Travel Activity Bag

 

This idea came to me when I took my last trip with my little and it was a big nightmare. Obviously my kid needs entertained 24/7 in the car, and few things make him content! This time however, I wised up and went prepared!

This project is customizable to your child's likes and I'm just going to give you a few ideas of what I used, which I think is pretty universal for most kids.

A mix of activities and snacks will make for a much smoother trip! (trust me on this one)

 

 

Books

DVDs (if you have a travel DVD player...if you don't have one, GET ONE! lifesaver)

Crayons

Colored Pencils

Markers

Coloring Books

Paper

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Granola

Trail Mix

Granola Bars

Cereal

Crackers

Pretzels

Chex Mix

Pop Tarts

Fruit Snacks

Fruit

 

Once you have all of your supplies together, put them in a good sized travel bag.

I recently bought my little a new bedding set for his big boy toddler bed, and the bag it came in was absolutely perfect!!!

 

 

 

 

Lately, I've been into labeling stuff since my organization skills, well, stink! I found some free labels that you can download and print out that are PERFECT for this little travel bag, not to mention perfect for 100+ other things around the house!

Look at that pantry...WOW I wish mine was that beautiful!

Click on the Pic below for the link to some cute FREE labels!

 

Also, this cool little travel tray is pretty good for long car rides. It allows them to write and eat without a mess in the car. I have one, and it's pretty nice. It is a bit flimsy, but it's good for long car rides, and allows my little to color on the go. 

Click on the Pic below for the link to buy this!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Crafting



Stovetop Fall/Christmas Scent

 

Ok, so this really isn't a "craft" but I found this idea and thought that I'd share it with you wonderful people!! This is easy, and when I saw it I thought to myself "why have I NOT done this before?" I spend A LOT of $$$ on air fresheners...There is almost 1 in every room/outlet...

It drives my husband INSANE because I'm always buying a new one.

When I walk past Bath & Bodyworks, I can't help but stop in and wish my house would smell exactly like this store! So I buy a couple *cough* cough 4 cough* cough* and go on my way.

This easy stove top method meets all my criteria for creations; easy, cheap, and homemade.

 

What you'll need:

•  Whole Orange (quartered)
•  Whole Apple (quartered)
•  3 Cinnamon Sticks (can use powdered if that's what you have at home)
•  1 Tbs Whole Cloves
•  Dash of Nutmeg (optional)
•  1/2 Cup Cranberries (if you can't find fresh, dried will work)
•  Pot/ Sause pan
•  Water

 

Ok, so above list is TOTALLY customizable!!! Any smells you love, just toss it in. This can be changed throughout seasons or moods of the day! :)

 

My creation is for the fall/Christmas/winter season and it's awesome!

Simply fill your pot maybe half way with water, then toss in your ingredients. Put the heat on medium to bring it to a slight simmer, then turn it down to the lowest setting on your stove and let it go.

This should obviously only be used when you're going to be home all day to watch it.

 *NEVER leave the stove unattended!*

 

I've had mine on the stove for a week, and the smell is still amazing when I turn it on. It fills my house with the wonderful smells that I adore this time of year!

Just simply add more water when it starts to run low. Do Not let the water completely evaporate!

You can always toss in new ingredients when you think the old ones are losing scent, but this should last a few weeks.

 

 

 

 

Happy Crafting



Stained Glass Fall Shapes

 

It's the beginning of November, and I'm sooo in the Christmas spirit, but I thought I'd do a fall activity on this cool dreary day!

Fall is my ABSOLUTE favorite time of year. The smells of burning leaves/wood, the crisp cool air, hot chocolate by the fireplace, and all the cuddles under warm blankets. This inspired me to bring a little fall right into our home.

This activity is a little messy, but very fun! I guarantee the kids will love it!!

 

What you'll need:

•  Crayons (I used fall colors ie: brown, orange, red, yellow, little bit of green)
•  Grater (you could also use a crayon sharpener to help save your knuckles)
•  Wax Paper
•  Leaves (I found some fall shapes at my local Dollar Tree; acorn, pumpkin, & leaves. You can easily go outside and grab some leaves out of the front yard to trace.)
•  Iron

 

You'll want to trace your shapes on wax paper. This is the tricky part. You can either cut the shapes out before or after you melt the wax. I tried both ways, and either way will work just fine. When I cut the shape before melting the wax, it was hard to get the wax all the way to the edges and also was a pain to actually cut. When I cut the shapes out after I melted the wax, the wax started to flake out. So I just re-melted it once I got it cut out. Like I said, whichever method you think will be easier will work.

 

 

Once you decide on your shapes, you need to shred your crayons. This is where the kids come in handy. My little is still a little to young for the grating of the crayons, but older kids will probably love this part. Just be sure to watch those knuckles!!! I got my hunny in there to help me! What a sweetie he is! <3

 

 

 

Spread your crayon shavings on your shapes.

 

 

Lay the other piece of wax paper on that, and iron. The longer you let the iron sit the more melted the colors look and they blend together more. So just do it to your liking.

 

 

Our front door looks so festive and beautiful! This was fun and easy so get to creating!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Crafting



Raised Salt Art

 

If you're looking for a cool activity for a rainy day, this one hits all the criteria; fun, easy, fast, and somewhat educational (if you are exploring how color travels through salt).

