Category: For Mom

Pine Cone Flowers

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Have I mentioned before how much I love Fall?! So many things to find and create with…like these mini-pine cones! I’ve been thinking of making “pine cone flowers” for months now, and when L and I found these miniature ones it was a done deal.

Materials needed:

  • miniature pine cones
  • twigs (the more lil knobs and branches the better)
  • acrylic paints
  • hot glue gun and glue

First, choose what colors you’d like your “flowers” to be…we choose multi-colored! Paint each little pine cone as you like. Set aside to dry.

 

 

Next, paint your twigs a mixture of dark and light greens. Allow to dry.

 

Once everything is dry, you can assemble your pine cone flowers. Using a hot glue gun, put a little dab of glue on the tip of a twig. Quickly press and hold a pine cone in place. Repeat until all your pine cones are used up.

 

 

 

 

So cute, huh!? Arranged in a little, antique bottle they make a sweet gift for a child or an adult.

Leaf Prints…Pillowcases and T-Shirts

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Ever since we put up L’s “big girl bed” a couple months ago I’ve been looking for the perfect pillow sham. I finally decided, “Why not just make one!?” And that’s exactly what we did today! I love the outcome…it turned out even better than I imagined it would! The pillow cover will last for years and we can always look back on this perfect Autumn day. We followed it up by making some matching Fall shirts for the girls as well!

 

Pillow Cover

Materials needed:

  • pillowcase, ironed if needed
  • a few scraps of cardboard
  • paper towels
  • acrylic paints
  • brushes and palettes (we use old, plastic lids)
  • leaves

 

Before you start painting, prepare your area. You’ll need a piece of cardboard to paint the leaves on top of and a piece of cardboard to slide into the middle of the pillowcase, so no paint seeps through. If the cardboard inside the pillowcase is ridged, you may want to add an old, silicone cutting board or piece of card stock underneath as well. You wouldn’t want the ridges to effect the leaf prints.

Starting with the larger of your leaves, paint the underside of the leaf and then carefully press it onto the pillowcase. Repeat with different colors, different shades and different sizes until you’re happy with your final project. We started with various shades of orange and then added a few reds, yellows and greens. Likewise, we started with large leaves and ended with a few tiny ones.

 

 

 

 

T-Shirts

Materials needed:

  • t-shirts, ironed if needed
  • a few scraps of cardboard
  • paper towels
  • acrylic paints
  • brushes and palettes (we use old, plastic lids)
  • leaves

You will basically make leaf prints onto your t-shirt in a similar manner as with the pillowcase above. The only difference is that you’ll want smaller cardboard pieces to slide into the shirt and one really narrow piece to slide into the sleeve. As you can see, after printing leaves on the center of the shirt I added one tiny, falling leaf to the sleeve.

 

 

 

 

 

Cute, huh!? And easy! What else will you make leaf prints on? I think an Autumn table runner would be beautiful as well! There are so many possibilities! Enjoy!

DIY Mason Jar Lid Pumpkins

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This pumpkin craft is one of the simplest and sweetest of the season.  It’s not only cute for Halloween, but you can keep it up all the way through to Thanksgiving. The “mason-jar-lid pumpkin” could even be used to brighten up your Thanksgiving table centerpiece…your guests will adore it!

 

Materials needed:

  • about 20 mason jar lids (found in the grocery store)
  • glitter spray paint (orange, gold, silver)
  • cord or string
  • scissors
  • cinnamon sticks
  • decorative, floral wire (optional)

Outside or in a well-ventilated area, lay all the lids out on a flat surface. Spray half the lids with the orange spray paint, a quarter of them gold and the last quarter silver. (You can always change up your colors and do something different than what I did…all orange, all gold, no paint…it’s up to you!)

 

Let the lids dry overnight. Next, cut a piece of string about 2-3 feet long. Thread all your lids on the string, making sure they all face the same direction.

 

Pull the string tight and then tie a double-knot to secure the mason jar lids.

Move the lids around, arranging them into a pumpkin shape. Place 6 or 7 cinnamon sticks in the center for the pumpkin stem and (optional) add a curlicue of florist wire.

 

 

How cute is that!? And easy too! Now that I’ve made one for our house, I’ll be making a few more this week to give away as gifts. Enjoy!

Have you seen our DIY Witch Legs??? That’s another one you’ll be sure to love!!!

Glue Ghosts

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Did you ever make these “glue ghosts” when you were a kid? They were always one of my favorites! This must be one of the simplest Halloween crafts out there! L and I made extras this year so we’d have plenty to make a ghost garland decoration and to make ghost necklaces.

