Chicken Screenprint from CourtneyCourtney

I love this print from CournteyCourtney!

Find her dresses with this fun print and others here:

Big Cartel

Facebook

Blog

Have fun!

Happy 4th of July!!

Happy 4th of July!

This past weekend I took Serenity and her BFF Kayleigh to Oak Alley Plantation. 

Oak Alley sits on banks of the Mississippi in Vacherie, Louisiana.
Jacques Telesphore Roman built the house in 1837 for his wife Celina.

Several movies and TV shows were filmed at Oak Alley - including Primary Colors, Interview with a Vampire and Ghost Hunters.
Beyoncé's "Déjà Vu" music video was shot here too!

The girls got a chance to explore the beautiful grounds and I was able to shoot a few photos of them in their adorable 4th of July cournteycourntey dresses. 

I love how cute they look!

They are such great friends and have a wonderful time together!

They had a lot of fun acting silly and running around under the beautiful old live oak trees.
Amazing resurrection fern grows all over the ancient giant oaks and moss covers their knotty roots.

Some of the oaks are over 300 years old!
The magnificent double row of oaks in front of the plantation make up the oldest alley in America.

Oak Alley is the perfect spot for pictures.

The sweet one below was Kayleigh's idea.

There are several huge cast iron sugar kettles at Oak Alley.

They were used to process sugar cane.

Now they are filled with water, lily pads and lovely flowers.

Perfect spots for pretty pictures!

If you're ever in South Louisiana, I definitely recommend stopping by Oak Alley in Vacherie.

And don't forget to sign up for courtneycourtney's dress emails! 

Have fun!!

Chuck E. Cheese Coupons (expires 3/31/14)!!

Here are the newest coupons I'm using when I bring Serenity to Chuck E. Cheese on Fridays!

Just right-click, then "save image as" to save it to your computer so you can print them over and over.

Or if you're on your cell phone, simply show the coupons to the cashier at Chuck E. Cheese to receive your discount.

I like to add them to gift bags for birthdays and party favors too!



The two coupons below are good until March 31st 2014:

One large (one topping pizza), 4 drinks and 80 tokens - $29.99

and

Buy 100 tokens for $20.00!

Have Fun!

Crochet Capelet Pattern by Baca Creations

This week I tested Baca Creations' Livi's Chunky Capelet pattern.

I love the way it looks on Serenity!

Such a cute little Spring shawl.

It was so quick to work up!

The instructions are clear and easy-to-follow.

The stitches involved are simple so I think it's a good pattern even for for beginners.

This project is every inexpensive too. 

You'll only need two skeins of yarn to complete the capelet, a K size hook and a pom-pom maker.

There is no need to go out and buy a fancy pom-pom maker (but I love the ones from Clover), you can just make one out of cardboard or popsicle sticks!

Right now you can buy the pattern at Ravelry for a special introductory price.

You can also download it at Craftsy.

The .pdf download will include instructions for ages 1y - 10y.

Excellent value for only $2.50!

Have fun!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from My Family to Yours!

Have Fun!

Hermione Granger Costume for Kids

This Friday our local Bricks4Kidz is having a Harry Potter costume party - how fun!

I wanted Serenity's outfit to resemble Hermione Granger's in the first movie, The Sorcerer's Stone.

I think Emma Watson was so adorable in that movie!

Little did I know how much time and research it would take to do that - but I was determined to try.

It didn't help that I waited until the last minute to do it - only two weeks before the party.

So anything I found online, I had to consider the time it would take to ship.

Every thing about that first outfit is completely different than the other movies. 

Her tie had broad, not skinny, stripes.

The skirt and sweater were both grey, not black, and the grey skirt had many more pleats.

The stripes on her sweater were around the v-neck.

Her robe was black - including the lining.

She wore adorable black Mary Janes with long grey socks.

Even her wand was different!

Here's a picture of Hermione's first wand that someone tried to re-create:

Hermione's Hogwarts School Uniform:

Shoes:

The shoes were probably the easiest. 

I found them online at Amazon.

Next came the skirt, shirt, sweater and socks.

Finding them was harder.
The tie, robe and wand didn't take long to find though!

School Uniform:

Buckhead School Uniforms actually sells everything you'll need to dress your little one as Hermione Granger - or your older girl (boys too!).

Well - except for the tie, robe and wand of course!

But they charge more than I wanted to pay.

So I searched on Amazon and found a skirt and shirt (short sleeve because of the heat down here) from French Toast in her size, and quickly ordered to make sure they would arrive on time.

I looked for a sweater and couldn't find anything.

Then I came across a cute little grey sweater vest from The Children's Place (sold out now).

