How to Make a Pencil Box out of a Swiffer Box

How to Make a Pencil Box out of a Swiffer Box

Posted by Unknown on 2:44 PM in arts and crafts, Back to School, craft ideas for kids,

School started this week, and the boys already have homework! Yay... You can see my excitement there, right? Well, for getting homework done, you've got to have supplies: pencils, erasers, crayons, markers, scissors, ruler... So, here I am are at home, hunting for those darned leftover school supplies. I'm thinking, "I know they're somewhere in this closet, packed away with previous years of art projects, drawings, school pictures, grade reports, the kids' letters to me and my husband, old notebook journals with their illegible but cute handwriting...

While looking for a pencil in decent shape for my boys, I'm faced with this time consuming distraction, struggling to get them to actually sit down at the table to get started with their homework.

So, when cleaning my house the other day, I noticed how wet Swiffer boxes make pretty good pencil boxes. The size of the box is great (not too small or not too big), and the lid is pretty resilient and easy to open and close. I had one of those "Aha!" moments, and thought I could use it as a pencil box.

This was a super easy project. I wanted to decorate the box, so that way it would be more exciting for the boys when getting supplies to do their homework. Hey, anything that makes homework time more exciting is a plus! I got out my bag of colorful craft popsicle sticks, and I also used Glue Dots (glue lines are perfect for the popsicle sticks, but you can use the craft style circles as well).

The design is up to you. You can create patterns, use just one color, or make it colorful like mine. At home, we called ours, "The Box of Many Colors". My kids really enjoyed the colorful pattern and even gave me some suggestions on adding some thin popsicle sticks at the top. Although they did not do this project with me, this was so easy to do that you could make this art project with your child if you wish.

Now that the box is done, it's already sitting on the corner of the kitchen counter, full of school supplies, peacocking... When the boys are ready to do their homework, all they need to do, is open the "Box of Many Colors" and get to work! A simple, cheap, and easy way to make our lives a little bit easier.

Pencil Box
What You Need:

• Empty Swiffer box (wet Swiffer)
• A package of popsicle sticks
• Glue Dots (glue lines)
• Your and your kid's creativity!

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Be my Monster! Valentines OR Party Necklaces

Be my Monster! Valentines OR Party Necklaces

Posted by Unknown on 6:26 PM in arts and crafts, craft ideas for kids,

Today is Valentine's Day, and I just wanted to share a cute and easy necklace I prepared for my sons' classmates today... I know you all probably helped prepare something for your kiddos already, but this "Be my Monster" necklace still would make a great party favor! This is how to make it:

YOU NEED (for 1 Monster Necklace):

• 1 1/2 inch pom-pom (any color you want)
• 2 wiggly eyes (any color you want)
• 5 1/2 inch chenille stem-any color you want (for the ears/antennae)
• 2 1/2 inch chenille stem-same color as the antennae (to make the small ring)
• 20 inch neon necklace with connector (to close the necklace)
• 40 beads (assorted colors) I like to use the *Perler Beads
• 5 1/2 by 4 inch card (any color you want)

HOW TO MAKE IT:

• Take the 2 1/2 inch chenille stem and make a small ring. 
• Take the neon necklace, make a loop around the ring and tie a knot (see picture).
• Glue the ring with the necklace on the back of the pom-pom. I like to use *Glue Dots Adhesives (*1 inch Glue Lines).
• Take the 5 1/2 inch chenille stem and fold it in half (see picture). Bend the two edges in the shape of small ears/circles (or antennas). 
• Glue the chenille stem on the front of the pom-pom. I again use the *1 inch Glue Lines. 
• Glue the 2 wiggly eyes on the top of the chenille stem (see picture). I use the *Glue Dots  3/16 inch Mini, or you can buy the peel-&-stick wiggly eyes. 
• Insert the 40 beads in the necklace (20 for each side). After adding the beads, tie a knot to keep the beads in place (see picture).
• Insert the connector inside the neon necklace.
• Use a hole punch to punch two holes on the top of the card (about 1 inch from the edge or 3 inches apart).
• Attach the necklace to the card (see picture).
• Write "Be my Monster!" or any other lovely personal message you and your kiddos want!
• Have fun!

