Restaurants dole out crayons by the handful. I try to refuse them when I can, but more often than not we wind up adding crayons to our collection. Since I can’t bare to throw anything away, we have more crayons than any kid can use. In addition to restaurant crayons galore, we have an ever growing collection of broken bits. The craft gives all of those extra crayons and broken bits new life.

What you need:

• Crayons – lots of them
• Silicone candy mold

Remove the wrappers from your crayons and break into bits. Fill your mold with the bits. Place your mold on a cookie sheet (for support – trust me on this), and melt in the oven on 230 degrees for 12 – 15 minutes. (I put them in for 12 minutes, but they needed a bit more time so I watched until they were fully melted.)

TIPS

• If making crayons with little ones who won’t be able to help in the label removal process, remove the labels before inviting them to “help.” It is a process.
• For my mini heart mold, I used approx 2 1/2 crayons per heart. (So for a 12-hole mold, plan on 30ish crayons)
• Want bigger crayons? This mold makes 2 1/2 inch hearts.
• After you make crayons in your mold, you won’t want to make food. Some of the cheap crayons will stain the mold.

Once the crayons cool (several hours) pop them out and ta-da! You will be amazed how cool your new crayons look – I know I was! I’ve been wanting to do this with K for some time, and now that we finally got around to it I want to do it again with different shapes.

To make your own Valentines, download this printable. You will get six Valentine’s per 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper. I printed mine on white card stock and backed with red card stock that I edged with fancy scissors, but I added red boarder to the printable so you don’t have to.

Hint – use rubber cement to adhere your crayons to the paper so the crayons will come off easily and cleanly.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Since my mother leaves her Christmas tree up through February (she takes down all of the Christmas ornaments and replaces them with hearts for Valentine’s Day), I decided K should make ornaments for Mimi. Of course, once we got going K decided she should make ornaments for everyone on her list. (Dear friends and family, if you are reading this, please act surprised when K presents her goodies!)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 tsp cream of tartar

Optional – food coloring or glitter.

Add all liquids to a sauce pan. Next add the dry ingredients and stir until smooth. Over medium heat continue stirring until the mixture pulls away from the sides and becomes clumpy. Remove from heat and continue to stir. At this point you will be able to pick up balls of playdough. Store in plastic container.

K was fascinated by the whole process, and loved helping to mix the ingredients. For our playdough, I decided to add red glitter. Unfortunately, I don’t remember how much I added. I just kept adding to the dry ingredients until it looked like it was mixed throughout. In hindsight, less is more on the glitter. It continues to come out of the playdough as you play with it, so we had red glitter everywhere. But it was fun.

Next we busted out the cookie cutters and got to work making our ornaments. (Don’t forget to put a whole in your shapes if you are making ornaments, we used a straw.) The hearts took several days to dry thoroughly, flipping them daily to dry both sides.

If you don’t want to mess with glitter or food coloring, another idea is to use markers to color the shapes once they are dry.

This is a quick, easy and cheap project for kids. The only downside is the drying time.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Of course, we had to pay tribute to The Mouse too…

Note: If you just want to “play” with your playdough, store in an air-tight container between uses. (That’s what they do in my daughter’s class.) Plus since it is so cheap to make, when it starts to dry out just toss the old and make a new batch.

This project is SO easy, but it does take a LOT of broccoli! I purchased three packs with three heads each, and I had to send my husband back out for another package. Even then, I ended up cutting off the last inch of the styrofoam because I was totally out of veggies.

Materials -

• Styrofoam cone
• Aluminum foil
• Toothpicks
• Broccoli (12 + heads)
• Carrots (full package of baby carrots)
• Tomatoes (full package of cherry tomatoes)
• (Any other veggie you want to use)

First wrap your cone in foil, then starting at the bottom stick your veggies on the tree with toothpicks. It really is that simple, but I do have a few tips that I learned from experience.

