DIY Lego Notebooks 4/$1

There is no doubt my boys are in the Lego phase. Of course, my In-To-EVERYTHING 10 month old is a disaster around small pieces such as Legos. Absolutely everything goes in her mouth!! Minus the nightmare choking hazard aspect of Legos in our house...I still let them play with them daily. I can't deny they were possibly one of the best toys created for imaginative play. We rented the Lego Movie tonight and I decided it would be fun to make a craft to go along with it. 

 

 

I had a few old Lego boxes the boys were having trouble parting with. I decided we could repurpose their old Lego boxes into spiral notebooks with some minimal effort.

 

 

I bought a four pack of small spiral notebooks for less then a $1. I bent the ends of the metal spirals and disassembled the notebooks. Then the boys traced the covers of the old notebooks onto the Lego boxes, and we cut them out.

 

 

I lined up the old notebook cover with our new notebook cover, and punched out the holes on top. After threading the metal spiral back through, our notebooks were complete.

 

 

It was the perfect craft for under $1, and we were finally able to get rid of our Lego box collection!

Dinosaur Book Box: Dinosaur Games, Activities and Reading Fun

I finally completed another book box to trade out. This one was themed Dinosaurs. Roar! I spent a total of $10 making this one. As I've mentioned before, I sort through my books and find a theme I think the kids would like. I obviously had plenty of dinosaur books! Then I looked through the scholastic catalog and ordered six Dinosaur books that were $1 each to share. As luck would have it, I found these awesome dinosaur sandwich cutters on sale for 70% off at Target this weekend. Every child will get one of those too! 

 

Book Box Contents 

·         Dooley Makes Friends

(Please let your family keep one of these or the Dinosaur Dig for your book collection)

·         Dino stuffed animal reading buddy

·         Dinosaur Dig by Jan and Mike Berenstain

(Please let your family keep one of these or Dooley Makes Friends for your book collection)

·         Dinosaurumpus by Tony Milton

·         Curious George and the Dinosaur by Margret and H.A. Reyes

·         My Little Dinosaur by Ilse-Margret Vogel

·         Dinosaur Bones by Bob Barner

·         Joe and Betsy the Dinosaur by Lillian Hoban

·         Danny and the Dinosaur by Syd Hoff

·         Dinosaurs by Teresa O’Brien

·         How to Draw Dinosaurs

·         Ten Little Dinosaurs by Pattie Schnetzler

·         The Flinstones: Dino Gets a Job

·         What Comes Next Dinosaur Activity Sheet for scissor and pattern practice

·         Dinosaur foam puzzle or wooden puzzle depending on the age appropriateness

·         Dinosaur sandwich cutter (Have a fun dinosaur themed lunch and keep one for your family!)

·         Dinosaur Grow Capsules (Perfect for bathtime)

·         Paleontologist Notebook: Let your little one learn a little about dinosaurs and fossils with their personalized notebook 

 

 

This notebook is about 12 pages I created of fun activities. I would be happy to share it if you email me!
 

·         Consider making some binoculars out of toilet paper rolls for your little paleontologist

·         Dinosaur Egg: Handle with care. You can spray them with vinegar for a fun reaction or just let them crack open their individual egg with any tools on hand. (They easily dissolve or clean off with water) 

 

 

Dino Egg: Mix baking soda and water + black dye (or icing)

 

I have seen many different recipes for this...but this one was super easy and fast.

 

Form mix around dinosaurs.

 

I think they look so fun! Fragile: Handle with care!

 

·         Have fun! Make sure everything on this list is returned to the book box for the next child.

·         Let me know when you have worn out your book box and we will trade. I am hoping to trade about every 3 weeks and just meet up with you. Thanks! Michelle

 

Felt Donut "Recipe"

What is better on a Sunday morning then some delicious donuts? Yum. My boys love playing kitchen just as much as most little girls I expect. They love cooking me up a quick breakfast or a nice hearty stew. We didn't have many options in our plastic breakfast food so I made them some felt donuts for Christmas. I was suprised that making felt food can be a bit time consuming. However, they have already spent hours playing with it, so it was worth every second.

