Are you tired of putting your child's Easter goodies in baskets every year? Do you have piles of old baskets lying around from previous years? This year, how about doing something different and practical with a non-basket Easter basket!? Before we move on, don't forget to check out our 50 non-candy Easter basket fillers and our 13 unique non-candy Easter egg fillers. Now ditch those boring baskets and try these 25 Non-Basket Easter Basket Ideas: 1) Beach pail Fill it with fun stuff to bring to the beach 2) Sun hat tipped upside down Fill it with sunglasses and other fun summer accessories 3) Personalized tote bag Fill it with anything 4) New pair of shoes Stuff the shoes with Easter goodies 5) Tool box Fill it with kid friendly tools for your little handy helper 6) Tackle box Fill it with fun things for a fishing trip 7) Backpack Fill it with art supplies 8) Large dump truck Fill the bed of the truck with smaller cars 9) Beach towel Put beach stuff on top and tie it … [Read more...]
Mancala Easter Style
Mancala is a game that I loved to play when I was little, and still love to play today. I didn't know the name of it however, until a few years ago. My family always called it "The African Stone Game". I have yet to get a real Mancala board for my own family but I do think Nutty is old enough to learn how to play. That's where this Mancala Easter Style comes in! I was playing with an empty egg carton and some jelly beans working on another project when suddenly I realized that the egg carton and jelly beans looked like a Mancala board! I tripple double counted the holes in the egg carton and on a couple of Mancala boards I found on the internet, and yes, they did match! Yahoo! I can now teach Nutty how to play Mancala! Here's what you'll need to teach your kids how to play: Egg carton Jelly beans (24 to be exact) Glue (optional) Paint (optional) Ok, a few disclaimers before we begin: 1) The following pictures are a reinactment soley for the purpose of this … [Read more...]
Toilet Paper Roll Bunnies
I've seen lots of variations of toilet paper roll bunnies. Most involve keeping the toilet paper roll whole. I had every intention of doing one of those type of bunnies with my girls until I started to make toilet paper roll flowers with them. Huh? What--you ask? What do toilet paper roll flowers have to do with TP roll bunnies? Nothing really, except that the cut up roll happened to sit on my table similar to what you see below and I thought to myself, "now this is a good bunny!" Here's what you'll need to make your own toilet paper roll bunnies like we did: Toilet paper rolls (duh!) Paint (optional) Glue 5 paper clips per TP roll Step 1) Have your kids paint their toilet paper rolls. This step is completely optional as the bunnies look just fine plain brown. I painted my bunny white but my girls both insisted on painting theirs rainbow colors for spring. Step 2) Let the toilet paper rolls dry. Step 3) Cut the toilet paper roll in half. … [Read more...]
"Going Green" Laundry Style
To be completely honest, I hadn't really thought about "going green" as far as my laundry goes until this past year. I've read plenty of blog posts about making your own laundry detergent and how it's much better for you and for the environment and thought to myself, "It would be nice to use more natural laundry detergent since my clothes are against my body 24/7". Problem is, I just don't have the time or energy to make my own detergent. Then I found Seventh Generation laundry detergent. It's got all the benefits of going natural and green without the time and effort of making my own detergent. Plus, the cost isn't half bad either! Now, let me make another confession, I'm not that picky about my laundry detergent and don't really notice the difference when it comes to various brands. I tried Seventh Generation laundry detergent and didn't really notice that much of a difference from the other laundry detergents I had used so I guess that's a good thing! One thing I can say … [Read more...]
Paper Mache Easter Eggs
Easter was always a fun time for crafts for with family. My mom always had fun stuff for my sister and me to do. One of my favorite things was making paper mache Easter eggs. This year I decided to make them with my girls. Remember my paper mache maracas? Well, this is not one of those posts. These turned out absolutely adorable! My girls thought these were just as fun to make as I remember they were at that age. In fact, I still think they are really fun to make! To make your own paper mache Easter eggs you'll need: Flour Water Newspaper Balloons Paint Anything you want to put inside Step 1) Have your kids cut up newspaper into strips. Step 2) While your kids are cutting up the newspaper, use a mixer to blend four and water. Mix 3/4 cup flour to 1 cup water. Step 3) Cover your table with uncut newspaper to prevent the paste from getting all over. Step 4) Dip a strip of newspaper in the paste and slide your fingers down to get rid of any … [Read more...]
Make Rainbows on Your Walls
Technically it's still winter. The first official day of spring isn't until tomorrow. With the unseasonably warm weather we've been having in Minnesota over the past week however (80s in March!!), it's been feeling down right summerish! This has made me and the girls want to do things to get rid of those winter blues...so...in honor of St. Patrick's Day and to get us in the mood for spring and Easter in a few weeks, we decided to make rainbows on our walls. Making rainbows is great way to cheer you up no matter what time of year it is. It can even be done on a rainy day! You'll need: A glass pan or jar A mirror that fits in the pan or jar Water A white wall or ceiling (or white paper to cover a colored wall/ceiling) 1) Pour the water into your glassware. The exact amount doesn't matter. I filled ours up about half-way. 2) Put your mirror in the water. 3) Place it in a sunny spot. 4) Play with tilting the mirror until you see rainbows form on the … [Read more...]