Tips -

• Chop all of your broccoli first and use the big pieces at the bottom saving the smaller pieces for the top to help balance the look of your tree.
• I placed the veggie “ornaments” as I went, but then I ended up filling in at the end too.
• Yes, I used toothpicks on every piece of broccoli and tomatoes, but the carrots I just squished in. Although the top few carrots needed toothpicks to stay in place too.
• Stick the toothpick in the broccoli then stick the broccoli in the cone. But for tomatoes, stick the toothpick on the cone, then slide on your tomato (otherwise you are likely to squish your tomato).
• Don’t be afraid to chop off the top of the cone if you run out of veggies

Thank you to my inspiration, that I found on Pintrest.

Before making my projects, I needed a few supplies so I headed to Walmart to check out its craft department. I was totally impressed with the selection of kid-friendly supplies I found. I was inspired with tons of ideas for future projects. See my shopping trip and step by step pictures of my projects in my Google + story.

Here are three simple projects anyone can make (yes, even you who believes you are not crafty). Best of all, you can make all three projects for less than $10 each (assuming you already have glue and tape on hand). How’s that for inexpensive entertainment.

Project 1 – Reindeer Crown. My little princess loves to wear hats and crowns. For thanksgiving we made an Indian Crown that she wore for days, so I thought it was only fitting we should make a Reindeer Crown.

Materials -

• Construction Paper – Brown & Tan
• Googly Eyes
• Red Pom-pom (nose)
• Popsicle sticks (2)
• CraftBond™ Scrapbooking Tape – Permanent
• CraftBond™ Flexible Dual Tip Glue Pen

Project time 5 minutes.

Start by cutting two 3 inch wide strips of brown paper. Next, I used the double-sided tape to adhere the googly eyes and the glue to adhere the red nose. While that was drying, I traced and cut out my daughters hands on the tan paper. Then I taped the ends of the strips of brown paper together on one end and measured my daughter’s head before taping into a ring. Finally, I used the double-sided tape to adhere the hands like antlers to the crown. Ta-da.

Since a big part of frugal crafting is to use what you already have on hand, I ended up using card stock paper for my craft instead of construction paper because I already had that on hand. Because I used card stock, I didn’t end up needing the popsicle sticks, but if you use construction paper, you will need to glue a popsicle stick to the back of each hand to help them stand upright.

Project 2 – Homemade Christmas bows. There’s no need to spend a fortune on bows to make those Christmas packages pretty, when you can easily, quickly and cheaply make homemade bows. (Note, you can make these bows out of any paper, but if you have a little one in the house, using their artwork is just plain cute!)

Materials -

• Paper (or kid’s artwork)
• CraftBond™ Flexible Dual Tip Glue Pen

Project time 5 minutes.

Start by cutting your paper into strips 3/4 of an inch wide and eight inches long. (Note, I did eight inches because my daughter loves to draw on copy paper, but if you want bigger bows use longer strips.) After cutting all of your strips you will make figure-eight loops with each strip placing a dot of glue where each end meets the middle of the loop. The CraftBond™ Flexible Dual Tip Glue Pen works very well for this project because it is very tacky and dries pretty quick, so you don’t have to hold your loops. After you have made five (or more) loops, its time for assembly. Place each loop inside the next loop alternating directions until you have a nice full bow. Ta-da!

Project 3 – A Christmas Card Holder. Running out of places to stash all of those Christmas cards? This easy DIY card holder will solve your card organizational woes.

Materials -

• Bi-Fold Foam Board
• Scrapbook Paper (1 sheet)
• Ribbon
• Letters
• CraftBond™ Scrapbooking Tape – Permanent

Project time 10 minutes.

Start by cutting your Bi-Fold Foam Board in half, you will only need one side. Then use the double-sided tape to adhere the scrapbook paper to the board. Next adhere your letters. (Note, the easiest and cheapest letters are sticker letters. I used chipboard letters that I spray painted because again the most frugal crafting is to use what you have. The bottom line is what ever you have for letters will work.) Next make four slits in your board for the ribbon (two top and two bottom). The easiest way to do this is with a craft knife, but scissors work too. Then run your ribbon ribbon through the slits and knot in the back. Add clothes pins and hang. Ta-da!

I didn’t want to put a hook on my door, so I used some twine I had laying around the house and strung it over the door to hang on the hook on the other side of the door.

