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Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kids. Show all posts

Monday, June 13, 2011

Make a Memory {EVERYDAY} Day 3

 Our Make a Memory {Everyday} activity today was shadow puppets. I got the idea from The Usborne Big Book of Science Things to Make and Do. 
 I folded rectangles of cardstock in half, then punched a hole and cut out a mouth shape. Then, the kids drew monsters around the faces and we cut them out and taped a straw to the bottom of each. 
 We tried using them for shadow puppets, but the kids had more fun using them as regular puppets behind the kitchen counter. :)

Friday, June 10, 2011

Make a Memory {EVERYDAY} Day 2

 
We made mystery paintings on Day 2 of  Make a Memory {Everyday}. I found this idea on Doehler Days. Ours didn't turn out quite as cute as hers, but my kids thought I was pretty clever. As they were painting, my oldest said, "How are you doing this, Mom?!". I just traced pictures from coloring books with a white crayon. When they painted over the crayon with watercolor paints, the pictures appeared. 
 Fish:
 Yoda:
 
R2-D2
 
Very easy and very fun!

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Make a Memory {EVERYDAY} Day 1

 
 
We spend a lot of time at the local libraries and check out A LOT of books. So, for the first day of our Make a Memory {EVERYDAY}, we made book bags. There are a number of small towns in the area where we live and each town has it's own public library. We enjoy going to 3 different libraries and participating in their Summer Reading Programs. However, it can get overwhelming to keep track of books from 3 different libraries. For the main library that we go to, I purchased a folding plastic crate on wheels. We take our cart to the library with us, fill it up with books, and bring it home. Then, we keep all the books in the cart in our living room, making it super easy to gather the books when it's time to go take them back to the library.
 We don't check out as many books at the other two libraries we frequent (and 3 carts would be quite excessive). So, we made a special bag for each of the other two libraries and we keep the books and library card for those particular libraries in the bags. To make the bags, I cut rectangles out of a heavy weight cream fabric. Then, the kids colored pictures on the rectangles with permanent markers (I didn't want to spend the money on fabric markers and figured that permanent markers would work just as well). Then, I made the fabric with their pictures on it into pockets.

 
I found this great red and white polka dot outdoor canvas for an awesome price (1 1/2 yards for $5.03!) at Walmart and thought it would be perfect for book bags. 

I made simple, boxy bags and added the pockets on the outside. We keep our library cards in the pockets, so they're always ready to go when we head to the library.  The kids are very proud to have their artwork displayed on our new book bags!


Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Make A Memory {EVERYDAY}

I was inspired by Nikki's Summer Diary over at Whimsy Love to make a memory everyday with my kids. She planned something fun to do with her girls every day during Summer break and she does a great job documenting it on her blog. I always have a long list of ideas of things that I want to do with the kids, but I sometimes have a hard time getting them done. So, I decided to plan out enough activities for the Summer and gather all the supplies and instructions into one file folder basket. That way, each day we can just pull out a file folder and everything is ready to go. I'll be posting all of our activities on here. 
 
Here's our basket, all ready to go!
  

And an extra box of supplies that didn't fit in the basket:

Kristine McKay has an awesome free e-book with Summer fun ideas. You can find it here. In addition to our everyday activities, I also made an "I'm Bored" jar with her free printable. My kids don't generally say "I'm Bored" all that often. They seem to think they have to say the "b" word to draw something from the jar. So, I think a name change is in order for ours! :)  Thank you, Kristine, for the awesome idea! We used a hot cocoa mix container and Mod Podged some fabric to the outside.
Stay tuned for all of our "Make a Memory Everyday" projects.

Monday, January 31, 2011

I'm Back (I think)..... and Some Felt Food

Hello! I don't know if anyone is still reading this blog, considering I haven't posted anything on here for more than a year. Where have I been? That's a great question. I don't really have any reason for not posting, I guess I've just been caught up in the important job of raising a family. :) Anyway, hopefully I'll be able to start posting a little more regularly. I plan on posting a few of the projects I've done over this last year. Also, I'm hoping to share some pictures and projects from the old schoolhouse my husband and I recently purchased and we're remodeling for our home. In the meantime, here's some felt food for you.

This felt food was a lot of fun to make for our niece's birthday.

PIZZA

Would anyone be interested in a tutorial for the pizza or the tacos?

