Still wondering what to get give your child’s teacher for Christmas this year? Why not brighten up the snowy season with a happy sunflower?
Plus, a painted pot adds a sweet personal touch : )
DIY : Teacher Gift Idea
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Tag Archives: handmade
Creative Kids : 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
DIY Spring Felt Flower Box Craft
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.
You can check out the full tutorial in the online publication by clicking here.
Springy Spring Spring : Yarn Wrapped Candles
These yarn wrapped candles are the perfect way to add a bright & cheery touch of spring to your table!
And they couldn’t be any easier to make. You just need candles (I picked up mine at Target for under two bucks a piece), colorful yarn, and some glue.
Start by glueing one end of your yarn to the candle, then get to wrapping. Make sure you wrap tightly, and add a dot of glue every so often. If you’re using hot glue like I did, be sure to just use a little dot. If the glue builds up it creates bumps under your yarn.
Switch up the colors to make different designs.
Then they’re ready to display! As always use caution when working with hot glue, and make sure you keep the yarn far enough away from the tops of your candles!
Felt Shamrock Plant For St. Patrick’s Day
Good Morning! I have been so busy working with a few different clients, helping them to refresh and update their homes. But, yesterday I finally found some time to break out my glue gun again! I made this cute little shamrock plant to add a festive touch to our window sill. All I used was green & white felt, wire, scissors, and glue.
Cut out some hearts. Use glue to give them a little dimension. Then, glue the heart shaped clover leaves to your wire. I also made larger clovers by turning my hearts upside-down. Get creative with it.
Then stick them all into a cute little cup or pot with some foam in the bottom. And done! A super quick afternoon craft!
DIY Neon Animal Mobile
Last week I made a fun mobile to add to Sydney’s new reading corner!
I’m so excited to share it with you. It’s a very easy and inexpensive DIY. The first thing I did was pick up some toy animals at the dollar store.
I drilled a small hole in each animal, all the way through, (closer to the head to help balance out weight).
Then I painted them different neon colors. I used acrylic paints, spray paint, and nail polish.
I then added a glossy clear coat for extra protection.
Next, using a needle and thread, I strung each animal onto a string, and secured them tightly with hot glue.
I created the base of the mobile by simply using two wooden dowels, glue, and lots of string. Then I tied all of my threaded animals onto the mobile.
And that’s it! Sydney loves the fun, bright colors. The mobile is the perfect addition to her brand new reading nook!
DIY Valentines Featured On Shutterstock Today!
Check out how to make these fun Valentine’s I made for Shutterstock! My tutorial is featured on their blog today. With this DIY tutorial you can make personalized homemade cards, and there are no special talents required! It’s a super easy way to create custom Valentines with printed artwork or photographs.
Click Here for the full tutorial.
DIY Frames
We finally trust that Sydney won’t use her paints, crayons, and markers to decorate the walls, floors, or furniture. So, we moved her workstation into her bedroom. In doing so, it was totally necessary to hang some masterpieces on her wall. I made a few quick frames using cardboard, markers, and twine. It’s super easy. Check it out!
Cut a frame shape out of cardboard.
Decorate it with markers.
Attach some twine to the back.
And hang!
DIY Finger Print Valentines
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!
All we used was an ink pad, card stock, pen, and her cute little fingers.
Syd tackled the first step, using two thumbprints to make a heart.
Then, I added some black ink to create a heart balloon and sweet greeting.
I wrote Sydney’s name in pencil, then let her trace over it in pen.
Now these cute little cards just need some candy and they’re ready to give!
DIY Kids Valentines Day Peter Pan Collar
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
Then, just follow the simple steps pictured above.
Here are just a couple that we did on a rainy day. The pink one Sydney made to wear for Valentine’s Day!
Fun & Free Toy Storage for Kids
Ever since Christmas, I have been working with Sydney to get rid of some old toys, and make room for the new ones. In doing so, I am also trying to make organizing her toys fun. She loves everything little, and has tons of tiny erasers, dolls, etc. So I took some old shoe boxes, paint, & markers, and made fun little homes for her favorite micro toys.
