Monogrammed Baby Blankie

Here's a little project I completed today. It's a gift for a friend who just had a baby. The monkey fabric is ultra cuddle from Jo-Ann's (which is 50% off this weekend, by the way, and comes in quite a few fun prints). The cool thing is that it's 2-sided. I appliqued fleece letters using a technique I found online and now can't locate again...

I used red fleece for the binding as well. This was fun and super easy, so I think I'll probably post a tutorial for this when I make the next one. I didn't take step-by-step pics on this one!

Christmas craft + toy = hours of entertainment!

I LOVE crafts that are cheap, easy, fun to do and provide my daughter something to play with. Can't get any better than that, right?

So start with a cookie sheet from the dollar store. Make sure it's a steel one, not aluminum. Magnets won't stick to aluminum.

Then I cut out a tree shape and Mod Podged it to the cookie sheet.

Then coat it with a thick layer of Mod Podge. I think this would look extra cool with the glitter Mod Podge, but I didn't have any on hand....

Now get out your scrapbook paper scraps, your buttons, rhinestones, and some magnet strips.

I cut out some to look like presents, and some to look like ornaments, and one for the star. I glued the paper to cardboard, then stuck magnets on the back and put a layer of mod podge on the top.
You can see the magnets on the back. Then I found my glitter glue (also from the dollar store) and embellished the ornaments and made ribbons on the presents. I glued rhinestone hearts to the buttons as well. Here it is, all ready for a little girl to play with!This was so easy to create, it was cheap, and it will store relatively flat when she's not playing with.

My daughter has really enjoyed it. I'm thinking of lots of variations for her to play with!

Reindeer Christmas Craft

Yesterday my older daughter asked to do a craft with handprints.

(Actually, first she used a magenta marker to coat her palms, got frustrated when they didn't make handprints, stomped around a little, THEN she asked to do a craft with handprints...... ahem... where were we?)

Oh yes, the craft with handprints. So here's what you'll need:

• a canvas big enough to accommodate your largest kiddo's foot + a few inches for antlers
• pom-poms for noses
• paint (background color + 2 colors of brown)
• a Sharpie marker
• pom-poms for eyes or googly eyes
• small jingle bells
• ribbon
• some sort of Christmas decoration-type stuff to fill space on your canvas. I used snowflake ornaments from the dollar store

Most of that stuff I had on hand or had in my dollar-store stash.

First, paint your canvas. I didn't bother with the edges since I was planning to put ribbon around the sides. Next, find your little ones. Paint one foot on each kiddo and stamp it. Then paint both hands and have them make "antlers" for their reindeer. It actually works better if it's a little haphazard, so don't worry if it's smudgy.
(Kind of looks like a mess here. But don't worry. It's all going in the right direction!)

Next, get out your Sharpie marker and outline. This gives some definition to your shape, and it gives you a chance to make your antlers really look like antlers.

Next we start gluing like crazy (hot glue worked well). I added:

• red pom-poms for noses
• eyes
• jingle bells on the antlers

Then get out the ribbon and glue it all around the edge. I added a big bow at the top, and since I have 2 little girls I put bows on both reindeer.

It still needed something, so I glued on some fluffy snowflakes from the dollar store.

There you go. A fun, easy, cheap Christmas project!

Edible Birdhouse project

My daughter and I made an edible birdhouse this week and it was so much fun! I wanted to share......

You will need:

• a wooden birdhouse. I found one that was perfect at my local Dollar Tree. You can buy larger ones at any craft store.
• peanut butter
• cornstarch
• birdseed
• nuts, dried fruit, fresh fruit, millet, or anything else birds will enjoy
• string or twine to hang your birdhouse
  

1. Start with a birdhouse. I suggest one with a ledge on the bottom so the birds can have something to stand on to eat the seeds. 2. Mix peanut butter and cornstarch to make a kind of mortar. You can use straight peanut butter, but it will be a little goopier.
3. Smear peanut butter onto the side of your birdhouse and push seed into it. This is really fun for kiddos! Small ones may need help with the smearing.

4. Repeat for all sides.

5. For the roof, we used peanuts and coconut. Raisins, cranberries or other nuts would work well too. Or more birdseed!

6. When all sides are covered, use the twine to hang your birdhouse.

This project works well for a range of ages. Gigi is 2, and she thought it was really fun. Older kids could get more creative in the design!

Also, when you are finished you can watch the birds and other wildlife enjoy your creation. And when it's empty, you can start all over again!