Modern Parents Messy Kids

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A “Manly” Photo Project for Father’s Day

June 10 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

I already lamented earlier this week about the hard time I had coming up with a good Father's Day gift last year.  In the end I was successful, read all about it here, but a whole year has gone by and I'm having the same problem.  I always seem to default to a photo gift of some sort.  Maybe it's because my kids are still so young that they change A LOT from year to year and I like to give the hubs mementos of how small they once were.   This year I'm once again going the photo route … [Read more...]

Filed Under: MPMK's Comprehensive Toy Gift Guides, Photography & Memory Keeping, Seasonal Fun, Tutorials Tagged With: Father's Day gift ideas, Father's Day photo gift, homemade Father's Day gift

DIY Creativity Center (Toddler-Friendly & Baby-Proof)

June 2 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

All it took was one little trip to IKEA and the creativity center that I've been visualizing for months now is finally a reality.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the main components came to a pre-tax total of only $70.       It's been up for two days and so far C has spent over an hour each morning parked here.  The best part is, it's always his idea - all the pretty materials on display seem to beckon to him (just as I hoped they would).     This is … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Art + Kid Crafts, Organizing, The Make & Play Vault, Tutorials Tagged With: getting organized, home organization, organization, organize, organizer, organizing, Planner printables, playroom organization, printables

DIY Vases for Mother’s Day

April 26 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

I love fresh flowers but I'm not great about remembering to buy them.  I think a pretty vase made by someone I love would help.   These vases couldn't have been more straight forward to make and I really like their simple homemade vibe.  To start, I saved a few glass jars from things like spaghetti sauce and peaches and stuck them in the dishwasher.   Once washed, it was fairly easy to remove the labels.  I rubbed olive oil over any remaining glue and let them sit for 30 - 40 … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday Projects, The Make & Play Vault, Tutorials

Mini-Tutorial: Super Simple Baby Blanket

April 7 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

An easy beginning sewer project - super simple baby blankets (no sewing machine required)

I've been meaning to share a mini-tutorial on these easy-peasy baby blankets for a while now.  But then things got a little crazy and I thought I missed my window - cotton flannel blankets don't exactly scream spring time.     But now it seems that someone forgot to tell Mother Nature about Spring (it's down-right nippy in Seattle today).  Maybe I didn't miss my window after all?  Plus, even spring and summer babies love to be swaddled and these can easily be made with a lighter … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Parenting, The Make & Play Vault, Tutorials Tagged With: beginner baby blanket, DIY baby blanket, easy baby blanket, how to make a baby blanket

Paper Crane Tutorial to Help Your Children & Those in Japan

April 4 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

As I watched the disastrous events in Japan continue to unfold last week, I became grateful that my children are still young enough to carry on blissfully unaware of the tragedies occurring there.  But I know someday soon that will not be the case. So I've been doing some research on how to help kids cope with these types of events.  Here are four concrete steps parents can take to help:   Talk to them about what they're seeing and hearing.  Not sure where to start?  See Not Just Cute … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Art + Kid Crafts, The Make & Play Vault, Tutorials

A Quick, Easy, and Super Cool Kid Photography Project

March 21 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Easy idea for keeping your memories on display - great for Mother's Day or Father's Day.

I've been seeing lots of creative kid photography projects lately but this is by far one of my favorites.  Since I found this idea on pinterest by someone who got it from unnamed sources on flickr -  I don't have an original source for you.  So instead of using the photo I found, I took 5 minutes and made my own.     The process is extremely simple.  Just choose a picture with lots of open space on one side.  Then use your photo editing software of choice to add some text about your … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Design with Kids in Mind, Photography & Memory Keeping, Tutorials Tagged With: kid photography, photography project, picture ideas

Free Printable: St. Paddy’s Day Limerick Hunt

March 8 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

St. Patrick's Day Limerick Hunt - includes 4 printable pages to hide around the house as well as a printable pot of gold to fill with goodies!

I mentioned last week that I'll be contributing some playtime activity posts over at momtastic and today is my first one - yay!  It's a treasure hunt game with free printables so you can play along at home.       There are four limerick clues to print out and hide as well as a template for making your own pot of gold for the end of the hunt.  I was originally going to sew together the pot of gold but then I spied these stapled Valentines.  How ironic is it that it took my … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Holiday Projects, Seasonal Fun, Tutorials Tagged With: St. Patrick's Day activity, St. Patrick's Day craft, St. Patrick's Day DIY, St. Patrick's Day Kid Craft, St. Patrick's Day limerick, St. Patrick's Day printable, St. Patrick's Day treasure hunt

How To Use Spoonflower to Make a Customized Play Mat (aka Best Baby Gift Ever)

February 25 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

This is my new favorite gift for babies - a travel/play mat that's customized with baby's name, birth date, weight, height and whatever else you want to include.  It's a great keepsake and is actually useful.  Plus, it looks fancy but is truly a beginner level sewing project.  Be careful though, designing your own fabric can be addicting!         If you haven't heard of it, Spoonflower is a great little website that lets anyone become a textile designer.  I used it to design … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Design with Kids in Mind, Tutorials

Tutorial: Magnetic Wall Giraffe

January 3 by Steph (MPMK Founder)

Welcome to Modern Parents Messy Kids, I'm glad you've made your way here. Where is here? Modern Parents Messy Kids (or MPMK for short) is the fruition of a seed that was planted in April, 2010. While 7 months pregnant with S, I wrote my very first tutorial (below) and came oh-so-close to becoming a contributor for the mega blog Apartment Therapy.  If you're savvy enough to find my new little corner of the blogosphere, I don't need to tell you how exciting this was for me.   I didn't … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Design with Kids in Mind, Parenting, Tutorials

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