Sunday, October 31, 2010
Super Dog
So, what better day to start blogging than Halloween? It's my favorite holiday and coincidentally, my dog's favorite as well. He just loves getting gussied up for the ladies. Here he is wearing his homemade super hero dog costume. He's so crafty.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Make Snowflake Window Clings
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...
Friday, November 6, 2015
Recycled Hibernating Bear Craft! (And our favorite Bear books!)
Today I'm sharing this easy Recycled Hibernating Bear Craft! It's a great way to teach kids about their natural world using some creative arts and crafts fun!
Recycled Hibernating Bear Craft
Tuesday, November 29, 2022
How to Build a Paper Air Skimmer Sleigh (FREE Printable included)
Looking for a really neat winter STEAM activity to make with the kids? A few months ago, my eldest son came back with a really cool paper skimmer that he made at school. They followed this paper skimmer tutorial on YouTube. The directions were great for older kids, but my youngest wasn't able to make one easily. So I came up with an easy printable that we could print out, color, fold, and race. :) Both boys loved using it so much that I'm sharing it here! With it being so close to Christmas, we called them our paper skimmer sleighs.
Print, Fold, and Build a DIY Paper Air Skimmer Sleigh
Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Grow Borax Crystals... on Nature!
How to Make Sparkly Cyrstal Leaves, Shells, and Twigs!
This post contains affiliate links. This means I make a small bit of money for any purchases made through the links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support. For my full disclosure policy, click here.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
50+ Super Cute and Easy Origami and Kirigami Projects for Kids
50+ Easy and Kid-Friendly Origami and Kirigami Projects
Wednesday, November 25, 2020
Easy Pop-Up Christmas Snowman Card
Hi friends! We are busy here preparing for Thanksgiving. It will look different this year, but our family is trying to make the best of it. If you're looking for easy winter crafts to do with the kids, I'm popping in to share this cute pop-up Christmas Snowman card.
Isn't he adorable?
How to Make a DIY Pop-Up Paper Snowman Card for Kids
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Cat huts
How will they stay warm in this weather? |
Monday's Special: Stinky sardines |
One hut in the cat complex |
Thursday, December 27, 2012
DIY Birdseed ornaments
Today I'll be sharing how we created these lovely DIY Birdseed ornaments.
Back in Michigan, hubby and I put up a small bird feeder to feed the birds during the winter. Now that we live in the city, we don't have space to put a bird feeder up. (Plus, even if we did figure out a way to do it we'd probably just attract pigeons or rats. Ew and double ew.)
So, you might say that I was feeling a bit nostalgic after seeing this lovely tutorial from Saltwater Kids showing how to make birdseed ornaments. Luckily we have several family members that live in nearby tree-filled suburbs, so I made a bunch of these as small Christmas gifts. I don't know about you, but I could really just spend hours watching birds hopping or flying around. Hopefully this gift will keep the kids (and adults) entertained as they enjoy nature.
If you'd like to make them yourself, let me just first make two notes:
(1) The Saltwater Kids tutorial contains really lovely photos and clear directions. I totally copied their recipe. I'm a copycat. I fully admit it.
(2) I tried to be neat, but the birdseed got everywhere. Be prepared to sweep and wipe up lots of tiny seeds and sticky birdseed mess.
Still want to make them? Ok, here's how I did it:
Materials Needed to make DIY Birdseed Ornaments:
-3/4 C flour- 1/2 C water
- 1 envelope unflavored gelatin (Knox)
- 3 T corn syrup (I used dark... but I'm not sure if that matters)
- 4 C birdseed
- muffin tins/ molds (or cookie cutters)
- nonstick cooking spray
- drinking straws/ stirrers
- wax paper
- ribbon
Directions to make DIY Birdseed Ornaments:
1. Combine flour, water, gelatin, and corn syrup in a large bowl. Stir until everything is combined and resembles sticky goo.2. Add birdseed. Stir until birdseed is covered.
3. Spray muffin tins / molds with cooking spray.
4. Pack birdseed mixture into the molds. Use a measuring cup to pack and smooth everything down. (I had a bit of trouble with this, which resulted in rough edges.)
5. Push straws or stirrers through the birdseed. (Make sure to push them all the way through so that you have a hole to string the ribbon through.)
6. Let your birdseed mixture sit there for three hours. Then, take out your straws and slide/pop out the hardened ornaments out onto wax paper. (They easily popped out of the silicone molds, but I had to use a fork to pop them out of the muffin tins.) Flip the ornament upside down so the bottom gets a chance to harden as well. Let them sit out overnight.
7. Put ribbon or string through the holes and enjoy!
Merry Christmas feathered friends!
Update- I wanted to hang up ornaments with Baby Chuck around town, so I stored some in our apartment for about a week. Bad idea. When I finally remembered them, I saw that they had grown fuzzy with mold. So, make sure you use them as soon as you make them! Otherwise you'll end up with fuzzy black ornaments. Ick.
Interested in other ways to create birdseed feeders?
