Christmas Ideas: Melissa and Doug

First, I would like to apologize. I hate thinking about Christmas before December even hits, but our year gets completely insane towards the holidays (doesn't everyone's) and so I try to start thinking of gifts early so I can enjoy spending time with my family. The holidays are SO much more fun and relaxed when all the presents are purchased.

Melissa and Doug is one of my favorite places to go for gifts. Their toys are so durable and always encourage imaginative play. They are so much better than most of the plastic, battery powered stuff out there and my kids LOVE playing with all of it.

This year Melissa and Doug introduced personalized gifts. Like me, my boys have rather slightly unusual names, so finding things with their names is pretty hard. Munch just started writing his name and gets excited when he recognizes his name on something. We may use our last name on some personalized items as they get handed down, but either way I was super excited to hear that Melissa and Doug was offering this service. Munch and I were looking at all the stuff they offered this morning and he already has a list. Here are some of our favorites:
We have been watching a lot of Doc McStuffins and my boys LOVE their pediatrician...so this Doctor's Costume is fantastic.

 

Munch started writing to his friend in Austin this year and so he loves the mail now. This cute mailbox would be perfect for the boys to play mailman.



 

We have been working on writing and spelling so I really think this see and spell game would be awesome. 

 

We haven't flown with the boys yet, but they (as with most kids) are fascinated by planes. Munch got very excited when he saw this set and said he NEEDED it. 

 

At $1.99 per item, personalization is really affordable and Melissa and Doug has a HUGE selection. Can't wait to go shopping with them this season.

 

(all images courtesy of Melissa and Doug)



Halloween Birthday Party

Yesterday, my sweet Munchman turned FOUR. I've been having a little trouble dealing with my kiddos getting older this year. I love watching them grow and learn, but my heart breaks that they aren't babies anymore. Munch insists that he is a BIG kid.

A month or so ago, Munch decided he wanted a Halloween Party for his birthday. I was SUPER excited. Halloween is my favorite holiday.

First, Lyndon helped me put together an invite.

 We used a Celebrate Card Template from Scrapping with Liz and a mix of several different Halloween freebies I've collected over the years. I tried to list them all but it is quite a list so if you have any questions on them, PLEASE feel free to ask.

I stressed forever about the cupcakes at the party...and failed to get a single picture. Then when I was putting this post together I realized I really didn't get as many detail shots as I would have liked. But here they are.

 The monster cake pops were my favorite. I made red velvet - chocolate chip pops...so they had a fun red center...and did you know you can buy edible eyes? I didn't...so I was excited when I found them.

Instead of favors I set up the kitchen table with foam pumpkins and stickers.The kids had a blast decorating them. Papa stuck some on the kitchen window and Nox has been calling it our pumpkin patch all day.

For more ideas check out my Halloween Pinterest Board. I recommend the Scarecrow Crunch. My boys (including the hubby love it!)

I was an exploding ball of stress right before the party, but it really was so much fun.



My Boys Monday: Rock Painting

Sorry it's been so long. There have been a couple bumps on my road of creativity. My computer crashed...and that seemed to take forever to fix. So now, I'm back. I hope.

The previous owners of our home left behind an insane amount of rocks. I'm not talking our yard is just naturally rocky. These are rocks that have been purchased and are ALL over the place. What better thing to do with them than paint them?

 Nox was super excited that he was FINALLY getting to take some rocks inside. It was even more fun when I took out the paints!

(credits: Paint my Garden: Designs by Dydyge and Easy Go Templates: MaybemeJ)

I had forgotten how much fun painting rocks could be. Even better, I didn't have to buy anything. We will surely be painting more rocks soon. 

My Boys Monday: Gifts from Alexander Girl

For Christmas the boys each got a handmade item from my father's girlfriend.

Munch got these adorbale blue cord overalls. Usually he's not a fan of overalls, but he LOVES these. They are really well made and look super comfy. Of course no overalls are complete without your pirate gear!

Nox got this adorable shirt that she drew his name onto. She made a shirt like this for Munch last year, so I was really excited when Nox got one too. This isn't a great picture of the shirt, but it's beach themed and super cute. 

If you are looking for some fun shirts she also has a store on etsy: Alexander Girl.

She doesn't sell these items in it, but she has some great reverse applique. I'm kinda partial to this Texas tee.



My Boys Monday - Look What Hubby Made

Okay so technically this post is more about me than the boys...BUT one of the "boys" did make it!

The week before Christmas, John started disappearing into the garage with strict instructions that I was not to enter. I seriously had no idea what on earth he was doing in there.

