WW- A Birthday at the Dinosaur Museum

A little rewind/cell phone dump from last month: A peek at Buddy's birthday visit to the Natural History Museum.

Walking in.

Fun was had by all. Especially the birthday boy.

Join in the Wordless Wednesday fun and Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Scrap Paper Dolls

I love paper dolls, but the little tabs on their clothes? Not so much.  So, when I saw this idea from Giddy Giddy and then I saw these free Betsy McCall Paper Doll printables, I knew I had the materials to make paper doll magic. I'm calling these Scrap Paper Dolls.  All the classic charm of the classic paper doll, no little tabs, endless possibilities. 

I chose a few of the Betsy McCall forms, enlarged them and then printed them out in color. From there I sketched out the area that I wanted to cut out.

Then I took my trusty Martha Stewart crafts knife and went to work cutting. After the cutting was complete, I went to town cutting out all kinds of different patterns from any catalogues and magazines I had lying around. I tried laying the scraps out nicely and then, with the help of my kids, I discovered that scattering them at random led to even more interesting results.  Here are some of the combos we came up with:

All I can say is: Those are some stylin' kids.

I've become obsessed with clipping different patterns and textures from all of the catalogues we receive in the mail. I loved The Land of Nod catalogue. As you can see, the combinations are infinite. The price tag on this is also awesome: The cost of the card stock and color printing (if you don't have your own color printer) and that's it.

We're all sick over here, so smiles were difficult to come by.

Ditch all of your paper doll tabbed clothing and try out some Scrap Paper Dolls. Big thanks to Giddy Giddy and Betsy McCall for giving me some inspiration!

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

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Animal Mix-up Puzzle

I got this fun and easy idea from one of my new favorite blogs, I Can Teach My Child. She has so many great activity ideas for small children, I decided I needed to try her Animal Mix-Up Legos.

This was designed for the Duplo Lego blocks, but would probably work for any pre-school construction blocks in this size with a little adjustment.  I went on an image search and found the animal pictures, but you can also go here for the photos she used and her sizing directions.

Print photos, cut out, tape to blocks. Easy Peasy.

After assembly, just scatter the blocks on the floor and let the fun commence.

Jellybean is two. It took a little bit for her to figure this out. Once she did, she loved finding the correct pieces and putting them together. I'm thinking I may print a few more photos and cut them in quarters for the smaller square blocks. That should make it just a little trickier for my four year old.

Such a simple idea and so much fun. Jellybean has been carrying her puzzle around with her and even taking it to bed at night. She's kind of attached.

I also have some good news! I'll be guest posting this morning about my Read With Me Book Bags over at The Practically Perfect Princess. Go check it out! 

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Random. Awesome. Friday.

I don't usually post on Friday.  This is my Pinterest/catch up on blogs day. I'm breaking from the usual routine because I have a few totally random tips that I wanted to share:

1. Bake Don't Boil Eggs:

I found this awesome idea on Pinterest, but it's really all thanks to Alton Brown from America's Test Kitchen.  Turns out that it is 20 times easier (at least for me) to hard cook an egg in the oven instead of boiling it on the stove.  Plus, less sulfur smell and the eggs come out perfectly every time.  I've been baking eggs weekly since I got this tip. 325 degree oven, 30 mins. Place in ice bath immediately for about 10 minutes. Peel eggs, put back in ice bath to completely cool. Keep in a sealed container in the fridge. I'm now able to enjoy deviled eggs any time I want. :)

2. Dryer Sheets on Water Stains:

My awesome sister in law gave me this great tip.  I was having trouble cleaning the glass surrounds on my shower.  I tried a ton of different options, this one took the cake. Turns out that a slightly damp dryer sheet is excellent for removing water stains on the glass.  Rub the glass well with the dryer sheet and then finish up with a slightly damp microfiber cloth and you'll have lovely clean glass that you can actually see through.

3. Engage, Embrace, Enjoy:

Nice little tip brought to you from the lovely people at Dove chocolate.  I eat an embarrassing amount of chocolate. So much actually that I've mostly stopped reading the little sayings inside of each wrapper.  Well, I read one today and found it particularly applicable to my current state of mind regarding my children.  I'm sure it had more to do with life in general, but I decided, as a mother, that this would be an excellent daily mantra.  I need to engage my children more, embrace them more and just simply enjoy them more. Words to live by and a tasty piece of chocolate to boot. Not bad.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Read With Me Book Bags

We love to frequent the library and the kids are getting to the point where they are borrowing quite a number of books each time we visit. This is unfortunate for me because I end up carrying all of them. So, I had a thought...
"Ding!" (that was the sound of a light bulb going off in my head)
What if I just get them some book bags that they can carry by themselves?  Maybe it wasn't the most creative of thoughts, but it was good enough for me.

