Writing journal

My 9 year old can tell stories like crazy. Putting them on paper at school is a whole different ballpark for him! He struggles with topics. For his 4 th grade writing journal we put pictures of his interests and hobbies on the notebook and covered it with contact paper.

Now if he gets stuck, he can look at the photos and get his stories going! We used pictures of his dogs, brother, cousins, and favorite hobbies like fishing and interests like football and wrestling. Hopefully it will help!

Chalk board book

We are loving chalk board paint! My 2 year old loves to use chalk, markers, pencils anything and thought this was a great idea for a diaper bag/purse busy book. We are always looking for something to keep him busy in the waiting rooms, restaurants, in the car and football practice that will keep him still! We got this idea from creative chalkboards via pinterest we changed it up some and made it easier for a 2 year old. I think I will make one for my 9 year old also with the games inside like that one.



We used an old board book he no longer used and sprayed it with 2 coats of chalkboard paint. Waited 24 hours and it is ready! Simple!!

We will be adding an eraser and chalk holder to it. Just have not figured out what to use yet! Both boys are enjoying it! My 9 year old plays games and my 2 year old scribbles and makes his bubba draw for him. Does not erase great so I will have to figure that out too!

Forts!

My boys love forts. My 9 year old got inventive and made one from some ideas gathered all over. It is great and has brought a ton of fun for them. They add to it as they think of things. It is their reading book also!

They have stung lights they found, put in colored nitelights, all sorts of blankets and pillows and of course their favorite toys and flashlights! Will add pix as they add more! Love that they are having fun together! ;)

Glow in the Dark Backyard Bowling

My boys love anything that involves glowing objects. Glow sticks are my new favorite thing with all the pins we find for them! We tried quite a few this summer. Some worked some didn't!
We ga a late nap today so I knew Callen would be up late so we decided to try glow in the dark bowling.
Easy set up just use bottles from your recycle bin fill with water and inset glow stick. They were pretty neat. I would double up on glow sticks to make them even brighter. My 9 year old had fun, as did my 2 year old. They just had to do it separately. Otherwise, when my 9 year old set it up they would be kicked over by a little stinker! He was getting frustrated as he wanted to bowl!

They had fun running with them and seeing the streaks, tossing them in the air and currently my 2 year old is enjoying lining them up inside and knocking them down with his truck. The boys are excited to use them as nightlights tonight. So lots of fun for a dollar! (the glow sticks)

Outdoor Playscape/Camping Fun

We love the mountains and are always looking for more things to do there. (yes there are tons of things) I love when I find something to keep the boys busy while I am doing things. It is hard to find sit  down time as the boys go, go and go. We found this idea on pinterest from the enchanted tree. We also are waiting on Pop Pop to make tree cookies and blocks for us! Wonderful post from them!
Tic Tac Toe on tree trunk! We used sticks, rocks and pine cones but depending where you live you will have to adjust to what you can find! :) My 9 year old collected the things and he played for about 20 minutes! WOW!

My 2 year old also loved it. He sat down with Pop Pop and sorted. We were surprised by his skill! He too lasted about 20 minutes!! Success! Love It! Also promotes quiet time!!

Olympic torch

We had fun teaching my son about the Olympics and are enjoying some Olympic themed crafts and of course we had to do a torch!
Items needed:
Paint stick
Felt
Glue
Crystal light container
Ribbon

We rounded up things from gone to do the project. It is fun to see my 9 year olds mind work on what he can gather and what he can use. He does tend to go overboard so I have to keep an eye on him! ;) this is another one he did by himself I simply supervised and talke to him about the symbols of the Olympics while he worked!
He glued the felt around the paint stick making it look like a flame. He then decided he needed a holder and wrapped ribbon around the crystal light container and stuck his torch in! He is very happy with the outcome and is already talking about riding it around on his bike and handing it off to a friend down the street! He wants to see if he knows enough people to make it go around the block lol.

Dog treat bucket!

5 dogs in one house is a trial! Even small ones! Our dogs are forever busting into the treat bags and helping themselves! We like them outside so they are there when we need them. We hit the recycle bin and came up with a bucket perfect for it! Even better my 2 year old cannot open it!

I mod podged paper on, let it dry and let the boys paint it. I love my 9 year olds bacon! I covered with contact paper to keep moisture out. They will be under the patio table but still could get wet. Nice little useful craft that my boys can feel proud of every time tht see it!