Christmas morning I opened this:

Isn't it beautiful? I told him I would LOVE one like my best bud, Alisha has (HERE) and he made one. Alisha's had a mat for a  picture, but I love that all the thread is visible. It will look even better when I actually get all my thread into it! I love that my husband has found something creative that he likes to do...and that I benefit from. :o)

My Boys Monday: Super Birthday

We recently celebrated Munch's 3rd birthday. The original plan was to do a Dr. Seuss party, but then Munch discovered Superman...AND then Batman, Iron Man...Spiderman....you name the superhero, he probably knows exactly who you are talking about.

So Dr. Seuss will be put on the back burner for Nox next year (cause I already bought stuff.)

Planning this party was lots of fun. Although be warned, if you decide on a Superman theme you will run into problems finding much. Poor Clark just isn't as popular as he used to be.

First we did the invites. Superman T-shirt + white collar shirt + 3-D glasses with the lenses popped out make the PERFECT Clark Kent  (or as Munch insists MARK Kent). We had a fantastic photo shoot and I had fun photoshopping my little guy onto a phone booth picture I found. Our Clark Kent is British...or at least his mother is....half anyway.   

 I wanted to have "our" photographer there, but we had a minor miscommunication and she double booked. I had a minor panic attack, cause my good(ish) camera got a scratch on it's lense and was nearing death anyway. Poor thing. Thankfully my father-in-law let me borrow his Nikon D50. He's letting me borrow it for a bit longer and I think I'm in love. I took over 300 pictures at the party...mostly just playing with the camera.

ANYWAY...here it is. We got the cupcake-cake at Target. I made three color ruffled streamers, which I think I'll be doing for every party from now on. They are just WAY more fun than regular streamers.  Then I found a tutorial for a Comic Book Banner and made a couple of those too. Those were really fantastic, but it was hard to find Superman comics that would work. The better of the two is actually Spiderman.

Finishing touches included red and blue kool-aid bottles and red, blue and yellow lollipops. I was really happy with how festive it ended up looking and I think everyone had a great time.

Munch changed into several different costumes during the course of the party and I didn't manage to get a decent picture of the boys in their fantastic capes that day. BUT here they are.

These capes are fantastic. Nox is a tad small for his yet, but he has plenty of room to grow. We got them through Gramma Allie on Etsy. They are double sided so if you feel like Superman go for it....or Batman maybe? No problem. Genius! We bought our capes ready made, but she also offers a pattern to make it. I was feeling lazy, so I went with the really well made-by-someone-else cape.

There were about four million other things I wanted to do, but didn't get around to. Check out my Pinteresting Super Hero Board: HERE.

My Boys Monday - Very Hungry Caterpillar

A month ago my "baby" turned one. I'm still in denial about it. I need him to stay little just a tad bit longer.

We read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to the boys pretty frequently and it seemed perfect to throw Nox a birthday party themed with the adorable little caterpillar. It was so much fun to put together and I loved all the ideas I found on Pinterest (see my board: HERE.)

The first thing I put together was the invites:

I created using a great free digi kit from Meet the Laings: HERE.

Here are some highlights of decor from the party:

With the exception of the wreath all pictures were taken by my buddy Kim with A Thousand Words by Kim. She really takes a lot of stress off me when I hire her for parties. It's really my one splurge.

The wreath I found at the dollar store and just dressed it up. The cake I was going to do myself, but decided it was a bit beyond my talents and got Target to create it for me. My favorite creation was that sun sitting behind Nox. It's still up, I just can't bring myself to take it down. I know I have to eventually, but it makes me smile.

I also made Nox's birthday outfit using my favorite pants pattern: Made by Rae's Big Butt Baby Pants. This particular pair is my favorite so far. I love the green panel in the back and the cuffs add something fun too. Doesn't hurt that my model is just so cute. ;o)

I'll leave ya tonight with a cake photo taken by Kim.

Nox just jumped right in and destroyed that cake.

My Boys Monday

No crafts to share today. Just a sweet picture that I took of my boys in Galveston.

My Boys Monday: Painting for Daddy

I slacked this Father's Day and last Wednesday I went into a little bit of a panic on what to get the Hubby for his big day. So in desperation I left the house. I don't generally leave the house with both boys in tow. If I do, it's to go visit a friend or my Aunt's store...or my mother's...pretty much anywhere another adult will be. I need back up, cause I'm a wimp.

We ended up at Michael's and I found a couple canvas packs that were on sale. So I scooped them up and brought them home, along with the yellows and grays we want in the Master Bedroom. When we got home I put Munch to work.

We paint all the time. Usually on computer paper or blank cards. He liked painting on the canvas and had to use every single brush we own.
Here are his works of art.
Little Nox was a little different. This was his first time painting and neither he nor I really knew what to do. Munch was about a year and a half when he started painting and Nox is just nine months.

