Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Light Painting with a Flashlight

Hubby and I love seeing things glow in the dark. We've taken photos with glow sticks (and then cut them up to see what was inside- muah ha ha), made our Christmas lights look like different shapes, and even made glow-in-the dark chalk.

This past Christmas our uncle gave us his old tripod (Thanks Tito Ric!), so hubby wanted to try light painting.  We basically just waved around a flashlight in the air to make lovely "drawings" in the dark.

How to do light painting with kids- Easy and unique way to make art at night!



Monday, December 30, 2013

New Year's Pipe Cleaner Crown and Headband

Are you ready for the new year?

I can't believe that 2014 is right around the corner.  I feel like December just flew by and whoa, now I've gotta make time to reflect on what happened and look forward to life's wonderful new possibilities. 

Like last year, hubby, Chuck, and I will be showing our party animal selves.  Oh yes.  We're celebrating the new year in the middle of Times Square  at home.  When the clock strikes midnight Chuck will be sleeping and hubby and I will be sitting in front of the tv, watching the ball drop (and fighting off sleep... )

To help get us into the celebratory mood, I whipped up this sparkly pipe cleaner crown and headband.  (Because nothing says "Celebrate!" like something sparkly and gold, am I right?)

Keep on reading to see how I made these guys:

Friday, December 27, 2013

Christmas Photos

Warning!  This post contains a lot of photos!  But, I figure it's ok since Christmas only happens once a year.  

This year we went to two family get-togethers.  We had lunch at one aunt's place and dinner at a cousin's house.  Fortunately for us, both houses were only 5 minutes apart.  We had a lot of fun hanging out with family and stuffing ourselves silly.  Here are some photos from our Christmas adventure:

(Thanks hubby for taking most of these while I played with the kids!)

Hubby, Chuck, and I wearing our Christmas headbands, ready to party (thanks Tito Ric for the photo!)


Click below to see more photos...

Disguise your jump drive in a rubber toy

Man oh man, there are a lot of crafty techy people out there.  A couple of nights ago I kept looking at all the ways that people disguised their USB drives.  There are plenty of DIY instructions to make Lego USB drives, Chap Stick USB drives, and even mini Cooper USB drives. With all those cute DIY drives out there, I thought I'd try my hand at making my own too.

Since we don't own many power tools (and if I'm going to be honest, I'm quite ill-equipped to use them since I'm dangerously clumsy) I ended up going the easy route.  I disguised my USB drive inside of a rubber frog toy.  So the only "tool" I used was an exacto knife.  

"Ribbit, ribbit!  Feed me data!" 
Keep on reading to see how I made this little guy...

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Making different shaped marshmallows

Merry Belated Christmas!  How was your holiday?  Good, I hope. Ours was filled with family, food, and a ton of fun.   Chuck really loved playing with all of his older cousins.  I'll upload some photos from the day's event a little later on. 

Until then, I thought I'd share this neat food trick that I learned from here.  Did you know that you can make your marshmallows into different shapes?  Well, you can.... and it's super easy to do.

Aren't these heart shaped marshmallows lovely?
Keep on reading to make your own fun shaped marshmallows...

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Merry Christmas!


We wish you all a merry, merry Christmas.
May your homes be filled with love, joy, and peace this holiday season.  

And in case you need a little extra holiday cheer, here are some goofy photos of Chuck and me wearing a lovely Santa/Gnome beard.  (I just cut out a beard shape from felt and hot glued elastic to both sides.)

Happy Holidays!  (And happy crafting!)



Monday, December 23, 2013

Holiday Train Show at Grand Central Terminal

One of the best things about this Christmas is that Hubby is off the entire week.  Hooray!  With all of his traveling last month, it's really nice having him around.  I also especially love seeing Chuck and Daddy playing like best buddies. 

This past weekend we finally got a chance to visit the Holiday Train Show at Grand Central Terminal.  Even though it was pretty crowded, the display itself was enchanting.  Everything was meticulously crafted and I kept "oohing" and "ahhing" over all the lovely details.

Here are some photos from our trip into the city:
The miniature taxis were too adorable!  Can you spot the tiny Santa?

As you can see, this little guy really wanted to get inside

I loved seeing the sparkly Christmas light-night sky, King-Kong, and tiny, tiny nuns

Ack!  Look at that adorable mini Christmas tree!

