Homemade Valentine's

 We have finished our school Valentine's today! Hooray! I love making homemade Valentine's with the kids. I'm not even sure they know there is anything different, but man I could certainly use a nap now.
Grayson loves to create just as much as Emma and this being his first school year he was very excited to make Valentine's for his adorable little friends. We went with a rock theme since, well, my boy loves rocks. I just love how our rock dino cards came out. For more instructions head over to Kiwi Crate.

 I change what is on our art table seasonally. For the past couple weeks I have had a "salad bar" style Valentine making station out for the kids to create with however they wish. These are supplies we always have on hand, but for some reason when I present them in a different way they are so very exciting to Emma.

 She has made some really beautiful Valentine's for family and friends. I usually get at least one a day and I love it! Check out my tutorial over at Kiwi Crate for more tips on making an open Valentine station for your kids.

 I know I shared this one with you all already, but after Emma insisted on adding a beehive we added this sweet addition to her school Valentine's. I just love the beehive, it's like it was meant to be all along. We used card stock, yarn and some cute bee stickers we found in our way too big sticker box!

 And I tell you just how to make those darling bees over at Kiwi Crate.

Lastly, finger print heart stamped cards are always a fun one for children to make. I shared this simple and fun Valentine at Kiwi Crate.
I hope you try and make some homemade cards this year. Happy Valentine's Day!
xo
green owl mama

DIY Bubble Necklace

 Today Em has woke up early and headed into our art room for some major gift crafting time. She has a long list of ideas and has that creative look in her eyes that makes a mama proud! I think we might just stay in the art room all day long.

 Since we are in homemade gift mode at the moment I thought I would share this favorite of ours that is perfect for a friend, cousin or anyone that loves to get fancy! Best of all you don't need much to make this great gift--a few large wooden beads, twine, acrylic paint (we like shimmery colors,) a paint brush and a paper cup.

 The paper cup is helpful to paint the wooden beads all at once without them rolling all over the place.

 Once they are covered pretty well we laid them on a piece of cardboard to dry and touched up a few spots with paint.

A little twine brought our very cool bubble necklace to life! I think that's pretty good for a DIY gift, don't you?
We have made a few of these now and it is a lot of fun to experiment with new paint colors. A favorite of mine was the black and white (aka zebra necklace) that Em made for a friend. We also tried some florescent colors that were a big hit!
Happy gift crafting!

I shared this and many more homemade gift ideas over at Kiwi Crate. 

Fabric Canvas Collage

 We just got back from a beautiful Thanksgiving week with family and now I am feeling ready to conquer Christmas! Our tree is up, lights are on and homemade gifts in the works. You all know I love a good homemade gift for so many reasons, but mostly because it gets my kids being creative and resourceful. Buy less--create more!

 For this simple collage we used fabric scraps, mod podge, a canvas, scissors and foam brush.

 Looking at this photo now it looks a little dangerous, but I assure you I was close by watching like a hawk. She just loves the grown-up tools and I don't blame her, ever try cutting fabric with kids scissors??

 Em cut random pieces of her favorite fabric scraps and then arranged them into a collage on the canvas.

 Once she settled on a design she used mod podge to hold the fabric to the canvas. A good coat over the entire canvas at the end helps to give it a nice smooth look.

I love this project for just about any age because it can be an image or just a beautiful abstract work of art. This is going to be a great gift to custom for grandparents.

I shared this over at Kiwi Crate. Head there for the full tutorial!

Tile Art

 When we came across some tiles that were at a local home warehouse recycling center, I grabbed a handful with absolutely no idea what to do. When Em and I started experimenting by decorating the tiles with permanent markers, we were amazed at how beautiful they came out. These tiles are a simple (and gorgeous!) gift!

 All you need for this craft is a few tiles and permanent markers. So easy and you can turn these into trivets, coasters or just a fun wall hanging. This is a great homemade gift the kids can make for family.

 We discovered that drawing a black outline first really made the colors pop. The kids personalized some for grandparents. I know their little drawings will be treasured.

 Even the little guy could join in on this project.

OK, so I got a little involved in this one myself. They are a bit addicting. This was a really fun art project to do as a family. The kids didn't need much guidance and I enjoyed it just as much as they did. We will be doing this one again very soon!

I shared this full tutorial over at Kiwi Crate.

Halloween Treat Jars

The kids and I love to give treats out to our neighbors, teachers, friends, the mailman.....you get it! The holidays are always a good time to acknowledge and thank those special people in your life or just to say hello to a neighbor that you may not know very well. Treats (and a friendly gesture) work magic!

 We made these jars a couple of years ago and they were a lot of fun for the kids to create their own little self designed creature on top. They came out very abstract and adorable. This year Em and G had a very specific idea of what they wanted to make.
I started by covering the top of the jars with (the kids choice) of Halloween fabric. Next, they used a styrofoam ball for a head.

 Some got painted.

 This one we just covered in gauze, hot glued right to the fabric covered lid and added a couple of eyes.

 G wanted to make a kitty for his teacher. We used a low temperature hot glue gun to add the eyes and ears. He still needs assistance with the hot glue, but Em is now a pro. You can also try tacky glue for this when working with younger children.

 Check out Em's monster! She made this for her teacher because she said he loves spooky stuff. I think she nailed it, this monster is pretty spooky!

We filled our jars with our friends favorite treats and will delivery them this week for a special "Happy Halloween" to all the great people that surround us each day.