I purchased some sturdy canvas bags from Hobby Lobby and some fabric paints.  I like the little Scribbles fabric paints. There's something about that magical 99 cent price tag.  I didn't want to dish out the money for letter stamps, so I decided to create my own.  I purchased a package of craft foam (in sheets) from the dollar store and layered it to give the stamps some depth. Then I glued on a layered foam square on each letter to use as a handle.  They actually worked pretty well, especially for what they cost me. Just a tip, if you are stamping onto fabric, those foam sheets are great to have as a backing under the fabric to prevent bleed through. 

The kids loved their new book bags. Jellybean calls her's her "baggy." As luck would have it, we had a few books on hold at the library, so we took the opportunity for a quick trip to try out the new bags.

I snapped these photos in the library. I tried to be sneaky about it, but there was no getting around the awkward stares from other parents. Maybe they didn't even mind, but I felt like I had to be extra clear that I was only taking photos of my own children.

The bags were awesome. Not only was it nice to be able to separate out Buddy's books from Jellybean's, but they are now a nice location to make sure that the library books stay together in one place, instead of being strewn throughout rooms and throughout the entire house. Am I the only one that has a problem with that?

Just added this photo because she is so cute. That is all.

Have a Happy Day!


~MJ


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WW- Form and Function

Serious concentration here. Love the pouty lips.

Long lashes and peanut butter jelly cheeks.

Come join the Wordless Wednesday fun.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

Water Gem Play

We were hit with a double whammy on Monday.  It was rainy outside and Buddy was sick.  So, we were stuck inside for the bulk of the day.  I'd seen a suggestion on another blog regarding water gems. I purchased a bottle of them and have had them waiting in a cupboard for quite some time.  Today seemed like the perfect day to get them out.

Water gems are really cool. They are little gel like balls that balloon up when they are left in water. I guess they are mostly used to make flower vases more decorative. You can purchase the water gems in dehydrated packets, or already hydrated in a bottle. I got mine at Michaels, but I imagine they are available at almost any craft store.  The hydrated version is a bit more expensive, but I decided to pay for the convenience of having them already ready and waiting for me. I'm not very good at planning.

I just poured some in clear tupperware and brought out spoons and cups. Then I added a tad more water. The kids loved them. We played with them for at least an hour. They enjoyed putting their hands in and feeling them, spooning them up and putting them in their cups and then pouring them out. They especially got a kick out of an occasional escapee. The gems, we discovered, are a bit bouncy.  I also brought out a flashlight and turned out the lights. It was fun shining the light through them.  I really wished that I had a light table. These would look awesome sitting over a light source. I'm going to rig one up for next time.  Maybe something like this. These would also be great in a sensory bin.  Clean up was a breeze. I just poured off some water and put them back in their bottle. I'd definitely suggest getting some water gems to keep around for indoor play.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

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I Can Teach My Child

We don't get out much

We're what you would call homebodies.  We don't socialize very often, but sometimes we have to leave the house just so our neighbors don't think that we're weirdos (at least I don't think they've figured that out yet, or maybe they have...).

Anyway, our local ward hosted a neighborhood luau party on Saturday.  Buddy and Jellybean were very excited about it, so D and I begrudgingly decided to attend.
The weather had been rainy all day, but turned surprisingly beautiful.  We decided to walk.

This picture is deceptive. It looks like Jellybean has only one doll with her.

Guess again. 

Oh man, now she wants me to carry her and her three dolls.

Finally, we caught up to D and Buddy.

An aside: So, the house you can see behind D is supposedly the most beautiful house in the neighborhood. I haven't been able to verify this myself. The thing that worries me is the dry grass hill that is behind it.  Not a good thing during fire season. Just saying.

We arrived and received our requisite plastic leis. The kids really enjoyed their hawaiian haystacks.

Can't you tell?

You see that face Buddy is making?  The people sitting across from us thought that it was cute.  I didn't think so.  This was his, "No, I won't do a real smile for you, Mama" face. I wasn't amused.

After dinner, the kids thought they'd try out the face painting. 

Jellybean chose an angel design, which turned out surprisingly recognizable. Buddy decided to go with that rad skull and cross bones tattoo.  Later that night, he decided that he was frightened of it and requested that D put a bandaid over it.

We're kind of party-poopers. So, we skipped out on the limbo and other planned party games. After a cookie we were on our way home.

It was fun while it lasted. Despite that, I imagine we'll stay firmly at home for any further social activities until maybe trick or treating. Like I said, we don't get out much.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ

WW-Yoga

"Mama, I'm doing yoga."

That's hilarious, let me try.

Now it's your turn.

Now go join the Wordless Wednesday fun.

Have a Happy Day!

~MJ