There you have it, three fun projects that won’t break the bank for you to create during Christmas break.

Disclosure - This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias, however, all thoughts and opinions are my own. #ElmersHoliday

First up, the toilet-paper-roll Turkey (yeay upcycling!). I wish I had Googly eyes to add, but I didn’t t have any in my stash. He turned out cute without them, but I might still add them later. Note, those are the hands of my 3 year old, it would be cute to make this with hands from the whole family. I debated how to attach them and ended up deciding staples would hold up better over time.

Since the toilet-paper-roll Turkey turned out to be a very mommy centered craft (I traced her hands, and then did all of the assembly myself). K colored this simple hand-print craft while I assembled the Turkey. Great craft to keep little ones busy. If I did this again, I would make photocopies of her traced hands and let her color hand-print masterpieces for everyone.

We recently got some finger paints that K has been dying to test out, so we painted her hand and voila. This craft turned out so cute, I wish it was on something nicer for display, like a mini stretched canvas. (Note to self for next time.)

Finally, we had to make the princess a Thanksgiving crown. Since K is just learning to use scissors and wants to use them every chance she gets, this was her favorite craft to make. I cut out the feathers (totally just eyeballed the shape), and then I let her snip the edges to fringe the feathers. She can’t wait to show off her crown at Thanksgiving!

Hope you enjoy our crafts, Happy Thanksgiving!

Step 1 – Unwrap you Kisses (perfect job for little ones).

Step 2 – Make a ring of icing around the cookie whole.

Step 3 – Squish your Kiss on top (another job for a little helper). Poof – that’s it.

Now, I wanted to get fancy and add a little bow on the hats, but my icing technique was not up to the challenge. So I left them simple.

Happy Halloween!

This was super easy to create. While I didn’t take any pictures of the process, here’s how you can make your own.

Supplies:

• Sturdy cardboard box. (I upcycled a box that a baby gift came in, but you can use any box.)
• Pretty paper
• Modge Podge & small foam brush
• Foam block (available in craft store near floral arrangements)
• Shredded paper
• Vinyl (or letter stickers)
• Lollipops (You can use any pops you want, but we love Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops and I know she keeps organic so I choose these. If you use Blow Pops, you could change the text to 40 “Blows”)
• Small tag with ribbon

Step 1 – Unless you have a pretty box, you will want to cover your box with the pretty paper. If you haven’t worked with Modge Podge before, it is great and can be used for everything. You will want to apply it with a small spunge brush (available at craft stores). Apply a coat of Modge Podge to your box, and then lay the paper on top. Next cover the paper in another coat of Modge Podge. This will give you a nice finished look.

Step 2 – While your Modge Podge is drying (preferably overnight), go ahead and make a tag. I wanted to soften the 40 “sucks” with something friendly, so at the last minute I made the oh-so-simple tag for my gift “But You Make it Fabulous.” When I make this again, I will do something a little nicer, maybe something printed – I hate my handwriting. But you can make this as simple or complicated as you like.

Step 3 – After the Modge Podge is dry, apply your letters. I used my Cricut to cut the letters out of vinyl (because I LOVE vinyl), but if you don’t have one, you can just use letter stickers.

Step 4 – Place foam block in your box and place your lollipops. After the lollipops are placed, fill in with shredded paper for some color.

Step 5 – Attach your tag, and you are good to go.

See, simple

My party theme was Minnie Mouse, specifically Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Minnie Mouse, with pink and white polka dots, but all of my decorations could easily be made with the classic red and white or Mickey Mouse.

The first step to a great party is the perfect invitation. Guests knew Minnie Mouse would rule the day the moment they opened the invitation. I searched high and low for the pink and white paper. I even put out a plea on Facebook, and a friend in Tennessee found the paper at Hobby Lobby and bought me every sheet in stock.

The mouse head shape and bow were created with the Disney Mickey and Friends Cricut Cartridge. If you don’t have a Cricut machine, they could be hand cut, but man does the Cricut make it quick work. I downloaded the Walt Disney font (for free) online – just Google it. You can’t tell from the picture, but I also used dimensional tape when I assembled the invites so they are 3D.

