Activities – Page 2 – Our Beautifully Messy House

DIY Bird Nesting Kit

February 12, 2016February 12, 2016 Porter Leave a comment

The “DIY Bird Nesting Kit” is the perfect project for little hands and little helpers! L and I made three kits this week: two gifts and one to hang in our own backyard, next to our DIY Tin Can Bird Feeder. It took less than a day for our feathered-friends to find it and start picking away, flying bits of string home to cozy-up their nests! The DIY Bird Nesting Kit costs only $2.50 to make (I’m not kidding!) and it’s a wonderful project to help teach kids about giving, sharing, and caring for the world around us….aaand about birds and the various types of nests they make of course!

Before making our Bird Nesting Kits, the girls and I read “Mama Built a Little Nest” by Jennifer Ward and Steven Jenkins. It is fascinating book with beautiful, collage-like illustrations, depicting all kinds of birds, their families, and the homes they build. (It’s best to read in a pile of beach towels, swirled around on the floor into your own nest.) I highly recommend it!

Materials needed:

Wired bird suet holder
yarn scraps
scissors
ruler (optional)

First, have your little one cut the yarn scraps up into pieces about 3-5 inches long. You don’t have to measure them, but your little one might want to with the ruler!

After you have a nice pile of yarn pieces, it’s time to stuff them into the suet holder. Then, close the suet holder up and it’s all done. It’s that easy!

Now, time to find the perfect place outside to hang your Bird Nesting Kit…someplace where the birds will find it and you can spy them doing so is best!

If you’re giving your Bird Nesting Kit away as a gift, you may want to include a little card inside explaining what it is. Your friends will be sure to love such a colorful, quirky, and fun gift! Enjoy!!!

Snow Paint Fun

January 28, 2016January 28, 2016 Porter Leave a comment

This activity is so easy, so simple, it almost seems silly to write a blog post on it…but people have asked, so here it is! Earlier this week, we had 35 inches of snow fall in our area and it’s given us an opportunity to do anything and everything snow-related…we’ve built igloos and tunnels, gone sledding, and eaten snow cream. I thought today would be a fun day to give “snow paint” a try. Every recipe I’ve seen floating around the internet involves dying water and putting it in separate spray bottles or squirt bottles though, something we just didn’t have. I figured why not just use our tempera paints!?

We rarely use tempera paints, because frankly I don’t really like them. They’re absolutely perfect for this activity though! Tempera paint in general is washable and non-toxic, so it won’t stain clothes or harm the environment when the snow melts.

To prepare for snow painting, I gathered 8 small plastic containers, 8 paint brushes, all our tempera paints, and a large plastic container. Even though the paint is washable, we went ahead and put aprons on over our snow clothes and wore old gloves too.

Outside, spread the small containers out with a good squirt of paint in each one, as well as a paint brush. Now simply, paint the snow! After a day of the snow melting and then refreezing, our snow had a nice icy layer on top…it was perfect for painting!

An hour or two later, when it’s time to go inside (L could’ve painted all day!), gather all the brushes and throw them into the larger plastic container. Stack up your paint cups and put them in the container too. Now it’s easy to carry everything inside in only one trip! Just rinse your containers out and put them in the dishwasher to clean…and don’t forget to rinse your brushes too! Super easy to clean up…definitely worth the hours of creativity outside! Enjoy!!!

The Christmas Tree Teepee (No-Sew!)

December 3, 2015December 3, 2015 Porter 1 Comment

“The Christmas Tree Teepee” is quirky, fun, and magical…perfect for celebrating Christmas with kids! So often when building forts for the kids, they beg me to get inside to play with them and I just barely fit, if at all. This teepee is big! It’s nearly 6 feet across and 7 feet tall, leaving plenty of room for 3-4 people inside, adults included! It’s perfect! So far this week, in our teepee, we’ve eaten breakfast every morning, made christmas garlands and decorations to send loved ones, played board games and puzzles, and each night before bed we curl up and read a couple Christmas books under the lights. We just love it! After the holidays I plan to collapse the teepee, folding it up much like an umbrella, wrap it in plastic and stow it away. Next year we plan to set the teepee up in L’s bedroom during December and let both girls sleep inside!

