Browsing Tag:

craft

How to Make a Mermaid Trinket Tray

on June 20, 2016

Let’s talk mermaids shall we? Yes, mermaids. I’m talking Ariel, Peter Pan’s friends that live in the lagoon, Daryl Hannah in Splash, MERMAIDS. (I’m choosing to ignore the Cabin in the Woods Merman (Not Safe For Kids) because…. reasons). Like any baby of the 80s/child of the 90’s I grew up during the Disney Renaissance. Meaning that Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Lion King (to name a few) were on heavy rotation at my house. We’re talking constantly. And now, as I take care of little girls, I get to experience that all over again…. and it’s AWESOME! Seriously, dress up and princess pretend with 5 year olds is amazing.

Okay, so recently I got to see the Little Mermaid performed live to screen at the Hollywood Bowl. For those of you that don’t know what that is, its basically the movie playing with stars or original cast coming out and singing the songs while the movie is playing. I’m not gonna lie, it was pretty awesome. I’m gonna make you a little jealous here and say that it was Sara Bareilles (Ariel), Titus Burgess (Sebastian), and Rebel Wilson (Ursula)….oh, and Uncle Jesse as the Chef. Yep. You missed it. Get jealous.  So, as I was saying before I got super excited about this experience, I saw the production and was inspired to make this super simple Mermaid Trinket Tray. Well, that an the original little mermaid in Denmark (which is suuuuuper tiny, just sayin). Now you can collect all of your own gadgets and gizmos a plenty, thingamabobs and more in your own Mermaid Trinket Tray!

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Bubble Painting Note Cards

on June 15, 2016

It’s all about the bubble…paint note cards. I’m not sure there is any child that will tell you they don’t like blowing bubbles in their milk. It’s probably one of my favorite past times personally. Especially when it’s chocolate milk because then it mixes everything up even more. YUM!

Bubble painting note cards are a fun project for kids of all ages. Creat sensory and art play opportunities with this tutorial. Or just make some really cool notecards for your gift packaging

Okay, so this craft is not about milk, but it IS about blowing bubbles and making art with them. Bubble painting note cards are a great project for kiddos as it allows them to be a bit messy and they make something really really cool.
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DIY Queen of Hearts Magnets

on May 30, 2016

Making Perler Bead magnets are a fun activity for children ages 6+. These DIY Queen of Hearts Magnets are sure to keep them busy and create something fun!

I’ve started writing the intro to the post probably 10 times and kept going down the rabbit hole. How appropriate that this post should be about Alice In Wonderland!

If we’re being honest, which we are, I’ve always been in love with Alice in Wonderland. As a book, it’s beautifully written. As a film (cartoon, movies, etc), it is a classic. I’m also a huge fans of the book re-imaginings. I think it speaks to Carroll’s legacy that his characters keep coming up in various forms and people are still inspired by his works of fantasy today. My favorite book iteration has got to be The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor.

DIY Queen of Hearts Magnets inspired by Disney's Alice in Wonderland. Perler Bead patterns and ideas for your next craft project.

So, with Alice Through the Looking Glass coming out this weekend and Allavelle’s Beautiful Children’s Book DIY, I was inspired to create these DIY Queen of Hearts Magnets!

I especially like working with perler beads with the older kiddos because it keeps them busy, helps them with motor skills, and teaches them about patterns and shapes.

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DIY Elegant Flat Marble Vase

on May 16, 2016

One of my New Years Resolutions was to always have fresh flowers in my house, and honestly, I never realized how much I LOVED having them. It also helps that Trader Joes has them in my price range. Can I get a HECK YEAH for being broke with expensive taste?

Anyway, I realized early on that I didn’t have a vase to put things in. More specifically, I was using an empty jar candle glass as my vase. Yes folks, I have stooped that low. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I’m just 29 years old now and should probably stop living like a college kid. So what is a girl to do? She makes it her freaking self!

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How to Make Unicorn Bark

on April 19, 2016

I’ll admit I have a special affinity for unicorns. They’re mythical, magical, and they can stab you with their heads. Pretty awesome huh?

How to make Unicorn Bark. A magical rainbow treat! Also called Unicorn Poop

Get magical by making this Unicorn White Chocolate Bark!

No, my house is not completely decorated in them. No, not everything I own has a unicorn on it, but I do love them. The term unicorn doesn’t always refer to the mythical white horse that bleeds silver (thank you Harry Potter) or poops glitter and marshmallows. It can also refer to something special, unique. In the start up world, a unicorn (in Canada they call them Narwhals and that makes me laugh) is astart up that is valued at over $1 Billion. Think about that! (with my pinky at my mouth) 1 Billion Dollars. I wouldn’t have to work at all with that kind of money… like ever… and still have some left over.How to make Unicorn Bark. A magical rainbow treat! Also called Unicorn Poop

For me, I like to refer to people unicorns as those who freaking rock and are magical and not afraid to show it.

More Bark Recipes

Oh, and before you do anything else, Google Scotland’s national animal. DO IT!!!
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How to Make Tissue Paper Seed Bombs

on April 17, 2016

Quick and easy steps to make your own colorful seed bombs to throw and grow wild flowers. Great Earth Day crafts for kids and wedding favors.

