Inside Snow Activity for Kids - Have Fun in the Snow...Inside!

It has been pretty cold here so I am coming up with ideas to try to stay busy inside. The activity we did today was a huge hit so I thought I would share it with ya!

I got out my "Magic Snow Maker":

"Slush Maker"

After it made the "snow", we put it on a cookie sheet and gathered some toys to play in the snow with!

The kids loved this and since we have been reading about snow, cold weather, snowmen, melting snow,etc., this was a great activity to illustrate how fast it can melt when it gets warm!
Easy and fun activity!

 

 

Have fun in the snow..... inside!!!

Valentines for Classmates

I thought this would make a cute and different Valentines card for my kid's to hand out to their classmates and the best part is that it didn't cost that much!!!

I think that owls are really cute and there is so much out there right now with the owl motif. When I saw these owl bookmark kits at Halloween time at Target, I thought they were the cutest things. I was not going to pay the $5.00 for them, but knew they would be the first thing I snatched up when all the Halloween merchandise went on clearance (if I was lucky enough to get some before they were gone). I was able to grab enough boxes at 90% off after Halloween for my kids to hand out to their classmates!!!!! I didn't know which holiday I would use them for, but in a previous post, you will see that I decided to do the box of crayons for Christmas. So, the bookmarks are perfect for Valentines Day. Previously, I had purchased "library cards" from one of my favorite crafty sites theplaidbarn.com. I thought these library cards would go perfect with the bookmarks!!!!! Brilliant! So, the kids and I sat down and we started putting the bookmarks together. I loved this because it was fun, family time spent together. After we got them done, we had to make them look more "Valentiney" so I cut out little hearts from red contact paper and we stuck them on the owls. Another thing we did was add little plastic flowers (that I also got on theplaidbarn.com) for the girls in each class. This made them look a little more "festive" for the Valentine holiday.
On the library cards, I wrote my child's name under the "author" part and then under "title", I wrote "Happy Valentines Day!" Then, under "date checked out", I wrote "2-14-13". On the main lines of the cards, I wrote this: "Hooty Hoot! You are so wise Valentine!"

We glued foam hearts onto the bottom of the card as well to make them that much more festive. My first grader was getting pretty tired, so I wrote most of hers out, but my third grade son should be able to write all of his (we can spread them out over time so he can do a few each night).

I love homemade gifts so much more then store bought and this little project is something the kids can use and it is not candy! ;0)

These are the kits from Target (Halloween)

These are the finished Valentines. We will put the bookmark on the card. You can't really see it, but one has the pink flower on the head and they both have a red heart by their left wing. I think they turned out cute!!!




Happy Valentine's Crafting!!!!
 

Classmate Christmas Gifts

Each holiday, I try to put something inexpensive together for my kids to take in and hand out to their classmates. This year for Christmas, they are going to be giving their friends a box of crayons. I think it is about that time of year when the kids are starting to lose a lot of their crayons or they are broken. And, I think nothing beats a new box of crayons! ;0) Anyway, a few months back, Toys R Us had the crayons on sale for 25 cents a box! I stocked up! I bought enough for each classroom and then a few extra to have on hand for my kids. So, all it cost me for the gifts for two classrooms was $9.25! That is a deal. I wrapped them up and then added a little tag that said: "Have a bright and colorful Christmas!:

Reuse Bath and Body Works Shipping Box as Cute Gift Box

I am loving the large checkered/gingham pattern on the Bath and Body Works store bags. But, when I got a box from them in the mail the other day (I made an order online) I was happily surprised! I opened the plain brown box to find that the inside of the box was the same pattern in red!! I had to use this for a gift box. I cut one side of the box and then taped it back together (inside out, so the gingham was now the outside of the box) and then I put the entire box together. I put the gift inside, taped it up and added some ribbon! The box is so cute all on it's own - no wrapping paper! Great way to reuse the box to and save on wrapping paper!

 

Happy Wrapping!!!

 

 



Cut one side of the box so it is flat like this and then you can easily put it back together so the pattern is on the outside.

I taped this edge that I cut, back together and then just put the box together.

Added some ribbon and viola!

Homemade Burlap Stocking

I love the look of the old, rustic, cottage decor and I don't find a lot of it where I live. Sometimes when I get inspired, I try to see if I can do it myself! So, I wanted some cottage looking stockings and decided to make some. I had some burlap (love the look of this stuff!!!) and some yarn. I cut out the shape and then stitched it together using yarn. I put this in my Etsy shop as well! Check it out!https://www.etsy.com/listing/117747355/homemade-burlap-stocking

Homemade Vintage Wood Spool Garland

I have had these old, wooden spools for awhile now. I love the look of them and just wanted to wait to find the right thing to do with them! Then, Christmas decorating started and I became inspired! I started threading them on some heavy twine and voila..... a rustic/cottage looking garland! I put it in my Etsy shop. Check it out! https://www.etsy.com/listing/117746927/homemade-old-wood-spool-garland-1020

7 Year Old's "Painting" Birthday Party Ideas

My daughter is turning 7 at the end of this month. She is such a "crafty" little girl and loves anything that has to do with being creative. So, we are going to have her party at our local pottery store. The kids can paint a piece of clay and then they will get fired. For her invitation, we had to come up with something "creative" so we saw a picture online and came up with this:

We went to Michaels and found the paint cans, brushes and easels.

The easels were a clearance score! I thought they would be cute place cards on the table with the girls' names on them.

We painted the wood paint brushes pink.

We dipped the ends of the paint brushes in the paint as well and let them dry.

My husband printed off these invites which look like paint swatches! It has the details of the party typed in each color. They read: "Purple, pink, orange and blue. Gabrielle wants to paint with you! It's Gabrielle's 7th birthday!" Then date, time, location, etc.



I added pink paper to the inside of each paint can.

We added M&M's to the paint can and then wrapped it up in tissue paper. We tied them up with a ribbon and added the brush and paint swatch to the outside! Cute!

Instead of a cake, I saw an idea once for cupcakes being paints. So, I had my husband cut out a painter's "pallet" out of wood and I painted it brown.





I then just made cupcakes and frosted them different "paint colors" and set them around the pallet! I think it turned out cute and it was so easy. Very easy to transport to the pottery place too!



This is how the easels turned out. I painted their names on them and hot glued little plastic flowers on them. These acted as their place markers at the pottery place.

I planned this party for 1.5 hours. I didn't know how long the girls would paint and I didn't want a lot of "extra" time because they couldn't really play in the pottery place. The girls painted for almost the entire time. We handed out some snacks and then cupcakes towards the end and Gabrielle was still opening presents when parents arrived to pick up! All in all it was a successful party and one that Gabrielle was happy with!