DIY Ceramic Tile Coasters

Yesterday, I made a super simple craft at my Mothers of Preschoolers group -- DIY Coasters. Although I didn't design this particular craft, it is pretty similar in theory to the Hand-Painted Trivets that I shared at Life as MOM over the holidays. Like the trivets, these coasters are a kid-friendly craft too.

These DIY Coasters really are fast to make and can really be customized for the recipient. They'd be great as a housewarming, hostess, teacher, or even wedding gift.

At MOPS, we used scrapbook paper as the decoration, but you could get creative with another type of paper. You could try using:

• artwork from your kids
• family photographs
• maps of places you've lived or places you've visited
• printout of your favorite sports team's mascot or logo

A couple thoughts about paper and ink:

• A thicker paper will work better than a thin one. When you use Modge Podge, thin papers can tend to get a bit wrinkly when they're glued down and coated. A more cardstock type paper will hold up much better.
• If you print something from the computer, a laser print is a better choice than ink jet. Since ink jet uses a liquid ink, it may smear a bit when you coat it with Modge Podge. If you don't have a laser printer, print it or color-copy it at the photocopy store.
• If you're using original artwork made with markers, you might want to make a laser or color-copy for the above reason.

How to Make Custom Ceramic Tile Coasters

Supplies:

• 4.25" square ceramic tiles from the home improvement store 
• small circular felt pads 
• scrapbook paper
• pen or pencil
• scissors
• Modge Podge 
• foam brush

Directions:
Flip the tile over and place a felt pad near each corner on the bottom side of the tile. These pads will help protect your table surface from the scratchy underside of the tile.

Use scissors to cut the decoration out of your scrapbook paper. You can use a smaller square (as I did -- mine measured 3.75" square) to leave a bit of a tile border around the edge. At MOPS, the craft team made square templates for us to trace onto our paper. That made it very easy to trace a particular portion of the scrapbook paper for my coaster. But, you don't have to use a square -- trace shapes out of your scrapbook paper if you want to. Get creative!

Use the foam brush to brush some Modge Podge on the back of your scrapbook paper square or decoration. Affix it to the top of the tile. Press firmly to ensure that you don't have any air bubbles underneath. Double-check that the edges of the paper are firmly adhered to the tile.

Coat the entire top of the tile with Modge Podge. Allow to dry completely. (If needed, you can speed up the process with a hair dryer.)

Give the tile another coat of Modge Podge. If you wish, you can brush in the opposite direction to give a sort of "canvas" like brushstroke pattern. Allow to dry. 

Have an Indoor Snowball Fight!

Earlier this month, I mentioned that we were going to make a Family Fun To-Do list each month. One of the things on our list this month is to have an indoor snowball fight!

A couple of years ago, my sister Jamie showed me how to make these "snowballs." At the time, we were living on California central coast where it almost never snows. So, a fight with these little fiberfilled balls was just about the only kind we got to have. L and E just love it when we break these out!

If you want to make your own set, stop over at Life as MOM today! I'm sharing an easy tutorial on how to make these indoor snowballs. It's a perfect way to have a little indoor fun with your kiddies.

Homemade Christmas Craft and Gift Ideas

Hey folks! Things have been a little nuts around here, and alas, I didn't get around to writing a Make-It Monday post this week. I've actually been so busy creating crafts for Christmas Your Way and homemade gifts for DIY on a Dime over at Life as MOM that I've let things slide a bit here. Sorry!

But, I'm not completely empty handed! I thought I'd share a few things today that I've created for other blogs!

ABC Memory Game at Life as MOM

This month, Jessica at Life as MOM is posting a series of easy, handmade gifts that are perfect for Christmas. Last week, I contributed a Playdough Kit last week, and today I'm sharing my homemade ABC Memory Game. I'm actually planning on giving the game to Lu as a gift for Christmas. True, she's already seen it, but maybe if I hide it away for a couple of weeks she'll forget about it! Who knows? Maybe the girls will even get the playdough kits too. They loved those as well.

Playdough Kit at Life as MOM

All of the DIY on A Dime ideas are great. To make it easy to find them, Jessica has made a fantastic list of all the DIY on a Dime projects.



