Magnetic Cookie Sheet

   Any parent can benefit from this trick! Have you ever found yourself gripping the stearing wheel just a little too tight when your kids ask 'are we there yet' for the fiftieth time? I'm guilty of it on several occassions, but really, can we blame them? I get bored, too! This  project will give them a new, exciting activity to play with in the car. And who knows...maybe it will buy you 30 more minutes of silent riding :)

Materials: 

• Old cookie sheet
• Several matchbox cars (If you have them, use the rejects that are missing wheels. )
• Magnetic strips
• Hot glue gun (and glue sticks.)
• One car-crazy child

   As I have said before, my son LOVES car.  Any project I can think of that will include his obsession is fine with him. This activity not only provides entertainment in the car but it also helps to improve his hand eye coordination.  
   First cut the magnetic strip into 1/2" sections and reserve two for each car. Peel the sticky backing off of the magnet strip and squirt a pea size amount of hot glue onto the sticky part of the magnet. 
   Attach the magnet pieces of magnet onto the flattest part of the underside of the car. In my case, it was most flat in between both sets of wheels. If it works better on a particular car to use a bigger strip in the middle, do so. Let your magnetized cars dry for at least 15 minutes to ensure the magnet won't come off...Be careful if you are using this activity for small kids who are still interested in 'eating' toys.
   Now you are ready to attach the cars to the cookie sheet! Your kids will love to play with their new toy...even with all the new colorful plastic toys out there, my son still prefers a good home-made invention any day :) I knew he was mine!
   You could also use your coffee filter butterflies on the cookie sheet as well! Think outside the box to come up with new 'magnet' ideas....glue magnet strips to pipe cleaners to create 'roads,' or use shells you found at the beach as a different shape for them to explore! The options are endless! Go try out your new invention with a nice, long car ride!

 *To make things even easier, check out this magnetic tape! (I still suggest using hot glue to adhere to toys.)
 

Tin Foil Paint Tray Clean-up

   
Sometimes just thinking about doing a painting project can make you tired, especially when you have a toddler to look after while cleaning up. This idea really came out of necessity.  I needed something that was going to help me clean up his easel after we used it. 

Materials:

• Aluminun foil
• Paint
• Paint brush
• Messy child

   Although it isn't necessary for me to get the easel completely clean after each use, the big blobs that would stick to the easel paint cups after only 10 minutes really bothered me.  I needed something that was going to buy me some time so I could get my little man cleaned up before I had fingerprints all over my walls and before the paint would stick to the easel...what.a.pain.  Then it came to me----Tin foil!!!!  Why hadn't I thought of this before? I use tin foil when I am painting (it is easier to mix colors on, more so than plastic) so I felt really dumb when I finally started using this technique with Eli.
  All you do is line the easel paint cups with tin foil! Shape the tin foil the best you can to fit inside whatever you will put the paint in then when you are done you just ball it up and throw it away! Genius if I do say so myself.  Especially when I am busy with +Blossoming Buttons Custom Stationery and Art!
   Most parents who avoid painting projects are mostly worried about the mess and the clean up. You can't control the mess, you have a kid, but you can make the clean-up a little bit easier! Got any other tips I haven't thought of yet? Please comment and share them! Use this technique for any other painting project, see us use it in the packing peanut project! Happy painting, everyone :)

Coffee Filter Butterflies

My little man lovvvved this project. It was pretty simple and doesn't make too big of a mess. I like multi-step projects like this every once in a while because it really teaches Eli to work on his patience while exploring an new medium.  These coffee filter butterflies can be made with things you have on hand and are really cute hanging on the fridge!
  
Materials:

• Coffee filters
• Washable watercolors 
• Pipe cleaners
• Glue gun
• Magnet sticker strips
• Old plate/tupperware
• Paintbrush 
• Paper bag 
• Tongue depressors 