These cute little houses are fun & free to make, will help keep rooms clean, and can even be used to play! Doesn’t get better than that…
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Testing Out DIY Sharpie Mugs
The Sharpie mug DIYs have been done several times, and I always see them and love the idea, but don’t believe they actually hold up. So I put them to the test!
I picked up some inexpensive mugs & bowls, and some Sharpie permanent markers. I grabbed the typical black, a couple metallics, and a pack of silver & gold oil based markers.
I doodled away, popped them all in the oven at 350 for 30 min, let them cool fully, then soaped up a sponge and got to washing. Here are the results….
Typical black marker: Fail
Mix of typical black and metallic: No good
Oil based metallics: ding ding!
We have a winner!
One little tip, if you’re nervous to try this out because you might make a mistake… have no fear! Just put a little rubbing alcohol on a cloth and wipe away your booboos. As long as you fix it before baking, it’s all good! I found this to work for both the regular and oil based sharpies.
** I would never recommend using the markers on any surface that will come in contact with food or your mouth. I was sure to keep my designs away from the lip of my mugs, and I highly suggest you do the same!
** With washing I thoroughly scrubbed my mugs, but was sure to be more on the gentle side when washing over top of my designs.
Personalized Wine Gift Bags, A Free & Easy DIY
Sydney and I are still working on a fun DIY today, something that will add a little sparkle to her wardrobe. While we finish that, I want to share these super easy and free personalized gift bags for giving bottles of wine, champagne, etc.
The only supplies you need are the brown bag the bottle came in, string or twine, and a sharpie. Feel free to doodle and get creative, perfect handwriting not required! But if you’d like a little help, you can always print something off and trace it!
Cinnamon & Glitter : Making Christmas Ornaments
I love the smell of cinnamon and applesauce ornaments at Christmas time. And a like a little sparkle. So why not put the two togehter?!
I found several basic ornament recipes Continue reading
Creative Gift Wrapping: What to Pack in Your Suitcase
If you’re anything like me, then you still have Christmas shopping to do. Actually you’ve barely done any shopping thus far, so you’ll have to do it once you get to your final Christmas destination…. and so you may be wondering how you can make your gifts pretty without spending a fortune on new supplies while you’re out of town for the Holidays. Well, I have planned ahead for just this situation, and Continue reading
Christmas Gift Wrapping : Re-using Boxes
I’ve had a busy month thus far, and am finally getting around to gift wrapping. Once I got started, the first thing I did was take a good look around the house for items I could reuse. I ended up with some leftover gift boxes and a few empty brie containers. With a little paint and a few embellishments, I completely transformed Continue reading
Creative Christmas Wrapping : Personalizing Gift Cards
Good morning! I am excited today is day one of the Coca-Cola Balanced Living Workshop! I’m looking forward to a day jam packed with healthy information! While I’m off learning with other Chicago moms, please enjoy some thank you gift cards I wrapped Continue reading
Things I Loved This Week: Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas
Happy Friday! I hope everyone had a great week. Today I am making my Christmas gift list, and thinking of some creative diy ideas. While I do that, I wanted to share a few great ones I came across this week. Enjoy!
I love this embellished pencil block spotted on Design Sponge. What a great idea, and a fairly easy diy.
These diy stick horses from A Beautiful Mess Continue reading
How to Make Borax Crystal Snowballs
These borax crystal snowballs are a fun and festive science experiment, plus they make for beautiful decorations and gift toppers. To make the snowballs you need white craft pom poms in various sizes. Tie one or two pom poms to a string. Continue reading
DIY: Making Handprint Christmas Ornaments
Today Sydney and I have an assembly line of handprint christmas ornaments going. I remember making one when I was a kid, and it still goes up on my mom’s tree every year. Now, we’ll have one to put on our tree every year!
We made a dough using 2 c. flour, 1 c. fine sea salt, and 1 c. water. Mix all ingredients together and knead for about 5 min. Then roll the dough out, about 1/2″ thick, and use a cup or bowl to cut out circles. Continue reading