Christmas Tree Tags at Christmas Your Way

I have to confess, I've been so busy crafting that we haven't completely decorated out tree yet! Brett is busy studying for finals and I've been busy holding down the fort. I did manage to put the lights on the tree AND put up some of these little tree tag ornaments that I designed as part of the 101 Days of Christmas series at Christmas Your Way.

Well, I'm not done crafting yet. I've got a few more crafts up my sleeve. I'll post about them soon!

DIY Gingerbread House Tissue Box

I have to say, I'm pretty proud of this holiday craft tutorial that I'm sharing today over at Life as MOM -- a DIY Gingerbread House Tissue Box with downloadable template. It turned out so cute!

I built the structure on my own, but L helped me decorate our Gingerbread House. She loved deciding what should go where. It's a fun way to decorate in a useful way. The house camouflages a tissue box and the tissues come out of the chimney. Stop by Life as MOM today and learn how to make your own!

Thanksgiving Fun for Kids

I was looking at a calendar last night and realized how close Thanksgiving is -- only 9 days away! Wow, I've got lots to do! First off, I need to make a coffee date with my sister-in-law Aimee to plan out our meal. But, I'm also thinking about the other fun things that we can incorporate into this very special family day. I have a feeling that Aimee and I will be pretty busy with the cooking, so I'd love to have some father-supervision-friendly activities for the kids to do before we enjoy our feast.

Here are a few things that just might be happening at our Thanksgiving:

• Thanksgiving Apple Turkey Placeholders - It has become a tradition with my girls to make "turkeys" out of apples on Thanksgiving day. Originally, we used spice drops on toothpicks to make the "feathers" for our turkeys. Last year, we got a little more health-conscious and used dried fruit instead. It's fun craft that keeps the kids busy for a bit...and it can be a snack for them as well to tide them over until the feast.
• Thanksgiving Printables - I'm planning on having a few printables for the girls to keep the girls busy if they tire of playing. Family Fun has some cute ones like an Activity Placemat, a Thanksgiving Fill-Them-In Tale, a Leaf-Diving Fun Coloring Page, and a Cornucopia Coloring Page.
• Gratitude Journal - Life Your Way is offering this FREE collection of 32 printable cards to create your own gratitude journal. I think we'll print out a bunch of these cards and let the girls create their own little journals. They can either draw pictures, write the words, or have an adult help them write the words. This could be such a fun little keepsake for them.
• Paper Chain Garland - I never got around to decorating my mantel for Fall, but I plan on doing it for Christmas. E has expressed interest in helping with the decorating, so why not let her be involved where she can? A paper chain garland is an easy, kid-friendly craft - check out Life Your Way for this easy paper chain garland tutorial. I'm thinking of having pre-cut strips of paper that the girls can put together in a garland. It will keep them busy...and it will help us decorate after Thanksgiving.

Do you plan any fun things for your kids to do on Thanksgiving?

Season Your Meals with Love

Today at Life as MOM, I'm sharing a fun way to "season your meals with love." Stop by and check out my easy-peasy tutorial on how to make your own "Love Spice Shaker."

Make A Fun Fall Frame!

L and E love to collect sticks as I think most children do. Whenever we go for a walk or to the park, we almost always come home with some extra sticks in tow. Did you know that sticks are a great and FREE craft supply?

Today, come join me over at Life as MOM where I'm sharing how to create a fun frame out of sticks for your fall photos or artwork! Your kids will LOVE this craft!

Let The Kids Make A Masterpiece

Kids love to paint. But moms? Well, we often don't love to have the kids paint because of the mess that is involved. But really, the mess is not an insurmountable problem. There are a few tricks that you can use to make painting a little easier for everyone involved. Today over at Life as MOM, I'm sharing some tips for stress-free painting with kids! Come check it out...and get painting with your kids!

And after you're done, don't forget to display their creations. My friend Lisa has some great tips on how to display your child's artwork.

Make It Monday: Paper Bead Necklaces

Welcome back to Make It Monday! Over the next few Mondays, I'll be sharing some ideas for homemade gifts as I have done the past two holiday seasons. (For ideas from the past years, check out my Make It Monday page.)

