Monday, June 2, 2014

More Homemade Birthday Ideas

Okay. It's June, folks. In our neck of the woods, that means a couple of things.

1) Inventory in the library. (Also see -- "I don't care, I'm wearing flip flops and yucky clothes everyday. Try and test me.")

2) School's going to be done...sooner rather than later. Side note: Where the HECK did this year go?!

3) Hadley's birthday will be upon us like *snap* THAT. Seriously, the more work I have to get done at school, the faster the time goes. That's a written law in the time-space continuum.

So, of course I've been hunting down some stuff for the big day. Well. Kind of.

More like...gifts. On Pinterest.

Wait, what? Gifts on Pinterest?? What the...how?

See, I know the Hadman gets a lot of...stuff...for his big day. I'm quite sure Dave and I will have a mini shopping spree for a couple of outfits and a book or two, and I think we've already sneaked a couple of toys on a trip to Toys 'R Us. We're normal, after all. *bugs out eyes, sticks out tongue*

But, after I realized I wanted to get him some felt play food (that plastic stuff's okay, but this is a tad cooler...and a touch more earth friendly), and maybe some letters and/or numbers and/or shapes while we were at it...well, of course my attention turned to Pinterest and that old stand-by search term: "DIY." Here's the "Kid Fun" board I've been pinning to.

A few days later, I found myself in possession of a stack of cheap, CHEAP felt (made from recycled bottles, nonetheless!) with dreams of these inspiration images dancing in my head:

 
Sorry, no source available!
(Please let me know if this was your idea, I'd like to give credit!)

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(So simple, so genius!)

 
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(My fave!)

Awesome ideas, right?? I'm holding off on making a pretend kitchen until he shows more interest (and we have a bigger space for it).

The next inspiration came from the FABULOUS job my mother-in-law has been doing with teaching Hadley his letters and numbers. She uses flashcards as well as alphabet books, so I figured it'd be useful to have some around the house this summer. Enter Pinterest, once again.

It's funny. PicMonkey is my favorite blogging tool for images lately. You'd think I would've connected the dots in my mind to say, "Doy! You should use that to make some flashcards for the Hadman!" Der dee der! Silly me. But, this site right here figured it out for me. Thanks, Mommy's Craft Obsession!



The inspiration from this site also lead me to think about making "friends and family" flash cards. Y'know, with family members' faces and names so he can learn about all the people who love him...and to realize that the only "Bill" in his life isn't the weather man. (Sorry, Uncle Bill!) In his defense, "Mr. Bill" is a family friend.

The other cool thing here is that I purchased a small laminator back in the day (in my elementary ed. days) that will help these suckers last for any possible future kids that come down the line. Look at me working smarter, not harder!

The last handmade thing I'm thinking about would probably be a "sometime this summer" rather than "for your birthday" idea.


Couldn't you just DIE?! I LOVE how she made these -- right down to the color and use of lima beans (instead of sand, which we all KNOW will end up EVERYWHERE)! I could totally see these living on our back porch. Plus, since they're made with a couple of Rubbermaid containers, you can easily put a top on them to keep them safe from the elements. *swoon*

Now, let's see if I can handle that project.

And the invitations. Yeah, I probably should get on those, huh?

(If you'd like to know what we're planning for the monkey, check out my post announcing our second birthday theme.)

2 comments:

  1. LOVE the lima bean idea! I will definitely be stealing that one. I hope Hadley enjoys it!

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    Replies
    1. Aren't they GENIUS?! Love it! :-) Now, if I could only cut those angles the same way...hmm. (That's my big concern.)

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