Category: For the Kiddos

Craft Day

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It has been unbearably hot the past few weeks.  By no means am I an outdoors kind of girl, so, we have worked on a few craft projects lately. 

I recently saw a great pantry overhaul that I fell in love with.  Especially the patterned walls.  To bring some life and pattern to our entertainment center, I painted the same quatrefoil pattern on a magazine file.  I simply printed the stencil and used a xacto knife to cut it out.  Then, I traced the pattern the painted file and filled it in.  It took some time, but I think it adds much-needed life to the space.

I have meant to make a terrarium for months now, and finally got around to it.  We had some moss growing on our back patio, so I dug it up.  I had a few apothecary jars already, so I placed a few rocks in the bottom and added my moss.  Because no terrarium is complete with out small critters, I bought some polymer clay.  Then I shaped the clay into birds and a squirrel and inserted wire in the base.  Following the instructions, I baked for my animals for 20 minutes and let them dry.  Now for the fun part, painting.  To add color, I used plain acrylic paints from Michael’s.  After a few base coats, I was ready to start adding details.  Add a few eyes, wings, beaks and noses and I had a set of animals for my terrarium.

I’ll post pictures of the terrariums soon, but I still have a few things to finish.

I hope to change out some items in our boys’ room to add some color.  To start things off, I updated Ev’s bird mobile.  I reused the light blue birds, but made new green and yellow birds to give it a new look.   

You can easily make your own bird mobile; go here for a tutorial.  Have you done any craft projects recently?

Weekend Painting: Magnet Board

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We’re in painting moods lately!  Last weekend, we repainted our dining room and over this past weekend, a little more painting took place.  On Saturday, I painted a magnet board for Vincent’s room. 

Before I had my office in the basement, I was using our little desk upstairs to run my stationery shop.  I used this board to keep papers and track my current orders.  Now that I have a magnetic backsplash, Vincent needs this board more than I do.  He has been using the side of the refrigerator to play with his alphabet letters, but many of the letters get kicked under.  Enter, the new magnet board.  Here it was before I painted.

I picked up Valspar’s  Bumblebee Spray paint to use on the frame and used a can of flat white spray paint to paint the metal.

I made a little set up of 5 gallon buckets outside and got ready to paint.

Pass about 10 minutes and I had one coat on the steel and frame.

After letting everything dry for several hours, I popped the steel back in the frame and hung it in the boys’ room.  Vincent loves having this in his room and has proudly displayed some of his art.

I do have some more painting to do, so stay tuned for that.

Baby Shower Power

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My sisters and I recently planned and threw a fiesta themed baby shower for the fourth sister we never had and her baby boy.  I really love some of the details we added and wanted to share. 

The first details are these cute and convenient napkin and utensil holders.

To make these, I printed two cute logos of a B with a baby bird perched on top per page.  I printed these on plain ol’ white printer paper.  Then I cut the printed pages at 5 1/2 inches.  I folded the sides in to make a 5 1/2 inch tall by 3 inch wide pouch, securing with scotch tape.  Then I folded the bottom up 1/2 inch and added another piece of tape.  I folded our color coördinated  napkins in half to fit the pouch.  Add colorful utensils and pop into colorful metal buckets to make a cute accessory and a user-friendly buffet piece. 

I also made cute, coordinating favor boxes filled with Jolly Rancher and Starburst candies.  I printed simple 1 1/2 inch square stickers.  Then we tied lime green, bright blue and dark blue ribbon to add more color. 

We wanted to use decorations that were also useful, so we made a clothes line filled with adorable baby clothes.  We bought miniature clothespins from Michael’s and they worked perfectly. 

We also hung the handmade bird mobile as a party decoration. 

My sister made a taco bar, including ground beef, spiced chicken, sautéed peppers, olives, lettuce, diced tomatoes, and cheese.  We also had home-made guacamole, salsa and taco dip with chips.  I saw an edible arrangements commercial and decided I would try to make a fruit bouquet.  Two hours later, we had a beautiful arrangement:

We used cantaloupe, honey-dew, grapes, blueberries, pineapple, strawberries, and kiwi.  We weighted down our bucket with rocks covered in aluminum foil (to keep things sanitary) then added a few bags of rice.  We pushed our fruit onto wooden skewers and arranged them just like real flowers.

Do you have any tips to turn a good party into a great one?  Or unique decoration ideas?  Do tell, please!

How To: Store Toys

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We have two boys under the age of three with grandparents, aunts and uncles that spoil them rotten.  That means we have a ton of toys.  Fortunately for us, we have created custom built in cabinets to hide most of their toys, books and diapers.

I’m still searching for the right size, cheap but durable storage bins to house V’s toys in this cabinet, but for now, it’s okay.

This red metal bin holds up to V’s abuse and it contains most of his stuffed animals.  After all, three-foot tall Mickey and Minnie cannot fit in a small bin. 

We don’t keep all the toys in one area, as they are hauled all around the house anyway.  We have some toys stored in the Man Cave entertainment center.  Once the doors are finished, the mess will be hidden away, similar to our living room built-in.

V has some larger Tonka trucks, which are stored under Ev’s crib, hidden by the crib skirt. 

Basically, we don’t have a lot of baby/toy clutter because I refuse to keep large baby items like swings, bouncer seats, and exersaucers in the house.  I also go through the toys somewhat regularly and throw out or donate broken or unused toys.  It also helps to send noisy, annoying toys to grandma. 

One major tip I can offer is to use closets and space under the bed.  Keep items in bins labeled by size to organize items such as children’s out grown or too big clothes.

How To: Make a Bird Mobile

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When I was pregnant, I found this tutorial on how to make a paper bird mobile.  I decided to make a little mobile to hang above our son’s crib.

I made some changes along the way, so here is the step-by-step on how to create this mobile:

1.  Print the template on plain cardstock or printer paper.  I prefer to lightly trace the template on my colored cardstock, giving me the option to erase my lines after the pieces are cut.  Cut out one set of the template. 

2.  Lightly trace the pieces on the cardstock colors of choice.  For this mobile, I made three sets of each bird using two different colors of green, chocolate-brown and white cardstock.  Be sure to mark the wing slit and hanging hole.  Cut out your cardstock pieces and erase your lines. 

3.  Place your template over a cut out bird body.  Use a cutting board and push-pin to poke a hole to thread your string through.  Use an exacto knife to make a slit for the wing to go through.  Do not make a box, as shown on the template.

4.  Slide the wing through the body and fold up slightly. 

5.  Add a very thin line of Elmer’s glue to each side of the tail on the main body.  Slide the cut tail onto the body.  Gently squeeze the tail and set it aside to let it dry.  After the tail has dried, thread a string through the hole.  Tie a few knots on one side and cut the extra off, leaving one to two feet on the other side.  The length of the string should vary and will depend on the final hanging height. 

6.  Buy or cut a tree branch to hang the birds from.  I prefer a branch with two or three small branches creating a V or W from one main branch. 

7.  Tie one piece of fishing line on each end of your branch.  If you have a V branch, you will have three pieces.  Make the pieces longer than you’ll need, allowing plenty of excess to tie a knot.  Tie all pieces together at the desired height from the ceiling.

8.  Tie each bird onto the branch, varying the height .  Make sure each bird is secured on the branch.  Once all birds are tied on, you’re ready to hang your completed mobile.  Screw a hook into the ceiling, hang the mobile, stand back and admire!