Mattie's Mondays - Baby Time

Last week's post never happened, as you can tell. So this week we're bringing you baby tutorials from across the blogoverse. The first one comes from the blog Therapeutic Crafting. This lovely lady sews some pretty great kids' stuff and she is hosting a sew-along to make a booster seat cover. This cover catches all the "yuck" that kids leave behind. When my baby eats I always have this image of the ghost Uncles on Casper the movie - you know, where the food just falls right through them and onto the floor. Yeah, that image. Anyway, she has a great solution to this, it's eye-catching, washable, and practical. What more could a busy, sewing mom want? I don't think this will make Mattie too happy, as she won't get the spillover quite as often.

Our second fun and kiddy craft is from Filth Wizardry. She is another inventive mom intent on making things her kids will use and enjoy - hopefully yours too. She give a simple how-to on building a sand lightbox. As a teacher and a mom, I think this idea would be great for helping your kids learn how to write their letters, numbers, shapes, etc. Dyslexic children sometimes find that writing in sand or rice can  help them form letters better. For any reason, though, kids love to draw in the sand.

And last but not least is another cool, thrifty idea. This mom has one of the most adorable little girls on the web - and she's available to model your handmade goodies! OrangeBlossom has a great tutorial on making your own flip flops out of foam sheets, glue, and ribbon. Sound too simple? It is - but they last forever and are too cute. I think that drawing around the child's foot would suffice and then adding about a half inch all around if you don't have an adequate shoe already.

I hope these whet your appetite to try something fun and childish this week. Get in on the fun of a sew-along, try a new craft, and have a great time. That's what living is all about.