 

I chose to make small donuts, about 3 1/2" each. I have seen many donuts on etsy that are the size you would generally buy at a donut shop. With storage always as an issue at our house, I decided small donuts would be the best.

 

Supplies:

Brown and tan felt

White felt

Scissors

Embroidery thread

Polyfill stuffing

 

Directions:

 

1. I started out by cutting out two tan circles about 3 1/2" each. I cut a small hole in the middle of both.

 

2. Next, I created my icing out of some white felt. I used small embroidery stitches of different colors to make the "sprinkles."

 

I chose blue, yellow and pink sprinkles for my yummy donuts.

 

3. Facing right sides together, I sewed around the outer edge only of the circles. (Don't sew the middle circle. I made this mistake the first time not thinking!)

 

4. Turn your donut inside out and add some stuffing. ( Just keep shoving it into the donut until you don't have any more stuffing showing in the center hole.)

 

5. The last step is to hand stitch the inner circle to sew the donut up.

 

 

I found this cute display box at Michael's for all of the cookies and tea bags. If you missed the felt Halloween sugar cookies look for instructions here. The teabags will be coming soon. I have a lot of posts to catch up!

 

 

Child's Artwork Christmas Dish Towel

Merry Christmas!! I have a tradition each year of making a present for each of my boys. In the past it has been lego tables, fire stations, quilts, etc. I wanted to pass on that love of gifting to my children. This year I helped my oldest make a dish towel for his grandma. It was a great way to transform a child's artwork into a gift. He brought home homework, that was to draw a Christmas tradition. His drawing consisted of a Christmas tree decorated in balls with a little boy beside it. It was the perfect memory to capture.

 

 

Supplies:

 

Light colored fabric

Dish Towel

Fabric Markers

Heat and Bond

 

To begin with, I took his drawing. The boy just might look a little creepy, but my son is not exactly an artist. This is his best drawing to date!

 

 

 

I used a small sheet of transfer paper layered between the picture and the light colored fabric. The order...light colored fabric on the bottom, transfer paper ink side down, and then the drawing on the very top.

I traced his artwork onto the fabric and then colored it in with the fabric markers.

 

I tried to color a bit messy so it would look like his original drawing.

 

Next, I found some cute festive dish towels on sale. Yipee! I cut my son's artwork on fabric down to a little rectangle. I then used heat and bond on the back and ironed it to my dish towel.
After a simple zig zag stitch around the perimeter it was done!

 

I loved it so much I made a second one for myself! This turned out to be a very fast way to make a personalized gift my mom will always treasure. I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday!!

 

 

Monster Bread Tags

Over two years ago, I saw this fun idea featured on Someday Crafts for monster tags. I finally found where they originated from Amanda here. Anyways, just this week I got around to making some similar monster tags of my own out of my stash of bread tags. I can't think of a better way to repurpose bread tags. I have been throwing them in a little drawer in my kitchen for months now in preparation for the official Monster Month of Halloween.

 

These funny little tags would be perfect on your own baked goods, goodie bags for school treats, snack bags for your child's lunch, and much more. My husband laughed when he saw me making them. He asked what I planned on using them for. My answer..."Anything. They just make me smile when I see them." I really feel like that is what crafting is all about.

 

Supplies:

 

Bread tags

Acrylic paint

Sharpie Markers

Sealer (optional)

 

 

Gather your stash of bread tags. (No I don't have this many. Lol!) I started with different shapes and sizes. I painted a solid color over the whole bread tag to start with.

 

Then I began embellishing my silly little guys with faces. I used the end of the paintbrushes to make the polka dots on my monsters. As each layer dried, I continued my painting. I also found my sharpie marker collection to be incredibly helpful in adding small details to their monster eyes, crazy feet, and minor stitches from injuries.

 

 

How can I not smile when I grab this...

 

 

 

Dog Book Box..Summer of the Traveling Books

Presenting box number four. This week my boys opened the dog book box in our continued adventure of the traveling book boxes. Summer is almost over, so we are winding down on our book box adventures. However, I really did enjoy keeping them engaged this summer with books and activities. They were excited each time I told them a new book box had "arrived." As always, the Clifford box had books, activities, games, crafts, and a snack surprise.

