HAPPY EASTER!

navy and tie dye eggs
navy and tie dye eggs

Cabbage Dye:

1 head of red cabbage, chopped
5 cups water
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 pinch baking soda

In a large stainless steel pot, bring all the ingredients to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 30 min. Strain out the cabbage, and separate from the liquid dye. You can pour the dye into glasses and soak your eggs overnight.

Cabbage Dye Eggs

We chose to save the strained cabbage and use it to tie dye some of our eggs. We created a nest of sorts and buried our eggs in the left over leaves. Let them sit over night, and you’re left with white and blue tie eggs!

navy and tie dye eggs

 

Neon Painted Coral

 

One of my favorite things to do on weeks is explore our beaches and hunt for treasures with my daughter. Sometimes it’s for beautiful gifts from the sea, and sometimes we have a craft in mind. This time we were on a mission to collect white coral and rocks so we could put some old nail polish to good use!

Coral Bowl

We piled all our brightly patterned creations into a milk glass bowl, and it makes the perfect centerpiece!

Painting

We had so much fun painting away, it was just what the doctor ordered on a gloomy day!

coral and rocks

Creative Kids : Storytelling

DIY Storytelling

 

Good Morning! The last couple weeks we’ve had fun practicing storytelling with Sydney, all thanks to Elmer’s Early Learners Academy. As soon as our fun box filled with supplies arrived, Syd couldn’t wait to open it up and get crafting! Continue reading

Crafts for Kids : Raindrop Suncatchers

April Showers DIY Suncatcher Craft via www.thegoldjellybean.com

 

These suncatchers are easy to create, and Sydney had lots of fun making them! All we used was wax paper, a marker, white paper, school glue, and a few shades of blue tissue paper. Sketch your cloud and raindrops onto white paper and cut them out. Then cut up your blue tissue paper into small squares.

April Showers DIY Suncatcher Craft via www.thegoldjellybean.com

Now, trace your raindrops onto wax paper and cover with glue. Allow your little ones to go crazy gluing the tissue into each raindrop shape. Then, coat with a thin layer of glue to make sure all tissue is glued down and secure. Allow to dry.

April Showers DIY Suncatcher Craft via www.thegoldjellybean.com

Cut out your blue raindrops, and they’re ready to hang and admire on your windows!

April Showers DIY Suncatcher Craft via www.thegoldjellybean.com

Now, if only these april showers would bring some pretty May flowers…

DIY Spring Felt Flower Box Craft

Spring Flower Box Craft for Kids, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

 

 

Good morning! I hope everyone is set and ready for a great weekend!  I am really excited to share a DIY feature I did for Delighted Magazine! Sydney and I had so much fun with it.

Spring Flower Box Craft for Kids, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

Spring Flower Box Craft for Kids, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

You can check out the full tutorial in the online publication by clicking here.

Spring Flower Box Craft for Kids, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

Sprouting Eggs

Spring Egg Sprouts for Easter, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

 

For the last couple weeks Sydney has been learning about plants and growth, and sprouting some beans. And now we’ve added the plants to our easter egg centerpiece.

We used egg shells as planters.

We used egg shells as planters.

Spring Egg Sprouts for Easter, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

Added with a little soil….

Spring Egg Sprouts for Easter, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

 

And now Syd’s sprouts have their new homes.

And with a little soil, Syd's sprouts found their new homes.

DIY Finger Print Valentines

DIY Fingerprint Valentines, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

 

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, and this year is Sydney’s first Vday at school. So, we have been hard at work on some DIY Valentines!

DIY Fingerprint Valentines, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

All we used was an ink pad, card stock, pen, and her cute little fingers.

DIY Fingerprint Valentines, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

Syd tackled the first step, using two thumbprints to make a heart.

DIY Fingerprint Valentines, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

Then, I added some black ink to create a heart balloon and sweet greeting.

