Fabric Doll House

So my sister found this link: http://uklassinus.blogspot.com/2008/08/fabric-dollhouse-tutorial.html  There's a tutorial on how to make a fabric doll house.  Cass told me she wanted to make Sunny one for Christmas and was wondering if I'd either help her do it or do it for her (I think do it for her ;)).  So, while B was napping today I made one.  I probably should have done my Thanksgiving baking, cleaned the house,done laundry, finished the 5 I Spy quilts that need to be done for Christmas, or any number of other things.  But, I didn't.  I made the doll house instead!  Now I'm trying to decide if I want to make another one and give one to each of my girls.


Step 1.  Cut three pattern pieces.  Before cutting fabric, see step 5.
--Cut one rectangle (top piece) 6" by 2 3/4" -- you will  need 2 pieces of this out of fabric.
--Cut one house piece (piece on the right) 4" (bottom of roof to ground) by 4" (across the bottom) by --2 3/4" (roof incline).  You will need to cut two pieces of this out of fabric.
--Cut one rectangle (piece on the left) 6" by 4".  You will need to cut 3 pieces of this out of fabric.
**When I did this a second time with my sister, we made the pieces a bit bigger.  The size for this is ok, but I think it would be good to have it a bit bigger.

Step 2. Cut pieces out of plastic canvas.
--2 house pieces
--3 of the 4" by 6" pieces
--2 of the 2 3/4" by 6" pieces

Step 3.  Cut pieces of batting to cover each piece of plastic canvas.  The way I did this was lay the piece of plastic canvas on the batting, cover the plastic with the batting and cut.  Once you cut your pieces of batting out, you have to tape the batting in place.  The original directions I had found said to use duct tape or electrical tape.  I tried using electrical tape (the black on the bottom left piece).  It didn't work too great.  I found that masking tape works quite well!  The only thing I was worried about was that you'd be able to feel the tape through the fabric.  Not so!

Step 4.  Once you have all your plastic canvas covered and taped, lay them out like this:

Step 5.  Here are the pieces of fabric I cut.The original directions I had said to cut 2 pieces that were 9" by 21".  The 21" wasn't long enough.  I had to go to 27 1/2".  It also said to cut 4 pieces of fabric that were 6" by 9" (pieces on the left).  The blue pieces are my exterior pieces and the purple is my interior.  After doing this once, I would NOT do the 6" by 9" pieces again.  I would cut the fabric slightly larger than the pattern pieces for the house shaped piece.

Step 6. Using the 6" by 9" piece of batting covered canvas & fabric, place fabric right sides together and sandwich the pieces of canvas between the fabric.  Using your fingers to guide you, place pins along the edges of the plastic canvas.  Make sure the pieces of plastic fit snuggly between the pieces of fabric.  **See why I'd suggest cutting the fabric to fit the house shaped pieces?

Step 7.  Remove plastic canvas from between fabric pieces and stitch where your pins were.  Make sure you stitch from the bottom of the fabric to the bottom of the fabric, otherwise you end up with a seam that isn't long enough.  Once you have finished stitching, cut excess fabric off and turn fabric right side out.  Replace plastic canvas between pieces of fabric.

Step 8.  Lay the 9" by 27 1/2" pieces of fabric out.  Place fabric right sides together.  Evenly space your other pieces of plastic canvas out on top of the fabric.  Your two smaller rectangles go at the very top and the very bottom.  The larger rectangles will be your wall, floor, and other wall.

 Step 9.  Remove the 3rd piece of plastic canvas and place the house shaped pieces in its place.  The pointed ends will point in opposite directions.  It is extremely bulky to sew through here.  Go slowly and double check to make sure that you catch all the edges when you sew over this area.

Step 10. Place the second fabric over the top of the plastic canvas pieces.  Pin along long edges and top.  Leave bottom open.  You need to cut 2-5 pieces of elastic (depends on if you want 2 latches or 5).  I used 1/4" wide elastic and made them about 4 inches long.  You also need something to create a handle.  The original directions I had said to use fabric pieces sewn into strips.  I ended up using ribbon instead and it worked very well.  I cut 2 pieces that were 9 1/4" long each.  Place your elastic and ribbon, pointing in to the inside of your fabric.  Notice you don't see them sticking out of the sides in the picture below.  Your handles will be separated, one on each of the short ends.  To place your elastic, you will put one between the handle ends, and two on either side of the last small rectangle.  I just guessed at their placement and they ended up being about one at the top and one at the bottom of the last small rectangle.  **After having done this once, I'd only put one piece of elastic on either side and I would omit the one at the top between the handle ends.  If I put only one piece of elastic on either side, I'd center it along the short edge of the last small rectangle.  Once all your elastic and one handle is in place, remove all the plastic canvas rectangles and then stitch along both long ends and the top short end.