TACOS: With meat, cheese, salsa, and sour cream

QUESADILLA:

Juice Pouch, Bag of Chips, and Banana:


Pancakes with syrup and butter and Eggs:

PASTA:

Sugar cookie baking set:

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Christmas Books

A few years ago, our family started this tradition that I heard about from the Family Fun magazine. It has truly become a beloved tradition in our home. Each December, I wrap up 25 children's Christmas books and the kids take turns picking one book each night for their bedtime story. If you don't have enough Christmas books, pick some up at the library. There are so many great Christmas books for children, this is a great way to read some of them during the Christmas season.
 Here's our list for this year (a star indicates a family favorite):

*The Little Drummer Mouse - Mercer Mayer
Arthur's Christmas - Marc Brown
*Dream Snow - Eric Carle
There was no snow on Christmas Eve - Pam Munoz Ryan
The Steadfast Tin Soldier - Hans Christian Andersen Retold by Tor Seidler
Angelina's Christmas - Katharine Holabird
Wake Up Bear..... It's Christmas! - Stephen Gammell
Chita's Christmas Tree - Elizabeth Fitzgerald howard
The Christmas Train - Ivan Gantschev
Joy to the World! The Story of Christmas Retold by dina Anastasio
Stop! It's Christmas - Mary Manz Simon
*Father and Son - Geraldine Mccaughrean and Fabian Negrin
*The Grinch Who Stole Christmas - Dr. Seuss
The Nutcracker Retold by Stephanie Spinner
One Snowy Night - M. Christina Butler
*The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Barbara Robinson
The Legend of St. Nicholas - Dandi Daley Mackall
When Christmas Came - Eileen Spinelli
Room for a Little One - Marin Waddell
The Crippled Lamb - Max Lucado
The Very First Christmas - Paul L. Maier
Lily, The Lost and Found Lamb - Lydia Salazar Martinez
The Silver Christmas Tree - Pat Hutchins
The Christmas Star - Marcus Pfister

Christmas Countdown & Activity List


Have you seen this adorable idea for a Christmas countdown over at Just Something I Made? SO cute! And she is even kind enough to share the printable labels.
Here's my version:

How perfect is this spool holder? My mom picked it up at a second hand store for me. Isn't she sweet?

Here's the list of Christmas activities I included on our countdown:
1- Make a Christmas craft
2- Decorate living room window with nativity window stickers
3- Prepare and mail a Christmas care package for soldiers
4- Get hot cocoa and go to a living nativity at a local church
5- Go to hometown family Christmas Celebrations
6- Watch a Christmas movie
7- Make a Christmas craft
8- Surprise other families with anonymous gifts on their doorsteps
9- Make a Christmas craft
10- Family Game Night!
11- Learn about Hanukkah & go to Hanukkah celebration with homeschool group
12- Make a gingerbread house
13- Decorate gift wrap & wrap gifts for siblings
14- Sing Christmas Carols
15- Bake bread & deliver it to the neighbors
16- Have a picnic dinner in front of the Christmas tree
17- Make Christmas gifts for grandparents
18- Make homemade Christmas cards
19- Bake cookies and deliver them to families from church
20- Drive around and look at Christmas lights
21- Take homemade Christmas cards to a nursing home
22- Make a Christmas craft
23- Go to grandparents house for Christmas celebrations
24- Watch a Christmas movie
25- Celebrate Jesus’ birthday with family

I hope that you're all able to take some time to make special family memories this holiday season!

Friday, October 16, 2009

I'm back with a little crafty project


Has it really been over a month since my last blog post?! Things have been busy around here and I've been anxious to get back into the habit of blogging. Thanks for your patience and for all your wonderful comments. I love reading your comments, they just make my day!

Here's a little project my boys and I did a few weeks ago. My boys were given these tins at a garage sale. 

I didn't like the tins, but they thought the window on the lid was pretty cool. So, we cut up small strips of some camouflage fabric that I had on hand and we covered the tins with the fabric, using Mod Podge.




They turned out to be the perfect size for storing all their little Army guys.


What are some things that you have re-invented using Mod Podge?



Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Robot Tooth Pillow

I have had this great tutorial from goody-goody bookmarked for quite some time and finally got around to making a robot tooth pillow for my 6 year old. Mine didn't turn out anywhere near as cute as the one in the tutorial, but I think my son will like it just the same.
Now, we just have to wait for him to start loosing teeth so he can use it.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Pajama Shorts

When I saw this pillowcase at Goodwill, I knew it would be perfect for pajama shorts for my boys. These were super easy and fast to make. The fabric is a jersey knit, so they're really soft and comfy.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Take Along Race Track & Toy Car Holder

