A Father's Day Craft: Monster Hug Cards

/
A Father's Day Craft: Monster Hug Cards

Truth: I didn’t come up with this idea. I found it on another blog, Kids Craft Room (here’s the link to the original craft I’m sharing here) However, I tested it, put on my own spin (to make it easier), and can confirm it’s cute and doable! So there’s that.

Also, it’s not a tie, golf (or any sport), bbq, or beer-themed card. The world has too many of those for Father’s Day. This here is an adorable and fun monster hug card and your father and/or grandfathers will love it.

Read More

Getting Crafty with KiwiCo

/
Getting Crafty with KiwiCo

Do you ever read a description of a product or service and still wonder what the heck it is? I hate that! Sometimes I feel companies get too much into trending or key words and forget to give just a straight forward description of what they provide. Ugh!

I wanted to share my experience with KiwiCo and went to their “About Us” to get their official description and I feel like it was all fluff and didn’t actually give much “about” the service….which, by the way, is AWESOME. In my own words, I’d say it is a subscription based craft box service that delivers age appropriate projects to your door. (Okay, end of rant now)

I first heard about KiwiCo from my friend/neighbor, but never really went any further than talking about it. Then I got an email that offered a free trial. With it being summer still, I really need things to entertain my 3-1/2 year old son and this seemed just the ticket, so I signed up (while during Wesley at 10pm one night, haha).

You select the age of your child when you sign-up for your crate, so what you get will fit your kid. We landed with the Koala crate which focus on play & learn. Perfect! Then, when our crate arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see three crafts for us. When my son came out of quiet time, I delivered the news: he got a box in the mail. He LOVES getting boxes and letters in the mail (although I think he knows that boxes are better, hehe). He’s even happy with the box is as simple as a new cup. Easy to please, love it.

Of course, as soon as the box was open, we had to start a craft immediately. The box theme was Rainbows. Ahh, cute! I should have looked in the box out before letting him know about the box because I was scrambling a bit to get a closer look at what we had to do. This mom is just living and learning.

Once I had the box back in my hands, and a moment to see everything, I realized they provide all the materials and some great instructions.

Read More

Shaken, Not Stirred, Rice Colored Easter Eggs

/
Shaken, Not Stirred, Rice Colored Easter Eggs


I know I said I was going to do Kool-aid dyed eggs this year, but I lied. I didn’t know I was lying, but I did. I was surprised to find the markets all lacking in Kool-aid flavors in the small packets. I wasn’t about to purchase a big thing of Kool-aid powder nor was I ready to go on a crusade to different stores to find it. I went to two different Safeways and Target, but nothing. Sure, I could have gone to Fred Meyers or Walmart, but I decided it wasn’t meant to be. 

I also think the Kool-aid idea went down in favor ever since I came across this rice idea. The rice seemed like a less-mess and more kid-friendly craft. Kool-aid can be a terrible stain to get out. And I imagine Caleb would want to keep trying to grab the eggs in the cups. So I swapped ideas last minute. 

Overall, I felt like this craft a mom win moment. Caleb was intrigued by the whole process and wanted to touch and do all. the. things. I don’t think he would have been able to be as involved in the Kool-aid, or regular dye projects. He’s too hands-on — a curious fellow, I tell you. He wanted to put the egg into the container and then back out when the coloring process was over. He loved shaking the containers, although I did have to get him to go easy on the shaking a few times. When we took them out after shaking, he said, “wow!” Ahh, too cute. He even straightened the egg’s position in the crate. 

The whole activity only took like 30 minutes, or so. We did it outside so clean-up was easy and no worries about too much mess (and thank goodness for no rain!) 

Here’s how we did it…

Read More

Let's Celebrate Saint Patrick's Day: Dinner, Treats, Crafts

/
Let's Celebrate Saint Patrick's Day: Dinner, Treats, Crafts

I feel oddly committed to the Saint Patrick's Day holiday. Or, well, maybe it's not so odd. I do have the maiden name O'Neill. Growing up I thought it was such a cool last name even though that apostrophe caused so much trouble in computer systems. Not to mention, there is enough Irish in my father for him receive dual citizenship. Some of that got past down to me - somewhere about 25% Irish. That's enough to make my Irish eyes smile. Oh, and fun fact, if I had been born a boy, my name would have been Patrick. That's all pretty Irish. 

To celebrate, my mom would cook corned beef and cabbage for Saint Patrick's Day when I was growing up. However, my dad would tell you that this is one of the last things you'll actually find in Ireland for Saint Patrick's Day. He actually can say this because he has been to Ireland. He's been more than me (I've been once). The first trip was when we all went together as a family. I was much younger - high school, I believe - and all I recall eating was tomato soup and brown bread. Oh, and there was an Italian restaurant I really enjoyed. I also remember being very cold. Beautiful, but cold.

Okay, enough of my Irish jibber jabber and memory lane stuff. Let's talk celebrating. Every year, I make an effort to have a meal, treat, and/or craft. Generally, they end up being something green, Guinness, rainbow, leprechaun, or shamrock themed. But I hate it when someone says, I made avocado toast and deem it Saint Patrick's Day fare. That's all wrong. Just wrong. I want to be a little more authentic, but it's tough to do and not as cute or fun. So I tried to find a middle ground.

I started by consulting Wikipedia to be sure I was accurately informed on Saint Patricks' Day. I learned that Saint Patrick was thought to bring Christianity to Ireland. Green is associated with Catholics in Ireland and that it's said Saint Patrick used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity. So we can say green and shamrocks are authentic. Of course, Guinness is authentic. I'm not sure about the rainbows, though. Now that we know what's more authentic, let's talk food and crafts.

Read More