It's much lighter than I was looking for and I didn't really want a sweater vest, but I figured it would be okay considering how hot it still is here in South Louisiana.

I tried to add some stripes using burgundy and gold ribbon around the v-neck to match Hermione's sweater, but that area on the vest is very narrow and it just didn't work out.
I did find some red and yellow striped ribbon, but it doesn't quite match with the colors in Serenity's outfit.

While I was looking for a sweater, I came across a cardigan from Target that would've looked great - but they were sold out in Serenity's size.

Then I started looking around Target and found shoes, a skirt that looked a lot like Hermione's, a shirt and socks - everything but the tie.
Some of their school uniform pieces aren't available in stores and can only be bought online.

BTW, Target also has shoes like the ones Hermione wears in the other movies and a black v-neck sweater too. 

I couldn't believe I didn't think of Target first!

Also, another great place for Hermione's skirt (and one similar to the newer skirt), shirt, cardigan, sweater, cooler weather v-neck vest, shoes and socks is Next Direct. 

They have excellent prices!

I found them too late too.

Tie:

Now for a tie you can find both the skinny and broad striped ones at ties.com.
Did y'all know that American and European ties have stripes that run different directions?
The stripes on the ties you can purchase at ties.com for a Hermione Granger costume run the European direction.

Robe:

Amazon has them in sizes small-medium-large that will fit little and big kids. 

Make sure to get the nicer robe that says "embroidered Gryffindor emblem" in the description. 

The other robe has an emblem that is sewn on and, according to the reviews, isn't as nice.

ClockQuirks has a robe with a pocket for your child's wand!

They also have a Quidditch robe and other Harry Potter gear.

Robes and some of the other gear are made-to-order.

I found Serenity's robe from E'ra of Make Believe on Etsy.

It's beautifully made and will last a long time.
It looks wonderful on Serenity too - I love the v-shaped sleeves!
Customer service was excellent.

The robe arrived super fast too!

You can't see it in the picture above because of the way Serenity is standing, but there is a very nice Hogwarts patch on the robe.

I thought about sewing a robe that more closely resembled Hermione's in the first movie (all black), but I really hate store-bought patterns since I'm not all that good at following them!
You can find Gryffindor patches here on Ebay if you decide to sew your own robe.

Wand:
Alivan's has a big selection of handcrafted wands.
If you're looking for a wand like Hermione's vine wood wand, Alivan's has a vine carved wand that is very similar.
But if you'd like a wand that is more like her original wand (but darker), you can get the Holly/Ebony wand.
You could also try this inexpensive wand or this one, sand it, and then restain or paint it to resemble Hermione's first wand.

Below is one that I've sanded down and restained.
It's actually Serenity's wand that I got on sale for less than $10 a couple of years ago from Alivan's - it's shape and color was similar to The Apprentice Wand.
Serenity's played with it so much (even put little bite marks all over it), that I didn't think about doing this until a friend of hers decided to come with us to the party and needed a wand quick.
I wanted it to look like Hermione's first wand.
So after I sanded the flaws (bite marks and I think she used it as a drum stick!) out the best I could and removed all the old stain, I used Rust-Oleum in sunbleached and black cherry to restain it.
The handle of the wand appears almost white in the cell phone picture below, but it's actually more greyish-brown. 
Not quite what I was going for, since I wanted a white handle that looked well-worn - maybe a whitewash technique would've looked better.
I used Shellac in a spray can (from Lowe's - Amazon's prices are crazy!) to seal it.
You have to be very careful to spray a little at a time and not get too close or else it becomes tacky and gummy looking.
I think it would've just been easier to paint on the sealer.

I wasn't too sure this would work and hide most of the flaws (bite marks), but I was very surprised and pleased how nice it turned out!
I wish I'd gotten a before picture of the wand.
I'll try to get a nicer picture of the wand - the colors in this cell picture aren't quite accurate and it was taken before I sealed it with the Shellac.

UPDATE:
Here's a better picture of the wand:

Alivan's also has handmade Wizard brooms, Harry Potter candy, Faerie Scopes, and Wizard Wear - but not in little kid sizes.
And every month they give away a wand!

If you're looking for a wand that looks like Hermione's first wand, Magical Alley has one!

Orchard Works has a huge selection of wands and unfinished ones that you can stain/paint too.

You could make a wand using a sheet of paper!
Who knew?!

There are a ton of helpful videos if you want to try to make it yourself.

Serenity's wand came from Violet's Buds on Etsy.
Their wands are beautifully made by hand, the perfect size for little kids and very reasonably priced.
Shipping was super fast and customer service was excellent.
They also have nice handmade stands for wands.