Since the teepee is replacing our tree this year it includes all the trimmings…sparkly lights, colorful ornaments, and a few surprises when you get inside and look close! The best place to find fabric for this project is at a local, second-hand store or an antique/junk store. We have an awesome antique store in the area that has a booth full of fabrics. Most of the fabric is clearly from the 80s and 90s (ie. funky and fun!) and is anywhere from $1 -$6 per piece. I picked out anything green with various patterns and textures: corduroy, twill, jersey-knit, silk, suede. You really can’t beat the prices for all that material! I was also lucky enough to stumble upon a bunch of, what I call, “old-lady, sequined, Christmas appliqués” in the same booth. They were all less than a dollar a piece and made for perfect ornaments for the “Christmas Tree Teepee.”

Oh, and did I mention that there’s NO SEWING INVOLVED when making this teepee??? I do not, cannot sew, especially anything of this magnitude! It’s held together all thanks to my handy, dandy hot glue gun. We had so much fun with this project!

Materials needed:

6 x 1″x 2″x 8′ lumber (Any quality will do, but I went for the nicer, less splinter-filled sort!)
jute
green fabrics
christmas lights
felt or sequined Christmas appliqués
drill
hot glue gun and glue
scissors

First, drill two holes in each wooden, teepee pole. One 12″-15″ from the top, and the other 1″ from the bottom.

String some jute through the holes that are 12″ from the top, before carrying it all inside. Having someone help you, spread your teepee poles out and around until you get the teepee shape you’re looking for. (It will not be perfect, so don’t drive yourself crazy trying to make it perfect! Just go with it!) Once the poles are in place, wrap the jute around and in-between the poles until they are secured.

To ensure that the poles won’t move on you too much, thread some jute around the bottom too, knotting it around each pole. Even though the poles can move closer together and shift a little bit, it certainly helps to see where they originally were and where you want them to be while building your teepee.

Now for the real work. You will cut strips of fabric and using the hot glue gun, secure them in place along the teepee poles. First, spread out all your fabrics and see which material you have the most of. You will need to use this for the bottom. I didn’t use a ruler or yardstick to measure my fabric precisely while working, instead I laid it out on our hardwood floor, and just used the planks of wood to “measure” each strip of fabric.

Looking at the teepee, you may think I used one long piece of fabric to wrap around the entire structure, but in fact, each layer is made up of 5 shorter strips running from pole to pole. I started each layer with one piece of fabric along the outside of teepee…wrapping, gluing, trimming, and tucking the fabric into place. Now this is just the first section, between the first two poles. On the next section, I ran the fabric along the inside, gluing it into place. When done in this manner, the teepee poles will be invisible from the inside and outside of the teepee (except for the top of course) and all you will see is green, green, green! The pattern on each layer was outside-inside-outside-inside-outside. If you get frustrated at the beginning and things aren’t perfect, do not worry! After attaching the first few pieces, you will certainly know what you’re doing and the process will get a lot easier…promise!

As you go up the teepee, adding more layers, overlap the fabric by a couple inches above and below. This will help avoid gaps in the teepee. If there are places where gaps are seen, you can use a touch of hot glue to fasten the fabrics together.

As I got to the very top of the teepee, on the last two layers I used light-weighted fabrics that gathered well. Instead of cutting each sectioned-piece and gluing it outside-inside-outside, etc., I loosely gathered it around the teepee and glued it in place along the outside. I wanted the poles exposed on the inside in the top so I could string-up some Christmas lights to brighten things up a bit!

The top and front of the teepee was a bit of trial and error. I sort of knew how I wanted the finished teepee to look, so I wrapped fabric, held up fabric, and pinned some in place until I was satisfied. Here again, it was important that I saved my light-weighted fabrics that gathered well for the top and front of the teepee to achieve this look. I must say that it looks even better than I imagined…both like a teepee and a tree!

I was up in the air on whether to decorate the outside of the teepee, the inside or both. We decided on just the inside, keeping the magic inside and “secret” for all those who enter. L and I used duct tape to tape each sequined ornament in place. I could have glued them, but I wanted something that could be done by the children, year after year.