First we made sure the binkie was firmly in the mouth; no eating paint in this house! Then we made sure all bath supplies were near the newly cleaned kitchen sink; for easy clean up. Finally, I put the paint directly on the canvas and let Nox have at it.

I'm not sure how he felt about getting his hands dirty.
But, he did create some wonderful pieces.
I'm happy to report Daddy liked all four masterpieces and I survived a outing with the kids.

I hope all the men in your lives had a wonderful Father's Day!!

My Boys Tuesday - Easter Pants

Sorry, Monday just wasn't happening. Hope everyone that celebrates had a fantastic Easter! I know we did.

I had a million projects on my Easter to do list, but Easter snuck up on me so I didn't get as much done as I had planned. I did however get some pants done for the boys.

Little Nox got a pair of Big Butt Baby Pants and a pocket square, which was supposed to be a bow tie. Oh well, next year!

For Munch's pants I messed around with Made's Basic Pant Tutorial. She has a pattern, but they ended up too short and tight for my little man, so I made my own, using hers as a guide.
And here is a picture of Munch and I. Just cause I love it. It's not often we can get him to smile directly at the camera. :o)
I have a little of that fabulous argyle fabric left. Any ideas on what I should make with it?

My Boys Monday - Two by Two

Got a chance to applique some shirts for the boys today. I LOVE this print all the animals are so fantastic. I really had a hard time choosing which ones to do. I went with elephants for Munch. Grasshoppers for Nox. And then cause I couldn't help myself I went made two more. A size 3-6 month Pelican. And two adorable walruses on a 6-9 month. The two extras will make their way to The Enchanted Artist soon. I'm still trying to figure out shipping details, but if you are interested in purchasing let me know by email or messaging me on Facebook. I'm hoping to be back tomorrow with more.

Cars and Cowboys

Finished a couple things for the boys this weekend. Munch and I both LOVE the car fabric I got at Ikea, so I had to make him a shirt.

Here he is doing his best dinosaur "ROAR!" (He can say Stegasaurus now. The dino below isn't one, but he know which one is! I'm so proud.)

Then I made some cute cowboy pants for Nox.

I cut them a little while ago when he was still in 3-6 month so they are a tiny bit short. I made the waist big enough to grow into so I may lengthen them later...or not they are flannel and it will soon be too warm to wear them.
You can't see them in this picture cause he's chewing on his orange ball, but that adorable smile now includes a pair of bottom teeth :o)

In other news: Craft Cherry is now on Facebook. I created the page and then discovered that while I enjoy creating for others and I love writing this blog I do not like self promoting. It's like I don't feel worthy of being liked or something. Anyway, I would love it if you liked me.

My Boys Monday

Last week I made this outfit for one of my mother's coworkers (also one of my ex coworkers), who is having a boy next month. I really like how it turned out and I think I have JUST enough fabric left to make Nox an outfit too.

Here it is with a view of the onesie. The pattern for the pants was designed by Rae Hoekstra of Made by Rae.

and I LOVE it to pieces.

My Boys Monday

Munch's 1st Valentine's Day

I can't figure out if I like the layout with the journaling or the one without. The journaling is lyric's from The Beatles "I Will", which I sing to Munch when I put him to bed. He actually sung along the other night. Which was AWESOME.

Anyway...which one do you like?

Valentine's Day 2009 - My Love Kit by Pure Creativity Designs and My Favorite Pages Freebie Template by Photo Cowgirl

My Boys Monday - Gift for Hubby

Cheri from I Am Momma - Here Me Roar guest blogged this project on kojodesigns and I just had to make it for my hubby. Who doesn't love cubicle snacks?

Plus it gave me the perfect opportunity to play with my newly purchased digi kit: Vintage Carnival by Sahlin Studios. My FIRST purchased kit, I loved it that much.

Here is my SWEET little Nox.

My SOUR Munch. (This isn't a fit face...the fit face is just scary.)
And this is NUTTY lil' me :o) And here is the finish product!
Sweet jar filled with Dark Chocolate Kisses
Sour jar filled with Sour Patch Kids
Nutty jar filled with Mixed Nuts

Hubby couldn't wait to bring it in to work. I'm so lucky to have a husband that likes to show off my crafty crafts :o)

My Boys Monday - Ornaments

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was pretty stressful, but in the end I think we all had fun. Munch got a little tired of opening presents, (because we have FIVE Christmases) so we still have some sitting under the tree.

During the month I actually managed to fit in one of the crafts from my list on will craft...tomorrow. Both boys "made" ornaments. One each for our tree and three extra sets for the Grandmothers.

Munch's Hand

Nox's Feet

I linked on my other blog, but here is the link again to the tutorial from the inkling network.

After making ornaments Munch insisted on painting...

And Nox was left with some very green feet!
This was such a fun craft to do with the boys and I love having their little paw prints on my tree!