Where were these when I was a little girl?

We have a fabulous Crayola Store here in Kansas City that I could spend hours in. I did a lot of doodling and coloring as a child, and I am always fascinated with all of the new colors and gadgets for kids.

While browsing I came across the most fantastic books. They are called Rosie Flo's Coloring Books, which are based out of the U.K. The covers caught my eye, because of the colors and fun illustrations. As I flipped through them I was even more intrigued.

Each book has a "theme" with different illustrations in which your child would add the head and face, legs and arms and then color the body. For me, these would have been a dream! It gives them the creativity to create the "model" and also to give the outfit their own interpretation of pattern and color. They are quite fantastic, and I was tempted to buy one...who knows when a creative moment may strike?

Anybody own these cute coloring books? If so, I would love to know if your child loves them!

Tu-Tu-torial

Yup, it's officially a blizzard outside. We are totally homebound and I am trying to do anything I can to keep my sanity in check! Being inside for 12 hours with a 2 1/2 year old is not an easy feat. During naptime I should be doing my Tracy Anderson videos, but I have a lack of motivation right now. Instead I have been doing some crafty things. I am working on some new Mel-Belles to add to my Etsy Shop and over the weekend I learned how to make Tu-Tu's (thanks to my friends Donna and Susan)

Let me tell you they are SO easy to make and very inexpensive. Even those of you who wouldn't find yourself to be crafty will have no problem putting these together. So, if you want to make one for your little girl for Valentine's Day or give one as a baby gift, here is what you need:

Scissors
A spool of Tulle ($4.99 at Hobby Lobby and 50% off right now)
Ribbon (5/8 or 7/8" for the waist band)
Fabric Flowers (in the scrapbook section at Hobby Lobby or Michaels)
Glue Gun
Lighter

and here is my step by step tutorial to make a Tu-Tu:

Use 5/8" or 7/8" Ribbon for the waist, make sure to make it long enough, so that it can be tied in a bow around the child's waist at the end

First Cut Strips of Tulle, so depending on how big the child is, make sure to plan accordingly, these strips will be folded in half and tied around the ribbon waistband

Fold the strip of Tulle in half

Wrap the Tulle around your finger, and then you are going to loop it around the Grosgrain Ribbon...

Loop it like you see below

And then pull the 2 ends down tight to tighten the knot

once you pull the knot tight, it should look like this. You can push them tighter together if you want a fuller and fluffier tutu. I alternated colors, but solid looks just as cute.

When you are done, the ends won't be even, it will probably look like this...

So just take your scissors and go around the entire edge to even out the length of the tulle (make sure you have sharp fabric scissors for this!)

Voila! You have your Tutu, now it's time to fancy it up a bit...

Off to the side of the front, tie on some coordinating Grosgrain Ribbon in a knot around the waistband, and to prevent the ends of the ribbon from fraying, just use a lighter at the ends.

I like to use small silk flowers (from the scrapbooking section at a craft store) Just glue gun them on to the grosgrain ribbon you just tied on to the waist. Then add a sparkly button to the middle of the flowers to finish the look.

And that is it folks! I made this for a baby (hence the tiny waist) but make sure to measure your little one before hand, so you don't end up with a Tutu that won't tie. It took me about an hour to make this start to finish.