When I was in grade school, I remember celebrating Earth Day with soil lessons, making those super fun seed sprout bags, and eating worms an dirt. I’m sure there was more, but that’s whats going through my brain right now.

This post may contain affiliate links, that means that I make a few pennies if you purchase through my links… but the price for you stays the same!!

I promise this is going somewhere, so just bear with me.  My friend Angie is also getting married soon with a science themed wedding. It’s awesome. I’m not gonna lie. We were talking about what she should do as favors, and the idea of seed bombs came up.  To which my brain hearkened back to Earth Day activities and I thought it would be such a fun thing to do with the kiddos! See, I connected it! Be proud of me!

Quick and easy steps to make your own colorful seed bombs to throw and grow wild flowers. Great Earth Day crafts for kids and wedding favors.

Anyhoo, for Angie’s wedding we wanted to create something that had a pop of color and you can’t really do that with soil…. I mean its brown. So! We had the idea to use tissue paper so we could control the colors. The kids really took to this… I mean, who doesn’t like tearing up paper? Fair warning, you’re going to need a blender for this. I LOVE using my Magic Bullet for these types of projects.

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Celery Rose Stamp Tea Towels

on April 12, 2016

Mothers day is coming up and I’ve been racking my brain trying to come up with a mothers day craft for the kiddos to do that is classy but not just a simple handprint.

So, the story is that I was babysitting the littles one night and they asked for some Ants on a Log. You know… celery and peanut butter topped with raisins? No? take a look.

Some ants on a log to go with your craft?

Anyway, I cut the stalks off and said to myself “huh? You know that base looks a lot like a rose”. And so I’ve had that in my head the whole time for when I needed to stamp something.

Use your left over Celery stalks to make these cute and easy Celery Rose Stamp tea towels for a unique and useful mother's day gift!

The kiddos LOVED that their snack was also their craft and the towels ended up looking super cute and elegant.

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Homemade Rice Heating Pad

on April 10, 2016

Few things are quite so lovely as waking up at 4:30 am to cramps and a hearty HELLO from your period. Yes ladies, I went there, sorry dudes.

So what do I do? Well, I usually down some alieve, grab the rice heating pad and make sure I have some Halo Top Ice Cream on hand (4 carbs/serving is a low carbers DREAM! and oh so delicious)

If you’ve never had it, Halo Top is the BOMB for those of us that are doing low carb but can’t quite give up the ice cream. I’m currently rocking the vanilla bean. SO GOOD.

This homemade rice heating pad is a simple, useful project for beginners. Easy to follow tutorial. Keeps you safely toasty warm for up to an hour!

But anyhoo, on to the rice heating pad thing. See, like any quintessential single lady, I happen to have a cat who can sometimes be an awesome if unreliable heating pad. Unreliable in that she either lays on a difficult spot, doesn’t want to cuddle at all, decides she hates me, or makes biscuits at the site of a particularly bad cramp. no, cats do not make great heating pads at all. So I’ve had to resort to more traditional means and make my own.

This homemade rice heating pad is a simple, useful project for beginners. Easy to follow tutorial. Keeps you safely toasty warm for up to an hour!

I adore my heating pad. Not only is it great for cramps, but its also perfect for pre-warming the foot of your bed on a cold night (Just like in Downton Abbey!), back pain, and well, pretty much anything. My favorite thing about it is the essential oil aromatherapy that helps relax me!

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10 Must Have Items for the Creative Babysitting Bag

on March 30, 2016

As I learned from reading the Baby Sitters Club as a child, having a bag is VERY important.  Like, life changing important.  As a crafty nanny, its even more important to have things on hand to create an activity at a moments notice. It has become so (need a word for this) that a lot of my kiddos call it my “Mary Poppins” bag, and since I’m still convinced that Mary is a time lord, I take it as the highest compliment.

How does she fit it all in there? Seriously! Photo (c) Disney

How does she fit it all in there? Seriously!
Photo (c) Disney

But really folks. Who here that babysits or nanny’s doesn’t try to roll up like Mary Poppins and just blow everyones minds? If only it were as easy and practically perfect as she makes it look. I mean… I want to jump into a chalk painting and hang out with my chimney sweep best friend while I’m playing with someone else’s kids…. moving on.

I want to be practically perfect in every way. © Disney

I want to be perfectly perfect in every way.
© Disney

Now, that being said, these are the craft staples of my nanny and babysitting bag. I buy most, if not all of these things at the dollar tree to cut down on costs. Other things change out from day to day and week to week, depending on what I’ve got going on. These items stay in there though because they’re great for a quick activity in any combination!

Want to survive the summer? Check out the Summer Survival Babysitting Bag too!

UPDATE: I’ve just added this adorable DIY Emoji Pillow Busy Bag to my babysitter bag staples!

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Fabric Decoupage Easter Eggs

on March 24, 2016

Spring is in the air! Full of flowers and sunshine and allergies. Ugh.

I’ve been working on a lot lately and honestly, I feel like I’m spinning my wheels? Anyone else feel like they just overcommit without any really payoff? On top of that I haven’t really made time to craft. And non-crafting Chelsea = a stressed out Chelsea. Funny how that works.

So, in an effort to be festive, cause I LOVE Easter, get rid of some fabric scraps and work on a craft that I can really spend some time on I’ve been decoupaging like a mad woman. Go me!

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