Snowflakes are falling

I ran across this tutorial for cutting out snowflakes the other day on Pinterest, which is perfect because I was just trying to show Joc how to cut out snowflakes from paper last week! I knew I wasn't doing something quite right with them and since I've found this one we've made a ton more that are really pretty!

These are another of those fun activities your kids could be doing while you're cooking this week for Thanksgiving and you could lay them out around the tables or on your buffet as cute hand made decorations for your guests to see!

The kids will love that, it'll bring them into the center of the attention for a short period of time during the day while their grandparents, aunts, uncles... comment on the snowflakes they made!

Here is the link for the print out of the tutorials:

Winter Is Coming!

 

This is a view of what the print out looks like... And who doesn't love Elsa and Olaf!

- Stephanie

Night Night... Sleep Tight

Do you ever have issues getting your little ones to go to bed or sleep? I do, some times. She's gotten a TON better over the years, now that she's realized that she doesn't miss out on anything while she's sleeping, and since she's realized she NEEDS her sleep, she no longer cares too much!

However, this particular blog, Kid's Activity Blog, would have been pretty handy to have had back in the day of fighting a monster of a child while putting her to bed. She lists some truly great ideas for helping to calm your children down during bed time to ease them off to dream land.

Among these really awesome ideas was this:

A glowing sensory bottle!

How cute is that?! I love this idea. Mainly because it's not a game or anything that they have to play with to calm them down. They can keep this by their beds and play with it as they fall asleep, and it still eases their minds as they stare into the stars and glitter!

So, here's the website on how to make this super awesome bed time object:

Glowing Sensory Bottle

What you'll need:

1. DURABLE plastic bottle
2. Hair Gel, fill the bottle to nearly full bottle.
3. Glitter Glue, use a squirt.
4. Glow in the dark paint, another squirt.
5. Super Glue, for the lid!
6. Glow-in-the-dark mini stars. (I have found some of these at Wal-mart.)

 Mix it all up and give it a good shake, after you glue the top on of course, and watch the magic! :)

My sweet girl might be a smidgen too old for this, but I still plan on making it with her! I think she'll love it and it'll still be helpful for her to fall asleep on those nights where she really fights it still.

-Stephanie

Bare Feet Welcome

I found a picture of a spring time wreath on Pinterest a while back... it was adorable! I couldn't wait to make it! And now that I finally have, I've been dieing to share it with all of y'all! :)

Here is my finished wreath:

Isn't it cute???!!

It was so simple to make! Here is what you'll need:

1. Hot glue (of course!)

2. Flower "lace" found at Walmart for nearly nothing! I think I had them cut about 20 flowers in length.

3. Long ball point pins. Use the pink tipped ones!

4. Hard foam wreath.

5. Green feather boas. I got the fuzzier ones to make it appear more as grass. Also, I only got two boas and I ended up having to kinda stretch them pretty far in between loops, I'd recommend getting three for yours!! I found these at Hancock Fabrics, they were a little pricy, but I REALLY wanted to make this wreath! :)

Take the end of the boa and glue it to the wreath for stability. Then just wrap it all around until the end of the line. Glue the end down and then repeat with your second and third boas. DO NOT glue the boa anywhere else around the wreath!!! It'll just end up being a huge mess!

 

Cut the flowers so that they are individual flowers now, instead of a rope of them. Then take your pink tipped pins and push them through the middles of the flowers and place them where you like around your wreath. 

Be sure to push a few in through the boa's centers so that they won't move around as much anymore!

 Here is my wreath with all my flowers pinned down!

I also added a little sign that I made! It reads "Bare feet welcome!"

It's made out of a toothpick and some card stock cut out into a "flag" shape. I did the flag shape double sided and then folded it over the toothpick so it would hold better and glued the two sides together around the toothpick.

Here is my completed wreath! Just needs a pretty little ribbon! My Walmart currently has all their spring ribbon on sale, as well! :D

 

I love this wreath!! Even on gloomy days or cold days even, it makes it feel like spring time around my home!! And my 5-year-old think it's just "the most prettiest" thing ever! (Wait till she sees my Easter wreath I'm working on!)

