School has officially begun for Emily, which means lots of homemade packed lunches! I know how challenging it can be to pack a healthy, quick, and budget-friendly lunch, so I thought I would share some of the lunches and snacks Emily enjoyed this week. Clockwise from Top Left: Stonyfield Organic Yogurt, Whole Wheat Cocktail Bread, […]
Falling Leaves Wrapping Paper
September 14, 2010 by
September marks the beginning of the birthday season for many members of our family, so Clara and I made some fun autumn wrapping paper this afternoon! This is a super-simple project that even the little ones can do with great success. All you need to make your own are some toilet paper rolls, paint, and […]
Easy Village Mural
September 13, 2010 by
Emily and I felt inspired by the beautiful colors of these fun Post-It Notes to create a new mural for our sewing room. Oh, Post-It Notes…….. how I love thee! She cut some of the Post-Its in half to form triangles for the rooftops. For each square, only one triangle had adhesive, so we saved […]
Super Easy Monster Hand Puppet
September 12, 2010 by
Clara made her own monster hand puppet, just in time for Halloween — and she did it all by herself!! (With the help of a few self-adhesive googly eyes, that is….) Have I mentioned that she has a tendency to get into the craft supplies if I’m not careful…?? I don’t know about you, but […]
Organic (Frugal) Goodness
September 11, 2010 by
We just returned from a super-fun (and frugal) trip to an organic apple festival at the Rodale Institute — an event that is quickly becoming my favorite birthday tradition!! Some of the apples required a bit of team-effort…… …but it was well-worth it…….. ….to end up with a half-bushel of organic apples like this one! […]
Bang on the Drums All Day
September 10, 2010 by
I can’t even tell you how much FUN Clara had with our make-shift drum table this morning! I laid out a bunch of old pots and pans, lids, and some wooden spoons on her play table. Then it was time to Rock N Roll!!! She experimented using the spoons as drumsticks, and later hitting the […]
DIY School Supplies
September 8, 2010 by
This morning I made a trip to NBC’s studios in Philadelphia to showcase some DIY projects for back-to-school! Eryka and I had so much fun on The 10! Show!!! Here’s a list of the tutorials for the projects mentioned in the clip: 1. Apple Printed Book Cover 2. No Sew Pencil Case 3. Post-It Bookmark […]
3-D Apple Tree
September 7, 2010 by
This morning Clara and I enjoyed some crafting fun with this quick and frugal project — it’s great practice for fine-motor skills too! We used crab-apples from our yard, but you could substitute with balls of red tissue paper instead. I gave Clara a small basket, and she took her time picking a bunch of […]
Smiley Sandwich Picks!
September 3, 2010 by
These smiley sandwich picks are a great way to add some FUN to plain ol’ PB&J sandwiches! They are so super-easy to make, that I’m almost ashamed to post about it. Gather some color coding labels, and draw SILLY faces on them! Sandwich a toothpick between two of the labels, and insert into your favorite […]
Toddler Art — Groovy Peace Signs
September 2, 2010 by
While Emily was away with some friends enjoying a dip at the community pool, Clara and I had fun with this super-easy art project! To make your own groovy peace signs, you will need paper plates, masking tape, and some paint (we used watercolors). I marked off a peace sign on the back of a […]
Painting…with Feet!
August 31, 2010 by
This afternoon was spent in the backyard where I set out a large piece of cardboard, some washable paints, and let the girls have LOTS of fun painting with their feet!! I put down the paint on the cardboard, and the girls spread it out all over with their feet! We started with the lightest […]
Quick Craft — Leaf Necklace
August 30, 2010 by
We spent a good deal of time outside this afternoon, and a small pocket of that time was spent making these super-quick leaf necklaces! To make your own, you will need a small cutting board, clear contact paper, a hole punch, string/yarn, and some metal cookie cutters. Gather up some leaves! Emily thought these small […]
Back to School Photo Name Labels
August 26, 2010 by
The girls and I had so much fun putting together these photo name labels, and they are perfect for labeling names on folders, notebooks, and other school supplies! I drew an outline of each letter of their names on a sheet of construction paper for the girls to color. For Clara, this was great letter […]
Outdoor Streamers
August 20, 2010 by
These colorful streamers are so much fun to make, and are a great way to brighten up any outdoor space — they are completely waterproof! The girls had a blast, and we were left with very little clean up afterwards! To make your own, lay down strips of inexpensive packaging tape with the sticky side […]
Easy Space Walk
August 19, 2010 by
This afternoon I made up some simple stencils for Emily to make up her own outer space scene in our driveway using sidewalk chalk — we had so much fun!! We traced some plates for planets…. … and colored everything in, and then it was time to……… ……launch into OUTER SPACE!!!! Weeeeeeeeeee!!!! Look out for […]
Pretend Car Wash
August 18, 2010 by
Inspired by Emily’s recent request for a car wash toy, both of the girls were kept busy for a long time with this pretend car wash activity, and they had a lot of fun! To make up the cars, I pressed down on a sheet of inexpensive craft foam with car and truck shaped cookie […]
DIY Slip-and-Slide
August 17, 2010 by
We faced a hot, sunny afternoon today. Armed with a 50′ x 3′ heavy duty contractor drop cloth, a package of U-shaped garden stakes, and several jugs of water, we made our way to a nearby park where there was a big hill and…. …..and made our own Slip N Slide!! Emily thought this was […]
Nesting Shoebox Dollhouse
August 16, 2010 by
While playing around with some empty kid shoeboxes, I came across these two that nest together quite well — a fun find that lend to some creative dollhouse making! I covered them up with wallpaper samples (discontinued wallpaper sample books are available at most paint stores for free, just ask for them!), and scraps of […]