We then got some yummy gluten free pizza at Two Boots Pizza.  I love this little guy's sweet kisses

Since it was such a nice day, we walked back to our bus stop.  On our way across town, Daddy and Chuck posed underneath the Bryant Park Christmas tree

It's a family portrait.  Can you find all of us?

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Four Winter Toddler Crafts and Activities

Looking for some easy toddler winter crafts and activities?

I'm officially over winter.  Buh-bye shortened days!  Buh-bye cold weather!  Buy-bye staying inside!  Oh, how I wish it were already spring.  But, until warmer, sunnier days come, Chuck and I are going to persevere and have fun indoors.  Here are four crafts and activities that have kept us busy, happy, and sane for the past couple of weeks. 



1.  Cereal Box Gingerbread Men



Cereal Box Gingerbread men
I cut out a whole bunch of gingerbread men from my empty cereal box stash.  (Yes, I'm a proud cardboard hoarder!)  Then, I brought them to the library and let the kids decorate them with googly eyes and foam stickers.  The older 2-year olds had fun making funny men and the babies just watched their moms do the craft. 

Chuck's attention span:  He probably spent about 5-10 minutes on this activity before he lost interest.



2.  Hand and Foot Reindeer Wreath

 hand and foot print reindeer wreath Christmas
I've seen versions of this craft all over the internet... and thought they were so cute and perfect for the holidays.  I traced Chuck's hand once to make a template for the wreath and horns.  I also traced Chuck's foot to make the reindeer's head.  Then, I glued everything together and he helped me add foam shapes and googly eyes.

Here are the different components of the wreath:

parts needed to make handprint and reindeer wreath craft
Chuck's attention span:  He probably spent about 10 minutes on this activity before he lost interest.



3.  Homemade Play Dough


child playing with homemade playdough
I followed this craft clay recipe and we had tons of fun rolling, cutting, and shaping our clay.  Unfortunately, our ornaments cracked when they dried.  Boo.  But, we had such fun manipulating the stuff that I kept leftovers in a sealed bag in the fridge.  It didn't dry out and we got to play with it another day. (Right now the "play dough" is still in our fridge... so we'll try it out again this week.)

He used a blunt plastic knife, measuring spoons, measuring cup, and an olive jar (our makeshift rolling pin) to play with the dough. 

boy using a plastic knife to cut homemade playdough

Chuck's attention span:  This activity was a hit!  We spent about 30-45 minutes on two separate days playing with our "play dough."



4.  Water Bead Play


water bead play
Again, I saw a ton of other mommies raving about these beads so I had to give them a try.  I found mine at Michaels in the flower section.  The beads are made of a special polymer that expands in water.  The resulting beads look a bit like boba balls and are slippery and firm.  They also bounce a bit if dropped.

Here's what the water beads initially looked like ...
what do water beads look like- explanation

After a couple of hours, our beads grew and Chuck had a blast scooping them from container to container.

Warning:  Yes, they can be a choking hazard.  I repeatedly told him that the beads weren't food and I made sure to watch him while he played.  Once we were done with the beads, I threw them away in the garbage can.  (You can't pour them down the drain because they can clog your pipes.)

toddler playing with water beads
Chuck's attention span:  This activity was a hit!  He spent about an hour just scooping the beads from container to container.


So, for all you mamas out there who are also stuck at home with young ones... stay strong!  We can make it through winter!  Hopefully one of these ideas will help keep you sane this week.

Happy crafting, friends!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Finding beauty in the everyday

Heart shaped candy canes 

(bent using this tutorial)
Bend a candycane to look like a heart

Our current car collection

toy cars arranged in a nice way

Christmas tree toys 

plastic animals arranged like a christmas tree

Red and white rice krispy treats

make red and white rice krispy treats

White play dough on our black table

white play dough winter scene

Happy Thursday friends!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

DIY Earmuffs? (A craft flop)

A couple of weeks ago I couldn't sleep.

Did I drink too much coffee?  Nope.  Was I worried about Christmas shopping? Nope.

Don't laugh, ok?  *Big breath* I couldn't sleep because I kept thinking about how I could crapt myself a pair of earmuffs using stuff in our apartment. 

Weird right?  I don't even wear earmuffs... but for some reason I kept wondering if I could make them.  So the next day I played around with some materials ... and I ended up with a pair of these:


I have kind of mixed feelings about them.  On the plus side, they look like earmuffs and they also block out some of the cold.  However, they feel a little too light and stiff around my ears. 

