Brie and Me

Cinderella has a very special place in Brie's heart. It probably has a lot to do with her Costco pull-up diapers; the night-time pull-ups are Disney themed with two patterns: Cinderella or Belle (still with Cinderella in the background). This is what Cinderella looks like when assembled. This was a fun dress. There is just so much going on. I glued the shoulder puffs onto the torso, then glued the gown puff on the skirt. The gloves were a nice touch don't you think? I know I'm still missing the headband. I still haven't decided whether to use felt or to embroider it. It can wait and I promise to give an update if I ever improve on it. Downloadable link: Cinderella felt dress up doll printable Materials used: Felt fabric Fabric scissors Needle and thread Fabric glue

I love Merida's hair! I love the color, I love how big and unruly it is. I enjoyed her hair piece a lot. In contrast, Merida's dress was very simple: a top, a skirt, and a belt. That's why I decided to embroider the edges with simple patterns, to add a little character. This is what Merida looks like assembled. I've been thinking about making a bow and arrow... Maybe cover toothpicks in felt? I have to think about it more. Downloadable link: Merida felt dress up doll printable Materials used: Felt fabric Fabric scissors Needle and thread Fabric glue

Belle is Brie's favorite Disney princess. Hers was the first dress I made, which was a mistake. I should have saved it for last so I could have learned from the other dresses first. Anyway, for the whole series, I sewed before I actually made the pattern so whatever I saw needed improvement are fixed in the patterns I made. This is what Belle looks like when assembled. I originally got the shoulders wrong. That's fixed in the pattern. I glued the shoulder piece to the torso then glued the top skirt to the bottom skirt. Downloadable link:  Belle felt dress up doll printable Materials used: Felt fabric Fabric scissors Needle and thread Fabric glue

We already have most of Brie's toys in bins because we're cycling them. However, we keep some out in the open; mostly her favorites and, of course, her books. And right now, we're in a transitioning phase in terms of living arrangements (translated: we're working on getting our own home) so we try to keep most of our things in our room. That makes keeping things tidy very  challenging. I know we have the option to buy pretty cabinets and shelves, but I'm trying to keep our "things to move (eventually)" minimal. And I actually like doing things :) What I have are empty diaper boxes. I originally had 2 and I simply flipped them on their sides and stacked them and taped the flaps straight. Then we got a 3rd box - you know, because diapers. And I didn't want to stack that one on top of the first 2 because the flaps were flimsy and I just wasn't satisfied with it. I did a very small change and it turned out exactly what I needed! I took out the flap...

For Fathers' Day, Daddy brought Brie to the toy store. It was the loveliest thing ever! Daddy didn't want to go to any fancy restaurant, he just wanted to buy Brie some toys :) We thought about what she has been interested with and we were set on buying her dolls. But we're not very keen to buying her Barbie so, being the geeks we are, we looked for Darth Vader and for Princess Leia. Out of stock. That would probably be something we'll get sometime in the future. What we ended up getting her was a set of Animal Farms by Animal Planet . Brie absolutely loved it! We'd play games where I would ask her to point to the animal I named. And I'm trying to teach her that the bigger version is the mommy while the smaller version is the baby. What she really liked was the stable that came with. It's colorful and very attractive. It also has a door that opens and closes. The only problem with it is that it's too darn small! It's tiny! Only some of the baby...

I'm not even sure if Brie is ready for this game at 16 months but I know that she currently loves magnets. So instead of buying her a fishing toy, I decided to make a set out of whatever materials I already have. I used the following: foam sheets for the fish paper clips to make the fish magnetic a tiny magnet sewed into a cloth pouch ribbon for the fishing line a chopstick for the fishing pole glue to stick things with, scissors to cut things with, and finally a marker to draw the fish details and make them cute Cut out fish from foam sheets. Best to cut out one and then use that as a template for the rest. Then you put a paper clip on one fish and glue on another foam fish on top of that. Use a marker to draw the fish details.  I don't have step-by-step pictures for the "hook and line" that I made. It's very simple: get a tiny magnet, put it in a piece of cloth, sew it sealed, then tie a ribbon on that and onto a chopstick. That...

So this  is the time moms actually do all those fun crafts you see on Pinterest! My husband was wondering why I was taking so long staring at the crafts isles in the grocery store and all I wanted to get was a pack of magnets. Anyway, my first DIY craft for this blog is just a pretty-fied recycled chocolate box with a magnet at the back :) Finished product. Why do I need it? Because I now have a magnetic board inspired by Pinterest! We bought a huge oil drip pan from Walmart - we even bought it where they said we should! I started off with a chocolate box. I cut it in half and then glued them together in the middle to make a thicker box. Then I took a scrapbook paper and covered it. Cut the top part so you can fold it into the box. Glue on a magnet at the back. I didn't even bother covering the back part completely. And it's done!