Inside the teepee, just below the lights, is my favorite little detail. I’ve held onto these fabric scraps of Santa flying through the night sky for a few years now, not sure what to do with them. Their placement, tucked away inside our teepee, is just the perfect home for them…I knew I was saving them for a reason!

The Christmas blanket underneath our teepee is the finishing touch. We usually use the blanket as a tree skirt around our tree each year, and in a way it is the tree skirt once again. This time it’s just in a more practical, more appreciated, and loved sort of way!

Think you’re ready to build your own??? Go for it! Your kids will absolutely love snuggling inside the Christmas tree this year, reading books, drinking hot chocolate, and playing games!

Feel free to leave any questions you may have below. Enjoy!!!

Road Trip Survival Kit: 10+ Activities for On-the-Go

November 21, 2015November 21, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

Every Summer my family likes to take a 7-hour trip to the beach…well, the 7 hours isn’t exactly the part we like, but we do it and we make the best of it! I’m not a fan of giving my kids a screen to look at for the entire trip, because I feel there’s so much that they will be missing out on. Remember when we were kids, going through the entire stash of cassette tapes? Staring out the window watching the terrain change and landmarks pass as we got closer and closer to our destinations, the excitement building? All those silly word games or family air guitar shenanigans? See…I don’t want my kids to miss out on that! I want us to talk. I want them to play, to be entertained, but to experience the trip with us, rather than plugged in and tuned out.

We started with this ROAD TRIP SURVIVAL KIT when L was just 2. As the kids grow, some things will change, but many will continue to entertain at any age!

Pipe Cleaners, Shoelaces, and Beads

If you have any of those snack cups with the slits on top, they’re the perfect thing to hold beads and prevent spilling! Just tie a shoelace to the handle and you’re good to go!

Slinky

Who doesn’t love a slinky? You can buy 2 for a dollar at most dollar stores…definitely worth that dollar! We don’t usually play with ours at home, rather we save them for long trips!

“I Spy” Books

These books are fun for kids age 2 to 100 to look at, no reading required!

Musical Instruments

When the kids get whiny, bored, tired, put on some jams, some sunglasses and start a family band! Sometimes we even bring out the cow bell – yikes! The kids love it though!

Paper and Coloring

Go ahead and buy some fun, new crayons for your big trip, as well as a blank composition book, new coloring books, or even post-it notes!

Figurines and Cars

Even if these things are “old” and have been played with a million times at home, when pulled out one-by-one as a surprise on the 4th hour of your trip, your kids will be delighted…I promise!

Fairy Folk

L loves her “fairy folk” and will play pretend with them for nearly an hour at home. I scooped up a few of them and their accessories for our last trip. Get the DIY here: DIY Fairy Folk.

Lacing Boards

If you don’t have lacing boards at home, they’re simple to make. Just cut out a shape from an old cereal box and punch some holes around the edge. Tie a shoelace and and you’re good to go!

Magna Doodles

These come in all shapes and sizes…and all of them are perfect for the road!

Kaleidoscopes and View Masters

I always throw one of these in the bag!

Re-usable Sticker Books

“Melissa & Doug” brand sticker books and Water Wow! books are great for the road. Virtually no mess and they can be used over and over and over and over!

“I Spy” Bottles

We made this game years ago, and the kids love it! It’s something that can be played with one person or many! Get the DIY here: I Spy Bottle and Games.

The Tray

We found this traveling tray at Hobby Lobby a few Summers ago. I’m sure you can find one online too! They’re perfect for coloring and containing all those little toys and food.

It’s hard to believe, but all of this stuff plus more will fit in one medium-sized bag! We usually put the bag off to the side, when we get home, ready to grab-and-go for the next road trip!

Happy traveling!!! What are some of your favorite activities for on the road?