Materials needed:

  • wax paper
  • Elmer’s glue
  • googlie eyes (or permanent markers)
  • paperclips (optional)
  • needle and thread, string or dental floss

First, spread out a piece of wax paper over your working surface. You may want to do this on a silicone cutting board or a tray so it can be moved. (I had no idea that wax paper was slightly porous…when we did this craft the glue seeped through the wax paper a bit and stuck to our kitchen counter. It was no problem, cause Elmer’s glue washes off easily, but the project was stuck to our counter for a few days while we waited for the ghosts to dry. Ha! Just another beautiful mess!)

Next, have your little one squeeze out blobs of glue into ghost shapes.

 

Wait a few hours for the glue to dry a bit and then gently press in some googlie eyes. If you don’t have googlie eyes, don’t worry…you can always draw a face on the ghosts after they dry with a permanent marker.

 

At this point, you can also cut a paperclip and press the wire into the ghosts to make hooks. We experimented with this and I personally like the ghosts better without the paperclip-hooks. Instead, you can just use a needle to poke a hole through the ghosts after they’re dried. It’s up to you though..both methods work great!

 

Now for the waiting-game…wait 2 or 3 days for the ghosts to dry completely before gently peeling them off the wax paper. If you didn’t use paperclip-hooks, now is the time to use a sewing needle to thread some string or floss through your ghosts.

 

 

All done! Super easy, huh? Will you wear your “glue ghosts” on a necklace or hang them up in a doorway this Halloween? Enjoy!!!

 

 

 

DIY Story Stones

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This is one of my favorite “games” that I’ve made for our girls, as well as one of my favorite gifts to make for other children. It’s such a versatile, quirky activity for kids (or adults) of any age and the possibilities of play are endless. We take them on long car trips, pull them out when friends are over, and use them during quiet-time when WB is sleeping.

 

I’ve read before that “story stones” come from the Waldorf school of thought, believing that it is far more important to teach children how to creatively weave a story at a young age than it is to teach them how to read and write. After the directions for making story stones, read on for various ways of how to play with them!

 

Materials needed:

  • colored pencils and paper
  • sticker book (optional)
  • old workbooks with lots of little pictures (optional)
  • scissors
  • smooth stones (found at the dollar store)
  • Mod Podge and sponge-brush

First, spend some time doodling little pictures on white paper. Think about what pictures would make up a good story…include people and animals, active words, weather, vehicles, houses, etc. Try to keep some of your pictures a little bit vague. For instance, instead of drawing a plate of spaghetti you could draw a fork, knife and spoon and the child playing could imagine any kind of meal. A picture of a foot could lead to putting on socks and shoes or it could be used for walking/running. A swirly doodle could be used for wind, but it could also be used for music, dancing, painting, water, etc.

Next, cut out each of your little doodles. If you don’t want to draw your pictures, or you’d like to use various mediums as I do, you can also cut pictures out of old workbooks or children’s dictionaries, or use a sticker book. I tend to look for such books whenever I’m browsing a flea market, antique store, or the dollar store.

After the pictures are cut out and ready, go ahead and wash and dry your rocks. Working one stone at a time, apply a little bit of Mod Podge to the smoothest surface of the rock then lay a picture in place. Apply more Mod Podge over top of the picture, making sure you smooth down all edges and avoid any wrinkles in the paper. Mod Podge dries pretty quickly. After the stones are all dry, I like to go over them all with another thin layer of Mod Podge to give them an even smoother look.

 

Once the stones are all dry, you’re ready to play!

 

(In case you want story stones the really easy way and you live in the Winchester area, Steamy’s Cafe on Piccadilly St currently sells story stones…1 for $1 and 20 for $15! They make great gifts!)

Ideas for Play:

SOLO STORY-BUILDING: Take turns building your own stories.

DICTATING STORIES: This is a good one especially with young children…take turns telling a story, while the other person finds the stones and puts them in order.

PARTNER OR GROUP STORIES: Take turns, picking stones and adding to the story.

RANDOM SELECTION – MYSTERY STORY: Turn all the stones over and take turns randomly selecting a stone to build a story.

ONE STONE STORY: Select only one stone at random and make up a whole story revolving around the stone. Or tell a silly sentence using the stone in the sentence.

CLASSIFYING: Put the stones into groups based on theme, color, likes and dislikes, etc.

EXPLORING: Let your child use the stones while playing with blocks or trucks or coloring or playing house. The stones can become pets, cars, food, etc. If the children are having fun imagining, just let them go with it!

What other ways have you found to play with your story stones? Please share with us in the comments below!

