Floral Mobile

This was a project that started after looking at many beautiful floral mobiles on Etsy but not willing to pay the $100-200 price for one. (Now after making one I can see why they are priced so high).

The biggest cost of this project is 100% the flowers and leaves needed to make it. I wanted them to look realistic and with that comes cost. Michaels was my go to spot for the greenery.  I only purchased items in the 50% off section and it still cost around $60 to make. (I do have some extra leaves and flowers that I can put to use on something else.)

Amazon also has some nice greenery.

One rose on its own was $6 at Michaels. If I was patient I could have ordered some roses off of Amazon and gotten some for a lot cheaper, although I think the quality of the ones from Michael’s are better.

There are definitely cheaper options for greenery and flowers also at a Dollarama or Dollar Tree but I found the flowers unrealistic and shiny. They also didn’t have as many options compared to Michaels.

I also opted for a more expensive wreath base that is thicker.  It is definitely possible to make a beautiful mobile with a less expensive simple embroidery hoop but I like the woodsy aspect of the one I choose. It also made it a lot easier to weave in and place the leaves and flowers. 

To create the flower and leave strands I got out my trusty sewing thread. (actually I took my sisters haha) I used a needle and thread and put the thread through the center of the leaves and flowers. Once I found the spot where I wanted the flower to stay I hot glue gunned the thread to the back of the flower. Most flowers and leaves have a hole going through them already so it was a simple process to thread them on.

Hanging my mobile became another problem unto itself. I had chosen the thick wooded wreath for the beauty but soon realized it weighed quite a lot and the last thing I want is for this mobile to crash down onto my daughter. I went to Home Depot and found a hook that is for hanging items up to 10 pounds (the wreath is about 3 pounds). I also decided to put the mobile above the rocking chair instead of her crib. (JUST IN CASE)

Overall, if you have the time to specially customize your own floral mobile it is cheaper and you can choose the exact look you want. If you don’t have the time or patience, this Canadian Etsy company has amazing options!

There are also some GORGEOUS mobiles on Etsy that are made of felt flowers. (This may be on my crafting list for the future.) Check this beautiful wreath out!

Happy Crafting!

** Amazon links are affiliate links. I will get compensated for purchases made through them. This helps so that I can continue to grow my blog and create high quality content for all of you!

Baby Puff Quilt

One of my favorite things in life are BLANKETS! Absolutely love them.  I am a naturally cold person and so I can never have too many cozy blankets around. This particular blanket, however is for my baby girl.  It is fantastic for our home because we have hardwood on our main floor so I used it as a blanket to lay her on the floor before we got an area rug. The puff patches make a super comfortable cushiony feeling for her to lay on.

I rarely sew, so this is easily a beginner project but turns out looking like you are an expert!

Time: 8-10 hours I don’t remember the exact time but it took maybe 2 days of working on it. If you sew frequently I am sure you could easily whip it up in an afternoon!

WHAT YOU NEED:

Materials:

  • 5 fabrics for the quilt patches – the discount section in your local fabric store is the go to place for this project! I choose similar colour tones for the patches.
  • Old sheet for the back of the puffed patches
  • Minky fabric for the back-This is the priciest part of this project. If you want a less expensive project, a fleece or flannel would work as well.
  • Cotton filling for puffed patches – I got mine from Walmart but Amazon also has some for a decent price.
  • Sewing Machine
  • Pins or clips– to hold the fabric in place when sewing. Makes it SO much easier. (especially if you are an amateur sewer like me.)

STEP 1 – LAY OUT – The first step for me was cutting out all of the fabric squares and laying them down to get a visual of what the end result would be. I made each square a half an inch bigger so that it gave me the space for sewing. Any size of square will work!

STEP 2 – MAKE PUFFS – Once your squares are all cut, you will with then make a backing for all those squares with an old sheet or scrap fabric. This fabric will not be seen, so use up those scraps! The square backing however, should be a 1/4 inch smaller than your top layer on both sides of the square, so that your puff pops out more when stuffing it. Sew the quilt fabric and the backing together, leaving a little space to stuff it full of cotton fluff. Sew together completely.

