DIY Advent Calendar

My husband went on a business trip for a month.  That's a long time, plus I knew that he would not always have internet access.  So before he left I wanted to give him something fun and special that would help to remind him of  home.  

When I was at Target in their dollar section, I saw a dry erase board with a string and got an idea!  An advent calendar, that's what I wanted to make.  It would be small and easy to pack but give him a little surprise every single day. 

To make my advent calendar, I used an Exato knife to cut little windows out of scrapbook paper. I made enough windows for every day that he would be gone on his trip. Then I taped the scrapbook paper to the edges the dry erase board.

For each window, I hid a little note inside and taped the window closed. For some of the notes I wrote small messages on post-it notes for him, and on others our kids wrote notes or drew pictures for him. This way he had a little message or memento to remember that we loved and missed him. Then my kids helped me decorate it the calendar with stickers.

The day my husband left for his trip I slipped the advent calendar into his bag so he would be surprised when he arrived at his destination.

Thankful Chain

Beginning November 1st, my family and I started a thankful chain.

I cut strips of construction paper from several different autumn colors.  Every night before bed time we gather as a family and write something on a slip of paper we are thankful for that day.  Then we loop and staple the paper strips together to form a paper chain. The paper chain is decorating my banister and grows each day as we add to it. By Thanksgiving we hope to have a long chain of the many things we are thankful for.

 

My plan is to read all the paper strips together as a family on Thanksgiving day.  It is nice to be reminded of simple things we take for granted on a regular basis.

To give you an example of what things we are thankful for at our house, here are some of the things we have added to the thankful chain so far:

• Glad to have a car
• I like music class at school
• Thankful for my job
• I have good friends
• Enjoy watching movies as a family
• My monster high doll
• Safety in traveling
• I am thankful for heat in our home
• I LOVE my bed at night!  (I am grateful for this every busy day!!). (Haha!!)

{10 Days of Halloween} Felt Pumpkins

It's not too late to decorate a pumpkin for Halloween--especially felt pumpkins! They're portable, easy to clean up, and you can make them in less than 10 minutes!

All you will need are some orange and black sheets of felt, which are only about 25 cents at Walmart.

With a black sharpie I drew the outline of my pumpkin on an orange sheet of felt. I made mine small enough to get about two pumpkins out of one sheet of felt. Then I cut around the outside of the pumpkin outline.

With the black felt I cut out the face pieces. Then you are ready to put your pumpkin together! We had fun cutting out different types of eyes, noses, and mouths.

It was fun to mix-and-match the different face pieces. We also made a few silly add-ons, like the eye patch, fangs, and the top hat, to make our pumpkins more unique. 

These pumpkins will make a great addition to your flannel board set. If you don't have a flannel board, check out this post for some ideas of how to make your own flannel board.

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Day ten of

{10 Days of Halloween} Make a Costume Mask

Need a quick costume for Halloween? Try making a mask! They're cheap and easy to decorate.

These are the supplies we used:

masks (2 come in a package)
glitter
puff paint
pom poms
feathers

I picked up all of these supplies at Walmart and a few we already had on hand from other art projects. The masks are fun because there are so many ways you decorate them! We used glue and tape to attach the pom poms and feathers.

{cross-eyed clown}

We made one like a clown

{mystical lady in black}

and the other more mysterious and pretty.

Another good idea would be to make super hero masks. These masks are a quick way to get dressed up for any of your Halloween festivities--at a corn maze, Trunk Or Treat, Halloween party, or on Halloween night.

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Day nine of

Zucchini Boats

Ever wonder what to do with all that zucchini from your garden? If your garden is anything like mine, the zucchini grows like crazy (and the cucumbers too)! We try to eat as much as we can by cooking, baking, and freezing it. I've even given some zucchini away to neighbors, friends, and co-workers. But even then, I still have left overs.  So the Zucchini Boats were born.

To make a zucchini boat, all you will need is 1 large zucchini (or cucumbers work great too), a sharp knife, a spoon, and any materials you want to use to decorate your boat.  I used a skewer stick and scrapbook paper.

We had enough zucchini and cucumbers for everyone in our family to have one.

First, we cut a hole in the top large enough for Barbie dolls to sit in.  You can skip this first step if you don't have any dolls or toys that you want to ride on your boat.

Next, carve out the zucchini out like you would carvie a pumpkin.  Use the spoon to remove the seeds.  Then we used skewer sticks and scrapbook paper to make a mast.  You can decorate your boats any way you want.

When our boats were ready, we took them up a nearby canyon and raced them down a little stream to see whose was the fastest.  The barbies made the boats a little top heavy so we raced them again without the dolls.

