Kids Winter Craft

My mom came up with this one, but my kidlets had so much fun doing them that I just had to share!

It's easy and they love them....

You just need big marshmallows, toothpicks, icing and any other "eyeball" makers you can think of to make Snowmen!!!

(Yes we are a little concerned with our daughters lack of arms and instead putting it through the head. We are keeping an eye on her :) )

Works for me Wednesday: Kids craft- Library bags!!

I am all about summer reading programs at our local library. I also love that my kids squeal in delight when I say we are headed to get books. What I don't like so much???? Lugging all the books my children can throw at me. It makes my back ache and I get cranky.

And who likes a cranky mama, right?!?!

To remedy this problem I thought the kids could spend an afternoon making their very own library bags. Nothing was off limits. They could decorate it however they wanted because it was their bag. The only catch was that they had to take,use and carry their own bag on library trips. This meant that they could not over stuff their bags and if it got too heavy they had to save some books for next time. ((sneaky, huh?))

I found great cloth bags at Hobby Lobby for $1.49. (They also have a coupon in many of the Sunday papers.) I had some puffy foam cloth paints and some iron-on's in my craft drawer. Then I let them go to it. (I did the ironing.) They had a ball!!!

They got really creative and I even got in on the action :) I love the way they turned out. I REALLY love that they are even more excited to go to the library!!!

No more back aches.....and that works for this mama!

For more great WFMW ideas visit We are That Family!!

Mama Knows best: Fathers day craft

We as mamas have to be innovative and thrifty all in the same beat. Some how we find new ways of doing things that save us money, time and maybe if we are really blessed.... sanity!

This was the kids fathers day gift last year. It was such a hit with the men in our life that I thought I would post it again.!!

I have been trying to brainstorm about how I could combine a kids craft with a fathers day gift. We have 1 daddy, 3 grandfathers and 2 great grandfathers. That's alot of gifts! I was making coffee one morning when in my non coffee groggy state, I had a wonderful idea. (Maybe I was still half asleep and it was a dream.. not sure)

Coffee comes in such nice containers these days, I just can't bear to throw them away! The idea is that these are really handy containers for dads to keep all those screws, nails, nuts and bolts. It will keep their garages (aka: man space) cleaner and the container has a handy lid to keep every thing in its place.

I took the containers and spray painted them black. You can totally use any color, especially if your hubby has a certain sports team that he loves. (I got my spray paint at JoAnn's because they have 50% off coupons right now! )

I then dug out some of my "manly" tool scrap booking stickers and paints that I had. You can also print off stencils or make your own sponge stamps. Use anything that your imagination comes up with... or better off let your kiddos come up with some ideas!

I then let my little guy apply the tool stickers to the paint cans and go crazy with the paint.

Big mama then painted on "FROM DADDY'S LITTLE NUTS" and super glued some metal nuts around the letters. (You may want to superglue the stickers so they are not removable.) If you have older kids they can paint the words on themselves! I also put the kids names and ages along the back.

You can fill yours with little boxes of screws, nuts and bolts. Or you can really surprise daddy with a cordless tool or some new screwdrivers / wrenches.

The kids had a ball and I am sure daddy will be thrilled with a little cleaner work space!

Kids Craft: Thanksgiving Placemats

I want my kids to have thankful heart. I want them to grow up with the knowledge that all they have is a blessing. Not an expectation.

I try to do something "crafty" each week with my kids. It helps break the days up and it lets their creative juices get movin!

Since Thanksgiving is around the corner I thought that it would be a great idea to make Thankful place mats. They will look lovely and the kids will be proud as peacocks.... ooops I mean Turkeys.

You will need wax paper, scissors, an iron and then whatever your little ones can find :)

We started by going for a long walk. Well I walked... the little people took a monster truck.

We collected pretty leaves. (Good thing we had a big truck bed to haul with.)

When we got home they had a ball decorating their very own place mat. I also took an opportunity to talk about the things that we have been blessed with this year. ((Let me just tell you that some of the things my son came up with had me stifling fits of laughter.))

This is what you do:

Take one sheet of wax paper. Place whatever you wish to be in your place mat. For this project I used 3 of my leaves. I also took some construction paper and cut it with scapbooking scissors. I then placed a sticker that I found in my stash.

Place the other piece of wax paper directly on top of paper and iron with a warm setting.


Wahlah! It looks great on a tablecloth :)

Here are some helpful hints:

**Save trimming the edges until after you have ironed. This will save time.

** The more bulky the item in your place mat, the harder it will be to adhere. The more flat the better.

**You can use crayon shavings to really make your place mat colorful!

**You can also use photographs and or magazine cut outs. Have the kidlets go through magazines and cut out things that they are thankful for!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

A Teachers View: Bubbles!!