Step 11.  Trim excess fabric and turn right side out.  The spot where your house shaped pieces are are a bit difficult to turn, just go slowly.  Gently and carefully slide your plastic canvas pieces back into your long piece of fabric.  Fold the edges of the open end in to create a finished edge.  Place your second handle to line up with the handle you've already stitched into place.  Stitch closed.  Space out your rectangles so they are evenly spaced.  Stitch between each rectangle to create a defined fold.

Step 12. Fold the back and both sides up and pin in place.  Hand stitch along the seams so that your house will only have one side that opens.

Step 13.  Stitch on buttons.  If you close the side that opens you can place the buttons in the correct location.  I used buttons like you'd find on a shirt.  They were kind of a beast to sew on and they elastic doesn't go on too easily.  I'd suggest using a button that has a raised back to stitch on.  I think that this will make it easier to sew, easier to hook closed and look better.

You can see that my house doesn't close exactly perfect.  If I take the bottom elastic and hook it around the top button, it closes better.  That's why I'd only use one button next time.  I also don't need a button at the top because the top stays closed quite well on its own.

Christmas Tree Hunting & parties

This year is the first year since Travis started working at Halliburton that we've been able to swing going to Manti to "hunt" our Christmas Tree down and bring it home.

We were going to leave on Friday, but things got a little nutty (big surprise).  Friday morning Caleb threw up at preschool and couldn't even keep water down all day long.  Brookelyn had her well check so she had three shots.  She would have been fine but was napping Friday evening.  Samantha had a speaking part and Nash played the part of an angel in the ward Christmas party that was Friday night as well.  So, Friday night got moved to Saturday morning!  I was glad Travis was home.  I stayed home with Caleb and Brooke and he took the big kids to the Christmas party.  I figured I'd let him go because he'd been home with Caleb all day and it seems like it's always me that goes and him that stays.

We left home about 5:30 am Saturday and headed to Manti.  The weather and traffic were both fairly decent.  We got to Manti around 10 am - just in time for breakfast at the farm!  When we got there Nash noticed that Travis's brother had his dog with him.  The dog was in a kennel and Nash put his finger inside to put him.  Not a good idea.  Dog bit his finger a good one.  We now have to keep a close eye on that.  The dog isn't a mean dog - at least it never has been - and I totally didn't expect that.  I kind of wanted to drop kick the dog after that.

We headed up the mountain at about noon.  We had all our snow pants, etc. in the back of the truck because we didn't know how cold or muddy it would be.  Sam, Brooke, me, Travis and Prestin rode in Travis's truck until we got half way up the mountain.  We had four four wheelers and eighteen people so someone had to ride in the trucks!  When we got to the bridge, everyone got out and we made a few trips a little further up the mountain on the four wheelers so we could look for our trees.  The kids had a blast and loved that they were on four wheelers, in the mud, hunting Christmas Trees with their cousins.  Who could ask for anything more?  It took us a little while to find two we liked (one for us and one for my parents), but eventually we found them.  We had to make a few trips down the mountain back to the trucks on the four wheelers since we now had four four wheelers, eighteen people and five Christmas Trees!  Eventually we got it though.  Our truck got dubbed "The party truck" because Samantha had Big Time Rush cranked up super loud and we were getting our groove on inside with the heater going! Unfortunately, at around 5 Travis got a message from work telling him he needed to be at the shop in Rock Springs at 3:30 pm on Sunday.  He was not a happy camper.  He was suppose to have Sunday off.

After we got down off the mountain we had to get ready to go to Mayfield for the Christmas party out there.  We got there a little after six or so.  Almost all the cousins were there (missing one from back east).  We had a good dinner of pizza, wursten, salads, treats, etc.  We did our white elephant presents and no one ended up in tears (I think?) due to the present they got.  I think everyone pretty much buys stuff the kids will like so no one ends up crying.  We gave Grandma Whitlock the photo book I made and I think she liked it quite a bit.  Score one for me!  We finally headed back to the farm around ten pm.