Today I'll be sharing a little tutorial on how to make a super-inexpensive (but cute) gift -- Paper Bead Necklaces!

Made with stretch elastic, these necklaces are a versatile gift. Depending on the length of necklace you choose to make, you can wear it as a long necklace, a double necklace (equal lengths or unequal lengths) or wrap around your wrist several times to make a bracelet.

You can make these out of magazine pages or any scrapbook paper you have laying around. The size of the bead will vary by your choice of paper and the size of your triangle. The necklaces shown here were crafted out of triangles that were 6-inches in height and made out of thick scrapbook paper. You can also add traditional beads to your creation. I chose to use some very inexpensive glass seed beads alongside my handcrafted paper beads.

Best of all, you really don't need any special tools...just a little time and patience.

Materials Needed:

• Scrapbook paper or magazine pages in the colors of your choosing
• Scissors (or paper cutter)
• Toothpick
• Glue Stick
• Modge Podge
• Paint Brush
• Stretch Bead Elastic (I found this for $2 at Walmart)
• Conventional Beads (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cut your chosen paper into long thin triangles. The length of the bead will be equal to the bottom of your triangle. I used triangles that were 6 inches high and 1-inch, 3/4-inch and 1/2-inch at the bottom.
2. Apply glue stick to the side of the triangle strip that you do not want showing. Don't put glue at the fat end because that is where you will place the toothpick - you don't want the toothpick to stick to your bead. There you will place the toothpick and roll the paper tightly around the toothpick into a bead.
3. Press the bead firmly to secure the glue. Use more glue if necessary. (Note: Thicker paper will be more difficult to hold its shape.)
4. For bead durability, apply at least three coats of Modge Podge to each bead. Allow to dry 15-20 minutes between each coat. Allow to dry completely.
5. Unroll a length of beading elastic that is as long as you wish your necklace to be. Do not cut the elastic just yet. This will make it easier to keep the beads on as you strig them. String the finished beads in your desired pattern on the beading elastic. When all of your beads are on the elastic, take the cut end and tie it to the other end of the elastic that is still attached to the spool. Double or triple knot to secure the necklace. Snip the elastic off of the spool.

This is a great craft to do with your kids. Although crafting the beads may be too difficult for very young children, even preschoolers can help create patterns and string beads onto the elastic. Working together to make a gift makes the gift even more special.

Looking for more homemade gift ideas? Check out these Satin Floral Hairclips or my Make It Monday Archive.

Do you have any homemade gift ideas? Share in the comments.

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This post is linked to Frugal Friday. For other money-saving ideas, visit LifeasMOM on Fridays.

How to Make No-Sew Fabric Pumpkins

Yesterday my little Lu went on her first preschool field trip. Oh my, isn't my baby growing up? When she brought home her cute little pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, I decided that we'd use it to decorate the fireplace. But, this one itty bitty pumpkin looked so lonely. So, I decided to make a friend for it - a no-sew fabric pumpkin!

This is a seriously easy (and cheap) craft to make. Not only is it practically free to make, but you can disassemble it after the fall and reuse most of the components. Guess what it's made out of?

Obviously, it's fabric, ribbon and a bit of brown paper bag. But what is inside?

Yes, that's right. A roll of toilet paper and some plastic grocery bags!

To make your own fabric pumpkin, you'll need:

• a square of fabric (mine was 22" x 22")
• a roll of toilet paper
• some plastic grocery bags (I used 2)
• a strip of brown paper bag rolled up to resemble a stem (you could also try to find a stick that works too)
• a bit of faux greenery
• ribbon

To assemble the pumpkin,

1. Lay your fabric square out flat, and place the toilet paper roll in the middle.
2. Bunch the plastic grocery bags around the roll.
3. Pull up one edge of the fabric and tuck it inside the cardboard roll of the toilet paper. Do this all the way around until you have your pumpkin shape.
4. Stuff your brown paper bag stem (or real stick) and greenery into the cardboard tube along with the fabric.
5. Tie a pretty ribbon around the stem to finish it off.

