happen 

Juicebox Confession

Spatulas on Parade

Cluttered Genius

Eileen’s Perpetually Busy

Easy Valentine's Day Decor

I have a SUPER fast and SUPER easy project for you today!! I did all 3 jars and the table runner in under an hour!!! AND I got everything but the fabric at the Dollar Tree! EASY! FAST! CHEAP!


The Table Runner

What I Used-

1/4 yard of printed Valentine's Day fabric (from Joann's)

1/8 yard of plain red cotton

Pinking shears

STEP 1

I measured out the length and width that I wanted for my runner. 


STEP 2
Then I cut it using my pinking shears. (No need to hem it!!!!)


STEP 3

My iron threw up on my fabric. ;)

Then I pinned the red down the middle of the print and sewed it on with a straight stitch. 


ALL DONE!!!!! I told you it was quick and easy!!! 


The Jars

What I Used 

I got the glittery heart stickers, foam heart stickers and chenille stems from the Dollar Tree! 

Step 1

Cut the fabric pieces with pinking shears to the size of your jar.


Step 2

Hot glue the bigger piece to the jar. 
Then hot glue the smaller piece of top of it.


Step 3

Hot glue ribbon around the top.


Step 4

Stick on the sticker.


Step 5

Since I had small jars, I cut the chenille stems in half.
Then I stuck the foam hearts on top. 

ALL DONE!!!

See how easy????


              HAVE FUN CRAFTING AND SEWING!!!!!!

Inspire Your Heart with Art

This coming Saturday, January 31st, is Inspire Your Heart with Art Day! I wanted to put together a list of resources and fun stuff to help celebrate! Art is HUGE at my house. We love going to art museums, discussing art and creating art!

All the resources are free or cheap. 

These are just a few. Get a book about art history and let your kids look through it. Which are their favorites? Check out books about that artist, style or period! Then to try to recreate a favorite piece in your own way. 




Activity Ideas

Tissue Paper Monet Lily Pond

Paint with Your Feet

O'Keefe's Poppies

Torn Paper Landscapes

Moroccan Art

Art Lessons

Art Lessons

3D Art 

Picasso Masks

Kandinsky Plastic Circles  (scroll down)

Matisse Scissor Style

Art Journals

Project Ideas of all Kinds

30 Projects for Exploring Great Artists

50 Art Projects for Active Kids

Montessori Inspired Art Appreciation

15 Fine Art Projects

Combining Art with Science

For more activities, check out my Pinterest Page

Another activity that we like to do is listen to a piece of music (any kind at all) and draw or paint the way it makes you feel. What do you think of when you hear it?



Museums Online

The MET Online Collection

The Getty Online Collection

The Louvre

National Gallery of Art

The Kennedy Center



Printables


Art Coloring Pages  (for recreating masterpieces)

Abstract Coloring Pages 

Color Me Masterpieces 

Renaissance Art Cards 

Reformation Art Cards 

Art Printables and Lessons 

Famous Artist Notebooking Pages 

Fine Arts Notebooking Pages 

Coloring Pages and Art Alphabet 

Art Unit Study 

100 Things to Draw List  

Copywork and Notebooking Pages 


Here is a list of artists that I have put together resource lists for :

Jackson Pollock

Leonardo da Vinci

Michelangelo  

Norman Rockwell 

Renoir 

Van Gogh 

Must Have Art Supplies

Different types of paint - water colors, tempera, acrylic, finger paints

Air dry clay or the ingredients to make your own

Chalk

Oil pastels

Markers

Colored Pencils

Crayons

Coffee filters

Toothpicks

Chenille stems

Foam cutouts 

Newspaper

Ingredients to make papier mache

Glue

Cardboard

Recycled plastic bottles

Bottle caps

Water color paper

Construction paper

Drawing paper

Magazines

String or yarn

IMAGINATION!!! ;)


                          HAVE FUN CREATING ART!!!!!

Fly on the Wall - January 2015

Welcome to a Fly on the Wall group post. Today 14 bloggers are inviting you to catch a glimpse of what you’d see if you were a fly on the wall in our homes. Come on in and buzz around my house.

Buzz around, see what you think, then click on these links for a peek into some other homes:

Baking In A Tornado

Spatulas on Parade

Follow Me Home

Menopausal Mother

Stacy Sews and Schools

Dinosaur Superhero Mommy

Juicebox Confession

Battered Hope

Eileen’s Perpetually Busy

Go Mama O

Someone Else’s Genius

The Sadder But Wiser Girl

Just A Little Nutty

The Momisodes

The Crazy People That Live Here 

Me

The Hubby

Jacob - Oldest Son (21 yrs old)

Joshua - 2nd Son (19 on Monday)

Deanna - Oldest Daughter (18 TOMORROW!!!)