Travis didn't sleep much all night because he was so mad.  Brooke, Travis and I slept downstairs.  The three other kids, Grandma/Grandpa Bown & Travis's brother's family all slept upstairs.  Boy was I glad to be downstairs and have a bit of space to myself!  Travis had kind of decided we'd get up at 7 and head out asap so he could get to work.  I talked to him when he woke up and convinced him to just meet his crew in Pinedale at 6 pm instead of in Rock Springs at 3:30 pm.  That way he could try and sleep a little more so it was safer for him to drive.  Travis, Brooke and I ended up leaving the farm around 9:30 am.  We were able to leave the other three kids with Grandpa Scott & Grandma Kris so they could go to the Christmas party and see the rest of their cousins.  I'm really thankful that they let them do that.  I would have felt really bad if the kids would have had to miss that.  They don't see those cousins too often.  The weather wasn't too awful on the way home and we made decent time.  We dropped my mom's Christmas Tree off to her and then came home.  Travis got all his stuff packed and our tree in the stand.  He didn't leave until about 3:30 pm so he didn't make it to Pinedale until about 7 pm (oh well).

It was a little weird to have just me and B at home from noon until 11 pm!  I was able to clean the house, do laundry, finish the fourth I Spy quilt top, lay out the fifth I Spy quilt top, eat dinner, bath B, and put away all our stuff we took with us.  I even put B to bed at 7:30 pm!  (She was being a bear!).  The kids were super excited when they got home.  They had a great time.  I wish we could have stayed with them so we could have seen everyone too.  Stupid Halliburton.  Next time!

Travis cutting down my Christmas Tree!

The dentist...again

Today was the day that Nash had to have both his upper canines pulled.  I was a little worried he'd completely freak out.  He doesn't like "the piggy nose" and kinda wigged out about it last time.  I talked to him on the way there and told him that they would be putting it on him to help him relax so he didn't feel anything.  I think he was a bit apprehensive about it.  He was so, so good though!  He didn't fight them on the piggy nose and he just laid there like it was no big deal.  He didn't whimper or fight or anything!  I was so proud of him!  I told him I bet the Tooth Fairy will bring him a $20 bill tonight because he was so brave.

I could not believe how big the roots on both those teeth were!  The only pulled teeth I've every seen are the ones that have been pulled when they were suppose to be!  I had NO idea the roots were so enormous!  Holy cow!  He does have some nice holes in his mouth now.  Guess I need to snap a photo of that for the future!

In talking to the dentist I learned that his permanent canines are in line to come in totally straight.  The concern is that with the teeth next to the two front teeth and the canine, there won't be room for the canines to come in straight.  The hope is that by removing the baby canines it will make a straight channel for the permanent canines to come in so they can stay straight.  The dentist told me that he has a baby molar that's smaller than the permanent one so there will be a little bit of room in the back of his mouth.  If the gap between his two front teeth closes on its own, then with the extra space in the back, he shouldn't have to have any permanent teeth pulled later on.  Crossing my fingers it works!

Despite how brave he was about having the whole thing done this morning, he wasn't feeling too shiny afterwards.  So, I let him take the day off of school and just left him at day care.  By lunch time he was good to go.  I wasn't able to get him from daycare at that point so he just missed the whole day.  Oh well.  Well deserved if you ask me!

I was a little worried he wouldn't be up to playing at his first piano recital tonight but he did fantastic!  I hope I can get my video to upload to facebook for his dad to see.

"I guess I'm just not Caleb anymore."

Poor Caleb has had a rough day.  He was fine when he woke up.  I dropped him off at preschool and about an hour later I got a text telling me he wasn't acting like himself.  I called Travis to ask if he could go pick him up because I was still in Logan (18 month well check for B).  Travis said he'd go do it.  A few minutes later I got another text from preschool telling me Caleb was just laying on the table being miserable.  I told her Travis was on his way and should be there in a minute.  Not too long after that I got another text telling me, "Travis got here and then Caleb threw up.  I knew he didn't feel well!"  I felt so bad (for Caleb, Travis & Miss Shannon).  Luckily, he made it on the tile and it was pretty much just water.  Fortunately for Travis he's had worse.  And lucky for Miss Shannon Travis was there to clean it up!