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How to Make Easy and Affordable Christmas Gift Bags ("GOODY BAG IT!" COLLECTION)

How to Make Easy and Affordable Christmas Gift Bags ("GOODY BAG IT!" COLLECTION)

Posted by Unknown on 11:17 PM in "GOODY BAG IT!", arts and crafts, Christmas, craft ideas for kids,

Christmas is around the corner, and for all the busy moms out there, I wanted to offer you and your little ones more ideas and FREE printables to create easy and fun Christmas gift bags (the "Goody Bag It!" collection)! It’s very affordable, since all you need is either a plain gift bag or brown bag, scissors, and glue (I like to use “glue dots”). Go ahead, have fun, and Merry Christmas! :D

• INSTRUCTIONS:

• PENGUIN/FOR A GIFT BAG (small card included)
• Save the printable in your computer and print it on a photo "semi glossy" paper
• Cut the hat, penguin, feet, and small card
• Glue the body parts and hat as shown in the photo
• Use a hole punch to punch a hole in the corner of the card
• Insert a small string into the hole of the card and tie it to the gift bag handle
• Add the gifts inside the bag
• Enjoy! And have a wonderful Christmas! 

• SANTA  CLAUS/FOR A BROWN BAG
• Save the printable in your computer and print it on a photo "semi glossy" paper
• Cut the hat, ball for the hat, white band, eyes, eyebrows, nose, beard, body, hands, and feet
• Add the gifts inside the bag 
• Cut the dotted lines on the hat and put middle tab over one side of the brown bag, and the two pointy outside tabs will hold the bag closed from the back (i.e., keep bag closed)
• Cover the outside of the hat with the white band
• Glue the body parts as shown in the photo
• Enjoy! And have a wonderful Christmas! 

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How to Make an Easy and Affordable Thanksgiving Gift Bag ("GOODY BAG IT!" COLLECTION)

How to Make an Easy and Affordable Thanksgiving Gift Bag ("GOODY BAG IT!" COLLECTION)

Posted by Unknown on 4:17 PM in "GOODY BAG IT!", arts and crafts, craft ideas for kids, Thanksgiving,

Thanksgiving is coming so fast, and for all the busy moms out there, I wanted to offer you and your kiddos this FREE, printable, easy and fun Thanksgiving goodie bag and instructions! It’s very affordable (and I know we all love that!), since all you need is a brown bag, scissors, and glue (I like to use “glue dots”). Go ahead, have fun, and make your children's teachers smile on this Thanksgiving! Or surprise the grandparents with a gobble gift! And as always, for everything, give thanks! :D

• INSTRUCTIONS:

• Save the printable in your computer and print it on a photo "semi glossy" paper
• Cut the tail, hat, eyes, beak, wings, neck, and feet
• Add the gifts inside the bag 
• Cut the dotted lines on the tail and put middle tab over one side of the brown bag, and the two pointy outside tabs will hold the bag closed from the back (i.e., keep bag closed)
• Glue the body parts as shown in the photo
• Enjoy! And have a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

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How to Make a Yoda Pumpkin for Halloween

How to Make a Yoda Pumpkin for Halloween

Posted by Unknown on 6:51 PM in arts and crafts, craft ideas for kids, Halloween,

My boys are in the "Star Wars" phase where everything must be "Star Wars" related...from pj's, to Lego Star Wars, to movies, to bed spreads... So, last year we decided to make a Yoda pumpkin to put outside our front door. Now, this is not a pumpkin carved to look like Yoda (I do watch "Halloween Wars" on Food Network and am always impressed on how amazing and fast the artists can do it...), this is an easier way to do it, and also, it's something you can keep and use again for the following year! In the past, when I made a penguin and a bat pumpkin, I used real pumpkins and painted them. The work turned out pretty good, but by the time Halloween came, the pumpkins were all moldy on the bottom... So, when we decided to make a Yoda, I went for practicality. First I bought a synthetic, already colored green pumpkin at Hobby Lobby (so I didn't have to buy paint and color the pumpkin). These synthetic, foamy pumpkins are really easy to use, and I can poke holes in it, cut it, or glue anything onto it. Then, I bought 4 peel-&-stick, adhesive-backed felt papers, 2 peel-&-stick big size wiggly eyes, and popsicle sticks. Finally, for the Yoda body, I bought a Yoda outfit (size 18 months) and grabbed an old pillow. I will give the step-by-step instructions, and I'm also including a sample of the ears, eyes, and hands, so you can just print it out, trace it, and cut it! For the eyes, you have two alternatives: you can trace the eyes onto the pumpkin and use white acrylic paint, or you can buy white peel-&-stick, adhesive-backed felt paper. It's up to you!  

