cute halloween felt decorations! October 26, 2015 - last week i pulled out my box of felt and got busy with several different projects! today i am sharing a halloween craft, which seems fitting as halloween is coming quickly this coming weekend! do you have all of your costumes organized and ready for trick-or-treating? aren’t these googly-eyed halloween characters adorable? i made these […]
BAT craft round-up! September 30, 2015 - this BATTY round-up of bat crafts is intended for slightly older school aged kids. my kids, 5 and 7 love to get crafty and are often looking for slightly more challenging projects to get involved in. the brooch is actually an adult craft, but i thought with some adult assistance a kid could absolutely sew […]
back-to-school : sew your own pencil roll-up case! September 7, 2015 - school for my boys starts tomorrow!!! it’s hard to believe summer is over, even though at times i was feeling quite burnt out and tired. my boys are ready to go back to school, see their friends and meet their teachers. i am ready for them to return, as well. i don’t really do much […]
day of the dead felt craft. October 26, 2014 - i just love the look of the day of the dead sugar skulls. if you google or go on pinterest for images, there a zillions of colourful ideas and projects! if you’re not feeling crafty and want to buy some fantastic sugar skulls, etsy is full of creative people selling their projectslikeflower pots, […]
DIY halloween lights! October 22, 2014 - check out what we made! i got the idea from landeelu. during our current reno it’s hard to get too involved in crafty-goodness as everything is packed away in boxes or hidden in a corner under a pile of stuff. so this project was perfect, few materials and nothing to clean up. my boys loved, […]
DIY halloween garlands! September 25, 2014 - it’s time to think of halloween and get crafty! i am going through a bit of a day of the dead phase; googling images and projects with the theme. i think this fall i will try to make a felt skull garland. i just love the bright colours, patterns and the combination of flowers and […]
make your own bead keychains! June 24, 2014 - for father’s day the kids made these awesome keychains for their grandfather’s. aren’t they amazing? If you love Custom keychains, you’ll love these bead keychains. They make great gifts! If you are anything like the men in my life, you are constantly misplacing keys! A custom keychain can help make your keys stand out and […]
DIY birthday applique shirt! April 13, 2014 - Â my bear turned 6 in february, so i made him this fun applique shirt. i bought a plain t-shirt for $5, found some fabric i thought he would like and then the night before his birthdy quickly sewed up the shirt. MATERIALS: plain t-shirt fun fabric for your number hem fuser thread scissors iron […]
birthday party name tags! February 6, 2014 - bear has asked for a dinosaur themed birthday! for this craft i couldn’t actually find any wee dinosaurs, but i found these cute lizards for 99 cents a pack and i thought they were close enough! here’s what i did… first, i painted the clothes pegs with acrylic paint. i had to do a couple […]
cute pom pom crafts! January 30, 2014 - before christmas i shared a tutorial on how to make basic pom poms a few different ways; check it out HERE. recently i’ve been trying to think projects that are slightly out of (my) box and then it hit me pom poms! these soft, plushy, cute things can be made of any funky […]
DIY bird feeder round-up! January 7, 2014 - we here in SW ontario have been having some wild, winter weather. to help out the birds, we have put out all sorts of yummy things for the birds to eat. i know some people are against bird seed and bird feeders, but i think they are wonderful. our whole family enjoys watching the variety […]
felted soaps! December 8, 2013 - most people don’t use bars of soap anymore, because of the icky mess they leave behind. why most bath sets i’ve seen like this Gruffalo gift set use liquid soap nowadays. it certainly makes bath time with the kids less messy. though if you were looking for a way to make bath time more fun […]
DIY rubber stamps! November 28, 2013 - i purchased some erasers on sale and decided to make some simple, festive stamps out of them. i’m hoping to make gift tags with them eventually. aren’t they cute? this is what i did… with a pen i drew my design on the eraser. once i was satisfied, i used a small knife to cut […]
paper bag puppets! November 21, 2013 - this was a HIT as an after-school craft last week. i was watching a friends lovely ladies, so i had to come up with a craft that would interest kids from 3yrs to 7yrs. this was it! before i picked up the big kids from school, lion and i got all the supplies ready. * […]
halloween fun! November 4, 2013 - we had a fantastic halloween this year! the kids were so psyched and everything seemed to fall into place perfectly! lion decided he wanted to be a robot. so, he and i made him a simple costume out of a some vent-tube stuff from home depot, a cardboard box, a cereal box, spray paint, and […]
thanksgiving & fall crafts! November 2, 2013 - i thought i would put together another thanksgiving/ fall craft round-up. thanksgiving is coming up, the colours are changing in the trees, so clearly fall has arrived! check out these great projects! recycled paper acorn banner from crafting a green world felt acorn napkin rings from tikkido leaf […]
