DIY Fairy Houses with 5 Year Olds

We've been so busy with the house renovation that I keep forgetting to post about the diy fairy houses that my daughter (who is five) and her friend (also five) made about a month ago. This project and things like this project have been all over Pinterest for a while now. Basically, you create fairy houses or villages for your backyard using recycled items, juice containers, bark, moss, bottle caps, etc...

My Mom had been gathering the supplies for this for a few weeks before the craft.

First thing that we learned is that we should have pre-cut and cleaned the cartons before having the girls start the craft. I think having to wait for us to cut them used up some of their attention for the craft.

The other things we learned were to have more items that covered a large space, make the houses smaller and have more items that they could peel and stick. Also, make sure that the two year old has something else to do, instead of dumping buttons into the grass. They did have fun creating these fairy houses.

Chalk Board Craft and Book Review

A few months ago I received a book for free from Goodreads.com Giveaways, in return for an honest review on their site. I loved this book so much that I decided to write about it here. The book is 'The Complete Book of Chalk Lettering - Create & Develop Your Own Style' by Valerie McKeehan.

What I really loved about this book was not only did she tell you all the items you would need to be successful, she also provided actual chalkboards and very detailed step-by-step photos.

Part of the process that she explained for better looking chalk lettering is to season the chalkboard, this I had never heard of before, but was very simple to do.

First you rub the chalk all over the chalkboard covering every inch with chalk.

Then you wipe away with a chalk eraser or a dry clean paper towel or rag. Now you are ready to create.

I decided to test it out first by writing my name in chalk, this gave me a good understanding of how hard I had to lean on the chalk to make it work.

While my younger daughter was taking her nap, my older daughter and myself decided to try designing hanging chalkboards that I had picked up from Target for a dollar each. I also got the chalk from Target for a dollar, so this was a very inexpensive craft. 

We seasoned our chalkboard and were ready to try some of the designs that Valerie had in her book.

I choose one of her flower designs and a snowflake design. These were relatively easy and with a little bit more practice I think I could get pretty good at creating these designs and more.

I added Happy Easter and an Easter egg of my own design. 

My daughter made her own Easter design with a snowflake and Easter Egg.

One of the great things about working with chalk is if you mess up you can just wipe it away and start over. I think we will have this book for a very long time and will use it again and again. If you are interested in this book here is a link to it on Amazon. I do receive referral fee for anything bought through this link.

Large T-Shirt into Kids Smock

It's been a long time since I posted any craft projects. My Mother-in-Law was up helping me with the kids and she wanted to share her quick and easy project of how to turn a large t-shirt into a kids smock. This project took no longer than 5 minutes and all you need is a large t-shirt (old or new) and a pair of scissors.

1. Start with a large Mens T-Shirt, old or new.

2. Cut a slit up the sleeve.

3. Try on to make sure the slit is long enough.

4. Tie the two pieces of the sleeve into a knot to shorten.

5. Cut a slit to open the bottom hem.

6. Rip the bottom hem off the shirt.

7. Use the bottom hem as a belt for the smock. 

TaDa! You have a cute and simple kids smock.

Mardi Gras Bead Art for Kids

Before we had kids me and my husband went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras. It was really fun, we went to all the parades and grabbed a bunch of beads that they were throwing from the floats, no need to do anything elicit.

Pic of me and my husband Mardi Gras before kids.

We brought the beads home and I have used them for fun projects. I created a couple of wreaths and various other decorative items.

I thought it might be time to bring them out again and create some fun art with my daughter. This craft/art project was more focused on the process, then the outcome. I gave my 3 year old free reign to create anything she wanted on a piece of foam board, beads and glue. Here is what she came up with.

Just in case you don't have Mardi Gras beads on hand you can get them cheap on Amazon.

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Easy Kid Craft Ornaments

All over Pinterest I have seen people filling clear ornaments to make quick personal ornaments for their Christmas trees, so I thought I would try it myself. Many people out there have used glass ornamental balls, I decided to use plastic so it would be safe for my 3 year old.

This project didn't cost me anything because I had bought a package of ornaments a few years ago for a project that I did not get to and to fill the ornaments I used craft supplies I already had. I believe I bought this package at some place like A.C. Moore a few years ago for a couple of bucks.

For our ornaments we used pompoms, ribbon, jingle bells, feathers, colorful beads, fake pearls and star ribbon. I also used sparkly pipe cleaners to create the hanging element.

My 3 year old daughter loved creating these because she could pretty much do it by herself. I did hold a funnel for her when she was filling the beaded ornaments, this made sure that none of the beads ended up on the floor.

This is one of those projects that you could do every year and it would always be different. I also think this would make for a great kids craft for a Christmas Party or Holiday Cookie Exchange.

10 Indoor Crafts for Kids

It's that time of year again, school is back in session and soon the weather will be getting colder. This means the kids are inside more and you'll need more indoor activities. Here are 10 crafts and games that I have done with my 3 year old over the past year that have yielded many a fun afternoon.

1. Hidden Pictures

2. Fork Painting

3. Supermarket Sweep


4. Kids Weather Tracker


5. Marshmallow Structures


6. Hand Print Turkey Puppet


7. Homemade Jello Playdough


8.Turkey Spoons


9. Leaf Wreaths


10. Turkey Hats


Have Fun!!!

Kid Craft: Marshmallow Structures

I sometimes need quick and easy crafts to do with my daughter, using items that I already have in my house. I have seen this craft using marshmallows and toothpicks to build structures and I thought it might be a fun and creative.

Pin: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/241505598737224912/

Original Website: http://daisyyellow.squarespace.com/vividlife/marshmallow-structures.html

Materials:

-Toothpicks

-Marshmallows

When we actually created these structures, I found out that maybe this is a craft for older kids. This is because all my daughter wanted to do was to eat the marshmallows, instead of building the structures.