Picking Peaches

We were blessed with beautiful weather here today, so Mark and I took the girls to go pick peaches this afternoon. It was so much fun and the peaches were delicious! I can’t wait to make some yummy peach cobbler with them… Mmmmm…. It doesn’t get any fresher than this, and at $1.35/lb. it was […]

Free Flowers and Hugs

One of Emily’s favorite things to do is “make deliveries”. This morning was spent preparing to make a special delivery to some of the residents at our local assisted living facility. We gathered up all the tissue paper and pipe cleaners we could find, and got to work making lots and lots of tissue paper […]

Wanna Beat the Heat?? Build an Ice Castle!

Think it’s too hot to craft? Think again! To build your own ice castle, you will need empty milk cartons, some paper, a couple of rubber bands, and some ice pops. Fill the milk cartons with water (and food coloring, if desired) and freeze the night before. Keeping the ice pops in their wrappers, roll […]

More Fun with Post-Its

Inspired by Color Me Katie, we did our own version of a fun photo shoot. Emily loved this! Who knew Post-Its and a wall could be so much fun??

Mint-TEA Fresh

If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you probably know about my profound love for tea. (I’ve mentioned it here, here, and oh yes, here…) Today, Emily and I made our own organic mint tea! It was so easy and lots of fun to make! First, we gathered lots and lots of mint from […]

Strawberry Necklaces at the Park

We were blessed with gorgeous weather here, so the girls and I spent as much time as possible outside. A few weeks ago, we found this craft idea in the book Crafts to Make in the Summer. Sure, we could just go out and buy a bag of walnuts, but I used it as an […]

Mommy, I Wanna Make a GIANT Butterfly….

…. that REALLY flies! Well, you don’t have to twist my arm. Hope your weekend is full of butterfly goodness too.

Super Summer Swap

I am so glad I signed Emily up for the Super Summer Swap hosted by Christy from Superheros and Princesses and Life of a Dairy Queen. I thought it would be a great way to teach Emily a little bit about a state other than Pennsylvania, and it was so much fun! We were paired […]

Crafting with Cheap Office Supplies

I can’t get over how cheap school supplies are this time of year. For those of you afraid of messy projects, this is the perfect craft for you!! This is a very inexpensive, no-mess craft that uses pencils, star-shaped Post-It Notes, self-adhesive wiggle eyes, and neon sticker dots. It is ridiculously easy. First have your […]

Kids in the Kitchen — Poor Man’s Turtles

This week, I thought it would be fun to participate in A Little Fun with Me and Lu’s Kids in the Kitchen Thursday. Emily and I had such a great time this afternoon making these tasty Poor Man’s Turtles. She even decorated some boxes to keep them in, but I don’t think they will last […]

Garden Stones

At this point, our garden could use all the hope, prayers, and well-wishes it can get, so we spent this afternoon making some garden stones using quick dry cement (very inexpensive, and we had some leftover mix in the garage), empty cereal boxes, sea shells, and some glass gems from the dollar store. I had […]

Rapunzel, Rapunzel…

Emily has been asking me since yesterday if we could please make this craft found in the lovely book Crafts From Your Favorite Fairy Tales by Kathy Ross. This was one of the first books Emily borrowed from the library with her new library card! When she plays with toys like this, she does this […]

Glittery Gem Dough

If your child loves bling, glitter, or all things sparkly (who doesn’t??), here’s an activity that sure to be a big hit! To make your own glitter gem dough, you will need: 1 cup rock salt 1/4 cup glitter glue 3-4 drops food coloring Emily did all the measuring for this, with the exception of […]

Easy Block Printed Letterhead

Ever since we made block prints using foam meat trays, Emily has been asking for more stamping projects. This letterhead stationary is perfect for letters to Grandma, and we plan to use some for our Super Summer Swap too! To make your own block printed letterhead, you will need: Large Craft Sticks Small Foam Stickers […]

Focus on the Family

This is the memory I am trying to focus on today — an impromptu picnic dinner at the garden. We were enjoying our cold fried chicken, garden salad, cornbread, and slices of watermelon. It was a completely spur-of-the-moment decision, one made out of simply a lack of time to get both dinner and work at […]

Pink Popcorn Balls

This recipe is very frugal, and lots of fun (especially for the kids). It is, however, a messy project. Please note that our family is not afraid of messy projects. As Emily would say, “Messy project? Bring it ON!!” Also, it is not in the least bit healthy. My advice is to let the kids […]

Celebrating Milestones

Two very important milestones were celebrated today: 1. Emily’s very own library card!! We finally got to the point where all of her books were cutting into my quota. Having a card of her own means she can check out plenty of materials, teaches valuable lessons in responsibility, and promotes lots of free and educational […]

Pretend Play on a Dime — Movie Day

After Emily and Clara went off to bed last night, Mark and I got to work on this ticket booth made from cardboard, masking tape, a tension curtain rod, an old curtain, some scraps of gold wrapping paper, a foam meat tray, and some LED Christmas lights. When Emily found it this morning, she was […]