Happy spring y'all!!

-Stephanie

Holiday Wreath

I'm sure you all have seen those oh so pretty ornament wreaths around this time of year before. And they do look slightly intimidating to put together... But they aren't!! All you need is the right tutorial to follow and work off of and you're set to go! Luckily I found a good one! :)

I made this one here a few weeks ago for a friend... It was so easy and kinda fun!

Here's what you'll need for this project:

1. hot glue gun

2. ornaments of any colors you choose, small and large

3. a wire wreath, found at Wal-mart for about $3.00

4. ribbon

5. some patience... I messed this one up pretty good while putting it together.

Oh, and a large workspace.. I used my floor.

 

Step 1. lay out your wreath and place the ornaments around the edges to get a visual of how you want it to look in the end. Don't worry about the space, it'll be there, but you can cover it up. You'll also need somewhere to place your ribbon. :)

Oh, and you probably won't use all the ornaments you lay out around your wreath... I think you have 3 extra by the time your done. You don't want to cram them together and possibly break.

Step 2. Repeat step one for the inner circle to view it as well.

Step 3. Begin gluing! Apply liberally... you can't have enough on the ornaments, really!

What I did on the outer rim was view the ornament on the wreath and then carefully figure where to put the glue so it'd stay. I glued them down to the first circle and to the second one on the inside. So you'd glue the rim of the ornament's hanger and then a little on the ball itself. Some times gluing the ornaments together was needed for more stability.

Here is the outer circle all glued down!

Step 4. Glue your inner circle.

For these I only glued the balls to the first inner circle on the wreath and then to each other around the rim. I wanted my wreath to look a bit bigger, so I decided not to glue down the ornaments till they were pressed into the outer rim of ornaments.

Both edges all glued together finally!

Step 5. (The fun part!!) Place all the rest of the ornaments onto your wreath to see how it all looks!

These are unglued here. Be sure to cover your gaps when doing this. Once you have placed all your large ornaments where you like them (I tried to place mine in larger spots to cover up), place your smaller ones around to fill in the left over holes! 

Step 6. Once this is done begin gluing them all down! I didn't remove my ornaments and start fresh from the previous stage. I simply started somewhere that wouldn't disturb my wreath much and began gluing where I needed to until I had worked my way around the whole wreath. I would simply glue one large ball at a time and then proceed to the smaller ones around that one and repeat!

Here is my wreath! :)

I wish I had taken a photo of the wreath I made for my mom... I think it's been my favorite so far to make! It was made with deep red and gold ornaments, it looked like Gryffindor's house colors for those that are familiar with the world of Harry Potter!

I wish you all good luck on your holiday projects and wreaths!

-Stephanie

All Smiles

Here's something absolutely adorable that you could do with your kiddos to celebrate fall/Thanksgiving, courtesy of: The Kids Activity Blog!!

Aren't these guys just too cute!!! And all you need are some festive looking leaves, a marker, some googly eyes, and some glue! You could so easily make these as Thanksgiving decorations for the kids tables or to leave around the house for your guests to admire and for you kids to brag to them about! :)

-Stephanie

Chalk Board Banner

I saw this on Catch My Party... It looks like so much fun!!

This project looks like so much fun!! You could use this for parties and holidays and all sorts of events... Know why?? Because it's REUSABLE!!!! I love things that you can make and then keep them to use again another time. It makes life so much easier when you have things like that laying around, too!

You'll need:

• ½ - 1 yard of chalkboard fabric(depending on the length of your banner)
• ⅛ hole punch
• ⅛ inch eyelets
• Eyelet setter tool, hammer, and setting mat
• Ribbon or twine (3-4 yards)
• Chalk and chalk marker
• Banner template
• Scissors

See, the FULL DIY for this awesome party addition can be found on Catch My Party's website..... right here: http://catchmyparty.com/blog/diy-chalkboard-fabric-banner :)

I just love that website! They've seriously made my life so much easier when it comes to planning parties now!!

- Stephanie

For the Artists Out There

I found this neat template for drawing the minions from Despicable Me! I personally adore the minions, they are so funny and Jocelyn loves them too!! We took her to see Despicable Me 2 in theaters over the summer.... She was glued!!! She hardly looked away from the screen the whole time we were there... She LOVES those funny little guys to pieces!!

