B is for butterfly snack

Better late than never!!!

I am finally getting around to posting the very simple butterfly snack we made. I ended up eating it because my son won't usually touch anything new. It was yummy!!

B is for butterfly...

I used peanut butter but if allergies are an issue, cream cheese or flavored cream cheese work well too. You could also use icing.
You need:
celery
peanut butter
pretzels


I used broken pieces of pretzels for the antenna but I am sure you could use pieces of string twizzlers (pull and peel) or something else.

This picture turned out terrible... but it shows the idea, anyways! Bon appetite!

D is for Daisy

I have had this ready all week but we finally got around to making it. To prepare for your daisy, all you need is a circle, petals and something to glue for the letter D. Tristan chose pompoms.

I precut everything out then I showed T where everything should go. Then he started to get it glued down. Not too bad!

D is for dinosaur feet

Yesterday, Tristan and I painted his dinosaur feet. They would have been really cute had we painted the claws a different color, but we stuck with black. It was the easiest way for Tristan to paint them :)

First, find some sturdy cardboard. We used a pampers box and it worked GREAT.
Next, draw and cut out your dinosaur feet. If you draw a basic tulip, you will be fine.
Then, PAINT!!

Let the paint dry completely.
Then you are going to punch two holes in each dinosaur foot. Through these holes you will be stringing ribbon or twine or yarn, whichever you choose. Where you thread the string depends on your child's feet. String it from below so that you can tie it on top.

Let the dinosaur fun begin! :) Have fun! I am picturing these as a party favor for a dinosaur birthday party. Haha!!

mod podge

wwAs I have stated before, I LOVE working with Mod Podge. MOD PODGE ROCKS reposted an awesome tutorial on how to make these amazing dishes. I was so excited to see this because the time I tried this, it failed. I know what I will be doing this weekend during Hurricane Irene...mod podging plates!

I get a lot of questions about whether or not you can Mod Podge on glass plates.  The answer is yes, you can.  One thing that you should always keep in mind is that you should Mod Podge on the back of the plates, because Mod Podge isn't food safe.  I spotted these at Frugal with a Flourish and I love the colors - Pretty Handy Girl did an awesome tutorial as a guest post to show you how Mod Podging on the back of plates works.  It's quite simple, and great for a beginning Podger.  Visit the complete tutorial here. (As written by Mod Podge Rocks.)

Thank you Mod Podge Rocks for passing this on!

 

 

BOOK GIVEAWAY!!

Angie, from My Four Monkeys, does some awesome giveaways on her blog! Be sure to check them out at http://www.myfourmonkeys.com/http://www.myfourmonkeys.com/2011/08/my-four-monkeys-story-time-extra-special-by-ashley-clement-frey-giveaway/.

This week she is giving my book Extra Special away in addition to several other items. Jump over and take a look! She also wrote a nice book review as well.

Doodles and Glue: ETSY!!!!!!!!!

Doodles and Glue: ETSY!!!!!!!!!

ETSY!!!!!!!!!

I love making things. I always have and probably always will. Now that I am a SAHM I actually have a little bit of time to get crafty. Although I honestly believe it is more of an enjoyment then something to profit from, I figured I needed something to do with the things I make. I can't keep it all! That is where my favorite website comes in. ETSY. I decided to go ahead and open a store on ETSY. The fees are minimal and hopefully I can sell some of my projects! Jump on over and take a look!

D is for dinosaur fossils

Ok so maybe your fossils do not have to be dinosaur ones, but have fun making fossil prints! Follow these simple steps to have your own fossil prints. Your child will have a blast!

If you already have dough or play dough, simply take a ball of dough and make it as flat as you can. Then have your child use household objects like coins, cars, and other toys to make prints in the dough. Encourage your child to be creative and to see how many items he/she can find that make cool "fossils". Have your child try to make footprints using toys in the dough.

Dough recipe
(1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, 1 cup water, 1 tbsp oil, 2 tsp cream of tartar)

• Mix all ingredients in a pot and stir over medium heat.
• Mixture will be soupy with lumps. Suddenly it will form into a ball.
• Remove from heat, and knead on a non-stick surface.
• Useful for many types of projects.
• Store in fridge, or allow creations to air dry.