I think these would be fun to change up for each holiday. I would love to see the kids create a reindeer and Santa jar.

Pumpkin Spice Lip Balm

I recently discovered how simple it is to make our own lip balm and shortly after that I also discovered that Emma thinks it is the best thing ever!! This sort of project can be a little intimidating to do with children (because of the hot melted wax and all!) but with careful supervision it is a great opportunity to show children how resourceful they can be.

 What we used:
equal parts of beeswax, cocoa butter and coconut oil (we used 2 tbs of each) and 1/4 tsp of pumpkin spice. 

I have a designated pot that is made to melt wax. You can use any small stainless pot, but be sure to mark it "for crafting only!"
Emma measured out all of the ingredients (another great opportunity to work on measurements) and added them all to our pot. She helped me to stir over a low heat until everything was melted and combined together.

 I took over at this point and filled our empty lip balm sticks with the wax mixture. My pot has a small spout for this, but if you are using a regular pot you can pick up a glass dropper to fill the sticks.
While the wax settled, Emma used some plain mailing labels to customize her lip balm. She absolutely loved this part. She, of course, became a fancy-lip-balm-store-shop-owner and set-up a little processing line.

Did I mention our house smelled amazing while making these? You can experiment with different scents by adding essential oils and spices. I am lucky enough to live by a great little store that sells everything I need to make lip balm and more, but if you are looking for somewhere online I also adore Bulk Apothecary.

DIY Graphic Tee for Back to School

 Well, we have started the count down (boohoo!) Summer vacation is almost over and we are starting to prepare for another wonderful school year. This is such an easy way to make a very cool t-shirt for back to school and also a good way to kick off the conversations about all things to come.

 Materials 

• t-shirt (pre-washed)
• masking tape
• fabric paint
• sponge brush
• sheet of paper

 1. Make your image outline using masking tape right onto the shirt. (Things with straight lines work best with this technique. Think simple!)
2. Add a sheet of paper or cardboard in between the shirt layers to keep the paint from going through to the other side.

 3. Squeeze small amounts of fabric paint onto the shirt and use the sponge brush to fill in your image. You want a very thin layer of paint.

 4. Once you are done filling in the image you can pull the tape off and let dry for a few hours.

There you have it! This was so easy and fun to customize for my daughter. I think I may have a new crafty addiction!

Coloring Book T-Shirt

 I surprised Emma with this coloring book t-shirt awhile back. It was a big hit and gave me a chance to get crafty, too!

 At first I thought I would use a coloring page to place inside the shirt and trace my drawing, but I decided to free hand a drawing for her. Either way works. I used black puffy paint for my outline.

 Be sure to have a sheet pf paper or cardboard on the inside of the t-shirt so the paint doesn't go through to the back. Once my drawing was complete I let it dry over night.

 The next day I gave my creation to Emma along with some fabric markers. I think sharpies may work for this as well, although I have yet to test it and not sure how they survive the washing machine.

 This was a fun activity for Emma. She loved the idea of coloring right on a t-shirt. I think this would make a pretty great birthday gift for friends.

She proudly sports this t-shirt often and is sure to let everyone know she made that work of art!

I shared the Coloring Book T-Shirt over at Kiwi Crate. Head on over for more details.

Homemade Father's Day Gifts

 Hello Friends! I've missed you. It's been awhile since I have been able to sit down and share some crafty fun. We are down to the wire of an awesome first year in elementary school. We are busy bees and a little emotional, too. How did my baby go from first steps to first grade so quickly?! Can I just freeze time for a few moments? OK, I am getting a bit sidetracked now (see, I told you...EMOTIONAL!) Back to my first intentions of this post, Father's Day!

 We found some old softballs at a thrift shop and Grayson just couldn't put them down. When we got home we thought we could use these for a fun Father's Day gift. Emma used permanent markers to personalize the balls and write a few sweet notes on each. She had fun turning an old softball into a work of art and it sure is the perfect canvas for her sports loving Daddy.

 

Pretty sweet, right? I think it will look great on my husband's desk. For my full tutorial check out this post over on Kiwi Crate.

 Our next Father's Day surprise started with this great wood slice we found at the craft store. I attached a ribbon to the back so it can easily be hung and Emma made a beautiful portrait of her and her Daddy.

Another great office decor gift. She's so proud of her work. More details at Kiwi Crate.

 In case you didn't know, we love jars! Here is another way we have used them for a craft, Mason Jar Photo Frame. With some cool buttons, a sweet photo and yarn we turned this jar into a great frame for Dad.

You can add anything into the jar to hold your photo up. Coins would be a good one to use.

 We used some jars again for a snack basket for Father's Day. We first went shopping and the kids picked out their Daddy's favorite snacks (and a few of their own favorites, too!)

 They filled the jars with the snacks. Can you guess who's favorite those are? I had to move that jar out of sight for awhile in order to finish this craft.

 Emma chose a painting she had already made and used the mason lid to trace circles on her artwork.

 She cut each circle out and we used them to cover the jar lids and make them special for Father's Day.

Look how great our Snack Jar Basket came out! I think we will deliver this one a little early straight to my husbands office. The kids would love that!

 

OK, I'm sorry, but I just have to get a bit sappy for a moment. Happy Father's Day to my dear sweet husband. I always knew you'd be an amazing father to our children, but you amaze me everyday with the the insane amount of love, laughs, knowledge and pure happiness you give these sweet kids of ours each day. They adore you and so do I.
xo
green owl mama