Art and puzzle table

Our little play corner was begging for some TLC. I really wanted to have a space for the kids to sit comfortably to create art and work on puzzles--ideally something with some toy storage.

Look no further than IKEA for the basics, I say!

For under $60, I snagged a couple of ottomans, coffee table, wall lamp and some craft supply storage.

IKEA 365 44oz jar with lid (three for $2.99 each)

We keep the jars in a basket tucked away with paper and other art supplies in the adjacent cabinet.

LACK coffee table ($19.99) with Target's Sterilite Guacamole Green Plastic Basket (3 for $2.99 each)

SOLSTA PÄLLBO footstool (two footstools for $14.99 each). These have removable, washable slipcovers--perfect for cleaning up art messes.

SNÖIG wall lamp (green color was on sale for $7.99 in store; white and pink lamps are $19.99)

Budget
Stools = $29.98
Containers = $17.94
Table = $19.99
Wall lamp = $17.99
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TOTAL = $57.96 + tax

Recycled city

Anyone looking for a rainy day activity? It's been stormy for nearly a week, so we've spent many hours indoors. One of my kids' favorite activities so far was building a city from recyclables.

Cardboard tubes, yogurt containers, parmesan shaker, coffee tin, egg carton... we just grabbed everything from our recycling bin and started creating buildings.

We covered the containers in construction paper. The children were the architects, stacking bottles and boxes and then I taped them all together.

"What kinds of buildings does a city need?" I asked my daughter. She decided we needed a library, a school and a grocery store.

She drew lines on the streets and designed where the street would go, taping it to the table. She reserved much of the road for a parking lot in front of the library.

A rubber duck from the bath tub gets relocated to our Duck Lake.

As soon as we added play cars to the cityscape, little brother became very interested.

Our egg carton converts into a car ramp.

A toilet paper tube and some green construction paper make a simple tree.

It took us longer to build it than actually play with it, but it was a fun morning nonetheless!

Chalk It Up to Love Valentine

Don't know about you, but isn't there enough chocolate and candy to go around on Valentine's Day? Do the other moms a favor and give the kids this alternative instead.

Supplies

• Zippered snack baggies (6.5 in x 3.25 in)
• Strips of scrapbook paper or wrapping paper in Valentines-y print (6.5 x 4 in, folded to 6.5 x 2 in)
• Stapler
• White paper to print messages on
• Glue stick
• Bucket of sidewalk chalk

Instructions

1. Take a plastic zippered snack baggie and place one sidewalk chalk inside and seal.
2. Fold over a strip of scrapbook paper to cover the zippered top and staple at the two ends.
3. Print off your message, sign it, trim to size and glue it to the strip.

Easy peasy! Here's the printable message page (8.5 x 11 in, lettersize) with room for your child to sign his or her own name.

Lemon and lime party

 

With the tremendous help of my dear family at Rambellwood, I threw a summer citrus-themed party to celebrate my son's first birthday and the arrival of my niece. Double the fun!

Invitation | Lemons and limes set the theme (and color scheme). No custom design this time around--I just found a seasonal invitation, from Shutterfly.com.

Decorations | A homemade pennant banner using lime green polka dot print and an alternating solid yellow. Three paper lanterns float above the food table. Miniature chalk boards painted in green and yellow display the names of the two guests of honor: Henry and Lily.

Food and Drinks | What's better than homemade ice cream AND lemonade!? Sweet and tart combo...so delicious.

 

Food and Drinks | Work your way through the chicken salad sandwiches, pineapple and spinach salad. Then, indulge in these key lime tarts topped with zest! 

Games | My creative cousins came up with a fun game for partygoers, old and young! Each guest was given a lime or lemon pin to wear, essentially dividing them into teams for games. The Limes and Lemons battled at Pin the Lemon/Lime on the Tree (see photo), a songwriting challenge and pictionary to boot!

Happy birthday, little man!

Photos courtesy of Johanna Ramsey.

Rainbow Art Collage

Looking for a rainy day activity with quick set-up and toddler/preschooler appeal?

I recently did an impromptu art project with my toddler using magazine clippings in all the colors of the rainbow. I drew the outline of the rainbow with the color names on the left and set out a pile of magazine clippings. My toddler sorted the clippings by color and used a glue stick to arrange them on the arc that matched the color.

Although she ran out of clippings to complete the rainbow, we hung it up anyway and have been working on it in stages as I have time to clip more magazines. By the way, the colors we used were: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple (a simplified version of Roy G. Biv).

Bee Mine Valentine

Here's your step-by-step for some adorable valentines that you can make with your toddler or preschooler.

1) You'll need a pack of medium tags and pink dye ink pad from a craft store (these are from JoAnn's Fabrics).

2) Have your child use their fingerprint to make a single mark on each tag. Disclaimer: this ink can be messy, so supervise your child closely.

3) Repeat, repeat! :)

4) Now, it's Mom's turn. Draw details on the bees using a thin-tipped black marker and write your "BEE MINE" message in pink. Tie to a small Juicy Juice box as a gift for classmates. Choose the Juicy Juice punch flavor for the pink packaging to match your sweet bees.

No-Sew Advent Calendar

Repeat after me: "Tacky glue is my best friend." Seriously, I got this entire project completed with just one bottle of that adhesive awesomeness. I own a sewing machine but (tsk, tsk) I haven't learned to use it, so I rely on glue and iron-on tape to get the job done on most of my crafts.