- Stephanie

Fall Crafts for Kids

I love autumn. It's my favorite time of year. My heart warms and glows at this time of year! I prefer the cold so much over being hot in the summer... I love fall! The sweaters, boots, hot chocolate, the leaves changing... It's perfect to me!!
What better way to celebrate fall than to do fun crafts with your kids! Here is a link to 20 really cool fall leaf crafts: http://bit.ly/1fuOS60
They have the painting with leaves (which I always loved!), they made leaf mobiles, a leaf fan, foliage friends (this looks super cute to do!!), and so so much more!

This is the leaf painting I mentioned above... It was always so fun to do. I think I liked the prospect of getting to play with that really think paint when we made ours in school!

This is the foliage friends!!!! Doesn't it look precious!! I think the kids would love to be able to go out and find leaves and then finish a picture with them to put on their walls!

I hope you enjoy these fall friendly crafts!

- Stephanie

Potions Kit Pt. 1 - Halloween Day 6

I'm having to split this one craft up into two segments... There's a good bit to do for it. 

So, Potions Kit Part 1:

I love witches. I was a witch 9/10 times as a kid for Halloween, I LOVE the movie Hocus Pocus, Hermione was always one of my favorite Harry Potter characters... Witches, are cool!

So, naturally I'd want to make a witch's potions kit! I have found one that is so much simpler than most of the others out there. I have seen some that just look way too hard to make, they look too time consuming and are just as good as some of the simpler ones!

You'll need:

1. Empty glass jars

2. Spray paint (I'm using a glossy black... It's only $.98 at Walmart!)

3. A tall bowl, or cup

4. One tea bag

5. Scissors

6. Small paper bag

As you can see I have an assortment of jars here... A wine bottle, pasta sauce jar, and Parmesan cheese jar. I just saved some jars and bottles that ended up having a really neat and different shape to them for this project to make it look really eclectic.

Step One: You'll want to peal off all those pretty labels from your jars!

 I found this on Pinterest... It says some hot water, the Oxi Clean, and then a dash of soap will EASILY remove these!

I just used a hot water/Dawn dish detergent soak and sprayed on (before putting the jars into the bath) some Windex. Mine worked well, I had to very minimal scrubbing to get the last little bits off.

Step Two: Spray paint your jars and bottles! You'll need to really cover those, too. I take mine all outside at once and spray them down then come back in about 15 minutes and spray them again if needed. These are some more that I've already painted.

The wine bottle on the left has a red tint to it if you notice.... It was originally an all red bottle and while spraying it I started to look and noticed how neat it looked, so I only dusted that one. I'm labeling it "Dragon's Blood" in the end!! :)

Step Three: Cut up your paper bag! I kinda butchered mine, oops! :)

But it still works! It doesn't have to be completely together for it to do it's part!

Step Four: Crumple up your bag! I did mine twice to ensure it wrinkled well.

Then place it inside your bowl or cup.

Step Five: Add REALLY hot water to your bowl for the bag to soak in for a little bit! Once the bag has submerged into the water and has started to expand again. Add your tea bag into the mix!

This ages the paper and helps hold those wrinkles, so it looks old and ancient!

I let mine sit in this mix for about five minutes. I made sure to dip the tea bag multiple times to release it into the water for the bag to soak up.

Step Six: Remove your paper bag and lay it flat on a towel or something to dry. I'm not quite sure how long this will take. I'm guessing at least an hour or two! (Which is why this is a two part blog!!)

At this point if you need to paint more jars or something for this project I'd do it now! You'll have plenty of time to do so! :)

That's all the steps I have for you now! My papers are drying and I have to go get ready for a wedding in a few hours!! We'll finish this project tomorrow!!!

- Stephanie

Glowing Eyes! - Halloween Day 5

I found this really easy Halloween DIY on Pinterest not too long ago... It looks like it'd be a really fun addition to the outside of your house for Halloween night.
Now... I have not actually made these yet. I was planning on waiting till Halloween to do so, but I'm going to do a test run tomorrow night to see if these eyeballs really can glow at night!

