Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all of you...to all of us! I think that in a way all women are mothers even if they don't have children and that is because of our wonderful divine nature. Being a woman is awesome and such a blessing! This photo of my mom and I was taken last fall as we were on our way to the state fair. We had these outfits that matched and had bought them at this particular store. We stopped in to show the girls and they loved it! We told them that we dressed alike so that if either one of us got "lost" at the fair we could say that the other was dressed exactly like us! LOL So fun! I truly am grateful for this time that I have to spend with my mom! She is darling!

Over at Julie's blog...Tattered threads and Willing Hands she is having an awesome giveaway in honor of Mother's Day and her blogaversary! I am always so inspired by her! She blesses others daily by her blogging!

Have a Wonderful Mother's Day!http://www.julieisa.blogspot.com Here is the link for Julie's blog! I hope it works as this is the first time I have done it. If it doesn't, just copy and paste it into your browser.

Smiles...............Dotti

Near finish on my baby quilt + Mother's Day through the eyes of an 8 year old

Hello Everyone! I am nearly done with the baby quilt that I have been working on. I have had lots of interruptions while I have been doing the binding but it is nearly complete. Doesn't it look sweet?! Since it's getting close to Mother's Day and since I have one of my granddaughters living nearby, I decided to work with her on making a paper bag album for her mom. Since she is 8, a bit older than my first graders, I put three bags together instead of two to give a few more pages. When we were getting started, I got a brainstorm to add fabric for the front and back of the book. She agreed and I had a piece that worked perfect. After we were all through with the entire project, I went in the other room to get something and later realized that she had added the heart on the front with a marker. I was disappointed but I have to acknowledge her creative spirit!

I am a bit of a perfectionist so I was working close with her but giving her lots of room for creative expression. Not always easy to do, but I did it. It makes it so much more meaningful to her and to her mom!




She decided how to put the squares on this page--I was telling her I was thinking about a random placement but she wanted them like this! Looks like a future quilter to me!

Her silly pix and silly labels! Another place where I had to just let go! It is still sweet!

This is the "centerfold" of the book and my favorite part. Partly because of what it represents and how it turned out and partly because of how the idea developed. I mentioned to Kristina that I wanted to find a picture of her mom at about 8 and put it next to a picture of her at this age, too. She loved the idea and as I was looking for the picture she said, I think we should put a picture of you and great grandma at the same age, too. I needed to do some scanning and cropping, but I came up with some photos that I thought would work. Isn't it sweet and it was mostly her idea?!

More sweet and fun photos!

And to top it off, we found a picture of her and her mom together (rare) for the finishing touch along with some fun stickers I had bought ahead of time. She did make a shirt card for one of the pockets--I forgot to take a picture. We are working on a poem for the other pocket.

This is how the back cover looks! I love the fabric on the back, don't you?!

Thanks for looking and I love to read your comments! Have a wonderful week and wish me a quick finish to the baby quilt!

Dotti

Mother's Day Tutorial and Detail

Here are some detail/tutorial helps with the mother's day paper bag album from yesterday's post! First, start the project with two brown lunch size paper bags. Lay them together with the openings facing opposite directions. Sew down the middle. On the ends, use a strong craft glue to glue the two ribbons. I do this before I give it to the kids because it eases a lot of frustration for all of us if that ribbon is secure right from the start. The first opening that you can see in the picture below is where we put a little card that the kids can make on their own. This card is where they can say something about how pretty or beautiful their mom is. I love to teach the kids to make this card because they can make it on their own in the future at home or.......anywhere.

The shirt in the photo is just a cream color but as in the directions later, I usually use a piece of scrapbook paper. I let the kids choose a color or design that they would like for their mom.

Start with a rectangle of scrapbook paper--I forgot to measure the one I have a school--it is probably about 4 x 8. Just play around with it!

Fold paper in half --crease.

On the end where the fold is, come down about 5/8 in. and make a 1 inch cut.

Lookin' good....

Then do the same thing on the other side. Lay flat.

Now, fold down each cut area as pictured below.

Now it looks like the collars! Lightly glue down the bottom of the collars.

Lift open the "shirt" and the child writes a "you are so beautiful" message to his/her mom.

Finally, the front of the card can be decorated as desired. Add stitching, pockets, loopy lines for lace, buttons, etc. Let the kids be creative!

The second opening where you tuck a little note, I use tiny pre-made cards that the kids can write any message in. Yes, you could make a card, but for my little ones, I have found that they just love using a little card. The teapot card was a Mary Engelbreit design. I couldn't find that at Michael's this year but below is the cute one I got for this year. It is very sweet!

Well, hopefully that takes care of needed details. I wanted to comment, though, about the endless possibilities of this book. It is done very simply here because this is what works for my grade/age level children--first grade! You can make it more simple or with older students many more details and embellishments can be added. One of the beautiful things about this project is that kids can see how something as ordinary as a brown paper bag can be turned into something special. They believe it especially when they see the tender, emotional reaction of their wonderful mothers. If you have any questions or if there is something I didn't explain well enough, please feel free to e-mail me. If you are looking at this and you know someone who might enjoy this idea, please send them over to my blog. Happy Mother's Day to all of you! Have an awesome week!

