Modern Parents Messy Kids

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DIY Salt Dough Ornaments

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I'm over at momtastic today sharing one of the best Christmas crafts ever.  It takes only 3 ingredients which I can practically guarantee are already in your pantry (salt, flour, and water), it's appealing to kids of all ages, and it can be extended into an activity that lasts practically all day.  Plus the end product is a perfect grandparent gift.   Salt dough ornaments are essentially three favorite kid activities rolled into one.  First there's cooking, the little ones get to … [Read more...]

Make a Reading & Art Advent Calendar with the Kids

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With two toddlers running around the house, I'm all for the trend of ditching the candy and filling the Advent calendars with Christmas activities instead.  I'm a little scared, however, of actually committing myself to a project or outing each day before I get a chance to see how it's shaking out.  After all, I do have a very young toddler who's nap schedule is still a bit of a moving target as well as an older toddler who inspired the recent "How to Maintain Your Zen When the Kids Have Lost … [Read more...]

Handmade Halloween: Ghost Jell-O Treats

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If you've been paying close attention, then you probably already know where I derived the inspiration for these ghostly goodies. Remember these cloud parfaits? As soon as I saw them I knew I wanted to put my own spin on them and try to make Halloween ghosts.   The problem was the photo, like too many Pinterest finds, was a dead end (looks like it was originally pinned from a password protected site).  The description on the pin said something along the lines of "Jell-O + whipped cream" … [Read more...]

We Tried It! – Cookie Cutter Pumpkins

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I'm back with another installment of the "We Tried It!" series.  I got the idea for cookie cutter pumpkin carving here and it was a huge hit with the kiddos.  I love how this method lets you easily create a high end look in whatever theme your kids are currently interested in.  We went with a pretty random motif of animals, an airplane, and a guitar.  Next year maybe we'll experiment with letters.      To begin, carve out the pumpkin guts and select a few of your favorite cookie … [Read more...]

Handmade Halloween: Mess-Free Pumpkin Decorating

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It's become a tradition in our family for each member to get their own pumpkin on Halloween.  We usually hit the pumpkin patch in early October, then get around to decorating our finds a few weeks later.  (Which actually works out well because pumpkins become kind of a 2-for-1 family activity that way.)   So far the little ones have lost interest in carving after the first pumpkin, which leaves three more still needing to be decorated.  Paint is an option but it's nice to have a … [Read more...]

Appreciate Your Favorite Teacher with a DIY Survival Kit

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Tuesday, May 3rd is National Teacher Appreciation Day.  That means you have less than a week to get your act together and find a nice way to show some love to all the hard-working teachers in your life.  No worries though, I've put together an educator's survival guide that's brimming with trinkets every good teacher could use.  And of course I've included a few free printables so you can make one of your very own.  Click through for the goods.   For some reason I get excited by … [Read more...]

DIY Vases for Mother’s Day

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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...]

Easter’s Over, Now What?

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I know it's been Easter-central here for about a month now.  I'm just about ready to put it to rest and move on to lots of new and interesting stuff for May, I promise.  But before I do, I've got one more post I know we could all use.  Because aren't we all incessantly tripping over plastic Easter eggs, haphazardly strewn about the house, right about now?   And if you're anything like me, you probably cringe a little at the thought of chucking all that plastic into a landfill somewhere … [Read more...]

DIY Silly Putty Carrot + An Easter Recap

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I promised I would hook you up with a Silly Putty Carrot DIY today.  I try to be a woman of my word, so here it is - just head over to momtastic for all the details. Note: because borax can be toxic if ingested, this recipe is only for bigger kids - to be made with adult supervision.   For younger kids, simply mix up some orange oobleck instead.  Just combine 1 cup of water with 1/2 cup of cornstarch and food coloring. And speaking of Easter, I can't believe how much fun I've had … [Read more...]