Hidden Fairy Bath Bombs

October 26, 2015February 8, 2016 Porter 1 Comment

Have you ever bought bath bombs for yourself or for your kids? Bath bombs were originally intended for adults to use in the bath…their scents make the water smell wonderful and many times the bath bombs contain epsom salts to soften and refresh your skin. The thing that many people don’t know is that kids LOVE them too!!! The fizzy, bubbly, sizzling chemical reaction is just too cool! In the past, we’ve bought bath bombs and given them to our girls in their stockings at Christmas or for their birthdays…but now, we’ll never buy them again! These bath bombs are so quick and easy to make and there’s a surprise hidden inside each one! I found inspiration for this DIY on a fellow blogger’s site; she makes “Hidden Train Bath Bombs” for her little boys…adorable and genius!

Materials needed:

2 cups baking soda
1 cup citric acid
food coloring
essential oil
water in a spray bottle (not pictured)
plastic fairies (flowers, dinosaurs, cars…)
silicone molds or a muffin tin

First, mix two cups of baking soda and 1 cup of citric acid together in a large bowl.

Next, add about 10-15 drops of food coloring and some essential oil, and mix. You can add more coloring and oil to suit your preference. I used a “sweet orange” oil and yellow food coloring. Even though the bath bombs themselves were not super-vibrant in color, the bath water certainly was! The kids loved it!

Now, spray your mixture with water and mix quickly! I would give our mixture about 3 squirts, mix, then repeat. The baking soda and citric acid will start to fizz a bit, but once you mix, it will stop. Repeat this process until the mixture clumps together like breadcrumbs.

Spoon the mixture into your silicone molds. Fill about halfway and pack it down firmly with your hands.

Now, add your fairies. We added a silk flower to one of ours as well.

Fill the molds the rest of the way with the baking soda-citric acid mixture and pack it down firmly. Once the bath bombs set, they will expand. The next time I make bath bombs, I may not fill them all the way up to the top…or I may do so purposely and make them look like frosted cupcakes!

Let your bath bombs set up for a few hours until they are hard. (Can you believe how ours expanded and “grew”!?!) Flip the bath bombs over and gently pop them out of the molds.

Now for the fun part, surprise your kids with the bath bombs! The chemical reaction is just so cool!!!

They will be doubly-surprised to find fairies hidden inside!

The walls, tile and bathtub in our bathroom are all white…the bath water was so, so yellow the whole bathroom glowed!!!

This recipe can easily make 7-8 bath bombs…plenty for you and a friend! Enjoy!!!

Mixed-media Fall Art

October 21, 2015December 3, 2015 Porter 4 Comments

We have some glorious October weather in Virginia this week…cool mornings, sunny days, and brilliant leaves falling from our trees! L’s been painting outside these days, in a world of October color! Yesterday she made a beautiful fall tree using acrylics, melted crayons, and a sprinkle of “leaf glitter” (tiny pieces of actually leaves). The outcome is beautiful!!! I made a similar piece last year that I also adore…the process is as much fun as the piece of art itself!

Materials needed:

canvas (you could do this on cardboard too!)
acrylic paints (blues, white, brown)
crayons (oranges, yellows, and red)
knife and cutting board
oven

*A tip when buying crayons for this project…when you’re looking for orange crayons, buy a box of 24 crayons. The larger boxes contain more crayons, but not any more orange and yellows!!! We always seem to run out of orange crayons this time of year!

First, have your child paint their canvas blue. We like to use some darker and some lighter blues, mixing them all together.

Next, have them paint a few white, fluffy clouds.

As the sky is drying, sit back and look at the trees with your child. Point out how the trunk is usually straight and thick. As you move up the tree, the branches get smaller and smaller, and they get more squiggly!

As you continue to discuss trees and their features, lay out a few various-sized paintbrushes. Have your child put them in order from biggest to smallest. Now they know which paintbrush to use for their tree’s trunk and all its branches!

Time to paint the tree!

The next step is a little “out of the box,” but that’s what makes it so great! Have your child pick out which crayons are the colors of the fall leaves before them. Using a sharp knife and a cutting board, remove the paper off the crayons and chop the crayons up into tiny pieces. I think we used half a lime-green crayon, one yellow, three or four oranges, and one red crayon.

Lay the painting down on a flat surface and have your little one sprinkle the crayon shavings all over the trees branches. L also crumbled up an actual leaf from the yard and sprinkled some of it among the crayon pieces. It’s a minor detail, but it’s my favorite. I’ll always remember this day and where L made her Fall Tree.