I'm thinking that you could also make larger pumpkins by using a roll of paper towels and a large square of fabric, but I haven't tested it out. If you do, let me know how it turns out.

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Thanks to my old MOPS group for this fun craft! I miss you all! If you're looking for other frugal ideas, check out Frugal Friday at LifeasMOM.

Leprechaun Trap

In the past week, we've experienced: two sets of out-of-state visitors (both very fun), two children with fevers, one 40th Birthday celebration for my brother-in-law, one (very rare) date night in Santa Barbara, and the return of my cough that previously lasted a month. Yeah, things have been kinda busy around here. Then again, they usually are.

One of the things that has been on our to-do list for the past two weeks is one of Ella's very first big school projects. The first was a collection of 100 things for the 100th Day of Kindergarten. That was easy peasy compared to this one. For this one, Ella needed to design and build a Leprechaun Trap! Of course, with all of the events of the past week, we didn't get started on it until, well, last night. There's nothing like waiting until the last minute!

We looked to Family Fun for some leprechaun trap examples and around the house for some supplies. With a box, some posterboard, scrapbook paper, fishing wire, a clear deli container, a medicine cup, rocks, green felt, a couple of beads, some paint and gold glitter, we crafted Ella's very first leprechaun trap.

This trap is of the "dropping cage" variety. We've got the plastic deli container suspended inside the box by fishing wire and held in place by the "pot of gold" (aka a medicine cup painted black and filled with glitter covered rocks). When the leprechaun enters under the rainbow and picks up the gold, BAM! The cage will fall on top of him...or at least that's the theory. Ella took the trap to school today. Tomorrow just might be a very eventful day at school!

Ella's Valentine Hearts

As I was assembling Ella's Valentines for her class, Brett asked me, "Why don't you just buy Valentines like normal people?" I guess that I just like to create something homemade. Plus, it gives me a chance to use some of those scrapbook tools of mine that have been languishing in the cupboard for far too long. Last year we used my Creative Memories cutting system to cut the hearts for Valentine's Day Blooms. This year, we used it again to make these little babies.

These Valentine Hearts were fun and easy to make. I got Ella to help me make some Crayon Hearts. (This time she wasn't too busy watching TV to help like she was when I made them for our Valentine's mantel.) All we did was take a long sheet of wax paper, fold it in half, and "sandwich" some crayon shavings in different colors between the layers. Then, I placed the wax paper between two sheets of brown paper bag (my thrifty substitute for craft paper) and ironed on low until the crayon melted. Once the sheets were cool, we cut hearts out of them. Then, I printed some simple wording on white cardstock and cut out slightly larger hearts. We finished them off by using a glue stick to put the crayon hearts onto the white heart backing.  Of course, Ella addressed them herself. We think that they turned out cool.

Not only did we create some unique Valentine cards, but they were practically free! Since we already had the supplies at home (wax paper, crayon stubs, and cardstock), it didn't cost us a penny. Okay, so that isn't quite true. The card didn't cost money, but we did spend about $1 on foil-wrapped chocolate hearts. We plan on taping them to the front of the crayon heart so that Ella's friends get a sweet treat on Valentine's Day. All in all, these homemade cards were a fun and frugal way to celebrate Valentine's Day with Ella.

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For other frugal-minded ideas, be sure to check out Frugal Friday at LifeasMOM.

Celebrating Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is in just one week! I don't have plans for date night out. Very rarely do we ever go out on Valentine's Day. However, that doesn't mean that we don't celebrate it. Since we started our family, it has become a tradition to enjoy a special meal together at home. But, it's easy enough to make it a whole day affair...especially with kids! This year, I hope to turn it into an "I Love You Day" Celebration.

I haven't figured out all of my plans this week, but I hope to make the day special for my family in a variety of ways -- decorations, gifts, some fun and of course yummy food. If things work out, I'll be sharing some of my plans throughout the week.

One thing that I know that I will do this week is to make Valentine's cards with Ella for her class. Last year we crafted our own (shown above) using this cool Friendships Blossoms Valentine Craft from Family Fun. The results were so cute...and best of all, Ella loved making them with me. It should be a week of fun!