The Buckeye Zoo (and Other Fall Seed Creations)

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I just love this time of year! One of my favorite things to do since I was a kid and now with my own kids is collecting the Fall leaves, nuts, and seeds. L says she likes to be a “thing finder” like Pippi Longstocking on our nature walks. This year, as we’ve been foraging, we’ve also begun gluing some of our buckeyes and other nuts and seeds together into animals.

Materials needed:

  • buckeyes
  • acorns
  • helicopter seeds
  • whatever other nuts and seeds you can find
  • feathers
  • twigs
  • glue (I used a hot glue gun, but let L use wood glue.)
  • acrylic paint
  • sealant

Before you start gluing, it’s important to make sure that all your findings are bug-free and that they’re dry. Put a layer of tinfoil on a baking sheet or pan and spread your nuts and seeds out on top. With your oven set to 200 degrees, bake your acorns, walnuts and buckeyes for about 1.5 to 2 hours. Turn the seeds over about every half an hour to prevent burning. With some of the spiky or more delicate seeds, bake them at a lower temperature…around 180 degrees…for an hour or so.

After the seeds are baked and cooled, you can start gluing together your creatures. I prefer using a hot glue gun…it’s quick and holds the buckeyes and other seeds together nicely. I let L glue some of her own with some standard “wood glue” though. It takes longer to dry, but it’s much safer for a 2 year old to use on her own!

 

 

The elephant was the first member of our Buckeye Zoo…definitely L’s idea! She looooves elephants!

 

Here’s a little bunny rabbit…I think tomorrow I’ll make some flop-eared bunnies for a dear friend of mine. So simple, but so cute!

 

I thought this one was gonna be a porcupine or hedgehog, but L said it looked most like a sheep. I agree!

And I just love this bird. We’ll be making him/her a nest by gluing together twigs later this week.

 

While most of our creatures were complete after gluing, we chose to paint others…like L’s caterpillar and the turtle and dragonfly we made together.

 

 

What Buckeye creatures will you and your kids make this year? We’d love to see your creations shared here in the comment section…there are so many possibilities! Have fun collecting and creating!!!

DIY Witch Legs

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So I looked around for a tutorial online for how to make “Witch Legs” and they were all much more complicated than they needed to be! People using irrigation tubing, tube socks with sand and tape, mannequin legs, etc… I don’t know about you, but I’m all for cheap and easy! So I tried it my way, fingers-crossed that it’d work out, and it did! I just love our witch legs…costing under $10, they took about 15-20 minutes to make!

Materials needed:

  • heeled, sparkly shoes (find them at a thrift store!)
  • kids, knit halloween tights
  • poly fil stuffing
  • hot glue gun and glue
  • scissors

(I originally thought I’d decorate the shoes with some pipe cleaner curlicues, but they ended up looking best without! That’s why the pipe cleaners are pictured here, if you’re wondering.)

First, stuff the tights with the poly fil. Leave about 4-5 inches at the top not stuffed.

Next, cut the legs off the tights, as far to the top as possible. Then tie a knot in each.

 

Position one foot into a shoe to have a good idea how it will set. Then, starting with the toes, glue each foot into the shoe. It’s okay if the “foot” is smaller than the shoe…it probably will be because they’re adult shoes and kid’s tights. You can continue pushing the leg down into the shoe just past the heel and nobody will be able to tell the difference.

 

And now for the fun part…find the perfect spot to display your witch legs and surprise the neighbors! If you have an overhanging porch on your house or a large bush in the yard, you can hide the ends underneath. There’s about a half-inch gap between the siding of our house and the front porch that I was able to wedge the ends down into. A big flower pot set on top would work too! Get creative and have fun! Ding-dong the wicked witch it dead!!!

 

 

DIY Autumn Leaf Bookmarks

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We are so, so excited in Our Beautifully Messy House that Fall has finally arrived and with it new projects and crafts to do! Nature offers so many free materials this time of year…from brightly colored leaves to acorns and buckeyes of all different sizes, not to mention weird and crazy seed pods. These Autumn Leaf Bookmarks were just too perfect for me to do this week with the new addition of our Little Free Library at our house, as well as all the leaves starting to change and fall in our backyard!

Materials Needed:

  • empty cereal or cracker box
  • scissors
  • gold acrylic paint
  • brightly colored leaves
  • hot glue gun and glue
  • Mod Podge and brush

First, cut your cereal box cardboard into bookmark-shapes. I did some thin ones with square edges and a couple thicker ones with rounded edges…both turned out great!

After cutting your bookmarks, paint a couple layers of gold acrylic paint on each side. The paint job doesn’t have to be perfect since the leaves will cover up most of the cardboard.

Once the paint has dried completely, it’s time to glue on your leaves. First, prepare your leaves by cutting the stems off.