What’s a birthday without a birthday cake (or cupcakes). Baking is the one “project” I can’t take credit for. If I made it, no one would have eaten it. But luckily I have an amazing baker friend who took my invitation, and turned it into a cake. Not only was the cake ADORABLE, it was to-die-for yummy carrot cake (a family favorite).

The cupcakes were made by another friend because my daughter loves cupcakes, and I wasn’t sure the kids would love carrot cake as much as my family does. Plus, I had this great idea to decorate the cupcakes, so we had two deserts. (Cupcake toppers were also made with my Cricut, a bit of hot glue and lollipop sticks – found in the food section of craft stores. If you don’t have a Cricut, you can also use a Mickey Mouse punch and just add pink ribbon for the bows – I have this medium punch and large punch too.)

More about the food… I found these Mickey Mouse head chicken nuggets by Kirkland at Costco. They are all white meat and made with whole grains, and for frozen nuggets, pretty tasty. The kids loved them! I also bought Organic, Winnie the Pooh Disney animal crackers - not Minnie, but as close as I could find.

I used store-bought Minnie Mouse paper plates and napkins, but to try to be more green I purchased the reusable party cups for all of the kids. (I was able to get these for about $.80 each, so it was part of the take home goodies. Tons were left behind, so we actually have a full set for the kids to use here.)

The tables were decorated with confetti created with a small Mickey Mouse punch, the cupcake toppers with playdough stands and pictures of K at Disney.

For K’s first birthday, I purchased 1-9 cookie cutters. I don’t bake, but I do love to use them as a stencil for crafts. I cut out “2″s and hung them from the trees out front, the chandlers and door knobs and even taped some to the bathroom mirrors. (Notice the banner in the background? I made that for K’s first birthday. For her first birthday it had cupcakes separating the words, and each year I just swap out the characters for the new theme. It hangs the length of two sliding glass doors – like +20 feet – so I don’t have any great pictures of it.)

And, of course, no party is complete without goodie bags! The bags turned out so cute, if I do say so myself. Again, they were made with my Cricut machine, and then I just printed the kids names out on white paper, cut out the name circles and glued them to the heads. Then (and here is where my cleverness paid off) I used rubber cement to attach the heads to the bags. Using rubber cement allowed the moms to carefully and cleaning peel the Minnie/Mickey heads off the bags. I told the moms (via a note in the bags) that the names were made to be hung on the kids’ doors, and more than a year and half later several of the kids STILL have their Minnie/Mickey names hanging on their doors (including K, of course). The kids loved it, and the moms did too!

Inside the goodie bags were small Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (Minnie/Daisy) coloring books that I picked up at Walgreens around Valentine’s day 2 for $1; Minnie Mouse bowls from the Disney Store, picked up on clearance for $1.50 each (the boys got CARS); and Minnie/Mickey and friends stickers.

Of course, the highlight of the party were the Minnie/Mickey Mouse ears. Read my tutorial to make your own.

There are ton’s of ways to decorate flip flops, but my favorite is with a little bling and some pretty ribbon. Follow these simple steps and you will have fancy flops in just a few minutes.

Supplies -

• Flip flops – I like to use Havaianas because they hold up so well season to season, but any flip flop will do.
• Ribbon – I use 1. 5 inch Grosgrain ribbon.  While you can buy this anywhere, I usually buy in eBay for the best selection and price.
• Rhinestone Buckles – I use 1.5 round buckles.
• Cording – thin nylon cording.
• Craft glue – I like cheap white tacky glue, but anything that dries clear will work. (I buy the $.99 bottle at JoAnn’s.)
• Scissors - make sure they are sharp so you get a clean cut on your ribbon

The materials above are perfect for women’s shoes, but if you were going to decorate kid’s flops, I would go with smaller ribbon and buckles. Perhaps 7/8 ribbon with coordinating buckle. Also, you are not limited to round or square buckles, I have seen some neat shapes including crowns, paw prints and flowers.

