For the sake of the arts!

If you are a parent then you know (or you soon will) the dilemma of what to do with your kiddo's artwork begins early on.  It is likely more difficult for some than others to decide on what to save, what to discard, and how to display and preserve those precious memories.

I have seen so many great ideas on the Internet and Pinterest. I shared my own idea here though I am likely not the first to do something like that. 

I used my kiddo's art again today. He painted some coloring sheets and I used them to wrap some small gifts. I loved how they turned out and I think it makes the gift that much more special for the recipient. 

Night-Night Blanket

My little man is growing up fast. He is fast approaching the big 2nd birthday. He is getting so big and is out growing the baby blanket we use in his crib. I use the term "blanket we use" loosely as it ends up smooshed into a corner of his bed nightly. But, it's significance is more so that it is part of a nighttime, morning and nap time routine/ritual. 

Every night little man is covered with his blanket and every morning he sweetly hands it up to me and we smooth it over the edge of the crib. He is very particular. He has resisted my attempts at switching it for a different blanket. 

It is lightweight, he likes the pattern, and so on. I decided I would make him a blanket with similar features, but larger to accommodate his growing size. (He is very tall like his dad.)

I used a flannel on one side (the pattern) and a fuzzy thin fleecy fabric on the back, (the gray). I didn't use a tutorial but this one (http://melissadark.blogspot.com/2011/09/easy-baby-blanket-tutorial.html) closely approximates what I did. 

One thing I did not do that I would do different if doing this again is to wash the fabrics before starting my cutting, pinning & sewing. Still, I am pretty pleased with how it turned out. Little man is sleeping with it even as I type this.