quick halloween ghost project!

October 9, 2013 by mama lola 5 Comments

i found some old white sheets in the basement and decided to get crafty just in time for halloween. this is a super simple, super quick project, but super spooky too!

SUPPLIES:

old sheets or fabric of your choosing
thread, needle
scissors

INSTRUCTIONS:

to give the fabric a rougher, spookier look i tore the sheet into squares

i gathered whatever was left over and made little bundles, that i tied into head shaped balls

i sewed on the faces free hand with a needle and red thread, super quickly. the less precise they look, the better i think
i held the fabric tightly to make the fabric taught and flat, making it easier to sew

my kids love these ghosts! i’ve made four and they are hanging around spinning around on their own. it’s kinda spooky, actually! everyone who has seen them has adored them!

quick and easy and perfect for halloween!

i made a small round-up of spooky halloween decorations that can be found HERE. some of those projects were the inspiration to this ghost!

thanksgiving crafts (gobble, gobble)

October 7, 2013 by mama lola 17 Comments

canadian thanksgiving is right around the corner! here are some wonderful kid-friendly crafts to help get ready for the festivities.

pine cone turkeys from a pumpkin and a princess

thanksgiving thankful tree from preschool crafts for kids

groovy gobblers from let’s explore

napkin rings from easy crafts for kids

stained glass leaves from mom vs. the boys

fall wreath craft from mom of 5 kids

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

DIY stamps!

October 2, 2013 by mama lola 9 Comments

about 10 years ago i made some simple potato stamps and decorated tissue paper with hearts and x-mas trees. every christmas my mum and i still use the few sheets that are left for each others gifts. there is something sweet about the personal, creative touch, don’t you think?
so, now that my 5yo bear is a super-keen-artist-dude, i think he’s ready to make some fun stamps. after researching ideas for this blog post, i too am eager to roll up my sleeves and get creative. we’re going to stamp everything from gifts tags, wrapping paper, cards and whatever we else will find.

you can make stamps for any and all special occasions!

here is a round-up of ideas, how to’s and examples of what other creative types have made.

upcycled wine corks from soap deli news

cork stamp from makita studio

DIY extra large letter [foam] stamps from the cheese thief

festive potato stamps from juggling act mama

carved rubber stamps from minna may

wine cork mustache stamp from bespangled

DIY stamps (random shapes) from play based learning

potato stamps from kanelstrand

rubberband stamps from sas + rose

butterfly stamp from can’t stop making things

eraser stamps from gathering beauty

hand carved stamps from gennine’s art blog

arrow tail shirt print from whimsy box

i’m in stamp heaven: gift tags from caro’s heaven

christmas stamps from claire belle makes

my local grocery store had erasers on super-duper sale, and i bought a large handful of them! i’ll share our stamp creations soon!

spooky halloween decorations!

September 25, 2013 by mama lola 10 Comments

the leaves are changing colour, the nights are getting cooler and that means… halloween is almost here! here are a few super fun, super easy and super spooky DIY craft projects to scare the pants off of everyone!

halloween crafts, halloween wreath, spooky, crafts

snake wreath from apartment therapy

voodoo dolls from felici events

lace ghost from a beautiful mess

spooky terrarium from creative blog

spider sacks from modern parents messy kids

spider crafts, pumpkin spiders, halloween decorations

creepy crawlers from good housekeeping

spider wreath, halloween decorations, scary crafts

arachnophobia wreath from eclectically vintage

spooky, spooky!
get those supplies in order, because halloween will be here before you know it!

teach kids how to sew!

August 11, 2013 by mama lola 5 Comments

sewing is an important skill to have. we don’t all have to be experts, but some basic knowledge of how make things is valuable and helpful. i realize in today’s culture where everything is so cheap and easily replaced, rather than fixed, it might feel strange teaching kids how to darn socks! but c’mon, from there you can make awesome sock monkeys! haha!

here is a small collection of simple, small and lovely sewing ideas for small fingers. some are use a machine, others use hands for threading, some use felt, others denim. i’m sure you won’t regret teaching your kids how to sew, and it can prove to be a very useful skill for them. if you were to be a Cultural Care Au Pair looking after small kids, sewing might be an activity that you would like to take part in with them. as a mama to two boys, i am going to make sure they are exposed to sewing and i will encourage them to learn. bear, 5YO has expressed some interest and curiosity!

sew lavender pockets from red ted art

sewing with kids from flax & twine

felt heart garland from putti’s world

stuffed felt carrot from sewing school

celebration garland from made by rae

whale stuffies from him & her

quilted x-mas tree ornament from all free kids crafts

denim lunch money wallet from my little hen

which one is your favourite?
do you think you will get your kids sewing sooner rather than later?

rock painting crafts!