Wow! That's a lengthy name for this little toy, but I couldn't figure out what else to call it. This fold-up race track is perfect for traveling, waiting rooms, and church services. The outside has three pockets to carry toy cars in (Matchbox or Hot Wheel size) and when opened, it's just the right size to sit on a toddler or preschooler's lap. Here are the instructions, so you can make one, too.
(This tutorial is for personal and gifting use, please don't sell your finished products)

What you will need:
2 pieces of coordinating fabric: each 12 1/4" x 10 1/4" (One for the outside, one for the inside)
2 pieces of same outer fabric: each 8" x 4" (For car pockets)
2 pieces of another coordinating fabric: each 10" x 2 1/2" (For handles)
Small piece of black fabric for racetrack
Medium weight fusible interfacing: about 1/3 yard
Heat and Bond: Small amount: just enough to attach race track and details
A thin plastic three ring binder (or any thin plastic, you'll need two pieces, each 5.5"x4.5") Here's a picture of the one I cut up:
And thin, yellow grosgrain ribbon


The Steps:
Iron interfacing onto outer pieces of fabric: one 12 1/4" x 10 1/4" piece, one 8 1/4" x 4 1/4" pieces, and the 10"x2 1/2" handle pieces. Sew the 8 1/4" x 4 1/4" rectangles together with right sides facing. Leave a small opening to turn right side out. Press seams, remembering to fold in raw edges. Add this small rectangle to the large outer fabric rectangle, 1 1/2" from the top, bottom, and one side, using a top stitch on three sides. You should have one big pocket. Now, top stitch two lines 2 1/2" from edges and from each other to create 3 pockets. Next, you're going to create the handles. Take one handle piece (10"x2 1/2"), fold in half with right sides together and sew along the raw edge. Turn right side out and press. Repeat with other handle piece. Pin one handle to the large rectangle, 3" from the top and bottom. You can use a basting stitch to attach it, but I just sew right through the pins.

To make the race track: Cut either an "S" shape or a figure-8 from the black fabric for the race track. Apply Heat and Bond to back of race track and iron onto the right side of the 12 1/4" x 10 1/4" rectangle that will be on the inside when it's folded. This is the time to apply any details you might want, I cut little strips out of the scraps from the outer fabric and added them to the ends of the track to create start and finish lines. Top stitch along all edges of race track with a blanket stitch. Next, apply Heat & Bond to back of thin yellow grosgrain ribbon. Cut the ribbon into 1" pieces. Iron the ribbon pieces along center of track. Top stitch one line through all yellow ribbon dashes from one end of the race track to the other end.

Putting it all together:
Sew both long sides and one short side (the side that the handle piece is pinned to) of the two large rectangles (12 1/4" x 10 1/4) together, right sides facing. Turn right side out and press. Cut one side of 3 ring binder into two pieces, each 5 1/2" x 4 1/2". Put one plastic piece in the sewn rectangle, pushing it all the way to the sewn side. Top stitch a line right down the center of the rectangle, using the edge of the plastic piece as a guide. This keeps the two plastic pieces from sliding around. Insert the other plastic piece. Press the open end of rectangle, so that the raw edges are turned in. Pin other handle inside this end, 3" from the top and bottom. Top stitch this side closed, being sure to catch raw edges and the ends of the handle.


That's it! Your ready for a road trip with your little one and their new "Take along race track and toy car holder". :) If you can think of a catchier name for it, please leave a comment and be sure to leave a comment with a link to pictures of your finished projects! I love to see other people's creations and variations.
I'm linking to the Brassy Apple Crafty Summer Series, head over there to check out other great ideas for the car.

Friday, May 29, 2009

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

I just have to share this wonderful activity to go along with Eric Carle's book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. My sister made this set for my boys and they just LOVE playing with it. This makes a fantastic gift for a child, or a teacher. Here are the pictures, so you can make your own:
A little egg lay on a leaf.... Pop! Out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar.
He ate through: one apple, 2 pears, 3 plums, 4 strawberries, 5 oranges.....
one piece of chocolate cake, one ice cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, one slice of watermelon.....and one nice green leaf. He built a small house, called a cocoon, around himself.

Then he nibbled a hole in the cocoon, pushed his way out and.......

he was a beautiful butterfly!


Here he is with all the food that he ate.


The caterpillar is made from a soft green sock with googly eyes glued on it. All food pieces are made from felt and glued together with a hot glue gun and details drawn on with a Sharpie marker. The cocoon is sewn together around the edges.

Thanks to my sister for this wonderful idea (which she got from a friend- so, thanks to her friend, as well!).


Head over to I Blame my Mother for more Kid Friendly ideas.