Valentine Magnet Pairs

This kind of magnet is so easy to make - just print and cut out the circles, use rubber cement to attach them to the backside of craft pebble jewel thingy, and hot glue on a magnet.  I hardly doubt it could be easier.

And you'll love these magnets because they come in cutesy Valentine pairs and your kids can play matching games on your fridge, or you can give each pair away as a special lovey dovey gift.

just click the image to download this free printable.

My favorite is the penguin.  Probably because I just know lots of cool people.

Kids Craft: Painting with Marbles

We like messy activities at our house, and painting with marbles is one of our ultimate favorites.  Plus it has really cool results, and you can even display it without it looking like a 3 year old made it (even though they did).

First of all you need supplies:
• paper, cardboard, posterboard, or whatever surface you want to paint on
• a box, or cookie sheet, or in our case a big dry erase board covered in plastic wrap (because it's going to get messy)
• finger paint, acrylic paint, or whatever kind of paint you want to use (I think acrylic works best)
• marbles (of course) but you can also do paintings with hotwheel cars, or plastic dinosaur feet, or lots of other creative things.

So, put your paper (or whatever) on your white erase board (or whatever you're using).  And then squish some paint onto it.  At first I started with really huge glops which actually made the marbles get stuck easily, so I would suggest using smaller and more dispersed paint glops.

Then grab a bunch of marbles and start rolling them around in the paint.  If you're using a box you can tilt the box to get the marbles to roll.  We tried doing that with our setup, but it was easier (and more fun) just to roll the marbles back and forth to each other.

My methods are, of course, the messiest possible way to do a marble painting (aside from using your feet, I guess).  But it's also really great for sensory processing and fine motor control, and my boys loved it.

And this is why I covered my white board with plastic wrap.  Also, we painted our kitchen floor a little bit too, but it washed off.

I tried a bunch of different paints and surfaces, and here are the results.  This first one is a paper bag with finger paint:

This is acrylic paint on tracing paper:

This is a regular sheet of paper with acrylic paint:

And this is some bubble wrap with glitter glue - NOT RECOMMENDED.  Because, obviously, it's ugly.  And also, glitter glue?  What was I thinking?  (Plus it's more fun just to pop the bubble wrap.)

My favorite was when we used acrylic paint on blue posterboard.  We're totally displaying it to the world (or anyone who walks down our stairs).  Jackson Pollock, eat your heart out.

Gumball Fishbowl Tutorial

I used to have a fish in a blender.  It was an old blender that I had taken the blade out of, and it was just a goldfish, but it was seriously awesome.  Total conversation starter.
Like this:
"Is that a fish in your blender?"
"Yup."
"Why?"
"I dunno."

The other day I saw a picture of a fish in a gumball machine and I totally flipped out.  Because, GUESS WHAT?  I've had a gumball machine just sitting around for like 12 years!  I bought it thinking it was the coolest, and then never knew what to do with it.  I've moved it from house to house thinking that SOMEDAY I might do something with it.

AND THEN I DID.

It's totally cool, right?

This is how I made it:

First, you need a gumball machine.  And then you have to tell your family that you'll be putting a fish in it.  And then your husband and your 7 year old will gang up on you and tell you that you don't know what you're doing and it will never work.  And then you have to prove them wrong so you can say "What was that?!  I can't...what?  I can't hear you over my 'HA!' of triumph. HA!"

You need to completely gut your machine.  There's more pieces than you'd think.

Did you know that even though I've had this gumball machine for over a decade I never knew there were little chickens by the handle until I took this picture?  I'm seriously observant....

I glued the bottom of my gumball machine back on with some "premium silicone glue".  The bottom is unnecessary, but I wanted it on there.  And hey look, the price tag is still on it.

Then I thought and thought about how I was going to seal off the top, because the glass part of gumball machines have a hole in the top and bottom.  I figured I could just plug up the entire hole with the glue, but then I got a better idea and I pulled out a little glass bowl I had gotten at the dollar store.  It sat on top of my gumball machine perfectly, and it was a bit bigger allowing more room for the fish.  So I glued it to the top.  I used lots of glue.  And I put rocks in it while it dried so that it had added pressure.

And I did all of this on my nasty kitchen cutting board.  It gives me germaphobic shivers.  I guess that's what you get when you rent a house built in the 30's that has it's original kitchen.  And no - our food NEVER touches this thing.  But it is great for projects, so there's that.

After the glue was set I added water and a fish.  I also wanted to still have the top on my gumball machine, but the opening was bigger than the original glass top, so I improvised by gluing the machine top to a Yankee candle lid I had sitting around.  It worked great.  (Except that we mostly leave it off because the fish needs to breath, but when people come over I can just stick it back on so it looks all impressive like.)

