Tales of a Crafty Mommy

For several months now I've been eyeing the beauty of the Granny Square. I. LOVE. THEM.  Years ago we had a very colorful pillow cover at home. I never knew it was made from a Granny Square pattern.  I had no idea. Sincerely, back in the day, I didn't really pay much attention to that kind of thing.  I was missing out. Badly.  I'm on the right track now, right? I saw a video on YouTube and followed a basic pattern from Purl Bee  to complete my first Granny Square. Materials: I used Baby Soft Worsted Weight yarn in two colors (blue and white) I hook (5.50 mm) The pattern basically consists of 4 rounds, using chains (ch) and double crochets (dc). You can choose to alternate the colors, do one color, or different colors.  I foresee several stacks of squares filling up my crocheting desk here soon. 

I have two children and both of them are growing up bilingually. I speak to them in Spanish all day, while my husband speaks to them in English and Spanish. We have been checking the weather on a daily basis to know when's the best time to go outside to play with water or to take a family walk.  We also check the weather to see the temperature in other states where other family members currently live.  Here's a copy of the seasons of the year printable that I made. It's available in a pdf file for you to use at home with your children or in your classroom.  The images that I used to make the Seasons of the Year - Bilingual English Spanish poster come from this website  Seasons of the Year - Bilingual English / Spanish Free Printable Click here to download the .pdf file. ~Fabi

I'm a huge fan of chevron patterns and colors.  I'm a huge fan of handwritten notes as well. I put both things together and used Photoshop to create this handy file to share with you! It's a colorful, chevron patterned thank you card.  All you have to do is download the thank you card free printable  {pdf file} from scribd, print it on heavy cardstock, fold it at the center, and voilà! Feel free to print as many copies as you'd like and share it with your friends, colleagues, and family.   ~Fabi 

Eight months into my third pregnancy has me organizing the entire apartment! I've worked in the kitchen, the kids' bedrooms, AND the laundry room.  The laundry room really needed some extra care and organization.  So one morning, after breakfast,  I took a deep breath, and I began the process of sorting and tossing. Then I went to the store and found some cute green and yellow baskets to bring some color into the most boring room process of organizing.  I also made these labels to help us know the exact content of each basket. These labels are available on Etsy  so that you can get your own copy and use it in your room. Hope you find it as helpful as my husband and I have!   Go to my Laundry Room Labels Printable file to get your copy. It's a pdf file. You can print it at home on heavy cardstock, or at an office store and have them laminated for you. I laminated mine and let me tell you, I love them!!  This is the laminator I use:...

A few months ago, I guest-posted an article for MommyMaestra called 12 Ways to Promote Early Literacy in the home . The article is geared towards bilingual homes, but certainly each idea can be incorporated in a monolingual home. I invite you to head on over and read it. :-) What do you do at home to incorporate literacy? When do you start? What kind of things do you do most often? Do you do them with the intention of teaching or do they come naturally?  ~Fabi 

Letter B Materials: Print capital and lower case 'B' - I used the ones found at this coloring page site .  Buttons Glue  *** I like to cut the letters and glue them on cardstock to create a firm base for our activity first. Steps: 1. I placed a bunch of buttons in a little plate for her and asked her what these were called. She said 'botones.' That's right, botones or buttons both begin with the same letter, B / b.  2. I asked 'what is the letter for buttons / botones? She looked and responded [be] when she saw it on the paper. Then she said [bee]. 3. [be] in Spanish and [bee] in English both refer to the same letter.  She told me there was a big [be] and a 'ochito' (chiquitito/small) [be] on the paper. 4. Then she glued buttons on the capital and lowercase b. We will use this poster as the introduction for our week doing crafts with this letter. ~Fabi

I've been quiet here on bloggin' land the past...hmm, I don't remember how long, BUT I have been keeping busy with my facebook page and on pinterest, of course. Crocheting is my new -almost- daily activity after a long and busy day at home with the children. There are so many different types of yarn available. --- Have you ever looked through all them? different weights, textures, colors, shimmer or plain, baby soft or not, etc. So so many possibilities.  There are so many types of projects to do with yarn! Anywhere from crocheting hats, blankets, home decor, to craft projects with children (more on that last topic coming soon), flowers ( check my daisy pattern here )   The ability to sit down in one spot and complete a project in ONE hour! Yes!!!! That's what I've needed. As much as I love to sew, make ruffled pants and skirts for my daughter, I enjoy being able to complete matching hats for both my children in a matter of hours.  I love it.   ...