Create your own toilet paper roll bird feeders and ice bird feeders.Sunday, November 10, 2013
What's up Chuck? Canstruction!
Hi everyone! Did you have a good weekend? Ours was kind of a mixed bag. On the one hand we got a chance to relax and hang out as a family... which is especially nice since hubby is still away most of the week for work. But on the other hand, we were just so sad hearing about Typhoon Haiyan's terrible aftermath in the Philippines. (To see how you can help the survivors, click here.)
*Sigh*
Ok, I'm trying to stay positive here. Hearing about such destruction and devastation reminds me to be thankful for all the things I usually take for granted. So I'm thankful for moments that we get to share together as a family:
Pretending to be monsters |
Showing off our non-existent yoga moves |
Enjoying the warm weather (Look! No coat!) |
Chasing each other around the park |
I'm also thankful that we were able to see Canstruction at the Brookfield Place Winter Garden. It's a joint competition and food drive where teams of engineers, architects, designers, and students create sculptures out of nonperishable foods. Sculptures will be up until November 13th and admission is free (just bring some canned food to donate). Then, they'll be taken apart and the food will be donated to City Harvest, an organization dedicated to feeding the hungry in New York City.
The sculptures were amazing. I left feeling quite inspired seeing how people's artistic and creative skills were used to highlight the very real problem of hunger in New York City.
Have a safe Monday, friends!
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Mini Painted Sponge Christmas Trees
Well, we still haven't put up the tree, but we have been crafting more together at night. Recently, we turned a bunch of old makeup sponges into mini Christmas trees. I know, they're not as beautiful as the real thing... but for now, they'll do!
Mini Sponge Christmas Trees
Monday, January 13, 2014
6 ways to entertain a toddler at home
Looking for some easy ways to entertain your toddler in the winter?
So... how about that polar votex? Boy, oh boy, that was some crazy weather. With the snow, ice, and freezing cold winds, Chuck and I hunkered down at home.After a couple of hours of reading the same books over and over again, and playing with the same toys over and over again, and listening to the soundtrack of "Planes" for the trillionth time, I finally cracked.
Redrum, redrum?
Thankfully, we didn't make it to that point. But, we definitely bounced off the walls a bit. To maintain some sense of sanity, we had to do something to make the time at home more enjoyable. So here are a couple of fun activities that kept us sane and smiling...
1. Yarn family portrait craft
Chuck loves using scissors and the glue sticks, so this activity was a hit. First he helped me cut tons of short, white yarn strands. Then, I doodled a bald family on a piece of paper. Then, he helped me glue hair onto all of their heads. The result is this cute and funny family portrait.Keep reading to see more ways we entertained ourselves at home...
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Finding beauty in the everyday
Heart shaped candy canes
(bent using this tutorial)Our current car collection
Christmas tree toys
Red and white rice krispy treats
White play dough on our black table
Happy Thursday friends!
Monday, January 7, 2019
Painting on an Icy Snowman
How To Make an Ice Snowman (and Paint It Too!)
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means I make a small portion off of any purchases made through the links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for the grocery money! For my full disclosure policy, click here.
Monday, February 3, 2014
Make Fake Snow from Diapers
Say what?
Oh yeah. We visited our nearby science center last week and the kids loved playing with their fake snow. I found out that the fake snow was made from the same material found inside of diapers! Wow. Mind blown. So of course we had to make it at home.
Keep reading to find out how we made our fake snow!
Friday, December 9, 2011
Sunny days and pop of color
Monday, February 26, 2018
Origami Friendship Math Quilt Craft
Origami Friendship Quilts
Note: This post contains affiliate links. This means I make a small bit of change when you purchase items through the links. Thank you for your support and the grocery money. For my full disclosure policy, click here.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Central Park
I think last Saturday definitely marked a turning point in the weather. Hubby, Baby Chuck, and I seized the day by meeting up with some friends and walking through Central Park. I loved seeing the swarms of tourists and natives out enjoying the good weather.
Even though we live just across the river, we really don't visit the city as often as we'd like. Whenever our car crosses the river, I always begin "oohing" and "ahhing" over all the sights.
I really love New York City and it's just so beautiful in the fall.
This must have been wedding photo day because we saw a total of three brides walking around! |
I so want to make this bubble man's special wand. |
Monday, November 30, 2015
Milk Jug Santa Claus Craft
Milk Jug Santa Claus!
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Using crafts to encourage others: A look at a Crafting Ezine
Oy. How I love crafting.
I love making stuff and I love the idea that my stuff can bring a small smile to other peoples' faces.
And that's why I'm super thankful that talented bloggers Amy (AmySullivan1) and Lisa (AboutProximity) included my galaxy umbrella in the first issue of their new ezine, Impact. This is a quarterly magazine that will focus on different ways that we can positively influence others' lives.
Their first issue shares some great ideas for encouraging others through crafts. You can check it out below!
(Ooh.. those cute winter gloves and foot scrub recipes are calling my name. Happy crafting and have a great weekend.)