January 2015 – Page 2 – Our Beautifully Messy House

Giant Ice Marbles

January 9, 2015December 3, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

How cool are these GIANT ICE MARBLES!? I’d seen pictures of something similar before, but never a “how-to” on making them. Figuring it couldn’t be too hard to do, we gave it a try! There is definitely a list of things not to do we quickly found out. Haha! Hopefully I can help you avoid such mistakes! These GIANT ICE MARBLES are just beautiful in the snow!

Materials needed:

regular sized balloons
food coloring
warm water
below freezing temps

First, put 5-10 drops of food coloring in a balloon. Next, fill with warm water and tie off with a knot. Do not try putting food coloring in last…your hands may become dyed blue for a day or two if you do. Make sure to use warm water instead of cold…it helps the coloring spread evenly around the entire balloon. If you fill the balloon to only mid-capacity it will help make the marble round as a ball. Before tying the knot, very carefully let any air residing just above the water line out of the balloon…simply do this by loosening your grip on the mouth of the balloon until a bit of water starts to leak out.

Now, it’s time to put the balloon outside. Placing the balloon partially on its side (like the balloon pictured on the far right) and in snow is best…helps it keep a nice round shape rather than flattening out.

Leave the water-filled balloon outside in below freezing temps for 36 to 48 hours. Even if the temperature is in the single digits, one night is not enough for the entire balloon to freeze. As you can see with this one, the water in the center will flow right out.

Finally, after the water is completely frozen, cut and remove the balloon from your GIANT ICE MARBLE. Beautiful!!!

DIY Fairy Folk

January 8, 2015September 27, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

L and I made these FAIRY FOLK this morning and she’s been playing with them all day long! She loves them!!! L has made up a house, a bed, a car for them…a phone, bathtub, table and chairs, a crib and even a change of clothes! Tomorrow we shall have a “Fairy Tea Party” in their honor. The fun never stops around here!

Materials needed:

wooden peg people
acrylic paints
felt or fabric scraps
hot glue gun and glue

First, paint the fairies’ bodies.

Next, paint hair and eyes on the fairies. I tried to make each of ours a little different.

Then draw and cut a little fairy wing stencil. You can trace this on the felt or fabric before cutting out the wings. After a few, I just winged it! Ha! I liked having some big, some small. (Cut a few extras for fairy “outfits.”)

To complete the fairies, attach the wings to the bodies using just a touch of glue with your hot glue gun. Now, time to play!!!

Our “Acorn Cap Treasures” were perfect for the fairy folk. As was the “Fairy Furniture” we made last Summer.

A toy teacup was just the right size for a bath and one of WB’s socks made a roomy bed.

The fairies also enjoyed skating on this melted-bead ice rink and, of course, driving in their jam jar car.

A change of wings for the fairies…

I’ll be sure to post our Fairy Tea Party details later this week so your lil ones can join in the fun! Enjoy!

DIY Flower Garden Entrance

January 7, 2015September 27, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

I made this FLOWER GARDEN ENTRANCE for WB’s first birthday this week and I just love how it turned out! We put it up in our kitchen, but eventually we’ll move it to brighten up the entrance to her bedroom! A FLOWER GARDEN ENTRANCE is the perfect decoration for birthday parties, tea parties, or anytime you want to bring a little sunshine inside! You could hang it in a doorway or above a window!

Materials needed:

adjustable shower curtain rod
2 rolls of green tulle
silk flowers
florist tape
hot glue gun and glue
piece of string

(Silk flowers are on sale during the winter months at most craft stores…I got these all 50% off!)

First, I measured the height and width of the doorway where our FLOWER GARDEN ENTRANCE would be. Our house is old with doors of various heights and widths…I wanted to make sure that if I made it in the kitchen doorway it would fit in the doorway to my daughter’s room.

Next, put up the curtain rod and tie a piece of string around the middle. You will thread the tulle through this, so make it not too tight, but not too loose.

Now thread the tulle through the string, cutting strips in similar lengths. The tulle will travel along the top of the rod and straight down (see the next steps), so measure and cut accordingly.

Next, wrap a small scrap of tulle around the middle a few times, tie and cut. You can now remove the string that was holding everything up.

Do the same at both ends of the curtain rod…wrapping a scrap of tulle around the long tulle strands, tie and cut.

Now, figure out where you want your flowers to go. For long stems, I used floral tape to secure them to the curtain rod in various spots. With individual flowers, I just used a hot glue gun to glue them in place. Other smaller stems can be tucked in and behind the rest and may not even need tape or glue.

And finally, pick a few small, delicate flowers to glue in place along the long strands of tulle. My favorite and final touch!

My girls were so excited to find this hanging in the kitchen this morning! Easy, beautiful and fun!!!

Sock Puppets

January 4, 2015September 27, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

This craft is as old and simple as they come, but so much fun!!! We often forget about SOCK PUPPETS, though I’m sure most of us played with them as kids! L and I made these sock puppets last week to give away as party favors at our girls’ birthday party. We made two for each kid and they were a big hit!

Materials:

socks
buttons, googlie eyes, sequins, felt, pompoms, bells…
hot glue gun and glue

First, empty your sock drawer! Your kids will love this step, digging and swimming through your socks. Pick out a few pairs that you don’t wear…it’s definitely a bonus if they’re bright and colorful, but plain ol’ white socks work just as well.

Next, decorate! We made unicorns, dogs and million-eyed monsters this time around! Get creative and have fun! It’s nearly impossible to mess this one up!

A fun craft to follow this one, especially with older kids, is decorating some cardboard for a backdrop and putting on a sock puppet play! So much fun!!!