recovering my dining chairs, again!

April 2, 2013 by mama lola

i did this project before (check out the details HERE), and i decided that i didn’t like the yellow vinyl, so i chose a slightly more neutral colour/ pattern. this dining table set is one that we use everyday, so it gets a lot of wear and tear. the kids are messy and having cloth seat covers just doesn’t make sense as they are impossible to clean properly.

i bought my vinyl tablecloth from the grocery store for $4!

MATERIALS:
scissors
a vinyl table cloth
staple gun fully loaded (extra staples on hand)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. cut the tablecloth around the seat, leaving about a 2 inch margin. this measurement, really depends on how thick your seats are, mine are about an inch or so thick. you want to be able to fold the vinyl under the seat nice and tight. if you are unsure, be generous at first, as you can always trim the vinyl if necessary.

2. place your seat face down on the cut vinyl piece. fold the edge of the vinyl about an inch once and grab at the centre, stapling the material onto the chair a few times. then do the opposite side of the seat. this time you want to make sure you are tugging at the vinyl to ensure a nice tight, taught seat cover in the end.

3. you want to make sure your corners are nice and tight, so that they fit back into the chair frame with ease, but also for a neat appearance. i did my corners as though i was folding a gift. always ensure that you are pulling the vinyl tightly, to create a smooth seat cover. use as many staples as necessary, as they are not visible in the end. i used a bazillion.

4. i recovered four chairs in less than an hour. my wee lion was napping when i completed this project.

now, our chairs are easy to clean after the kids (or adults) have made a mess!

salt cookies for all occasions!

March 31, 2013 by mama lola

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!

this moment.

March 29, 2013 by mama lola

as inspired by souleMama; one photo from our week, no words, only an image to sum up our time as a family. one that captures a moment in time and is a visual reminder of where we were at this time in our lives.

i would love it if you left a link to your { this moment }.

march break is done and we survived!

March 16, 2013 by mama lola

this week was march break in our neck of the woods. we had play dates and activities planned, but i will admit to feeling very overwhelmed through-out the week. the weather has been quite cold and the snow is basically mounds and sheets of ice, which is not fun for playing on. the kids were at each others necks all week, fighting and screaming, with a constant stream of tattling. to add to the tension, one day i even thought i had lost my wedding band, but my suspicions tell me that the boys had something to do with the disappearance, as it was returned promptly within 24 hours. phew.
it’s been stressful.
it’s been loud.
but, it has also been fun!

one morning we made these cool guys!
aren’t they hilarious?! check out bear’s grin and glasses!

i traced the kids on paper. bear was a great at lying still, lion had more difficulty not squirming! i improvised a bit with his outline.

i cut out the silhouette’s and then the kids got to work colouring and stickering them. they had so much fun and were quite independent for most of it.

eventually, i stepped in to keep the momentum going, helping with some of the colouring. in the end “the guys” turned out great and the kids were so proud of them!

this week we also hit the local civic museum for some fun. the kids made juggling balls, played with various “building” toys and materials and then we hit the town for lunch.

it’s as though the kids have been exhausted from being together so much. since september they have gotten used to time apart and separation, thanks to bear starting school in the fall.

i’ve tried to engage the kids in various crafts and games, but i too have been so tired this week. i’ve been fighting a cold of sorts, but sibling conflict is really wearing me down. i am counting down to school starting again! haha!

poppy has settled in. she has been sleeping and eating mostly, and in the last few days has really started to play with the kids. she also loves to snuggle with them on the couch when they’re watching tv. it’s so sweet!

happy weekend, everyone!

easter garland.

March 12, 2013 by mama lola

well, easter is around the corner, so it’s time to get some pastel decorations going!

my kids had a small window of time in the day, so i pulled out some card stock, some cookie cutters, scissors, markers and some string and we got to work on our easter garland. this is so easy and simple, and a perfect craft for those small moments when the kids need a structured activity.

i traced the cookie cutters, cut out the easter themed shapes, then the kids decorated and coloured them and then i quickly sewed some thread through. we hung up our garland in front of a mirror, as the kids decorated both sides.

whatcha think?
pretty cute, eh?

bear’s 5th birthday :: the loot bags.

February 13, 2013 by mama lola

BIRTHDAY WEEK!

truth be told, i kinda loath the whole loot bag idea, but it is what it is and i have to work with the system. in years passed, we have made some kind of non-edible gift for our friends to take home. we’ve sent our friends and family home with magnets, bow ties, pinwheels and one year the kids just got a balloon!

this year, since bear is in school and the kids have learned to expect a certain amount of candy and junk, i just caved and gave them what they wanted. i got each kid a helium balloon, a few dollar store items like foam animal masks and funny monkey buttons and glow sticks.
then we made a yummy sweet n’ salty treat bag for the kids to take home.

the treat bags included :
pop corn
unsalted pretzels
valentine’s M&M’s
other various heart shaped candies

we took normal lunch paper bags and bear decorated one bag per guest. he worked so hard writing everyone’s names on them and decorating them with party themed drawings. i attached the paper treat bags to the plastic loot bags and the kids were thrilled! unfortunately i didn’t get a pictures of all the final bags, but you get the idea. so simple, quick and easy, and a fantastic way to get the kids involved!

what do you about loot bags? do you nix them or hand them out?
tomorrow i will post about bear’s fantastic cake!

lovely valentine’s day card crafts!

February 6, 2013 by mama lola

kids love to hand-out valentine’s day cards to each other at school. we were even sent home a list of all of the student’s in bear’s class to ensure that no kid is left out, i suppose.

here are eight super cute, super easy cards you can make with the kids for valentine’s day. i find my kids love to be involved and even my lion who is only 2.5 years old, can easily participate in the creation of these cards.

: SOURCES :

1. olive you card from better homes and gardens.

2. fly away with me from life in wonderland

3. hearts in a jar from hooray hurrah

4. i’m glad you’re in my school from simple organized living

5. have a “dino”mite valentine’s day from life in wonderland

6. i love you from my kids guide

7. would you like a lollipop? from the matthews family blog.

8. some bunny loves you from so crafty on squidoo

let me know which one you decided on!

birthday invitations :: a DIY craft

January 26, 2013 by mama lola

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.

nine fabulous valentine’s wreath ideas.

January 23, 2013 by mama lola

valentine’s day is only a few short weeks away, so i’ve compiled 9 awesome wreath idea’s for any DIY craft lover. some are more complicated than others and will take more time, but there’s something here to suit everyone’s taste! ENJOY!

1. valentine’s wreath with pipe cleaner rosette’s:: shaken together

2. valentine’s willow heart wreath :: the cards we drew

3. valentine’s day wreath :: the thriftress

4. pink floral wreath :: simply crafty

5. spiral rose wreath :: little birdie secrets

6. heart argyle valentine’s wreath :: mine for the making

7. valentine’s fanric wreath :: project insprire

8. a paper wreath :: woodlands home

9.triple heart yarn heart wreath :: kaboodle

silly spoons :: a craft

January 21, 2013 by mama lola

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!