Junk Art

A favorite past time of my kids, especially our first born is to create things out of junk.  By junk I mean clean recyclables.  What sparks more creativity than a bunch of odd sized plastic and cardboard!  The kids love it and it's a project that can continually be worked on.  When they finish constructing the art they can then decorate it with small objects or paint it.  It is a lot of fun and I always enjoy watching what they come up with. This is another great rainy day activity.  Here are a few masterpieces the kids have made:

What will they think of next?  

Beach Bag

I saw this tutorial the other day and knew I had to make this bag.  Turns out, it is SUPER simple to make and very roomy.  I took it with me to the splash pad the other day and it held 3 towels, sunscreen, a book, my camera, my phone, my wristlet and my keys.  Not too shabby.  All you need are two place mats (Target has some Great options) and three yards of cotton twill ribbon (lots of different colors at Joanns).  I followed the tutorial instructions for the 2nd bag by sewing the two place mats together at the bottom, then sewing my ribbon ends together.  Next I sewed the ribbon onto the place mats and finally, sewed the edges of the placemats together.

I really like how it turned out and I think I might go back to get some "fancier" place mats and make another version of this bag.  We made this bag at my sewing group and here are all of the variations that were made. 

I love using household items in unusual ways.  Do you like shopping at Target for craft/sewing supplies?

Summer Treats

We eat a whole lot of popcorn around here.  While I do love the standard butter and salt toppings, sometimes I like to mix it up a bit.

Today's version has a spicy kick to it.

I drizzled about 2 tablespoons of butter on top of the popcorn, then sprinkled 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and a little bit of salt on top and mixed it up.

For my drink I mixed equal parts pineapple juice with Sprite.  Although, I found this combination yummy, my family thought each was good separately but not together.  I blame it on my post pregnancy hormones :)

What toppings do you put on your popcorn?

Fourth of July Experiment

With the upcoming Fourth of July holiday approaching, I decided to find a fun science experiment related to the holiday for the kiddos.  Pinterest never fails and the experiment was hit with both of the kids. 

All you need for this experiment is some vegetable oil, glass jars or glass cups, bowls, food coloring and forks for stirring.

First, pour about 3-4 Tbsp of vegetable oil in a bowl.  Then take food coloring and put3-4 drops of each color in the bowl. 

Next, gently stir (and gently is important) the colors together in the oil with the fork. 

Finally, fill the jar about 3/4 full of warm water and then slowly pour in the oil and food coloring mixture from the bowl and watch the colors separate from the oil and make 'fireworks' in the jar as they sift down into the water.

Super cool to watch!!

Once the colors have all drifted to the bottom the jar turns black and the show is over.  My daughter mixed her oil and food coloring up too much and when she dumped it into the water it quickly turned black so we had to redo it.  The step of mixing the oil and food coloring gently is important. 

What are some of your favorite easy science experiments or some of your favorite fourth of July crafts?

Rain Art

What do you do on a rainy day?  Use the rain to make art! The kids are hard at work above making their masterpieces with washable markers.

 Not sure what MUE is but he knows.

Pretty sure this is his own Pokemon figure.  We don't actually get to see what these two masterpieces looked like after being rained on because their mother left them in the rain so long that all the pigment was washed away.  So back to the drawing board.

 This time we used food coloring and gel food coloring.

Looking good except we may have used a bit too much food coloring. Look at the beautiful rainbow on the driveway!  Oh well, they still look pretty cool with that tie dyed effect.  Any fun projects you like to do on a rainy day?  If you don't mind getting a little wet this will keep the kids intrigued.

Quick Summer Meals

I decided to make salad for supper the other day and, miracle of miracles, the kids loved it!  They all like salad but they are kind of picky about what goes into it.  So I chopped up different ingredients along with some chicken and we made our salads buffet style.

It is a light and easy summer meal.  With ball games and other summer activities, it is nice to have something other than frozen pizza for supper.