Step 1 – The first and most important step is to attach your buckle to your flops. While it is easy, you want to make sure you do this TIGHT so your buckle doesn’t slip (I learned from experience, when my buckle fell off in public once – oppse). I use approx 12 inches of cording for this step, and what you want to make sure you do is weave the cording back and forth crossing the cording in and out of the buckle bar for a tight tie. It is hard to describe how I do this, so I made a little video of me tying the buckle on.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHR1h9hQmyc

Step 2 – This is the optional step in the video – glue. You don’t have to glue the cording, if you tie it tight enough it isn’t going anywhere, but I like the extra added security. So I dab on a little glue to the knots top and bottom.

Step 3 – Adding your ribbon. I use approx 11 inches of the grosgrain ribbon for my bow. I like the look of either forking or cutting the end of the ribbon at an angle – it also helps with fraying of the ribbon. (Note, you can heat seal your ribbon ends if you like, but I typically don’t bother because they are so easy to swap out for fresh ribbon.)

Once you have your ribbon cut, just fold it in thirds and feed it through the buckle — as seen in the video.

Fluff your bow, and you are done.

If interested, yes – I do sell these. Contact me through the contact form if you are interested in purchasing a pair.

Here’s the best part, this is SUPER SUPER easy! Even if you aren’t crafty, you can do this in 4 simple steps.

Here’s what you will need -

1. Cheap Christmas ornaments (I like shatter proof)
2. A cheap wire hanger – the thinner the better
3. Glue (I like hot glue)

Step 1 - Remove all of the little tops off the ornaments (where you would attach the hanger), and GLUE them on to the ornaments. Do not skip this step, or I predict cursing as they pop off. LOL

Step 2 - Unwrap your wire hanger and shape into a circle.

Step 3 – Feed your ornaments onto your hanger.

Step 4 – Twist the hanger closed and enjoy. Ta-da!

A couple tips:

I used 48, three-inch ornaments for my wreath and it was the perfect number, it could have held a few more but it would have messed up my pattern. It makes a smallish wreath that also doubles as a candle holder (see how I used it on the table for our NYE party).

Instead of a hanger, next time I might spring for thinner wire. It’s only a couple bucks at JoAnns, and I think it would be easier to work with. Hangers work, but thinner would be easier

To achieve the alternating color bands I threaded four red, four green, four silver and four gold. Because of the way they all twist around, it worked perfect.

Cost: The ornaments I used were 8 for $1 in the dollar spot. They were 50% off on December 26, and they were 75% off on December 31. So I paid $3 for the first wreath and $1.50 for the second (6 packs of 8 for each wreath)! FYI – they also had bigger packs in other colors in the Christmas section for $3!

So there you have it.  Cheap and easy Christmas Ornament Wreath for 2011.

BTW – I have to thank Thrift Decor Chick for the inspiration.

So, I have tried what I have on hand. I made a mixture of Herbal Essence Degunktify (which is a clarifying shampoo) and water and went to town. I sprayed and they swarmed. In my eyes, in my hair and up my nose! Uck! But I think my plant is pretty well coated. Poor thing, already leaves are scumming to the treacherous whiteflies.

I guess I will check back tomorrow and see how the swarm is doing… anyone have any ideas for me? I am open to suggestions! HELP!

To make my book, I took advantage of a free book offer from CVS. The book came with 10 pages. One each page, I placed 1 picture of family members and their names, and on the final page I put pictures of her best friends.

Now she has a book that she can do anything she wants to with, and it will help teach her to recognize the written names on the page. (Plus she doesn’t get to see some of the outta state family often enough so this helps reminder of all of her family.)

Little photobooks like this also make great gifts for grandparents, aunts and uncles or friends.

Right now you can make a family book for your kid(s) for free through Arts Cow, just pay shipping.  In fact, you can actually make 10 books for free!! Holy cow! LOL. I have taken advantage of a few great deals with Arts Cow in the past and always been happy with the quality. So go ahead, make one for each kid and each grandparent. To get your free books, you will need to enter the code 10FREEBOOKS. That will give you five 9×7 books and five 7×5 books – a total of 10 free books. Hurry, the free books are only good for 14 days.

Here’s the updated snapshot of my plant, look for the ceremonial harvesting pics and eating to follow soon!