So, while I'm proud that I made a pair of semi-working earmuffs, I think this is probably a craft flop.  Now if for some reason you want to see how I crapted these earmuffs (or you wanna see Chuck wearing the earmuffs), keep on reading!


Monday, December 16, 2013

DIY Reindeer Antler Headbands

On Wednesday we're having a small holiday get-together with our toddler library group.  I wanted to put Chuck in a cute holiday outfit, but I didn't get a chance to pick up anything yet.  But not to worry!  I had all the items needed to make these two cute reindeer antlers.  I love how they came out.  They're super festive, Chuck will actually wear them, (yes!) and added bonus- they were both made in one night.... my kind of craft!

DIY Reindeer Antler Headbands


DIY Reindeer Antler Headbands


Wanna see how I made them?  (Or, do you wanna see cute photos of Chuck modelling them?)  If so, read on!


Sunday, December 15, 2013

What's up Chuck? Weekend Recap

This weekend we had plans to go into the city to see the train show at Grand Central Terminal. Unfortunately, it snowed all day Saturday (eep!) and I was battling a cold, so we ended up hanging out at home.  At first I was pretty bummed out, but thankfully everything turned out alright in the end.


Chuck and I played with his cars.... a lot....
We re-enacted scenes from the movie "Mater's Tall Tales..."
Keep on reading below!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Make a felt and cardboard gingerbread house

Today's craft was inspired by gingerbread houses.  It's a little cardboard and felt "gingerbread" house with felt "candy" decorations. Pretty neat, right? All the decorations can be easily placed on and taken of, so you can decorate and re-decorate to your heart's content.

DIY Felt and Cardboard Gingerbread House Toy

DIY Felt and Gingerbread House Toys



This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for your support.

If you'd like to make your own, keep on reading!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Make your own CB2 inspired Cardboard Penguins

Cardboard penguins?  Who wants to make cardboard penguins?

Me!  I saw these wood penguins from CB2 and thought they looked so cute.  But then I saw the price tag and thought "Ha!  I can crapt them for next to nothing!"  So here they are... my crapted cardboard penguins.


Wanna make your own?  Read on to get the template!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

It snowed!

Yesterday morning we awoke and saw that it was snowing!  Yippee, wish granted!  So we bundled up in our warmest gear, played outside, and then came back home for some hot cocoa.  Here are some photos from our outdoor adventures.  

We built our first snowman.
 (Perler beads and pipe cleaners make up his shnazzy accessories.)

Keep on reading....

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Make Snowflake Window Clings

Tomorrow it's supposed to snow.  Chuck went to bed super excited because I promised him that we'd build a snowman. 

Cross your fingers that our town is dusted in snow, ok?

Although this will be the first real snowfall of the season, our apartment's windows have already been covered with snowflakes for the past couple of weeks.  Every winter I cut out snowflakes from paper, but this year I tried something new and made snowflake window clings out of tulle and fabric paint.  I think they make Chuck's room a bit more festive and fun.

To see how I made them, read on...

Monday, December 9, 2013

Make Homeamde Felt Milk Jug Cap Ornaments


Each year I try to make a couple of handmade ornaments for our tree.  Last year, Chuck and I made these hand and feet salt dough ornaments.  I would have made him a new set this year... but his feet are so big that the ornaments would end up being the size of small plates.

So instead, this year I turned a bunch of milk jug caps (gifted to me by a craft-loving aunt- thanks!) to make these mini felt ornaments.  Each one has a different design and they came out so colorful and cute.... I just want to eat them up.   But don't worry, I won't because they're made of felt...and glue...and plastic...

Can you guess which one is Chuck's favorite?  Keep on reading to find out... 

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Thanksgiving photos

Hi everyone.

Hubby and I just finished watching Sound of Music.  Wow!   That was really a marathon of music.  I can't believe that the singers had the stamina to last three hours. I felt exhausted just watching them! 

(Did you watch it?  I completely melted when I heard the head nun singing "Climb every mountain."   Wow.  Voice  as like butter, I tell ya.)


Back to today's post.  Here are the promised Thanksgiving photos.  Ermm.... looking through them, I realize now that they're mostly of food.  I gave hubby the camera for the night while I hung out with the kids.  He came back with lots of food photos... so you could tell what he was mostly focused on. :)   Just imagine some people congregating around the food and then you've got the gist of  our Thanksgiving.