Once the crayon shavings are all dispersed, put your painting into the oven at 200 degrees for about 3-5 minutes. Watch the pieces as they melt. (Our painting was too big to fit in the oven this time, so I carefully held it under the broilers with the oven set on broil. I did one end, then turned it around and did the opposite.) When you remove the artwork from the oven, be careful to hold it flat and steady…until the crayon wax hardens, the wax will drip if it is tilted at all.

Isn’t the outcome gorgeous? It’s perfectly imperfect…just like a fall leaf.

If you think this is just a craft for kids, you’re wrong…you can totally do this as well! “Mixed-media Fall Art” is fun for anyone and everyone! Enjoy!!!

DIY Jacob’s Ladder Toy

September 29, 2015October 2, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

I really wanted to make L a Jacob’s Ladder Toy, but didn’t want to make a trip to the local hardware or craft store for supplies. So, we made this Jacob’s Ladder out of an old board book! (If you don’t have a board book they are easy to find at the dollar store.) I just love the outcome! This one is super-colorful compared to the wooden one I had as a kid and is just as much fun!

I loved playing with my Jacob’s Ladder when I was young…it’s such a unique toy! Flip-flopping it back and forth is very calming, but it also makes you think creatively and problem solve. I enjoyed watching L play with the one we made today…not only was she ecstatic when she finally figured out how to work a Jacob’s Ladder, but she was also folding it into shapes, pretending it was a snake, a bracelet and a funky hat.

Materials needed:

board book
3 pieces of ribbon (35 inches long each)
glue
box cutter
paper cutter (optional)
scissors

First, using a box cutter, disassemble your board book.

Next, measure the dimensions of one page and decide how best to cut it. The book I used was 7 in x 7 in. I chose to cut the pages down the middle in one direction and into thirds going the other direction. Each piece ended up being 3.5 in x 2.25 in. If you have a paper cutter on hand, it makes this step super quick and easy! I cut up 4 pages, leaving me with 24 pieces.

Once you have 24 pieces cut, sort them into “nice” and “ugly” piles, 12 cards in each pile. The “ugly” cards won’t be seen.

Next, glue each “nice” card to an “ugly” card with a thin layer of wood glue. Put some canned food on top of the cards to keep them flat and clamped down for the first few minutes, while the glue is setting. Once they are all glued, let them dry for an hour or two. You should now have 12, double-stacked cards.

Now, time to make that Jacob’s Ladder! Lay one card-stack in front of you, “nice” side down. Spread a thin layer of glue on top of the card-stack. Place the ends of all three strips of ribbon onto the card-stack. As you can see in the photos, two of the ribbons spread out into one direction and the other ribbon to the opposite direction.

Spread a dab of glue on each ribbon end and press another card-stack carefully on top, “nice” side up.

Fold all the ribbons over the top of the cards and to the opposite direction. Pulling them taut, place another card-stack on top of the ribbons, “nice” side down.

Spread a thin layer of glue on the card-stack and fold the ribbons over, keeping them pulled taut much as possible. You can press the ribbons down into the glue to hold them in place.

Spread a dab of glue on top of the ribbons, and press another card-stack on top, “nice” side up.

Folding the ribbons over again, repeat the last three steps, until you reach the last card-stack and the end of your ribbon.

Trim the ribbon, pull it taut, and glue it in between the last two card-stacks.

Place a can of food on top of the entire Jacob’s Ladder Toy and allow the glue to dry completely for an hour or two.

Now, time to play!!! If you’ve never used a Jacob’s Ladder before, you flip the top card to one side and let gravity do the rest of the work. The card’s flip-flop down, one after another, like magic in your own hands!

Enjoy!!!

DIY Toy Sail Boat

September 3, 2015October 22, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

One evening this summer, while we were getting ready for bath time, L pulled a wine cork out of her pocket. She had been saving it all day to float it around and play with in the bath tub. That got me thinking…I knew with a few toothpicks and some leaves we could turn her wine cork into a little sail boat! Leaves work great for this project, because they’re naturally water-proof and easily replaceable!

