cardboard arcade

I stumbled across this vimeo this week, and fell in love! The story is sweet, and well worth the ten minutes of watching time. I knew I needed to show it to Elliott, not only because he would appreciate it, but also because I knew it would inspire him. We were about halfway through it when he went running to get some of his old tickets. Immediately after finishing it, he asked for some cardboard and went to work. This is the result:

army men water slide

E and I saw a pin from this article, where you make a waterway out of foil in which to float and race your boats. We headed out to the backyard this afternoon, made a couple styrofoam boats, rolled out the foil, and started the water hose. E decided that his new Army men might want to ride in the boats. It wasn't long before we found out it worked a lot better to just slide the army men, and not mess with the boats at all. What a fun activity! And, he'll be playing with it again and again throughout the next couple days.

sew a hot-wheels holder

(based on this pin)

Supplies:

fabric strip, 1 yard x 6 inches

elastic, 1 yard

sewing machine, scissors, thread, etc.

1. Measure the length you'd like the sling to be around your little guy.

2. Sew a strip along the length, wrong sides together. Flip right side out.

3. Pin elastic along length of sling. Sew parallel lines about an inch apart. (You can measure them meticulously or just eyeball it like I did. It works at varying widths because some cars are thinner than others.)

4. Place cars in slots. Watch happy child play! 

*Warning: Can get a little heavy when fully loaded!

magic milk paint

We tried milk painting! And it was fun! You can SO do this, too. The supplies are probably in your kitchen already. I first found this on Pinterest from Modern Parents Messy Kids.

You'll need:

• plates or plastic lids (with a lip)
• milk (whole or half & half work best)
• food coloring
• dish soap
• tooth picks

Pour enough milk in the lid to cover the bottom. Squeeze 2-3 drops of each color desired.

Dip toothpick in soap, and then start swirling.

It's like the colors are alive. Beautiful!

Then you can get some fresh milk to drink.

just like lofthouse

You know those frosted, and sprinkled sugar cookies you pass by all the time at the store? They are good. But sometimes you want to make some in your own kitchen, just to know you can. I found a very similar recipe! Sour cream is the key. And if you buy your own sprinkles, it's a pretty good replication, in my opinion.

diy terrarium

You can build a terrarium in almost any glass container, small or large. It's your own perfect little world in a jar.

First, fill the bottom with some rocks, followed by broken up charcoal, and potting soil.

Next, find some moss or low-growing plant. (We found ours in the back yard.) And add a little friend, if you have one on hand.

Enjoy!

Upkeep: We spritz ours with a water bottle every so often (once a week or two). I also take the top off every once in awhile to breathe a little. I've read that little water droplets on the glass is okay, but murky fog is not. Also, if it starts to smell bad, definitely give it some air.

owl cake balls

It's that time of year again! My little girl turned 3 last week. She requested owls, so of course I got to use my cake pop book by Bakerella. We used candy necklace candies for the eyes, chocolate covered sesame seeds for the beaks, flower sprinkles for the feet, and chocolate chips for the wings. They were chocolate  cake, chocolate frosting, and chocolate candy coating. Also, they were delicious little critters.

winter smoothies

(The only thing that make these smoothies "winter" smoothies, is that we're making them in the winter.) Smoothies are good any time, though, and usually quite healthy. We magic bulleted chocolate raspberry and orange creamsicle smoothies, using frozen raspberries from Michigan last summer, and oranges, fresh from the latest Florida shipment.

Chocolate Raspberry Smoothie:

1 c. raspberries

crushed ice

1/2 c. yogurt

2 tsp. cocoa powder

1 tsp. sugar

Orange Creamsicle Smoothie:

freshly squeezed orange juice from 1 juicy orange

crushed ice

milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbsp. sugar

lovely valentine projects

Valentine's Day is almost here! I made a list of some of my favorite Valentine-related projects that I found this year:

• Crayon Hearts by Martha
• Cupcake toppers by Oh the Lovely Things
• Free printable Valentine cards by One Charming Party
• Giant sucker photo valentines by Design Mom
• Origami Love Boats by Bloomize
• Quick and easy valentine cookie favors by Cute Food for Kids
• Crocheted heart bobby pins by Grateful Prayer Thankful Heart
• Doily Heart Shirt via Craftzine blog

salt dough hearts

We're getting ready for Valentine's Day! This was my first time making salt dough ornaments. It was so much fun! (even though I had to keep convincing the kids that they were not cookies.) I got my recipe here. I thought I would give my letter stamps a try in the dough. I liked how they looked in the dough, but I'm not sure I would do it again, just because the end product (after baking and after painting) was unpredictable. 

doll house makeover

My daughter's birthday is coming up. Last year, her great grandpa made her a dollhouse that is bigger than she is. Grandma urged him to leave it unpainted because she knew I'd want to decorate. This weekend, we finally finished it!

It's great what a little paint and fancy paper can do. (Oh, and the lovely LOVE banner came from the talented and creative Amy.)

Pinecone wreath

The kids and I gathered some pine cones this fall...

And used our "warm" winter day to decorate a thrift store wreath!

fall

Fall DIY is in the air at our house! E and I stamped pumpkins from apple slices,

the kids made Teepees at the library,

and then we came home and decorated fall trees with Q-tips and colorful paint--just like I saw on Pinterest.

'tis the season

Libby's pumpkin cookies. Still warm. Mmmmm.