The kids named the fish Night Crawler because they were on an X-Men kick that day.  (I don't really blame them, because I finally saw the latest X-Men movie where James McAvoy plays Professor Xavier, and I have a pretty big crush on him, so yeah,  I LIKED IT.)

Beanbag Sock Octupus Tutorial

If you woke up this morning thinking, "Man, I really want to make a beanbag shaped like an octopus, but all I have is this lousy pair of socks," then BOY HOWDY, do I have a project for you!

It's a beanbag sock octopus made out of real socks and real beans.  For reals.  And it's not even that hard to make.  Here  I'll show you:

(And I'll tell you the steps that go with each picture, because that would be super handy, wouldn't it?) 1- Get a pair of socks (they can be new or old, however they CANNOT be stinky). You'll also need some beans, a needle and thread, scissors, and a couple of buttons. 2- Cut your socks so that you have the leg parts of both and one toe. 3- Now cut the leg parts into fourths - you need eight legs so cut each sock leg in half the long way and the short way. 4-  Turn each leg piece inside out and sew down the long side and across the bottom.  Leave the top open.  Do this for each leg. 5- Put some beans in the toe part you have cut - this is going to be the head.  Fill it to your desired head size (I kind of overfilled mine so it would stretch to a little bit bigger size).  Then sew the bottom of the head closed by taking stitches all the way around the opening and pull them tight. 6- Now fill a leg with beans. 7- Sew the bean filled leg onto the bottom of your head.  Make sure it's on there really really really  secure-like. 8- Repeat steps 6 & 7 for all of the legs.  This is what the bottom should look like. 9- If your leg stitches are secure you should be able to hold your octopus by the head and jiggle it with the legs hanging comfortably and not precariously. 10- Take a little scrap of left over sock and sew it around the very bottom where all the legs are sewn on.  This way you won't have any rough sock edges showing. 11- Sew on a couple of button eyes. (Also make sure these are really secure too - because beanbag sock octopuses must be played with roughly and you don't want those things to fall off.) 12- You're all done!  And see, it totally wasn't hard at all.  And now you have just what you wanted - a beanbag in the shape of an octopus made out of a pair of socks! Now you can play games, or use it as a mini exercise weight, or let your kids throw it at each other, or squeeze it when you're stressed out, or maybe you could just use it to keep your papers from flying all over when the ceiling fan is turned on.  Beanbag sock octopuses (octopusi?) are really good for lots of things.

Things of Pinterest: Homemade Popsicles

This week Pinterest has been inspiring me to make popsicles.  Oh sweet popsicle love.  Here are my favorite homemade popsicle pins:

http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/samoa-popsicles-recipe/

Because Somoa's are EVERYONE'S favorite Girl Scout cookie (that's a proven fact, don't fight it, they're undeniably delicious).

http://blog.houseoffifty.com/2012/06/delicious-hot-weather-treat.html

Long name, super amazing taste.  Plus they just look pretty.

http://lostgardenblog.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/strawberry-banana-popsicles-with-a-twist/

Not just strawberry and banana, there are other healthy things mixed in.  Because what better way to trick your kids into eating spinach than freezing it and calling it banana flavored?

http://butterflyfoodie.blogspot.com/2010/06/outdoor-treats-and-eats-part-one_19.html

This kind is made out of different juices.  YUM-O.  Pick your flavors and combos.  Endless possibilities with this one really.


If those pictures didn't make you hungry for something frozen, I really don't know what will.  Check out our Pinterest pinboards to see more of our favorite things!

things of pinterest

We all love Pinterest, right?  (who doesn't?  really, I want to know.)  And since we're constantly being inspired by everyone's creativity, we feel like sharing our favorite pins of the week.

This week's theme: DIY home projects with the ultra coolness factor.

http://inspireramera.se/category/pysseltips.html

You know how people have been making awesome light fixtures and stuff  by wrapping balls with stuff?  This one is made out of a big exercise ball.  I super love it.  And therefore need one.

http://www.marthastewart.com/870013/stacking-pans

I hate getting pans out of my cupboard because the whole piling thing always works against me.  Or the kids have put them away so weird that the precarious "pile" is more like an explosion waiting to happen.  That's why I find this idea so ingenious.

http://www.betterafter.blogspot.com/2011/12/california-girls.html

This is an ordinary dresser, except that they glued lace on the front of the drawers and then painted it for some major cool texture.  Texture is gooooood.

http://www.likeacupoftea.com/son-of-a-pinterest-challenge/

I like to crochet, and this rug is awesome, so I want to make one.  How about one of you hurry and make one and then tell me if it was hard?



This, of course, is just a sampling of what we've seen and liked on Pinterest this week.  You can check out our pinboards for more of our uberfaves.