Tag: DIY

Tin Foil Jelly Fish Craft

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I love this super cute, jelly fish craft for so many reasons. Our TIN FOIL JELLY FISH were inspired by a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium and the girls’ fascination with “The Jelly Fish Invasion” exhibit. (Super cool…if you are anywhere near Baltimore, go see it!!!) I love that this craft costs nearly nothing to make and L learned all about textures and rubbings while coloring the foil. And I LOVE the way our jelly fish look hanging in our kitchen window. If you can, place them near an air vent…when the air kicks on the jelly fish will come to life, dancing and swimming in the sun!

 

 

 

 

“The Jelly Fish Invasion” at the Baltimore Aquarium…

Materials needed:

  • tin foil
  • permanent markers
  • egg cartons
  • other small, plastic containers (think applesauce, olives, etc.)
  • string or fishing line
  • painted stick
  • tape
  • scissors
  • paperclips
  • nail or sharp-tipped tool

First, cut your egg carton into little jelly fish shapes.

Next, take a few sheets of tin foil and have your children color them. This is a great opportunity to make rubbings. L colored on the patio furniture and bricks, over tree bark, on the textured sidewalk and on her slide. Not entirely necessary, but why not!? Your kids can also try making different patterns if coloring on a flat surface…stripes, dots, swirls, anything goes!

 

 

Cut the tin foil into little squares and have your kids wrap the egg carton cut outs with the foil. You may have to help them smooth down the outer edges.

 

 

 

 

If you have some small, plastic containers to use as well, first poke a hole in the center. Next, cover the containers with the foil too.

 

Cut strips of tin foil and tape the strips, 2 or 3 at a time, to the inside of your jelly fish.

 

 

Using a nail or sharp tool, poke a hole into the top of each jelly fish.

Now, it’s time to hang your jelly fish up. I knew ours would go in our kitchen window, so we hung the jelly fish along a painted stick. You could also make one large jelly fish and hang the smaller ones underneath. That method would be cute if hanging your jelly fish up under a light, in the center of a room.

We hung our jelly fish by stringing them onto fishing line and tying the line to a paperclip underneath each one. Some hung on their own, while others had a second jelly fish hanging underneath. Get creative and have fun with it!

 

When doing projects like this, it’s definitely easier to have the jelly fish hanging while you are tying them on rather than laying flat on the ground.

Put them up to display and enjoy!!!

 

Tin Foil River and DIY Boats

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This morning the girls and I went to an awesome, little program for kids where we learned about the waterways in our town and L got to make her own toy boat. When we came home I decided to make our own “waterway” in the backyard with some tin foil. Too easy and so much fun!!! All you need is some aluminum foil, water, and some toy boats to float along! I mean, seriously…who wouldn’t like a TIN FOIL RIVER in their yard?

 

 

 

Boat ideas and links:

 

First, decide which direction you’d like your TIN FOIL RIVER to flow. If your yard or driveway is on a slope, it’s pretty easy to figure out how to get the water to flow…start at the top and end at the bottom. If you yard is flat, you can prop some of the river up or make it in a donut shape. We decided to make ours interesting, starting the river on the slide, having it flow under a chair, and bend and twist across the yard.

 

Making the waterway is pretty simple…you can be a perfectionist about it and try to make all the sides even or just wham-bam make it, play with it. We tore large strips of aluminum foil and double-layered the foil to prevent any leaks. Fold the sides up. At any joints (places where you’re attaching two sections of foil) you can add another layer of foil underneath. Same with the end of your river…we tried making our sides a little higher and extra-sturdy at the end.

 

 

If you need to, you can weigh your foil down with some smooth rocks. Makes fun little obstacles too! If a side of your river starts to sag, it’s pretty easy to prop it up with a brick or flower pot…whatever you have handy. The TIN FOIL RIVER allows for some terrific problem solving and experimenting with your little ones! I can’t wait to see what L comes up with next for our backyard waterway!

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Giant Bubble Wands and a Homemade Bubble Solution Recipe

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Did you ever make these GIANT BUBBLES when you were a kid? My siblings and I loved making them way back when! Recently, we had a bubble kit given to us with a wand included, but it was too big for L to do on her own…so, of course, I had to brainstorm and make a wand she could use as well! The best part about it was we already had all the materials we needed. If you don’t have two rulers to use, two large mixing spoons or spatulas would probably work great too…anything with a hole at the end of the handle. Be sure to scroll down to the bottom for the HOMEMADE BUBBLE SOLUTION RECIPE. It’s better than any store-bought variety and takes only a minute to make!