YODA PUMPKIN
You will need:

• synthetic green pumpkin
• 1-2 sheets of light green peel-&-stick, adhesive-backed felt paper (1 extra in case both large ears don't fit on the same paper)
•  3-4 sheets of dark green peel-&-stick, adhesive-backed felt paper (1 for the hands, 1 for the large ears, 1 for the small ears, and 1 extra in case both large ears don't fit on the same paper)
• white acrylic paint OR 1 sheet of white peel-&-stick, adhesive-backed felt paper
• 2 peel-&-stick wiggly eyes (large size)
• 2 popsicle sticks
• glue
• scissors
• sharpie
• Yoda costume (size 18 moths)
• small size baseball bat

Directions:

•  Peel off the sticky sides of both the light green and dark green felt papers and glue the sticky sides together (so on one side you have light green and on the other side you have dark green).
• Trace both large ears onto the light green felt paper (*I'm providing a sample of both ears).
• Cut out both ears.
• Trace the small ears onto the dark green felt paper, cut them out, peel them off, and glue each one on the middle of each large ear.
• Take the popsicle sticks and glue each one of them on the back of the large ears (on the dark green side, BUT leave about 1 inch of the popsicle stick out).
• With a sharpie, trace the eyes on the pumpkin and paint them with the white acrylic paint (it will need at least 2-3 coats, so each time you paint, let them dry and then paint another coat, until you can't see the green color anymore). OR
• Trace the eyes onto the white felt paper, cut them out, peel them off, and glue each one on the green pumpkin (about 2 inches apart).
• Attach the wiggly eyes to the eyes.
• Hold the ears next to the pumpkin, above the eyes, and when they look right, mark a small spot (with the sharpie) where you want to place them.
• Insert the ears, by putting a little pressure with the exposed popsicle stick (it's not necessary to push too hard).
• Take the sharpie and draw Yoda's eyebrows, nose, mouth, lines of mouth, and chin.
• Take the pillow and put on the Yoda's costume. Insert the top of the pillow with the baseball bat inside the hollow end of the pumpkin. Think "scarecrow"-like effect.
• Trace both hands onto the dark green felt paper (*I'm providing a sample of the hands-Mine has 5 fingers, which the boys later corrected me saying Yoda only has 3 fingers, so I'm giving you the sample with 3 fingers).
• Cut the hands out, peel them off, and glue each one on the sleeve/body of the Yoda outfit (*please see picture).
•  Have fun! And "May the force be with you!" :D
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

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How to Make a Sparky Dragon Sock Puppet

How to Make a Sparky Dragon Sock Puppet

Posted by Unknown on 2:12 AM in arts and crafts, craft ideas for kids,

A few months ago, my husband and I read our book, "Dragon Howl" to a large group of children at our public library. After we read the story, we helped the kids make a fun arts & crafts project!
I really wanted the children to imagine "flying with the dragon", and I also wanted the kids to take something home with them, so they could relive the adventure.
Trying to get the "Sparky sock puppet" right took some trial and error, but the end result was great! The children really enjoyed soaring and swooping the dragon around the room! One thing that I would strongly recommend is to use (purchase) red socks instead of dyeing white socks red... When I tried to dye some white socks red, they all turned out pink and soggy (we were afraid to put the socks in the dryer, because we thought they might stain it)... Fortunately, my husband found a few packages of red socks on sale at a local retailer. :) Here are the step-by-step instructions with some pictures. Hope you and your little one enjoys!


You will need:

• red sock
• 1 sheet of red peel-&-stick, adhesive-backed felt paper
• 1 sheet of sparkly orange felt paper
• 2 peel-&-stick wiggly eyes (blue or child's choice of color)
• scissors
• sharpie
• box cutter

Directions:

• Trace both wings and ears on the back of the red felt paper (*I'm providing a sample of both wings and ears)
• Cut both wings and ears
• Trace both wings and ears on the back of the sparkly orange felt paper (*Note: the dull side of the orange felt paper will be placed on the sticky side of the red felt paper, it is an INVERSE, so make sure you are making them match)
• Cut both wings and ears
• Turn the red felt paper wing to the peel side and make a slight cut with the box cutter about one inch from the part of the wing that will attach to the sock body, making sure you ONLY cut the peel-&-stick paper NOT the felt, so that later you can attach the edge of the wing
• Repeat the same procedure for the other wing and both ears
• Peel off the paper from the wing but leave the one inch part that you will later attach to the sock
• Attach the dull orange side of the wing to the sticky side of the red wing felt paper (so the sparkly side will show)
• Cut off the extra inch from the sparkly orange paper (the part that did not stick to the red felt paper)
• Repeat the above two procedures for the other wing and both ears

• Take the Sharpie and draw 5 lines on each of the dragon's wings (5 on the front and 5 on the back)
• Take the Sharpie and draw 3 lines on each of the dragon's ears (3 on the front and 3 on the back)
• Put the sock on your child's right or left arm
• Remove the paper from the red felt wing and attach to your child's upper forearm below the wrist
• Do the same for the other wing
• Remove the paper from the red felt ear and attach to the back of your child's hand below the knuckles
• Do the same for the other ear
• Attach the wiggly eyes to the sock on the back of your child's fingers
• Soar! Swoop! Play and have fun! :D

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