Happy Friday, friends!

I took this photo before the evening's events.  Chuck just looked too adorable and I knew that the outfit would be covered with food by the end of the night.

Yum.

*Drool*


I'm getting hungry again...

Yurmmm.... pie...... I wonder what we have in our fridge to snack on....

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Homemade gift: DIY Felt Board

Do you remember playing with felt boards as a kid?  (Is that too old school?  Maybe kids nowadays play with fancy touch screens instead ... hrmm....)  Anyway, I remember using a felt board in school and LOVING it.   So I thought I'd try making a homemade felt board for Chuck. After consulting a couple of tutorials online, here's what I came up with:

Let's make a DIY Felt Board

how to make a DIY Felt Board


(This post contains affiliate links.  Thank you for your support!)

Now, in full disclosure, I wish I could say that Chuck loved it and played hours and hours with it while I took a nap on the couch.  Errrm.....  It didn't quite turn out that way.  He played with the car parts for a bit, but then seemed much more interested in rolling around real cars.

But I won't call this a craft fail just yet.  I'm hoping (cross your fingers!) that he'll grow to love the felt board as much as I did.  But if not, no big deal.  The entire thing only cost about 4 dollars to make because I already had most of the materials lying around the apartment.  Score!

Now if you have a felt-loving child in your life, you can try making your own felt board too!  (I bet it would make a great Christmas gift.)  Here's how I made mine:

Materials to make a DIY Felt Board:


Directions to make a DIY Felt Board:

1.  Clean your work area.  Felt attracts stuff.  (I worked on the floor, so I swept it first.)

how to make a DIY Felt Board
2.  Take out the back of your photo frame.  Discard the glass.  Place the back on your piece of felt and trace it.  Cut the rectangle out.

3.  Optional:  If your felt is a bit wrinkly, carefully iron it.  (I turned my iron to a lower setting and placed one of those protective ironing pressing pads over my felt before ironing it so I wouldn't melt or burn the felt.)

Glue on your felt
4.  Place your piece of felt directly over the photo frame back.  Make sure the sides all line up.  To help with the gluing, fold one side of the felt over the other.  Then, use your sponge brush and brush a bit of Mod Podge right next to the fold.   Press the fabric down over the glue.  Then, spread a little more Mod Podge next to your new fold and press the felt down again.  Keep repeating this procedure until one side is fully glued down.  Then, repeat the procedure with the other side.  

5.  Once the Mod Podge dries, put your board back into the frame.  That's it!

Now comes the fun part- making your felt pieces.  Doodle your designs onto paper.  Then, trace them onto felt and cut them out.  I chose to make a set of Christmas tree felt pieces and a set of car part pieces.
Homemade Felt Board Tutorial
Happy crafting!

DIY Felt Board Tutorial

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Make mini Christmas trees from Pipe Cleaners and Cardboard

Yesterday I shared how I made a miniature Christmas village out of plaster of paris.  Today I just wanted wanted to show how I quickly made these uber cute cardboard and pipe cleaner Christmas trees for my village.

(And if you like these trees, check out my tutorial for mini paint chip trees!

mini cardboard and pipe cleaner trees tutorial


Cardboard Christmas Trees

mini cardboard Christmas trees tutorial
Materials:
  • Cardboard
  • Cutting Mat
  • Pattern (see below)
  • Pen/pencil
  • Exacto knife
  • Scissors

Directions:
  1. Print out the template to make one large and one small tree. 
  2. Cut out the Christmas tree parts. 
  3. Trace them onto cardboard.
  4. Cut our your parts with an exacto knife.
  5. Slide both pieces together and you've got yourself a mini tree!





Pipe Cleaner Christmas Trees
mini pipe cleaner trees tutorial

Materials:
  • Paper
  • Pen
  • Scissors
  • Pipe cleaners (three per tree)
  • Pom Poms
  • Tacky glue

Directions:
1.  Doodle out a tree on a piece of paper.
2.  Bend a green pipe cleaner around your doodle.  Wrap both ends together to secure your tree.  Trim excess bits off.  Repeat this for all three tree shapes. 
3. Tie the three trees together by wrapping the tops and bottoms together with pipe cleaner.
4.  Gently separate the branches and glue small pom poms on with tacky glue.

That's it!  Happy crafting!  (Chuck was the artistic director for this photo shoot.  Can you tell?)
make mini Christmas trees tutorial