The kids had fun watching their boats float in the stream, fixing them when they go stuck and wading in the stream.  I packed a light picnic dinner which we ate on the bank of the stream.

If you did not want to go to the mountains you could use a kiddie pool, a gutter filled with water, or even a bathtub to watch your boats float or race.

Enjoy being creative!

Easy Flannel Board Stories

You probably thought I'd be done with flannel boards by now...but there are just so many great crafts and activities that you can do with flannel boards!

Today I'm sharing how to make the quickest and easiest flannel board figures ever!  All you need is some Pellon, a permanent marker, crayons, and pictures from a coloring book or story.

So the first thing you need is the Pellon.  You can purchase Pellon at the fabric store, it is sold on the bolt like other fabric.  Pellon comes in different thicknesses.  I prefer the type that is light weight but pretty stiff.

Once you have your Pellon, place it over the picture you want to create, get your black permanent marker and simply trace the picture and then color it in.  

I like to use crayons to color on Pellon.  You can use markers but they tend to be messier and smear. 

When you've finished coloring your picture, you can cut it out.  Now your picture is ready to use on your flannel board!

With Pellon, you can make all kinds of characters and pictures to use in telling a story or singing a song.  FOr instance, you can make five monkeys for the song "Five Little Monkeys," or farm animals for "Old McDonald."  It would be fun to turn a favorite picture book into a flannel board story as well.

With older kids, they can trace and color the pictures themselves--it could keep them entertained for hours!

See, I told you it was quick and easy. :)

Felt Animals

Today we're having more fun with flannel boards and making felt animals.

To make my animals, I found simple animal shapes online and in coloring books.  Then I printed or copied the picture and cut out the animal outline to use as a stencil.  Then I simply traced the animal outline onto felt using a permanent marker and cut it out.  You can be finished at this point and just use your animals as silhouettes.  Or you can add faces, hair/feathers, feet, arms/wings, etc.  I like adding a little something to each animal to make them come to life.  Here are a few different felt birds that I made:

I like using lots of different colors and shades of felt to make my animals, but you don't have to.  For example, on most of the birds I cut out a wing in a different color, but the swan is layered white on white and it looks just as good!

As you can see, I also like cutting just outside the black outline rather than just inside or on the line because I like the way the animals look with the outline.  But that is totally up to you, whichever you think looks best--outline or no outline.

To make my animal faces (like eyes, nose, mouth, etc.), I mostly drew them on using permanent marker.  To add other features and body parts (like the horns and tail on the bull below), I used fabric glue.  I also used googly eyes, ribbon, and yarn to add more texture to some of the animals.

This is a craft that you can make with your kids, and you don't have to make a whole bunch all at once because there are only a few supplies that you have to get out and put away.  So you can keep adding to your felt and flannel board collection later by making new characters or objects.  Plus, they last a long time.  I actually made some of these animals a few years ago and they haven't lost their "fuzz" and stick to the flannel board.

Having felt animals are not only fun to play with, they can help teach a lesson or tell a story.  They also can be a great quiet time activity during afternoon naps or church, and can be easily toted with you on your travels.

If you haven't made yourself a flannel board yet, check out our previous post here for some ideas.

Felt Paper Dolls

Remember the flannel boards we made? Well, here is another fun project you can make to go with them:

Felt Paper Dolls.  

This is a great craft project for the kids to make right along with you.

To make the paper dolls, I started by cutting out a body-shaped stencil using card stock.  I made a few paper doll stencils that were different shapes and sizes.

Then I used a marker to trace the doll outline onto felt and cut it out.

Next, using the same doll stencil, we traced and designed the clothing for the dolls using different colors of felt.

This was the fun part--it's fun to be a designer!  It was so much fun that we ended up creating an entire wardrobe for our paper dolls.  We made dresses, pants, swimming suits, pj's, etc.

Afterwards, my kids filled in the paper doll faces and other accessories using markers.  But in the future, it would be fun to add little embellishments to the dolls or outfits like ribbons, buttons, sequins, jewels, etc. 

 When you are done designing your dolls and clothes, you are ready to start accessorizing and using your imagination!  These felt paper dolls are perfect to use with a flannel board.  I have both a large flannel board and a small travel-size flannel board, and they both work great!

These felt paper dolls are also easy to make and the clothes don't fall off or rip easily like they do on regular paper dolls.

Felt Shapes

Today we're go over how to make colorful felt shapes.
 
To make my shapes, I decided to cut out a variety of shapes including circles, squares, rectangles, stars, etc.  So I grabbed my stash of colored felt and scissors and went to work.