·         Clifford Book on stakes. Surprise your little one with a “storywalk.”  The stakes are numbered. Push them in the ground and let your little one walk to read the story. Leave plenty of distance between each page of the book. See example here:

·         Additional Clifford books to read

·         The Puppy who Went to School by Gail Herman

·         Spike by Paulette Bogan

·         Little red dog reading buddy

·         Clifford Suckers-Attach two felt red ears and some googly eyes to make a Clifford sucker snack for a treat at the end of your storywalk or treasure hunt (these were not quite as cute as I hoped, and hopefully they won’t scare your child. Lol!)

·         Treasure Hunt-Set up a dog bone search. Clues are numbered with recommended hiding places.  (This would be fun for a Clifford birthday party too. Let me know if you need the template)

·         Dog Bowls and placemats-Be a little silly. Serve your child breakfast or lunch in a dog bowl...or even popcorn.Guaranteed to make them giggle. Our cocker Mia looks on very jealous. Ha! It is not even her bowl. I bought it at the $1 store.

·         Clifford Maze-Let your child use the paw print stamp in each square to help Clifford find the way to his doghouse. (Red ink pad included)

 ·         Dog Bone Counting Game-Numbers are magnetic. Change out the numbers on the dog bowls and let your little one put the correct number of dog bones in the bowl. Dog bones have been glazed, so please don’t let your child or dog eat any!

 

My son really enjoyed this game. The bowls are just flat pieces of paper but they almost appear to be three dimensional in the picture above.

·         Have fun! Make sure everything on this list is returned to the book box for the next child.

Let me know when you have worn out your book box and we will trade. I am hoping to trade about every 3 weeks and just meet up with you. Thanks! Michelle

Cupcakes, Ice Cream, and Flip Flops Book Box

I decided I needed a book box with a more "girl" centered theme. We have two little girls that have signed up to participate now. The list of kiddos for the traveling book boxes is quickly growing. (Original post here) Miss Whitney will soon receive the cupcakes, ice cream, and flip flops book box.

Cupcakes, Ice Cream and Flip Flops Summer Book Box Contents

·         If You Give a Cat a Cupcake by Laura Numeroff

·         Ice Cream Everywhere by Marjorie Blain Parker

·         Flip Flop by Dana Meachen Rau

·         Henry and Mudge and the Best Day of All by Cynthia Rylant

·         Ice Cream Time

·         Game: Ice Cream Popsicle Matching. Play memory with the popsicles or just mix them up in a big pile, set the sand timer, and race to put the matches together before time runs out.

·         Game: Cupcake Recipe. Pick a cupcake recipe and create your felt cupcake with the right number of ingredients of sprinkles, chocolate chips, and cherries. Recipe cards available here to print.

·         Ice Cream Shooting Toy-Keep one for your child. Great prize for one of the games

·         Craft: Make your own flip flops. Example included. Let your child make some foam flip flops with pipe cleaners and decorate them with stickers.

·         Eat: Ice cream scoop and two small ice cream bowls included. Dish out a special ice cream treat and add star sprinkles on top.

·         Eat: Cupcake sandwich. Instructions here (http://greeneacreshobbyfarm.blogspot.com/2012/06/cupcake-sandwich-and-fathers-day-ideas.html)  on how to make this simple sandwich. Place a skittle on top.

 

·         Have fun! Make sure everything on this list is returned to the book box for the next child.

·         Let me know when you have worn out your book box and we will trade. I am hoping to trade about every 3 weeks and just meet up with you. Thanks! Michelle

My Family Fun Magazine Feature...Make Flip Flop Imprints in the Sand

I am so excited! One of my ideas made it into Family Fun Magazine this month (June/July 2012). Even better, they give $100 prizes for creative ideas. Last year, when I first started my blog, I noticed the My Great Idea feature in Family Fun magazine. It says, "Send it to us and you could earn $100!" I thought...hmm..what the heck...it is worth a try. I was shocked last month when I was contacted by email from someone on the editorial team. They were completing the fact checking before publication. Yipee!

