I love fall. I love the smell, I love the colors, I love the temperature. It's my second favorite season next to summer. I'm always looking for new things to do with fall leaves so when I came across a fall leaf bowl on Pinterest, I knew the girls and I had to try to make one. There are many different versions of fall leaf bowls on Pinterest. Most use fake leaves but I wanted to see what would happen if we used real leaves. TJ and I gathered a bunch of fresh fallen leaves from the yard. The leaves must be fresh fallen so they can bend. Then we gathered the rest of the supplies: Modge Podge Sponge brush Plastic wrap A bowl We first tried to Modge Podge the leaves around a balloon like some people suggested. However, the balloon was too round and the leaves had a hard time molding to the form and staying on it. So we got out one of my mixing bowls and covered it with plastic wrap so that the leaves didn't permanently stick to it. The bowl worked much … [Read more...]
9 Acorn Crafts For Kids
It's a bit hard to think about fall right now as the weather has been in the mid to high 70s but today is the first day of fall! With fall comes acorns and acorn crafts. Unfortunately, my supply of acorns is now gone as my neighbor's oak tree fell down in a storm this summer. So, instead of me making a bunch of crafts out of acorns, you're going to have to settle with the ideas I was going to try off of Pinterest and three I did last year. Acorn Flowers How cute are these acorn flowers from Crafty Morning? Both old and young kids can make them. Woodland Fairy Folk These Woodland Fairy Folk from Twig and Toadstool are utterly adorable. Little kids will need a lot of help making these but you can make a fall treasure hunt for all the pieces. Acorn Squirrel Last year the girls and I made these Acorn Squirrels. They were fun and easy to make and we displayed them as part of our fall decor. The girls got a bunch of compliments on them! Acorn Dolls It looks like … [Read more...]
How To Make Acorn Squirrels
We're well into October and all the acorns have long ago fallen off the trees. However, if your kids are anything like mine, they've stashed a few acorns around the house just for fun (or for later, I'm not sure which). A few days ago I came across a stash in our china cabinet. Rather than throw them away, I decided we'd make acorn squirrels out of them because my girls hid the acorns just like squirrels do. These cute little critters would make a great addition to your fall decorating or even your Thanksgiving table! My girls, however, are having fun just playing with them. To make them yourselves you'll need: Those acorns your kids have stashed away Brown pipe cleaners Scissors A hot glue gun* A black marker *It goes without saying that you will need to help your younger kids with the hot glue gun! 1) Start by gluing two acorns together, one on top of the other. 2) Next cut a piece of pipe cleaner so that it is long enough for feet and a tail when … [Read more...]
How To Make Woven Paper Ball Pumpkins
I have to admit, this was almost a fail post for me. As I was searching the internet for Christmas inspiration a few weeks ago, I came across these woven paper ball ornaments. One look at them and I thought, "hey, I can do this but turn them into pumpkins for Halloween or Thanksgiving!" Thus I came up with woven paper ball pumpkins. I had every intent of letting the girls try to make these. I followed the instructions and videos in the original post and got very frustrated! I could NOT seem to get the finishing right! I had the braiding of 4 strands down, I just couldn't figure out how to tuck over and under to finish the ball since I was using only one color paper. If I couldn't figure it out, how were the girls going to do it?? I gave up and threw everything away. Then I thought, "hey, we do failure posts around here and this would make a great failure!" Since everything ended up in the garbage, I needed to start again for some photos of these tragic woven paper ball … [Read more...]
Tin Foil Leaves
A few years ago we did leaf drawings on the blog. This year we'll so something similar but with different supplies...tin foil leaves! Tottie and her friend had a blast making these and watching the different leaf patterns come through. To make these, you'll need: tin/aluminum foil card stock paper glue leaves of different shapes/sizes paint and a brush (optional) 1) Start by gluing at least one leaf on your paper. Make sure the veins/bumpy side of the leaf is facing UP. 2) Next cover the leaf with the tin foil by wrapping the foil around the paper and folding it on the opposite side of the paper as the leaf. 3) Flip the paper over and rub your finger over the tin foil so that the leaf pattern comes through. This is where your kid's faces will light up! 4) This last step is optional. You can use paint to make the pattern stand out a little more. Make sure to use just a LITTLE bit of paint (a thin layer) or you'll lose the pattern … [Read more...]
Acorn Owls
It's officially Fall and the acorns are starting to hit the ground. Time for some new acorn crafts! Today we're making acorn owls. To make these cute little birds, you'll need: a few acorns without the top construction paper a black marker glue toothpick (optional) a stick hot glue These acorn owls are pretty easy to make if you just follow the photos. 1) Cut round eyes out of white paper and use the black marker to make dots on the eyes 2) Cut a small beak out of orange paper 3) Cut wings out of what ever color you want 4) A toothpick works perfect to spread the glue over the tiny eyes, wings, and beak 5) Once assembled and dry, glue the owls onto a twig for display The girls had lot of fun making these acorn owls and can't wait to see what I've got up my sleeve for next week's acorn project! … [Read more...]