Materials Needed:

  • 2 plastic rulers
  • yarn, 3-6 feet long
  • binder ring, shower curtain ring, or a keychain ring
  • homemade bubble solution (See below)

First, cut the string to suit your size…the shorter the person, the shorter the string!

Next, thread the ring onto the string and tie both ends together with an overhand knot.

Thread a loop of yarn through the hole on one end of a ruler. Bring the loop up and over the opposite end of the ruler and pull it tight. (See pictures.)

 

Attach the other ruler the same way, leaving about 1 to 2 feet of yarn between the two rulers.

With the bubble solution in a large bowl or container, gently lower the yarn into the liquid. Make sure the yarn is soaked through.

Next, carefully lift the yarn out of the bubble solution. Slowly and steadily, spread the rulers apart while walking backwards. If there is a breeze, make sure the wind is blowing on your back.

To close the ginormous bubble, carefully bring the rulers together again. So cool!!!

 

 

HOMEMADE BUBBLE SOLUTION RECIPE

Ingredients:

  • warm water
  • sugar
  • dish soap

Materials:

  • measuring cup
  • Tablespoon measuring spoon
  • medium bowl or container
  • spoon

Put one Tablespoon of sugar into your bowl or container. Pour 200 ml of warm water on top of the sugar and mix until all the sugar is dissolved. Add 50 ml of dish soap (30 ml if using ultra dish-washing detergent) and mix. Finally, add 300 ml of warm water to the mixture and mix.

That’s it! This bubble solution is the best we’ve ever made!

 

Have fun!!!

Be sure to check out our BUBBLE BLOBS & BUBBLE WORMS page too!

 

 

 

Doorknob Mushroom-Fairy Houses

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Aren’t these DOORKNOB MUSHROOM-FAIRY HOUSES the cutest??? I originally planned to just make mushrooms out of these little wooden knobs, but I just had to paint a little door and window on too. They’re just so sweet! L painted hers knobs into multi-colored mushrooms today and they are already out in the garden! So easy and so much fun!

 

Materials needed:

  • small wooden knobs w/ screws
  • acrylic paint
  • sealant spray
  • egg carton (optional)

First, twist the screw into the knobs.

Next, paint your knobs. You can paint them to look like mushrooms or add a few extra details for a fairy house. Even a 3 year old can paint the knob to look like a cute, lil mushroom!

 

 

 

After your knobs are painted, set them aside to dry. I suggest using an egg carton to prop the knobs up. Next, take them outside to spray with a coat of sealant. (The egg carton works great for this step too!)

Now for the fun part…tuck them away into your fairy garden, in a flower pot or in a wreath. Keep the screws in, just push them into the ground. Adorable! Might as well make a couple extra for family and friends!

 

 

 

If you like this one, you’ll be sure to like our JAM JAR FAIRY HOUSES and GNOME HOMES too!

DIY Ant Farm

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I’m so super excited to share this project with you. ANT FARMS are fun to make and fascinating to observe with your little ones! L and I have been staring at our jar all day, reading kids books on insects, watching some National Geographic clips on ants, and we’ve found some fun facts along the way. Within the first 24 hrs of placing your ants inside your DIY ANT FARM, they will dig tunnels and make chambers right before your eyes!

The ants you collect will most likely be “worker ants” and all worker ants are female…pretty amazing! Most ant colonies contain one queen ant who lays all the eggs, male ants whose only job is to make babies with the queen, and worker ants who gather food, dig tunnels, and protect the colony. When collecting ants you want to be sure to only collect ants from one colony, otherwise the ants will fight to their death inside your jar.

Materials needed:

  • large jar (pickle jar)
  • small jar (jam jar or spice jar)
  • loose, sandy soil (Cactus/Citrus Soil works great!)
  • spoon
  • small jar or cup
  • jam or sugar water

To make your ant farm, place the small jar upside down, inside the larger jar.

Next, carefully spoon the soil into the jar. L would place a spoonful on the top of the little jar and then brush the soil down along the sides. It does not have to be packed tightly, just filled to the top.

 

 

To collect ants, put about one tsp. of sugar water or jam into a separate jar or cup and place it outside on its side. This is your ant trap. You may want to set a few ant traps around your garden and be patient. It can take a few days for the ants to discover your bait, but once they do many will follow!

After your ant farm is made and the ants have been caught, quickly and carefully dump your ants inside your ant farm and screw on the cap. You’ll want about 10-20 ants. I think we have about 5 ants in our jar…it takes a couple minutes to find them, but works just fine! They are busy digging all those tunnels and chambers all by themselves!