Travis got Caleb home and he wasn't able to keep down even water.  The poor kid was just miserable as could be.  He just laid on the couch all day long.  Any time he tried to eat something it would come back up a few minutes later - even water.

Samantha and Nash had parts in the ward Christmas party program tonight.  I volunteered to stay home with Caleb and B (she was napping after getting ibuprofen for her owie legs).  Around 7 or so Caleb started to perk right back up like he'd been fine all along.  So weird.

My mom came up and helped me put one of the I Spy quilts on the quilt frames.  I realized the lady at Bernina screwed up cutting my batting.  You know, when you pay $45, they ought to do it right dang it!  Now I have to find my receipt (which I'm fairly certain is in the recycle bin outside) so I can take the one piece back and make them cut it correctly!

We finally got things organized (a little) around here and Travis went down to tuck the boys in bed.  A few minutes later Travis is standing at the bottom of the stairs to relay a message from Caleb.  "Mom.  I don't know where lamb is and I don't have my puppet cow.  I guess I'm just not Caleb anymore."  I busted up.  I know he was having a moment of self pity when he said this and so I shouldn't have laughed, but seriously, how could I not laugh?  I told Travis that cow was currently residing in the black hole in the big black garbage bag in my office but he could give it back to him (punishment for not cleaning up after themselves after mom asked a zillion times - I have 3 "black holes" right now).  Lamb however, is actually currently missing.  I know he had him last Sunday because he took him in the expedition to go to church.  He thought lamb would enjoy Sunbeams but I was a mean mom and wouldn't let him take him into the church.  I know I saw him again the other day but I don't remember where.

Let me just explain Caleb's lamb and cow obsession in case you are unfamiliar with it.  This lamb was attached to a small piece of soft silky fabric that was given to me as a baby gift when he was born.  Eventually, we cut the lamb out of the pocket that was on the soft silky fabric.  They were both a pale yellow when we got them.  They are both now an indeterminate color.  The soft silky fabric (currently MIA again - he was for awhile after we set Newton Dam on fire too.  Turns out he was in the bottom of Caleb's sleeping bag.) has stitches of (I think) two different colors.  He likes to bite it for some reason which then rips holes in it.  The little lamb isn't in too much better condition.  We've given him surgery to repair a slight tear here or there before.  And, I've had to reattach an eyeball.  At one point not too long ago he was wearing a band aid over said eye as an eye patch (Caleb was worried the eye ball was going to pop off).  Thus, lamb was a pirate lamb for a week or two.

The puppet cow I bought at Novemberfest the year he was born.  It isn't really a puppet.  It's a head with a fabric body that you can put your hand into but not up into the head.  Make sense?  This cow is in much better condition than the lamb but is just as much loved.  The only thing the cow has missing is his original bow that was around his neck (Caleb chewed it off).  Now, it isn't like Caleb doesn't have other cows. I've posted pictures of the kid with all the animals he keeps on his bed.  He even has a "newish" addition to the collection.  When we went to Grandpa/ma Butter's house earlier this year Grandma had a giant (about as big as Caleb) cow that someone gave her.  Caleb and Nash loved this cow while they were there so Grandma told them they could take it home.  It's big enough that Caleb actually sits on it, bounces, and pretends that he's riding bulls.  I think I have a future rodeo man on my hands.

I counted not too long ago and I think the kid has about three or four different cows.  One can be microwaved (thank you Grandma Kris).  One is just a small thing that my mom found for him.  He has the puppet cow and I think he has one more too.  He only has one lamb though.  I just thought his comment was funny because I know how stinkin many animals the kid has so for him to come up with that one just caught me off guard.  I guess he loves his animals individually!

And news about Brooke's well check:

She currently weighs 27.7 pounds (84%)
She is 33 inches tall (84%)  - have I mentioned she comes to Caleb's shoulders already?
She has a 19 inch head circumference

And, she started not feeling too great yesterday.  After the dr. listened to her lungs and looked her over he gave us a prescription because her lungs sound junkie and her sinuses are infected.  I was actually surprised they gave her her immunizations today.  On the bright side, she's now done with shots until she gets her Kindergarten shots!  Wahoo!  That means Sam will be getting her 12 yr boosters and Brooke will be getting Kindergarten shots the same year!  Fun times!

