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
July 30, 2009 by
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
July 29, 2009 by
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…
July 28, 2009 by
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
July 27, 2009 by
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
July 26, 2009 by
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 […]
Pink Popcorn Balls
July 24, 2009 by
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
July 23, 2009 by
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
July 22, 2009 by
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 […]
Cheap Thrills
July 20, 2009 by
Armed with a roll of pennies, I took Emily to a local outdoor shopping mall to make 50 wishes in the fountain. Among her many wishes, these were my favorites: “I wish Daddy had a new car.” “I wish… I wish……. I had a fountain…. in my ROOM!!” “I wish I could be five years […]
And the winner is…
July 18, 2009 by
The winner of the Garden Bag Giveaway is Reena!! Congratulations! Here is Reena’s winning comment: What a CUTE bag!!! Right now watering our garden as well as running through the water has become one of our favorite pastimes – tooo hot these past few days! Reena Thanks to everyone for participating, and another fun giveaway […]
Frugal Wall Organizer
July 17, 2009 by
Oh, the stuffed animals and where to put them! Do you have this problem in your house? I try to limit the number of stuffed animals that are out at any given time, and we have boxes full of them in the basement that we rotate through again and again. I’m not sure how we […]
1 Second Time Machine
July 16, 2009 by
One of the advantages of being married to a tech-geek (who also happens to be a pack-rat) is there is never a shortage of old computer equipment for pretend play! This afternoon, Emily asked me if there was a way to stop time, which reminded me of a clip from the movie The Science of […]
Spreading Some Cheer
July 15, 2009 by
We thought it would be fun to spread some cheer around our neighborhood this afternoon. So we made up these darling goody bags. Emily dipped the end of a cork in some red paint to make the cherries, and I helped fill in the stems. While we waited for the paint to dry, we went […]
Behold… the Power of Mod Podge!
July 14, 2009 by
Mod Podge is quickly becoming one of our favorite ways to re-use recyclables. You can find Mod Podge in the glue section of any craft store, and we have found that one bottle will go a long way. Isn’t it cute?? Emily wants to make another one to organize her paint brushes, colored pencils, crayons […]
Snowman in July
July 13, 2009 by
Emily’s favorite book is Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein, and we have read it together again and again. One of the poems, Snowman, was the inspiration for today’s activities. The poem is about a snowman who is determined to try to see July. Emily made her snowman out of white Model Magic, and […]
Hot Dogs for Sale!
July 11, 2009 by
Emily was convinced that today was “Recipe Day”, and since we had some rain, it seemed like a perfect day to try out some homemade play dough! You can find the recipe we used here. We made ours in pinks, reds, and golden yellow colors so Mark could help Emily make some pretend hot dogs […]
Clover Collage
July 10, 2009 by
Here’s a great nature project that even the littlest crafters can participate in! Emily enjoyed finding different patches of clover, picking them and sticking the leaves and stems to the lint brush. She could easily carry the lint brush with her, and spent a lot of time finding small leaves, blades of grass, and tiny […]