DIY Fingerprint Valentines, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

I wrote Sydney’s name in pencil, then let her trace over it in pen.

DIY Fingerprint Valentines, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

Now these cute little cards just need some candy and they’re ready to give!

DIY Fingerprint Valentines, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

DIY Kids Valentines Day Peter Pan Collar

Kids Peter Pan Collar, Perfect for Valentines Day, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

 

I did this project with Syd, but it can be done by anyone, big or small!
It just takes a few simple supplies:
– paper, pencil & scissors to make a pattern
– felt or other fabric and ribbon
– pins to hold things in place
– fabric glue, and/or hot glue (not for kiddos!)
– various sequins, jewels, etc. for embellishment

Kids Peter Pan Collar, Perfect for Valentines Day, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

Then, just follow the simple steps pictured above.

Kids Peter Pan Collar, Perfect for Valentines Day, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

Here are just a couple that we did on a rainy day. The pink one Sydney made to wear for Valentine’s Day!

Kids Peter Pan Collar, Perfect for Valentines Day, via www.thegoldjellybean.com

Shaving Cream Art : Snowmen

 

Last week Sydney and I got messy and had fun with shaving, cream, glitter, and construction paper. Shaving cream can be used for all sorts of fun learning and art with toddlers & preschoolers. We decided to be festive and make some snowmen and snowy scenes. Enjoy! Continue reading

10 Rainy Day Projects For Kids

 

After a very chilly night of tricks and treats, and a little too much candy, Sydney and I are feeling a under the weather today. As a result, we have decided to spend the entire afternoon relaxing indoors and getting healthy again. So, today I thought I would share some of my favorite rainy day craft ideas for kids. Enjoy!

1. Making Slime is always a fun time!
2. With $1 Birdhouses just break out some craft supplies and get creative!
3. Glow Jars are a reader favorite
4. Play pirates and Make your own telescope!
5. Stick People are a fun craft, and they promote imaginative play and story telling
6. With some oil and whole wheat flour, have an indoor beach day with Moon Sand fun.
7. And the classic homemade Playdoh is always a kid favorite!
8. Have some unmatched socks laying around? It’s Sock-topus time!
9. Make Pasta Necklaces with some dry pasta, food coloring, and rubbing alcohol.
10. Chances are you have all the ingredients for some homemade Puffy Paint art.

And, I will most likely be spending some quality time on Pinterest during nap time today, so be sure to follow me here!

DIY Halloween Costume : Garden Flower

 

Today I am sharing a costume tutorial I put together for the lovely people at ThredUp. This is a fun, no sew tutorial that will help you turn your little cutie into a garden flower with birds and butterflies buzzing around her head! You can start off with some basic pieces, like a bright colored shirt paired with some green leggings or skirt or what the heck why not both! Then get creative with it.

Here’s what else I used:
7 sheets of pink felt for the petals (or any color you like)
2 sheets of yellow felt
some ribbon or velcro
4 pink pipe cleaners
3 yellow pipe cleaners
3 yellow craft pompoms
hot glue
a headband
floral wire
needle point pliers
and various decorative butterflies, birds, and ladybugs

1. Start by creating a collar out of a sheet of pink felt and ribbon. I cut a 6” strip of felt, then folded it in half to make it more rigid. Make your collar long enough to loosely fit your child, leaving a good amount of wiggle room. Glue ribbon or velcro to the ends of your collar.

2. Fold the remaining pink felt sheets in half, and cut out your petal shapes.  Trim pink pipe cleaners to size, and use hot glue to adhere them to the center of  6 petals. Set the other petal aside for now.

3. Gather the felt at the base of each of the 6 petal to create dimension, and secure with hot glue.

4. Glue these petals around the outside of your collar, about halfway up. Shape the petals as you glue, and be sure to also adhere the petals near the top of the collar. This will give them extra support.