All you need are some glow sticks (red, white, green, or pink should do it), toilet paper rolls, masking tape, and scissors!
Cut out your eyes of choice, tape one end of the toilet paper roll, then break your glow stick. Once it's placed inside the roll tape up the other side so it won't slide back out!
Then find a visible place to set the eyes in your bushes and watch them glow!

I'm really hoping these work!! I was so planning on lining the bushes in our drive way with these. I promise I'll let y'all know whether this works or not late Sunday night!
If you happen to already know whether they do or not drop a comment for everyone to see!

- Stephanie

Sparkly Spider Webs - Halloween Day 4

I found the idea for this on Pinterest... Sparkly webs to display around your home! I thought they were pretty cute!

This is my first one! They are SO easy to make AND your kids can help you or make their own with you!!

You'll need:

1. Elmer's glue bottle(s)
2. Glitter
3. Wax paper

To make these, lay out your wax paper (SHINY SIDE UP!!!). Think of the pattern you want to lay out, then just start to use the glue as your pen or pencil and draw your web! Do it a little thicker than you'd think, it can break once it's all dried.
Once you're done with your drawing start shaking that glitter!! Cover it all up with glitter. You can easily pour excess back into your container, LET THE WHOLE THING DRY BEFORE YOU SHAKE OFF THE GLITTER!!!
After it's dried and you've re-stored the remaining glitter, peel it off. Be careful as you're doing this. I started at the corner of my web and peel it up then started to run my thumb nail up each of the lines to get it off the paper.

I'm thinking of putting some of mine on my door with my wreath to make it a little more fun and then in the corners of doors around the house.
My full webs, circles, I'm placing under pumpkins on tables!
Be creative with yours!! Encourage your kids to use different colors and designs, if they want to! Jocelyn, I think, wants to make a pink one for her room... I'm laying out a lot more paper when we make hers!!

Please enjoy this sparkly craft for Halloween! It's something fun for the kids to get involved in, too (which is always good!) And I LOVE how easy these are to make!!!!

- Stephanie

A Creepy Crawly Halloween Wreath - Halloween Day 3

I have found many similar wreaths like this one for Halloween, but I completely free-handed this one! No help from Pinterest what so ever! I can NOT wait to put this super fun addition to our house up on our door next month when we start to decorate!
I really hope that it creeps some people out when they come to the door and see it!

I, unfortunately, made this over a month ago so I have no tutorial images to share with you all. I will explain how I made this fun wreath as best I can, though!

What you'll need for this project:

1. wreath
2. plastic spiders
3. hot glue gun
4. ribbon
5. spider webbing

I used a hay wreath (bought from Michael's!!). They have three different sizes, I chose the medium sized wreath. I almost bought one that was made out of a similar material as the traditional Christmas wreaths are made out of, only it was black and sparkly! I'm SO glad that I found the hay wreaths... I think it looks more like the spiders took it over while it was "put away."

I also bought all of my spiders from Michael's. I bought two 6 packs of black spiders and then another set of three that could be clipped onto something (a headband, perhaps!). One of those three was larger, so I made her the "queen" and placed her on top.

The webbing is that stuff that everyone uses to decorate doors, windows, and porches and can be found at Michael's, Wal-Mart, K Mart, and probably a few other places around your area.

I started out by cutting a section of the webbing off of the bundle. I started to stretch and stretch that stuff all around my wreath till it covered it and looked realistic. The hay really helps tack the webbing down so I didn't have to do a whole lot of work on keeping it in place.
When I did need some help, I took needles and pinned the webbing down where I needed to come back and glue it in place so as to hold it better.

Once the webbing was stretched and glued, where it needed it, I then wrapped my ribbon around the top of the wreath. I chose that particular one because it went to well with my idea... It's black and sparkly, too!

Then the fun part was placing all my creepy crawlers around their new home!

The one hanging in the middle is doing just that, hanging. I didn't need to glue him. He was pretty stuck once I tried to pull him back out.
I also stuck a really little one on the inside of my wreath, you can barely see him from this photo.