   I always loved a technique similar to this when I worked as a preschool assistant so I just tweeked it a little bit so we could do it at home.  Start by finding an old plate or tupperware container you don't mind getting paint on...it will wash off in the end so I just used a normal plate we had in the cabinet.  Grab the coffee filters, too. You need 1-2 filters for each butterfly so grab accordingly.  Flatten the coffee filter onto the plate and have your watercolors ready.
  Let your child paint the coffee filter with the watercolors. The filter will get soaked in paint and at some point you have to stop your child and give them a new filter.  Put the wet coffee filters on a paper bag to dry, I find the paper bag soaks up the excess water the best and doesn't stick to the wet filter...you could also use paper towels.
  If you want to make a butterfly without magnets, fold a pipe cleaner in half, gather the filter in the middle, and wrap the pipe cleaner around the middle. This is the butterfly's antenna.
  If you want to make a butterfly that will go on the fridge, gather two filters and hot glue the centers to a tongue depressor.  These are the butterfly's wings, put them close together or far apart...where ever you child thinks looks best :) We did a few of both.
  Now bend a pipe cleaner in half leaving a small loop at the bottom to attach to the tongue depressor. This is the antenna. Attach the antenna to the topside of the tongue depressor with your hot glue gun, on the same side you previously glued on.
   Once the glue on the wings and antenna is dry, cut two, one inch strips from a magnet sticker strip. Peel the backing off of the magnets and apply glue to the areas on top of both wings. (see pictures.) Place the magnet pieces on top of glue and allow it to completely dry.
   All you have to do now is stick them to the fridge, or make more! We made extras while we had all of the supplies out because I plan on using them as gift toppers! Cute, right?!
   If you really want to get into it, check out my egg carton caterpillar to explain to your kids how a butterfly is born! Or, make a packing peanut painting of a caterpillar!

Repurposed Frames

   This is another project that I have been doing for years. It's so easy and will really save you a TON of money. All you need are old frames, or frames purchased from the thrift store, and some paint. I love to group a bunch of pictures together, but that can get pretty expensive. This idea,  takes so little time and money and  will give you a beautiful arrangement of pictures you can be proud of!







Materials:

• Spray paint (or any kind of permanent paint.)
• Assortment of thrift store frames
• Drop cloth
• Painters tape  

   To start this project, make a run to your local Goodwill or any other local thrift store.  Go straight to the frame section, and trust me, there will be a HUGE frame section. It always amazes me what some people will throw away.  Luckily, for me, they decided to recycle it instead :)  Choose an assortment of frames with different textures and border widths. Don't worry about what they look like now..try to look past any ugly floral patterns or paint chipped frames, they will be beautiful when you are done with them! The one thing I do suggest is only choosing frames that still have the glass intact-you need frames with 'good bones.'   First, take the frames apart leaving the glass separate so it doesn't get painted.  Now grab a drop cloth so you can prepare for painting.  I try to keep the pieces together so I know which frame went with which parts.  You can even go as far as labeling them with a pencil before you take them apart.  You want to have just the actual border part of the frame, but if the back stays attached you can just take out the glass and cover any area you don't want painted with painter's tape.

  Bring your frame pieces to your drop cloth and cover with one coat of paint. Use even strokes so you avoid any drops of paint falling and glooping on the frame. I usually use spray paint because it is so much quicker but you can always use paint and a brush, too. Allow your frames to dry for at least an hour before applying another coat of paint. I recommend at least two coats so your frames are not splotchy.
  Let all your frames dry overnight then re-assemble to see the magic you have made! Now all these matching frames are ready to be hung in your home! Don't you feel so proud of yourself?! Go enjoy and repeat :) These frames would look great over your DIY headboard!
 

This is the paint I used for this project (I used whtite):

Packing Peanut Paintings

Sometimes painting on a flat piece of paper gets old.  Try this smart trick to give your kids a new sensory experience. Packing peanuts are good for so many crafts and people are so quick to throw them away! So save those peanuts!  One day your kids will get stir crazy and you will need a new project for them to pour themselves into.

Materials:

• Packing peanuts (hopefully left-overs from a package but if not you can buy them cheap.)
• Thick paper (I used dry-cleaner shirt boards.)
• Kid's glue
• Any size paintbrush
• Washable paint
• Sharpie

   Start by choosing the paper you are going to use.  We save the cardboard pieces the dry-cleaner uses when they wrap up your shirts, they are great for so many craft projects.  As a matter of fact, you should start a 'craft scrap' bin in your house somewhere.  We save all of our scraps and store them in a big basket that we call our 'supply box'. Eli loves sorting through it and it's fun to figure out what to make out of your 'left-overs'.
   Now grab your packing peanuts. Glue them to the board in any shape you want.  We did a snake and a rainbow. They were the first things that came to my mind, but you could do any animal outline or shape. This is a great holiday craft, too...snowmen for Christmas, shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day, flower's for Mother's Day, there are so many options!