I cut my shapes so that some were the same size and color and some were different sizes and colors.  With the circles and stars you could print a pattern and trace it first before cutting them out, but I liked doing some free-hand too so they were each a little unique and not quite perfect.  You could also trace cookie cutters or other household objects for your shapes, whatever is easiest for you.

 Felt shapes and a flannel board can be just as fun as plastic shapes or building blocks.  Shapes are fun because you can use your imagination and build all kinds of things: people, cars, houses, large buildings, bridges, etc.  Every time you and your kids play with the felt shapes, you can make something different.

Felt shapes can also be a great teaching tool for children.  For a toddler, it can help them to identify different shapes and colors or illustrate difference between little and big.  For school-aged children you could cut some of the shapes into halves, thirds, fourths, etc. to be used as part of a simple math activity.

DIY Flannel, Chalk, & Magnetic Boards

I love crafts.  But I particularly love craft projects that are quick and easy to finish, otherwise I might lose my ambition.  That's why felt is perfect for not-so-ultra-crafty mom's like me. :)  With felt you can make something cute that's quick and easy, and often times no-sew!

So, I actually have a few felt projects up my sleeves that I'll be sharing with you over the next couple weeks.  But first, you'll need to make yourself a flannel board (if you don't already have one). 

The good thing is that flannel boards are simple and inexpensive to make yourself and they are so versatile.

{DIY Flannel Board Tips}  For flannel boards I like to use the particle board.  You can pick up a piece at any hardware store in different sizes, or they will help you cut down a piece as needed.  Your flannel board doesn't need to be that big, and actually smaller boards are more portable and easy to store.

Next, you'll just need to get a piece of flannel or felt that is big enough to cover one side your piece of particle board and a little extra length to wrap around the edges.  Then simple secure your fabric to the particle board by using a staple gun, spray adhevise, hot glue, etc.  It doesn't really matter and it doesn't take much to keep the fabric in place.

Then I used tape (duct tape works well) to secure the edges and make a "frame" around my flannel board.  However, if you want to make yours look more "cute", you could add a strip of ribbon around the edges or on the back side to cover the edge of the fabric and secure it in place.

I've also included a few tips on how to whip-up your own chalk and magnetic boards while your at it because these boards are really useful to have.  Plus they are just as easy as the flannel boards to make yourself.

{DIY Chalk Board Tips}  For the chalk board, you simply need a can of chalk spray paint.  You can use this paint to spray on nearly any surface you want: glass, wood, etc.  Mini chalk boards are all the rage write now, so now you can make your very own, any shape or size you'd like!  Hooray!

{DIY Magnetic Board Tips}  Now for magnetic boards.  The quickest magnet board is using a flat metal baking pan or cookie sheet.  You can find these at lots of stores.  I'd check out dollar stores or good will stores first if you want a better deal (especially since you probably won't actually use these pans for baking).  

One word of advice when shopping for metal pans: take a magnet with you when you go to the store.  Looks can be deceiving.  Many inexpensive pans are made out of aluminum and are not magnetic.  So this way you can make sure that it's magnetic before you purchase it.   

You could also find a piece of sheet metal at the hardware store and place it in a frame.  There are all types of decorative, DIY magentic board tutorials out there.  Again, make sure to take a magnet with you to the hardware store to avoid picking up aluminum instead of sheet metal. Then it will be magnetic and a fun chalkboard.  With the metal piece you could frame and hang on the wall as a decoration in any room.

{Notice the dual felt & magnet board all-in-one}

Another great idea is to combine these ideas and make a dual purpose board.  For example, you could cover one side of your magnetic pan with felt or chalkboard paint and...voila!  You now have a double-sided board with double the options.  Plus, less mess to clean and less to store = big bonus for mom!  In fact, if you covered one side of your pan with felt and the other with chalkboard paint, you'd really have all three boards in one because one side would be both chalk and magnetic.  

As you can see, DIY flannel, chalk, and magnetic boards are really flexible because you have so many options.  So, get creative and make a board! That way you'll be set for more upcoming crafts and lots of playtime in the future. ;)

Pressed Flower Bookmarks

Before I get started with today's post, I wanted to remind you that today is Free Slurpee Day at 7-Eleven (because the date is 7/11). So, go and get yourself a free, refreshing slurpee!!

Now onto today's post...pressed flower bookmarks!

Last week I posted about our family picking wildflowers (read about it here).  Well, I saved the wildflowers we picked and made them into pressed flower bookmarks! They turned out so cute! Here's what we did.