This is more of a older toddler activity. Although my little did love this activity, he wasn't as impressed with it as I was. He loved the mess the salt made though, so to him it was a success. :)

 

What you'll need:

•  Elmer's Glue
•  Table Salt
•  Construction Paper (any color you want. black looks good against the bright colors)
•  Liquid Water Color Paints work exceptionally well for this, but I didn't have any so I used a little water with food color added. This isn't extremely bright, but add less water and more color for a vibrant color. Also, in the picture I showed regular food coloring, but I ended up using the Betty Crocker Gel Neon colors which worked very well also.
•  Paint brushes/Droppers/Pipettes
•  Tray

Mix your food coloring with your water, or use your liquid water color paints. I ended up mixing other colors as well for this project that aren't pictured. (the neon colors)

 

 

Add your glue to the paper. Whatever your little one's heart desires. Make shapes, rainbows, whatever tickles your fancy!

 

 

Once your happy with the design, add the salt. Place your paper on a baking sheet/cookie sheet before adding the salt to avoid a HUGE mess. (I learned that the hard way) Cover all the glue with the salt. (don't be chincy with the salt, the more the better)

 

 

Pour off the excess salt.

 

 

My little's design. Original I know! :)

 

Once the excess salt is gone, use a pipette/dropper, or use what I did, a small paint brush to add color to your glue. The second it drips on there it sort of travels which is pretty cool. The 5/6 year olds will love this part!

 

 

Now this craft is more about the process rather than the outcome. Once it dries the salt/glue tends to flake off, so if you were hoping to store this project for years to come, it definitely won't make it. The colors fade a bit when dry so this craft is definitely more about the whole making process.

 

 

 

Happy Crafting

 

 





GAK

 

A while back, I did a post on homemade slime. Although it was pretty cool, I wanted to make something a little more GAK like....When I was little, me and my grandpa would play with this stuff for hours. Anytime I got a spare dollar, Gak is what I spent my money on. I wanted to make this amazing creation for my little at home since crafting is our "thing".

We gathered our ingredients and went to work. This is easy, surprisingly clean, and fast!

 

What you'll need:

•  1 tsp. Borax (found in the laundry section at Wal-Mart)
•  2 Bottles of white Elmer's Glue
•  1/2 Cup warm water (plus the amount to fill the bottles)
•  Food Coloring
•  Mixing Bowl
•  Small mixing bowl or plastic cup



 

Pour your two bottles of Elmer's Glue into your mixing bowl. Fill the empty bottles with warm water and shake. Add that to your mixing bowl.

 

 

Add your food coloring. I used the Betty Crocker Neon gel colors, but any food coloring will do. I just thought that Gak just isn't Gak if it isn't that neon slime green color.

 

 

Mix that together well and set aside.

Add 1/2 cup warm water to your smaller bowl or plastic cup. Add 1 tsp of your borax to the warm water and stir. Add the Borax mixture to your glue/water mixture. You will notice it get stringy immediately.

 

 

Continue mixing with your hands until it all comes together. This literally takes 30 seconds. (I told you this was fast)

Amazingly once this is mixed it's clean and doesn't leave a film or stickiness on your hands at all. You may want to avoid getting it on your clothes or cloth of any sort. My little got it on his shirt, and it was kind of a blobby mess, but it did come off after a little scrubbing.

 

 

This kept my little busy for a LONG time, which is an A+ in this momma's book.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Crafting 



Puffy Paint

 

Our Sunday funday craft today was "Puffy Paints"

I saw this online somewhere and I thought it was just too cool. This is so easy and I bet you already have exactly what you need in the pantry!

Next time I make these, I'm going to put WAY more paint on the page, but I was just doodling today. It looks better if you cover the page in doodles/art. It looks too bare with paint just here and there. It still turned out pretty cool though!

 

What you'll need:

•  1 Tbs Self Rising Flour (if you don't have any in the pantry, I have a recipe at the bottom to make  your own)
•  1 Tbs Salt
•  Small Mixing Bowls
•  Food Coloring
•  Water

 

Add your ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir. Yes it's seriously THAT easy. There's no real measurement amount for the water. Just use your own judgement for what consistency you want. It should be similar to a slightly thick pancake batter.

 

 

 

Once you have it all mixed together, have at it. I believe the original idea I saw said to use cardboard as your paper. I did not have that, so I used a thick card stock paper that worked just fine. It may crinkle a slight bit if you cook it too long though.

Once you have it the way you want, put it in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds.

 

 

Once you do that, it gets hard and you can put it on display for all to see! :)

 

 

 

 

For 1 Cup of Self Rising Flour:

•  1 Cup All Purpose Flour
•  1 1/4 t. Baking Powder
•  1/8 t. Salt
  

  

 

Happy Crafting

 



Fall Wreath

 

As I was browsing the isles of Michael's recently, I saw a ton of things to make wreaths. I was going to just buy a fall one, but I thought making one would be more up my alley.

All of their supplies for wreath making is 50-60% off right now, so how in the world could I pass that up? I love me a bargain! I decided on a few things and when I got home I laid everything out on the counter, not having a clue how in the world I was going to do this, or what I even wanted this thing to really look like.

 

 

There's no real directions for a project like this, so this won't be my usual step by step craft. This just takes some patience and creativity.

I will show you the steps I used for this awesome (if I do say so myself) Fall Wreath!

 

I decided I wanted to put our last name initial on this wreath to make it extra special and unique to our family, so I got a wooden letter and painted it what color I wanted with some acrylic paints.

 

 

I hot glued all my leaves, pine cones, little pumpkins, gourds, & berries on in no particular way, and crossed my fingers that it would turn out good. Of which I think it did! :) Now that I know this is easy and do-able, my next one is going to be BIGGER!! This craft was pretty inexpensive. Since I got most of my supplies on sale, I'd say it was about $20 (maybe even less). I know you can buy one for that, but it's definitely not going to be as special as this one!

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Crafting