STEP 3- SEW PUFFS TOGETHER – Start sewing those cute little puffers together to form your beautiful quilt.

STEP 4 – THE BORDER – I used a minky fabric for my border. Measure it out and surround your quilt with the fabric. You choose the width you would like!

STEP 5 – BATTING – After the border was attached I measured out my quilt batting. Yes, your puffs will make a cushiony blanket on their own, but adding a thin layer of quilt batting gives it an extra layer of warmth and cushion.

STEP 6 – SEW ON BACKING – I used the same grey minky as my border for the backing of my quilt. Make sure you are sewing the batting to the border of your blanket as well so that it doesn’t move when you flip it inside out!

STEP 7 – SEW AROUND EDGE – I sewed a stitch around the whole border of my blanket so that it looked same all the way around. This also makes it so you don’t notice where you closed the blanket from the outside,

There you have it! Easy-peesy puff quilt.

** Amazon links are affiliate links. I will get compensated for purchases made through them. This helps so that I can continue to grow my blog and create high quality content for all of you!

Beginning Alphabet Sounds

QUICK, FUN and EASY way to have your little one practice the alphabet sounds! I saw an idea similar to this and knew I could easily create my own version of this page with materials I had in my house and a couple hours later, voilà!

Time to make: roughly 45 min

Materials needed:

  • Printer
  • Cardstock or Photo Paper
  • Laminator
  • Lamination sheets
  • Velcro – easy to find at Dollarama or Dollar Tree
  • Scissors
  • Printable Alphabet Page

I printed my worksheet out on photo paper, but cardstock would work just as great. (You want paper thick enough to still be sturdy when laminated.)

I bought long strips of velcro from Dollarama and cut them down to the size I needed and stuck them on. They are VERY sticky. I am not worried about them coming off.

The rest is pretty straight forward. Laminated both the worksheet alphabet page and the picture page. THEN cut out the images after laminated. Apply the velcro the worksheet and the pictures and you’ve got yourself a reusable, fun worksheet to practice alphabet sounds!

Now, you may not have all the supplies for this. (I mean, honestly, why would you have a laminator?) SO if you don’t, just print off the worksheet and have your child cut and paste the pictures OR have them draw their own pictures!

Included in the download is also a black and white version along with a set of colored alphabet flashcards.

Enjoy!!

Beginning-Alphabet-Sounds WorksheetDownload

** Amazon links are affiliate links. I will get compensated for purchases made through them. This helps so that I can continue to grow my blog and create high quality content for all of you!

Hey! Look Over Here!

Hi, I’m Ambria Ochitwa. Now, in person, I wouldn’t dare scream this phrase out loud to a bunch of strangers but apparently that’s okay if you are online and want to be successful in the blogging world. Get NOTICED! Soooo here is the low down:

I am a new mom to a wonderful baby girl named Laurel who was born in the midst of lock-down in a worldwide pandemic.

I have a wonderful husband who is in sales and can talk your ear off if you give him the time of day. (Especially topics that include crypto-currency, market gardens, and, well, anything business related). I love him dearly!

I am currently on maternity leave but my profession is teaching and I have taught for the last 6 years. Put me in front of a group of adults to talk and my face will be beet red. Put me in front of a group of kids and I’m thrivin!

My hobbies include ANYTHING and EVERYTHING crafty, bookish, DIY and cooking and..basically I feel like an olden day pioneer – acting like I need to create and produce everything myself.

My family has referred to me as a granny on several occasions throughout my 29 year existence so far. (I have had gray hairs since my early twenties so maybe I am some sort of female Benjamin Button?)

ANYWAYS, the point is. I want to share my love of teaching and crafting with you all and maybe, hopefully find some way to create a small stream of income for myself so I can be the boss of myself. (Isn’t that what we all want??)

Hope you follow along!