   Let your packing peanuts dry for a few hours and come back to the project ready to paint.  Use any size paintbrush and let your kids paint the packing peanuts and the surrounding paper/board.  This is a cool new thing for them to paint and it will be exciting for them to experience a new technique. Explain to them the difference in texture, the sounds it makes when they paint over it, etc.  Texture is a difficult thing for kids to understand so this is a great opportunity for them to learn something new!
   Once the paint is dry, use your sharpie to label what they drew.  When you label it, spell it out-loud and your kids to spell it back to you.  Having the name of their drawing right next to it will be effective recognition and it will help them when they learn to read.
  Enjoy your kids and help expand their imagination! They are never to young to craft!

Re-purposed Head Board!

I love, love, love turning thrift store finds into functional pieces of art.  My guest room has sat empty since we've moved in (I'm not going to admit we've been here over a year) and I figured with our first overnight guests coming it could use some sprucing up!  This project is so simple it hurts me to think how much people are spending on store bought head boards!  Just a few simple steps and you can have this gem for your home, too!
   
Materials:

• one old fireplace mantel (purchase from the thrift store if possible!)
• one can of any color spray paint
• hammer
• sand paper
• nails

   I started this project by high-jacking this awesome old fireplace mantel that was just sitting in my parents basement.  I was so excited when I saw it sitting there and even more so when I got the go ahead to take it.  My brother and I now both live very close to our parents home.   This is not the house where we grew up so all of our left-over childhood trinkets are packed into brown boxes and stored in my parents massive basement.   This is kind of a sticky subject in their house...so needless to say, almost every time we leave family dinner on Sunday night, we leave with a few boxes and some random clutter my dad wants to get rid of. I love this. My parents both work full time so they don't have time to do all the DIY projects like I do. Another plus for me :)

Recycled Race Car

   This recycled race car will give you hours of enjoyment and will double as a toy box when your kids are done with it!  It was another rainy day when thought of  this old favorite.  Like any boy, my little guy LOVES to 'play cars'.  It doesn't matter how old, beat up or how many missing wheels there are-a car is a car to a two year old.

Materials:

• One cardboard box (usually the grocery or liquor store will give you one, or several, if you just ask!)
• Spray Paint (you only need one color, and any you have on hand is fine.)
•  Two paper plates (Styrofoam works, too.)
• Black sharpie
• Washable markers
• Crayons
• Stickers (we used 'transportation' themed stickers but any kind will do.)
• 4 Brads (if you don't have these, and don't want to make a special trip for them, you can use glue instead.) 
• One excited kid!

Who doesn't love sidewalk chalk?!

    I don't care how old you are. Can anyone seriously hold a piece of sidewalk chalk in their hand and not smile? This is one of my favorite past times and I am sooooo lucky my son loves it, too. We could sit out there for hours drawing until we run out of space and have to venture into the cul-de sac...that has actually happened.

   I think it is so important for a child to learn while playing. I always try to think of fun ways to teach my little guy things without him knowing it. He is only two, so our 'learning' mainly consists of letters, colors, shapes, etc, but there is so much more you can teach a child with chalk. Math is a big one.  I remember doing my times tables on the driveway as a kid. And hop-scotch! That's a simple counting game and kids have loved it for centuries.

    One thing that bothers me, though, is how un-inventive adults have become when it comes to their 'chalking.' Come on. We can only draw a rainbow, or a smiley face so many times.  I am always amazed, and a little jealous, of a kid's imagination. I mean, who would think to draw a purple cupcake castle with icing slides and sprinkle trees? Not me!
   Think out of the box. Who cares if you mess up, it's going to wash away in the next few days! Think about drawing scenes, or repetitive patterns. If you have any kid of brick near your home you've hit the jackpot. Color each brick one color. Then another on top of that, then another, and another until you have a beautiful rainbow of colors that is so much fun to look at! (And much more interesting than those basic rainbows you learned to draw in first grade.) You can turn it into a game by asking each child to hop onto a certain color, or count the number of 'blue' bricks.

Silly Monster Party Favor!

   

    I recently started planning kids parties and I must say it is soooo much fun. I loved being able to use my talents to really go all out on a themed party. I was able to create fun activities,  invitations,  party accessories, thank you notes and a birthday banner! This was a party for my good friend's little guy, Graham, who was turning one. She kept telling me not to out-do myself but it is so hard when all these ideas are running through my brain! Check out my Etsy shop for printables  and decor to instantly customize your kid's next party!