Plastic bag holder

We love this one! The nice thing is I gave my 9 year old the items and instructions do he could read an do it himself so he felt accomplished to do it on his own. He did want the next container to do what he wished though as my paper was not cool,". ;) humph boys.
We forever have plastic grocery bags lying around. I try to use the canvas ones but don't bring enough Hal the time an forget them the other half. The good thing is we go through them easy reusing them for things. I have the type of door handles where you cannot out one of the cloth holders on, it would just fall off every time so we took this idea off of pinterest and are pleased!

Simply take a container out of your recycle bin (we used an old creamer one) mod podge or glue paper with design of choice on an paint lid! Cut a hole in top to pull bags out of and fill! We will do more for different rooms as we go!

Monster eyes

Ok so I was feeling a little bit naughty and decided to do one of the pins myself and surprise Carter. This one just consisted of toilet paper tubes and glow sticks. You could really get into it and make them real scary, I just put them together in 5 minutes to get a scare out of him...bad momma. ;)

He didn't notice them for a while but when he did he freaked. Then he started crying so I felt bad bit now I am chuckling again as he scares me all the time. Hopefully it will not cause nightmares tonight! We decided to do some for Halloween night and maybe to scare his Poppop.

Sponge paints

Sorry for the delay! We are in the process of moving and it has been a hectic few weeks! We did manage to do some fun thing and activities each day!
Sponge paints seemed like a great idea for both my boys as it would be cleaner! My 2 year old really enjoyed it but of course did get it in places he shouldn't. It was much easier clean up though! That is a plus. I just put out 3 colors and let him paint on paper and even boxes as we were packing. He really enjoyed it. We will be using them for a background for a photo.
My 9 year old kept trying to cut fancy shapes in the sponges and wanted to do a whole boatload of sponges. I had to stop him from cutting them all! He is at the stage it is hard to please. He seemed to enjoy it while doing it but later complained that it was not fun and was a baby craft...can't please them all! ;) guess I will have to look I to more advanced ones!

Box tunnel

In the process of moving my kids have been playing with boxes and just generally getting in my way. (not unusual) I decided to pull this project off of pinterest via celebrateeverydaywithmebut did a smaller scale as I did not want to use a large box until after the move! We cut tunnels and covered the box with white paper and added details by printing some items out. The street is simply construction paper with chalk on it for the lines. This is how it looks now! We are going to add things as we go so it will freshen the toy up! My monster loves to crash the cars in line and makes them race. He also likes to get the pullback ones out and fly them off the top or try to get them lined up to race through the tunner!

My 9 year old is already thinking of building a city...I need to hold him back until after the move or he will use all my boxes! :)

Pencil Holder

We have been saving all sorts of things we normally recycle. Cans are one of them. We intend to make a can caddy and have them all put together but Carter is adamant that he do each one himself so we have only gotten started. He wants to put 6 together and fill them for his new teacher. For the first one he simply used duck tape and gems and glued them on. I kept wanting to stick my hands in to help but he kept getting mad! :) We will keep adding until we show you the final project!

Shaving cream and colored bubbles

I am sure most people have seen the colored bubbles in the stores lately. We were given one as a gift and decided to give it a try one afternoon, immediately I realized how messy they were and sealed it back up not wanting to stain the clothes the kids were wearing. We have seen the shaving cream play a lot on pinterest and have been playing with it ourselves for years so I decided to let the boys have at it with both the shaving cream and colored bubbles.
It ended up being art! The boys had fun lathering up and then blowing bubbles on each other I see the design they made when popped! Sorry for the few pictures buy my 9 year doesn't permet them anymore!! ;)

Lots of fun! Very pretty splatters and boys that were happy they were making a mess!! Pick some up it was worth it!

Money in the Bank

I wish! My 9 year old is a WWE freak. There was a Money in the Bank show yesterday and he got busy making his own briefcase just like the one that hangs from the chain in the show. He thought of this himself and go on the computer and found the stuff he needed to make it all while I was putting my 2 year old down for a nap. I love that he is becoming independently creative without me having to make him do crafts. Its nice, and gets him off the computer or xbox. Here is his project!

Rainbow Toast and Eggs

I thought this would be a great breakfast treat! The benefit from it was I actually got to drink a WHOLE cup of coffee while watching the boys!! WHOOEEE. Anything that lets me drink a cup of coffee while still hot is AMAZING. Found this one on pinterest (THANKS) via shareandremember. Simply milk, food coloring and bread needed! We used some for egg and toast and some for just toast! Pretty!