First, to press the flowers we wrapped them in plastic wrap and set them under a heavy book for an entire day.

{Wildflowers being pressed in plastic wrap}

The next day I cut out pieces of card stock for the bookmarks.  You can make the bookmarks pretty much any size you would like.  I made enough for everyone to make their own pressed flower bookmark.  To decorate and label the bookmarks we used regular, washable markers.  Then we carefully placed the flowers on the card stock and laminated them.  You could use a little piece of glue or adhesive to keep the flowers in place if needed, but I recommend only using a little. 

This was an easy and educational craft.  And now it is a fun momento from our summer vacation.  We had enough flowers to make a few extra to give as gifts to grandparents.  Homemade gifts can be some of the most precious.

Mommy-Daughter Trip to Scotland

My daughter has really been wanting to see the new movie Brave.  So I thought it would be a perfect activity for our Mom-Daughter Date.  But, instead of just going to the movie, I planned a "trip to Scotland" to make our day more memorable.  Since the movie takes place in Scotland and all the previews show the main character (Princess Merida) doing archery, that's what I planned our activity around.

First, we had to fly to Scotland.  I set up our living room to look like an airplane by simply arranging my daughter's stuffed animals as the pilot, flight attendants, and other passengers.  Then I printed off our tickets to Scotland and we boarded the plane headed to Scotland!

While on the plane we watched some You Tube videos of Scottish musicians and dancers and snacked on peanuts, fruit snacks, and a cup of water.  

When our plane landed in Scotland our first activity was to make our own Scottish plaid table cloth.  I had a large piece of butcher paper and we made a plaid pattern by drawing lines across and down.  Drawing the plaid pattern was also a good practice in following color patterns too.  

When the table cloth was done we set the table for a Scottish lunch.  We had traditional UK fish and chips served cabbage (or coleslaw), berries, and biscuits and mugs of cream soda.

I also hung the Scotland flag in the dining room to make it more authentic (and because the Scotland flag is so simple to make).

After lunch we did our second activity -- archery!  We made these cute bow and arrows with popsicle sticks, floss, and Q-tips.  I found the tutorial from the blog The Brooding Hen.  

The tiny bow and arrows shot really well and we had a lot of fun practicing our archery skills.

 I made a LARGE bullseye so we would be sure to hit it. ;)

Finally we ended our day in Scotland by going to the movie Brave.  Now my daughter and I are world travelers, can't wait for our next adventure

Nature Scrapbooks

A couple weeks ago we went on vacation with my family.  Altogether there were 10 adults and 8 kids.  Of course we planned some activities for the kids to keep them busy and entertained.  We made Nature Scrapbooks as our craft and the kids loved it!  Here are the supplies you'll need to make your own scrapbook:

 Supplies:

2 brown lunch bags

glue sticks

yarn

scrapbook paper (4-8 pages)

paper cutter

 {Step 1} Fold the 2 lunch bags in half vertically. These are going to be the pages of the scrapbook, so there will be 8 pages including the front and back cover.

{Step 2} Cut scrapbook paper to fit the length of the lunch bag. I cut the paper smaller than the paper bag so that it would leave a border around the edge. We cut 3 longer lengths (approximately 4.5" x 10" each) to cover the "inside" scrapbook pages, then cut 2 smaller squares to cover the front and back cover (approximately 4.5" x 5" each).  We mostly used colored card stock that didn't bend quite as well so the books didn't lay flat when they were done.  So, it may be easier to work with thinner paper.

{Step 3} Glue the scrapbook paper to the lunch bags, covering each side.  After you've glued on the paper,  you may choose to make each page look distressed by rubbing a little ink on the edges of each page.  We didn't have time to do this for our nature scrapbooks.

{Step 4} Cut a length of yarn.  Place the 2 lunch bags together and tie the piece of yarn around the middle crease.  This will bind your scrapbook pages together.  We tied the yarn into a bow on the outside of the scrapbook.  You could also use ribbon.

{Step 5} Decorate your scrapbook pages any way you like!  

For the nature scrapbook, the kids decorated with animal stickers, leaf rubbings, and nature samples they found outside. 

To preserve their pressed flowers and leaves, we wrapped them in plastic wrap first then glued the plastic wrap on the page. 

It was fun to see how different each of the books turned -- they were so cute!! And the kids were proud of their books when they were all finished.

These simple scrapbooks are so cute and versatile.  The openings of the lunch bags actually created little pockets where you could slide a surprise picture or bookmark.  These scrapbooks would make a very cute Father's Day gift made with love from the kids or a good way to display your child's artwork.  Either way, this is a great summer project that will keep your kids busy for hours!