Farm Activity Trays

Here are the activities we are doing this month, with a farm theme. Every morning at 10am, Leo and I work on these, then, in the afternoon after Gwyneth is home, we all work in here again. We also have a ton of different farm themed apps and TV shows/movies. We have also gone on a field trip to the zoo, which has a farm animal area.

Creating a Montessori Inspired Playroom

Since my Mother-in-law, the Montessori teacher, has moved in, she has really motivated me to create a learning area for my kids. Space is tight since now the kids share a room, she has the 3rd room, and the kids have so many toys from Christmas and their birthdays. So we set our sights on the front room, which has been a computer room. Well, the computer has no other location to be except the dining room, and we didn't want to do that. So, we are keeping the PC and office supplies, just moving them into a corner. I hope to get shelves installed above the desk for office supplies.

For shelves, I found some tall ones on Craigslist for $10 each, a steal. They are great. We want to get fabric bins for the upper shelves to put extra learning materials into.

I think we will get another shelf unit, a low one, then relocate the bean bag chair and a rug into there. These are our shelves so far and some close-ups of the jobs themselves.

Have a great day!

Jess

I have another blog!!

I have been getting a lot of traffic on this blog from my Artist Spotlight over at Gecko Galz.  This isn't the blog I meant to be linked, since this is going to be a personal blog, and my scrapbooking/crafty blog is at the following:

Scrap Savings

So just click the above link to see all my crafty goodness!  I have some new goodies coming that I have been working on so stay tuned!

Jess

Getting Crafty Again!

Thanks to my friend Barbara, who introduced me to Gecko Galz, I have been getting crafty again.  Gecko Galz has some wonderful products and ideas, along with an awesome challenge group on Yahoo.  If you get a chance, check it out.

Gecko Galz Website
Gecko Galz Yahoo Group

Here are some things I have made for challenges:

This first one is for a Pretty Plaque challenge, where I made a door plaque for my daughter's room. I used an inexpensive wood plaque from Wal-Mart, painted it with a glaze from Making Memories, added pearls around the edges, along with some lace.  The letters were inked brown then I used Perfect Pearls over them to tone down the brown and to give it shine.  I made a paper flower using my Cricut, added a couple of store flowers and some fancy pins. Hung it with more lace and VOILA!  I just love it!

 This military collage was done in honor of my nephew who just completed USMC boot camp last month.  The silhouette is of him. I used a book page, matted it on black cardstock.  The top fan is a cupcake liner. The labels are Making Memories.  I used Perfect Pearls on the stars. I love how it turned out.

 This is an altered canvas, my first.  There is room for improvement, but not bad for a 1st try.  I covered the canvas with some Distress stain, stamped lightly with some Nick Bantok ink.  Printed a map of Scotland and distressed it. Made a faux wax seal with purple embossing powder. Cut out thistles from some clipart. Added some crowns, buttons, and a bit of doodling (a mistake but oh well). Coated it with Modge Podge.

This is one of my favorites from this weekend.  It is a library catelog card, printed from online.  I stamped with 4 different stamps, the netting, the compass, the zig zags, and the writing.  I inked it all with Nick Bantok ink, used a mermaid image from Graphics Fairy, a fish charm, a shell from Graphic 45, and some letters. Love how it turned out.  Plan on doing a whole series of library catalog cards. 

Diaper Cakes by Gwynberry Designs

Aloha! Diaper cakes are something I make for fun, not a business, so you can be sure to have the best and most for your money. Let me help you celebrate a special occasion with a one-of-a-kind, whimsical yet practical gift.

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Types of cakes I can make:

Cakes can include a blanket, a stuffed toy, pacifiers, washcloths, toiletries, and more.
1 tier
2 tier
3 tier
4 tier

Onsie or receiving blanket cupcakes

Washcloth and spoon flowers

Baby shower favors

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Just e-mail me if you are interested in a unique gift that will sure to bring a smile to the new mama's face! Mahalo!

jessica.m.moore@gmail.com

Gwynberry Designs

Had a table at a kid clothes swap tonight. Only 2 contacts were made but it was free advertising. I love making diaper cakes and other baby shower items. They are so cute and make people happy. Here are pictures from what I made for the swap.

A bit of Montessori at home

This week we are trying out some Montessori techniques at home to prepare Gwyn for preschool. I really like their ideas, mixing practical skills like pouring water with regular school concepts of letters and numbers. As I type this she is using Play-Doh scissors to practice cutting. That way when I pull out the kid scissors she has the basics down.

Other activities are Pom-Pom sorting, blocks, lacing beads, glueing buttons on shamrock, and various counting games. Check out my Pinterest boards for ideas.