Homemade Binoculars

Simple craft today! Kids love looking through Pop Pop's binoculars, so we decided to make some! The boys are out hunting in the yard now looking for Big Foot, Bad Guys, Birds and Bugs. I like that something soooo easy can keep them busy and get their imagination running!

Homemade Binoculars Items Needed:
2 toilet paper rolls
tape
string

We just used paint tape and duct tape to decorate. You can have them decorate them or paint them if you want! Tape them together. Add a string or shoelace for them to wear around their necks and let them go!!! You can even tie this into the earlier scavenger hunt post and pair them up together! Have fun! We hope everyone is enjoying the posts and projects!

Duct Tape Purses/Wallets

This one if for older kids! We ran into someone with a duct tape purse and thought they were cute! I did the purses and my 9 year old did the wallets. He wants to try a purse but he gets the tape all wrinkly after a certain size :) I will leave the tutorial for the experts at: all things thrifty. I basically followed their instructions and decided that the fabric inside is not totally necessary. Just looks nicer. We used all duct tape and just double sided it! It was a fun project with a cute outcome! We gave some out for birthday gifts and Carter made wallets for his cousin. Here are some of the pictures!

Hummingbird sun catchers!

We love hummingbirds! Nana loves in the mountains and we see a lot! The boys are fascinated with how fast they are! We have some friends visiting from Illinois and decide that we could make hummingbird sun catchers so when they go home they can look at them and remember their trip to Colorado!
Items needed:
Contact paper
Tissue paper
Marker

I printed a humming bird coloring page from www.1001coloringpages.com and traced it onto the contact paper. I then cut it out and gave it to the kids with tissue paper. They could use big pieces or tear them up. Once completed press another piece of contact paper on top and trim! You can add details with market if you want! They looked beautiful! My friends 6 year old little girl loved them! She did three! Some made them all colors others made them the same. They had fun doing hem and turned out great!

Circle paints!

Today we decide to paint with circle objects, trying to teach my 2 year old shapes. We rounded up different sizes of circles and dipped them in paint then onto paper. We stuck with 2 colors as we are going to use the art in a project later. I also have figured out to limit the colors I give him otherwise it ends up bring a big blob of color! Callen enjoyed this a lot. We used bottle caps, crayon ends, Dixie cups, and toothpaste caps. It is quite messy but he had a lot of fun dipping! :) great project for little guys! My 9 year old wasn't entertained. I have an idea for the art that will come in a later post!

Clorox Containers Upcycled

We are going to make our own cleaning wipes and baby wipes so we are in the process of converting some containers. I will do some also but my 9 year old is the one who is doing them currently. It makes him proud to see his work. I have noticed though that if I do not stop him at a point he keeps going and going and going. I have looked and been very impressed at how well it looks and then a few minutes later I am like OMG (in my head) he keeps adding and adding! At least he is having fun!

Once again, I simply gave him a empty clorox container and art supplies. He came up with a beach theme on his own and I think he did a good job! :) He is anxious to make more! I will take better pictures later! Sorry about missing a close up shot today!!

Toddler Wipes Toy

I am not sure about other moms, but wipe containers are available in my house most of the time! I also have a 2 year old that seems to love to pull the wipes out of the containers one at a time. I catch him in the act at least once a week. Other times I will find wipes all over his room. We are in the process of making our own wipes, and doing research on them but thought this would be fun for him! We had Everything on hand and cost us nothing! I will continue to switch up the fabric and add different kinds, textures, and colors. Not sure what to call this but:

TODDLER WIPES TOY ITEMS NEEDED:

Empty wipes container

craft supplies to decorate (I let my 2 year old pick out what he wanted)

Glue Gun

Fabric (we used old clothes that had wholes and cut rectangles out of them)

We started by giving Callen the items he could choose from to glue on. This itself took 30 minutes as he is not used to being able to root through the craft bins. H likes all the bright colors of course. I used the glue gun where he told me to and he pushed them on except for the small beads as they are little I did not want him to get hot glue on himself. He dropped them on and I pushed in. We used some sparkly sticker paper and ribbed paper for different textures. He likes to strum on the ribbed top. Next we went to the scrap bin and found different textures of fabric to put in there. Fleece and Sweats were his favorite. We tied some together like a clown handkerchief and left some separate! This was a hit. I am not sure if he loves it as much as real wipes but he has fun with it! He now carries it around and shows everyone his magic. If he starts to go for his wipes in the bedroom I grab this one and give him it. I am pleased with this one!