Pipe Cleaner Stamp

Here's a little craft you can do with the kiddos.  All you'll need is pipe cleaners, hot glue, a piece of cardboard and maybe a cork.

Simply form the word(s) you want and use hot glue to attach the pipe cleaner to your surface.  My daughter wanted a little book she could draw pictures in, and requested the phrase Cute Pets, so I just glued that on to the cover.  I tried Tacky Glue first and it didn't work nearly as well as the hot glue.

 If you're going to make a stamp, again, just form the word(s) like so.

But this time, you'll glue your word(s) on a piece of cardboard so that it's backward.  I used a thin, plastic-coated piece of cardboard that was literally the top flap of a take-out container.  It had only held a small piece of pizza and was clean, so I just recycled it.  Yea for the earth.
I folded a bit of the cardboard up on 3 sides of the stamp for little tabs so I could easily pull the stamp away from the paper when I was done.

Or you could attach a cork (or half of one) to a heavier piece of cardboard with some hot glue.  That's a little easier for the kids to work with.

I used a stamp pad, but I'm sure a dip in a thin layer of acrylic paint would work just fine.

 Oh for the many uses of those fuzzy-covered wires!

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Mod Podge Valentine Carrier

Here's a cute carrier you can make with your kids just in time for them to bring their Valentines home (and spread them from one end of your house to the other). It's very simple, so here we go.


Gather a variety of cereal boxes (the bigger, the better) or cracker boxes. I liked the Stauffer's Whales box because it was much wider than the standard size cracker box.



Cut or tear off the top flaps. I tore mine & not only did it work just fine, but it was a lot faster & easier than the cutting I tried at first.



Cut out a handle. I measured 1 1/4" down from the top and 1 1/4" in from each side (center in the middle based on that). In addition, I made the handles 1" in height.



Next, tear scrapbook paper or wrapping paper in various sizes & shapes. I also used construction paper, copy paper and kiddie Valentine's.



Mod Podge the back of each paper scrap and then stick it to the box, working to create a mosaic effect....or however you'd like it to look! Tip: Initially, I Mod Podged the box and then tried to position the paper. I was maybe too slow for this method because that box warped a little from the extra Mod Podge I had to use before it got too dry.

Once dry (really dry....be patient), paint a layer Mod Podge over the entire box to seal.

Finishing up with a few fancy bits, I added pom poms and a couple of sticky foam conversation hearts. You can make your own pom poms or use a pom pom maker, which I did (no need to spend time shaping with these).

Lots of love will fit in here!

Baby New Year

Welcoming 2010, we present our walnut babies!

We don't even need our diapers changed.

Start by cracking whole walnuts & removing the nutmeats. (I love that word, don't you? It's funny, and I'm going to say it again....nutmeats.)
I don't have a nutcracker, so I set the walnut on a cutting board and covered it with a paper towel, which gave me something to grip. Then I tapped it along its seam with the flat side of a meat cleaver.

Squeeze glue in bottom of shell & press in half of a jumbo cotton ball so it is a bit "poofier" than the shell itself.

2-year olds can help glue.

Add a strip of glue around the inside, turn upside down and push onto the wrong side of the fabric, which will service as the baby's blanket.
Cut around walnut to remove excess fabric once glue is dry.

Use your choice of a wooden bead for the head. I used the variety with the hole in them, which made it easy to affix the hair.
Using permanent markers, draw faces on the beads. My 6-year old loved this job.

Gather yarn, pipe cleaner, curling ribbon, or whatever you choose to use for the babies' hair, wrap it around the tip of a toothpick, add a dab of glue & push it through the hole.

Embellish their blankets, binding, hair, etc. as you please.


Goo-Goo, Ga-Ga

Pom Pom Pleasure

A couple of weeks ago I sprung for a bag of 350 pom poms at Michael's. With my coupon, it cost all of $2 and it has, undoubtedly, been one of the most played with "toys" for the girls to date. They love little things they can hold in their hands, but these softies also lent themselves to a real variety of things thanks to some great imagination, which A. has no shortage of what-so-ever. She helped M. sort them by color, they dispensed them in various containers, carried them around the house in bandannas, lined them up, gathered them in a Build-A-Bear bear bed only to toss the entire contents up in the air & enjoy the plush pom pom rain. The girls did that time & time again, with arms outstretched & faces to the sky, giggling & squealing as they raced to gather them for another upward toss. Among other things, the fluffy balls served as students on a Fisher-Price bus, ice cream flavors in an ice cube tray, confetti soup in a sampling of bowls, smoothie drinks in cups and holders of all sizes & shapes, and even awesome cat toys that are providing exercise for our hairy loungers.

Don't want to spend 20 minutes drenching yourself in downpour of pom poms? Well, here are a few crafting ideas instead. Stick them on lamp shades, embellish a felt or fabric-wrapped Christmas tree with them, display as a doorway garland, ornament a tree with a string of them, wind them in & out of a wreath, make a table runner out of a chain of them....and the list goes on. I ask you, how much more fun could a $2 bag of puffy balls be?



Photos courtesy of www.kidley.com