5. Glue the remaining 6 petals to the bottom of your collar, positioning them below and in between the top 6 petals.

6. Fold over and glue, or trim, and extra petal felt.

7. Now, Cut a 6” strip of yellow felt, fringing it on one end. Glue this strip to the inside of your collar to give the illusion of the flower’s center.

8. Time to make the stamens! Glue the three pompoms onto the ends of the yellow pipe cleaners.

9. Tightly wrap the three pipe cleaners around the center of the headband, while also twisting them together.

10. And now onto my daughter’s favorite part. Add springy wire to your headband and attach all sorts of garden friends to the wires. We used butterflies, a humming bird, and ladybugs. Be creative and have fun with it!


(last image courtesy of thredup.com)

I will also be doing a DIY costume giveaway next week. Check back for the exciting details!!! UPDATE: Click here to enter the giveaway!

Fall Pasta Necklaces

 

Today we are making jewelry! Fall pasta necklaces, to be exact. It’s a simple and inexpensive project that’s guaranteed to keep you and your little one entertained this afternoon. And the best part is I had everything we needed on hand, so this craft cost us $0. All you need is an assortment of pasta, yarn, rubbing alcohol, food coloring, sandwich baggies, and some tape.

Start by coloring all the pasta. Put a mixture of rubbing alcohol and food coloring in a baggie, about 1Tbsp : 10 drops, then add the uncooked pasta. Zip up the bag and shake, making sure all the pasta gets coated with color. Let sit for anywhere from 2 – 20 min, occasionally shaking the bag as you wait for your desired color.

Empty the pasta from the bag, and onto an old towel or several paper towels, and allow to dry. Use a strainer if necessary. Dry time is about 5 – 10 min. Remember, food coloring can stain, so protect surfaces, hands and clothes.

Once pasta is dry, I had Sydney help me divide all the pasta by color and put them into small bowls. The perfect opportunity to squeeze in a color lesson!

Now it’s time to get creative! We used yarn for our necklaces, but you can use any type of string you like. With the yarn, it’s helpful to wrap one end with masking tape, making it rigid and easier to thread the pasta.

Mix and match all sorts of pasta and colors for pretty jewel tone necklaces, perfect for fall! This is also a great project to teach kids about patterns and how they’re created.

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Fall Artwork : Finger Print Trees

 

I am beyond ready for fall weather, so I think it’s time to break out the apple and pumpkin spice candles. And, time to decorate the house with some autumn artwork made by cute little hands, literally! Today, while Sydney is hard at work fulfilling my wishes, I wanted to share the first project of the day with you. We broke out the finger paints and rolled up our sleeves to make this cute little tree!

Her hand and arm create the trunk and branches…

 

and her little fingers are the leaves.

A squishy ball helped her create the grass to finish off her masterpiece.

Traveling With Kids

 

We are having a fabulous time relaxing and visiting with family and friends in Hawaii. But, before we arrived in paradise, we first needed to survive a 9 hr flight. With a 3 year old. I tried to prepare her as much as possible in the weeks leading up to our trip. We had several discussions about airplane etiquette, and the importance of being quiet on the plane. I also let her pick out some new toys, which immediately were packed into her ‘travel entertainment’ bag. I have found that playing with new toys is exciting and keeps Continue reading

Creative Kids : Learning About Insects with Paint

 

Today we are having fun learning about bugs! Sydney has been very interested in insects lately, so I picked up a bunch of little critters at the store. I thought the toys could help cure her fear of bugs, and teach her how to identify some different kinds insects. Drawing pictures of each insect is a little advanced for her age, so I created a bug painting activity instead!

Continue reading

Dollarstore Craft : Decorating Birdhouses

 

This afternoon we are breaking out our paints and other goodies from the craft cabinet, and decorating birdhouses! This is a fun activity for kids of all ages, and can help with dexterity, learning colors, and promoting creativity. Plus, these cute little wooden houses can be found for just a buck each at either the dollar store or local craft store. Continue reading

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