This is one of my all time favorite projects I have done with my kids. It just so happens to be an all time favorite Christmas present too! It's really easy and turns out just adorably! Here is what you will need: 1 piece of white paper (large) (or a canvas-which is what I used- you can get them for pretty cheap) Green, yellow and brown paint 1 kid willing to get ooey and gooey Paint your child's hand with the green paint- make one row of 4 hand prints Next paint your child's hand again and make a row of 3 hand prints Then make a row of 2 hand prints on top of that Lastly, 1 hand print on the very top Use the brown paint to make a stump and the yellow to make a star on the top. (Have your child autograph the tree with the year to mark the date) These make GREAT presents and they are always adored by grandparents. While making the tree I thought to myself....hmmm, what if I traced a circle really lightly in pencil and did the same thing? Ta-da! A pretty and … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2011
Make your own rock candy
When I was little my mom used to do a lot of science projects with me and my sister. One of my favorites was growing my own crystal candy (or rock candy). I couldn't wait to wake up in the mornings and see how much my crystals had grown. Then I couldn't wait to eat them after I thought they had grown enough! I was shocked to find out that when I talked about doing a rock candy tutorial for our blog, both Lindsi and my husband had never heard of rock candy, let alone made their own! Seriously, who's never heard of rock candy?? (*Lindsi edit- butting in...I have heard of rock candy before...just never heard of making your own) Here's what you'll need to make your own rock candy (FYI--I doubled the recipe to make 2--one for each of my girls): 1 cup of water 3-4 cups of table sugar clear glass jars wooden skewers (cut the pointy tip off) clothes pins or something similar food coloring (optional) 1) Boil the water. 2) Slowly add sugar small bits at a … [Read more...]
Festive pillows
I loved this idea so much that I had to share with our faithful Toys In The Dryer readers too (It was originally posted on my personal website). Yup! My crafty itch has been bad this year. Maybe I'm trying to drown myself in projects? Who knows? Want to know how I turned three BORING blah-zay pillows into cute Christmas pillows? Here is how! Step one: Take any blah pillow you have around the house, or go to the store and buy the ugliest one you can (believe me the uglier the cuter they turn out) I added the red zig zag stitching to each of my blah pillows for a little added flare. Next I made three rectangle swatches to attach to the pillows (notice I added the same red zig zag stitch to these to pull it all together) Then I dug through my Christmas cookie cutters to find three that I liked best and taped them using painters tape to each swatch...like sew (ha ha ha pardon the pun). I let my son pick them out. He helped attach the tape too! Easy peasy, right? Then … [Read more...]
Andrew Shue and Mom.com
*Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday there will be no Fun Stuff Friday linky today we will see you next Friday!* On Tuesday, November 15th, Jamie had the opportunity to meet the actor Andrew Shue (Billy Campbell from Melrose Place) at the Minneapolis Suburbs Mom.com Premier Party. Unfortunately, Lindsi was unable to attend the party due to a death in her family. She missed a really fun and informative time! Ok, so what is Mom.com, why were they having a premier party, how is Andrew Shue involved, and why were we invited?? Lets start with Mom.com and Andrew Shue... Years ago, Andrew quit acting to spend more time with his family and pursue other adventures. He eventually co-founded Cafemom, one of the largest social networking sites for moms in the US. Cafemom is now off-shooting into another site called Mom.com... If you go to the Mom.com website now, it looks like your average daily deals site. However, the deals on the site have actual local moms acquiring them, standing … [Read more...]
Scents of the season – Homemade Cinnamon Air Fresheners
Strapped for cash? Want a homemade present? Don't have a lot of time to invest on making something? Love the smell of the season? Then these homemade cinnamon air fresheners are for you! I used to make these when I was little with my grandma. She's the one I told you about who always had some fun, crafty, creative ideas. You too can make your own scented holiday decorations in just a couple of easy steps! Here is what you will need to make these homemade cinnamon air fresheners: 1 1/2 cups ground cinnamon 1cup applesauce 1/4 cup white school glue 1) Combine the ingredients in a large bowl and stir well. Then cover and let stand for 1 hour. 2) Roll out the dough so that is approximately 1/4-1/2 inches thick. (Tip- if you use your hand you will get the dough to compress better and it will be a more solid appearance than if you use a rolling pin) 3) Have your child choose the cookie cutters he/she wants to use to cut the dough and place the cut outs … [Read more...]
Candy Snowflakes
In honor of our first snowfall of the season this past weekend... Candy snowflakes- easy, cheap, tasty and cute! All you need are a bag of spice drops and some toothpicks! Select one spice drop as your center and insert 5 toothpicks into it. Remember it's five not six....snow flakes have five points (and if yours have six you should play the lottery because dang you are lucky!) Attach the colors of your choice to each toothpick (usually 3 fit nicely) Once you have filled each toothpick it's usually acceptable to dig in and eat as many as you can handle. Have fun and enjoy! … [Read more...]
