the beauty of sharing: crafts

Showing posts with label crafts. Show all posts

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Golden Glittered Poinsettas ~ Home Made Gift Giving

Usually this time of year I'm completely stressed out, cranky and worn to bits. The endless 'To Do' list is insurmountable and catches me off guard every year. I decided to take a different approach this year and make things much simpler for myself and my family. While I can't say I've completely succeeded, I am definitely feeling happier and full of the Christmas spirit for the first time in a while.

Usually, in the weeks preceding Christmas I spend most of my time worrying about buying the perfect gifts and then end up forgetting what I've actually purchased and end up frantically running from store to store in the days before Christmas buying junk that will be tossed aside in the matter of minutes.

No more I say! No more. All of my friends said I wouldn't stick to my convictions, but not only have I managed to not buy oodles of things and masses of prettily packaged rubbish but I have found a way to keep things simple and personal with small, home made gifts from the heart.

People just want to feel loved and cared about. I know I do. Even if you don't have lots of money you can probably find a way to let the people you care about know it with a simple gift from the heart.

Do you bake? Drop by a neighbors home with a small batch of cookies and make their day.

Are you crafty? No? Me neither. Pick up a poinsettia and spray a bit of Gold Glitter on the tips of the leaves and watch it transform into a beautiful Holiday centerpiece.

This falls under the category "SEAMO4CDI"!

{So Easy a Mom of 4 Can Do It}

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

DIY~ Children's Tea Towel Aprons

I've been looking for cute, affordable aprons for Jack and Nolan, my 4 and 5 year olds, for some time. They love to help me in the kitchen almost as much as they love personalized gifts. I was in JoAnne's Fabric last week and saw what I thought were children's apron's. As I unfolded one and looked closer I found that they were actually cute little tea-towels for the Holiday's. The bottom of each towel was trimmed with gathered fabric making them look like aprons to me. Each towel had a different embroidered Christmas picture on it and so I grabbed the cutest ones and set off to sew my boys and
my nieces some aprons for their Holiday Cookie Baking!

This defiantly falls into the " If I can do it, Anyone can do it" category. Sewing is NOT my forte'! This took me all of an hour to make 4 aprons and that's with baby Mona 'helping' me........

So here is a little photo tutorial I put together to show you how simple it is,

and how cute my son's and nieces are! ;)

1. Find cute Holiday Tea-Towel's on sale for $1.99 at craft store.

2. Turn towel over, fold down top to create desired length.
Fold over sides to make a steep triangle.
Iron

3. Sew along very top edge.

4. Sew 1"-2" from the side of apron, leaving enough room to slip in your ribbon.

5. Slip ribbon into slot (just an inch or two) and sew on securely.
Sew ribbon onto the sides of the apron.
I found it helpful to have my 4 year old nearby to measure the lengths for the ribbons.

6. Embroider names on chest of apron. You could also use iron-on letters.

Voila! Aren't they cute?

I sent them to my adorable nieces in New York just in time for Holiday Cookie Baking!

My boys couldn't wait to put on their Christmas Baking Aprons and make Peppermint Chocolate Cookies!

Monday, November 16, 2015

Edible Crayons

I saw these fun edible crayons on Kitchen Corners and just had to share them! So cute and creative, and if your feeling super industrious you could try making them ( it's on my 'to do list' ) !
I'm not sure if this is the best solution for little kids who eat crayons since it won't discourage them from eating 'real' crayons in the future, but they sure are cute regardless! Maybe for fun party favors/party activity for kids old enough not to eat real crayons.The best part is, most of the ingredients are made from dried fruits and veggies, healthy!

Other healthy ingredients in each color are bee pollen which is thought of as a fountain of youth for it's numerous health benefits.

The green crayon ingredients: peas, green beans, dried kiwi, green fruity pebbles, dried pumpkin seeds!

Bee pollen

Marshmallows keep them 'glued' together!

Original idea and pictures found at luxirare.

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Every Day Learning Opportunities

You don't have to be a home schooling mom to take the opportunity to teach your children new and fun things every day. You don't even need to buy lesson planners, organizers or work books. In fact, I've found that spur of the moment learning opportunities from things found around your home or neighborhood are often some of the best and most fun ways for kids to learn and grow.

When we drive around town doing every day errands we play different games by me asking the kids questions about they're 'town'. When we pass a field or farm I ask them what they think is growing there or what animals live there and what they provide for us; minerals, vitamins, energy, healthy bodies etc. We also talk about what makes plants grow: soil, air, sunshine, water and of course tractors! And in contrast, we talk about what things do not grow on a farm: candy, soda pop and cookies and why they are bad for us. I let the kids do their own brainstorming, helping them out a little when my 5 year old names things like hot dogs and potato chips that he thinks grow on a farm.

On Sunday mornings when my husband and I sit down to read the paper {well he reads, I get to cut out coupons, what a deal ;) we take the opportunity again to learn about food and categories. I let the boys, age 5 and 6 cut out things that we 'need' at the store and then put them in their proper categories; dairy, meat, vegetables, fruit, and junk food. This provides another opportunity to talk about healthy food choices and why certain foods are in each category. The boys love this because they are helping mommy with the house hold chores and I love it that it is Fun Learning.

When the kids run out of food to cut out they have fun cutting out toys that they think each other would like or a lawn mower or tent for daddy and curtains and pots and pans for mommy (when did I start wanting those things over clothes and jewelry? sighhhh)

Now, if only I could actually read the paper and finish my cup of coffee before noon. Someday.

Sometimes we save the pictures they clip out and the next day we use glue sticks to make an alphabet book.

The kids write each letter of the alphabet on pieces of paper and glue the pictures onto the correct page depending on the letter they start with.

Not only is this a free project but it keeps them busy for like 30 whole minutes!

