My First Sewing Camp

A couple of weeks ago, I held my very first sewing camp. I wasn't quite sure what to expect and I was a little nervous about it because of never having done it before, but it was a great success! I so enjoyed planning for it and then teaching young girls how to start sewing.

We had a fun week with much chatter, giggling and learning. The girls came every morning very excited to get to work on their projects and they really learned quickly.

Our goal was to make two projects while learning the basics of sewing. {I plan to write a post on how to throw your own sewing camp in just a few weeks, so stay tuned for all the details!}

We made skirts the first two days.

But their favorite project was making a cross-body bag. They were all about the bag! It's such a practical item and they were thrilled that they actually made it themselves.

It was a rewarding week. The excitement these girls had about learning a skill that will benefit them for a lifetime was worth every seam that had to be ripped out and resewn!

One more sewing camp is in my near future and then I'll post all about my planning process and share how you can host your own sewing camp! It was a blast!!

The Easy Way to Make a Gingerbread House

Last week my daughter's teacher called to ask me if I could put together all the gingerbread houses for her kindergarten class. The kindergarten classes at our school always do gingerbread houses at Christmas and it's so much fun for them. So, when I picked Annie up on Friday, she was loaded down with supplies!

Yesterday, I sat down to make 26 houses for the class so that today they could just enjoy decorating them. And I thought the process was genius! No one really eats the gingerbread house when it's dried up, do they? So, the teacher's idea was perfect. I thought you might like to try it sometime whether in your own home or in a classroom setting. This way is the perfect way to build your house without it crashing down on you.

Take a pint size milk carton - or on a larger scale, you could use an almond milk carton and cut the bottom piece down to the size you desire and make sure it's empty and rinsed.

Fire up the hot glue gun! Get it nice and hot then glue down the bottom of the carton to a paper plate (or whatever base you want to use).

Next, use graham crackers to cover your house. You can use them whole, break them into squares or rectangles. Glue them onto your house so that all flat sides are covered.

Then, use store bought icing such as Pillsbury Classic White or even better - the frosting in the can that you can squirt onto the house! This worked like a charm with the kindergarten class! The kids used large popsicle sticks to spread their icing all around the sides and roof.

Finally, decorate with all the usual colorful candies - gumdrops (my favorite on a gingerbread house), M&Ms, Red Hots, Candy Canes, Gingerbread Men Cookies, etc. etc.

It was so much fun! And tomorrow, the Kindergarten will have a "Tour of Homes" and go around to each Kindergarten class and look at all the colorful creations they made today. It's a big deal, you know.

Does your family make a gingerbread house each year? We have only done it once. It was an ordeal. But this way is much easier and less stressful. Still messy, but it won't fall down.

Merry Christmas!