 

Once a week, open the lid to your jar and place a few drops of sugar water and/or a couple pieces of bird seed. You don’t want to feed them too much, once a week is plenty! When you open your jar to feed the ants, plenty of fresh oxygen will enter the jar as well…no need for holes! Keep your ant farm indoors, not too hot and not too cold, away from direct sunlight.

For more info on ants, check out some books at your local library and click here to see some fascinating photos and videos from National Geographic! Enjoy!!!

 

 

DIY Flower Fairies

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I first made FLOWER FAIRIES with my youngest sister when we were kids. They are just so sweet, I couldn’t wait to make them again with my girls! L and I made these fairies this past week and we plan on making more tomorrow…I’m thinking garlands, magnets, and of course, just flower fairy dolls for playing pretend!

 

 

Materials needed:

  • florist wire
  • fabric flowers
  • wooden beads
  • other beads (wooden, plastic; colorful, plain)
  • acrylic paint
  • embroidery thread
  • scissors
  • hot glue gun and glue

First, paint simple, little faces on your wooden beads.

While your beads dry, take the artificial flowers apart. All you’ll need is the fabric petals. If you have any tiny flowers, set them aside to use for head decorations.

Cut a 14-inch piece of wire, and an 8-inch piece of wire. Fold the 14-inch piece in half.

With the smaller piece, bring both ends towards the center and twist the wire, leaving a little loop on each side for the fairy’s “hands.” Set aside.

 

 

Select the colors of embroidery thread you’d like to use for the fairy’s hair. Wrap the thread around all four of your fingers.

Place your looped, embroidery thread into the fold of the 14-inch piece of wire. Twist the wire, once to secure it in place.

Next, thread a “head” onto the wires (the large wire folded in half), followed by a couple small or medium-sized flowers.

 

Take the small wire piece (already folded and twisted into arms) and place it under the flowers, but in-between the two wires. If you like, you can fold each arm over once to secure the arms in place a little more.

Next, thread a bead onto the wire, followed by 2, 3, or more large flower petals.

At this point, separate the long wires into two legs. Fold each one in half and twist the wire, leaving a little loop on each end for the fairy’s “feet.”

 

Time to style some hair! You can twist the hair and glue it on top the fairy’s head. You can simply cut the thread loops and let it hang wild and free. Get creative with it!

 

To finish each flower fairy, glue a small flower on top of the hair. Too cute!!!

 

 

To host a tea party for your flower fairies, be sure to check out our “It’s Tea Time! Tea Party Ideas” page!

 

DIY String Bowls

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Before we packed up our Easter stuff, I decided to make some fun and funky STRING BOWLS with L…we used the bottoms of our Easter eggs for molds. How cute are these? And even better, all the materials needed we already had lying around the house…you probably do too! If you don’t have Easter egg bottoms to use, any small or medium-sized bowls will work for molds.

Materials needed:

  • small plastic bowls or Easter egg bottoms
  • yarn or string
  • white glue
  • water
  • plastic wrap
  • scissors
  • glitter (optional)
  • hair dryer (optional)

First, cover your molds with plastic wrap.

In a small bowl, mix a little bit of water into some white glue. If you like, mix some glitter into the glue as well.

Next, cut your string into small pieces and stir it into the glue. You can experiment with this step…we did one bowl using 1-inch pieces of yarn, another using 2-3 inch pieces, and one bowl using one long piece of string.

 

 

Remove each piece of string from the glue, one at a time, and lay them across your mold. If the glue is thick on the string, you can squeeze some of the excess glue off.

 

 

Once all your string is laid out across and around your molds, lay them aside to dry. It may take a couple days for the glue to dry completely, or you can speed up the process by using a hair dryer.

After the glue has dried, turn your bowls over. Remove the molds and the plastic wrap.

 

 

 

 

Using fine-tipped scissors, you can trim any string or glue that you may need to off the edges.

 

Beautiful and fun! Perfect for rings, hair clips, buttons and trinkets!

Egg Carton Flower Wreath

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Can you believe this beautiful Spring wreath was made primarily out of egg cartons!?! I just love the outcome! I’ve wanted to make an EGG CARTON FLOWER WREATH for years! Last year we tried it, using tempera paints, but the colors weren’t nearly as vibrant. I highly suggest using acrylics for this project. Our EGG CARTON FLOWER WREATH hangs inside Our Beautifully Messy House, as we await the first blooms of spring flowers outside in our garden!

