These ideas are simple enough to prep ahead of time and creative enough to keep their attention during the flight! Gather all the supplies, add them to the busy bag, and encourage the kids to try something new with each of the ideas on the list! I’m sharing these ideas over at the Alaska Air blog! Head over for the full list of items to put into your traveling busy bag!...
S’Mores Chocolate Chip Pancakes: No need for a campfire to make these s’mores! How yummy do these s’mores pancakes look? (via Flavor Mosaic) Rainbow Pancakes Recipe: My kids would go crazy over these rainbow pancakes! So bright, colorful and happy. What a great way to wake up. (via Unique Gifter) Oreo Pancakes: I can almost never say no to any type of food that has Oreos in it. I just love Oreos so much....
Here’s a fun art project for the coloring fans in your house, young or old. These are colorful abstract Christmas trees! By drawing some simple straight lines, you can create your own unique Christmas tree coloring page. This is the perfect project to pull out on a cold day when you can’t play outside. I plan to join my kids for some zen coloring time, with some Christmas music playing and a mug of something cozy and warm to drink....
Choose the recipient’s favorite colors for the washcloth, hair elastic, headband, and clip. You can often find fun, inexpensive soaps with seasonal or other designs. I recently found the snowflake soap in the “stocking stuffer” section of the store. Supplies: For each washcloth purse, you will need: washcloth small bar of soap (wrapped) pipe cleaner (same color as washcloth or headband) hair elastic headband fancy clip with a flower, bow, etc....
Most of the time we eat them out-of-hand with the juice dripping to our elbows. A few have made their way into frozen desserts and pies. And then there’s cake… I made this cake to celebrate my baby’s first birthday. She loves peaches as much as the rest of us. More than that, she loves cake …even if we did celebrate her birthday three weeks late. (Ahem.) (SCROLL DOWN TO PRINT RECIPE for Brown Sugar Cake)...
Make one of these to decorate the house or even a gift for teacher during this back to school season! They’re yummy and super cute. Your kids are going to go crazy for these gumdrop apples. Here are Lucy and I crafting for fall with our Gumdrop Apples: We will be showcasing our Craftspiration videos all year long to celebrate holidays and events throughout the year. Yippee! SaveSave SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave
(SCROLL DOWN TO PRINT RECIPE for Frozen Chocolate Yogurt Cake) Ingredients for cake: 1 pkg. chocolate cake mix Method for cake: Mix and pour batter into 2 or 3 rounds and bake as directed on the box. Once the cakes have cooled, take each layer out of their pans and freeze until firm, (couple of hours). This helps with handling them when they get placed on top of each other....
First you will need some vanilla ice cream, chocolate chips for melting, chopped nuts – mine are walnuts, ice cream scoop, and popsicle sticks. Giada uses hazelnuts and fancier vanilla ice cream, but the effect is still the same. Scoop out your desired number of ice cream balls and put on a plate. (You are supposed to put the plate of ice cream balls back into the freezer to get frozen again, but I have absolutely no room in my freezer – time to clean it out....
When my girls and I sit down to do an art project together, we often end up doodling shapes and designs, as well as trying our hand at more complicated Zentangle patterns. Even if our patterns aren’t perfect, a page full of repeating shapes and lines still looks pretty awesome! These whimsical snakes and snails are made with a variety of unique patterns, shapes, and doodles. I find this type of drawing to be quite forgiving, making it a good fit for a variety of ages – littles to adults....
This craft is super simple which makes it perfect for little hands. I love that these monster bookmarks are silly and not scary. The googly eyes make them friendly looking and even a little sweet. Your kids are going to love trying this bookmark craft. Supplies for a Monster Bookmark: pipe cleaners googley eyes cardstock paper glue (I love glue dots for this) hole punch scissors or paper cutting tool...
To make this mosaic earth you will need the following supplies: 1/2 sheets of construction paper: blue, green, white, and tan or brown Piece of recycled cardboard (cereal box, snack box, note pad, etc) 12″ piece of yarn 6 pony beans (green, blue and white) Scissors Glue stick Tape Earth pattern Note: You could also recycle some old magazines to make this project instead of using construction paper! Print the pattern and cut around the outer circle....
These 3 areas are so powerful in helping us be our best creative selves. I’m sharing a little bit more about what I mean by the mind, body, and soul and what parts they play in our creativity. Mind: Mind – allowing our best mental thoughts to come forth for creating. This might mean we’ll have to do some personal work to get really clear and ready for the creative process....
handmade + gift giving = LOVE Supplies: yarn – any color or size crochet hook – size depends on the thickness of your yarn scissors I love to using the yarn scraps I have and make them into wrapping ribbon. Makes for a great way to use up every last bit! Add a slip knot to your crochet hook. See the images below for a guide. How-to video for adding yarn to your hook and starting to chain stitch:...
In the rush to get ready for going back to school or the adjustment to back to school routines its nice to take a break from it all and do a simple, but school related, craft activity! These craft stick crayons are super cute and your can make a whole bunch to display in the home or even the classroom! Plus they use common craft supplies so you may already have everything in your craft closet!...
You can make these the morning of, they’re that easy, or the night before and pop them in the fridge until they get packed up. Simply add in a few other items to their lunch and the kiddies will be off to school in no time! Easy Lunchbox Idea: Turkey Pesto Roll-Ups I’ve partnered with O Organics for today’s recipe, which can be found at your local Safeway or Albertsons grocery store....
I’m pretty proud of myself for getting my husband’s Valentine’s gift early this year, sometimes I forget and have to give him an I.O.U! So romantic, I know. I end up spending so much time getting stuff ready for the kids’ school parties and helping them get their cards ready, hubby sometimes feels jilted. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love him! Of course, he’s the one I’m supposed to celebrate on Valentine’s Day!...
But what I do is purchase the turkey. I volunteer for bird-buying duty because I want to make sure that the poultry that’s given its life for our tastebuds has had a happy life. So we buy local, from a family farm where we can witness first hand how our fowl-friend has been treated. It’s just one way I try to infuse a little eco-friendliness into the festivities. That said, we’re one week from Thanksgiving....
My love of thrift store shopping is strong. One day I’ll own a little side-business where I upcycle thrift store finds and re-sell them. This is such an economical way to decorate your home too. Plus, it’s a great way to earn a little extra money on the side. Don’t pass up a great bargain just because it’s the wrong color for your decor. I found my frame at my local Goodwill store for $5....
If you’ve ever wanted to make a woven wall hanging, they are surprisingly easy to do. The best part is you don’t need any fancy equipment to make them. I had everything I needed at home, including an off-cut of wood to make a loom. But, oh how I wish my dad lived closer, I remember watching him weaving when I was little. He had a big, fancy, free-standing loom, and would make all kinds of wonderful things to sell in our family mohair store....
Sometimes I motivate my kids with a fun date, other times it might be a ‘good job, dude.’ But, sometimes they just get excited about money. If you’re thinking of emailing me and telling me that it’s inappropriate parenting, someone already did, and I’m pretty sure I said something really awesome/kind and she totally backed off. So, all opinions aside, this is what we did, and it’s working… It’s called, ‘I Love Me Some Ten Bucks....
