Christmas is Coming....

So.... I promise y'all that I'm not one of those people that completely skips over Thanksgiving. I love Thanksgiving! It's one of my favorite holidays. I don't have my tree up already, I don't have a single decoration out yet for Christmas. I do have tons of pumpkins and pilgrims and scarecrows around, though! :)

All that being said, I'm sharing some fun looking Christmas themed activities for the kiddos to do in the coming days and weeks of no school for the holidays!

Here is the link for the activities: Christmas Time is Here You'll remembering doing some of these things from when you were a kid, too! But while you're slaving away in the kitchen preparing dishes for Thanksgiving in a few weeks the kids can entertain themselves while watching the Macy's parade that morning instead of complaining about being bored!

Here are a few of the crafts from this post:

Giant Popsicle snowflakes! 

These look really fun to make with your kids! I honestly can't wait to make these with Joc and hang them up around the house this season!

I made these when I was a kid! 

Super easy Christmas tree ornaments they can make (while you're cooking!) Just lay down some paper for them to work on and give them plenty of pretties to decorate with and then they can make tons of them! Not a bad idea for a handmade present for friends and family members from them either! :)

Cinnamon applesauce heart ornaments! 

I can NOT wait to make these! I bet they smell AMAZING while you're baking them!! These would make great gifts for some family members as well! I'm thinking of making them with Joc one day in mid December and then tying them onto gifts for people! 

Here is the direct link to make these heavenly things: Katy Elliott

There are so many more than just these to go and check out and do with your kids or have them do while you're working on other things!

Enjoy! :D

-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

Sofia the First

I just ran across these on Money Saving Mom... I can't wait to show Jocelyn!! She LOVES Sofia the First!!! She so wanted to be Sofia for Halloween this year, but when we went to pick out her costume the Party City we went to was sold out of her costume! (She was really heartbroken over it.)
It was resolved when she saw how cute she was in the Izzy costume from "Jake and the Neverland Pirates"... Izzy it is! I also told her she could probably wear Izzy to her pirate birthday party in a few months, that really got her attention!!

Anyway, here's the link: http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.net/2013/10/sofia-the-first-printables/
It has all of your typical worksheets for number and letters, sound recognition, shapes and colors, and cutting and so on... And it's all Sofia themed!!! Super cute for your little girls out there that want to be princesses like Sofia!
I hope you enjoy these cute activities with your little ones!

-Stephanie

Fall Work Packets for Kids

Here's something fun for kids, of all ages, to do to celebrate the arrival of fall and help them learn more!! It has three different downloadable packets to work with and a fourth one for toddlers to practice writing, patterns, shapes, and some letters!

The first three packets had so many different activities to choose from! A good bit on writing, and sentence structure, and word families. Then a number of different hands on math worksheets, and then some patterns and matching!!

The activities looked like fun and it'd be great for those home schoolers to work on!!

Go download some of them!! They're totally FREE too!!!

http://www.3dinosaurs.com/printables/packs/leaves.php 

- 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

More Halloween Treats!

The link to these cute Halloween designs can be found here: http://bit.ly/1ajcIO8

Totally loving the RIP cupcakes!! Such a cute idea for a party! And the Frankenstein lollipop bucket idea is adorable!! You could have those strategic placed throughout your home for a party and allow the guests to grab one as they please! You could easily make any traditional Halloween character for this, too. Like a vampire, witch, or mummy!

The rest of my Halloween crafts are coming together well!! It's getting so close!!!!!! I seriously can't wait to decorate this year! Last year we had so much going on with your wedding and things that we just didn't have the time, nor the supplies, to decorate the house with... I'm so ready this year!!

- Stephanie

Potions Kit Pt. 2 - Halloween Day 7

You will now have a very stiff, wrinkly piece of paper! Mine took right around two hours to dry, by the way.

And you'll need some scissors for this part as well, and a pen. I'm using a sharpie pen to write my potion names onto the paper.

  

Part One: cut off a good sized piece of your paper. After you cut it start to tear around the edges to make it look old and worn some more. Have some fun with this and make it really uneven around the edges!

This is my first "label" for my potions.

Step Two: You get to have the fun, creative part of naming all your ingredients!! I have found a website that gives a list of all the potions ingredients that were used throughout the Harry Potter books! The website can be found here: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_potion_ingredients

There are some pretty cool names for ingredients here, some that I'd even forgotten about!

Step Three: After you've written your name on your label rub some hot glue onto the back of your label and then place it on your bottle where you see fit! Your result should be a pretty cool, hand-made, potions jar!

I've made a "Dragon's Blood," "Unicorn Hair," and a "Night Shade" so far!

I'm so excited to be able to make he rest of them! I'll post a photo of my whole set together once I'm done with everything!

- 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

Scavenger Hunt Learning Game!

 
Oh my goodness this is seriously amazing!
I found this at: http://www.sugaraunts.com/2013/09/sight-word-scavenger-hunt.html It shows you the WHOLE set up right there!
I mean, who is it that comes up with things like this?? I certainly wouldn't have... This is such a fun way to help your kids learn and recognize different words. You go and write them along a path or the driveway or even around the house, on paper of course, and give the kids a bucket with the words that they have to find inside.
Once they find the word, they lay their card over the matching word! This is brilliant! You could easily use this as a fun way for the kids to learn AND to make it even better add a "treasure chest" at the end. Maybe something small with a new book in it that looks fun to encourage them to read even more!

Happy hunting!
:)

- Stephanie

Star Wars

So... Here is a really cool cake for a boy's birthday party!
It's Star Wars! And what little boy doesn't like Star Wars?!

Credits go out to: +Ness Hoffmann from One Perfect Day

Thanks y'all! :)

- Stephanie