The whole family has been hard at work on our garden — here’s a little update with things we were happy to see!! We get excited when we find tiny sprouts of lettuce starting to appear! Aren’t they sooooo cute??? And look — potatoes starting to sprout!! Yay!!! There’s always work to be done, but […]
Mother’s Day “Frank Lloyd Wright” Votive Holders
May 2, 2011 by
I invited Clara to join me with a fun lantern project inspired by the art of Frank Lloyd Wright! These colorful votive holders were fun & easy to make — they would be perfect Mother’s Day gifts!! We cut up pieces of colorful tissue paper into 1 inch squares, and Clara attached them to the […]
Invisible Graffiti
April 29, 2011 by
Love painting, but not a fan of the mess?? Ever have an overcoming urge to paint graffiti around your neighborhood, but don’t want to risk getting in trouble with the law?? Then invisible graffiti is for you!! It’s a piece of white cardboard cut into the shape of a palette with completely dried nail polish […]
Marbled Paper Journals
April 25, 2011 by
After our amazing encounter with the peacocks at the zoo, we were inspired to make some art!! Lots of marbled paper was made using this technique with beautiful peacock hues of tropical blue, cobalt blue, and apple green — so much fun!! What I love about this project is that each print is so unique — no […]
Happy Earth Day!!
April 22, 2011 by
Emily and I visited a local playground today to pick up some litter and be kind to the Earth. We brought along our friend “Bob”, the trash-eating dinosaur!! Hear him ROAR!!!! Long before we had kids, Bob lived in Mark’s dorm room in college, so he’s a long time friend of ours. Picking up trash […]
Fun Activities for Screen Free Week
April 20, 2011 by
Need a few fun activities to get you through the rest of Screen Free Week?? Here are some of our favorites to get you off the couch and outdoors! Basketballs are soooo over-rated. What you really want to do is play a game of Invisible Basketball — lots of fun!! One of our favorite outdoor […]
Super Easy Last-Minute Easter Card
April 19, 2011 by
Clara and I had lots of fun crafting up a few last-minute goodies for Easter, including this CUTE (and frugal) card using her fingerprints!! I drew a line to mark the soil with a brown marker, then Clara pressed about 1/2 of her index finger on an orange ink pad to make the carrots. She […]
Painting with Water
April 14, 2011 by
When I was a kid, I remember walking through the house with a clean, dry paintbrush in hand and in my mind I was totally painting the entire house in bright hues of sky blue, mandarin orange, cotton candy pink, and lime green. On my imaginary bedroom wall, hundreds of “masterpiece” murals were painted!! Fast […]
Tiny Easter Baskets
April 13, 2011 by
Know what’s cuter than Easter baskets?? Teensy Tiny Easter Baskets filled with little chocolate eggs!!! I know, right??? SO cute!!!! To make your own, cut up an empty cardboard egg carton and invite the kiddos over to paint the cups, forming the “basket”! We used washable paint, and it worked quite well. Clara wanted to […]
Sidewalk Butterfly Garden
April 12, 2011 by
Know what makes me very happy??? A brand-spankin’ new box of colorful chalk pastels!!!!! Honestly, I have been waiting ALL Winter to open them so we could…. …create a butterfly garden along our sidewalk!! Emily and I absolutely love sidewalk chalk art! Each section of sidewalk is like a huge canvas, and I would have […]
Mini Crayon Wallet
April 11, 2011 by
These mini wallet purses are super-frugal and lots of fun to make! Added bonus — no sewing is involved!! They are the perfect size for a few crayons, small toys, coins, or other tiny treasures. To make your own, you will need one 5″ x 7″ piece of craft foam, colored duct tape, ribbon, and […]
Zoo Inspired Crafts
April 9, 2011 by
This time of year we love to make several field trips to the local zoo, and get lots of mileage out of our annual family pass! Here are some zoo-inspired crafts to try: If you’re lucky enough to have a fun encounter with a peacock… … here’s an easy peacock craft using color-coding labels! Maybe […]
Quick Craft — Easy Easter Card
April 8, 2011 by
I wish I could take credit for this craft, but it was totally Mark’s idea. Have I mentioned how awesome he is?? Yay for awesome husbands!!! Clara and I had lots of fun making these colorful Easter cards this morning! We used our favorite washable ink pad from Melissa & Doug — vibrant colors with […]
How to Make Your Own Sunshine
April 6, 2011 by
Are you tired of Winter? Do you long for warmer weather?? Do you wish Spring would hurry up and arrive already??? Then it’s time to make your own sunshine! It’s quick and easy to do!! Start by inviting the kids to paint several coffee filters with watercolor paint — the brighter, the better! We love […]
Cheap Thrills — Lava “Lamp”
April 5, 2011 by
The rainy days of Spring are the perfect excuse to try some easy science experiments!! For a little science fun, fill a small plastic bottle with water and vegetable oil leaving a few inches of space at the top of the bottle. Add a few drops of food coloring, then slowly add a few effervescent antacid […]
Spring Chick Card
April 4, 2011 by
There is so much Spring crafting going on at this house, and we are anxiously awaiting warmer weather! When Emily saw Clara’s cloud painting, she instantly wanted to do a painting project with the shower poof as well. I don’t blame her — they are such fun painting tools! We used a sheet of green […]
Sunday Snapshot — In the Garden
April 3, 2011 by
We have been hard at work on our rented garden plot, and getting ready for Spring! Lettuce, broccoli (Emily’s favorite veggie), and onion seeds are all in the ground… up next, peas!!! Five Reasons to Start a Garden 1. Organic gardening is good for the planet. 2. Cancel that gym membership — gardening is great […]
Cloud Painting!
March 30, 2011 by
What do you do when your two year old catches you painting with a bath poof from the dollar store?? Let them join in the fun, of course! While I worked on a project of my own (What’s that? You don’t paint with bath poofs?? Try it, it’s fun!!), Clara set off to paint some […]