I am blessed to live next to a elementary school teacher who loves my kids and we love her!! She has multiple education degrees and is the first person I run to when I am worried about speech, development or anything learning related!! She has agreed to write a weekly post for me on some common concerns involving little ones and just great ideas! If you have a topic that you would like to see addressed, please e-mail me at everythingmom@live.com


Bubbles!

Here in Columbus we are fortunate to have COSI, our local science/hands-on/more fun than a barrel of monkeys museum. One of the biggest draws at COSI has always been their bubbles. It was always one of the first stops we made when I was little and my students and baby-sitting kiddos love them too. COSI’s bubbles are super strong so they last forever when you’re playing with them. Even better, they are made with things you probably already have at home!

COSI Bubble Recipe

1 gallon water (use a clean plastic milk jug and fill almost to top, leaving a little room)
¼ cup glycerin (available at your pharmacy – you may have to ask for it at the counter)
½ cup Dawn dishwashing liquid (yup…straight up Dawn)

Combine all ingredients and let sit for at least 24 hours. The longer it sits, the better it gets. Enjoy with the bubble toys that are scattered around your garage (I’m not the only one, right?).

Kid's father day crafts!!

I have been trying to brainstorm about how I could combine a kids craft with a fathers day gift. We have 1 daddy, 3 grandfathers and 2 great grandfathers. That's alot of gifts! I was making coffee one morning when in my non coffee groggy state, I had a wonderful idea. (Maybe I was still half asleep and it was a dream.. not sure)

Coffee comes in such nice containers these days, I just can't bear to throw them away! The idea is that these are really handy containers for dads to keep all those screws, nails, nuts and bolts. It will keep their garages (aka: man space) cleaner and the container has a handy lid to keep every thing in its place.

I took the containers and spray painted them black. You can totally use any color, especially if your hubby has a certain sports team that he loves. (I got my spray paint at JoAnn's because they have 50% off coupons right now! )

I then dug out some of my "manly" tool scrap booking stickers and paints that I had. You can also print off stencils or make your own sponge stamps. Use anything that your imagination comes up with... or better off let your kiddos come up with some ideas!

I then let my little guy apply the tool stickers to the paint cans and go crazy with the paint.

Big mama then painted on "FROM DADDY'S LITTLE NUTS" and super glued some metal nuts around the letters. (You may want to superglue the stickers so they are not removable.) If you have older kids they can paint the words on themselves! I also put the kids names and ages along the back.

You can fill yours with little boxes of screws, nuts and bolts. Or you can really surprise daddy with a cordless tool or some new screwdrivers / wrenches.

The kids had a ball and I am sure daddy will be thrilled with a little cleaner work space!

Works for me Wednesday- Mom I'm bored edition

I am a blessed woman indeed that my kidlets don't know what the word bored means ... yet. I can always tell when they are bored, however when they start to whiiiinnnnnneeeee and roll around on the floor. :)


To keep the whining to a minimum, I try to keep a couple craft items on hand. Potatoes stamps are easy, fun and cheap. You simply need some fabric paint, a couple of potatoes and fabric of your choice. ( You can also use Acrylic paint and paper... any cookie cutter will do as well!)

I found white flour sacks towels at the dollar store. I then cut a potato in half and pressed a star shaped cookie cutter into the exposed part of the potato. I cut away the out side excess and whalah! A perfect star stamp! The round part that they stamp with is perfect for little hand too!

I then let my little guy stamp to his hearts content. He had a blast and now I have a Forth of July towel that makes me think of my little guy every time I look at it! (He practically beamed with pride while showing my hubby.) The whole project cost $1.10 and kept my toddler entertained!

Big kids can get into the fun too... like Mamas who get bored :)

For more boredom busters visit We are that Family!

Hairbow holder- cheap cheap cheap!!

I have really been into making little girls hair bows. I think its because my daughter is the only girl in the extended family out of nine boys. She was born with quite alot of hair but sadly, has lost almost all of it. Now I believe bald is beautiful :) but I am sick and tired of people asking me if she is a boy or a girl. ( BTW- I think she has very girly features but I just try to smile and be understanding.. grrrrrr )

So I have been making stretchy bands with these big Sarah Jessica Parker hair bows that clip on. I am getting tired of them piling up on the shelf so I decided to make a hair bow holder.

It was so easy to make, cute and CHEAP!! You can make it under $5 and makes an awesome personalized gift.



All I did was get a wood plaque from a craft store. I then used some craft paint that I had around the house for the base color. I also grabbed some cute wooden accents and some ribbon from the same craft store. ( I can also make some hair bows with the ribbon ) Some super glue later and I had my cute bow holder. Even though it was all so cheap to purchase, I saved even more with the coupon from the Sunday paper to Michaels or JoAnnes.

Happy Crafting!