 

 

 

 

Materials needed:

  • 3 egg cartons
  • med-large cardboard piece
  • sharp scissors (fabric scissors)
  • acrylic paints
  • hot glue gun and glue

First, cut the egg cartons into flower shapes. Get creative! The pointy, divider sections can be used to make narrow flowers or daffodil trumpets and the lids of the egg cartons can be cut into leaves.

After all your flowers are cut, time to paint with your little ones! L and I painted side-by-side…when she was finished with a flower or bored with a color, I’d let her start on another one while I filled in any spots she may missed. After all the flowers were painted a solid color, I went back and painted on some details! Although the flowers look great in solid colors, the details really bring them to life…worth the extra 30 minutes of painting!

 

 

 

 

 

To make your wreath base, use some large mixing bowls to trace circles onto your cardboard and cut it out. I used two separate pieces of cardboard and just taped them together. Once your wreath base is cut out, give it a quick coat of green paint.

 

Next, using a hot glue gun, glue the leaves onto your wreath base randomly.

After the leaves are in place, glue the flowers on. Try to space the colors out, but don’t think too much about order. In nature, nothing is perfect and the imperfections themselves are beautiful!

 

 

 

 

Hang your wreath on a door, a wall or in your kitchen window! Enjoy!!!

 

20+ Non-Candy Easter Egg Surprises

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Last year we put a few chocolates into L’s Easter eggs, but for the most part the Easter bunny left her with NON-CANDY EASTER EGG SURPRISES and she LOVED it! Inside the eggs were buttons, a spool of thread (to string the buttons into a necklace), a lil plastic turtle, and strips of paper with fun activities for the whole family to do.

 

Some of the “ACTIVITIES” included:

  • Hop like a bunny.
  • Jump like a frog.
  • Who can laugh the silliest?
  • Give daddy a hug.
  • Give a bunny kiss to mommy.
  • Walk backwards.
  • Clap and count to 10.
  • Peep like a chick.
  • Play ring-around-the-rosie.
  • Roll like an egg.

 

Yes, it was silly and ridiculous, but we had so much fun!!!

Other NON-CANDY EASTER EGG IDEAS:

  • Army men
  • Marbles
  • Puzzle pieces
  • Stickers
  • Crayons
  • A Prism
  • Coins
  • Beads
  • Play-dough (Recipe here.)
  • Fairy folk (DIY here.)
  • Shoelaces
  • Plastic figurines
  • Wooden Stamps
  • Jacks
  • Story Stones (DIY here.)
  • Buttons (and thread to make a necklace)
  • Mardi-Gras Beads
  • Miniature Tea Set
  • Rocks (like Jade, Obsidian, Pyrite, Quartz, etc.)
  • Dice
  • Erasers

 

 

 

You also might like these CRAZY COLORED EASTER EGGS…

 

And this DIY SOCK BUNNY RABBIT! Enjoy!!!

Crazy Colored Easter Eggs

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Last year was the first time we colored our Easter eggs in this fashion and oh my gosh, was it easy!!! These CRAZY COLORED EASTER EGGS are much cleaner and quicker to make than the traditional dyed Easter eggs! And aren’t they just beautiful???

 

 

Materials needed:

  • white eggs
  • pot with water
  • broken crayons
  • tin foil
  • large dish or pan
  • fork
  • tongs
  • glitter (optional)
  • towel for drying
  • parchment paper

First, put your eggs in the pot of water and on your stovetop to boil. I’ve always heard that 13 minutes is the magic number for perfectly cooked, hard-boiled eggs.

While your eggs cook, line your pan with tin foil. Also, prepare a place on your kitchen counter for your finished eggs…just a piece of parchment paper will do!

Make some crayon shavings, using a sharp knife. The more wild and beautiful your colors, the more wild and beautiful the eggs!

Sprinkle the crayon shavings on top of the tin foil and add glitter if you like too! You don’t need a whole lot of crayon shavings…less is really better to avoid big color mixtures turning the eggs into yucky shades of brown.

Once the eggs are cooked, use tongs to carefully move one egg at a time onto the towel to dry, and then into the pan of crayon shavings. Have your little one roll the egg around the shavings, pushing gently with the underside of a fork. Since the eggs are still very hot, the crayon shavings will melt immediately, painting the eggs!

 

 

 

 

After each egg is dyed, remove it with the tongs and lay it on the parchment paper to cool completely.  Repeat with the remaining eggs!

 

I just love our CRAZY COLORED EASTER EGGS!!! Beautiful!!! Enjoy!