What we've learned:

Organizing

Letters and Sounds

Fine Motor Skills

Nutrition & Food Groups

How things Grow

Money/Math

Teamwork

What are some things you do with your kids to promote learning?

This post is linked to:
Sun Scholars

Monday, August 17, 2015

Simple Home Made Easel and Painting with Celery

I have a few little budding artists at my house which is a thrill to me because my oldest son wanted nothing to do with anything artsy at all. He drew stick figures in art class through the 8th grade. My 7 year old Jack in particular loooveeees art and wants to be an Artist/Scientist when he grows up.

Of course I'm biased being mom and all but I think that all 3 of my little ones are pretty talented little artists and am more than happy to indulge them in their hobby. I prefer to find as many unique ways of turning every day items into art which is and of itself artful in my opinion. We experiment with different textures such as flour, rice and cornstarch and for an occasional change from paint brushes we use cotton balls, our fingers and celery instead. Fun!

So, I was trying to think of a cheap way to make an easel for the kids and thought first of finding some scrap wood at Lowe's but never was industrious enough to follow through on that plan. So I hit up Pinterest for some ideas and found a simple and FREE (my 2 favorite words) tutorial on an easel made out of a cardboard box.

Basically, you find an old box and cut off the top and bottom flaps, one side and fold it into a triangle turning it into a perfect prop to paint on.

Make sure you choose a box big enough for your paper to fit on. Any size paper and box will do, I chose extra large and thick paper to soak up the paint.

Cut off the top and bottom flaps and one of the 4 sides of the box.

Fold the box into a triangle and tape together with box tape.

Secure your drawing paper onto the box with 2 pieces of scotch tape.

Note: We were out of our usual paints and so I grabbed this paint at the grocery store today. It would be much more economical to buy your paint in larger tubes at Walmart or a craft store. Use an old plastic yogurt or cottage cheese top or a plastic egg carton to put small dabs of paint on.

Mona Claire had so much fun at our pre-school art session today while the boys were at school. She loved her new easel and thought using the end of a stalk of celery to paint roses was such a cool trick!

Save those scrap pieces of cardboard for other fun crafts! Busy hands are happy hands! ;)

Here are some amazing blogs with some really fun crafts using cardboard.

Tip Junkie: 32 Things to Make using Card Board

Family Fun Go! Card Board Marble Racer and other crafts

Crafts by Amanda: Card Board Tube Snakes and other fun animals

Serenity Now: Cardboard Christmas Characters

Celery Painting!

What fun craft/pre-school ideas do you do with your kids?

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Summer Crafts Take 2: The Secret Cave

As I've probably mentioned once or twice already, it's insanely hot here in Phoenix right now with the promise of it only getting hotter and hotter and not letting up until October. These kids get pretty cranky by the end of the day and are at each others throats and my nerves if they don't have something to keep them busy. I posted a couple of weeks ago about a few fun summer crafts and things to do to keep cool and busy. This is something we made a couple of weeks ago that was a huge hit.

Not only do the boys love the end result, a cool dragon cave inspired by the movie 'How to Train Your Dragon' but they were especially thrilled to be able to help paint the castle on the side of the sheet. All kids love a fun Secret Hide Away all their own. The boys pulled in their big green furry monster pillows that I made for them last year and some little blankets.

They will sit in the cave and play and read or just get away and relax from the

hectic life of 4 and 6 year olds.

My boys are really into Lego's right now and we were lucky to be handed down a complete set of them with several big Dragon's. They now sit on top of the cave 'guarding' it. If you want to make a Secret Hide Away create one to fit your child's personality or interests. It can be a princess' castle, a horse stall or a Bat Man Cave.

We used an old craft table I had in the garage and a black sheet that I already had from the a

cheap-o store to make the cave.

The boys were so excited they even dusted off the ~~table~~ cave top to bottom.

I used some old craft paint we had lying around to paint the castle on the side of the sheet.

I hired my mom who is very artistic to paint the castle which I printed out from a

picture of Hogwarts Castle that I found online.

The boys had fun painting shrubbery around the castle.

Baby Mona thought it was fun to sneak into the cave with the boys.

Cut out a cave entrance, not to big cave's are supposed to be dark and scary don't ya know?

'The Reading Cave'

Chillaxin'

This post is linked to:

For the Kids Friday's

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Cool Upcycled Father's Day Gift Wrap Ideas

My husband is an amazing daddy. He is the most patient, loving and fun guy and loves to play and read and take care of our 4 children. I honestly think he could do a better job as a stay at home dad then I could as a stay at home mom..... except for maybe the cooking part, hot dogs and frozen pizza every night isn't exactly super healthy. Another thing I adore about my husband is his humility and that he never ever complains or asks for anything, ever. He would walk on sole less shoes for months and you wouldn't know it. If he's sick, I don't know about it until it's in full swing. His patience with the kids (and me at times...) is a true model to me in how I want to be. He calms my err, vibrant personality. Type A, meet Mr. Calm, Cool and Collected. The old saying, 'Opposites attract' fits our relationship in most every way. He's my best friend, the father to my cute children and my sweetie pie.

When I asked him what he wanted to do for Father's Day this weekend, he of course immediately brushed it off and said nothing. When I pushed the matter and said we should go out or he should do something fun he said "Let's all just go swimming. Oh, and could you make your chicken tacos?" He requests my red chile shredded chicken tacos every Father's Day and for his birthday every year. They are pretty dang good and are the reason why he married me in the first place. ;) I have yet to post the recipe oddly enough, even though they are my signature dish and friends and family continue to ask me for the recipe and swoon over them. Maybe next week, assuming I can get a decent picture.

So here is a fun and eco-friendly way to wrap your favorite dad's gift in. I love this idea, so manly and simple and everyone has used newspaper lying around right?