100 Days T-Shirt Idea

We are celebrating 100 days of Kindergarten with 100 snowflakes! 

So this is my third child going through school and it's the first time there has been a 100 days of school t-shirt request. The teacher suggested we look on Pinterest for t-shirt inspiration and holy cow, there are lots! I wanted something cute and a little girly that my daughter might want to wear again. I figured a winter scene with snowflakes would work great. 

• dollar store t-shirt
• dimensional fabric paint
• acrylic paint
• fabric medium

 Once in a while you can find exactly what you need at the dollar store. I was so excited they had the right size t-shirt and a color I could work with that day! I put a piece of cardboard inside the shirt so there wouldn't be any paint bleeding through. This also gives you a smooth flat surface to work on. 

I mixed a little fabric medium with my acrylic paint and painted on the ground and trees with a paint brush. Next I added the little stick figure with dimensional paint. The last thing to do is add the 100 snowflakes! Little tip here, count as you go! It's kinda hard to count wet, randomly placed snowflakes. I had to start over so many times!

Congratulations, you're 100 days smarter! Happy 100 days of school!

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Gifts Kids Can Make

Get kids more involved in gift GIVING!

When my kids were little, we would take them to the grandparents, aunts and uncles to spread holiday cheer and of course to exchange gifts. At that time, they were still little and it was pretty much all about the kids. I found them having the attitude of, "I'm here, where's my present?" Ummm, I don't think so!

How do you teach kids it's better to give than to receive? Who am I kidding, we all love to get gifts! We did it by implementing a family gift exchange. We exchange names every year at Thanksgiving, the kids exchange names with the kids and the adults exchange with the adults. It's tons of fun and it's a great way to get the kids excited about giving, not to mention way more economical than buying a present for every single member of the family! In addition to the gift exchange I have my three children get or make gifts for each other as well. The kids end up happy to get their own gift but are really excited to see the reaction that their gift they gave gets.

Another way to get kids more involved in gift giving is making homemade gifts. It gets them away from the idea of ‘material’ gifts and helps them start thinking about meaningful gift ideas instead. There are some great ways to give homemade gifts that people will really want and use. Here are a few ideas that would be great for kids to do themselves or at least help out with...

Photo Gifts

I'm a huge fan of photo gifts. I take tons of pictures throughout the year and now is a great time to get them out of your computer for everyone to see. Sites like Shutterfly have tons of beautiful photo gifts you can personalize. Your kids could absolutely help pick out their favorite photos from the year and make something like a photo book or a calendar for the grandparents, OR...hand over your camera!

While browsing through Shutterfly I was trying to think how you could make all these awesome gifts more kid friendly. Here's the secret, your photos don't have to be of people! Let your kids take photos of their gift recipient's favorite stuff! It could be a special toy, sports equipment, favorite places or even pets. Their pictures could be compiled into a holiday calendar or poster collage. They could even take one special picture and put it on a blanket, pillow or cup. There are so many possibilities!

Here's a project that my boys have been working on for their sister. They're taking her Barbies and making a calendar.

Put Kid's Artwork On A Pillowcase
I saw this great DIY idea to transfer kids artwork on to tea towels and it got me thinking, how else could kids share their unique artwork? My oldest son loves to draw and I wish more people could see and appreciate his art. Here is a homemade pillow case he made as a gift for his brother. 

Soap
Melt and pour soap is crazy easy. You can purchase the soap base and scented oil at almost any craft supply store. Let the kids pick out and experiment with different add ins. Melt base in microwave, add the scent oil and any other add ins, then pour into molds. See my Honey Almond Chamomile Recipe here. If you did clear glycerin soap you could even stick a prize inside for fun soaps for kids!

Bracelets

Bracelets are fun and easy, plus they are great for girls or boys. I spent hours making friendship bracelets when I was a kid and now they are back in style. Here are some creative tutorials I found online:

1. Zipper Bracelet: BRIT+CO
2. Friendship Bracelets: Art Projects For Kids
3. Soda Tab Bracelet: All Free Jewelry Making
4. Paracord Bracelet: Instructables

Sock Creatures
Make stuffed creatures out of stray socks! This project is better for kids a little bit older that can handle a needle and thread. I found this book Stupid Sock Creatures at my library and my kids really had fun with it. See the sock creatures my kids created and my tutorial for a sock monkey here.

Personalized Headphones Or Phone Charger

You can't go anywhere without seeing someone on their cell or with ear buds in. My kids go through headphone like crazy! It seems like either the head phones or the phone chargers are always lost or getting mixed up with someone else's. You can easily personalize these with embroidery floss! All you "not crafty" people, never fear...it's so easy, your kids can do it! You only have to know how to tie a knot! Tutorial here.

Yummy Treats

I usually go way overboard with Christmas cookies...along with everyone else. What if you gave ready to bake cookie dough instead? That way your friends, neighbors, teachers, family could bake it later after they've eaten all their other Christmas cookies! See how I make mine here. Last year as an alternative to cookies I made various flavored popcorn. There are a billion recipes on Pinterest for everyone's taste. Toss it in a cute container and it's the perfect gift! Kids love to help out in the kitchen and the popcorn especially is really easy.

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Simple driftwood wind chimes

I decided how to show off my beach souvenirs from various vacations with this easy project and add some decor to my outdoor space.

First I gathered my supplies and the remnants of the beach I brought home from my last beach day. Of course being in Charleston, SC I am spoiled and have access to the beach all the time. The good thing about this project is that you could literally use any type of rocks, shells, sticks, beads, or even interesting coins. Just be creative and think of how you can use it to display those little things you or your child collect on hikes or vacation. 

I purchased a small candle holder ($1 from Goodwill) to use for the top portion to hang the chimes, a pendant charm to dangle at the end, and some hemp string to tie it all together. The wind chimes themselves were cheap plain chimes I found for $5 at World Market.

I disassembled the chimes first. Then I started by taking each chime and tying on the decorative items. I used sea glass from the beaches of Italy, driftwood from the beaches of Charleston, and shells from the beaches of Belize. After I tied on each item to a chime I hung the longest chime the lowest onto the  "hanger" fashioned from the candle holder. After this I hung each chime higher than the next forming a spiral around the circle. 

When I finished I took the metal pieces from the original chimes that create the noise and tied those on a long piece of string with the weighted pendant on the end. This string hangs in the middle and is what clinks against the chimes to make the noise. 

Now my beach treasures aren't sitting in a box forgotten anymore!

Project contributed by Tara

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Have you thought of getting away to the beach? I know the owner of this great rental property who still has dates still available! Visit Florida West Coast Rentals to get more info and check out all the amenities.

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Another Sock Creature

This is my first attempt at a sock creature. I have no idea what this is supposed to be, but whatever, it was fun to try something new. After this one I learned a few things...see my sock monkey tutorial.

So first thing to do is plan out what you want your creature to look like and how to cut up the socks.

Sew everything inside out, then turn right side out and stuff with fiber fill. You can't see in the pictures but I cut a slit in the back of the body so I could turn inside out to attach the ears with no rough seams on the outside. When I was done I just stitched it close with needle and thread.

I attached arms and legs with needle and thread, folding the rough cut edged inside so you wouldn't see them.

The heel of the sock forms the face and I decided later to add a mouth. You can see here that I used socks that were very thin and some of the fiber fill is started to creep out. Live and learn.

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