I had so much fun making this! I don't like real spiders, but fake ones are pretty okay in my book.

Here's the full view of it all put together!

I wish you all good luck on your own wreaths, webbed out or not!! :)

- Stephanie

Some Cute Halloween Friends - Halloween Day 2

These super cute and easy Mummies are such a fun addition to your holiday!!

Once completed fill them with your favorite Halloween candies and give them out to your kids! I'm making some for Jocelyn's 4K class and the kids that are in our small group through church!

What you'll need:

 

1. Scissors
2. Hot glue
3. Googly eyes
4. Gauze OR a cheese cloth
5. a Pen or marker
6. An empty and dried water bottle

 Step one is to cut your water bottle in half. I cut mine right under the wrapper. You'll need to leave enough room for trimming it, because the plastic will be sticking out in all sorts of ways. I clean mine up to be nice and smooth all the way around to prevent a little one getting poked and crying!

 Step two is to cover one layer of your cloth all the way around your bottle. Do this so that it looks covered even around the eyes once they're on! I'll also, if I can, put some glue around the inner rim and fold the cloth down over it to cover it up completely! (On a side note: I cut my gauze with fabric scissors! The first one I made was with regular ones and it was pretty frustrating trying to cut it straight and without there being a huge mess on the ends!)

Step three is to place on your eye balls! I'll usually place mine on there to get a good visual for them and then mark the places with a pen or marker to make sure they're on there straight and where I really want them to be.

Step four unroll a section of the cloth, cut it, then start to fold it up length wise to wrap around the bottle. It doesn't have to be perfect, the messier the better... Then it looks more realistic! Once you like the way it's sitting I glue each end of my cloth down, I don't run the glue all the way around because the cloth base helps to hold the wrappings on there everywhere else.

Step five repeat step four till your mummy is covered in his gauze! Mine usually take four layers of gauze to cover them. Three under the eyes and then one above them. I also will "mold" my cloth a little around the eyes to make it look a little spookier and have them half way hidden some times!

Then you're done! And you have an adorable little mummy friend to give out to your kid's class or party! I can't wait until all mine are finished up and filled, ready to be delivered to all the kids that are getting these!!

I'll take a group photo of all of mine once they're ready!!!

I hope you love these cute fellas as much as I do and find them fun to make! And make them your own!! If you have some really cool addition to these guys once you start yours please post your design for everyone else to see! :)

- Stephanie

The Black Rat Pack - Halloween Day 1

 
I stumbled upon this seriously cool photo on Pinterest one day. I looked closely at it for a while, coming back to it a few times and running across it else where a little later on. I decided to invest some time into discerning how this set up was created, thinking it to be way more difficult that it really is. Come to find out, it's incredibly easy!! A little time consuming, yes, but so simple.

The credit for this super fun Halloween decor has to go out to Martha Stewart (of course!). [I'll post a link to her page for this at the end.]

So, that being said... All that you need to make this Halloween project happen is scissors, black construction paper, white pen/gel pen, a rats template (found here: http://www.marthastewart.com/sites/files/marthastewart.com/images/content/web/pdfs/pdf1/1005_creepymice.pdf ), and then some double sided tape OR fun-tac.
Print out the rat templates and you're good to go!! Start tracing and cutting out those rats for your stairwell this Halloween season! You could even do these for your stairs outside if you laminate them for more durability!

I have 15 stair backs to cover for my stairwell. I'm estimating cutting out 35-40 rats, just to make sure that I have enough to cover my stairs. I currently have around 22 rats cut out for our stairs here, and it is time consuming. I usually will sit and work on them at night after I've gotten Jocelyn in bed and am just watching a movie, relaxing before bed time for myself.
I will HAVE to post a picture of my own stairs once these creepy critters are plastered over them! And I encourage you to do the same once yours is finished next month as well!!

As promised, the link to Ms. Martha's website where you can find the originals for this rat pack is here: http://www.marthastewart.com/271198/paper-mice?czone=holiday%2Fhalloween-center%2Fhalloween-center-decor&gallery=274730&slide=271198&center=276965

Hope your nights are filled with inspiration!

- Stephanie