Socks:

I bought her grey socks from Ebay (shipping was fast).

I just pulled off the black bow.

Amazon has grey socks too - but I only found them in a 6-pack and they aren't as long.

--------------------------

I guess with all my searching I was hoping to come across a blog or something that listed a bunch of helpful links so would be a snap to put together Hermione's outfit for younger kids.

But I never did - so I decided to post one.

I didn't get everything exactly like Hermione's first school uniform - the grey in Serenity's outfit is much lighter, but I don't think I did too bad with the time I had.
And she's dressed for our still-Summery weather.

Serenity likes it and that's all that really matters!

POST-IT NOTE:

I'm still working to get a tutorial for the little lego necklaces together.

Hope to have it ready soon!

Have fun!!

Happy Friday!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Dress from courtneycourtney

Have fun!

Summer Fun on the Bayou

Serenity had such a great Summer with her BFF Kayleigh!

It's so nice to have a close friend to share secrets!

Hope y'all had a wonderful Summer too!

Umbrellas from Kidorable

Have fun!

Remington Tangle Tamer GIVEAWAY!

Today I'm giving away a Remington Tangle Tamer!
It's a rechargeable comb/brush that detangles all hair types.
A single charge will last a long time too!
The Tangle Tamer comes with a power cord, stand, and cover.

I love this comb/brush and use it everyday.

Yes - it's LOUD!

But it's amazing how easily it goes through Serenity's curls while doing an excellent job of detangling those knots!

Check out my blog post, Biracial Hare Care for more of my review on the Tangle Tamer.

Here's an older video review Serenity and I did a couple of years ago:

And here's one that we did today!

The Giveaway starts today and ends next Friday.
Continental US only please.

Earn 17 entries by clicking the Rafflecopter below!
If it doesn't load right away, wait a few seconds.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!
&
Have Fun!

Happy Friday!

Umbrella and boots from Kidorable

TShirt from Baby Big Hair

It's a was a hot and rainy Friday down here in South Louisiana.
We needed that rain to help keep the temperature down - so I'm totally not complaining!

Loving the rain!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Have fun!

Giant Bubble Grab & Go Kit Review

LIKE dress by the original courtneycourtney
Mismatched shoes by Chooze
Lace leggings by Blackfeet Couture Bowtique

Looking at bubbles for Serenity on Amazon.com, I came across the Dip Stix Giant Bubble Grab and Go Kit by Extreme Bubbles.

We both loved it so much (and the mob of kids that surrounded us at the park), that I decided to post a review about it.

The kit includes a bottle of concentrated bubble solution, a reusable Ziploc baggie and a bubble wand. 

You'll need to add 2 cups of water and the bubble solution in the baggie, close it, and then gently shake to mix.

The plastic wand requires a bit of easy assembly.

Simply stick the ends of the wand in the bubble solution and then insert them into the main part. 

Dip the cotton wick into the solution and now you're ready to make some BIG bubbles!

Serenity got a kick trying to make the longest bubble she could before it would pop! 

It helped that there was a little bit of wind that day too. 

All she had to do was hold the wand open and let the wind do the rest!

Those big bubbles looked so cool - even when they popped!

The kit is a lot of fun - for kids and adults.
It's great for gifts and comes in a big 12-pack that would be perfect party favors.

I especially like that the Ziploc baggie is pretty strong and can be used again and again for more trips to the park.

The bubbles are amazing so I bought more solution for the Summer.

You can buy a 4-pack of concentrated refill bottles HERE or a single bottle HERE.

Each bottle will make a full gallon of bubbles.

Serenity's LIKE dress is from the talented cournteycourtney and traveled around the country for a photo session with several sweethearts.

You can see more of the dress and the darling girls wearing them in courtneycourtney's LIKE Facebook album!

Have fun!

Serenity's Toca Boca iPad Apps Review

Handmade Leotard: Little Diva's 2
Princess Crown Iron-on Transfer: Daisy Creek Designs
Pettiskirt: Oopsy Daisy Baby
Shoes: Madie Jane

It's been awhile since the last time I've done a review of Serenity's favorite apps!

This time I decided to focus on the Toca Boca apps for the iPad, I'll do another post about a few more apps later.

Serenity has been hooked on the Toca Boca lately.

They are very entertaining - tons of activities in each app!

Her favorite is Paint My Wings (.99¢) - Paint 3 different butterfly's wings using 9 berry colors and 7 brushes.

It sorta mirror paints - so when Serenity paints on one side of the wings, the other side is painted too.

Still, it's a nice little app to help children express their creative side.