Materials:

• Chinese-take out container
• Pipe cleaners (any color.)
• Foam paper (any color.) 
• Sharpie
• Googlie eyes
• Hot glue gun (or Elmer's)
• Easter grass (any color.)

   One of the first things I thought about was the party favors. That was always my favorite part a birthday party growing up, so I knew I wanted to do something awesome for the kids that would also coordinate with the theme.  So this little monster was born :) I used them as party favors but you can just as easily make a few for your kids to play with at home. We still have ours that my son uses to tote things around in. He loves it.
   I found these great little chinese take-out containers at the dollar store in a 4-pack....Yes, 4 for a $1! How can you beat that?! They even came with the handle attached-score!
   I started by filling them up with candy, stickers, erasers, the typical party favor loot. After they were all filled I added the googlie eyes with my hot glue gun. You can glue them on with Elmer's but I didn't have the patience to wait for them to dry- I was making a bunch so it was easier to use the faster drying glue on my assembly line.  Make sure you add extra eyes on some and give some a single, centered eye. These are monsters so they shouldn't all look the same :)
   Once all the eyes were in place I used a sharpie to draw on the faces. If you don't feel so confident in your monster-face making abilities, Google it to get some ideas.  Now you are ready for the feet.

   Use any type of foam paper to cut out the monster feet. Any shape will do and there is no need to trace a shape before you cut it out, monster feet are supposed to lop sided. I used a shape that looked like a heart with an extra bump in the middle, pretty simple to cut in mass quantities. You can place a few sheets on top of eachother to cut more than one out at a time; this is convenient if you are using them as favors.  Then, add toenails with a contrasting sharpie color. Attach the feet with hot glue (or Elmer's, it will need to sit to dry) and stick them to the underside of the take out container.
  Now it's time for the antennas. Cut a full size pipe-cleaner in half and wrap the end 2-3 inches around a pencil to give it a little swirl.  Slide the pipe-cleaner off the end of the pencil and attach it to the side of the container by using hot glue. I glued my antennas in between the two flaps on top so you wouldn't see the glue.

  The last step is what really gives these monster's their character.  Add their wild hair by placing a large area of glue on the top of the closed container.  Wod up a tennis ball size of easter grass and push it into the center of the glue. Hold for a second, and re-arrange the hair so most of it is sticking to the glue. Easter grass is so long that you don't have to worry about every inch of the grass sticking. You may have a few stragglers that didn't quite stick, just blow on the monster once the glue is dry and the excess hair will fall off. That's all, folks!
   Now you have a silly monster tote! Let your kids make multiple monsters for even more fun or check out the other projects I did for this party HERE! 

Here are some more monster party decor ideas!

  

   

   

Pipe Cleaner Accessories!

   This is a great project for developing hand eye coordination.  It will also help to avoid alot of frustration for the little one's who can't quite string beads onto a wobbly strand yet. We happened to inherit a TON of beads from my mom, Gigi, so we decided to take full advantage of our surplus :)

    

Materials:

• Pipe cleaners
• Beads (use beads with larger holes for the little ones who can't string them yet.)
• A happy kid!
• Buttons (these are a new, fun type of 'bead' to string.)

   This project is pretty self-explainatory.  Simply show your child how to string the beads and buttons onto the pipe cleaner and encourage them to be patient as they fill it.  Leave about an inch bare on either side so you can create the bracelet enclosure.

   Once they are happy with the amount of beads on their pipe cleaner, they can decide whether they are making a bracelet or a pair of silly glasses...or both!

    *To make a bracelet, once you are through stringing beads, shape one end of the pipe cleaner into a circle and use the other side to fasten it by wrapping it around the end of the circle.  

    *To make a pair of silly glasses, make a bracelet but don't create the enclosure at the ends.  Instead, wrap the ends around each other to avoid the sharp ends of the pipe cleaner sticking out.  Now make another circle but attach it to the other circle the same way you closed the first one. Use two additional pipe cleaners without beads to create the rest of the glasses. 

 

Egg Carton Caterpillar

   This is such a cute and easy project. My two year old is really into animals lately and loves learning about new creatures! Projects like this really give your child a chance to learn more about his/her surroundings. After we made this little fella' we went outside to look for some...after he learned about where caterpillars live he was fascinated with finding one! We did end up finding a worm, which he quickly pointed out was not a caterpillar due to it's lack of legs :) We will find one in the backyard eventually....