Note:  By the time you have kneaded it for 3-5 minutes, it should look and feel like playdough.  This dough can crack as it dries depending on the shape of the object.

Dinosaur soap

I HAD to pass this on! What an excellent idea!!! All credit for this post goes to Hands on Crafts for Kids. Thanks for letting me share your idea!

by Tracia Ledford Williams

It's hard to resist adding a fun project to clean up. Make decorative soaps for a fun look at dinosaurs. You will need: Clear glycerin soap Colored glycerin soap Soap molds Plastic dinosaurs Microwave Glass measuring cups Sharp knife Optional: glitter and fragrance oil Instructions: Have an adult, cut clear glycerin soap into 1" cubes and colored glycerin soap into 1/4" cubes. Place into glass measuring cups and heat in the microwave on high for 15 seconds at a time. Check between times. Do not overheat soap, just melt it. Place dinosaurs into the molds, pour clear glycerin over them, and place small colored pieces of glycerin into the mold around the dinosaur. Allow soap to cool 1-2 hours, or place into refrigerator for 30 minutes. Lightly twist mold and remove soaps from mold. Soaps can be placed in a clear cellophane bag and decorated with stickers for gift giving. Delta Soap Creations™, Fragrant Accents™, Finishing Touches™, Clear Glycerin, No Tip Mold.

D is for dinosaur coloring sheets

Tristan is watching the Land Before Time right as I type this. I remember this movie from when I was a child! He is just now showing interest in dinosaurs. I found some great coloring sheets through ask.com and thought I would pass them along. All you have to do is print them! Thanks, ask.com! Enjoy!

CLICK HERE FOR DINOSAUR COLORING SHEETS

D is for...

This week we are off to a slow start. We have had so many things going on that we have not had time to sit down and create anything! Sorry for such a delay in posting. I have had lot of time for D planning and so I wanted to give you a list of ideas you can take to make some D items. I will be posting again once we get to make our projects. :)

D words...

Dad (we will be doing this one!!!)
dinosaur
dolls
door
dragonfly
dog
dice
dance
dime
dirt
dollar
doctor
dentist
daisy (we are doing this one)
dance
drum
    

What can you come up with for these words??? Let's share some ideas!!

C is for Clipboards

These are some of my FAVORITE things to make. Needless to say, this is a craft that Tristan did not partake in, but it could be adapted for him! I am sure he could make something cute. Anyways, I just wanted to share!

I make these (and most things I make) using Mod Podge. You can get it at any craft store. They sell several versions, but for this, you just need to regular kind. It has an orange label. :)

                                



The front of a mini clipboard. Perfect for note and check lists!

                                                                           The back...

                                                                             Aloha!

                                                        The back of the full sized one.

C is for Colors!!!

There are so many things you can do with "colors" but Tristan is really enjoying paper and glue. Works for me! Budget friendly and gets the point across. I do hope to venture into some other things soons, but for now, we are happy.

I am proud of him for remembering the words and letters and sounds we have been talking about. I am so honored to be able to stay home to have these times with my little fella!






C is for colors...

C is for Canoe

Let me begin by saying that I thought this would be easy....it must not have been our day...

I cut out two matching "canoes" and punched holes along the bottom. Then we laced a fuzzy yarn trough the holes. I just used what I had close by but any string, yarn, twine  would work. The reason we struggled was beacuse of the yarn we used. Even with taping the end of it so it would go through the hole, it kept getting stuck.

Anyways, I am sure you can do much better than we did! Tristan liked that it had a pocket. We only laced the bottom so that the top would open up. If you dont care about the pocket then just use one canoe and lace around the whole thing.

More caterpillars...

I am finally able to post Tristan's caterpillars. After working with the shapes and colors, he said he wanted to make another one. We glued it on the paper that he took to practice cutting. ;)




 With this one, we talked alot about colors and shapes. I let him glue them how he wanted. You can see the globs of glue coming through the paper!! :)

This is the second one he wanted to make. It was actually nice because he started counting the circles and talking about the shape.








I wanted to paint the egg carton and turn that into a caterpillar but we ran out of time. We have been busy, busy, busy! Hopefully we will get to that next week. If you try it, be sure to use the egg cartons that are cardboard. Paint sticks to it MUCH better than the styrofoam ones.