Materials needed:

2 wine corks
4 toothpicks
2 leaves
old pencil
scissors

Take one of the wine corks and stick three toothpicks into it, all pointing in the same direction in a line.

Next, push the second wine cork into the opposite ends of the toothpicks.

Stick one more toothpick vertically into the middle of one of the corks.

Find a medium-sized leaf and weave it through the bottom toothpicks. We used a balloon flower leaf. This step isn’t necessary, but it makes a nice lil bed for anything you may want to sail on top…a bug, a rock, a fairy friend.

Next, find a slightly larger leaf and thread it onto the vertical toothpick, making a sail. We found the hosta leaves to work best for this, though any thick and sturdy leaf will do!

To make the sail boat safer for little hands, twist an eraser off the top of an old pencil. Cut it in half with scissors and push it onto the top of the sail.

Now, time to play! L had hours of fun blowing her boats around our rain barrel!

The boats may not seem like much, but ours withstood some submarine plunges under the water and lasted through two nights of bath time play! Tomorrow, we’ll replace the leaves and keep sailing!

Enjoy!!!

Coffee Can Stilts

August 27, 2015October 22, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

A few weeks ago a family friend called me up to ask if I had a use for a bunch of old coffee cans. While I was a little afraid to tell my husband that I had said “yes” to accepting such a large bag of junk, taking up more room in our house, I was over-the-moon excited to be acquiring these cans! I knew just what we’d use them for…COFFEE CAN STILTS!!! These are so quick and easy to make and are so much fun for the kids! Walking on stilts is all L wants to do these days!!! “I can almost touch the sky from up here, Mom!”

Materials needed:

2 coffee cans
church key can opener
rope
scissors
paint (optional)
acrylic sealant (optional)

First, if you want your stilts to be colorful, have your little ones paint the cans with acrylic paints. After the paint has dried, spray on a coat of acrylic sealant to give the cans a glossy finish.

Next, using a church key can opener, make two holes on the bottoms of the cans. The holes should be opposite each other. Try to bend the metal all the way back inside the can, so no sharp points protrude out. (Your kids shouldn’t have their hands inside the cans at anytime, but you never know when the curious ones may take off the lid while playing and reach inside…so, better safe than sorry!)

Cut two pieces of rope. To find the correct length, have your kid stand on the rope, holding both ends in his or her hands pulled up to chest-level. This is a good place to cut it. After the stilts are assembled, the rope handles should reach your child’s waist.

Thread the rope into the holes of the can from the outside. Once both ends are pulled through, tie a knot in each end. Repeat on the second can.

Place the lids back onto the cans and flip them over. Having the lids isn’t a necessity, but it may save your floors from being scratched up while your children walk around inside. Now, time to play!!!

As your little ones practice, they’ll get better and better at walking on their stilts and they’ll be oh-so-proud!!! Future circus performers, anyone?

Talk about good hand-eye-FOOT coordination! Enjoy!!!

White Picket Fairy Fence

August 18, 2015September 24, 2015 Porter Leave a comment

Well, I couldn’t show you how to make a Craft Stick Fairy Door without telling you how to make a WHITE PICKET FAIRY FENCE to go with it! The fence is simple to make and looks adorable out in the fairy garden!

Materials needed:

small craft sticks
regular-sized craft sticks
wood glue
Q-tips
white acrylic paint
acrylic sealant

First, lay out your sticks…4 small craft sticks in the middle with 2 regular-sized ones on the ends. If you don’t have small craft sticks, just cut some regular-sized one’s in half. The two craft sticks on the ends are left long, so that you can easily stick them into the ground, keeping the fence upright!

Next, think about where two craft sticks that will lie across the other ones will be and use a Q-tip to put wood glue in those spots across each stick. Lay the craft sticks on top of the glue and press to secure.

After the glue has dried, paint the picket fairy fence white.

Finish up with a coat of acrylic sealant spray.

Now for the fun part…while sneaking a fairy door into your neighbor’s garden, add a little white picket fairy fence as well! Gently push the ends of the fence into the soil. Enjoy!!!