Start with one of your larger leaves, and apply the glue directly onto the bookmark. After you’ve pressed your leaf into the glue,  smooth it down as flat as possible, working from the center of the leaf out. And work quickly…hot glue dries super-fast!

Once the central part of your leaf is attached, apply small dabs of glue to the edges and tips of the underside of the leaf and continue to smooth it flat. Fold over-hanging tips around and glue to the opposite side. Continue layering and gluing leaves on both sides.

 

 

 

Once all the leaves are attached, examine the bookmark and try to remove any little pieces of hot glue that may be visible. Now paint one or two coats of Mod Podge on each side of the bookmark. The Mod Podge helps preserve the leaves and their bright colors. It also makes the bookmark a bit more durable!

Too easy, right? It makes such a cute, lil gift for a friend or neighbor! Check back for many more Fall crafts to come in the next couple months! Enjoy!

 

 

 

DIY Wind Chimes

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I love finding new uses for old things and I’ll take any excuse to peruse an antique store, so making these wind chimes was the perfect project for L and me! Like most of our home decor projects, L couldn’t help with everything, but I let her help where she could…she painted all the keys and picked out all the buttons we used. Your wind chime doesn’t have to include everything ours does, but hopefully it inspires you to make one with things you do have around the house!

 

 

 Materials for Wind Chime #1:

  • antique cheese grater
  • old buttons
  • keys
  • an old prism
  • sturdy thread or cord
  • acrylic paint
  • glossy sealant spray

 Materials for Wind Chime #2:

  • antique, silver candy dish
  • old buttons
  • keys
  • an old prism
  • sturdy thread or cord
  • acrylic paint
  • glossy sealant spray

For Wind Chime #1, which we made for my younger brother, I painted an old cheese grater that I had found at an antique store. While I painted the cheese grater, L painted a bunch of old keys. Once the keys dried, we turned them over and painted the other side different colors. After both sides were painted and dried, I sprayed the keys and the cheese grater with a glossy sealant. It gives the items a more finished look and will help them stand up to the weather a little better too.

 

 

 

 

First, figure out how you’d like your wind chime to hang…for instance Wind Chime #1 was hung on a slight angle, so the painting was visible. Wind Chime #2 was an antique candy dish hung upside-down. Hang the wind chime between two chairs while you work on it. This makes fastening all your keys and buttons soooo much easier!

To assemble the wind chime, we first laid out all the materials we had on hand…buttons, keys, old thread spools, and prisms. From here we decided what we wanted the wind chime to look like and started piecing it all together. It’s a great opportunity to talk about patterns with your little ones!

After everything was strung-up and fastened the way we liked it, I put a spot of crazy-glue on each knot and cut the extra strings. Now for the fun part…ready to wrap it up and give it away as a gift or find the perfect spot for your wind chime to hang! What will your wind chime look like?

 

 

 

 

DIY Melted Crayon Art with Variations

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This was the perfect “rainy day craft” for today…fun for me and for L! I’m so excited about these melted crayon creations, I can’t wait to make more! Let’s jump right in…

 

Materials needed:

  • white canvas
  • crayons
  • hot glue gun and glue
  • cardboard box
  • hair blowdryer

Although there’s definitely some unpredictability in this project, you first need to plan it out a bit. Start with picking out your colors.

 

After deciding where your crayons will go, use the hot glue gun to attach them to the canvas.

 

 

Next, place the canvas in a cardboard box. The box will keep your work area clean, catching the crayon splatter.

Prop the box up against a chair, table, or wall. Make sure the crayons are facing down (if you want a dripping effect) and that the box and canvas are on a little bit of an incline.

 

Next for the fun part, use the hair dryer to melt the crayons and blow the wax around. I let L do most of the rainbow picture. Turned out pretty awesome, huh!?

 

 

Now, display your work in whichever direction you please. I think a ribbon pinned or glued around the outside edges of the canvas would give it a nice, finished look!

Variations:

Wildflowers

To make the wildflower piece, I used mostly greens and browns. After I was done melting the crayons and the wax had time to cool down, I used the hot glue gun to attach flowers. Do this step carefully, so no glue shows! It works best to glue the flowers on spots without any wax.

 

 

 

 

 

Wild Splatter

I experimented with this one a bit, trying to plan for some future creations. I kept the box flat to the ground and used broken crayon pieces. To hold the crayons in place while melting them, I used a fork and smudged them around a bit. The outcome was a little funky…next time I’ll use smaller crayon pieces and maybe some crayon shavings instead.

 

 

 

 

 

I’m hoping to make a vibrant, Autumn tree next! I’ll be sure to update the blog and add those pictures as well, so check back soon!!! What “melted crayon art” will you make???