Did you get your Family Fun magazine this week? Look for me on page 44.

I even got a half page. Isn't that mermaid towel so cute too from Kim Fuglestad of Wrightstown, PA?

Here is my original post...

Are you ready for some flipping flopping fun?

Supplies:

Flip Flops

Foam Cut Outs or Foam Stickers

Hot Glue Gun

We started out with some regular flip flops. My oldest son and I took some foam stickers and decorated the bottom of them with animals and words. We put two on top of each other to increase the thickness. The stickers would not stick well enough on their own, so we ended up using hot glue to adhere them to the bottoms side of the flip flops. (Worked like a charm!) Then we headed out to the beach to try them out. Did I mention we live in Texas? Ok, we really went to a man-made beach by a lake. 

In motion flip flop pictures were impossible!

LESSON LEARNED...You must be smarter then the flip flops and expect a mirror image. The first pair we made had his name on them and it came out backwards!

The sand imprints were even better then I expected.

The animals were the easiest because they can not be put on backwards. For our second attempt, we put the letters on correctly in mirror image format. You must use regular foam cut outs, not stickers, for words. The problem is stickers end up with the sticky side facing towards the sand. Please learn from all of my mistakes. Ha! I enjoyed this project because it was fast, simple, and we had all the supplies needed floating around our house.

 Now go out and make some amazing flip flops of your own.

I hope your summer is wonderful and you have lots of...

Summer of the Traveling Book Boxes

When summer was just around the corner, I began thinking about the long 3 months ahead of us, and the Texas heat. My son's can get a little bored without the constant stimulation of school, and it is hard to go outside in the peak heat of the day. I figured my friends might need some boredom busters too, so I dreamed up the summer of the traveling book boxes. It reminds me of the concept of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Have you read the story or seen the movie? It is precious.

My plan was to create multiple themed book boxes with books, games, activities, crafts, and entertainment ideas. We would trade out every 2-3 weeks and get a new box for our kiddos. I tried to make them light at first, so I could ship them back and forth. Then I realized everyone was truly close enough, that we could just drop them off.

I sent out an email to see who might be interested in my crazy plan. I received four positive replies back and I began creating my book boxes. My first book box was themed BUGS!

I sent a printed sheet with this picture and a listing of the contents and activities.

Bug Book Box Contents

·         The Very Ugly Bug by Liz Pichon

·         A Bug, A Bear, And a Boy books (please take a duplicate of one or two of the books and keep it for your collection. Make sure you leave at least one of each book behind for others to read. These are great first readers.)

·         Game: Bug Tic Tac Toe

·         Game: Penny Bug Race-Directions on back

·         Bug Toy-Keep one for your child. Great prize for one of the games

·         Activity-Bug Hunt. Put some dirt in a bucket and let your child dig through to find the bugs.

·         Bug Drinks-Fill bag with water or Gatorade and a few cleaned off plastic bugs. Place a straw in the bag and wrap a rubber band around it. See link for clear instructions:

http://greeneacreshobbyfarm.blogspot.com/2011/08/treasure-drinks-for-summer-fun.html

·         Small silver spider container to serve a snack or candy in for fun.

·         Lady Bug Craft-See sample. All supplies included. (Pipe cleaners, googly eyes, brads, paper and red and black marker)

·         Have fun! Make sure everything on this list is returned to the book box for the next child.

·         Let me know when you have worn out your book box and we will trade. I am hoping to trade about every 3 weeks and just meet up with you. Thanks! Michelle

    I found this great printable bug game pictured above from education.com. Click here to download for free. The first child to receive the bug box opened it to find...

Just remember, you can use any theme and any supplies you have at home. I did not purchase a single item yet to make these boxes. They all came from books and treasures I already had floating around my house, or that I printed off a website.

If the children enjoy these boxes, I would love to do them again next summer. However, I will have each parent design a book box and we will trade back and forth. Summer has just started, so it is never too late to start some traveling book boxes among your friends. Good luck!