I get so tired of cooking.  It is a constant struggle.  But the strange thing about having children is that they consistently want to be fed at least three times a day.  The nerve!  Usually lunch is the hardest meal for me.  I can whip up some sandwiches and fruit and veggies for the kids.  They can eat it every single day and be fine.  But I get tired of it.  So I found this yummy salsa recipe and made it the other day.

It is full of filling ingredients and a bowl of salsa and chips with a water is a great lunch!  What do you do for summer lunches and suppers?  Please share your meal ideas--we'd love to try them out!

What's in Your Bag?

Chances are, if you have two X chromosomes, then you also tote around a bag everywhere you go.  From diaper bags to purses, we always seem to have a lot of stuff to carry around.  These bags hold our necessities while we are out of our houses.  

I am always nosey interested to see what other people feel they need to carry with them while running errands.  Do you carry everything for every situation?

The contents of my bag is constantly changing depending on what is going on our lives at the time.  With a 4 month old, my purse looks more like a diaper bag, than a purse.  Surprisingly, when I pulled out the camera to photograph what is currently in my bag I only had 1 item that was for my daughter.

Last year the contents of my bag looked like this.

Yep, folks I was carrying around a game of Blokus, snacks, and notepads for my daughter's entertainment.

Today, the contents looks a little different, but several things are still the same.

I still have a lot of snacks in there.  I have also switched my wallet to a wristlet that can hold my phone.  When I get the chance to run to the grocery store by myself, I usually just grab that instead of the gigantic purse filled with baby supplies.  I also have my Kindle nearby lately because this summer includes a lot of running around to activities for my daughter, so I catch up with my reading while waiting on swim lessons to finish up.  

Recently, I have started keeping our 'Ouch Spray' in my bag.  It is a cure all.  It is a glass spray bottle filled with water and a few essential oils to make it smell pretty.  Daughter fell on the play ground?  Daughter in a bad mood?  Daughter is bored?  Daughter doesn't want to wait in line?  Yep, it works for all of those.  

I shared what's in my bag, now it's your turn....What's in your bag?

Handprint Spring/Summer Craft

This past winter, the kids and I made a cute snowman picture of their feet as a fun keepsake.  I wanted to replace them for the spring/summer with something fun.  I decided to make a 'flower' out of their handprints. 

I used acrylic paint and painted a different color on each of their hands.  My daughter picked pink, which is her favorite color right now.  I chose orange for my son because he tells me everything is 'orange' right now.

I had them put their handprint on a piece of white cardstock so it would hold up better. 

I then added a simple green stem to each of them and let them dry.

Finally, I had two cute IKEA frames and I cut them both out to fit the frames and then took a black thin permanent marker and wrote their names, ages and dates in the corners.  A super fun, easy craft.  I love how it turned out! What are some fun craft ideas that you do with your kids of their handprints or footprints?

Easy Slushy

The first day of summer break was a success.  We played outside all day and it was nice and warm.  Earlier in the day Mikah had been rewarded with a Dairy Queen Mister Misty for being so brave at his Kindergarten checkup.  Parker was not with us for the checkup and was of course told about the tasty treat from his brother. He asked if we could make our own version of a slushy when we returned home.  I remember from 8th grade Home-Economics class a recipe that I loved and repeated many times as a child.  Our recipe was super simple:

1 Kool- Aid pack of your flavor choice

1 cup of sugar (I only used 1/2 cup for my kids)

1 tray of ice cubes

2 cups of water

Blend until slushy consistency and enjoy.

The kids loved it.  My favorite is the grape!

Children's Wicker Furniture Makeover: Phase 2

I left off last week with the furniture sprayed clean and the kids soaking wet :)  Now it was time to paint!  Of course, life got busy and the days that I had free were rainy.  I just want to keep it real--I only have two chairs done and the smallest table.  But I'm getting there!  Here's the progress so far.