Ella's 100th Day of Kindergarten

Today was Ella's 100th Day of Kindergarten. In preparation for this special day, Ella was assigned to bring a collection of 100 items to share with the class. Since we got the task when we were knee-deep in planning Ella's 6th Birthday in Pixie Hollow, we decided to make a really, really LONG Pixie Bead Necklace that featured 100 paper beads. We just printed out the template from the Disney pdf and traced it onto several sheets of colored construction paper. Once we had made 100 beads, we strung them on a very long piece of yarn and tied it into a loop. It ended up being a quite out of the ordinary contribution to the Collection of 100 Project.

But, the project was not the only way her class celebrated the 100th Day. Oh, no...they had a whole day of festivities! My neighbor Rebecca graciously agreed to watch Lucie for a couple of hours so that I could join Ella and celebrate with her. It was a rare treat to get to spend some time one-on-one with Ella. When I arrived, the teacher had set out several stations with projects to work on including make a Fruit Loops necklace (with 100 pieces), a stamp book (with 100 stamps), a paper plate shaker (with 100 beans inside) and this crazy little hat with 100 tally marks. Too funny!

At the very end, the Kindergarten and 1st Grade classes had a "snake" parade through all of the classrooms. As you can imagine, it was quite the sight watching the kids march around in get-ups like that!

Valentine's Day Blooms

This Saturday was a quiet day at home. My husband was off supporting his Mock Trial team at the county competition, and I was at home with the two girls while it rained and rained. I'm kinda a homebody, so I didn't mind too much. But, it helped that I was armed with a plan. A plan to make these...

Source: Family Fun

I found this adorable Friendship Blossoms Valentine's Card craft in Family Fun Magazine (February 2010), and since I had all of the supplies on hand, it was a no-brainer. Better yet, Ella is celebrating Valentine's Day with her preschool on Wednesday so it was a great time to get them ready. I had to resist the urge to run out and buy more scrapbooking paper to try to copy these with their pretty pastel colors. Instead, we used some from the huge stacks that I already own, and I let Ella make her own creation. She was very happy with the results, and that is what matters right? Here is what we created together:

Thanksgiving Craft: Turkey Placeholder

A few years ago, our church liaison for our local Mothers of Preschoolers group shared with us one of their Thanksgiving family traditions. Each year before the Thanksgiving dinner, everyone in their family makes a "turkey" using an apple, toothpicks, spice drops and construction paper. Later at the meal, these turkeys serve as placeholders.

I thought that it was a cute idea at the time but Ella was still rather young to do it. Then, two years ago, Ella was nearly three so I thought that we'd give it a try. I was heavily pregnant with Lucie so we decided to stay closer to home and celebrate Thanksgiving with my family. It was a more subdued holiday -- Mom was away supporting her sister through breast cancer treatment, Dad had decided to start some kitchen remodeling just days before Thanksgiving, and my sister Jessica was still living halfway across the country with her brood. So, it was just out little family along with my Dad, my two brothers and my sister Jamie. Despite the fact that Ella was the ONLY child at Thanksgiving, I still insisted that everyone make a turkey. At first I wasn't sure how my brothers or father would take to the idea, but actually everyone participated and we had a good time. Granted, my brothers were excited about the prospect of seeing how far their turkeys could fly across the wash behind my parents house, but they still made them! It made for a sweet memory. I'm hoping to try these again this year with my husband's family. I'm not sure that I could convince all 17 of them to make turkeys, but I think I'll try to get the kids to make them.

Turkey Placeholders

Supplies Needed:

Red Delicious Apples

Toothpicks

Spice Drop (or Gum Drop) Candies

Brown Construction Paper or Cardstock

Markers

1. Make a turkey neck/head out of brown paper or cardstock. Draw an eye on both sides and a red wattle. (You can also use red paper for the wattle if you wish.)
2. Lay the apple on its side and cut a slit on the stem end of the apple. Stick in the paper head.
3. At the other end of the apple, use two toothpicks for legs to stablize the turkey on the bottom.
4. On the top, make as many "feathers" as you like by skewering the spice drops on toothpicks and sticking them into the apple.
5. Use your finished turkeys as place holders at your Thankgsiving meal!