   Materials:

• one old egg carton
• stickers
• crayons (don't use markers for this one, they don't stay on the carton and rub off EASILY onto your child's hands.)
• piece of scrap paper
• black sharpie (for parent's use only.)
• scissors (for parent's use only.)

   First, completely cut off the top flap of the egg carton leaving the bottom detached. Once you have the bottom portion of the carton all by itself, you are ready to make TWO caterpillars! Yay! Now, cut down the middle of the carton, long ways, splitting the 'egg holders' in half.

Recycled Paper Bag Canvas!

   This isn't really a project, but more of an idea. Being a stay at home mom/business owner, I have learned to think quick when it comes to entertaining my little man. But, sometimes he is just not into sitting down and listening to me explain a longer project-"mommmmmm!"
  So this idea came to me on a rainy day that also happened to be a busy order-filling day for me. I needed something that was going to entertain him for a while that didn't include plopping him in front of the tube for an hour. This did the trick!
  
Materials:

• paper grocery bag
• scissors
• markers/crayons
• stamps/stickers
• paint (you don't HAVE to use paint, but it always makes it more fun.)
• one bored, cabin fever-ridden child.

   All you need to do is...drumroll, please... cut the bottom out of your paper grocery bag then cut one more time anywhere along the side! Now you have a HUGE surface for your kid to go crazy on. They can paint it, color it, stamp and sticker it. Anything that you have in your bag of crafty goodies will do. 

I even turned it over onto the other side and added paint to the mix. The rain stopped enough for us to slap it onto an easel and continue outside! Eli really liked this because I don't normally lug his easel outside, but it was that kind of day.

Duct Tape Painting

   
   This is one of my favorite projects, even my husband said it turned out pretty cool! It's especially great for the little one's.  My little guy, Eli, just loves painting, so when I decided to do this project I knew he would be thrilled.

Materials:

• 4 canvases of equal size
• any kind of paint ( for kids I always suggest any WASHABLE paint.)
• duct tape (or painter's tape if you'd rather)
• a paintbrush

   Start by grabbing your canvases. Put them side by side on a flat surface so you can begin the taping process. You can cut the tape to make the wording bubblier, or you can do what I did and just use the block lettering look.
    Decide on what word you want to use. I used the word 'LOVE'.  It's pretty universal and great as a gift later on. Ok, now grab your duct tape....Yea, duct tape! I find it's just as good as painter's tape if you aren't looking for perfect lines.  If you have painter's tape and want straighter lines, stick to that.  Which ever one you use, just make sure to really stick it down onto the canvas-give it a few good pats to make sure it's not going anywhere.   
   Go ahead and put the tape where you don't want paint to go. It's simple,  just use the tape to make that letter. You can paint them all at once or one at a time, makes no difference in the end. I put them on a low coffee table I keep in the garage just for painting and crafting on so I didn't use a drop cloth, but you might want to.
  Now let your little one go wild. Don't worry about the paint glooping or sticking to the tape, it will dry eventually.

Hey guys!

Ok, so I am new to this whole blogging thing, so bear with me for a bit. My name is Jessica, I am the owner/artist at Blossoming Buttons. We do all kinds of stuff here. While I started the business with custom stationery, it continues to grow every day! We are even doing custom birthday parties now-it's so fun!

   I wanted to use this first post as an introduction to me!  So here goes nothing....I love anything DIY and anything art-related. At a very young age my parents noticed that I could draw...pretty well if I do say so myself :)  From that point on I was getting my hands into every medium I could.  I love oil on canvas, pen and ink and most of all just plain old pencil on paper. That is how my stationery business started-just doodling.
   It began with custom orders for friends and family and slowly grew into something bigger. Now I have a website, a  twitter account, an Etsy site even a Blossoming Buttons facebook page! Amazing, huh? I spend my days crafting and filling orders, I pinch myself daily because I can truly say I am doing what I love. 

   By creating this blog I'm hoping to inspire other fellow crafters to get out there and get artsy. It drives me crazy when people look at art and think "how did they do that?' YOU CAN DO IT! Whether it be a project I've done with my toddler, or a DIY project for around the house I will find that spark and run with it.  I will drag out that DIY person hiding deep down inside of you kicking and screaming  if I have to! I love feedback, and to chat, so feel free to bounce your ideas, projects and questions off of me! 


#DIY #Homeschoolmom #DIYproject #havefun #youcandoit