Yesterday, K and I joined our friends at a Christmas in July party complete with decorations, projects, a gift exchange and an indoor snowball fight! We had such a fantastic time, I had to share some ideas to throw your own Christmas in July party. Follow these simple, but creative steps for a Christmasy good time in July!

1. Invites – With your evite invitations invite the kids to bring a present for a gift exchange from the Target $1 spot. Invite moms to bring cookies to share.
2. Food – Serve all your favorite Christmas cookies. To keep the kids busy, make plain butter cookies in various Christmas shapes and create a cookie decorating station (outside) for the “big” kids.
3. Decor – Give your Christmas decorations a break from storage. Decorate a tree with beach themed items from around the house – flip flips, shovels, pool toys, sunglasses, etc. Pull out Christmas books for reading/decoration, and play all of your favorite Christmas carols. You can even bust out the Christmas-themed toys that only see play once a year.
4. Art project – Cover your kitchen table with giant sheets of paper and draw Christmas-themed shapes and characters creating a giant Christmas coloring book for the kids. (It totally helps to be able to draw here, but you could always Google Christmas images, print them out and tape the sheets all over your table.)
5. Snowball fight – This is where my jaw hit the floor. At some point during the party, Susan started an all-out snowball war in her living room! With snowballs made from nylon filled balls of stuffing, these snowballs were softer than the real thing. Even my timid toddler got into the act of collecting and tossing snowballs. It was all out fun with lots of laughter.
6. Finally the gift exchange. As each child arrived, have them deposit their packages in a basket, and as each child leaves allow them to select a present to go. We took an Elmo book and received an animal puzzle. Each gift only cost $1, but it brought HUGE smiles!

In between the Christmas fun, the kids ran around and had a typical play date while the moms caught up. It was a fun day filled with several creative extras that made it extra special. So, if you are planning to have some little ones over, throw convention out the window and create Christmas in July (or August or whenever) party. The kids will love and the moms will be in awe of your creativity!

At two, my daughter’s art projects mainly consist of coloring (scribbling), but I use her “art” to create Thank You Notes, Birthday Cards and more. So, when I came across an opportunity to receive a gift pack of Glue Dots from Twitter Moms, projects with my daughter flashed through my mind.

Our first project was a 4th of July project for Mimi. (Mimi hosts a big 4th of July party.) This was a fun project to do with her, and so simple to set up. While ours was 4th of July, you could do this for any holiday or just with fun shapes!

Mommy Tip – Google the shape(s) you are looking for with “outline,” and use the images tab. For example, I Googled “Star Outline” (images) and found a perfect star shape, which I proceeded to print, cut and use as a template for my shapes. You can find pretty much any shape you are looking for.

After cutting out red and blue stars, I let my daughter color a white sheet of paper and the stars. Finally, I helped her put the glue dots on the backs of the stars and let her place it on the page anywhere she wanted. She thought it was so cool that they stayed! It was adorable.

For this project I used the large, permanent Glue Dots. They also come in mini and in repositionable. Not only did the Glue Dots eliminate mess – I am so not interested in using glue with a toddler – they hold well too. (I’ve used Glue Dots for my own projects in the past!)

In a matter of a few minutes (minus cutting out the stars) she had a masterpiece to present to Mimi for the 4th of July.

Learn more about Glue Dots on Facebook to see how they can be used in your family projects.

Disclaimer – I wrote this blog post while participating in the TwitterMoms and Glue Dots blogging contest to be eligible to receive a $30 gift card. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

When I saw it, I was sure that the plant was still trending down, but WOW! I have my first AND second tomatoes on the plant! Check out the bigger of the two!

Plus, the leaves that were withered are perking back up. Yeay! The craziest part is that this little plant really wants to live. When I picked up the plant I realized everything has turned up – toward the sun – from the laying down position. Plus, all the way up the step on the side of the plan that was down roots sprouted! This little bugger was self correcting! Mother Nature is so cool!

This week, I have to get a bigger pot for my little plant. It needs one! The journey lives on!

So this week, I am going to be an good plant mom and make sure I water it everyday to help it come back to life… I wonder if this little plant will ever see tomatoes?