dinosaur galore kit : a product review! October 25, 2013 - my boys have been obsessed with dinosaurs since the beginning of summer. they have devoured over books at the library, learning all about the different kinds of reptiles that once roamed our planet millions of years ago. they have drawn their own dinosaurs, built dinosaurs out of lego, and played a variety of imaginary dinosaur […]
toilet paper roll spiders for halloween! October 21, 2013 - it is almost halloween, which means we are in full spider, witch, pumpkin’ craft mode! last week i splurged and bought some silly supplies from the craft store… things like more googly eyes, tons of pipe cleaners, black felt and orange glitter! definitely a halloween theme going on here! so, here is what lion and i made… […]
make your own sparkly cobwebs! October 19, 2013 - we made these fun cobwebs last year, check them out HERE, and are back at it again for this halloween! the kids love this craft! SUPPLIES: wax paper white glue sprinkles in your choice of colour a fridge DIRECTIONS: tear off a piece of wax paper. it has to be bigger than your cobweb. hold […]
not your average burlap round up! October 17, 2013 - when dear hubby and i were married, we gave our guests little live spruce trees as favours, because we me at tree planting and it was so fitting! the trees had root pods, which we wrapped in burlap with a simple ribbon! they were perfect. but, when i purchased the burlap i bought WAY too […]
quick halloween ghost project! October 9, 2013 -  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 […]
thanksgiving crafts (gobble, gobble) October 7, 2013 - 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 […]
DIY stamps! October 2, 2013 - 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 […]
spooky halloween decorations! September 25, 2013 - 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! snake wreath from apartment therapy voodoo dolls from felici events lace ghost from […]
teach kids how to sew! August 11, 2013 - 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 […]
rock painting crafts! July 18, 2013 - 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 […]
salt cookies for all occasions! March 31, 2013 - 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 […]
birthday invitations :: a DIY craft January 26, 2013 - 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. […]
silly spoons :: a craft January 21, 2013 - 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 […]
discover the fun of discovery bottles! January 8, 2013 - 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 […]
creepy cobwebs :: a halloween craft! October 7, 2012 - we LOVE this easy and quick craft, which we found HERE.supplies:wax paperglitter* (whatever colour you desire)white gluea fridge directions: cut a piece of wax paper to desired size. take white glue container and gently squeeze out the glue, creating the cob web, i started with a + , adding diagonal lines and then the curved webby pieces. […]
halloween fun! September 30, 2012 - this is the first time our kids will really  be enjoying halloween. i have explained trick or treating to bear and he is thrilled to be getting lotsa candy! we have missed halloween in passed years due to illness or business trips and last year we were in new york surviving the nor’easter that tried to […]
fall wreaths. September 25, 2012 - i love wreaths on front doors. here are four of my faves that i found on pinterest. aesthetically, the cob one is not the best, but i love the idea. things to consider: the gourds are probably quite heavy on a wreath, so when using them it’s important to attach them well. think about how much traffic […]
a how to :: birthday bunting flags. July 9, 2012 - for my sweet lion’s second birthday party, i decided to whip up some bunting flags last minute. i have some old sheets i have purchasednand collected over the years for just such a quick project. i cut the flags with my pinking sheers, not worrying too much about size or symmetry, as the flags will be […]
chair re*do. May 1, 2012 - welcome to the first of thirty one posts in may!we have a beautiful dining set that my grandmother shipped over from glasgow, scotland at least a decade before the second world war started, when she immigrated to canada with my grandfather. it’s a small simple table with built in leafs that can be extended when […]
bow tie tutorial: how to make your own! February 16, 2012 - the first bow tie i made for bear was a few years ago for my sister-law’s wedding.since then i’ve made a few more for various special occasions. materials:fabricthreadscissorspinselasticbasic instructions:choose your fabric. synthetics and silks tend to fray and be much more slippery when sewing, so more patience may be necessary as well!1. fold fabric in half […]
tea towel tutorial May 15, 2011 - this project is as easy or as difficult as you want to make it. embellishing tea towels is something people have been doing for a long time, but it’s what and how you do it that makes it fun. the window for creativity is huge on this project.i started off by buying a pack of […]