Supplies/Instructions:

• 1 - 22x34-inch fabric of your choice (I chose one with polka dots which made for less guesswork and tedious measuring on the rows for the calendar and when folding over the edges to glue to the back! Just follow the row of polka dots. Could work the same way with a striped fabric.)
• 1 - 9x12-inch light blue felt and scrap felt pieces cut for the manger scene (forest green for hills, brown for barn structure)
• 25 - 3x3-inch felt squares for the pockets (5 rows of 5)
• Stencil-cut numbers for Advent pockets (1 through 25)
• 1 - dowel rod trimmed to 22 inches
• Ribbon to tie on each end of dowel rod for hanging
• Tacky glue
• Fabulous Foam Self-Adhesive Nativity Shapes (500-pc from Oriental Trading; $7.99) There are two sizes of nativity shapes that come in this pack. I sorted them and, using the larger ones, I will have enough pieces now for eight years! Sheep, stars and palm trees all made double or triple appearances in the Advent calendar to have enough to fill up 25 pockets.

A foam sticker peeks out of one of the pockets. Tip: Use a stencil flipped over to trace the numbers in reverse on the felt. When you go to cut them out, any pen marks on the back will be hidden.

Tip: Using 9x12 sheets of pre-cut felt, you'll have enough 3x3 pieces cut out from 3 sheets to make 24 pieces. Use some excess felt of another color to make your pocket for Day 25...Christmas!

Here's what it looks like hanging from a door using a wreath hanger.

Harvest Garland

This craft project couldn't be simpler. Not the most beautiful decor you could dream up, but it was a great activity for me and my toddler--not to mention, it's a great lesson in learning letters.

Supplies:

- 2 scrapbook sheets in autumnal colors (12x12in)

- marker or pen

- hole punch

- scissors

- yarn

- glue

Directions:

1. Take two sheets of scrapbook paper, fold into quarters and cut along folds. You should have eight (6x6in) squares.
2. Using marker or pen, write one letter per square to spell out h-a-r-v-e-s-t.
3. Punch hole in top center of each square.
4. Trace letters with glue and have your "little helper" run yarn along the glue lines. Trim yarn with scissors to fit each letter.
5. Cut a long piece of yarn and tie from one end to another to create the garland. (I used the two window latches/locks to tie the yarn to. You could do this on a wall using thumbtacks or the like.)
6. Attach each letter using a small piece of yarn and tying to the garland.
7. FYI, the pumpkin sitting above the garland is a craft from Paint - Cut - Paste.

Monogrammed Nursery Artwork

With two weeks until my due date, my son's nursery is now complete. I opted not to do a themed nursery, instead choosing three colors to repeat throughout the room. The color scheme is anchored with homemade artwork above the crib.

Here are the steps for this monogrammed art project:

Supplies

- 12"x12" art canvas

- acrylic paints

- paintbrushes

- ruler

- stencil letter (or find a font that you can freehand)

- level

- painter's tape (optional)

- trim from hardware store

- spray paint

- wood glue

- wood filler

- picture frame wire and eyehooks

- mounting strips

Canvas

• Using a ruler and pencil, divide your 12"x12" canvas into three horizontal sections for the stripes (each would be 4 inches deep).
• Trace the letter with a stencil or eyeball it using a font you like as a template.
• Stipple (paint small dots) the three stripes with the acrylic colors you've chosen, making sure to continue stripes around the sides of the canvas. Let dry.
• Paint the letter with a contrasting color with a thin paintbrush or paint marker.

Mat

• Measure a 24"x24" square on your wall.
• Using the same color as the letter on your canvas, paint the square. (You can use painter's tape as a guide for best accuracy, but the trim should cover up any imperfections later.)
• Consider adding a second coat, especially if your wall is textured.

Frame

• Select a 2-inch trim/moulding style from your local hardware store (usually sold in long pieces by the foot).
• Cut into four 2-ft pieces with corners at 45-degree angles. Some stores have cutting stations that you could use without having to own a saw at home.
• Assemble with wood glue and filler at the seams, making sure that the end result is square (90-degree corners with no warping).
• Spraypaint the frame (two coats recommended) and let dry.

Assembly

• Attach mounting strips to the back of the frame and hang on wall. Screws or nails on the top corners could be added for extra reinforcement.
• Screw in two eyehooks to the upper back corners of your canvas and thread picture wire through the loops.
• Hang in the center of the painted mat with a nail.
• Step back and admire the results!

Handprint Keepsake

This was my daughter's Christmas gift to her grandmothers--a handprint keepsake. First, I gathered these supplies:

• 5x5 photo frame (preferably with a complementary mat)
• sturdy fabric on which to stitch handprint
• fabric marker one shade deeper than the fabric you've chosen
• contrasting thread (I used cross-stitching floss)

Then, I traced my daughter's hand with the fabric marker to give myself a template to stitch around. I didn't worry too much about getting every stitch perfect, and I was pleased by the casual and homemade results.

After finishing the border, I filled in the inside with the same fabric marker for a little more contrast. Then I mounted it in the photo frame (you could do a custom size if you wanted to), and the gift was complete! I also made sure to date the back of the frame with "Christmas 2009."

Because I used scrap fabric and thread, the only cost came from purchasing the photo frame, which was on sale for $5 at a local craft store. It was a simple project that took very little time and cash, but brought joyful tears to Nana's eyes and will be a keepsake for years to come. :)