tutorial

DIY-Refashion: Project Hippy Chic Headband (and seeking advice)

Take an old knit shirt with little purpose left in it:
And turn it into a hippy chic braided headband.
Don't be scared, you don't even need a sewing machine!
-Measure you or your baby's head.
-Cut three 3/4 inch strips in that length plus ONE INCH (it will stretch a bit when it's braided)--Lulu's head is 16/5 inches, which took up to the armpit of that shirt.
-Tie ends in a knot.
-Braid tightly.
-Tie the end in a knot, use as much space for braiding as possible.
-Hand sew or sew with a machine the ends together (before the knot)
-Cut the two knots
-Voila, you have the hippy chic band.
If you chose to add cuteness, just cut a bunch of circles, sew on buttons, or for some real hippy chicness, add some fun feathers!
-Find other purposes to reconstruct the remains.
For example, the sleeves of the above shirt will soon be matching leg warmers for the Lulu and I'm about to make myself a matching band as well!
On an ENTIRE different level...I'm in desperate need for some recommendations for BPA-Free sippy cups. Honey doesn't take well to the Born Free sippy we have and we don't have room in the budget to try different types...any recommendations out there? She is currently drinking her water out of a Born Free bottle as I have yet to be able to solve this problem.

Thank you kindly!

Bee Hive Boot Camp (and silhouette tutorial)

This is exactly why Boot Camp was started....this face.
Oh, how I would love to one day not say, "Oh..........Beeeeee". Because if Bee isn't testing, he's "exploring", which always leads to testing in some form anyway. It's a tiring cycle.
I should have kept count of how many times I said, "I am only going to ask you ONE time" today. It would be a really impressive number...like, really impressive. But Boot Camp is going well and I can already see that it will be worth it... or so I keep telling myself until Daddy Mock comes home and can take the job as Sergeant for a bit...
So, I got a few emails on how to make the silhouette...I remember a few years ago there were tutorials all over the internet, so googling may be your best option if my directions aren't adequate...this will be a non-photoshop option of how to do it...yay!
Directions:
1. Choose the cutest kid possible. Okay, sorry, had to do that...let's try again.
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1. Take a photo of your child staring completely at a 90 degree angle in front of the light so you get a good line of his or her face.
2. Open the photo in MS Word. Crop it so that it's only the face (in order to crop it, select the photo and in the editing tool box, click on the "in front of" button).
3. Double click on the photo and size one of the sizes according to your frame size. My frames were 8X10, so I made sure the width of the photo was about 6" (keep in mind you'll be cutting about a half-inch based on how well you crop it). Use the same width dimension for additional children as well... you can also rotate the head a bit, I did this with Bee's as he was looking down.
4. Print out the photo on a thicker card stock paper... the thicker the better and more dimension it will give in the frame.
5. Cut around the profile...make sure to keep some little hairs and cowlicks on as these add a bit of personality and really capture who your child is at the present moment.
6. Paint the profile... I would suggest some type of glossy acrylic paint, but all I had at the moment that was black was chalkboard paint... it ended up a bit dull, but still works.
7. Use spray mount or evenly apply glue to the back of the profile... I only had children's craft glue and it ended up giving me bumps... again, the consequences for being impatient and impulsive, sometimes you just compromise for quick results! Apply onto the background of your choice...I used old scrapbook paper, but a thick white card stock is good and traditional...also maybe some off white linen resume paper, I'm sure that would be very "classic".
8. Make sure all paint/glue is dry, put in your frame and hang! Simple as that! These are great ideas for thank-you cards, birthday invites, gifts, etc.
I'm thinking of replacing Bee's silhouette shot with his "naughty face"...what do you think?