Cailey - Youngest Daughter (10 yrs old)

Colin - Youngest Son (7 yrs old)

TJ - Jacob's best friend (he lives here, too)

So far 2015 isn't looking all that great for me. If you were a fly on my wall this month you just might have heard some not so nice words.....

Jacob and TJ came down with the flu. I'm hoping it stops there. 4 of us got flu shots and 4 of us did not. SIGH....

We had our first really cold snap. The Hubby thought he put antifreeze in the van a couple of months ago. He did not. 

Soooo, I get up at 2:45 am and get ready to take him to work. He wakes Joshua up so he can pump gas for me on the way home.

It's SUPER frickin' cold outside.

I go out and start the van so it will be all nice and cozy when we leave.

We go to leave and the inside of the van is ice cold.

The Hubby thinks maybe it's because it's so cold out.

Nope.

We get about 2 miles from the house and the temperature gauge is pegged on H. Then the thermostat indicator starts dinging at me.

After some back and forth we decide to head home and The Hubby will call a friend to take him to work. 

We get about a mile from the house and have to stop at a light. 

BOOOOOM!!!!! Steam starts pouring out of the engine.

We blew a hole in our upper radiator hose.

The Hubby calls a friend and tells him what's going on.

We let the van cool off (HA! the heat never did come on) and try to make it to the house.

SHEW! We make it and The Hubby's friend picks him up for work.

It takes 3 days to fix the van because we had to have the parts delivered.

It could have been so much worse. All we needed was a hose, a thermostat and thermostat housing. We could have cracked the block! 

SHEW!! Crisis diverted but still, not much fun.

Now, if you know me, you know I LOOOOOVE snow. I have been complaining about that a lot lately, how I want some SNOW darn it.

Well, be careful what you wish for.

We start hearing on the news that we are going to have a little weather system but it won't be much. Barely anything at all.

HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!

I go to start the van up to take The Hubby to work and there's ice all over the driveway.

The Hubby says it's no big deal, the road looks fine.

HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!

I start to slip and slide before I even get off our road.

Then we hit the interstate. Before we've gone very far we see a couple of vehicles that have gone off the roadway.

I get The Hubby to work and the parking lot is a solid sheet of ice.

SIGH...

I get back on the interstate to go home. 

I go about 2 miles and the interstate turns into a parking lot. For 5 hours. It was a nightmare. 
It usually takes me 50 minute round trip, it took me 6 hours! 6 HOURS!!!!

I am now considering putting a port-a-potty in our van.

I went through some stages that morning.

Stage One - Shock - Oh my! How awful!

Stage Two - Denial - It couldn't possibly be much longer.

Stage Three - Anger - What the frickin' frack is going on???? WHY aren't we MOVING???

Stage Four - Acceptance - I will never leave this van. It is my home forever.
Stage Five - Deliverance - HALLELUJAH!! I am FREE!!!  (I may have wept.)

I do have a FEW funnies for you this month. 

Cailey - I need TOOOOILET PAPER!!

Deanna - Why are you naked???

Cailey - It was the only way.

She was wearing her new Christmas PJs. They are one piece. LOL

One evening The Hubby fell asleep on the couch. I tried for 3 hours to wake him up. As soon as his phone rang he sat straight up.

Me - I guess I should have just called his phone. Now I know.

Colin - Yeah, you need to give him a WAKE UP call. Get it??? Get it????

So it happened again tonight. He fell asleep on the couch and I tried and tried wake him up.
I grab my phone and call him. 
Worked like a charm. LOL



As I was falling asleep the other night I could have sworn I heard the TARDIS. Nope. The Hubby's snores + the fan = weird TARDIS-like noise. 

The Hubby has a Slim Jim in each hand. His face starts to itch. He then smacks himself in the face with a Slim Jim while trying to scratch.

As Deanna and I die laughing.....

The Hubby - Oh, HA HA HA! Fly on the Wall!! Fly on the Wall!!

He knows me so well.

The Hubby tried to change the channel with his cell phone.

While Deanna and I are dying laughing....

The Hubby - Oh, HA HA HA HA HA! Fly on the Wall! Fly on the Wall!

And last but not least, our cat in the box. 


Don't forget to click all the links!!!!!!! We have some wonderful, amazing bloggers to read!!!