I did two coats of white spray paint.  Nothing too fancy.  I just really wanted to try and make them look a little more updated and clean.

Then I decided to do a little color blocking and painted the bottom of the legs of the chairs and the table.  I taped off the legs and then grabbed some mostly empty cans of spray paint (I feel like I always have some around here from previous projects) and gave them a quick couple of coats. 

Now the kids have a place to relax and eat while they are outside.  And since they're eating out of doors, I have less mess to clean up this summer.  yay! 

Painting with Kids

This past week was my last week babysitting for the summer.  I decided to do some painting with the kiddos.  I think the end results look great, and it was a simple project to set up.

I used 6 inch vinyl letters, and put their names at the top of the canvas.

I picked 5 bright acrylic paints, covered the children in smocks and the table with a shower liner and the kiddos got to work.

Clay, who is 1, was not really interested in the project the day we worked on it, so I ended up painting his canvas teal, so his name would be visible in the finished product.  Then after some coaxing (and maybe a bribe of a marshmallow) he put a few yellow dots at the bottom to appease me.

I used a hair dryer to speed up the drying process, and after talking with the girls, we decided to add hand prints to the center of the canvas.  I grabbed the white paint, painted their hands, and pressed them in the center.  Then we carefully peeled the sticker letters off, and we were finished.

The whole project took about an hour to complete for all 3 children, and I really like the results.  The colors are really bright, and the handprints add a nice touch.

DIY Baby Bibs and Burp Cloths

I have made a lot of  baby bibs and burp cloths over the past few years so when I found out my cousin was expecting her first child, I knew immediately that I wanted to make her some as part of her baby shower gift.  She and her husband decided not to find out what they were having, so I went on the hunt for some gender neutral fabric.  I ended up choosing a flannel polka dot fabric and a cotton ABC fabric.  After pre-washing and drying the fabrics, I was ready to go.

I decided to do the burp cloths first.  I have made different styles but my favorite is still using pre-fold diapers and adding a bit of color with the fabric down the center.  These seem to cover well and have great absorbency if you have a baby that spits up a lot.  I have found pre-fold diapers at Walmart, Babies R Us and Target; my favorite ones for the feel and thickness were from Target.  The supplies I used for the burp cloths were fabric scissors, sewing pins, the pre-fold cloths (pre-washed also) and the fabric. 

I am not a big measurer if it isn't a necessity and with these you really don't have to be precise.  I just cut my fabric about an inch longer on each end and same with the width. 

Next, I folded under the sides and pinned it on the pre-fold diaper cloth and then did the ends the same way so it was ready to sew.

...and they are finished! Just sew around the edges with a color of thread of your choice, remove your sewing pins and they are complete.  Pretty easy and super cute!

Next, I moved on to making matching baby bibs.  I used the template found HERE.  I printed it out and just pin it on my fabric and cut around it. 

For the backing, I really like using a terry cloth fabric.  It is the priciest part of my project, but it holds up well and I like the look of it.  I have purchased this fabric at both Walmart and JoAnn's and like them both.  I pin the fabric that I just cut out with the pattern facing the floor and cut around it. 

After I have everything cut out, I sew all around the edges leaving approximately 1.5 inches opened for turning it right side out. I also clip the corners before I turn it right side out. 

Next is the fun part of turning it right side out to finish it up. 

Once that is done, I pinned the opened part of the bib closed and top stitched all around the bib once again.

The sewing is done! Last step is putting the clasp on and I actually enlist my hubby for help on this one. He doesn't complain and does a great job so why not??

The kids like to get in on the action too when daddy is putting on the finishing touches by watching and helping hand him the individual fasteners.

These are the clasps that I use on all of the baby bibs I make.  I purchase them at Walmart.

The finished product!  My cousin opened her gift at her shower this past weekend and loved them.  I'm looking forward to seeing them on her sweet babe! 

What is your favorite DIY baby shower gift idea?