Just for Mom

Mother's Day is coming quickly. As you know I am a first grade teacher and I love to do creative things with my kids! A few years ago when my granddaughter was 4 my daughter made me a paper bag album. She is an excellent scrapbooker!

I loved it so much that I had to figure out a way to do something similar with my kids at school!So this is what I came up with....This will be the 3rd year that I have done it with my class and it means so much to every mom that I thought it would be fun to share and give others the opportunity to use the idea! I am sharing mostly pix today but tomorrow I will add a tutuorial for some of the details! If you know someone who may be interested, send them over to check out my blog!

This is so sweet for mom's to take out of the packaging and see their little book tied up with a pretty bow!

Inside the cover of the book is where a current spring photo of the child goes above the dedication tag. It is so sweet!

This page is where the child writes an acrostic poem for their mom. It is a bit challenging for 1st graders but we definitely have fun brainstorming the list together. They choose the adjectives that they like and fill in the poem with their handwriting. It is very precious.

In this first "pocket" is a little card made to look like a mom's blouse. I'll show you how to make it tomorrow. Inside the child writes something special about the way his/her mom looks!

The centerfold is the child's hand with a bouquet of flowers. So sweet!

Above and below is the child's drawing of his/her mom. I usually do it as a directed activity and focus on the head/face.

The child draws a picture of a favorite activity to do with mom!

Finally, in this last "pocket" is where the child places a small gift sized card where they can write anything to mom that they choose. The ones I got for this year are different. I usually just buy the ones that are 12 in a pkg. for $1.00 at Michaels.

A heart on the back with the child's sig and the date is a special way to top it off!

I would love to hear what you think! I will give tutorial on the needed parts tomorrow! Have fun!

Ready for a little one....

Hi Everyone! I noticed today that Sherri from A Quilting Life, Sheri from SherimHoward and Angela from ModaHomeMom are challenging us to Pay It Forward....I love that! Paying it Forward is such a cool way to approach each day. I am a first grade teacher and I have a wonderful little book that I read to my students entitled "One Smile" by Cindy McKinley. It illustrates how a child's smile starts a Pay It Forward situation. Gives us all something to think about, doesn't it!

Here's a little sneak peak at what I have been working on this week. My nephew and his wife are expecting their first baby in the next week or two--a little baby boy! It will be my brother's first grandchild so it is exciting for all of them. They live in the Boston, Massachusetts area--all the way across the country from me! I need to finish it and get it mailed soon.

This fabric was some that I have had for a while. It is from a line called "Tiny Treasures" by Mary Mulari for Marcus Brothers. It is so delicate and sweet. The yellow is actually polka-dot even though it doesn't look like it. I wanted my colors to look random and somewhat patchy. When I look at it too long the yellow creates a non-uniform pattern so I have to look quick and take my eyes away from the yellow. After it is quilted and bound, I think it will be fine. Tell me what you think! I wanted to add a little chenille for texture and interest for little baby fingers! I am going to have it quilted over the weekend and hopefully can get the binding done and ready to mail by Wednesday! I will show you the finished project before it gets mailed.

Thanks to all of you who inspire me! You are amazing! We are amazing! Happy Living!

Soaking it all in.........

Today has been beautiful weather here in the Pacific Northwest--we've been running short on it lately! Jodi at Simply, This, That and the Other provided a link to Another Amy...Diary of a Quilter. Such beautiful work to inspire me. Amy is having a give away to celebrate her 96th blog. Congratulations to her--I love the way we all celebrate our creativity!

Speaking of Celebrating Creativity.....



In my last post, I showed a pix of my necklace from Moda Bake Shop's tutorial by Holly. Yesterday I finally took a picture of my mom and my granddaughter wearing their works of art. I made my mom's but my granddaughter, Kristina (she's 8) made hers. She caught on very quickly and I think it is so precious! She loves to share in creative activities with my mom and I. Have a fun week and hopefully, I can post some more inspiring ideas this week! Happy creating!!

Dotti

Starting Out

This is my first blog post. I am very excited but recognize that I am quite an amateur at this. I not only love quilting and sewing but really most everything that I do. I am a full-time first grade teacher and as you can well imagine much of my creative energy goes into this very demanding job. I have been so inspired by the quilting blogs of others as well as the family blogs of friends. My experience here may be an eclectic collection of many creative experiences. I hope you enjoy the journey and this gathering place!

Shortly after I discovered the "Moda Bake Shop" I saw Holly's post with the Neptune Necklace. I was so enthused and gathered everything to make it with a charm pack that I had bought last summer. This is my first, not my best, try at it. I was so excited about it being done even though it was far from perfect! I immediately made another one for my mom for St. Patrick's Day and it turned out beautiful! Holly gave me some tips that helped me out! Thanks, Holly! Last week my 8 year old granddaughter who has been living in Hawaii arrived back in the area to live. Her mom showed her the one on the MBS and she wanted me to show her how to make one. The first day she was back, she made a pink one. She caught on so fast and was very patient in the process. I was so impressed! I will post a picture another day of her masterpiece! It is very sweet! Have a creative day!