July 18, 2013 by mama lola 17 Comments

i love using items from the natural world for our craft projects. it’s a wonderful opportunity to get out for a hike or explore some hidden corner in our backyard, but mostly it’s a great way to connect my boys with their outside environment.

i have always collected rocks and now i watch my kids stuff their pockets or buckets with all sorts of rocks! bear and i have already discussed packing a few small bottles of paint for our summer road trip so that the kids can paint during our vacation. it’ll be a great a way to calm their beans and get them focused on something for a bit.so, i of course had to scour the interweb for some inspiration…. check out these beautiful rocks! i chose examples from a variety of different skill levels, styles and sizes, because i wanted to get your and my creative juices flowing!

realistic animals by lin wellford

decorated pebbles by maria mercedes truijil at designspiration

rock painted critters by emelisa mudle of heart art

painted rocks by red bow studios

doodling on rocks by creative jewish mom

rock magnets by coastal inspired creations

colourful rocks by one perfect day blog

rock eggs by the crafty crow

animal rocks by tightwad

modge podge painted rocks by blooming on bainbridge

painted rocks by inspire bohemia

heart rocks by color me katie

larger painted rocks by funnelcloud the blog

which one is your favourite?
do you think you’ll be painting any rocks soon?

can’t wait to share what we make on the road!

salt cookies for all occasions!

March 31, 2013 by mama lola 17 Comments

a few years ago the kids were hooked on baking and painting salt cookies. after the millionth batch, i kinda went on a salt cookie strike, and we discovered lots of other projects to get excited about.

the other day i decided to quickly whip up some salt cookies and re-introduce the fun of them to the boys. salt cookies are ridiculously easy to make. (i found a recipe here at fly though our window.)

INGREDIENTS/ INSTRUCTIONS:
1. preheat you over to 200F.

2. mix the ingredients together and roll out onto to a clean surface. make sure you add some flour to prevent the dough from sticking to your surface or rolling pin.

3. bake cookies on parchment paper for about an hour to two hours. let them cool thoroughly before painting. also, make sure if you want to be able to hang your salt cookies that you make holes in them BEFORE you bake them.

this activity kept the kids very focused for a long time. bear was very meticulous with his painting and would paint one side, let it dry and then paint the other side, so as not to smudge any of the paint. it was pretty sweet.

salt cookies are the perfect craft for any occasion, for a gift any person and a wonderful activity for anyone at any age!

birthday invitations :: a DIY craft

January 26, 2013 by mama lola 7 Comments

bear is turning the big five-o-roonie in a few weeks!!!
valentine’s day to be exact.

and what almost-five-year-old doesn’t want to have a birthday party with their friends?! of course i went on pinterest looking for birthday invitation ideas, but nothing sprang out at me. so, bear and i designed our own little invitations. so cute, perfect project for him to help with and easy enough for that it didn’t turn into some all consuming time sucker!

here’s how we made ’em!

MATERIALS:

colourful paper or card stock
scissors
pencil
glue
markers, sparkle pens, whatever really.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. choose a picture of the birthday prince or princess. get copies made.
2. decide on the colour, size and shape of party hats. once i made one that was the right size, i traced it and cut out the rest of the party hats from the card stock.
3. decorate party hats. bear did the decorating and he loved it. we kept it simple, but you could add pompoms or glitter or whatever, really!
4. glue the decorated party hats on to the heads. let dry.
5. then i loosely traced the backs of the photo heads, cut the traced heads out of card stock and glued them on to the backs of the photo’s. this way we could write on regular paper, than the slippery photo paper.

have fun making your own invitations!

still can’t believe he’s going to be 5!!!!
what?!
i’ll be writing my sappy post about being this guys mama closer to the big day.

silly spoons :: a craft

January 21, 2013 by mama lola Leave a Comment

bear, my older guy, gets a magazine in the mail once a month, CHIRP. it’s totally cute, age appropriate and makes his day when he receives in the mail.

one of the activities in the january edition, is something called, SILLY SPOONS. it’s a super fun and super creative activity, that both the boys enjoyed doing.

the spoon is the base for your character or animal. you can embellish it as much or as little as you like. my kids refused a lot of help, so they’re spoons are simpler than the ones pictured in the magazine. we used all sorts materials for this project like markers, pompoms, duct tape, yarn, decorative flowers, googly eyes, pipe cleaners and lotsa, lotsa glue!

and, voila. silly spoons for silly times.

they are a bit fragile, but the boys were thrilled with how they turned out and really, that’s what matters most!

add a link if you do this craft!

discover the fun of discovery bottles!

January 8, 2013 by mama lola 4 Comments

my bear got some homework for this past holiday season. he was to make a “discovery bottle” and then was to share his bottle with the class during their “show & share” time. it was an assignment that he completed with the help of dear hubby and lion, too. lion actually made his own little discovery bottle.

for his bottle bear included some balsam and cedar branches, shells and crab legs from the various beaches out east collected during our road trip, acorns and chestnuts from central park collected from our trip to NYC, some beads and lots of glitter for good measure. it’s a super fast and as easy or difficult project as you make it.

the boys collected a bunch of items to put inside the bottle, popped them inside, filled the bottle with water leaving a little space for air, so the bottle can flipped and the items can easily move around. finally, dear hubby hot glued the lid on ensuring no leaks or other messy disasters!

pinterest is full of various ideas for this project. you can use all sorts of ingredients n your bottle. water, beads, sand, toys, yarn, food colouring etc etc. we got the idea of using tree branched from the website “teach preschool”.