Toca Kitchen Monsters (FREE) and Toca Kitchen ($1.99) - Both are pretty much the same and fun to play.

The host selects some food and then prepares, cooks, seasons and feeds it to their guest. 

There are 2 guests in the Monsters app and 4 guests in the other app.

Toca Store ($1.99) - This is probably Serenity's least favorite of all the Toca Boca games, but she still insists she likes it.

Your child pretends to own a store and picks items to sell.

They can invite a friend over to buy the items, or play alone.

I like the concept since it introduces money and math.

Toca Robot Lab ($1.99) - Create a robot (lots of combinations), then fly through a maze hunting stars before getting picked up by a giant magnet!

Serenity enjoys putting together some pretty interesting robots, but she really likes finding all the stars.

Toca Hair Salon ($1.99) and THS Christmas Gift (FREE) - Cut, re-grow, comb, shave, color, wash, dry and add barrettes to 6 different character's hair.

In the Christmas Gift version your child gets to have Santa sit in the salon chair!

Serenity said this app is: "Great!" 

Toca Doctor ( .99¢ ) - Heal your sick patient by doing mazes, puzzles, dragging broken bones back together, destroying tiny virus monsters and more!

A lot to do in this inexpensive app.

Serenity gets a kick out of the funny sounds it makes when you've completed a task.

Toca House ($1.99) - This game is packed with activities!

Do loads of chores in a funny multi-level house.

Hang pictures, vacuum the floor, give a monster a bath, tend the garden, mail letters, cut the grass - and lots more!

Serenity thinks the monster in this game is very funny and silly!

These next two are on Serenity's favorite list, Birthday Party Playtime and Toca Tea Party (both $1.99) - These apps can be played with friends, plush pals, dolls or kids can play by themselves. 

Basically your child sets the table with a tablecloth, plates, drinks and goodies.

Their guests can "eat" and "drink" and then have their cups and plates refilled by their host.

If someone "spills" their drink, the host can wipe up the mess.

In the birthday app, your child selects a cake, plates, and a present to open - it also has party poppers for everyone.

All the dishes get cleaned up at the end.

I think the Tea Party app is somewhat better than the Birthday one, but Serenity likes them both.

I really like how all of the Toca Boca apps are set up for your child to play with friends or alone. 

Each app features a "for parents" in-app link with a "How to Play" and "What to Talk About" section.

These apps are creative and holds your child's attention far longer than a couple of minutes!

Serenity says, "I think the apps are for girls and boys everybody will have fun playing them!"

Dress: Flowers by Zoe
Sandals: Chooze 

Have Fun!

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!

Have fun!

DIY Cut + Sew + Color Doll Kit

Serenity's new DIY doll kit from Sophie and Lili arrived today and we worked together to create her new doll.

You'll have the option of buying fabric markers from Sophie and Lili, or buying your own.

The ones in the picture are Alex Toys fabric markers that I bought online at Amazon.com.

I like these because they include purple and pink - every 5 year old girl's favorite colors!

The best part is of course coloring the doll!
But Serenity was actually very interested in each step - including stuffing the doll.

It was windy outside so we had to use clips to hold the fabric in place.

Serenity took her time and colored using small movements.
Sometimes she still gets excited and wants to color all over the place!

She asked me to outline the doll's hair and a couple small spots for her, but she was determined to do the majority of it all by herself.

Serenity colored the doll before I sewed it, so we used a piece of cardboard underneath the fabric because the markers will bleed.

BTW, Serenity's little crocheted beaded bracelet is one I made for her over 2 1/2 years ago!
You can find my instructions HERE!


Finished coloring!
I left the fabric outside to dry in the sun for about 1 - 1 1/2 hours.
Then, following the instructions on the box of markers, I ironed the fabric on the wrong side to set the ink.

It was easier for me to triple stitch around the doll before cutting it out. 

I also used a chunky crochet hook when I needed a little help stuffing the doll in hard to reach places.

I have a much greater appreciation for how these little dolls are made for sure!

That's a lot of work getting each handmade doll to come out just right!

Do you like Serenity's dress?
It's a courtneycourtney and Sophie and Lili collaboration!

Serenity wanted to help stuff her new doll too.

This really is a wonderful Mommy and Daughter quality time project!

All done!

Don't you just love her pink hair?!

Serenity named her Aira and said, "She's the bestest doll ever"!
I think she says that because she had so much fun making the doll with Mommy!

The kit does come with all the fabric to complete the project, but I decided to use some glitter fairy fabric I had for the back.

These DIY dolls from Sophie and Lili are lots fun!

They are great for you and your child to make together, but also as gifts from your child to her friends!

Have fun!