Clay Bust for Father's Day

Today I'm visiting a friend's 5th grade classroom to teach the kids how to make a clay bust. They have each brought a picture of their dad to class...the goal will be to make a model of their dad for FATHERS DAY! As I was making my own clay bust as a sample to show the kids I realized what an incredibly challenging project this was going to be and decided to make a step-by-step picture tutorial for them to use as a guide. I hope this will allow more of them to be successful. Wish me luck!

Here's the tutorial I put together. Click on each picture to enlarge.

Keep it Simple!

I good friend was over the other day and noticed my huge stack of unsewn cloth baby wipes (see previous post) and commented, "when my kids were in cloth diapers I just used washclothes for wipes". Now come to think of it, that's what my family used to and I just didn't remember it. (I was 10 and 12 when my little brothers were born and have changed my share of cloth diapers already.)

So here I am spending all this time on fancy homemade cloth wipes when all I really needed was a cheap pack of Costco washclothes. Now don't I feel silly.

Cloth Diaper Wipes

So, we've decided to make the big switch to cloth diapers. I've been doing a lot of research about the whole process and have discovered there are far more options than I ever imagined. 

One thing I realized is that if I'm washing diapers I might as well be washing my own reusable wipes too.  I could buy them for $10 a dozen OR I could use material I already have around the house and make my own. I'm really excited about this project!

I'll be using a few of Lyla's receiving blankets and an old towel. You can use whatever soft washable fabric you choose...I like the idea of double-sided texture wipes.

I'm cutting my wipes into 5 x 8 rectangles...this size will still fit in the wipe box, although I probably won't use it anymore. I started by cutting a piece of cardboard as a template and traced it onto the back of a receiving blanket.

Then cut a coordinating terrycloth piece.

Here's a lovely stack of unsewn wipes.

I don't have a Serger, but my sewing machine does this cool zigzag binding stitch. Is this standard on all machines? If not I'm sure a regular zigzag would do the trick.

Front vs Back...which is which?

VOILA!

The websites I've been reading recommend about 3 dozen wipes. What a picture that will be!!! I'll post as soon as I'm finished.

Baby Chick Update

14 Days Old

Notice how much their feathers have come in!

Now fast forward to today...26 Days old (just 3 1/2 weeks!)

A few of them appear to be fully feathered.

So many feathers!

They still live in the laundry room in their rubber tub with the heat lamp overtop. In a few more weeks they can go out to their chicken coop. The coop is not ready quite yet. We've been waiting for dry weather to finish painting it, but we've had A LOT of wet days lately. I'm excited to show you the finished product...hopefully soon!

PS. A HUGE thank you to the Jarrets for babysitting the chicks for the weekend while we were away.