Little sister has entered the terrible two phase recently.  She's discovered how to pull chairs from the kitchen table to the center of the kitchen.  Once she's there she puts the chair right next to the oven and up she goes - right into the steak knives, the scissors, the spices, the coffee pot, the turn style AND the other day she went so far as to climb onto the counter and open up the cupboard!  AGH!  Fortunately, if I stack the chairs on the table she won't pull them off anymore (she did it once and that was enough for her).

She has taken a defensive stand with Caleb.  If the kid gets within three feet of her she starts screaming "MINE" and swinging for all she's worth.  What's odd is that she doesn't do it at nursery at church and she doesn't do it at daycare (yet).  She really only does it to Caleb.  I told Travis on the one hand, it's kind of nice that Caleb finally has someone that treats him the way he's treated Nash for the last four years!  Maybe he'll knock it off finally!  She however, may just turn out to be a big, fat stinker!

She says about a dozen words or so.  Some of her favorites are "Mom" (repeatedly...no matter what I say when I answer her), daddy, Char, dog, MINE, NO (she says no and understands what she's saying because if she wants something, she shakes her head yes - she just doesn't say yes), ball, baby, hi, and tank you (thank you).

She hasn't been eating much lately because she's been working on all four incisors and the last molar.  I believe the molar is completely through (she's only been working on it since APRIL), as well as all four incisors.

We haven't given her a hair cut yet.  I can't bear to cut the back.  Caleb's was curly like hers is and once we cut it, it lost the curl.  I haven't cut her bangs because I just pull them back into her pony tails.  They come clear to her nose so if I don't do her hair the poor girl can't see anything!

I really can't believe how fast she's growing up!  I know that all of them went this quickly.  I think it's just harder because I know she's the last one so I want it to go a little slower.  So much for that!  Sister is running to catch up to everyone and everything around her!

Whose kid is he anyway?

That Caleb of mine.  That kid comes up with some of the most off the wall comments!  He never ceases to amaze Travis, me, his babysitter (Laura)  or his preschool teacher (Miss Shannon) with what he comes up with.  For instance:

When I leave him at preschool he says "See you later buffalo in the cotton tree!" and then he just grins as I laugh, shake me head and say good bye.

On Saturday I had been bringing a bunch of stuff inside from the expedition.  Caleb had been find of following me around and found a box.  I had finished bringing things into the house and was washing dishes.  He comes up to me, puts the box down, turns his back to the box and looks at me to ask, "Mom?  Can I keep this box inside?"  As he's asking me this Brooke comes up behind him and starts pushing the box away.  I say "Yes Caleb."  At this point he turns around and sees Brookelyn taking off with his box.  Now, Brookelyn has turned into a bit of a beast lately.  She's somewhat on the defensive all the time, she smacks Caleb (and Nash and pretty much anyone who invades her six foot bubble), she screams "MINE!" regularly, etc.  When Brookelyn sees she's been spotted she yells out "MINE!" and goes to hit Caleb.  Caleb sets his teeth and says (without missing a beat) "Oh no you didn't!  It's ON!" and then proceeds to BODY SLAM the baby girl onto the kitchen floor.  I couldn't help myself and laughed quite a bit.  It's great that he has someone to keep him in check and treat him the way he has always treated Nash.  I have a feeling that even though they fight like cats and dogs they'll eventually learn to like one another.

Tonight Travis went down to tuck the boys into bed.  He comes upstairs a few minutes later laughing and shaking his head.  I look at him and say, "What did he say now?"  He tells me, "You know, it's funny you automatically jump to that."  To which I respond, "Well, he was being a stinker before you took him downstairs and you're laughing not mad, so what did he say?"  He proceeds to tell me that he gave Caleb a hug and a kiss and was waiting for the kiss on the nose that he always gives him (he does that to me too.  A kiss on the check or lips is not acceptable.  He MUST kiss you on the nose...every.single.time.).  I guess after a minute Caleb looks at him and says, "What's with the big creepy smile?"  Seriously!

Who's kid is he and where does he come up with these things?!  I can only imagine what he says when no adults are around to catch him.  I've talked to MIss Shannon about the things he says at home and she's told me a few of the things he's whipped out at preschool.  I'm not going to lie...I always get a little nervous when she says, "Did I tell you what Caleb said at school today?"  Here's to hoping that it doesn't stop being funny any time soon!